Kiddo Cooking - Make Some Applesauce

Every year, around the holidays, we try to cook with the kiddos. Applesauce has become a favorite, as it is (almost) universally yummy to all, and kids LOVE to chop.

Making applesauce together can be a fun, and educational, thing to do as a group or even remotely, with supervision. However, or wherever, you are learning this year, group projects are great for building community ... and for fun cross-curricular work. 

When you make applesauce, you can do math when you count up how many apples you have, or look at patterns with different apple colors. You can write together about the experience and read lots of great books about apples. Cut the apple in half to examine the seeds, stem, flesh and skin - like a scientist!

And ....

Share the spirit of Thanksgiving by cooking and sharing with others - it is the greatest lesson for your kiddos. 

If you’re comfortable sharing the cooking process these days, you can start your kiddos off with peeled apples or show them how to work an apple-peeler-corer device, if you have access to one. That’s always a big hit! In the past, we’ve had students bring in a washed apple in a plastic ziplock, if they are able - do what makes you comfortable. 

Children as young as preschool can dice apples from slices with a plastic knife, as long as there is proper supervision. You don’t want any knife-dueling to break out :) Chopping is a great fine motor exercise, and gets the “helper hand” involved to hold things steady. 

Scooping the chopped apples into a group crockpot (on low), with a little water, will get your room smelling delicious! If you have cohorts, some could do this at home and then contribute - or refrigerate and do it on consecutive days with different cohorts. A variety of apples, sweet to tart, makes a nice flavor with just a pinch of cinnamon added to taste. Turn up to high and cook for a few hours (or take home overnight) - then mash up into a fine pulp. I use an immersion blender, but you can do this with whatever you have on hand. Have small containers on hand to give each helper a way to take and share the fruits of their labor. 

If a shared dish is not feeling comfortable, try having each student put their diced apples in a small container with a little water and a drop of lemon or orange juice to help with freshness. When they get home, send directions to transfer to a microwave safe mug or dish and microwave for a few minutes until soft enough to mash with a small fork.  

Encourage your students to share this dish with some family members, in the spirit of Thanksgiving. 

While you’re waiting for your end results, engage your students in a craft! Make a holiday placemat with a traced handprint turkey in the middle, and fall color strips of construction paper to snip and arrange in patterns around the border. 

Or try a Thankful card - help your students spell out things they are thankful for on a folded card to bring home to families. It’s a great time to remind ourselves of the special things we might take for granted - family members, special foods, pets, etc. 

Parents - you can do this at home, too! Your kids will love helping and take great pride when their dish is shared on the holiday table :) 

Have fun!

Thankful Project: Building Community

 

Whether your kiddos are in-person, remote or hybrid, they are all part of your classroom community. As Thanksgiving approaches, it’s a good time to work on building community through a shared project. 

Creating a visual display in which each member of the class has a part can be a great unifying group effort. The focus could be a big turkey or a class cornucopia - the important thing to do is to get the whole class involved!

Send home construction paper shapes - feathers for a turkey or fruits for a cornucopia - for each child/family to decorate. Make sure to send good directions, letting them know that they can be creative in what materials they use and really personalize their pieces. It might help to send a photo of a finished project, so that they get the idea. 

Parents could tell what they are thankful for about their child or students could express what they themselves are thankful for! Giving a deadline over a span of time allows them to work as they can, and feel less pressure. 

Each one that comes in is combined to form a shared project, while celebrating each individual student! Make sure all kiddos are represented in this - build them up by building up their community!

Have fun! 

Thankfulness: A Thanksgiving Project!

Saying thank you is a wonderful way to build social skills with your child. Whether your child received a gift or had a wonderful visit with someone, a homemade thank you card is the way to go!

Fold some paper in half - construction or computer paper is fine … or look for cool card stock papers, available at your local craft store. Show your child how cards typically open, book-style, and show them how words go in a left-to-right progression.

Then, go on a letter search - use all those catalogs that are coming in the mail! Help your child find all the letters to make the words "Thank You!" and get some cutting practice in … so good for small motor practice! Your child can arrange the letters on the card, practicing that left-to-right progression again, an early reading skill :) When thats done, help brainstorm what to say.

Thanksgiving time is also a great time to practice these skills! Get your child in the habit of looking for things to be thankful for - it can be a lifelong thing! And … so many other skills come into play with a project like this!

First, you and your child will use language and planning skills to come up with a list of things to search for that your child is thankful for. Then, hone small motor and visual discrimination skills while searching for pictures and words that fit your list. Get out your scissors and cut, practicing small motor skills. Now, make a placemat of things that your child is thankful for. It could be laminated for use at the table on Thanksgiving - and beyond!

Your child will delight in finding photos and words that represent things he or she is thankful for! (And get lots of practice at so many things!) You could even make it a counting project … add a new thankful thing each day :)

Have fun!

Make a Thankful Book

Make a "Thankful" book, just in time for Thanksgiving!

Choose whether you want it to be a book of "Things" or a book of "People," then get started with an easy template of "I am thankful for ..." pages. 

If you decide on an "I am Thankful for People" book, help your child come up with a list of important people, like friends, cousins, grandparents, etc. Then, your child can take, find or draw pictures to assemble into a little book. Don't forget to complete it with labels or captions about each picture.

To make a "Thankful" book of Things, use the same idea, generate a list and add pictures ... I'll bet some favorite toys, pastimes and special things would make a nice book that your child would love to "read" again and again!

A book of their own will be a great resource for your child who is just starting to ask about names of important people in his/her life or how to write something like "legos," "animals" or "books." Use it as a resource for learning the spelling of loved ones' names and as a writing tool for early writers.

Super simple and super fun!

Have fun - and, be thankful!

Turkey Time!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Here's a short list of things to do with your kids:

1. Give them jobs to do to help prepare for the holiday: teach responsibility through small chores and jobs. Setting the table, counting out silverware, greeting guests and taking coats are all small tasks that will help your child feel included in the festivities.

2. Make a centerpiece! Take some natural items that your child can scavenge from the great outdoors - pine cones, berries, small rocks - and add to a large vase or glass container. Set in a large pillar candle or some votives, making sure that nothing is near the flame. Your child will be thrilled to help!

3. Design some placecards! Grab some card stock or heavy paper and some art materials and have your children practice writing names! Give them a list of who will be gathering and let them design some stand-up cards to place around the table. Stickers or stamps and ink pads would be cool, too!

4. Play some old-fashioned games when the feasting is over! Simple games were played even by the Pilgrims - rolling hoops, tic-tac-toe, checkers - spend some time on something that's not plugged in and have a great conversation with your child!

5. Go for a walk! After your fantastic feast, while you're "making room" for dessert, get out and go for a walk around the block or down the street!  Get some exercise for the whole family :)

Have fun!