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Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Supplies Needed For Week 5 : October 4- October 10: Autumn!

Week 5's Theme is all about Autumn!





Check out Target, Dollar Tree, Hobby Lobby Craft Stores for great Autumn supplies.


Crafts:
  • Construction paper, scissors, glue
  • Photo frame, twigs, glue
  • Construction paper, brown crayon, green crayon
  • Small Marshmallows, toothpicks, plastic foam ball, green food coloring
  • Leaves, twigs, acorns, pinecones, pine needles, bark, tacky glue, googly eyes, marker
  • Wide masking or colored electrical tape, plastic wrap, hole puncher, string, bits of nature
  • Cardboard, fabric pieces, yarn, glue stick, popsicle sticks, fine-tipped pen
  • Colored Markers, plain lunch-size paper bag, white crayon or chalk, stapler, raffia or yarn
  • Pinecones, tacky glue, googly eyes, brown and yellow felt
  • 1 1/2" white pom-pom, 3 1/2" pink pom-pom, 3/8" black pom-pom, 12" pipe cleaner, pink felt, scissors, glue, cardboard, pinecone, 2" or taller
  • Construction paper (white, black, orange, brown, tan, glue
  • Brown paper bag, construction paper, yarn, pinecones
  • Small wooden spools (17), yarn, tiny straw hat, wiggle eyes, red permanent marker
  • Construction paper, finger paint
  • Indian corn, construction paper or cardboard, glue
  • Craft sticks, wood circle, construction paper, wiggle eyes, red permanent marker
  • Silk Leaves, Craft foam (red, yellow, or orange), marker, gogglie eyes
  • Craft foam(brown, red, yellow, and orange), construction paper or paper plate, glue, yarn and acorns
  • Pom-Pom Animals(Owls, Squirrel, Bunny, Skunk) (found out Wal-mart)(found mine in clearance section)
  • Some of these crafts in found in the following books:




  • Crafts To Make In The Fall
    by Kathy Ross

    Everything for Fall: A Complete Activity Book for Teachers of Young Children : Activities for September, October, and November
    by Kathy Charner


Activities:
  • A great website for printable games and worksheets click here
  • Apple Picking
  • Pumpkin Picking(Painting or carving the pumpkins will be on next weeks activity list. (Remember when you do carve them next week to save the seeds.)
Books:




Fall Books for Kids - Autumn: An Alphabet Acrostic - Children's Autumn books
Autumn : An Alphabet Acrostic
by Steven Schnur
Fall Books for Kids - Autumn Leaves - Children's Autumn books
Autumn Leaves
by Ken Robbins
Fall Books for Kids - Corn Is Maize  - Children's Autumn books
Corn Is Maize 
by Aliki
Fall Books for Kids - Fall (The Four Seasons) - Children's Autumn books
Fall (The Four Seasons)
by Maria Rius
Fall Books for Kids - How Do Apples Grow? - Children's Autumn books
How Do Apples Grow?
by Betsy Maestro
Fall Books for Kids - Autumn: An Alphabet Acrostic - Children's Autumn books
It's Fall (Celebrate the Seasons)
by Linda Glaser
Fall Books for Kids - Autumn: An Alphabet Acrostic - Children's Autumn books
Johnny Appleseed
by Reeve Lindbergh
Fall Books for Kids - Picking Apples And Pumpkins  - Children's Autumn books
Picking Apples And Pumpkins 
by Amy Hutchings
Fall Books for Kids - Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf - Children's Autumn books
Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf
by Lois Ehlert
Fall Books for Kids - Autumn Equinox, The - Children's Autumn books
The Autumn Equinox
by Ellen Jackson
Fall Books for Kids - The Little Scarecrow Boy - Children's Autumn books
The Little Scarecrow Boy
by Margaret Wise Brown
Fall Books for Kids - The Lonely Scarecrow - Children's Autumn books
The Lonely Scarecrow
by Tim Preston
Fall Books for Kids - The Pumpkin Patch - Children's Autumn books
The Pumpkin Patch
by Elizabeth King
Fall Books for Kids - The Stranger - Children's Autumn books
The Stranger
by Chris Van Allsburg
Fall Books for Kids - Too Many Pumpkins - Children's Autumn books
Too Many Pumpkins
by Linda White
Fall Books for Kids - Why Do Leaves Change Color? - Children's Autumn books
Why Do Leaves Change Color?
by Betsy Maestro






