ranch dip recipe

The children begged me to share this recipe. It's super easy and I have to admit that it is not mine, I got it from someone else. (Ms. Tami)

Homemade ranch veggie dip

Ingredients:
1 16 oz. container of cottage cheese 
1/2 cup of sour cream OR plain greek yogurt 
1/4 cup mayo
1-2 tsp. minced onion
1-2 tsp. dill weed
Salt and pepper to taste
Blend together until it is a smooth, creamy texture. Chill and serve with your favorite veggies. 

Let's go fly a kite....

We made kites again today and it was a little windier, plus it helped that we went on campus to an open area to really run free and let the kites fly! 

We are ready!!

Kites move even if you just stand up against a tree.

A good time was had by all! 

Look who we ran into...an uncle of 2 of the preschoolers.

Let's go fly a kite!

Kansas - TR

We've been learning a lot about Kansas. Do you know the state bird, flower, song, amphibian, reptile, tree, animal, etc...?! Ask your child. They may know it!
And Kansas has a birthday coming up on Friday. 155 years old!! Whew!!
Since Kansas is the bread basket of America, it's fitting to have wheat kernels in the sensory table. 

Today we made kites. I've decided that kites are over-rated. Do they ever really fly so gracefully in the wind? Well, for one thing, Kansas did not provide wind today, so it required running with the kite, which proved to be okay, but not super exciting. Oh well. We did get outside and enjoyed the SUNNY day.

This has nothing to do with Kansas,
but just had to capture these
two under the table with their lions. 

A wind experiment - testing which items
the air blows and how far it blows them....

Sometimes you have to make
your own "wind" - by blowing bubbles!
Love the face here.

Right before this picture, he sucked in a bunch of soap
and was sputtering and spitting.
Love the peeper in the background. :)

Ready. Set. Go. Run with your kites!!

Who needs kites or wind, when
you have musty, wet leaves from last Fall?!
Children help you see the silver lining.

records and cd's

For a number of years we have used an old record player for circle spin art pictures. It has been a "hit" (no pun intended) since we introduced it. The record player has 4 different speeds and children quickly learn how to adjust it to suit their drawing pleasures! I'm sure many of you have received (and maybe are hanging on the fridge in your house) many of these circle papers. 

Today a child was making multiple spin art pictures and when she was done, she explained to me that they were music CD's. Really? "Yes", she said. And then she went on to explain what type of music each "CD" played. I love this creativity, especially when it is child-initiated. Super cool!!

The heart CD plays fun, happy music.
One of the CD's plays scary, spooky music (It had a spider drawn on it).

Here she is describing it again to another teacher. So neat!!!

A side note: I asked one of the college students if they knew what a record player was? She sheepishly replied, No, I don't think so. And then I felt old. Really old. 

snow dough

Since real snow would be a little cold to play with (and isn't realistic in Kansas....), I found a very simple recipe for snow dough, which is fun to play with and makes your hands feel soft and silky. Bonus!!

Here is the simple recipe:

2 cups corn starch
1/3 to 1/2 of a cup vegetable oil (I used canola and it worked just fine)
A couple good shakes of silver glitter

Mix together until crumbly. It forms into balls and when you squish it, it crumbles. Play away!

Retrieved from this blog:  http://www.inhabitots.com/20-educational-and-fun-sensory-table-activities-for-kids/snow-dough-winter-sensory-table/

Exploring the white, fluffy stuff!

Count them.
Yes, there are 8 and not one squabble or complaint!
They got along beautifully the entire choice time. :)

This isn't a snow animal, but it sure is fun to cover in snow!

This gal made a sea shell out of the snow dough.
Go figure.

TR activities

There was a lot going on today in preschool. Last week I added a wooden marble roller and a train set to the class - this added a lot of excitement and lessons in turn taking. 

Creative fellas here adding blocks to the train tracks!

ICE -----
It doesn't seem to matter if their hands are freezing, they keep squirting and pouring warm water on the ice to see if it melts. One challenge today was to see if they could melt the ice in a tall pitcher (it was really frozen good!) - it took all of choice time to get it to melt and fall out. I was impressed with their perseverance! 

Building blocks with Ms. Danielle (assistant on T,W,Th,F)

Ms. Anna (assistant M,T,W,Th) working with Wedgits during small group time. 

Match it - rhyme it game!

Ms. Emma reading a story about a snowflake.

Ms. Naomi helping with puzzles. 

Back in the groove

There is something to be said for routines and schedules. Breaks are good, but it's also good to be back into a routine. And it doesn't take long for children to get back in the groove. (Teachers maybe a little longer....:))

The MWF class is the FIRST class ever to hold and carry the hermit crabs around the room and "play" with them. Seriously. This is the response when I told her.... :)

Ms. Anna in the house area. 

Melting ice with warm salt water.
There were objects frozen inside the blocks of ice.
Gave them more of an incentive to melt the ice. 

Playing cars with our new friend.
Now there are 4 boys in the MWF class!

Watercolor painting. (This is Ms. Meredith - assistant on MWF)

Here we come NEW YEAR!!!!!

Happy New Year!

It's a New Year! Fresh start. New Beginnings. And we are back to preschool! Yippee!! 

Speaking of new - we have some new faces in preschool this term. 
First, we are thrilled that our friend "G" is joining us in the MWF class after a lengthy VISA issue - he and his mom joined dad (employed at HC) here back in November. Welcome!!!

We also have different student assistants this Spring term - 3 of them!!
Ms. Meredith (MWF) from Pennsylvania, Ms. Danielle (T,W,TH,F)from Ohio and Ms. Anna (M,T,W,Th) from Kansas. We are thrilled to have them in the lab. They were in the lab (as freshman) last Spring '15.

We also have Freshman students in the lab one time a week -
Ms. Kathryn (M), Ms. Emma (T), Ms. Naomi (T), Ms. Becca (W), Ms. Rachel (Th), Ms. Renee (Th), and Ms. Laura (F) - these Freshman were in the lab last Fall '15