Building a Worm Hotel

    
 Today we went on a worm walk.
 
It was dry out today and we really had to search to find live worms. 
One child told us that worms don’t like the sun so we found a shady
spot and started to search.  We dug and dug under the old leaves.
     
We finally found some, shared them, then pulled out our Nature Bags.
   
Our nature bags was full of the things we needed for measuring worms.
     
  
The children used the cubes to measure how long their worm was. 
They counted each cube till they had the length of their worm.
   
They added marks on their paper to match the blocks.

   
Once everyone had a worm we headed to the garden to build
our worm hotel.  We started by scooping soil into a big jar. 
    
A smaller bottle was centered in the big jar to make the space
narrower so we can see the worms tunneling once they move in. 
We also added layers of dead leaves and sand.
 
We moved the worms into their new home.
       
I explained the reason we added a layer of sand was so we
would be able to see where the worms move around their
hotel.  They’ll move the sand and soil as they tunnel.
  

And as the child said earlier, “worms don’t like the sun”,
we’ll keep them covered when we’re not watching.

Roll-a-Ball

Over Spring Break I set up a new play area for the families
to explore.  I call it roll-a-ball and was inspired by a tube
and funnel post from Fun at Home with Kids.
      
I taped a dryer hose, letting it hang at a couple of points,
on a wall.  Set a basket on the floor at the lower end. 
The idea is to drop a ball at one end and watch it come out the
other end. 
       
But the ball doesn’t roll through, it stops in the droops. 
So where is it in the tube? 
How do we get it out?
 
When it didn't come out he looked in both ends and wiggled
the tube but it still didn’t come out.  Or maybe it did so he
looked around the floor.  When he didn’t find the ball he
came back to the tube and tried again.
 
He continued shaking the tube finally figuring out that if he
lifted the tube high enough at a certain point the ball would
come out.
     
            Then he did it all over again.

 
   The roll-a-ball works well as a cooperative effort too.

Flower Snack

    We made flower sandwiches this morning for snack.

The recipe gives the children a chance to ‘read’ and follow the
directions.
  
They had a choice of cookie cutters to use to cut out the
flowers.
 
They had a choice of jams, strawberry or blueberry, to
spread on the bread flowers.
  
They put the two flowers together to eat and enjoy.

                    And they did.

Yellow Flowers

     
Back to school this morning after a two week Spring Break. 
Families were excited to be back and I had set up several new activities. 
So much I could post about but where to start.
                        At the art table. 
The weather has been wonderfully spring like so we are starting to focus
on growing, seeds, and plants.
        
I placed yellow daffodils and marigolds on the art table, along with
green crayons, yellow paint, mini brushes and clothes pins with pom poms.

   
I saw the children take different approaches to making the flowers.
 
Some preferred the paint brush to using the clothespin with pom pom.
 
Some saw and showed more stalk and leaf while others focused on the
blossom.
       
       
      
     

An Easter Tradition

I like to bake!
No I mean I love to bake breads, desserts and candy!
It’s something that started when I was young.  Our big family always had
dessert after dinner and when I got old enough my mom started to let me
bake.  There was no internet then only good old fashion recipe books.  I
remember flipping through any that had bake goods, especially if they had
photos.  I was also a member of the 4H homemakers club and learned a lot
about baking and making bread there. 
                         
A few years ago my mom was downsizing to a smaller place to live.  As she was
cleaning out she would ask my brothers, sisters and I if there was anything we
wanted.  I knew right away that I wanted that Cookies and Candies recipe book
that I poured over as a child.
                       
As I flipped through the recipe book I found many loose papers containing recipes
that my mom had cut out of magazines or traded with friends and some were
even in her own handwriting.
        
But I found this newspaper clipping that made my heart skip a beat.  A recipe
from The Toronto Daily Star, written in 1962 (I was just a baby) for candy
Easter Eggs.
                    
These delicious chocolate dipped, fondant filled eggs were a tradition in our family
that started way back in 1962 when my older brother Tim, was turning 5.  My mom
made them as place cards for his birthday party.
                    
She continued making the eggs throughout our childhood without fail.  Although
there was one Easter when we almost didn’t get them because someone had
snuck little pieces from every egg with a knife and they wouldn’t own up to it
so mom was punishing us all.  In the end we did get them but not sure what
happen to the culprit.
              
When I had my own daughters I asked my mom for the recipe and have continued
the tradition.  Every year I make them, sometimes sending them to family and
friends or sharing with co workers. 
                         
I’m on Spring Break right now and did a quick trip to Alberta to visit some
family and especially my mom.  It was my turn to be the Easter Bunny and
deliver eggs.  Thank you mom for creating a childhood of many wonderful
memories. 

Bunny Noses

                      
Want a fun, quick Easter craft to do?  Make a bunny nose with whiskers. 
I saw this idea at Kailo Chic and modified it slightly.
 
Just a few materials needed; tongue depressor or popsicle stick, pom poms,
qtips (Kailo Chic used white pipe cleaners but I didn’t have enough) and
hot glue gun. 
          
He wanted eyes so we dug out the googly eyes to add.
   
You could use white glue but the children would have to wait
for them to dry.

Family Tree Group Project

    
Nicole set up this Family Tree project so families could share and
learn about each other.
     
She introduced it during circle time, explaining that the project
 would be set up for the next several days and familes could
participate when they had an opportunity.
 
It didn’t take long for the children to start drawing the different
members in their families.
  
They were also encouraged to write the names of each family
member.
           
Now we have this beautiful tree decorating our wall.
Thanks Nicole for another wonderful project.

An interesting conversation arose after this project was started.
We were singing a traditional song about families.
It goes like this...
"Come a' look a' see here's my mama
Come a' look a' see here's my papa
Come a' look a' see my brother tall
Sister, baby,
I love them all."

Because families come in all different shapes and sizes now,
how would you change this song to make it more inclusive?