You Would Even Say It Glows

 

Our students are learning a lot about moose, elk and deer.  Simple shapes with teacher directions and we have Rudolph.  He's so cute. What did your child learn about moose, elk and deer?  A lot!

https://metamoracommunityprek.blogspot.com/2016/12/our-mwf-prek-classes-know-so-much-about.html

Fun Food Friday?  Moose Munch Mix!

Witch's Stew 2021

 An MCP favorite!  Witch's stew and Halloween gives us an opportunity to talk about what is real and what is pretend.  Some silly fun without being scary for our little ones!  

The recipe and song:

http://metamoracommunityprek.blogspot.com/2018/10/witchs-stew-2018.html

Pumpkin Power!

For the health and safety of our students, there are lot of MCP activities that we will not be able to have in the classroom this year.  You might want to try some these ideas at home with your child!  

One of the easiest is just to get a pumpkin and cut it open.  Have your child look, touch and smell.  If you have a magnifying glass let your child look up close.  Pull seeds out and count.  How do the seeds feel?  Estimate.  Do you think there are ten seeds or more than ten?  One hundred?

Mix up pumpkin playdough!

http://metamoracommunityprek.blogspot.com/2011/10/dough-boy.html

More playdough recipes:

http://metamoracommunityprek.blogspot.com/2010/10/perfect-playdough.html

Easy breezy pumpkin muffins!  Yummy!

https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/93290/easy-pumpkin-muffins/

It's just a can of pumpkin.  Cover up your child with a smock or old t-shirt. Use a plate or cookie sheet and draw shapes, numbers, and letters!

or just have some messy pumpkin fun!

Lots of fall fun for you and your child!

National Ice Cream Sandwich Day

 
Next Monday, August 2nd is National Ice Cream Sandwich Day.  When your child is in the kitchen they are learning a lot plus there is a homemade treat at the end.  Here are 50 ice cream sandwich recipes and some information on why it is important to get kids in the kitchen.

http://metamoracommunityprek.blogspot.com/2017/07/50-ice-cream-sandwiches.html

And They Lived Happily Ever After

In April, the MCP curriculum has a fairy tale unit.  We read books. We compare and contrast the stories.  There are props for dramatic play, countless activities in the Discovery and Art Centers plus our special 3 Little Pig Snack.  

The Gingerbread Man stories are sweet!  

http://metamoracommunityprek.blogspot.com/2018/04/the-gingerbread-man-2018.html

http://metamoracommunityprek.blogspot.com/2015/04/you-cant-catch-me.html

Simple props and your child's imagination to recreate stories.  If you really want to go all out---

http://metamoracommunityprek.blogspot.com/2015/04/pigmania.html

No sewing skills?  Buy pink t-shirts.  Houses and our 3 Little Pig snack-

http://metamoracommunityprek.blogspot.com/2012/04/little-pigs-little-pigs.html

Book list-

http://metamoracommunityprek.blogspot.com/2013/04/once-upon-time-and-more.html

http://metamoracommunityprek.blogspot.com/2012/04/ill-huff-and-ill-puff.html

Who Loves Chocolate?

 

I love play dough.  Here is our recipe for the chocolate playdough we put out in February when we are in the classroom. I hope you and your child love it. 

http://metamoracommunityprek.blogspot.com/2020/02/we-love-chocolate.html

Happy Birthday, Dear Wassily!

 

Is your child loving Kandinsky?  Wassily Kandinsky's birthday is December 16th.  Celebrate with a batch of concentric circle cookies. 

http://www.parents.com/recipe/rainbow-rings/

Moose Munch Mix 2020

 

You and your child can learn about moose at home.  Make some  Moose Munch Mix for a Fun Food Friday snack. Sticks (pretzel sticks), pine cones (Coco Puffs cereal), snowballs and snowflakes (yogurt raisins and white chocolate chips), straw and hay (potato sticks) and wild berries (m & m's) put the 'fun' in Fun Food Friday. 

• Moose are the largest of the deer family.
• We do not have moose or elk in our area but a lot of white tailed deer.
• Moose, elk and deer are mammals.  They are covered with fur.
• The males have antlers.  The antlers fall off (shed) and the males grow bigger antlers.
• Moose, elk and deer are herbivores.
• Males...moose and elk are bulls.  Male deer are bucks.
• Females...moose and elk are cows.  Female deer are does.
• Babies...moose and elk are calves.  Baby deer are fawns and have spots when they are young.
• So many great vocabulary words-mammals, herbivores, shed and more.

Mr. Grinch 2020

 

Need some ideas to keep the kiddos busy?  
http://metamoracommunityprek.blogspot.com/2011/12/youre-mean-one-mr-grinch.html

Grinch Mix-

http://metamoracommunityprek.blogspot.com/2017/12/the-grinch-2017.html

Witch's Stew 2020

 

You and your child can make this at home! Here's the 'recipe' and the song!  MCP alumni might remember and can sing with younger siblings.  Cook up some Halloween fun with your child!

http://metamoracommunityprek.blogspot.com/2018/10/witchs-stew-2018.html

Fun Food Friday-Letter C

 Easy breezy carrot muffins for Fun Food Friday!

Mash the carrots...

Add cake mix.  It's that easy.

--Carrot Muffins--

I adapted this recipe from an Allrecipes pumpkin muffin recipe. I used two 14.5 oz. cans of sliced carrots instead of the canned pumpkin.  The children mashed them up in a large bowl. I omitted the spices and bake time was adjusted to about 35 minutes. 

