Junior Chefs Get A Visitor

One of the best parts of being in the wonderful world of kindergarten is having our program open to family volunteers. 

They bring their talents.

They bring their energy.

They bring a sense of home.
 This day, Harlow's mom came in to bake with our junior chefs two of Harlow's favourites...

Snickerdoodles and Zucchini Bread!

 

Dry ingredients like flour, sugar and baking powder get measured and mixed.

 

For Snickerdoodles, just the right amount of cinnamon needs to be added.

It smells soooooo good!

 

Everybody gets a turn at adding something. 

Butter makes the cookies creamy.

 

Wet ingredients are mixed in a separate bowl.
Eggs are added to melted butter.

 
After a little stirring, the wet ingredients and dry ingredients are mixed together.

 

Sometimes, the ingredients are mixed with a spoon,
sometimes they are mixed with a simple machine like a hand mixer or egg beater.
This time, they were mixed with a machine that has a motor.
An electric mixer did the job!

Mrs. Webb helps all the children as she shows the right amount and the right technique for making 

a perfect Snickerdoodle cookie!

Roll the batter into a ball.

It's fun to feel the stickiness of the dough on your fingers.

Put the rolled batter onto a baking sheet. 

How does the dough start off in the shape of a ball

and end up in the shape of a cookie?

Some of the children recall the shape of a cookie and press each of the balls of batter just a little.

The trays are put into the hot oven and the timer is set...then...

Ding!

Warm Snickerdoodle cookies...just like mommy makes!

 

But that wasn't all!

While those Snickerdoodle's were cooking, 

Mrs. Webb had another surprise.

 

 Again, the dry ingredients and wet ingredients were measured and mixed together.

 

This time, the special ingredient was a vegetable. 

A great big zucchini was cut and prepared.

What could we do with the seeds and the scooped out insides?

 

Another machine was used to help prepare the zucchini for Zucchini Bread.

It needed to be shredded.

The perfect machine for shredding vegetables like zucchini is a food processor.  

The shredded zucchini is added to the batter and....

the batter is divided into two loaf pans which have been buttered to prevent sticking.

The Snickerdoodle's were cooling and the oven was ready for the Zucchini Bread to bake.

A most fantastic smell filled the air!

The most fantastic treats awaited us all at lunchtime!

But mostly...the greatest feeling was shared in the wonderful world of kindergarten.

Our kindergarten home is home to family and friends alike.

Our Love of a Good Book

~ The love of learning, the sequestered nooks, And all the sweet serenity of books. ~ 

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Why sharing is so important in the life of a child

From the very beginning of the year, the children excitedly look forward to sharing their work with each other and with the group.  We are all too happy to let them!  Sharing time in the wonderful world of kindergarten is such an important part of learning.

The children take turns getting the board ready. They sound out the word 'Sharing' and print it at the top. They print the numbers and draw the lines. The children sign their names when they first begin to sign up to share.  Many of the older children begin to print the words describing what they've made. At first many children use invented spelling. Just perfect for kindergarten!  This way, they make the strongest connection to letter sounds.  

The children come to us all through the day, wanting to show us what they've created and what they want to share.  We offer help with their sounds as they sign up. They talk to us about what they will be sharing.  We talk about the ideas behind their work.  Why?  How?  What?  I wonder...  Literacy and language is everywhere in the wonderful world of sharing!

The children make stronger connections to their work when we talk about it. They sometimes revisit their work, make changes, add details.  Their thinking becomes more focused. They recognize their accomplishments and take initiative to bring their ideas from thinking to reality.  

There are stories behind the children's ideas. They take ownership in their decisions as they tell us the reason's for their choices.  

By the time the children are in SK, and even for some of our JK's, a name or a word just won't do!  The children write a sentence to tell us what they are sharing.  We cut the sentence strips from the Sharing page and add them to the children's binders.  We collect so much of what they do!  

Some of the children's wonderful work is displayed in a frame or on a gallery table.  What inspiration!

All of the children who share their work have very definite ideas.  They have planned, they have decided, they have chosen, they have explained, and reasoned and shown us who they are.

When the children come home invite them to share their day with you.  The best answers always come from questions that begin with 'How' or 'Why' or comments that begin with 'I wonder'!  

Picking Up The Pieces (Lego Pieces That Is)!

Thomas Edison said, "To invent, you need a good imagination and a pile of junk."  He didn't know about Lego!  

A happy pile of Lego waiting to be made whole!

The children dig deep into the sensory bin filled with the Lego that Mrs. Pizzuto's son used when he was young.  They feel the familiar plastic pieces that their parents and grandparents built with.  Some are in search of the tiny piece with only one dot, while others need the long piece for the blade of their helicopter.  Rocket ships, flying boats, cities, cars, planes, cranes...  Oh how the day flies while the children build and tell us of their latest invention or creative structure!

The wonderful world of Lego invites our children to do more than play.  Learning is literally at their fingertips!

Joshua writes about his 'police ship'.  Dmitri signs a letter to Jørgen Vig Knudstorp, the CEO of Lego.  Jack is sure that he is the best Lego builder ever.

"That's why he is the boss!"

Ireland and Addison make pictures to send with the letter while a group of boys put the finishing touches on their city.

The children talk about, plan, build, pattern and even measure with Lego!

Playing with Lego means critical thinking, fine motor, sharing, problem solving, balance, math, trial and error... 

 ... 3-dimensional planning and building, organizing, sorting, 

cause and effect...

... story telling, teamwork, creativity, spatial reasoning ...

... Oh the learning that comes from playing with Lego.  

Thomas Edison would have to agree that a 'pile of Lego' is a wonderful way to invite the children to not only learn well, but also to 'leg godt' .  Play Well children... play well and learn!