Ok, here is another highly recommended recent addition to our toy collection… the Little Engine That Could Wooden Train with a copy of the original story book “The Little Engine that Could” by Watty Piper. This adorable train works on our Brio track and perfectly matches the train in the story. Since we don’t have any other character trains (ie Thomas) this one definitely stands out and it is cute to hear the kids acting out the story. “I think I can, I think I can.” Bonus, this sweet wooden toy is made in the USA by Whittle Shortline Railroad.
Thanks Aunt T & Uncle J!
Nothing like homemade Apple Pie! Both Bug and Daddy share a love of pies and this one is a very close second on both their lists… Pumpkin always takes the top spot.
To get the kids really involved in the pie process I had them use the Apple Peeler, Corer, Slicer to prep the apples. Note: this fun little gadget does 2 of the 3 so named things quite well… it leaves a lot to be desired in the peeling category though (unless you have a perfectly shaped apple). I don’t normally use it for pie apples but the kids had fun with it and the girls really liked eating the springy, twisty, sliced apples.
This week’s Unplugged Challenge theme was fruit. We have been doing so many things with apples over the past few weeks (you can scroll through my past blog postings to see more of our apple activities) it was hard to choose the one thing I wanted to label as our Unplugged activity. I decided to share photos from our trip to the cider mill to watch the cider press in action. It was very noisy but the kids thought it was really cool.
I would also encourage you to check out our Apple Print Project. The apple prints turned out great… although I think the kids had more fun playing with the huge box of stamps Gammy unearthed when she went in search of stamp pads for us.
We are continuing with our apple theme, but this week looking more at the tree than the fruit. We will be focusing on the topic of the change in seasons. I think this will be a good week to take some time to freshen up and decorate our nature table to reflect the change that is occurring outside our windows.
Week Four (Sep 29th-Oct 3)
The Seasons of Arnold’s Apple Tree
Why Do Leaves Change Colors?
E is for Eyebright
We will be coloring the Eyebright page from our Flower Fairies Alphabet Coloring Book and reading the accompanying story in the Flower Fairies Alphabet Book.
Once a month, we will be decorating a 12 inch quilt square to reflect something we are currently learning about. At the end of the school year, I will turn all of our squares into a keepsake quilt. (Related post: Glue Batik Fabric Squares)
We have a busy week and I don’t have a specific field trip in mind other than enjoying our falls walks and watching as the leaves change. We are also hoping to get out to pick fall raspberries. Raspberry Jam is a family favorite. (Related post: Cider, Snails & Acorns)
INGREDIENTS
1/4 c. shortening
1/2 t. salt
1 c. sugar
1 c. orange juice
1 1/2 T. milk
2 c. flour
2 eggs
1 1/2 – 2 c. chopped apples
1 t. baking soda
Topping:
1 t. sugar
1/2 t. cinnamon
DIRECTIONS
Mix all ingredients together (except topping ingredients) and place in greased loaf pan. Mix sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle on top of loaf. Bake at 350 for 1 hour.
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?
No, not I. For if I do he’s sure to cry.
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
Ok, so we didn’t get Ten Apples Up on Top… but we did try to walk around with one apple up on top. We used some of our fabric apples so no apples were harmed in the shooting of this blog ;).
At the end of the week, the kids always do an illustration and narration in their journals (they dictate, I write). I thought I would share their entries from today on Johnny Appleseed.
Johnny Appleseed and a Friend Picking Apples
Johnny Appleseed planted apple seeds. He talked to his friends along the way. Then he gave his friends apple trees. He talked to them long, long ago. He carried his bible and his bag of apple seeds. He did not carry a knife or gun because he liked all the animals. The animals were nice to him.
Fairy
He picked up apples and seeds. He walked around and planted apples. He was a nice stranger.
We spent the morning at Gammy’s yesterday and took advantage of her seemingly endless supply of art materials (this time rummaging through her entire box of stamp pads). We made our apple prints to go along with our Week Four, Johnny Appleseed theme.
This was a very easy craft! All we did was take a couple apples and cut them in half (some lengthwise, some crosswise) and then used red and green ink pads. You have to press the apple very firmly to get a ‘full’ apple shape. Some we even had to rock slightly… I guess a straight cut really isn’t as straight as you think. If you take a close look, you can really see the star in the middle of some of the cross cut apple prints.
Ha! This was one of the baking episodes that you get started only to realize that you are missing some key ingredients. My husband refuses to buy in bulk. Just not his nature and I will agree tends to lead to wasted food (at least around here). He prefers to shop on a daily basis. I’m not going to complain since he does do all of the grocery shopping! But it does mean my pantry and fridge are fairly meager looking, especially in comparison with my mom’s which is always busting at the seams, leaving her ready to cook anything on a moment’s notice. But back to the cookies, I ended up having to cut the recipe in half to pull it off.
These are our favorite cookies. Everyone likes them (cooked or right out of the bowl) and their oatmeal and grape nut content allow me to ‘believe’ that they are practically a granola bar and therefore good for you ;).
Grape Nut Cookie Recipe
INGREDIENTS
1 1/2 c. flour
1 t. baking soda
1 1/2 c. (3 sticks) margarine
2/3 c. firmly packed brown sugar
2/3 c. granulated sugar
1 egg
1 t. vanilla
2 c. Post Grape-Nuts cereal
2 c. oatmeal
1 c. dried fruit (cranberries, raisins, etc.)
DIRECTIONS
Mix flour and baking soda in small bowl. Bear margarine in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed to soften. Gradually add sugars, beating until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. Gradually add flour mixture, beating well after each addition. Stir in cereal, oats and fruit. Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake in a 375 oven for 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool 1 minutes; remove from cookie sheets. Cool completely on wire racks.
For this week’s Unplugged Challenge theme hard we made primitive folk art style Barnyard Animal Toys. When we first found out the theme last week, I asked the kids what was ‘hard’ and all of their answers all stemmed around wood. Wood blocks, wood toys, tree branches, etc. I spent several days trying to come up with an idea. Then I remembered a post my SIL, Tina had on her blog last week linking to directions on making wood toys. It seemed like a bit of a stretch to have the kids do it but they thought it was a great idea and were in on it every step of the way.
First I drew up some farm animal outlines based on some toys I saw online (I’ve included my drawings as a pdf if you would like Pig/Horse/Cow & Sheep/Goat), printed them and cut them out. I had each child pick their favorite and then we traced the animals onto a scrap piece of 1" thick pine. Using a coping saw, we cut out the basic shapes. Bug really likes to use a saw (he was lots of help to Daddy when fixing some rotten boards on the deck this spring) and enjoyed getting a chance to cut out his animal. The Fairy girl gave it a try too. In the end Daddy did do most of the cutting as the kids decided it was too hard (does that count as a second theme tie in?).
The step that they thought was the most fun was getting to use the Dremel to smooth the edges. Adorned with safety goggles and mommy’s steady hand they sanded their own animals. You could just use normal sand paper if you would prefer. I finished cleaning them up.
Once they were all smooth we used a light coat of Non-toxic children’s watercolor paints to give a color wash. I used the water colors because it is light enough to still see the grain (which is cool) and most importantly, it is what I had on hand. I still need to get a clear coat sealer or wax to apply over the color, but they are done enough for the kids to start playing with them.
All in all, I would guess this was about a 2 hour project. The kids are very proud of the toys that they made and are really enjoying them because of the process.
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