Pumpkin Porridge

 This week we made pumpkin porridge for snack.

I found the recipe at Damn Delicious. 

We began by exploring the oats.

Touching them when they were dry.

We measured the oats into the frying pan

a quarter of a cup at a time so everyone had a turn.

Next came the almond milk.

We doubled the recipe so there would be enough for the families

that arrive after we cooked.

We stirred it altogether.

We did this before I turned the frying pan on

so the children could touch it without being burned.

As we waited for the oats to cook we smelled the pumpkin

and to help them connect it to the real form of a pumpkin

we checked out our pumpkin head scarecrow.

Then back at the table we smelled the cinnamon and nutmeg,

and watched the bubbles start in the oatmeal.

Time to add the pumpkin and spices.

Ready to serve but it a little too hot to eat

so we practiced blowing on it to cool it down.

It wasn't very sweet so I sprinkled a little of this Pumpkin flavoured sugar

that I found at Michael's.

Yum.

Pumpkin Patch with GrandFriends

Our annual trip to the Pumpkin Patch was this morning and the weather was 

beautiful.

Shannon began by showing just a few of the 39 variety of pumpkins

they grew this year.

Then out to the field to pick our pumpkins.

We were lucky to find the cycle of a pumpkin all in one spot.

A blossom, a little green pumpkin and an orange pumpkin.

We carved one of the pumpkins and started to dig out the seeds.

We'll finish this back at school.

Our grand friends arrived just in time for snack and story.

It was special to be able to share this field trip with the seniors.

After story a few families went with the grand friends to check out the chickens.

As the children chased the chickens the grand friends tried to keep up.

Thank you to Shannon and her family for a wonderful time on their farm.

Another Excellent Thrift Store Find

This is our newest toy.  I found it at Value Village.

At first I thought it might be magnetic blocks but once

I opened the bag I realized they were connected by a cord

that runs through each.

 I think it probably started as a cube shape

 but the children were intrigued 

by how it moved and that they could change it's shape.

I know a toy is really good when the grown ups are just as interested

as the children.

Horse Project - Visit a Horse

The other day we visited Hilary at the Therapeutic Riding stable to 

see real horses and their home.

Yes they do live in a barn.

So what does the barn look like inside?

Each horse stall has a door.  Each door is split in half.

The top half has a window that is covered with chicken wire

The bottom half has an X design on it.

We got to meet two horses and see what they sleep on

which is saw dust.  We also learned that they also pee on it too.

Which made us laugh.

But Hilary told us that the saw dust soaks up the pee and they can scoop

it out to keep the stall clean.

 And speaking on keeping things cleaned, Hilary showed us some of the brushes

they use to keep the horses cleaned.

One is soft for brushing the body.

And another looks hard but it is flexible and is good

for brushing all the mud off their legs.

We also learned what horses eat.

Hilary let us help prepare two buckets of food for their horses.

First she showed us the grain they eat. 

(It looks like the wood pellets in our small world play)

The children each took a turn adding a scoop to the buckets.

Then we added apples.

I'm glad we have been playing with apples at school so now

we can use them in our horse play too.

Next step is to start building our horse barn.

Project Planning - Next Steps

Another way I learned if there was enough interest to continue with

our horse project was to do a survey.

Every morning the children sign in by placing their picture on a board 

that has a question.

This week's question is "Do you like horses?"

During the first three days this week about 75% showed that they liked horses.

Seeing that there is a high interest I set up our next question:

"Where do horses live?"

The children were asked to draw where they thought horses lived.

Some said farm but most said barn.

We now have some base drawings to build a barn.

But one more step before we do.

We will visit a real horse stable.