Preschool Welcome Board

During our preschool welcoming exercises, the kids sing "Here We Are Together". This is the little board I came up with so that the kids can place their 'person' at the school when we sing each of their names. The cutouts are from the "Everyday Paperdolls" cartridge using the Cricut machine. I borrowed the cartridge from a friend and it's really fun. I wanted "L" to have leggings so I just eyed those but I love the Crocs that "M" is wearing and there are so many options with that cartridge. I added the detail with a Sharpie marker and then laminated each of them. They stick to the schoolhouse(which I was too cheap to laminate so I covered in Contact paper) using sticky-back Velcro. I taped a small manilla envelope to the back to store the paperdolls when not in use as well. The kids' school is called "Happy Hands Preschool" which is why there is a hand at the top of the school in place of the bell- (I thought it might seem a little creepy without an explanation).

The kids get so excited to put their person on the board and I like that they each get to feel special when we sing each of their names every week.

Rainbow Cupcakes

So, along the same lines as my last post, I taught preschool again this week and chose the theme "Colors".  We talked about animals using colors as camoflauge or to be attractive. We also talked about color blending and we experimented with that using jars of water and food coloring. So, even though we learned about rainbows the last time I taught, I couldn't resist making these rainbow cupcakes for our color-themed lesson 'cause it was just too perfect.

Here's what you'll need:

A cake mix **(light colored- I used lemon, but a white cake mix would work great, too)

Food coloring (enough to make all shades of the rainbow)

Whipped Cream (I used light Cool Whip)

Cupcake liners

**Prepare cake as directed on box, OR-- I was trying to keep them as healthy as possible so I didn't feel too guilty about giving cupcakes to three year-olds right before lunch :) so I used applesauce in place of the oil, and egg whites instead of full eggs (the premixed kind I buy at Costco). The consistency was a little bit denser but the lemon flavor of the cake hid any other changes from substituting ingredients.  

After mixing the batter, I divided the batter into six bowls and added food coloring to each bowl. Then I spooned the batter into the cupcake liners, obviously starting with purple and worked my way up.  It took about an average sized spoonful of each of the six colors to fill each cupcake.  After each color addition, I lightly smoothed out each color to make sure it touched the edge of the liner so the color would show when the liner was peeled away later.

(The liners themselves looked pretty cool afterwards, too!)

Then, I baked them according to the directions.  After they completely cooled, I added a dollop of whipped cream and served them immediately. (Tip: Make SURE they are completely cooled before added the whipped cream, otherwise the whipped cream will slide off the top). :) 

 Enjoy!

Rainbow Jars and art project

 

I participate in a "mommy n' me" type preschool where I teach two days a week once a month (does that make sense?) This morning I was teaching the kids about water and rainbows and the amazing things that water can do.  These are the arts and crafts projects we made to go along with the lesson. 

I used six glass bowls and poured 1/2 t. vinegar into each one. Then I added 4-5 drops of food coloring to each one along with 1/2 c. rice and stirred it well.  After each bowl was mixed, I separated it into two sets of muffin tins )I didn't want it too deep so that the bottom wouldn't dry/cook. Then I baked the rice at 200 degrees F. for 45 minutes.

I found the basis for the idea HERE but didn't want to have the kids just glue the rice to the paper, so- I pulled out yet another bunch of old baby food jars.  We layered the rice in the jars and hot glued the lids shut. The kids spooned the rice in themselves and were so proud!  I think they turned out kinda cool!  

We also taped the crayons together to create a rainbow that they could easily draw on a large piece of butcher paper and then they glued cotton balls to the base of each side of the rainbow.