Cheese Crackers = Yum

We made our own cheese crackers this week.  

We made them heart shaped instead of the traditional fish shape.

They are delicious.

 I made the dough at home, 

mainly because I didn't feel like bringing my food processor to school.

 The children rolled out dough and cut it.

One recipe makes a lot of little hearts.

Here is the recipe thanks to Clarion Wren blog.

Ingredients:
6 ounces (1 1/2 cups coarsely grated) white cheddar - I used almost 2 cups of mixed white and orange
4 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/8-1/4 teaspoon onion powder

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Place all of the ingredients in the food processor.  Mix until forms a ball - this didn't happen so I finished by mixing by hand.
Refrigerate dough for at least 30 minutes
Place between waxed paper and
Roll the dough out to 1/8 inch thick.
Use any shaped cutter that you wish - we used hearts for Valentines.
Place on greased baking sheet - I used parchment paper.
Bake the crackers on the middle rack for 12 to 15 minutes, or until they are barely browned at the edges.  For the last few minutes I flipped the crackers so they would be nicely browned on both sides.

They smell and taste fantastic. Families were taking the recipe home to try.

 

Shiny Hearts

We made these shiny hearts using sweetened condensed milk

and food colouring.

 We used paint brushes that made great puddles.

 And q tips to make finer details.

The thick milk encouraged each child to slow their painting.

 Watching it drip.

Making dots and trails.

Then there is the one that loves to get totally involved

in her painting.

And leaving her mark.

Pet Store Dramatic Play

For the past month we have been having fun with animals.

It started with a visit to the pet store to buy fish.

 As we were shopping we had a scavenger hunt to find other pets in the store.

We found

 guinea pigs,

 spiders,

 lizards,

and dogs.

Back at school we opened our own Pet Store.

Here are a few highlights.

 Little creatures - snakes, spider, turtle and

a chameleon.

 Our five new fish all have names.

Welcome Fin, Sparkle, Goldie, Lox and Fred.

The shelves were stocked with animals, leashes, grooming materials, carriers, etc.

A dog and a horse that are pregnant and ready to give birth.

A singing bird that is fed bird seed and worms.

The dogs are fed daily.

And taken for walks.

All of our pets are well loved.

The cashier was busy.

Prices were listed daily.

This week we will be visiting a veterinarian.

Gym Time Stretching

A few weeks ago I attended a workshop called Storyoga.

Vanessa has created this program that combines animal yoga postures and story books.

I love that she brings stories to life with movement.

I've been gradually including what I learned into our program.

We do 10 minutes of 'yoga' stretching at the end of our daily gym period.

At the sound of a chime the children curl up into a 'seed'.

Also called the mouse pose.

I use a rain stick for the sound

and the grown ups trickle their fingers down their child's back

as the rain falls.

When the rain sound stops we grow into a tree 

and stretch our branches out wide.

The wind may blow and our branches sway back and forth

and sometimes all the way to the ground.

Vanessa has adapted the Sun Salutation routine for children.

She calls it Namaste Mountain.

We call it I Am A Mountain.

Here is a video of one of our stretching sessions.

http://vimeo.com/36237590

Thanks Vanessa.

Now that we've been doing this for a couple of weeks,

I've started adding a pose

from this book I was given.

The Yoga Game by Kathy Beliveau

It gives a riddle on one page and the answer on the next.

 

We've been adding a riddle/pose every couple of days.

Unfortunately I'm not as flexible as the children are and on Friday as we were

doing the butterfly pose, a little girl told that she does this at ballet and my knees are suppose to touch 

the floor.

Ouch, I guess I need to do more stretching.

Mr Wiggle and Mr Waggle

I hosted our monthly Storytellers group this past week and one member shared a story that was almost identical to a story I learned in college over 30 years ago.
She called it Mr Green and Mr Brown.
Mine is called Mr Wiggle and Mr Waggle.
It's a wonderful story that could be adapted for many locations and topics.
The wonderful thing about this story is all you need are your hands.
As you watch the video you will see glimpses of the families around me
using their Mr Wiggle and Mr Waggle to help tell the story.
Click below to watch
Mr Wiggle and Mr Waggle storytelling
Have fun introducing your own Mr Wiggle and Mr Waggle to your families.

Ladybug Snack

Snack included 'build your own ladybug".

First spread cream cheese on your cracker.

Next, and most children didn't want to, add a tomato for the body.

 

See what I mean.  Tomato went on then right back off.

I wonder if it was a strawberry would have eaten it

Check the recipe to see what comes next.

A raisin head.

At the last minute I offered chow mein noodles for legs or antennae.