1.24.2016

Menu Plan Monday

Monday ~ almond coconut tilapia, rice, green beans
Tuesday ~ oriental chicken salad, fruit salad
Wednesday ~ hot dogs, mac & cheese, apple slices
Thursday ~ scrambled eggs, bacon, bagels, fruit salad
Friday ~ grilled hamburgers, chips, pickles, apple slices

Linking up with Org Junkie...check them out for more recipes.

1.22.2016

{preschool} winter reads

One of the things my students look forward to each day are the stories I read at snack time!  The last few weeks we have been talking about winter.  Here are a few of our favorite winter themed books...


Little Penguin Gets the Hiccups by Tadgh Bentley.  This book is adorable!  Poor little penguin has a bad case of the hiccups and he tries everything to get rid of them.  I love that this book has a part where the kids can interact.  A must read!

Penguin on Vacation by Salina Yoon.  Penguin has had enough of the snow and ice, so he decides to head to the beach.  He meets a new friend that shows him what to do in the sand and sun.

Bear Snores On by Karma Wilson.  Bear is hibernating peacefully in his cave until his friends start coming in and having fun.  Does bear keep snoring or wake up?  I love all the fun Bear stories by Wilson.

Snowmen at Night by Caralyn Buehner.  This story makes you wonder if the snowmen we make really do stay put all night or not...lol!  We love talking about the snowmen and all the things they supposedly do when we are asleep!

There Was a Cold Lady Who Swallowed Some Snow by Lucille Colandro.  I love these old lady books.  Is there anything she can't swallow?!  In this story she swallows snow, a pipe, hat and more.  Do you think you know what cold surprise is at the end?

Under My Hat I Have a Hood by Karla Kuskin.  This is a cute, rhyming story about all the things we put on to keep us warm in the snow.

The Little Snowflake by Steve Metzger.  It is the dream of the little snowflake to fall from the sky and land somewhere he will end up incorporated into a beautiful snowman.  Will his dreams come true?!  Such a cute "little" story.

There are so many more wonderful winter themed books.  I would love to hear what your favorite winter preschool reads are.

1.18.2016

Menu Plan Monday

Monday ~ cheese tortellini, salad, bread
Tuesday ~ ranch pork chops, green beans, potatoes
Wednesday ~ waffles, bacon, banana
Thursday ~ chicken caesar burgers, tater tots, carrots
Friday ~ ham & cheese pockets, chips, pickles, apples

Linking up with Org Junkie...check them out for more recipes.

1.15.2016

preschool {winter} fun

One of my 2016 goals is to share more preschool tidbits on my blog.  The last couple weeks we have been talking about winter, snow and all things cold at preschool.  So here are a few super fun things we did during our winter unit...

Make a winter scene...Each child had to cut out 3 triangle trees, tear the white paper for snow and glue to the blue background paper.  Then they used a white crayon to add some "snow" to the sky and trees.  Finally they placed some fun wintery stickers on to finish the scene.  


We are always working on counting and number recognition, so this number snowman fit in great this week.  The child is told a number and they must find it on the snowman and cover with a snowflake.  The number line at the top is for those who needed a little help identifying the numbers.


Who doesn't love to make a snowman?!  We had 2 versions...the first was a manipulative.  The children were encouraged to take turns building a snowman using the provided pieces...cotton rounds, buttons, small twigs, foam hats, and ribbon pieces.  It was interesting to see color choices and number of scarves or buttons each snowmen had!


The next snowman was paper snowman.  Each child had to cut out 2 circles and attach them.  Next they glued on the arms, scarf and hat.  Then they were told to draw eyes, carrot nose, mouth on the head and buttons on the body.   These turned out especially cute.  I loved seeing the different mouth expressions some made..this one is a cute, simple smile while there were others with open, surprised mouths and even mad, grumbled ones!


Learning to identify colors and sort them is another skill we worked on.  Here I had cut mittens out of several colors of construction paper.  Then I grabbed a variety of colorful objects for the children to sort.  We incorporate this activity at circle time also.  The children identify a color on their clothing and then find something in the classroom that matches.


Another activity that is fun to do in our winter unit is hot chocolate tasting!  Most of the kids love the hot chocolates.  Only a few opt for water instead!  ;)  Everyone knows that hot chocolate is better with marshmallows, so we do several fun activities with those too!

marshmallow painting...use a large marshmallow, dip it into white paint and stamp it on paper.
marshmallow sensory bin....place a mix of mini colored fruit flavored marshmallows and white ones in a bin with foam cups, spoons and scoops.
marshmallow art....have children practicing using small dots of glue and stick on mini marshmallows
marshmallow drop...using tongs the children pick up a marshmallow or white pom pom and drop into a mug


Here are some other winter themed ideas I posted last year.

1.11.2016

Menu Plan Monday

Monday ~ scrambled eggs, bacon, english muffins, banana
Tuesday ~ ranch pork chops, green beans, potatoes
Wednesday ~ quesadillas, chips & salsa, refried beans
Thursday ~ turkey chili, grilled cheese, apple slices
Friday ~ chicken caesar burgers, tater tots, carrots

Linking up with Org Junkie...check them out for more recipes.

1.07.2016

Savory Breakfast Casserole

Sometimes I can stare in the fridge and see food options but not really know what to fix.  I get in a rut and fix the same thing over and over again.  Then there are those leftovers that nobody ever wants to finish.  Leftovers are almost always inevitable after holiday gatherings, so why not use them to create an entirely new dish!

We always travel for Christmas so when I contribute to a meal I like it to be something easy.  And what's easier than rolls?!  Afterwards we had plenty of the rolls leftover so I came up with a dish to use them up.

Who doesn't love breakfast for dinner?!  Or breakfast anytime of the day really.  ;)  So I decided to make a savory breakfast casserole using up my leftover rolls and some creamy Chobani greek yogurt. 

I started by spraying a 9x13 baking dish.  Then I tore 5 large rolls into bite size pieces and placed them in the dish.  Next I added sausage pieces that I had cut up.

Then it was time for the egg mixture.  I mixed together eggs, milk, Chobani plain greek yogurt, shredded cheese and seasoning.

Then I poured the egg mixture over the bread and sausage, making sure all the bread was coated.

Now it's ready to bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes.

Let cool for a few minutes and enjoy!  I served my casserole with some pan fried potatoes and fruit.  This meal would be great anytime of day!  If you are serving this for breakfast you could easily whip it up the night before and refrigerate.  Then in the morning take it out about 30 minutes before putting in the oven to bake.

Check out madewithchobani.com for other yummy recipe ideas using Chobani greek yogurt!

Savory Breakfast Casserole

Ingredients:
8 eggs
1 cup milk
1 cup Chobani plain greek yogurt
1 cup shredded cheese
1 tsp Mrs. Dash original seasoning blend (or just salt & pepper to taste)
5-6 large dinner rolls
3-4 sausage patties, cooked and diced

Directions:
Grease a 9x13 baking dish and preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Tear the rolls into bite size pieces and place them in the dish.  Next add the sausage pieces.  In a large bowl, mix together the eggs, milk, greek yogurt, shredded cheese and seasoning.  Pour over the bread, making sure it is all coated.  Bake for 30-40 minutes or until the top of the casserole begins to brown and springs back when touched lightly.  Let cool, slice and enjoy!

1.06.2016

{happy} 2016

This last year just flew by and I have been slacking on my posts....sorry!  I'm hoping to get back into a blogging routine in 2016.  I was looking back at past posts and realized that next month I will have been blogging for 8 years!  Where has the time gone!?  Here is to a happy, healthy and more crafty year!  ;)

 {source}