This is the recipe we used for our weekly bread day with my little ones!
This recipe makes a BIG batch. Sometimes we'd make the whole thing and share bread with people we loved...and other times I'd cut the recipe in half.
Mix together:
1/2 C. warm water (bath temp)
1/2 tsp honey
1 packet of yeast
Stir together and let proof and get bubbly while you mix together the following items:
1/2 tsp salt
3 c. flour (whatever blend you want--we did 2c. bread and 1 whole wheat)
1 1/2 C. water
1/4 c. honey
3 T melted butter (or some type of oil)
Mix well.
Add in the proofed yeast.
Turn out on floured cutting board/table and knead. Get those little hands helping you!
Sing: (as you knead)
The Baker Song
Pat-a-Cake
Once kneaded well, decide how you will form your bread. Either make one large object, or give each child a small ball to make into their own object. Add items, if desired. Crasins, chopped nuts, grated (by the child!!!) nuts, etc. You can use the items to make the face on a cat or the petals on a flower, or the teeth on a dragon....get creative!
Put finished objects on baking tray lined with parchment. Place in 350 degree oven. Timing will vary, depending how thick you made the items. Keep an eye on the bread and have the children help you peek at it often. Observe with all your senses. How is it smelling? How is it looking? Has it changed at all?
Baked bread freezes well!!!!
Tuesday, July 28, 2020
Waldorf Bread Recipe
Posted by DL at 11:18 AM 0 comments
An overview of our Early Childhood Years
I wrote up a long, detailed post for a friend on how we arranged the kids' previous early childhood years, and decided to post it here, mostly in case I want to refer to it again at some point. :)
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We didn't follow a "curriculum" per say in my kids' early childhood years, but more of a methodology based (mostly) on the Waldorf philosophy with a little bit of Montessori thrown in, where I saw it fitting my particular kiddos well.
Posted by DL at 11:04 AM 0 comments
Labels: 3 years, 4 years, 5 years, daily rhythm, early childhood overview
Thursday, December 15, 2016
Cutting cord
I noticed earlier this year that our 5 year old isn't terrific at cutting. He isn't interested in art and craftiness like his older sister, so he typically doesn't choose projects that encourage him to practice his cutting. He is also a lefty, so that makes things a little tougher. When I realized he was a pretty terrible cutter, I made sure we had plenty of left-handed scissors and started looking for ways to invite him to cut...in a way he'd find interesting and useful for his world!
He currently loves any type of string or rope, so I got out some red cord, his scissors and an art tray and he spent some time hacking the cord up. Then he wanted to try the wire cutters from his tool box, so he headed out to the garage to get them. They didn't work super well, so then he wanted to use MY wire cutters, which are much sharper and worked pretty well!
All this to say, he spent about 20 minutes engaged in cutting and was highly motivated to participate in it...and he practiced his scissoring skills! I was working on my own project at the table, so I chatted with him, helped him hold his scissors correctly, and gave a few suggestions, but mostly he worked independently on this task.
I have more "cutting for boys" ideas I will hopefully post in the upcoming weeks!
Posted by DL at 9:02 PM 0 comments
Labels: art, boys, fine motor, scissoring, tablework
Sunday, August 28, 2016
Morningtime
Posted by DL at 8:52 PM 0 comments
Labels: literacy activities, morningtime, spiritual development
Saturday, August 20, 2016
Block Challenge
My kids haven't played with these bristle blocks in a while, and they happened to be in the dresser drawer next to where we were sitting. So I had them get out the blocks. Each kiddo decided on their own team name, which I wrote at the top of a piece of paper. Then I gave them different challenges, that I made up on the fly.
Build a boat using 6 blocks.
Build a restaurant using 15 blocks.
Build a playground using 13 blocks.
Choose just 1 color of blocks and build a school from them.
Etc., etc,.
Each kiddo had a little bell (this was Quinn's idea, which turned out to be a fun addition!) that they could ring once they were finished building. It wasn't at all a race, but they did have fun ringing the bells.
When they rang their bell, I would ask them to tell about what they built, and they'd spend a couple minutes explaining their design. I would ask some questions (and I did all this in an "announcer" voice and used "announcer-y" lingo). Then the other person would have to say 1 thing they liked about the other sibling's design. My kiddos weren't having a great morning getting along, so this was a way I used to help them practice kind words with eachother.
