The Little Red Hen

Last week our kiddos finished making masks for their performance of the Russian folktale “The Little Red Hen.” Too cute! After the masks were finished, they decided to spend the morning using classroom items to build themselves a barnyard and act out their roles. It was sweet to watch them so engaged with each other in imaginary play.

This is the last week of class this year for our little east Asheville preschool. We will end the year in grand style tomorrow with a day of water play, a potluck lunch with parents and a ceremony recognizing the children who are graduating from the program and moving on to kindergarten. Look for photos of the festivities!

Caterpillars, Artwork, May Faire and More!

Every day there is so much creative play at our little east Asheville preschool. This spring, activities have had us preparing for the recent Waldorf May Faire celebration that we participated in at Azalea Mountain School, getting our spring garden in the ground and honoring all the wonderful creatures of spring (including our classroom’s living caterpillar friends).

Besides all the painting and drawing and recycled sculpture creations, the children have also made and flown their own kites and made artistic stepping stones for Mother’s Day gifts (shhhh! that’s still a secret!).

On May 23, our school will have a booth selling healthy treats at the Oakley Farmers Market’s Spring Fling event. If you’d like to meet some of our families and enjoy live music, baby goats, a puppet show and children’s gardening activities at one of our community’s most kid-friendly farmers markets, stop by between 3:30 and 6:30 pm at the market located behind Oakley United Methodist Church at 607 Fairview Road in Asheville. http://www.oakleyfarmersmarket.com.

We still have slots open for fall 2013, so please let us know if you’re interested!

Grow With Me is on Google+ now!

Spring Fun

Spring has finally arrived for real and our Grow With Me family is taking full advantage of the lovely weather. A couple of weeks ago, the children began planting seeds for their spring garden and today everyone pitched in to dig up some fresh earth for the planned bean and pea teepees which will grace our lower play area.

During indoor time, Ms. Katy has been helping the students make kites out of paper and wood and everyone has tried their hand at finger painting with soft spring colors.

Our next Open House is scheduled for 10:30-11:30 a.m. April 27. Bring your little ones to get a taste of what a day in our classroom is like, enjoy some fun stories and activities and share some healthy snacks. Please contact us to RSVP.

 

Friendships & Family

It’s hard to believe but there are only three more months left of our school year! Despite our first snow day of the year yesterday, we know that Old Man Winter is shuffling away and spring is right around the corner.

By now, we are noticing that the Miss Katy, the children and the parent volunteers have all formed strong bonds with each other. We are, as the song says, a “family under one sky!”

We look forward to welcoming new members to our little family, too. Our first Open House of the spring takes place 10:30-Noon this Saturday, March 9. If you would like to see what it’s all about, stop by for some play time with Grow With Me children, a yummy snack and more! RSVP to Katy Estrada at 828-337-4710.

Birthday Treats

When Grow With Me friends have birthdays, everyone celebrates. In this photo, Ms. Katy and the children celebrate a classmate’s birthday with a “Birthday Rainbow.” The birthday boy’s mama also brought in some yummy, gluten-free sweet treats for everyone to enjoy.

Here’s her recipe — it’s super-easy:

Crispy Rice Treats

1/2 cup dark Karo syrup (or subsitute molasses, honey or maple syrup)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup SunButter (I used peanut butter)
3 cups rice crispy cereal (be sure to get the GF kind if you want to keep this recipe GF)
1 cup dairy-free, soy free chocolate chips

1. Grease 8×8 inch pan
2. Mix dark Karo syrup and sugar in a heavy saucepan over medium heat – stir frequently until sugar dissolves
3. Remove from heat, stir in SunButter. Add rice crispies and mix. Press mixture into pan, set aside.
4. Melt chocolate chips in microwave-safe bowl stirring in 30 second increments (or on stovetop). Spread chocolate over rice crispy mixture let cool until the chocolate layer sets.
5. Cut into 16 squares

Enjoy!

Kitchen Creativity

Making the food is half the fun.

Snack time is an exciting time each day at Grow With Me. Instead of the kid constants of crackers and veggie sticks, Miss Katy always plans a hearty cooked snack that the students can help prepare with supervised chopping (with child-safe choppers and small cutting boards), stirring, pourig and mixing.

Some days it’s steamed rice and veggies, other days it’s oatmeal with apples and raisins or a nice stone soup made from whatever’s on hand.

At least once a week the students share a loaf of whole wheat flax bread that they’ve helped mix and knead in the classroom. In this picture, the students are working with Miss Rachel to mix up a batch of yummy apple muffins to warm little bellies on a cold winter’s day.

Indoor Fun

Since winter has so far brought us several days of very rainy weather, the children have had some extremely wet puddle fun outdoors along with a little more time indoors than usual. Fortunately, Miss Katy and the parent volunteers have been resourceful about coming up with creative inside activities to keep the little ones happy and engaged on the those dreary days.

Nothing is as fun as getting messy with paint!

When the energy gets wild, Miss Katy brings everyone close for a calming circle.

A piece of fabric can be anything a preschooler wants it to be!

Miss Katy tells a winter tale.