Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Mixed Reviews

We’ve been trying out some new recipes.  The first one I want to mention is my personal favourite of the three.  I originally made Veggie Pies for a potluck dinner but there was one whole pie leftover so I decided to reheat it for lunch the following day.

It did not replace the regular lunch but I used it as a side dish instead of salad or raw veggies and dip.  The children were unimpressed.  Few of them even tried it, choosing instead to just stare at it and shake their heads.  Fine then, more for me.  I wasn’t really surprised – cooked veggies are never popular.

MR01

Veggie Pie
  • 2 onions, chopped
  • 2 celery stalks, chopped
  • 1 red pepper, seeded and chopped
  • Olive oil
  • 4 large carrots thinly sliced
  • 2 cups Broccoli florets
  • 2 Tbsp chicken bouillon
  • ½ cup flour
  • 2 cups water
  • Pie crusts
 Sauté onions, celery and red pepper with olive oil in a large pot until softened.  Add carrots and broccoli and continue cooking for about five minutes stirring often. Blend in flour.  Mix water and bouillon and pour over veggies in pot.  Cook, stir often, until mixture thickens.  Pour into pie crusts in a deep pie plate.  Cover with top crust and seal the edges.  Make a few small slits in top for steam to escape.  Bake in 375 degree oven for 40 minutes until crust is brown.


The second recipe was also first introduced to the children because I had made far more than I needed for supper the evening before and rather than make more food for lunch I used the leftovers.  The reaction truly shocked me this time – every one of the five preschoolers finished all of their first helping and asked for more.

I added it to the lunch menu and the next time it was offered none of the children ate it.  I had inadvertently placed the wrong attachment in the food processor and sliced the carrots instead of grating them.  Carrot slices were easily recognized as cooked veggies and therefore rejected.  The third time I remembered to grate the carrots and most – but not all — of the children ate it again.
I couldn’t find the picture of the finished recipe – maybe I forgot to take one.  This picture is cropped from a larger picture where the food was not the main topic but it will have to do for now;

MR02

Quinoa Pilaf
  •  1 cup quinoa
  • 2 cups water
  • ½ tsp salt
  • Olive oil
  • 3 ribs celery, chopped
  • 2 onions, chopped
  • 4 carrots, grated
  • 1 tsp minced garlic
  • ½ cup raisins
  • 1 tsp thyme
  • 1 tsp oregano
  • Salt & pepper to taste
 Combine quinoa, cold water and salt in a saucepan, bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until liquid in fully absorbed.  Heat olive oil in large pot, add the celery, onions, and grated carrots; cook and stir until softened.  Add garlic, raisins, spices and quinoa, cook and stir until evenly mixed and heated through.

I also have this picture of one of the babies trying to eat every last piece of quinoa off the plate.  The spoon was too slow – he shovelled handfuls from the plate to his mouth.

MR03


The third recipe is one that I can barely force myself to eat but my husband and youngest son love it.  It has been offered twice as a daycare lunch.  Some of the children refuse it.  Most of the children eat it but none of them are really excited about it.  I doubt I’ll leave it on the menu.

It looked better before it was cooked;

MR04

Afterwards – not so much;

MR05

Chinese Stew
  • Olive oil
  • 3 onions, chopped
  • 1 lb pork, cubed or sliced

  • 4 cups frozen stir fry vegetables
  • 5 potatoes, cubed
  • 2 cups chicken broth

  • 398 ml can of crushed pineapple with juice
  • ¼ cup soy sauce
  • 4 Tbsp cornstarch
  • 2 tsp sugar
  • 1 tsp crushed garlic
Heat oil in large pot, add pork and onions.  Stir fry until pork browns and onions are soft.  Add vegetables, potatoes and broth.  Stir.  Bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer until vegetables are tender.  Combine pineapple, soy sauce, cornstarch, sugar and garlic.  Add to pork mixture.  Heat and stir until sauce is boiling and thickened.

Those are just a few of the recipes we’ve been trying out recently.  Lunch is part of the adventure.

Tuesday, December 11, 2012

The Antidote

I’m a coffee drinker.  A few months ago I began buying flavoured coffee creamer as an occasional treat.  After I emptied the first container I rinsed it out and went to put it in the recycling bin but I hesitated.  I like to use sturdy empty containers from familiar products for ‘readable’ toys in the housekeeping area.

