Springtime Flowers!

I have to admit, I use Pinterest.  I love it!  There are so many great ideas, I get excited and want to try them.  For Easter I wanted to make flower shaped sugar cookies, however, I ran out of time.  So I was thinking we would make them this week which inspired the theme Springtime Flowers! Another recipe I have been waiting to make are Apples in a Blanket.  I thought I could tie that into the theme as well.  Also, the recipe that has been around forever, Dirt Cake. 

I know this all sounds delicious yet not so healthy.  I have a big sweet tooth so all of this sounds really good to me!  Actually in my efforts to eat better and live a better lifestyle, I have been reading many articles about coconut oil.  It is amazing how one oil can provide so many healthy aspects.  I was eager to try it so as soon as I finished the oil I already had, I purchased coconut oil.  I was very excited to bake this week so I could try my new oil.  I think it is pretty neat that I can use one item in many ways, in place of butter on toast or oil for baking and cooking.

We began with the Dirt Cake, we discussed how plants need soil to grow.  Our garden has a lot of soil so we can plant our vegetables.  We added gummy worms to our Dirt Cake because worms help our soil get nutrients it needs for plants to be helathy and grow properly.  We also discussed composting.  I did a project way back about composting and all the benefits.  Since I have a garden of my own I compost as much as I can.  The children came up with ideas on their own about what could be composted.  W said, "Cucumber peels."  M said, " apples." L said, "eggs."  Which I only compost the shells!  After making our list of composting ingredients we moved onto the next step, flowers. 

We made our flower sugar cookies and discussed what flowers need in order to grow.  They all were able to tell me that flowers need soil, seeds, water, and sun to grow.  As we were placing the cookies on the cookie sheet we named the parts of the flower.  Each flower has roots in our healthy soil, a stem, leaves, and petals.  We named different colors of flowers and discussed how bees help flowers and how they attract butterflies. 

W rolling a ball to dip in colored sugar.

While the cookies were baking they drew in their cooking journals.  They drew how flowers grow and what they need to grow.  After that they enjoyed a flower cookie!  Some of the flower cookies didn't exactly look like flowers.  As M said, "They look like butterflies!"  But it is not about the end product and how it looks, it is about the process and what we learned.  At least that's what I tell myself so I don't feel bad! 

Cookie Time!

Now for the Apples in a Blanket!  I love apple pie but do I really need a whole pie?  I don't think so.  So these are perfect!  Individual apple pies!  So quick, so easy, and so delicious!  While the children were taking turns adding ingredients or cutting apples we talked about where apples come from and how they grow.  We looked at the seeds.  Every time we eat a food with seeds L brings it to my attention.  So now we have two categories:  some seeds you eat and some seeds you don't eat.  I had the children categorize some seeds into the two categories.  I hope this helps so she doesn't keep picking cucumber seeds out or strawberry seeds off! 
We rolled our apples up and baked them.  At lunch time we tried one and let me just say a little bite of yummy deliciousness! 

Apples in a Blanket before being baked.

A lot of baking but so much fun and I am glad I was able to use coconut oil and try that.  I think the children will have a better understanding of soil and plants when it comes time to plant our flowers and vegetables.  As usual I will keep my ears open to listen for conversation about flowers.  For now I am going to go eat!

Flower Cookies:

Make a sugar cookie.  Roll into balls then dip into color sugar. Place on ungreased cookie sheet and using scissors slice the cookie to make the petals.  Bake according to your sugar cookie recipe.  We only sliced our cookie twice making four petals.  The recipe I found cuts their cookies three times making six petals. 

Apples in a Blanket:

I buy pie crust so you can buy your pie crust or make your own.

I used two tart apples Granny Smith.  Peel the apples and then with an apple slicer cut the apples.  Pour a little lemon juice on them so they don't turn brown.  Then cover them with cinnamon and sugar.  I used 1/3 cup sugar and one teaspoon cinnamon.  Roll those apples around and cover them good. 

Roll out the pie crust and place an apple on it.  Cut a strip of pie crust and roll the apple up until it is completely wrapped then cut the pie crust strip. 

Our crust completely covers the apple.  From looking at this again cut the strip narrower so the apple sticks out on the ends.  You will get more strips this way.  Just roll the apple until the crust meets then cut it so you can place another apple.  After the apple is wrapped roll it in the cinnamon sugar mix and place on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. 

Bake at 350 degrees until they are golden brown.  Let them cool a little on the pan and then remove them and enjoy them!

Farm animals!

Awhile ago we discussed gardening and what types of food grows in gardens and what types of food comes from animals.  Today we made pigs in a blanket, drank milk, and ate hard boiled eggs.  We discussed farm animals more.  We made the animal sounds and talked about the animals and what they provide for us.  Cows give us milk and meat, pigs give us meat, chickens give us meat and eggs. 