Food/Snack Ideas:  

  • Spaghetti Squash, Spaghetti Sauce
  • Autumn Party Mix: Candy Corn, Peanuts, Chocolate Chips (Tastes like a chocolate Payday)
  • Edible Necklace: Shoestring licorice, apple jacks
  • Colorful Goldfish Crackers, just like the beautiful fall colors
  • Leaf Cookie Cutter, bread, cheese slices
  • Leaf Piles: Corn Flakes, Butterscotch chips, Peanut Butter, Waxed Paper
  • Ants on a Log: Celery, Cream Cheese or Peanut Butter and Raisins
  • Nuts
  • Chili and Cornbread 
  • Corn on the Cob
  • Corn Chips and Salsa

Wacky Wednesday Supplies: Apples, Apples, and More Apples
  • Apples, Construction paper, glue
  • All types and colors of apples
  • Red and green foam
  • Small, round balloons, petroleum jelly, red tissue paper, liquid starch
  • Apples, paint, plain shirt or plain fabric bag
  • Card stock, apple, paint, markers
  • Apples, cinnamon, sugar, graham crackers (make applesauce)
  • Apples, carmel apple kit, walnuts (make your own: 6 apples, 1 pound of caramel candies, 2 tablespoons of water, 6 ice-cream sticks) 
  • Egg Carton, paint, pipe cleaner, marker
  • Apples, construction paper, crayons or markers
  • Apple Gummies
  • Apple Juice
  • Jar or frozen juice can lid, felt or craft foam, pipe cleaner, wiggle eyes, magnet, craft glue, scissors


Great place for printables, crafts and activities click here
Apple Action Rhyme Ten Red Apples 

Ten red apples grow on a tree
Five for you and five for me
Help me shake the tree just so
And ten red apples down below
1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 - 9 - 10




Way up high in the apple tree. (Point up.)
Two little apples smiled at me. (Make a shape of a apple with your hand.)
I shook that tree as hard as I could. (Pretend to shake a tree.)
Down fell the apples— (Raise hands and let them fall.)
MMMMMM, were they good! (Circle tummy.)
www.kidssoup.com
Thirsty For Knowledge Thursday:
  • Index cards
  • 2 duplicate pictures of items 7 and 8
  • 3  8x10 Cardboard Pieces
  • 2 duplicate pictures of items of 7 and 8 
  • Foam Book
  • Yarn, Plastic Needle, Marker
  • Graham Crackers
  • Printable Shape Bingo Game click here
  • Food Shapes: Ritz Crackers, Club Crackers, Doritos, etc. 
  • Cereal Sorting Game:
  1. Squares: Chex, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, or Captain Crunch
  2. Circles: Cheerios, Fruit Loops, or Apple Jacks
  3. Rectangles: Frosted Mini Wheat
For Great Printable Shape Worksheets click here


Bake,Make, Cook Day Saturday Supplies:


Carmel Apple Bites

  • 1/3 cup Apples 
  • 1/3 cup evaporated milk
  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • 1/3 chopped walnuts
  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
  • 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1 Egg
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 package (14 ounces) carmels
  • 2/3 evaporated milk
  • Green toothpicks
  • 1 cup chopped walnuts




Marshmallow Treat Apple Pops
  • 6 cups Rice Krispies Cereal
  • 4 cups of miniature marshmallows
  • 3 Tablespoons Butter
  • 9 ounces white chocolate candy coating 
  • Red food coloring or just buy red candy coating instead
  • 24 popsicle sticks
  • Wax Paper
Recipes from: Taste Of Home Bake Sale Magazine 
Can also go on www.tasteofhome.com/bakesale


To claim your free issue of Taste of Home Magazine visit www.TasteofHome.com/FreeIssue or call toll-free 1-800-344-6913 Mention code LJGZ2T







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    Thirsty For Knowledge Thursday! Week 3 : October 1 : Number 5 & 6


    Thursdays will add an additional educational learning to the end of each week. 