This container was sturdy but I wasn’t sure if the children would be familiar with the product.  I decided to add it to the collection of ‘food’ on the shelf and see what they did with it.  It was an instant hit but not for the reason I expected.

Even after washing it out this container retains the aroma of the flavoured cream.  The children noticed immediately.  ‘Smell this’ was heard often and having only one container was becoming an issue so I had to buy more.  Vanilla Toffee, Mocha Almond Fudge, Carmel Macciato, and my personal favourite, Chocolate Mint.  MMmmm.

SB01

Then one day while several of the children were building with blocks one of them farted.  While most of the children groaned and covered their noses one ingenious child ran to the housekeeping area and grabbed a creamer container.  The other children followed.

They had found the ‘cure for the stink bomb’.

These containers have never been used during dramatic play in a coffee shop or restaurant but they are used almost daily as gas masks.  Once one of the children sends out the alarm the others all rush to get a container, open it and hold it under their nose until the threat is over.  They have the solution.

Thursday, December 6, 2012

Mr Brown Returns

I’ve mentioned before about how I periodically change the selection of toys available for play in the playroom.   Sometimes toys are rotated out of the room because the children have lost interest in them and I bring out ‘fresh’ toys.  Sometimes the change is made to make room for something that the children have requested.

Occasionally toys are removed from the playroom due to unrelenting conflicts over their use.  Mr. Brown (name given by the children) was one of those toys.  I don’t know why Mr. Brown was so popular but in a bin full of stuffies he was always first choice.

MB00

The last time Mr Brown was out the children would arrive and immediately rush in to get Mr Brown.  If someone else was already playing with him there would be moping and sometimes wailing.  Other stuffies didn’t have the power of Mr. Brown.  Personally I liked many of the other stuffies better but I was in the minority.

Then problems began to arise over hiding Mr. Brown instead of putting him away at clean up time.  The first children in the room would look in the bin for Mr Brown and discover that he wasn’t there.  Arguments would ensue over who had him last and what they had done to purposely prevent others from playing with him.

Mr Brown and the other small stuffies were eventually removed from the play room and other toys were brought out.  It has been more than six months and this week Mr Brown returned.  He brought friends – some old and some new;

MB01

It has been interesting to watch the children as they negotiate the power of the new toys.  New members of the group may have more importance than Mr. Brown.  I also find it interesting how small stuffies are the toy of choice given the wide selection of toys available.  Even the school age children are drawn to these toys over others.

The new farm toys are popular too.

MB02

It is just one of the toys I purchased from the Nature Shop and from my first ever visit to the new Ikea last weekend.  I’ve already made a list of more toys to get this coming weekend.  Mr. Brown has some competition.

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Artistic Inspiration

It has been more than two weeks since I renovated the sunroom and I still haven’t managed to get around to writing about it.  You can read about the history of the space here.

I had hoped to have photos and a detailed description about all the areas in the new and improved sunroom but for now I’ve only got this overview photo;


One photo doesn’t show how flexible this space is now but here is one of a portion of the room ‘in use’;


And here’s some art work that was created there;

 
This is a drawing of a ‘bug hospital’ that this child dreams of running some day.  Here they are describing the various insects that are in the hospital, what is wrong with them and how they are being treated.

Here’s another special piece of artwork;


This one was created by a child who doesn’t like to draw in school because the Kindergarten teacher complains about the quality of their artwork.

Sometimes the art environment makes all the difference.

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

A Lesson in Infant Development

It was 6:40 am and three children – aged 6, 7, and 9 – were in attendance. They were discussing activity options in an effort to find one that they all agreed on.  Much of the discussion centered on competition and power.  These three do not like to play independently but they all want to be the leader in group activities.

They ruled out dinosaurs because they couldn’t agree on who would control the strongest dinosaurs.  They briefly played with cars but there was a disagreement about which vehicle was the fastest.  I tried to explain that it didn’t matter what speed the vehicle was capable of because none of them would be allowed to drive over the speed limit I had set.  They just stared at me and then decided to switch to another activity instead.

No puppet show, no music band, no restaurant, no crafts.  It was beginning to look like they would never agree on one activity and then someone suggested ‘Let’s play Babies’ and there was a unanimous cheer – well, almost unanimous, I cringed and tried to look busy with other work.  If you want to know why ‘Playing Babies’ makes me shudder you can read about it here.