Will has been working on rhyming words.  So during the farm animal discussion we were practicing rhyming words to the farm animal.  Cow, ow, wow. Pig, wig, twig. Sheep, heep, steep. Morgan loves to rhyme and Will is doing very well.  He names a rhyming word.  Morgan thinks of her own rhymes throughout the day.  Lydia counted the Pigs In A Blanket for us, counting up to eight. 

They loved the Pigs In A Blanket and ate more than one!

I am looking forward to gardening this year and teaching way more than growing plants.  Will, Morgan, and Lydia are understanding where and how we get our food.  They make the connection while eating and while grocery shopping.

Easter!

Since I am not using this blog for school anymore I thought I would add our Ressurrection Rolls to the blog.  I like reading Bible stories to the children and teaching them about Jesus.  When I found this recipe on Pinterest I knew I needed to make these with the kids. 

We used cresent rolls, marshmallows, melted butter, and cinnamon and sugar to learn about Jesus' resurrection.  The marshmallow represented Jesus, the butter represented the oil people put on Jesus, the cinnamon and sugar were the embolming spices.  They placed the marshmallow on the cresent roll and wrapped it up.  We placed them in the oven for 12 minutes and when they came out we had a surprise!  The marshmallow was suppose to disappear representing Jesus had risen.  However, the marshmallow just fell out of the roll and was a nice glob next to the rolls! Maybe we didn't have them closed tight enough.  No big deal, we still ate them and discussed what had happened.

The kids were really engaged in this and learned what had happened to Jesus.  They were able to see and understand what we were saying.  Since they saw what happened it made the story clear and they asked many questions that I tried my best to answer. 

I had so much fun with this I am going to make this with the Vacation Bible School children this summer.   Apparently I didn't take any pictures because I can't find any on my camera! 

Birthdays!

The Birthday Girls!

This was quite a week!  When I finally made it to Thursday I was excited to begin making birthday treats for Morgan and Lydia's birthday party.  Lydia chose Minnie Mouse for her theme and Morgan chose Tinkerbell.  We started by making chocolate covered pretzels with green and purple sprinkles (Tinkerbell).  During this I watched their fine motor skills and coordination.  Will and Morgan made the pretzels and I noticed their fine motor skills increasing.  Their pincer grasp is working very well so they are able to hold a pencil and write. 

We also tried to make Minnie Mouse Oreo cookies on sticks, however, it's trickier than it looks.  We were able to count during this activity.  How many were successful? How many fell apart? 

We made colorful cupcakes so Lydia would be able to practice her colors.  The girls chose purple for one of the colors.  Since we didn't purple food coloring this gave us the opportunity to learn about mixing colors. So we added red and blue food coloring and stirred.  Magic...purple appeared and there were gasps around the kitchen! 

Including the children in the  baking for their birthday party heightened the anticipation for the party.  They were so excited and proud of what they have made. 

Conclusion

Throughout the process of searching and reading the research I found for my literature review I was excited and amazed at how much students can learn through cooking.  My children’s skills in January before we started cooking weekly included, for example, not being able to count in sequence, pouring an adequate amount with out spilling, knew nothing about other cultures, and they couldn’t measure. 

Now after cooking for many weeks their skills have greatly improved, they are able to count in sequence, measure, pour, they are knowledgeable about Germany and Mexico, and they love trying new foods that they have made, and they can make meals on their own. The best part is all the bonding we have had.   

I have enjoyed this project every step of the way.  I have learned that action project means to take action to provide a better learning environment, be active in the learning process, and learning together makes it more fun and allows for people to discuss topics.  This action project has made me feel that I have a voice and I can help children learn in a fun, creative, hands-on manner that incorporates an academic foundation as well as, life-long skills.  I have thought outside of the box. I have tried new things that I don’t think I would have tried if it weren’t for this project.  Even though the project is coming to a close for this class, I do not believe I will stop this project.  I have thought of more cooking experiences for the children and more concepts to teach them.  I would love to continue this project throughout the summer so when they go to school in the fall hopefully they will have many skills that will help them succeed in school. 

This project also has implications for the future.  In the next school year I will look for more opportunities to develop an action project and work with children to provide the best learning environment for them.  

Implications:

Cooking experiences are easy to tie in meaningfully to a variety of content areas and topics

Cooking experiences are highly engaging and interesting to students 

Cooking and gardening experiences are loaded with science and mathematics concepts

Cooking with children allows for differentiation in that learning of varying ages and abilities can gain relevant knowledge and skills and participate meaningfully

Cooking experiences need not be costly, time-consuming or complicated

Journals with drawings and narrative are an effective way for children to document and reflect on their experiences

Pretzels

Ingredients

• 1 pkg. dry active yeast
• 1 1/2 cups lukewarm water
• 3/4 tsp. salt
• 1 1/2 tsp. sugar

• 2 tbsp. butter, melted (or 2 tbsp. vegetable oil)
• 4 cups plus 1 tbsp. flour
• 1 egg, beaten
• Course salt

Instructions

1. In a large bowl, soften yeast in water for 10 minutes. Add salt, sugar and butter. Mix in flour until a dough forms. Knead the dough for 5 minutes and set aside for 1 hour.
2. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. With a knife, cut dough into small pieces. Roll each piece into pencil-thin ropes and shape into pretzels. Cover a cookie sheet with foil and sprinkle 1 tablespoon flour.
3. Place pretzels onto floured cookie sheet. Brush with egg mixture and sprinkle coarse salt on top. Bake for 12 minutes.

