Monday, February 14, 2011

Secret Messages

What a busy Valentines day we had.  At the art table we made secret messages. 

The parents were encouraged to draw or write 
on white paper with a white crayon.

Then their child used watercolours to paint over it.










 At the snack table we decorated sugar cookies to eat and made a special marshmallow treat (marshmallows dipping in water than rolled in sprinkles) for our neighbouring grade 2 class. 

Plus families brought in a piece of fruit to add to our friendship salad.

And there was a lot of red and pink being worn.
We kept track. 

Hope you had a fun Valentines Day at your place.




Sunday, February 13, 2011

Sign of the Week - mom, dad, brother, sister, baby, love

I feel like I'm bombarding you with signs this week but we've been singing a song at StrongStart that I would like to use all these signs with.  So follow along with the video and the words for the song follow.

Come A’Look A’See

Come a’look a’see
Here’s my poppa
Come a’look a’see
Here’s my momma
Come a’look a’see
My brother tall
Sister, baby
I love them all

Saturday, February 12, 2011

Story - Tippy Toppy Pot

My friend, Dominique, taught me this story and I was instantly thrilled with it.  I like stories that have actions in it so the children and families can be part of the story and Tippy Toppy Pot has that.
I have to apologize that the video is on it's side (learned today that you have to hold the Flip camera upright at all times). I've tried but can't figure how to turn the image. (My husband suggests turning your computer on its side to watch:)
Also after telling the story, Dominique who was there, told me that the ending was wrong.  So check the story script below to see the real ending.





Tippy Toppy Pot

A long time ago there lived an old woman who was very poor.  She had no money and very little food to eat. 

Finally the day came that she cooked the last of her food.  She wiped the pot clean and set it on the shelf.  She was so grateful that she thanked the pot for all the delicious food but said she had no more work for it to do.

Well the pot said “I’m not going to sit here doing nothing.  I’m going tip topping.

You may be wondering what tip topping is well the pot jumped down from the shelf, rolled across the floor and opened the door.  Then it went tip toppy, tip toppy, tip toppy (move your body side to side) down the road until it came to a restaurant.  It tip topped to the back door and went in.

It was in the kitchen and when the chef looked down and saw the pot he said ‘ah look at this pot, perfect to cook some food in and look it’s already clean.’

So the chef put it on the stove.  He put chicken and broth into the pot.  The he stirred in some rice and spices. But when he turned away to add another ingredient the pot jumped down from the stove and ran all the way back to the old woman’s house.

When the old woman saw the pot and smelled the delicious aroma, she opened the lid and saw all the tasty looking food.  She dipped in a spoon and took a taste.  Mmmm it was amazing.  So she took another bite and another until the pot was empty.

She wiped the pot clean and set it on the shelf.  She was so grateful that she thanked the pot for all the delicious food but said she had no more work for it to do.

Well the pot said “I’m not going to sit here doing nothing.  I’m going tip topping.

Do you remember what tip topping is?  Well the pot jumped down from the shelf, rolled across the floor and opened the door.  Then it went tip toppy, tip toppy, tip toppy (move your body side to side) down the road until it came to a strawberry patch.  It tip topped thru the rows and rested by a girl picking strawberries.

When the girl saw the pot she said, ‘just what I need to carry my strawberries’ (She had been carrying them in her shirt and it was very full).  So she dumped all the berries into the pot and turned to pick more.

As soon as the girl’s back was turned the pot went running back to the old woman.

When the old woman opened the pot and smelled the fresh picked strawberries she couldn’t help herself, she had to taste one.  She picked one up, gave it a little lick and then a little bite.  It was so juicy and sweet.  She had to eat another and then another until the pot was empty.

She wiped the pot clean and set it on the shelf.  She was so grateful that she thanked the pot for all the delicious food but said she had no more work for it to do.

Well the pot said “I’m not going to sit here doing nothing.  I’m going tip topping.

Can you help me?  The pot jumped down from the shelf, rolled across the floor and opened the door.  Then it went tip toppy, tip toppy, tip toppy (move your body side to side) all the way to the top of a mountain.  There it met a robber. The robber had an old sack over his shoulder and it was full of gold.

When the robber saw the pot he said, ‘perfect for hiding my treasure in’.  He poured all the gold into the pot and then turned to decide where to bury it.

When the robber’s back was turned the pot ran all the way back to the old woman.

The old woman opened the pot and saw the gold.  She took a few gold pieces out and went to town and bought enough food to stock all her cupboards.  She then put the money in a safe place, wiped out the pot and placed it on the shelf.

She was so grateful that she thanked the pot for all that it had done and put it on the shelf.

The pot was happy from that day on because whenever the old woman was hungry she took the pot off the shelf and put it to work cooking.

Friday, February 11, 2011

Making Pretzels

This week we made pretzels.  I love making bread, the feel of the dough and the smell of the yeast reminds me of warmth, love and home.



The recipe is easy and doesn't require a rising time so we could use it right away.
It was so much fun...




patting it,











poking it,




sharing it,




rolling it,


making balls,



making snakes,








and using tools.







The end results were various shapes and sizes.


We brushed beaten egg on the dough before baking so they turned a  lovely brown when baked.
It was delicious!
 And as bonus it was fun to see what happens when you  brush your floured hands together.






Valentine Rolling Pin Painting

We pulled out our art rolling pins, changed the sponges from animals to hearts.  Set out trays of paint and big paper and watched to see what would happen.
The children felt very comfortable using the rollers.  They looked like they were rolling out dough.


One of the pins had cord glued around it.  
 How far will it roll?
It probably would have kept going but he ran out of table.

We also hand painted the stamps to mix the colours.
 Or forget about the roller and mix with the brush.
We discovered one mistake I made when preparing one of the rolling pins.  I thought it would be good to glue cording on in rows and proceeded to glue on 4 pieces.
It wouldn't roll.  No fun and wasn't used.
A few of fi


Thursday, February 10, 2011

Valentine Window Decorations

A craft that is so simple yet beautiful and unique to each person that makes one.
 Provide lots of collage materials, such as; glitter, sparkly confetti, doilies foam hearts, heart shape paper cutter, paper, thread and anything shiny.
Start with a piece of mactac (contact paper).  Place it sticky side up on the table and start placing on your materials.



I didn't get a chance to take many photos of finished projects because they all took theirs home.