Hot Chocolate Day!

This week our theme is Hot Chocolate! I don't know about you, but I love a good cup of hot chocolate. I really wanted to incorporate this into our play friends class. I got the idea from Deborah at Teach Preschool. If you have not checked it out, you really need to.

I loved the idea of having the kids paint their own hot chocolate, so that is what we did. Originally I was going to have them paint with brown paint scented with cocoa powder. I changed my mind and we painted with...wait for it...chocolate pudding! Oh my gosh it smelled so good. I cannot believe none of the kids tasted it! I was ready to dive in.

Then I had them paint the marshmallows with marshmallows dipped in white paint.

The finished products.

I also made chocolate scented play dough. Home made play dough is always a hit in my class and at home. I cannot recommend it enough. It is simple and there are a ton of recipes out there.

This picture is showing it more light brown, it really is a deep chocolate brown.

Overall, I felt it was a hit. The kids sat longer at the table then they had in a while. The thick texture of the pudding made painting more fun; not to mention the marshmallows! I think my son was the only one who ate one. 

Finally, my guy helped clean up the room after class. He took this seriously. He wiped down tons of toys! I taught him well. 

Have you played with chocolate/foods in your class or at home?

Angry Birds Live

My oldest son loves Angry Birds, but we limit his time on the phone. Frankly it is too small for him to be playing anything on it, but that is another post.

The other day while his little brother was taking a nap and we were desperately waiting for his best bud to arrive for a play date, he came up with this version of Angry Birds. He simply used green play dough and his wooden blocks. He knocked them down with a baseball, a big ball of play dough, and the big gun - a plastic hammer. Yep, a hammer.

The first attempt at building.

He made them harder the longer he played.

He got real good at knocking them down.

So who needs the online game? Not us, at least that day. He had a blast and it worked his hand eye coordination, gross motor and even fine motor skills without him even knowing it! I even tried my hand at it a few times. It was fun.

What has your little one done that makes you think wow?

Reading

I found this great idea over at Toddler Approved; a book nook.

I always have the ambition to read for 20 minutes every day to my boys. When it comes down to it, I forget. It could be my fault with poor time management. Sometimes it is due to craft time that went long, a play room that was highly over used and needed to be cleaned, or really to much blog/facebook time. Been there, done that. Speaking of that, a friend of mine said she set a timer on her computer so she can only be on Facebook for 15 minutes at a time! Genius. But I digress.

Since it is the beginning of a new year and goals are fresh in my mind, I am going to read darn it! We just checked out books from the library (cannot recommend enough) and I set them out so we will see them. We have to read at least one a day. This should be easy since I already have a book/craft in mind for Playaway. I normally test the craft out on my kids, but now I will add the book to the routine.

Now, I must say my reading nook is really my couch and nothing fancy like the pictures in the Toddler Approved blog. I would love to have a great nook, but we have too many books (3 shelves full) and little space. The play room is already jammed packed with toys, art supplies, the kitchen, and costumes. It is easier to read on the couch after bath and right before bed.

Do you have a reading nook? If so, share some photos.

Read on my friends.