Once the ’parent’ role was assigned they began to negotiate the age of the babies in the game.  When they play this game they consider the power role to be the youngest of the babies – probably because they think that excuses them from more rules and therefore they can be more disruptive.  Sigh.

They decided the babies were both one month old and as the parent was attempting to care for them the babies were crawling around and fighting.  I intervened.

“You can’t do that” I said

“Can’t do what?” they asked

“Crawl, sit, argue, throw things – pretty much anything”

“Why?”

“You said you were only one month old and a one month old baby can’t do any of that stuff”

“What can they do?”

I printed off an infant development chart like the one here.  They read the list for the first month and the ‘babies’ tried to imitate each item. Their favourite was ‘Strong grasp reflex present’ the parent almost couldn’t escape.

The babies were now two months old and were practicing lifting their heads to 45 degrees when lying on stomach.  They began making noises other than crying and their cries became more distinctive.  The parent lamented “I can’t wait until this crying stage is over”.

Through my tears (from laughter) I informed them that it was time to get ready for school.  Playing Babies will have to continue later.  Maybe I don’t find this game so annoying anymore. :-)

Friday, November 16, 2012

Transforming the Sunroom

Last weekend I did it again – I changed the configuration of the sunroom.  Earlier in the week I planned to write a post about the new and improved sunroom and I wanted to include a ‘before’ picture.

Of course I hadn’t taken one at the beginning of the weekend project so I began looking through some of my old photos…..Even I was amazed at how many times I’ve restructured the sunroom.  So here is a little history of the most significant changes:

2002


Here the sunroom is used;
  • as an art area – counter along back wall,
  • for quiet time – toys & games are stored on shelves under the counter,
  • and for meals – the real dining room was the playroom during this era.
Main issues included a lack of floor space and the furniture was too big and bulky – most of the preschoolers used booster seats and needed assistance to get in and out of chairs.

2004


Sunroom is still used for meals, quiet time and art activities. Four small square tables can be rearranged easily if required.  There is also a smaller table and benches for the preschool children;


2006


New chairs and a round table for the preschoolers.  Smaller chairs for the older children can be easily moved from dining table to art area (back wall) as needed.

2009


Playroom has been moved to the living room which allows meals to be served in the dining room.  The sunroom is now used exclusively for art and quiet time activities.  Much more open floor space is available.  Toy bins are easily accessable by all and may be used on floor or table.


Main problem – too many toys – not enough art.

2010


Still using the small table and the floor for play but there are more art supplies available for the children to access independently.  This is getting closer to my dream of having a dedicated art room.  The older children also have a desk area where they can sit to work with more advanced art supplies.

Although this 2010 photo was taken before we did the  floor in the sunroom (read about that here) it is the most recent photo I could find of the space and with the exception of a few minor changes it is a fairly accurate ‘before’ photo.

Stay tuned for the complete description of the newly updated sunroom space….

Thursday, November 15, 2012

Snow and Sun

After a long stretch of cloudy, cool, damp weather we are ecstatic to finally have some snow.


Mounds of glorious snow to use to create trails around the yard;


And the sun has joined us – finally – adding some sparkle to all the fresh snow;


Even Mindy enjoys checking out the new paths we’ve made.


The little ones are learning to walk all over again – so much to explore;


Learning to move around in all that extra clothing;


The older ones just wanted shovels – to move snow all around the yard.


It’s the perfect start to winter and we’re looking forward to much more.

Monday, November 12, 2012

Pumpkin Pie


Early last week I cut our pumpkin in half and let the children remove the seeds and stringy inards;


I asked if any of them had ever tried roasted pumpkin seeds and if they would like to make some.  They were excited and then one of them eagerly announced that we would also be making some pumkin pie. Hmmm, I hadn’t planned on that.

We discussed the steps involved in making pumpkin pie and the children thought that it would take a very long time but they still wanted to try.  The first day though we just took out the seeds and roasted them;


We ate them for afternoon snack when the older children were back from school.  That evening I steamed the pumkin so the following day the children could work on preparing the pie filling.
They mashed the cooked pumkin;


then added some milk, eggs, and spices;


Eventually we had our finished product;


What a delicious end to a three day project.  We also have enough pumpkin puree in the freezer for future projects too :-)

Friday, November 9, 2012

Trees

It started as a competition.  The school-age children were making pyramids with blocks.  The five of them were each building their own structure and they began bickering and complaining that there were not going to be enough blocks.

