Preschool with Miss Rachel

Thursday, January 30, 2014

Pancakes!

Day 2 of making pancakes with the kiddos! :) The 2 day class had a blast and devoured the pancakes at snack time! Pictures will be posted soon!

Tuesday, January 28, 2014

1 Hour Delay: Wednesday, January 29th

Thomas Edison is on a one hour delay for tomorrow. Wednesday, January 29th, 2014

A fun, and educational, way of passing the snow day with your child, or children, is to go to the kitchen and bake up a storm! Some of you may look at me like I am crazy, but baking is a great educational tool for young children. Plus, it's fun! When you bake with your child, you get the chance to make memories and share quality time together. Your child can also learn while baking too.

Your child can get extra practice learning:

Shapes
Colors
Numbers
Measuring
Letters
Fine motor skills-Rolling, whisking, pouring, kneading, stirring
Sorting
Sequencing- 1st, 2nd, 3rd
Problem Solving
Comprehension skills
New vocabulary
Reading and Pre-reading skills
Making predictions
Sensory exploration
The 5 Senses
Creativity
Responsibility
Sharing
Kindness
Social/Emotional Skills
Cooperation

Selections on this list came from http://www.kids-cooking-activities.com/kids-learn-while-cooking.html .

Wow!!! I know! That's a lot of learning in a fun way! I bake with the children at school. Last year, we made Pumpkin Spice cookies with icing at Halloween and Gingerbread Cookies at Christmas Time. The kids even got to ice their own cookie with a spoon! :) (Note: My plan for this week, when/if we get back to school, is to make pancakes with the kids this week since we are learning about the letter P.)

So break out the cook books, have your child pull up a chair and start baking! You can bake dad's favorite dessert, make cookies for a special neighbors, friends or family, or pay if forward and have your child help you make cookies for someone to help them learn about random acts of kindness. Yes it can, and will, be messy, but your children will learn to clean up after themselves and so many other skills by doing this fun, simple activity. It's a process, and they will have fun from start to finish!

Here are some great sites and Pinterest boards for ideas and recipes to use with your kids!

Happy Baking! :)

http://www.artfulparent.com/cooking-with-kids-35-fun-ideas-and-recipes.html

http://www.bettycrocker.com/menus-holidays-parties/bakewithkids

http://www.kidspot.com.au/best-recipes/Kids-cooking+5.htm

http://www.pinterest.com/lizwsmith/baking-ideas-for-kids/

http://www.pinterest.com/chelmsford0981/baking-with-kids/

http://www.pinterest.com/sarahjww/cooking-baking-with-kids/

Monday, January 27, 2014

No School: Tuesday, January 28th

Thomas Edison is closed tomorrow. Tuesday, January 28th, 2014

Stay warm!

Miss Rachel

New snow day post! Go camping indoors!

Another snow day is upon us with the possibility of more to come. Running out of ideas to keep the kids entertained? Check out my three previous posts for themed snow day activities.
Here: http://preschoolwithmissrachel.blogspot.com/2014/01/snow-dayfun-day-activities-to-keep-your.html
Here: http://preschoolwithmissrachel.blogspot.com/2014/01/snow-day-day-2-sick-of-winter-throw.html And here: http://preschoolwithmissrachel.blogspot.com/2014/01/snowed-inday-3-movie-premiere.html

Today's theme is camping indoors! Why wait until this summer to go camping? Break out the blankets, pillows, flashlights, books or even the tent for camping fun indoors. You can even make your own tent with blankets and bed sheets. This will keep the kids busy for a while constructing the tent and they need to be creative to make sure the tent stays up and is usable.

Break out the Christmas lights to have stars!

Turn it into a camping slumber party complete with snacks, games, pj's, stuffed animals and a movie! Camp out and sleep in the tent!

Let's lasso the moon.com has some great indoor camping ideas! http://letslassothemoon.com/2012/04/04/lets-go-camping/

1. Make a Library Run. Check out some of these fun camping themed books:

OLIVIA Goes Camping
Curious George Goes Camping
Just Me and My Dad (Little Critter)
Just Camping Out (Little Critter)
S Is for S’mores: A Camping Alphabet
Maisy Goes Camping: A Maisy First Experience Book

2. Have a picnic. In our 5 tips for creating a memorable weekend adventure we recommend pitching a tent in the house. Don’t stop there! If it is raining, grab a blanket and have a picnic right there on the carpet. You can do a classic food picnic or try a “book picnic” with all the aforementioned titles. This usually works well with a few snacks!

3. Build a Fire. What’s a camp out without a fire? Kathy over at Home Sweet Homebody has directions on making these cute mini campfires. Click here for directions. Looking for a full size blaze? Allie from No Time for Flashcards has easy to follow directions!

4. Indoor Smores. I admit, I’ve made smores in the microwave before. Okay, if you are following my Gift of an Ordinary Day project on Instagram you know I secretly made one of these for myself after the girls went to bed just this week. Still something is lacking when you pop it into the microwave and watch that beast of a mallow grow and grow. Kathy over atMerriment Design hit the nail on the head, they need a little brown crispiness. Actually, in my personal opinion a “little burn.”

Oh look at these delicious babies… {drools} Click here for step by step instructions!

5. Sleep Under the Stars. A flashlight is a camper’s best friend. It makes a night walk magical and a dull living room entertaining. Stacy over at Kid*Stuff*World recommends using a colander and a flashlight to create a starry night on your ceiling. How cool is that? Thanks again to Stacy for the recommendation!

We are smitten with our new flashlights from Melissa & Doug. The AA batteries last f-o-r-e-v-e-r in these babies. As a financially conscious mom, I have to say that ROCKS. Well, that and how cute they are. Rose laughs every time her bumblebee’s butt lights up.