Smell the Roses

As an adult, I am forced to admit that I often overlook and take for granted the beautiful simplicities of life. This week the children taught me something extremely important; take time to smell the roses… or weeds, whichever you have handy.

During outside time on Wednesday, Gabbi walked up to me with little white weeds in her hand. She put them up to her nose and breathed in their fragrance. Did they have a fragrance, you ask. To a child’s intricate imagination, of course they did. Judging by her smile, it was fresh and wonderful. "For you," she told me and added, "they need water." As we walked inside to place a handful of little weeds, which strongly resembled flowers into a cup of water, I was reminded of how special the little things in life truly are.

The problem? If you’re not looking for these little gifts, they could pass by unnoticed. Therefore, I am taking this opportunity to encourage you, all of you, to take time to smell the roses… or weeds, whichever you have handy!

Until Next Time,
Ms. Jolene

There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.

-- Albert Einstein

A World Different From Our Own

India has provided the children in Youth Group with many learning opportunities this week. They seem to find it intriguing to experience a part of our world that is so very different from our own.

The kids created Rangolia designs on Monday by gluing colored rice onto geometric shapes. They learned that single women in India create these designs to increase their potential for good fortune.

On Wednesday we made Indian Tigers. We painted paper plates orange and glued on ears, eyes, and black stripes. We learned that 60% of the world’s tigers can be found in the jungles of India.

To begin our day today we learned that because of the dry climate in India the people are unable to produce crops. To supplement this disadvantage they collect water from the Indian Ocean and the Bay of Bengal and allow the water to evaporate; leaving behind salt. We conducted our own salt experiment by making salt water and setting it outside in the sun. The kids took turns during the day observing the water level and updating their friends on the process. By the end of the day they were able to see that once the water evaporated there was, indeed, only salt left behind. Later in the day we spent our group time making a batch of Kheer (sweet rice pudding) which is an Indian dish. The children took turns adding ingredients and again, observing the changes. We were able to eat the final product for our afternoon snack. "Mmm… it’s really good," Jack said as he tasted the mixture of milk, rice, raisins, sugar, and sliced almonds and listened to five mealtime customs, for example, Indians eat several small meals a day.

Overall, this week was a week full of learning, experimenting, and, as always, having fun!

Make Kheer at home. Here's how:

Kheer (Sweet Rice Pudding)
Ingredients
½ cup basmati or long-grain rice
4 cups milk
¼ cup raisins
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon cardamom seeds
¼ cup almonds, slivered
Procedure
1.Wash the rice and soak in water for 30 minutes. Drain well.
2.Boil the milk in a large pan. Lower the heat and add the rice and cardamom seeds.
3.Simmer on low heat until mixture thickens to a pudding-like consistency, about 1½ to 2 hours.
4.Stir every 5 to 10 minutes to prevent mixture from sticking to sides and bottom.
5.When the mixture has thickened, remove from the heat. Let cool about 25 minutes, and then add the sugar and stir well.
6.Add the raisins and almonds. Serve hot or cold.
Serves 4 to 6.

Our Summer Travels

We are becoming world travelers this summer as we follow along our weekly destination themes. We set off for our adventure in June. Our first stop was Mexico. While exploring Mexico we made tacos. Each of the children chose the ingredients for their own tacos. Their choices were meat, cheese, lettuce and tomato. Gabbi stuffed her taco full of the colorful ingredients.

Next, we celebrated the fourth of July in the United States, in Washington, D.C. The children were able to use red, white, and blue flannel pieces to construct American flags. They also used toothbrushes, glitter, and pipe cleaners to paint their own fireworks.

Last week, we stopped in France and became artists. We painted at an easel and used a painter’s palette, pretending we were famous French artists.

This week our trip has taken us to India. We are experiencing the smells of some of the spices of India. We will be creating a representation of Curry Rice.

We are looking forward to going south across the ocean to Australia. We will enjoy exploring and talking about some of the interesting animals that can be found there.

After that, north to Germany and then…

We have already had so many different experiences. Wouldn’t you like to join us in our travels? We are having so much fun!

Picnic on the Playground

With a blanket on the ground, a warm sun in the sky, and yummy lunches to fill our tummies our summer picnic was a complete success.

We found a perfect place to have our picnic. We spread our blanket out on the playground overlooking

our friends from Magic Kingdom who were enjoying their outside time. We really had fun watching them run around, use the hula hoops, and ride the bicycles. We rarely have such amazing entertainment at lunch time.

Our friends took turn between bites (well sometimes between bites) being silly or smiley for the camera. Yuri shared a big smile and Maria shared a silly way to eat mandarin oranges.

A picnic was a wonderful idea. However, after a morning of playing and eating outside, nap time became a wonderful idea too.

"We're All Friends Here"

“We’re all friends here,” Alex told Yuri when she entered our classroom during story time for her first day. He handed her a book and patted her on the back.
Alex could not be more correct. We are all friends here and our amount of friends increased by two this week. Yuri and Bryce became our newest Big Bird Buddies, but not for long. We are excited to announce that Elliott will join us next week. The more the merrier!
Our new friends received letter links. Letter links are pictures of common objects that correspond with the beginning sound of the children’s names and are used to help them learn to identify their names; Bryce broccoli, Yuri yoyo, and Elliott elephant. They will also use these to recognize their diaper drawers, cubbies, and artwork. Our new friends have begun potty training with us (Elliott is already well on his way!). We will focus on their awareness and frequent visits to the bathroom.
We are pleased to have them in our room and we are ready to help them grow, learn, and succeed.

Reminder: We are having a Summer Picnic this Friday. Please send only cold lunches with your child, as we do not want them trying to eat anything hot on a blanket. Thank you!

Happy Birthday Ms. Lois on Friday!

~Ms. Jolene and Ms. Lois