This might be a quiet week for me in terms of posting. We have a lot on our calendar and quite a bit of family coming in from out of town. Fun, Fun, Fun.
Week Eight (Oct 20-25)
Pumpkin Pumpkin
Pumpkin Circle
There is a lovely DVD that goes with the Pumpkin Circle book if you can find it at your library. It is a bit too pricey for me to recommend buying it but Scholastic does carry it if you are interested.
H is for Herb Twopence
We will be coloring the Herb Twopence page from our Flower Fairies Alphabet Coloring Book and reading the accompanying story in the Flower Fairies Alphabet Book.
I think we will paint a couple of the little ‘baby pumpkins’ and gourds for some fun decorations.
A trip to the pumpkin patch of course!
Pumpkin Muffins
INGREDIENTS
Nonstick spray coating
1-1/3 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup sugar plus 2 packets heat-stable sugar substitute, or 1/3 cup sugar
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 ginger
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 slightly beaten eggs
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup fat-free milk
2 tablespoons cooking oil
1/4 cup orange juice
DIRECTIONS
1. Spray twelve 2-1/2-inch muffin cups with nonstick coating; set pan aside. In a medium bowl combine the all-purpose flour, buckwheat flour, sugar plus sugar substitute or the sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. Make a well in the center of flour mixture; set aside.
2. In another bowl combine the eggs, pumpkin, milk, oil, orange peel, and orange juice. Add the egg mixture all at once to the flour mixture. Stir just until moistened (batter should be lumpy).
3. Spoon batter into the prepared muffin cups, dividing the batter evenly. Bake in a 400 degree F oven for 15 to 20 minutes or until the muffins are light brown. Cool in muffin cups on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Remove from muffin cups; serve warm. Makes 12 muffins.
Harvest
Now all the farmers from far and wide
Have gathered their bounty of countryside:
Corn and barley from field and wold,
Honey from beehive and wool from the fold,
Fruit from the orchard all ripe, red and gold,
Log for the fire to keep out the cold.
by Dorothy Hancock
Kindergarten/Preschool Term One Overview: Harvest Time
For those of you following along… yes we are jumping ahead a bit. I am switching Week Four with Week Six because we went apple picking this weekend and it just makes more sense for us right now.
Week Four (Sep 22th-29th)
Johnny Appleseed
How Do Apples Grow?
D is for Double Daisy
We will be coloring the Double Daisy page from our Flower Fairies Alphabet Coloring Book and reading the accompanying story in the Flower Fairies Alphabet Book.
Cut one apple in half from top to bottom and another in half across the middle. Dip the apple halves in paint or large stamp pad and make prints on a page. Note the star shape made by the apple cut across the middle. If you make a bunch of Red and Green apple prints on large sheets of butcher paper, save them for cute Christmas wrapping paper.
Consider reading Ten Apples Up on Top as another add on book. You could then print a photo of your child (head and shoulder shot works well), cut it out and glue it to the bottom edge of a large sheet of paper. Then make Ten Apple Prints Up on Top stacked on top of your child’s head.
Hand Print Apple Trees are also a fun activity. Cover your child’s arm in brown paint from the finger tips to elbow. Place the entire hand and arm down on a sheet of paper (fingers outstretched). This forms the trunk of the tree. Then make green thumb prints for leaves and red finger prints for apples.
If you haven’t already, go pick some apples. If you don’t have a u-pick orchard near you try going to the store and getting one of each type of apple (or at least one red, one green, one yellow) and then doing a taste test to see which one you and your child like best. If there are several of you performing the taste test, try graphing the results.
Dutch Apple Pie
INGREDIENTS
1 (9 inch) pie shell
FILLING:
5 cups apples – peeled, cored and sliced (I like Granny Smith’s for baking)
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2/3 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
2 tablespoons butter
TOPPING:
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cup rolled oats
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1/2 cup butter
DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Fit pastry shell into pie pan and place in freezer.
To Make Apple Filling: Place apples in a large bowl. In a separate bowl combine 2 tablespoons flour, white sugar, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice. Mix well, then add to apples. Toss until apples are evenly coated.
Remove pie shell from freezer. Place apple mixture in pie shell and dot with 2 tablespoons butter or margarine. Lay a sheet of aluminum foil lightly on top of filling, but do not seal.
Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes.
While filling is baking, make Streusel Topping: In a medium bowl combine 3/4 cup flour, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, brown sugar, oats, and lemon peel. Mix thoroughly, then cut in 1/2 cup butter or margarine until mixture is crumbly. Remove filling from oven and sprinkle streusel on top.
Reduce heat to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Bake an additional 30 to 35 minutes, until streusel is browned and apples are tender. Cover loosely with aluminum foil to prevent excess browning.
No, not I. For if I do he’s sure to cry.
Little Boy Blue
Little Boy Blue,
Come blow your horn;
The sheep’s in the meadow, the cow’s in the corn.
Where is the boy who looks after the sheep?
He’s under a haystack, fast asleep.
Will you wake him?
Oh, the Lord is good to me,
And so I thank the Lord,
For giving me the things I need,
The Sun, the Rain and the Appleseed,
The Lord is good to me.
Kindergarten/Preschool Term One Overview: Harvest Time