The arguing began to escalate and then one of the children suggested that they should combine all the blocks and work  together.  A few minutes later they announced that they had made a ‘tree’;


Later in the day, during quiet time there was another tree;


I was informed that this one was from ‘The Lorax’.  A detailed description and re-enactment of the story followed.

All this tree talk reminded me of the funky yellow thing we found at the park this past summer – I assumed it was some typed of fungi. It was growning on a tree and the children were fascinated;


Yesterday at circle time we looked at the trees in the nature guide, discussed their simalarities and differences and picked our favourites;


Then I read ‘Signs Along the River‘ by Kayo Robertson.  The children were getting restless so we went outside to run around and of course look at trees;


Later we looked through the items in our nature treasure box;


And sorted the items into two groups – ‘Parts of trees’ and ‘Not from trees’.


Trees (and children) are amazing.

Thursday, November 1, 2012

Painted Pumpkin

Halloween 2012 is now history.  It was a very quiet Halloween night – we only had about on third of the trick or treaters that we normally get around here.

I will admit that Halloween is my least favourite of all the holidays but that doesn’t mean that we don’t celebrate it.  I did have most of my decorations up early this year – three weeks ago.  I also bought the pumpkins early but we didn’t do anything with them until yesterday. Part of the problem may have been that, of the 11 full or part time children that attend, the ones that are most interested in Halloween activities are not the ones who are here much.

I like to use pumpkins as a sensory activity for the children and we like to bake with them too.  We usually choose a pumpkin decorating activity that doesn’t involve carving it so we can still use the innards for food.  I found some really amazing pumpkin decorating ideas here.

However, with mostly just infants and toddlers here for the day any elaborate decorating techniques would not be developmentally appropriate.  So, instead we simply painted a pumpkin.

I found it amusing that the biggest problem I had with this activity was getting the little ones to stand up to paint.  Usually the messier the art activity the more likely they are to want to run around.  This time however  just sat, holding their paint brush, and stared at the pumkin on the table.  When I stood them up so they could reach they promptly sat down again.

Eventually they caught on and started painting the pumpkin.  The red paint did not show up well;


The blue was vibrant against the orange of the pumpkin;


We even managed to do some color mixing;


Of course by the end of the activity the pumpkin was mostly greyish brown but we were most interested in the process not the product.

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Fat Cat

Our cats Mali and Malta are six years old.  They are sisters but they have very different personalities.  Most people tell them apart by their colour – Mali is a orange/cream colour and Malta is a tortoiseshell.  Mali has another distinguishing feature that people comment on.  Mali is overweight.


She wasn’t always.  When she was two she was slim;


When she first began gaining weight I was unsure why – I fed both cats the same type and amount of food but only Mali was overweight.  Through observation I discovered that personality played a part too.

Malta nibbles her food, chewing each piece thoroughly and waiting a few seconds before selecting another piece.  Malta is picky about what she eats and the setting must be just right too.  If there is any sound or motion that disturbs her she quits eating and will not return.

Mali attacks food with fervour -  often consuming half the food in one bite and she doesn’t chew.  There is nothing that distracts her from eating.  So, I discovered that she really was eating more than her sister beause she was eating the food left in Malta’s abandoned dish.

I started feeding them separately and ensuring that Malta’s uneaten food was promptly removed.  The veterinarian also recommended a diet cat food.

It has been nearly three years since then and Mali has lost some weight but she still weighs more than she should.  The children like to see if they can lift her.


Recently, I decided to address not just the amount and type of food that she was eating but also how quickly she was eating.  I bought her this fancy food dish with several levels and she really has to work to get her food.

 

Moving each piece through the maze until it reaches the dish below.


Sometimes Malta likes to watch but the dish is far too frightening for her to try to get any food from it;


We had to put a cover over the top because sometimes Mali ‘cheats’ and just stands up to eat the food at the top.


It now takes Mali about 15 minutes to finish a meal instead of the mere seconds it used to take her.  Diet and exercise together.  I’m looking forward to her next visit to the veterinarian.