Mele Kalikimaka!

Aloha!  It's 40 degrees in sunny North Carolina; how's the weather where you are? We had our first big frost of the season yesterday with my car completely covered in an impenetrable layer of ice. (But no snow; it's always winter but never snow!)  So what did we talk about with the kids? The beach, of course!  One of our teacher standards for teacher licensure includes global awareness, or the awareness that life exists outside of our little school bubble. So while the kids were bundling up in hats, gloves, and coats one by one, I showed them all pictures of Santa surfing, a snowman made of sand (which one of the kids dubbed "sandman") and palm trees. I pulled out the laptop and showed them Google maps so we could see where Hawaii is. For a little while, at least, we could dream before we braved the cold.

Merry Christmas!

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Healthy Holiday snack

Hello again busy teachers!

It's the most wonderful time of the year! Yes, even for us. It,s easy to get overwhelmed with lists. Personally I have crocheting to do, an IEP meeting to organize, slippers to ship to a customer, materials to get together for my class, 2 shops to promote, and crafts to plan for Family Craft Day. Not to mention Christmas shopping. 

Whew! I need a break just from typing all that. Smell the flower, blow the candle. Better. Sorry. Where was I?

Family craft day! This is a time when we're inviting parents to come make crafts and snacks with their kids. If you would like to do this and don't have time to think of anything, here's something that will help. 

I was researching some snacks that parents could make with their kids and all of them involved sugar or things that my kids are allergic to. 

Here's my own solution:

Get some mini bagels, whipped cream cheese, and dried cranberries. Mix green food coloring with the cream cheese and spread it on the bagels. Decorate with dried cranberries. Ta da! It's a wreath!
I don't have pictures yet since it's next week, so here's some clipart I modified with Paint:

Enjoy your week!

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Stone Soup

Welcome back! I hope everyone had good, relaxing holiday.  Last time I talked about making Stone Soup and wanted to share some pictures with you.  The children loved measuring the ingredients into the soup and trying them before they went in.  It was a great opportunity to bring in numbers, more/less than, senses, and teamwork.  Not all of the children tried the soup or liked it of course, but as you know, it's the process that counts.  If you haven't tried this yet, I highly encourage it.

 Here's the recipe we used:
2 cans chicken with juice
2 cups water
2 cubes chicken bullion
Sauteed onions
1 "little" (half) cup canned peas with juice
1 cup Cooked pasta, drained
1 "little" cup each cooked sweet potatoes and carrots (use juice if canned)
Salt and pepper
Use more or less to taste.
Measure everything into a microwave-safe bowl, then microwave on high for about 8 minutes.  Plan on 20 if you have to run back and forth to the classroom like we did :)

The results:

I wish you could see the expression of the kid in the back; he's looking at it thinking, "I'm not sure about this."

If you like this, make sure you follow me! Also check out my Pinterest page, "KidatHeart," for more great ideas.

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Holiday Weekend Sale

Stone soup pictures are coming next week. Before then, here's a great opportunity to save some time and money!  I've put together some ideas for the coming holiday season because we're all stressed enough. Why throw lesson planning into the mix?
Even better, all of my items are currently 20% off. If you shop on Monday and Tuesday, you can get up to 28% off with code CYBER.  Make sure you check out other sellers, too; there are some fantastic sellers out there.

To shop, just click the big green picture. Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Because presents are always nice

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