    Supplies Needed For Today's Projects: Index Cards, 2 duplicate pictures of items 5 and 6, 7  8x10 Cardboard Pieces or Empty Cereal Boxes, 2 duplicate pictures of items of 5 and 6 Foam Book, Blank Pieces Of Paper, Scissors, Markers, baseball card sleeves, pictures, 3 ring binder, yarn, black marker, and plastic canvas needle.



    Number Books:

    1. This week add the numbers 5 and 6 to your number books.
    2. Remember to write 5 on the first page, 6 on the second page, five on the third page, and six on the fourth page and repeat with the rest of the pages.
    Picture Books:
    1. On the fifth page put the following on top in the middle of the page. 5 (make sure its big enough)
    2. Then a little bit below the number 5 put the spelling of the number 5(Five).
    3. Then directly below the word one put a picture of any Five items like a toy, flower, or animal (make sure it is five items).
    4. What is really neat to use for all this is foam letters, letters and pictures.
    5. On the sixth page do what you did with the fifth page except use the number 6, the word six and a picture of 6 items like 6 toys, 6 flowers, or 6 animals.


    Index Cards:
    • Place the number 5 on a card, word five on a card, a picture of five items
    • Also write the number 6 on card, word six on a card, and a picture of six items.
    • Add these cards with the your other index word cards.
    • Remember to add the numbers and words to your key chain card holder
    • Remember to keep on teaching  your kid's math.  Here's an example: Write on a card 3+2 = ? on the other side have a picture of five items. And the number five written out.  Try not to go above = 6. Keep it real simple.
    Identifying Objects:
    1. Find pictures of different objects, and place them in groups, only up to six objects.
    2. Below each picture write 3 numbers, one being how many objects are in that group.
    3. Then have your child circle the right number of objects in each picture.
    4. For example, You could have a picture of 5 bugs, 5 toys, 5 leaves, or 5 acorns.  And below the pictures are the number 3    4   5.
    Picture Card Pages


    This is to help your child to identify different objects.


    Supplies Needed: Plastic baseball card holders(has 9 squares on each sheet). Can be found in the baseball card section at Wal-mart.  Several pictures of different objects, a 3 ring binder, tape(that you can write on)
    1. First cut several pictures out of magazines, newspapers, grocery store ads,old books.  Cut them so they fit into the card slots.  
    2. Next put the pictures into the slots.  Try to put all fruits on one page, vegetables on another, animals in another and so on.
    3. You may place a piece of tape that you can write on, to write the name of the object under it.
    4. Place the plastic sleeves into the 3 ring folder.
    Number Sewing:
    1. On a 8 x 10 piece of cardboard or very study paper, write the number 1.  Taking up about 3/4 of the cardboard.
    2. Then take a hole puncher and make hole in the number one about a half inch apart.
    3. Next, let your child thread a piece a yarn through each hole.  They can use a plastic canvas needle if they want.
    4. You may do this for numbers 2-6 too.
    5. Keep the cardboard pieces for your child to sew later.


    Great Games:


    • My First Uno 
    • The Very Hungry  Card Game
    • A Little Golden Book 1 2 3 Counting Card Game
    • Dominos
    • Yahtzee
    Workbooks:
    • For some great workbooks check out the dollar tree or the dollar section at Target.
    Poems:


    One Potato, Two Potato


    One potato, two potato
    Three potato, four potato
    Five potato, six potato
    Seven potato more.


    Five Fat Peas
    A counting fingerplay especially
    useful in the spring and summer.
    Five fat peas in a pea pod pressed
    (children hold hand in a fist)
    One grew, two grew, so did all the rest.
    (put thumb and fingers up one by one)
    They grew and grew
     (raise hand in the air very slowly)
    And did not stop,
    Until one day
    The pod went POP!
    (children clap hands together)

    This poem and several others click here


    For some great teaching number poems click here:


    Songs:


    For Some Number songs click here
    More number songs click here




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    Monday, September 28, 2009

    Wacky Wednesday: The Great Outdoors: Park and Picnic!






    Wacky Wednesdays are a little break in the week, geared away from the weekly theme.  It lets the children have a little added fun. Your kids will love it when you say "Hey, guess what tomorrow is?  It's Wacky Wednesday!" Remember to have fun yourself. 


    For Picnic:

    • Fruits: Apples, Bananas, Pears, Strawberries, Oranges, Grapes, Watermelon
    • Vegetables: Celery sticks, Carrots
    • String Cheese
    • Sandwiches
    • Juice Boxes
    • Gummies
    • Cookies
    • Chips
    • Wipes
    • Paper Plates
    • Napkins
    Activities:

    • Play at the park
    • Bubbles
    • Hide and Seek
    • Tag
    • Imagination
    • Fly a Kite
    • Frisbee
    • Ball(baseball, football, soccer)
    • Bag for Nature collecting
    • Play Boardgames like: Chutes and Ladders, Monopoly, Candy Land, Card Games, Yahtzee
    • Leapfrog
    • Water Gun Fight
    • Duck, Duck, Goose
    • Hide something in park, make a map and let the kids find it.
    • I spy game
    If it rains go ahead with the Picnic just have it inside.


    Hang a sun and clouds, made from construction paper, and hang them from the ceiling.  Wear Shorts and Sunglasses and pretend its a nice sunny day.  Put on some nice uplifting music or children's music.


    Indoor Games:
    • Charades
    • Scavenger Hunt
    • Make Paper Plate Masks
    • Make an Elbow Macaroni Necklace or Bracelet
    • Puzzles
    • Play-Doh or Clay

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    Tree Week


    Here are a few quick links for Trees Week:





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    Educational Learning For Toddlers: Week Four






    New Words For Week Four Are : Dad, Tree, and The


    Combine these three new words with: Cat, Dog, My, Bat, Log, Sat, On, Mom


    Supplies Needed For This Weeks Projects: 
    Index cards, Foam book, Foam Letters, Cardboard, White Sheets of Paper, Construction Paper, Post-It Notes, Card Stock



    Child's First Book

    1. Make sure to add three new sentences to your Child's First Book.
    2. For the word Dad, I wrote: My Dad/My Dad saw a/ My Dad saw a cat up a tree.
    3. For the word Tree, I wrote: Three bats/Three bats flew into/Three bats flew into a tree.
    4. For the word The, I wrote: The four dogs/The four dogs sat in/The four dogs sat in the sun.
    Index Card Project:
    1. Write the words DAD, TREE, and THE on index cards.
    2. On the other side glue a picture of that word or have them draw a picture.
    3. Put these with their other ones and keep quizzing them.
    Key-chain Index Cards:
    • Don't forget to add these 3 new words to your key-chain cards.
    Little Foam Books:
    • After adding the words to your new little foam books, your child will have 4 books to practice in now.
    • How is your child doing with writing their words.
    Picture Learning Fun:
    • Find pictures of the all the 11 words they are learning so far or draw them.
    • Glue the pictures on a sheet of white paper on one side of the paper.
    • On the other side of the paper,  write the beginning letter of each word, out of order.
    • Have your child draw a line from the picture to right beginning letter.  
    • For example:Dog matches with the letter D.
    Learning Shapes:

    Shape Practice:

    Supplies Needed:  Crayon, plain white paper
    1. Draw little dots to make each shape.  
    2. Have your child connect the dots to make the shape.
    Yarn Shape Art:

    Supplies Needed: Construction Paper, Yarn, Glue
    1. First draw a shape on each construction paper, using a marker or pen.  Square, Diamond, Rectangle, Circle, Triangle, Heart, Octagon, Star, Oval
    2. Next, cut yarn long enough to fit around each shape.
    3. Give your child the paper and yarn and have them glue the yarn on the lines you drew.
    4. Make sure to tell them what each shape is and to write each shape on the paper.
    5. You could make a book like you did with your Child's First Book for their shapes.
    Art With Shapes:

    Supplies Needed: Construction paper, glue, crayons
    1. Cut out several different shapes, all sorts of sizes and colors out of construction paper.
    2. You could draw the shapes on the paper and let your child cut out the shapes.
    3. Next, have your child pick out a piece of construction of any color.
    4. Tell your child that they can make a picture of their liking using only the shapes they have. 
    5. My child made a tree, she used a brown rectangle for the trunk, a big green circle for the top part of the tree and glued little red circles on the green circle for apples.
    6. Next, she made a house.  She used a square for the main part of the house. A triangle for the roof and little squares on the house for windows.
    7. You can also make animals too.  She made a dog using a long rectangle for the body, a circle for the head, a little triangle for the ear, a small circle for the nose, and little rectangles for the legs. They can add little touches like an eye, mouth and tail with a crayon or use very small circles.
    8. She also used a big yellow circle for the sun.
    9. You may also make a book from the different pictures for them to tell a story.
    For more great practice pages and crafts click here

    Book For About Shapes:
    • Mouse Shapes by Ellen Stoll Walsh
    • Shapes, Shapes, Shapes by Tana Hoban
    • Shape(Math Counts) by Henry Arthur Pluckrose
    • A Circle Here, A Square There: My Shapes Book by David Diehl
    • Shapes and Colors (Preschool) (Step Ahead) by Susan J. Schneck
    • Color Zoo by Lois Ehlert
    • Icky Bug Shapes by Jerry Pallotta
    • Greedy Triangle by Marilyn Burns
    Great Videos for Learning:
    • Preschool Prep Series DVD's Click Here
    Songs about Shapes: 





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    Sunday, September 27, 2009

    Trees! Week 4 September 27- Oct 3


    This week is all about Trees







    Crafts:


    Baker's Clay:
    1. Mix 2 cups if flour with 1 cup of salt.  
    2. Add about a cup of water until dough becomes stiff.
    3. Mold the dough into desired object, when finished, set it for drying.
    4. It will harden in the air. You can speed up the harding process by baking the clay at 350 degrees for one hour.  Time depends on the size and thickness.
    Leaf Prints:
    1. Place a lump of clay on a flat surface. 
    2. Flatten the clay with a rolling pin, roll over the leaf and the clay at the same time.
    3. Lift leaf to reveal a leaf print underneath.
    4. Let the clay dry, then paint it with tempera or acrylic paint.
    Nature Painting:
    1. Need a collection of nature for your child. Things like: Pine Needles, Acorns,  Pine Cones, Grass, Leaves, Flowers, Sticks
    2. Let your child use their nature collection as paint brushes. 
    3. Make sure you point out to your child the different markings each one makes.
    Leaf People:
    1. Need a collection of all sorts of leaves. Different shapes and sizes
    2. Glue a Leaf onto a white piece of construction paper.
    3. Then let your child draw a face above the leaf, arms and hands on the side, and legs and feet on the bottom.  
    4. They can also draw a scenery around their leaf person or people. 
    5. If they want they can add real grass, flower for the sun or anything they want.
    Waxed Paper Leaves:
    1. Place leaves between two sheets of waxed paper.
    2. Sandwich this packet between two sheets of newspaper.
    3. Press with a warm iron, sealing the leaves inside.
    4. Remove the newspaper and hang the decoration in the window for display.
    Leaf Tree:
    1. On a piece of white paper,  draw a tree trunk with branches
    2. Let your child glue real leaves to the branches. 
    3. They can also add other things like a sun, grass, birds, whatever your child wishes.


    Walnut Art:
    1. Take a whole walnut and crack it in half. 
    2. Take one half of the walnut and dip it in paint.
    3. Next, take the walnut with paint on it an press it on the bandana.
    4. Your child can use different colors on each half of a walnut.
    5. Let the paint dry.
    6. Your child can then proudly wear their art work.
    7. You also use the walnut paint on other items of clothing,
    Nut Art Work
    1. Glue unshelled nuts of different sizes and shapes into a collage on a piece of cardboard.
    2. You can also make mosaics and sculptures with unshelled nuts.
    Bottle Cap Apple Tree:
    1. Draw a tree trunk and branches on a sturdy piece of paper or cardboard.  
    2. Next, glue red bottle caps on the branches like apples or cherries.
    3. Then, your child can take a green crayon and fill out the tree like its suppose to look like
    4. Add more scenery to the background.
    Twig Art:
    1. Gather as many odd-shaped, funny-looking twigs as you can find. 
    2. Old gnarled twigs are especially good.
    3. Lay out the twigs to form letters, designs, or pictures.
    4. Use the natural bends and twists of the twigs to help form the shape you want.
     Popcorn Tree :
    1. Break a pretzel rod in half and glue it to a piece of cardboard or a sturdy piece of paper. Or if you don't have a pretzel rod, draw a trunk with a crayon or marker.
    2. Begin gluing popped popcorn onto the cardboard piece to make a tree.
    Handprint Tree:
    1. Let your child put their hands in finger paint and then have them place their hand on a piece of paper.
    2. Then draw a tree trunk under the hand. 
    3. Let your child decorate the rest of their picture.
    Cotton Tree:
    1. Draw a tree trunk with a crayon or marker.
    2. Let your child begin gluing cotton balls to form a tree.
    3. They may then finishing decorating the background.
    Nature Placemat:
    1. Take a piece of contact paper 18 x 24 and fold down in half.
    2. Then remove the paper up to the fold.
    3. Let your child place leaves, twigs, pieces of pine cones, grass, flowers that they collected from outside.
    4. When your child is done decorating, take the rest of the paper off and seal up their placemat.
     Leaf Candle
    1. Take a candle holder and apply glue all around it.
    2. Place silk leaves all around the candle holder.
    3. Apply glue all on the leaves 
    4. Then apply pieces of torn tissue paper of many sizes on the glue.
    5. Apply glue over the tissue paper and sprinkle glitter on top.
    6. Let dry.
    Marble or Acorn Art:
    1. Place a piece of cardboard, any size, into a cardboard box
    2. Dip a marble or acorn into paint.
    3. Place the marble or acorn into the box and let your chid roll it around to paint the paper.
    4. Let your child keep this up until they are happy with their painting.
    5. Try to use fall colors for this project.
    Tissue Paper Tree:
    1. Cut tissue paper in 1 inch squares.
    2. Let your child draw a tree truck with a marker or crayon.
    3. Then give your child a pencil or crayon and have then wrap a piece of tissue at the end of it.  
    4. Next, glue the wrapped tissue paper onto the paper to form a tree.
    5. You could do this for the trunk and other things they want in their picture.
    Pine Cone Art:
    1. Take some pinecones and take them apart.
    2. Next, glue the pieces of pinecone, onto a piece of construction paper to form an animal, tree, numbers, letters, whatever they can think of. 
    Leaf Rubbing:
    1. Lay a pile of all kinds of leaves by your child.
    2. Have your child lay a leaf in front of them.
    3. Place a piece of white paper over the leaf.
    4. Next, give your child a crayon and let them rub over the leaf to make a leaf print.
    5. Point out to your child all the different markings each one makes.
    Nature People:
    1. Take a pinecone and cut the top portion off to form a flat surface.
    2. Next, glue an acorn on top of the flat surface. Make sure the hat part is on top.
    3. Next wrap pipe cleaners around the pinecone to form arms and legs.
    4. Draw a face on the acorn with a marker.
    Leaf Book:
    1. Have a collection of every kind of leaf.
    2. Seal each leaf in contact paper. 
    3. Make a foam book just like you did for your Child's First Book.
    4. Glue every leaf on its own page.
    5. On each page glue a picture of what the tree looks like that the leaf is from.
    6. Make sure to write the name of the tree on the top of each page.
    7. You can also glue a picture of what kind of seeds or nuts fall off each tree. 


    Activities:
    • Apple Picking:  Check your area for orchards. A lot of them are having fall festivals.  Ours had pony rides, craft fairs, kid games, petting zoos and cookouts.  Save some apples for next weeks projects.
    • Nature Walk:  Go on a nature walk with your child and make sure to take a bag with you for collecting leaves, acorns, pinecones, twigs, pine needles.  Also, ask your child to listen to nature. Listen to how the leaves sound like when they walk on them.  Listen to the birds singing, the squirrels making noise. Check out all the colors the leaves are now turning and explain to your child why that is.  Remember to save several pinecones for later crafts we will do in the next few months.  
    • Tree Rubbing:  When on your nature walk take a piece of paper and tape it to a tree trunk.  Next, have your child take a crayon and rub over the bark of the tree lightly.  Try out different types of trees and see what markings they make.  If you can write what kind of tree it was from.
    • For print-ables click here
    • Plant a tree
    • Lincoln Logs
    • Watch Leaves Fall:  Sit or Lay down in your yard or park.  Have your child count how many leaves fall down in a minute or pick your time.
    • Leaf Pile:  Rake up the leaves in your yard and let your child have fun jumping in the leaves. You can even join in.
    • Age of Tree: If your able to find a tree that has fallen down or a tree stump, try to count the rings and see how old the tree is.
    Some of the crafts above can be found in the following book: "The kids' encyclopedia of things to make and do" by Richard Michael Rasmussen and Ronda Lea Rasmussen.

    I also want to thank our local libraries and schools for some of the other craft ideas.



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    Saturday, September 26, 2009

    Week 3: Bake/Cook/Make Day Saturdays!

    Saturdays are set aside to spend some quality, fun time in the kitchen with your child

    This week you and your child will be making Monkey Bread and Lion Cookies!



    Monkey Bread

    Supplies Needed: 2-3 Thawed bread dough rolls(found in freezer section of grocery store), 4 sticks of butter, sugar, cinnamon and half and half, angel-food cake pan.
    1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
    2. Place your thawed out dough on a piece of wax paper
    3. In a microwave melt 2 sticks of butter
    4. In another bowl mix equal parts cinnamon and sugar
    5. Grease Angel Food Cake Pan
    6. Take a piece of dough (about quarter size), and roll it into a ball. 
    7. Then roll the dough into the butter, make sure the butter is not still hot
    8. Next, roll the buttered piece of dough into the sugar mix.
    9. Then place the ball into the bottom of the pan.
    10. Continue to do this until, you run out of dough, or when its about half full.
    11. Then pour a little half and half over it.  This makes is really gooey.
    12. Place in oven.  If you want you can put a piece of foil over it because the top part might get burnt.
    13. Cook for 30-35 minutes.
    14. When its cooled down, place a plate on top that is a little bigger then the rim of the pan and turn over the cake pan.  Yours should look like the picture above.
    15. Enjoy!!!




    Lion Cookies

    (16.5 oz.) roll refrigerated peanut butter cookies
    1/4 cup sugar
    2 tablespoons miniature candy coated chocolate baking bits
    1 cup chow mein noodles
    Brown decorating gel


    Directions:

    1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
    2. Take teaspoonfuls of dough and shape into 32 (1-inch) balls.
    3. Roll balls into sugar.
    4. Arrange balls 1-inch apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.
    5.  With the bottom of a clean glass, press down on each ball to flatten
    6. Use the baking bits to create the lion's face.
    7. Create hair with the chow mein noodles by pressing noodles into the top end of each face. Break up a few of the noodles and use to create whiskers.
    8. Bake 9 - 13 minutes until cookies are a light golden brown. Cool for 1 minute.
    9. Transfer to cooling rack or plate and let cool completely (around 15 minutes).
    10. Create a lion style mouth with the brown decorating gel.
    If you don't have the baking bits on hand, substitute miniature chocolate chips for the eyes.

    This recipe was found in the Halloween Pillsbury magazine found at Wal-mart and other places that sell magazines.  They have great Halloween recipes that your children will love.
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