Blog Archives

Fruit Salsa with Cinnamon Tortilla Chips

9/25/2013

This recipe was loved by the kids and we got to use lots of different cooking utensils. If you want a sweeter chip use brown sugar instead of the coconut sugar.

Ingredients:

1 package 8" tortillas
1 lb strawberries, diced
2 kiwis, diced
2 golden delicious apples, diced
4 limes juiced
2 Tbs coconut sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
4 leaves fresh lemon balm

Step 1

Slice strawberries and kiwis with an egg slicer. Then have an adult dice the fruit (including the 2 apples).

Step 2

We used a variety of citrus juicers on the limes. The kids loved squeezing, juicing, and smelling the tangy zest!

Step 3

Pick a few fresh leaves of lemon balm from the garden. Crush and rip the leaves with your hands to release the essential oils.

Step 4

Combine chopped fruit, lime juice and lemon balm in a bowl and stir gently. Refrigerate until serving.

Step 5

Brush each tortilla with water.

Step 6

Cut each tortilla into quarters. We love this kid friendly pizza slicer from Joie... you could also try scissors.

Step 7

Combine coconut sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle onto each side of the tortillas.
Place each tortilla onto a cookie sheet and bake for 10 minutes at 350 degrees.

Enjoy with your friends!

We have a new friend, Ren, who comes by in the mornings to help out. Ren is 9 and the kids adore her! Here she is in the book tent and here is a fairy house she helped the kids to build.

The kids discovered a Giant Leopard Moth! We checked her out in our magnifying jar and then set her free.

They were mesmerized!

We filled our sensory bin with split peas. We used lots of descriptive words to describe the experience like 'smooth' and 'silky'. The kids thought they sounded like rain when they sprinkled them so they made a 'split pea storm'!

We added spaghetti and pipe cleaners to our play dough time... the kids made a 'flat dinosaur', a 'hungry snail', and an 'alien chickling'.

On Tuesday we played with chemical reactions and made 'explosion potions' with baking powder, vinegar, and food coloring. The kids were true scientists and experimented all morning!

Somebody loves hearts!

Our dear friend Cameron came by to play some songs and watercolor with the kids. Check out his watercolor exhibit opening this weekend at
THE MUSEUM OF HUMAN ACHIEVEMENT! Love it!!!

We made collages with rectangles, pom poms and feathers... oh my!

On Thursday, we celebrated magical fairy tale princesses! We made princess pink homemade play dough with glitter sparkles, created magic wands with colorful ribbons, and went on a princess parade to the end of the block and back!

Thanks for a wonderful week!

3 Comments

Cool Banana Cookies

9/20/2013

4 Comments

These easy, no-bake cookies are so much fun to make and made with fresh bananas, a touch of graham cracker crumbs, shredded coconut, and toasted sesame seeds.

We've also made these gluten free with substituting a little coconut sugar for the graham crackers and they were scrumptious!

Step 1

Toast 1/3 cup sesame seeds in a cast iron skillet on low heat until they change color and begin to pop.

Then grind in a suribachi or pestle and mortar.

The grinding releases a wonderful aroma in the in the seeds!

Step 2

Place 2 graham crackers and a sprinkle of shredded coconut and ground sesame seeds in a ziploc bag.

Then get a hammer or rolling pin to crush the ingredients together.

This is a great activity if your little one has been feeling frustrated... a hammering project with a purpose!

Step 3

Slice bananas with a crinkle knife or butter knife. We had the older kids cut the banana in halves until we had 8 pieces to work on counting and fractions.

Step 4

Practice those tonging skills and place a banana piece in the ziploc bag.

It's great to have a friend help open the bag! Cooperative cooking!!

Step 5

Shake your banana really fast!

Step 6

Enjoy with your co-chefs!

'Young children benefit from experiences that support the development of fine motor skills in the hands and fingers. Children should have strength and dexterity in their hands and fingers before being asked to manipulate a pencil on paper. Working on dexterity and strength first can eliminate the development of an inappropriate pencil grasp, which is becoming more commonplace as young children are engaged in writing experiences before their hands are ready. Using eye droppers to "pick up" colored water for color mixing or to make artistic designs on paper will help to build the strength and dexterity necessary to hold a pencil appropriately.' www.education.com

'Yellow and blue make... green!'

Bouncy fun!

Free play!

"I got a banana!"

