We went on a wonderful field trip this morning. Our local bakery does a terrific tour for the kiddos. They read a story, Little Red Hen of course. Then they got to see how the bakery grinds their own flour, the huge mixing bowls used for kneading the dough, the large rotating oven and the noisy loaf slicer. The kids were all given a ball of dough to knead themselves and the baker demonstrated how they form their Easter bunny loaves. After that we ate our fill of tons of samples. Yumm! It was a big hit. We were also sent home with seeds to sprout our own wheat. If we take the sprouted wheat back to the bakery we get a free loaf of bread… how cool is that!
We are going to be focusing on one of our favorite books this week, The Little Red Hen. We have several different copies but the one by Paul Galdone is our favorite. In this version the Little Red Hen bakes a cake instead of bread which works out nicely since the Fairy is celebrating her fourth birthday this week. We will be making her birthday cake!
Week Six (Oct 6-11)
The Little Red Hen
Chicks and Chickens
F is for Fuchsia
We will be coloring the Fuchsia page from our Flower Fairies Alphabet Coloring Book and reading the accompanying story in the Flower Fairies Alphabet Book.
Bug told me he had a book he wanted to write this week. OK, sounds good to me. It sounds like an elaborate plot involving knights, wizards and an evil king. I will definitely let him run with that this week. For the Fairy girl, I will probably design her some story cards to color to go along with The Little Red Hen.
I also have an idea for a Big, Messy, Outside Art Project. I will post more about it… if it works out the way I’m imagining it.
At playgroup last week, the hostess had chickens. Pixie was especially excited. She loves all the farm birds… chickens, ducks, turkeys. We haven’t been to our local petting farm in a few weeks so we will probably head there. (Fur & Feathers Field Trip)
This is a cake recipe that resembles the ingredient list in the book.
INGREDIENTS
2 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup butter softened
1 tsp vanilla
5 large eggs
3 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup milk
DIRECTIONS
Heat oven to 350. Grease & flour bottom of 2 loaf pans or bundt cake pan.
Beat sugar, butter, vanilla and eggs in large bowl. Mix flour, baking powder and salt. Beat flour mixture into sugar mixture alternately with milk. Spread in pan.
Bake bundt about 1 hour – 1hr 20min (check with toothpick), loaf pans 50-60min.
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
The Little Red Hen’s Song
This is the way I plant the seed,
Plant the seed,
Plant the seed,
This is the way I plant the seed, Early in the morning.
Repeat using the following verses:
…cut the wheat
…go to the mill
…mix the cake
…eat the cake
Kindergarten/Preschool Term One Overview: Harvest Time