

Here's the poem I wrote to sent home with the reindeer food made with sugar crystals:


I hope to use this site to share the many experiences I have had with preschoolers during my 20 years of teaching. I would like to share crafts, activities, and some insights.
I finally got around to going through the books at school to look for the handprint books I told you about before. Both of them are really good resources with lots of fun easy to make activities for all kinds of holidays and seasons. All the instructions are really very clear and the pictures are great too.
The first book I have is called "Handicrafts," by Rosie Wermert and Marie McClurg, illustrated by Bari Weissman. It was published by Learning Ladders/Random House in 1989. I couldn't find a picture of the book anywhere, but I found one link.
The second book I have is called "Hand-Shaped Art," by Diane Bonica, illustrated by Jan Renard. It was published by Good Apple, Inc. in 1989 also. I found this book on Amazon.
My sister-in-law brought us some yummy desserts for our Thanksgiving. One item was a beautiful plate of cookies. On the tray were some flat, chocolate, delicious-looking cookies. When we asked her what they were she said, "Try them." They tasted just like Girls Scout Thin Mint cookies. She gave us the general recipe and it sounded like something you can make with your little ones. Easy and delicious--you gotta like that. I don't have all the specifics so I hope you can figure them out.
For the cookies you will need:
one box Ritz Crackers
one bag semisweet morsels
peppermint extract
Christmas sprinkles
waxed paper
First you melt the bag of chocolate morsels. She used semisweet chocolate, but you may use other kinds if you like. She said you can melt the chocolate in the microwave or stove, whichever you find easier. She wasn't sure how long to put them in the microwave, but it may say on the bag.
After the chocolate morsels are melted, add 1 to 2 drops of peppermint extract. You add it to taste. I would put one drop in and try it, add more if you like.
Then dip the crackers in the chocolate and set them on the waxed paper to harden. Put some sprinkles in the center before the chocolate hardens. She said she used a pair of tongs to dip the crackers in, but if a child is helping, they may squeeze to hard and break the cracker. I think it might be more fun to let them get a little chocolaty. Mm mm, love that chocolate.
After they dry let the children hang them on the tree. They really look great.
The book I read today was "Asleep in the Stable,: by Will Hillenbrand. It was a very cute story of a baby owl waking in the evening to find a new addition to the stable. He has all kind of questions for Mama Owl about it. He learns of the Heavenly Father's warmth and love for all.
One year I had the pleasure of teaching our Pre-K class. Since these children are bit older, the other teacher and I decided to put on a Christmas program that was a little more involved. The church allowed us to use many of the costumes they had on hand for their Christmas program. Then we has some help from parents, and made a few things ourselves. This program does require some planning and preparation. We had to coordinate some times to practice together also. It was work, but it was also beautiful.
For the program the children did not have to learn any lines. I read the book, "The Christmas Story," with Ruth J. Morehead's Holly Babes. It is a beautiful story of Christmas written so that little children can understand it. I love this story.
We gave the children parts in the play. We had Mary, Joseph, Angel Gabriel, an innkeeper, shepherds, three kings, other angels, a donkey, and some animals for the stable. The main costumes came from the church. We mostly had to make some animal decorations. All we did was make headbands with different ears on them.
As I read the story the children performed on the stage. Our stage had two entrances so we had children lined up on each side with a parent or teacher with them. We also had someone nonchalantly on stage in case children forgot where to go. By the end of the story all the children are on the stage together. We finish by singing Happy Birthday to Jesus and "We Wish You a Merry Christmas."
I loved doing this play, but have been unable to since that time. If you are thinking of trying something out, check out this story, it's easily adaptable and creates a great program.
If you read my post yesterday, you saw that Mother Nature decided to help us out with some of that "white stuff" for white day. Well, she played quite a joke. I'm not sure if she knows we are not ready for this stuff, but here's what we woke up to today:
Today's activity at school was watercoloring our handprint turkeys. Now we have done some watercoloring at school before, but have used individual liquid watercolors. Today was the first day we used the original packs of eight color water colors. You know, the ones with the eight little oval cakes that you have to get real wet. Well, I was shocked at the number of children that really had difficulty with this. I start off each child individually, tracing their hand, adding the parts to the turkey, then showing them how to use the watercolor paint. Dip the brush in the water, swirl it around on the color you would like, paint the picture, then go back dip the brush in the water, swirl it in the color, paint the picture, and so on and so on. Well, some just could not get this. I had a few that finally said I can't do it and left the table. I had one little boy that repeated the phrase the whole time he painted. I was just really surprised at the difficulty of this task.
So, with Christmas just a few weeks away, I wanted to give parents a little idea for the stocking. Maybe some watercolors would be a great addition. They really aren't that messy, and if there is mess it is really easy to clean up. Happy painting!