2-14.5 cans sliced carrots (drain)

1 package yellow cake mix

Preheat oven to 350*.  Line muffin pan w/ paper liners. In large bowl, mash carrots.  Add cake mix and mix thoroughly.  Spoon equal amounts into muffin cups (we were able to get 16 muffins from our batter).  Bake 35 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes clean.  Let cool and enjoy!

Pumpkin muffins---

https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/93290/easy-pumpkin-muffins/

Fun Food Friday---A is for Apple Muffins

  

It's Fun Food Friday!  Try this super easy apple muffin recipe with your child!   

1 box spice cake mix

1 apple

2 cups applesauce 

Preheat oven 350*.

Have an adult peel and thinly slice the apple.  If you feel comfortable, allow your child to chop the apple slices into small pieces. When we cook at school, we give the children a plastic knife and a paper plate for cutting. Put the apples in a small bowl. 

Add a spoonful of the cake mix to the apples to coat. 

In a mixing bowl combine the remaining cake mix and the applesauce. Mix well and fold in the apple pieces.

Line or spray 12 muffin trays. Scoop into each muffin tray. Bake 18-20 minutes.

12-16 muffins

Found this at --- https://momcrieff.com/apple-spice-muffins-three-ingredients-delicious-easy/

Don't have a spice cake mix?  Use a yellow cake mix!

Yellow cake mix-add 1 tsp. cinnamon, ½ tsp. nutmeg, ¼ tsp. ginger & ¼ tsp. allspice or cloves

I added a 1/2 cup of oatmeal to the dry ingredients and added a second apple. I consistently had 16 muffins and need 20-25 minutes to bake.  Enjoy some time in the kitchen with your child!  Yum-oh!

Playdough

We love playdough at MCP.  With our Gingerbread Man unit coming up this week if you have the inclination here are some recipes we like:
http://metamoracommunityprek.blogspot.com/2011/10/dough-boy.html


http://metamoracommunityprek.blogspot.com/2013/07/play-grounds.html


http://metamoracommunityprek.blogspot.com/2013/01/chocolate-scented-valentine-playdough.html

Why is playdough important to your child's development?
https://www.naeyc.org/our-work/families/playdough-power

The Three Little Pigs at Home

We hope you and your child are having fun with our fairy tales.  We love dramatic play at MCP.  We have our three little houses so the kiddos can huff and puff and pretend.

We also have dress ups and props for our little pigs and wolf.  You and your child can use your imaginations if you would like to create a 'prop box' for The 3 Little Pigs.  A pink t-shirt, a black t-shirt or just the imagination.  Use the houses we have posted on our website.  Play indoors or outdoors.   Huff and puff and run around.  

Our Fun Food Friday for this unit is our 3 Little Pigs snack.  We tell the children are going to have straw, sticks and bricks for snack.  

Our Three Little Pigs snack is yummy and easy.  Add straw (1 can potato sticks), sticks (2 bags pretzels sticks---we broke in half for easy eating) and bricks (2 bags chocolate chunks).   It makes enough for fifteen hungry little piggies so you can cut in half for you and your family. 

We Love Elmer!

Today we celebrated Valentine's Day in our classroom with a special snack.  

We call it 'Elmer's Snack'.  Pretzels look all the same but Skittles provide the color and the fun just like our buddy, Elmer!  Lots of big fun with elephants at MCP.

We Love Chocolate

Valentine's Day playdough!  It's chocolate scented and we love it!

This is a recipe for an adult to cook and children to play with...

It smells so so good!

1 1/4 c. flour

1/2 c. cocoa

1/2 c. salt

1 1/2 tablespoons cream of tartar  

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 c. boiling water

Place dry ingredients in a large bowl and mix.  Add vegetable oil and boiling water and mix.  Be careful because the dough will be warm and hot in spots...knead until all ingredients are mixed.

Christmas in our Classroom

There is a LOT for your child to do this month!



https://metamoracommunityprek.blogspot.com/2018/11/mcp-christmas-2018.html




https://metamoracommunityprek.blogspot.com/2018/11/mcp-christmas-2018-part-2.html

MCP Pizza

On Thursday,  we made 'Bubblegum Pizza'. Bubblegum pizza?  I think the name comes from the way the pizza looks on the pan and when the cheese pulls. Who knows? This recipe was a favorite with my youngest son because it was so easy to make. Most of the children loved it. All of the children were able to help make the pizza. With adult supervision, your child can make bubblegum pizza at home.

You will need:
mixing bowl
spoon
cookie sheet or pizza pan
cooking spray
1 can refrigerated biscuits
pizza sauce
shredded mozzarella

Preheat oven to 400* and spray  the cookie sheet. Tear the biscuits into pieces and put in large bowl. Cover the biscuits with pizza sauce and mix. Biscuits should be covered with sauce but not runny. Pour the biscuits on a greased cookie sheet. Top with mozzarella. Bake 12-14 minutes.

We used four cans of biscuits and fed fifteen children. Most had seconds and some had thirds. At home, we have put on topppings and then the cheese. Yummy! 

Witch's Stew 2019

Get out the cauldron!  Time to stir up some witch's stew---
http://metamoracommunityprek.blogspot.com/2018/10/witchs-stew-2018.html

Playdough Power!

Next Monday, September 16th, is National Play-doh Day.  Plan ahead for some fun with playdough with your child.  Hate playdough in the house?  Go outside.  Meet some friends in the park and celebrate and get creative!  


MCP playdough recipes---
http://metamoracommunityprek.blogspot.com/2015/08/lots-and-lots-of-playdough.html

Why playdough is important to your child's development---
https://www.naeyc.org/our-work/families/playdough-p