Golden Rocks

After St. Patrick’s Day I brought the pot that we found in a tree back to school.  I wanted the children to make a connection with what we did outside to the school.  I also had left over gold rocks so I made an ABC matching game.
            
       I covered a low table with white paper and traced around the 26 rocks. 
                     On each rock I wrote a letter of the alphabet.
                   
           The pot sat in the middle of the table holding all the rocks.
                     
The children picked a rock and tried to find it’s match.  It was difficult at first since there were 26 choices but as they matched more and more rocks it became easier and their confidence grew.
               
Another difficulty was that I didn’t print the letters all in the same direction, so they had to either move around the table or turn the rock in their hand to make them look the same. 
                  
This was difficult for the younger children who do not yet recognize the letters. 
             
If two people did this at the same time it was an opportunity to reinforce turn taking, waiting for your turn and encouraging each other.

A couple of families did recognize the pot from our Outdoor Adventure the other day and they recalled where we found it and what we did with it.

Cooking on a Round Table

I was fortunate to get a round table for our room during the school's move 

to our new location.

The table is used as our snack table.

I like it for visibility.

Everyone who sits around it has a view of everyone else.

I feel it leads to open conversations.

It's also great for when we cook together.

Like today,

we made carrot ginger cookies.

Everyone wants a turn,

and everyone gets a turn.

We work our way around the table.

 Taking turns stirring,

measuring,

 learning how to fill the measuring cup full

then leveling it off.

They pass the bowl then eagerly await their next turn.

Always willing.

 Learning how to use a new utensil

 and watching our cookies appear.

They were delicious.

I found the recipe on Martha Stewart website.

Here's the recipe for the cookie and not the frosting (you can go to the site if you want that)

• For The Cookies

  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
  • 1/2 cup packed light-brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 large egg yolk
  • 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup rolled oats
  • 3/4 cup packed, finely grated, peeled carrots
  • 1/3 cup dried currants

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Make filling: With an electric mixer, beat cream cheese and butter until smooth. Add sugar and lemon juice; beat until combined. Cover; chill until firm, at least 30 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, make cookies: In a large bowl, whisk together butter, sugars, and egg yolk. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, ginger, and salt. Add flour mixture to butter mixture; stir until combined. Mix in oats, carrots, and currants.
3. Drop dough by level tablespoons, 2 inches apart, onto prepared baking sheets. Flatten with the palm of your hand. Bake until edges are crisp, rotating baking sheets halfway through, 15 to 18 minutes. Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool.