Making Bubbles!

One of our Large Group activities this week was making bubble mix. First, we filled an empty 2-liter bottle with water. Next we added a small bottle of tear-free baby shampoo and about 2 tablespoons of corn syrup.

Next, we took turns giving the bottle a "shake-shake" to mix the ingredients.

 After that, we poured the bubble mix into the sensory table so we could play! Homemade bubbles are easy to make and last longer than some of the store-bought bubbles.

Zoe came to visit from the Duck Room. She enjoyed the bubbles!

Homemade Garlic Toast

 

Last week, we made Garlic Toast in the Lamb Room using fresh garlic harvested from our garden. The children took turns mixing the ingredients, brushing the garlic spread onto the bread, and sprinkling Italian seasoning and Parmesan cheese onto their own piece of bread. 

Garlic Toast Recipe

1/2 stick of butter or margarine, slightly melted

2-3 cloves of minced garlic

Italian seasoning 

Parmesan cheese (optional)

Your choice of bread (we used hot dog buns)

1. Mix garlic and butter together. Place the bread on a baking sheet (line with parchment paper if desired).

2. Dip a pastry brush into the garlic butter mixture and brush each piece of bread.

3. Sprinkle the bread with Italian seasoning and Parmesan cheese, if desired.

4. Bake at 450 F for 5-10 minutes. Let cool, then enjoy!

Fresh Garlic in the Garden!

 

During Outside Time yesterday evening, we harvested garlic bulbs from the Lamb Room garden. Several of the Lambs and Zebras watched in awe and helped carry them inside.

Ethan helped wash the dirt from the garlic.

Matasha cut off the tops and scrubbed them clean.

Garlic cloves.

We plan to make some tasty treats with the garlic. Yum!

A surprise guest!

We had a surprise visit from Jamie and her new baby, Hunter! We were very happy to see them!

Building Blocks

During Work Time this week, a number of the children in the Lamb Room have been stacking and building with blocks in the classroom. Here are some of the things that they've built. They're pretty cool!

Lambs making Moon Sand

Jenny helped the Lambs make Moon Sand in the sensory table.

 One of our first Large Group activities of the summer was making Moon Sand in the sensory table. Moon Sand is a mixture of flour and baby oil. The children took turns using measuring cups to dump flour and baby oil in the sensory table.

 

Once the ingredients are mixed together, the Moon Sand can be shaped, crumbled, scooped, and played with in many different ways.  Moon Sand can be used as an art material, a sensory material, as well as a way to help children practice filling and dumping with containers.

Check out our garden!

Here are a few pictures of the Bunny Room Garden! Currently, we have radishes, kale, and cantaloupes growing there. The children often visit the garden to water the plants, explore with the dirt, and to help harvest the vegetables.

 

Toddler Bunnies Trying Radish Chips

The Toddler Bunnies used the radishes from our garden to make radish chips. They're healthy and fun to make.

Step 1: Begin with raw, trimmed radishes. 

  

Step 2: Wash the radishes to remove the dirt, then pat dry. (The children loved this part!)

Step 3: Slice the radishes thinly (grownups only) and lay them on a parchment-lined baking sheet. (some recipes suggest steaming them in the microwave first)

Step 4: Season with salt, paprika and garlic powder or any seasoning of your choice and bake at 350 F for 20 minutes on each side.

   

Step 4:Allow the chips to cool, then enjoy!

The radish chips met mixed reviews in the Bunny Room. Some of the toddlers enjoyed the chips and asked for more, while others did not want to try them.

We have radishes!

 On Monday, while playing outside, we were pleased to discover that the radishes we planted in the garden were now ready to harvest! After several weeks of watering the garden and patiently watching the leaves grow, we picked about twenty-five radishes from the ground. Many of the children were excited to finally see and hold the radishes. Now that the radishes are washed and trimmed, we plan to try them for Tuesday's snack and possibly make radish chips later this week.

Toddler Bunnies Enjoying Homemade Play Dough

Isabella used cookie cutters and different textured rolling pins on her play dough.

 The Toddler Bunnies have loved squeezing, rolling, and cutting shapes with the blue play dough we made in the classroom. This play dough recipe is a simple mixture of flour, salt, water and food coloring (optional) that can be made at home. Children develop fine motor skills, basic math concepts (shapes, size, filling and emptying), art, pretend play, and cause-and-effect, through the use of play dough.

Eliza used her play dough to fill and empty a stacking cup.

Purim in the Zebra Room

 

For the last week the Zebras have been preparing for Purim. We have been busy making groggers, masks and the best part…Hamantashen!!! The children loved pouring the ingredients into the bowl and watching as Kristen worked the mixer…as you can see in some of the pictures the mixer spinning the dough caused some great laughter. On Friday we all dressed up in costumes and had a carnival in the gym…complete with a really big blow up bounce house!! Some of the Zebras were scared of it but others loved it. During the carnival the enjoyed playing the different games that were created by the school age kids….their favorite was digging for Hamantashen where they had to find the Hamantashen buried in the ball pit

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