After they built each object and told about it, I gave them a point. Quinn was much faster than Beck, so she got a couple challenges ahead of him, which still worked out fine. I just wrote down at the bottom of the paper what the challenges he still needed to do were, so I didn't forget. I had them return all the blocks to the box after each challenge, so that when they started the next object they'd choose different blocks, otherwise if I let them keep them out, they'd use the same ones and there wouldn't be much variety in what they built.
When they got tired of the game (which lasted about 45 minutes!!) and I was at a stopping point, we ended the game (in the announcer voice) and then I told them their reward was to share a cupcake (that we happened to have leftover from a babyshower the weekend before). Of course the rule is that one kid cuts the cupcake and the other gets to choose their piece first. ;)
This game achieved my goal of peaceful play, but it also encouraged some problem-solving and higher-level thinking. Educational AND fun!! It could be played with any types of blocks, so it's very versatile!
Posted by DL at 9:16 PM 0 comments
Morningtime...why I love it!
Here's what we do:
Bible Study--we start by reading a focus verse together--the same verse every day for a few months until I feel like we're ready for a new one. The kids eventually memorize it because we read it every day. I print it off on a label that I put in their notebooks. Only 1 of my kiddos read, but I still think it's important for the others to connect the words to print, even if all they know is that it says what we are saying orally. Occasionally I have my oldest look up the verse in the Bible and read it from there, to remind us all that it's God's word we're reading. Currently our focus verse is Jeremiah 29:13-14.
Then we have a short little Bible lesson, which varies, depending on what we are studying, but about 10 minutes total. We try to remember to pray, but I don't do a good job on this one. That will be one of my goals for the upcoming school year!
After that, if I have all the kiddos, I read aloud some poetry. I read the same few poems for about a month, and begin replacing them with new ones, one at a time, once my kids begin to get bored of them...or memorize them! Often during this poetry time the kids ask to recite one of their past favorite they've memorized, and I always say yes!
We sing a hymn together--one that we are currently learning the words to. Usually my kids like to move to the couch for this, so we can huddle up and all see the words in the old hymnal we use. At our church, we sing using a projector and words, and more praise songs than hymns, so it is important to me that my kids learn the joy of using a hymnal and the beautiful words and truths in great hymns. My kids love this time, and I love hearing them sing or hum little bits of the hymns during the day!
During the school year when my oldest is at school, we do fingerplays, counting songs, and rhymes during this time, as well, which I consider my preschooler's literacy time for the day (of course we still do many read-alouds of great picture books several other times during the day, as well.)
Sometimes while we are already at the table for Morningtime, we might do an art project or activity. This happens more when my oldest is home, because she loves art. My littler ones are usually ready to get down and move around!
Sometimes Morningtime lasts 15 minutes and sometimes it lasts an hour, depending on the interest and attention of the kiddos and what we are doing. It is structured in the sense that we follow the same flow, but we don't have a set number of poems to read or fingerplays to say....it flows naturally based on what the kids need that particular day.
Morningtime is powerful because it exposes my kids to scripture and beautiful language in a way that is natural and doesn't require a whole lot of preparation from me. This makes it more likely that it will happen every day. We also light candles and drink tea and sometimes even eat something yummy during this time, which makes it feel more special. :) Morningtime is great because there aren't any rules--you can do what feels right for your season and your kiddos....And it starts the day out on a positive time together rooted in God's Word.
Because we're a foster family, we often have a baby or toddler in our mix. We include them in Morningtime if they are awake--I put them in their little highchair seat or pull the bouncer in the kitchen next to the table. Sometimes toddlers get to hold the fingerpuppets or scribble with a marker during Morningtime. Sometimes they last the whole time, and sometimes they need to get down and go play because they aren't up for sitting still. We go with the flow here, too, including the little ones however is working out for that day and working our hardest to be patient and inclusive to find ways to involve them, as well. Often it's singing a song we know they like or doing more fingerplays with manipulatives to they can follow along. I know when I model how to include these little ones, my older kiddos are learning these skills that will hopefully translate to the times they need to include littler ones in play, etc.
HERE is a link to a more in-depth discussion of Morningtime.
Posted by DL at 9:05 PM 0 comments
Making board books "irresistible" to toddlers....an invitation to read.
Posted by DL at 8:46 PM 0 comments
Labels: 12-18 months, 18-24 months, 2 years, books, literacy activities, toddlers