PERFECT No Cook Play-doh

After making sugar cookies on Monday, reading about Gingerbread boys, and practicing with cookie cutters, we were ready for a fresh batch of play-doh so the school friends could "make cookies" and tell stories all on their own.

This is not a new recipe, but it is hands down, the BEST and EASIEST play-doh to make in minutes. It's soft, easily moldable, and cheap.

Recipe and Instructions:

• Put 2 cups of water in the microwave for 4-5 minutes.  Get it boiling.
• Put 2 cups of flour in a bowl.
• Add 1 cup of salt.
• Add 2 tbsp of Cream of Tarter and mix all the dry ingredients.
• Form a well in the flour mixture.
• Drop 2 tbsp of oil into the well, along with any desired food color or glitter.
• Add boiling water and stir all ingredients.
• Let sit for a few minutes and continue to knead until you have a well formed ball.
• When the temperature has come down a bit, PLAY!

During Work Time, the school friends continued to explore with cookie cutters, rolling pins, cut up straw pieces, pipe cleaners and more.  Irresistible, sensory fun!

Tis the Season to be Jolly

We welcomed December with festive new work in the Explore Table and House Area.  In addition to singing "Jingle Bells" on repeat, this new table filler encouraged lots of conversation about shapes, sizes, textures, materials, colors, quantities, and sounds.

We have one unsolved mystery as of now.  Not one jingle bell could be found that would fit in the smallest circle Christmas box.  We are on a mission to find a bell small enough to fit inside with the lid on tight.  :)

We also filled the boxes and pretended to exchange Christmas gifts, and it was SO hard to wait to open them up!  We would shake the boxes and listen to see if we could figure out what was inside!  Super exciting!  ;)

We had a cookie party today with the new Christmas cookies!  Snuffy even got in on the action.  We "fed" him so many cookies he got a tummy ache!

Poor Snuffy.  He had to lay down and take some medicine.  That's what happens when you eat too many cookies at Christmas!

Careers- What will you be?

Old stuff rocks.  It does!  Look what the school friends have been doing with obsolete technology: old modems, flip phones, random cords, computer fans, keyboards, and more.  They set up their own office space, "built" computers, made connections, sent out "bills," and made follow-up calls requesting payments!  Toddler "K's" dad was the inspiration for these new parts and doo-dads in the Toy and Puzzle Area.  Some people grow up to fix computers, or help people make connections with phones, computers, and the Internet.  

Friend "S" said that she wants to be a baker when she grows up.  To explore this career a little bit, we baked blueberry muffins for Small Group and then ate them at Snack Time later!

Some friends didn't mind doing the eggs and other friends did NOT want to get their hands slimy!  We split up the jobs: pouring in water and oil, cracking eggs, adding muffin mix, and putting muffin liners in the tray.  They were super yummy!

Snow scenes, Mega-Block Giraffes, and Cookies

Making "small worlds" is one of Ms. Harmony's favorite ways to play!  The school friends used a tray of cotton balls, stones, gems, felt snow, and Arctic animals to create snowy scenes.  It was wonderful to see the children working together, naming animals, sorting, and quantifying materials.

 Friend "S" began building a tower with Mega-Blocks, but after using all of the pieces decided it looked like a giraffe!  That's the beauty of open-ended materials.  They can be turned into anything the child imagines.  :)

Toddler "K" and Friend "S" worked on making letter trains and sending them down ramps.  Friend "S" discovered that shorter trains race faster down the slide because they aren't as heavy.

The last plan of the morning was to make a Bakery.  Some friends "baked" the cookies, some "frosted" them, and lastly, some friends served the cookies up to the stuffed animals.  :)  There's just something about warm cookies on cold days that is super wonderful.

The "House Area" is more than a house...

Although this center is referred to as the "House Area," it is so much more than a place to play "house."  Simply, this is the area where most socio-dramatic play happens.  This means that sometimes the House Area can be a post office, a fire station, or even a grocery store.  Changes this month included reducing the kitchen set up to a smaller furniture piece, in order to add in a baby nursery.  With the monthly focus being on different jobs people have in our community, it was important for children to interact with ideas of being doctors or nurses, bakers or chefs, veterinarians, or child-care providers.