On Wednesday we made cornstarch slime, or as Dr Suess refers to it as 'Ooblek'. Our cornstarch goo is what scientists call a 'Non-Newtonian' liquid. Basically, Sir Issac Newton stated individual liquids flow at consistent, predictable rates. However, cornstarch goo does NOT follow those rules – it can act almost like a solid, and then flow like a liquid. The kids had a blast exploring all the different states of the slime as they mixed and played.

Tree pose

On Monday we started with cutting practice and then made collages:

The gravity ramps turned into a balance beam!

We played a matching and sorting game using shades of color to develop skills in visual perception and color discrimination. This color game also provides an excellent opportunity to introduce vocabulary so that the kids can learn the names for each of the colors and the associated descriptive terms... like coral, persimmon, and lilac. This game is made with free paint sample cards from Home Depot!

We made fresh pesto from the garden for lunch:

And then we discovered a birthday party in the sand box!

On Wednesday, we painted a mural together with sponge shapes and brushes. Group murals are a wonderful opportunity to learn how to share space and inspire one anothers creativity.

"Yoga makes me happy!" Sweet words right after yoga class.

Our gardening project turned into a full on water fight!

And the kids did an amazing job cooperating on this floor puzzle together.

See you next week!

4 Comments

Veggie Cornbread Muffins

9/13/2013

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On Monday we made some delicious cornbread muffins with fresh shucked corn and grated zucchini added for extra nutrition. We served them with a mild pinto bean chili and a kale-sweet potato saute.

Ingredients:

1 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cups yellow cornmeal
2 tablespoons coconut sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
2 large eggs
4 tablespoons melted butter
1 cup grated zucchini
1/2 cup fresh shucked corn

Step 1

Grease muffin pan with melted butter

Step 2

Grate zucchini and shuck one ear of corn (the kids loved peeling off the corn stalks!)

Step 3

Combine dry ingredients then add eggs.

Step 4

Add corn

Step 5

Add grated zucchini (you could also substitute grated carrots, diced bell peppers, diced collards...)

Step 6

Add buttermilk

Step 7

Add melted butter

Step 8

Mix until well blended

Step 9

Spoon mix into prepared muffin pan and bake for 8 to 10 minutes at 400 degrees

Step 10

Enjoy with your friends!

After lunch the kids help scrape the leftovers, wash the dishes, and feed the compost pile. Then we checked out another baby rhino beetle!

We decided to celebrate corn all day and made some fun prints with corn on the cob and play with a tray of corn meal.

Yoga time!

The kids had fun building these ramps and exploring gravity and speed. There's a great moment here when one friend sweetly shares this much beloved lego truck! Later I discovered the ramps had been turned into a dining table!!

Oh Yeah!

On Tuesday our group made modelling GOOP! Mix 2 cups of salt, 1 cup of cornstarch, 1 cup of water, and a few drops of food coloring, then heat on the stove for a few minutes. The kids made pretend 'ice cream cones', 'turtles', but their favorite invention was a 'glove'! We also added lavender oil so our goop would smell nice. It amazes me how much the kids love to help clean up!

And on Thursday we played with shaving cream and tempera paint! I love how gentle the kids started out in their play and then got fully immersed into their experience. Some of the benefits of working with shaving cream:

Children can build fine motor skills by drawing and writing in shaving cream.
It provides a tactile experience for children, introducing them to different textures.
It’s so much fun to play with! Easy to clean up too, as it's basically just foamy soap.

Sweet friends at circle time

Free play!

Mastering the rolling pin!

4 Comments

Guacamole Olé!

9/6/2013

4 Comments

We adapted this recipe from Mollie Katzen's super fun cookbook 'Honest Pretzels'.

Ingredients:
4 ripe avocados
4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon salt

Step 1

Grind cumin seeds in a mortar and pestle or hand churn grinder.

Fresh ground cumin seeds smell and taste amazing!

Step 2

Squeeze fresh lemons with a citrus juicer.

Step 3

Slice avocados and scoop out the fruit and pit with a spoon.

Step 4

Add lemon juice and cumin.

(It's really fun to put on some latin tunes and speak in spanish while you're making guacamole!)

Step 5

Mix ingredients with a masher and sprinkle salt to taste. Enjoy with your friends!

We got a lot of our child friendly cooking tools from www.forsmallhands.com
Cool stuff!

Making Purple

Helping hands

Ring the bell for circle time!

Planting Zinnias

I can't say enough how super cool I think these foam magnets are! The kids love to create all kinds of shapes, mandalas, and rocket ships.

On Wednesday, the kids painted cardboard boxes for building forts. They loved picking their own colors. It was amazing how each kiddo had a different painting style.