We worked on Letter M this week and also learned about moose, elk and deer. Check out the 2010 post for a photo of the craft and a muffin recipe http://metamoracommunityprek.blogspot.com/2010/12/mr-moose-and-friends.html
We made muffins on Friday. When we cook, there is a lot of vocabulary, sequencing, questions and answers. What is a recipe? What are ingredients? Why do we need to follow a recipe? Each child gets to add an ingredient and take a turn mixing. We mix the ingredients and I ask 'What do we do next?' The kids said put it in the oven. In the bowl? No, put the mix in the muffin pan. We counted the muffins in the pan. What do we do next? You get the idea. Lots of communication. Lots and lots of learning.
I used a different recipe this year. We called them Moose Muffins-my recipe is called Butter Cakes. Super easy and nearly homemade.
Moose Muffins (or Butter Cakes)
1 package yellow cake mix
1 package instant vanilla pudding
1 cup water
1/2 cup melted butter (I used vegetable oil at school)
4 eggs
1 teaspoon butter extract
1 cup chopped pecans (we did not add nuts for the preschoolers)
Mix and beat thoroughly. Pour into lined muffin pan or into 2 or 3 greased and floured loaf pans. Bake at 350*. Bake 20 minutes for muffins or 30-35 minutes for bread. We doubled the recipe and made 24 muffins and one loaf of bread.
We used tally marks on a chart to see who liked or did not like the muffins. I forgot to take pictures of the chart, sorry. We do this activity a lot when we cook.
At the top of the chart, I wrote 'Muffins' and ask what is the beginning sound? I spell out 'muffin' as I write. The children help me spell yes and no. Each child comes up and makes a tally mark. We had a 'lightbulb' moment in the afternoon class. I love to watch these moments. All the children in the afternoon class placed their tally mark under YES. They immediately knew there are zero tally marks under NO. I asked how many do you think are under YES? 100? No. 30? No. A little boy shouted, "Twelve!" How do you know? There are twelve kids in our class! Awesome.
Finally, we wrote a report on moose, deer and elk. Why do we write the reports? Recalling information and details taught---what do the children remember?
What to learn more? Go to the National Geographic site http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/?source=NavAniHome On the right, you can search animals-moose, elk and white tailed deer. There also is a section for kids.
If you have the book If You Give a Moose A Muffin by Laura Numberoff, check out this YouTube read-a-long http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tOPFVSiB5uQ
Cook with your child. Read to your child. Laugh with your child. Learn with your child.
