'Tis the season...

... for eating lots of good food!

I've received a few emails from you all telling how your child came home and was so excited that they made butter at school on Friday. If you want to try it at home:

Find a container with a tight lid - I use old baby food jars. Fill jar about half way with heavy whipping cream. Secure lid and start shaking away. If your child has siblings (or friends over) this is a great teamwork opportunity because it takes about 10 minutes for the butter ball to start to form. Spread it on whatever you'd like (we used saltines) and eat away! Later in the afternoon, we melted what butter we had left and poured it over popcorn.

I also thought I'd share with you a turkey creation that I made for my own family Thanksgiving meal. It is all 100% edible, kid-friendly and super easy.

Turkey body: Honeydew Melon
Turkey head: pear
Feet & Waddle (aka, gobbler) & short feathers: red pepper
Feathers: grapes & cheese
Beak: cheese

By the end of the day, the turkey lost most of his feathers and the melon was devoured the next day!

Did any of you get to enjoy a turkey-themed creation?

Montessori Madness!

Below is a link to a video created by Trevor Eissler, a parent of a child who attends a private Montessori school. He has written a great and easy read called Montessori Madness! for parents and those who are interested in the Montessori method. There are several copies in our Lending Library and I have a copy, too, if any one is interested in reading it. Unlike the books written by Montessori, this book is easy to navigate and explains the method in it's entirety (or as much as most really care to know!) in reader-friendly terms.

Share the link with your interested friends and family. Spread the word!

Montessori Madness!

(this was the clip shown at the K to 1 Transition Night for those of you in attendance)

Funny Little Things

Many people outside of education always say, "I bet you hear hilarious things all day!" when they find out I teach preschool and kindergarten and the answer is always "yes and no".
No, because I can't laugh at most things that I find ridiculous and funny. When I laugh, 23 other people laugh which often makes a child feel uncomfortable and feelings get hurt. Also, when I laugh at something that is hilarious but not technically appropriate for our classroom, that 'hilarious' thing I laughed at 3 weeks ago keeps coming back to "bite me" (ex: since I laughed once at the way one child walked like a bear and then roared to go and get their coat, the same child continues to walk like a bear and roar each time we prepare to leave) so I have to laugh inside my head in order to keep peace and sanity.
Yes because mental 'filters' come later in life and the kids truly say and do things that come right out of their own thoughts. I wanted to share a few with you that I keep going around in my mind.

"Miss Knapp, why do you keep messing up our names? You don't know who we are?"
    To my defense, there are 6 children who start with "J" and 7 children whose names end in a schwa - the "UH" sound so things can get tricky....

Early this week I noticed a young 4 year old cleaning up the snack area using the push sweeper we have in our room. A few minutes later I looked over and he stopped sweeping but started picking up the cheerios with his hands. He lifted up his sweater, looked at his belly, rubbed it and then put the cheerio in his mouth faster than I could get there and then looked at his belly again. I'm not sure if he thought he could see the food or was having an inner-conversation with his hunger but I reminded him that there was a whole bowl of fresh cereal and eating off the floor isn't sanitary.

One girl likes to critique what I'm wearing on a given day and compare me to a 'character' of some sort. Lately I've been told I was a lion, a scarecrow and a train person (conductor) and that I'm 'softy'. Terms of endearment!

We All Need Trees!

Last week's Enrichment Day focused on the many things trees give to humans and to other life on the planet: oxygen, fruit, nuts, syrup, houses and paper!

This Friday afternoon, Miss Paulina (Marat's mom) came in to show the kindergarteners and I how to make recycled paper. Thanks to our beautiful work room, we had plenty of space and clean up was easy. This was my first attempt and I was pleasantly surprised and most of all, the kids loved it!

1) Making the 'slush'.

2) Adding the recycled pulp to the vat.

3) Dipping the frame into the vat and starting to form a sheet of 'new' paper.

4) Preparing to move the wet pulp from the frame to a screen to sponge out the excess water. Lots of excited and happy faces!

5) Sponging out the excess water.


Many thanks to Paulina who created the screened frames, brought most of the supplies and who was brave enough to take on my messy idea! Also, thank you to Kathe Streeter, a fellow teacher, without her, these pictures wouldn't be available.

On a side note, see the washer and dryer in the corner? It serves as cheap and effort-less entertainment for children! As their attention started to wane, they naturally moved over to watch the rugs go through each cycle. Trips to the laundromat, anyone?!

On the farm

Slightly overdue - here are some pictures from our trip to the farm.

We arrived around 9:30 and the kids couldn't wait. This had been the first bus ride for many of the children and they were excited to see what was in store for them at The Patch!

First thing we did was jump aboard the hayride!

We stopped at a few different crop fields - one of them was where all of the corn stalks were.

After our many stops we made it back up to the front to interact with the animals on the farm, go into the orchards and vegetable beds and pick food to feed to the animals.

After the animals and orchard we went to the pumpkin patch where each child picked a pumpkin to take home. We brought a few back for the classroom too. After our long day at the patch, we finally sat down to have a picnic.

A lunch well deserved!