Week 6

Dear Preschool 2 Families:

Let’s Enjoy the Bountiful Harvest!

 

This week our focus was on the many fruits and vegetables that are plentiful at this time of year!  The children were amazed to discover how much of the healthy foods we eat are grown on a farm. We thought about what exactly a “crop” is and how is it “harvested”. Your preschoolers learned more as they used crops to create process art collage masterpieces and had fun rolling corn cobs in paint and adding a sprinkle (or a handful) of glitter.

 

The Little Red Hen helped us learn about wheat and how it is turned into flour. Ask your child if the other animals in the story were Kind, Helpful, or Polite and what they could have done differently. We took a moment to think of some of the yummy treats that can be made using flour, from pasta to cupcakes! We encourage you to see how many favorite flour-based foods you and your child can think of.

 

One of our favorite animals who call a farm their home is the trusty cow. Your children were surprised to discover how many delicious foods are made from milk, and we learned how butter is made. Working together, we then made our very own butter and will sample it next week on saltine crackers.  Yum!  Ask your child to tell you about the process.

 

Your preschoolers had great fun in our “Farmer’s Market” throughout the week, dramatizing buying and selling produce from the farm. As they played, they learned about a variety of different fruits and vegetables, exploring which ones come from the ground versus picked from a tree or stalk. As we discussed the delicious foods farms help bring to our tables, we took a survey of the children’s favorite vegetable. Preschool 2’s overwhelming top choice is broccoli with carrots and corn tied for second place! Honorable mentions were also given to cucumbers, tomatoes and potatoes (in the form of French Fries) Yum!

 

We have continued to enjoy hearing about your preschoolers’ discoveries as they shared their research on their favorite farm animal. We have learned some very interesting facts about horses, pigs, goats, cows, and more. Congratulations to all on a job well done!!

Thursday brought an exciting visit from Animal Adventures. The children were thrilled to meet Junior the chinchilla, who was “as soft as a pillow” and can jump 6 to 8 feet in the air, Sunshine the box turtle, an eyelash crested gecko named Freckles and 6 feet long red-tailed boa constrictor named Clifford. Cosmo the ferret got us bending and twisting following him a game of “Cosmo Says” (A.K.A. Simon Says) until he put his feet on his head…this proved to be a little too challenging for us. We ended by meeting a baby American alligator aptly named Gatorade who is only 3 1/2 yrs old and will grow to 10-15 feet long by adulthood.   Each of us had the opportunity to pet these special animals. Ask your child to tell you about the different animals and which ones they chose to touch (or not touch)! This was also a great opportunity to be a good audience member – sitting attentively and keeping our bodies still, looking at and listening to who is talking, raising a quiet hand, and waiting for our turn to talk. We practice these skills every day at school and the children were proud to demonstrate them for our special guest.

Next week we will continue our autumn journey with an exploration of leaves and trees. We encourage you to take a quiet moment outside with your child to observe the seasonal changes happening around us.  “L” will be our letter of the week, so send in those pictures of items beginning with the letter L. The children are so proud of the letter posters they create together. Thank you for supporting this activity at home.

 

 

Have a great weekend,

Miss Penny, Miss Michelle, and Miss Kathryn

 

Chunky Rosy Applesauce

7 (about 4 lbs) apples

2/3 cup water

2/3 cup sugar

2 teaspoons lemon juice

Core apples, but do not peel. Cut into pieces

Place apples and water into a pot. Heat until boiling.

Reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer for fifteen minutes, until the apples are tender.

Stir in sugar and lemon juice.

When cool, press the apple mixture through a food mill or strainer.

Cover and refrigerate.