Black Forest Torte

Ingredients

·                        1 dark chocolate cake mix (or your own from scratch)

·                        1/4 c. kirsch (cherry brandy)

·                        1 can cherry pie filling

·                        16 oz. heavy whipping cream

·                        1/2 c. confectioners' sugar

·                        Maraschino cherries, drained, optional, for garnish

·                        milk chocolate curls or shavings, for garnish

Instructions

Make one chocolate cake in two round pans.  Remove them from pans and let cool completely.  When they are cool you may sprinkle a little kirsch (cherry brandy) over them.  I omit this and the cake still tastes delicious. 

Chill electric beaters and large mixing bowl; beat cream until it thickens slightly, gradually add confectioners' sugar and beat until thick enough to hold its shape.

There are many ways to assemble the cake be creative.  This is how I do it because the kids love it!  I slice each layer in half horizontally.  So you will now have four layers.  Set the first layer on a cake plate spread the whipping cream on and then spread on some cherry pie filling.  Add the next layer, some whipping cream, cherries, and the next layer, I spread the remaining whipping cream around the entire cake, top with cherries and chocolate shavings.  The fourth layer of cake we crumble up and put around the sides of the cake.  Keep refrigerated.

Chex Mix  

Ingredients

4 ½ cups Rice Chex cereal

½ cup White Vanilla baking chips

¼ cup peanut butter

2 Tablespoons butter or margarine

1/3 cup powdered sugar

¼ cup M&M’s

Sprinkles

Instructions

Place cereal in medium bowl.  In small microwavable bowl, microwave vanilla chips, peanut butter, and butter uncovered on High 1 minute to 1 minute 30 seconds, stirring every 30 seconds, until melted and smooth.  Pour peanut butter mixture over cereal, stirring until evenly coated. 

Place ½ of the cereal mixture in 1-gallon food storage bag.  Add powdered sugar.  Seal bag, shake until well coated.  Spread on waxed paper or foil, cool about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, stir candies and sprinkles into remaining cereal mixture. Spread on waxed paper or foil, cool about 15 minutes.

In serving bowl, mix both cereal mixtures, store in airtight container.

*Remember: You do not need to use peanut butter with this recipe.  You may use a substitute or just the chocolate.  I have also found other recipes that are lemon flavor so you may find a recipe that works for your environment.     

Fiesta!

As our culminating activity we had a Fiesta!  I pulled everything we have learned over the past few weeks and put it all together.  Using each concept we created a fun Fiesta! 

I started by reading the book Chicks and Salsa by Aaron Reynolds.  This is my daughter's favorite book to get from the library.  We have read it so much that this book inspired the Fiesta.  I thought we could use it for our cooking because it fits perfectly.  The farm animals are tired of their regular food, so the rooster watches a cooking show and discovers salsa.  The chickens go into the garden and pick their supplies and make salsa.  Then the ducks make guacomole, and the pigs make nachos. It is a great book and I like how the author uses alliteration.  Example: succulent, spicy, southwestern cuisine, the limes had been lifted, the peppers had been pilfered, the scallions had been stolen. 

After reading we made our own salsa. I wanted to do this last summer because we grow all the ingredients in our garden.  However, we never made any.  We were all excited to make salsa.  Come to find out it is very easy to make and I am looking forward to our garden this year so we can make more.  The children took turns chopping vegetables and adding them to the food chopper.  We spoke Spanish saying hello, good bye, hot, cold, counting, please, and thank you.  I found it interesting that I speak Spanish throughout the day and the kids never repeat it.  W can count to 10 in Spanish but other than that they don't say any Spanish words.  After today's cooking experience they were saying please and thank you in Spanish while playing and using their cooking journals. 

In one part of the book, when the animals are getting ready for their Fiesta, the bull practices the Mexican Hat Dance.  So I thought it would be fun to try this.  I looked up how to do it.  We gave it a try.  It was fun to dance together and learn a new dance as part of another culture.

I was so wrapped up in what we were doing that I forgot to take pictures.  The children wrote in their cooking journals.  They drew a picture of the salsa we made and labeled it.  Then I asked them what their recipe for salsa is and wrote that down.  Some very interesting recipes! W chose all fruit ingredients for a fruit salsa! M chose various items including fruit, oatmeal, yogurt, and onions!  L chose bananas, yogurt, and strawberries!

Watching the kids from the first cooking experience until now and seeing how much they have improved on their skills and how much they have learned and retained from cooking amazes me.  It is the simple things in life.  As a parent you don't need a lot of supplies or equipment to teach your children. They just need to be involved in the everyday operations and they can learn dozens of life long skills.  As a teacher providing cooking experiences in school would give children an experience they may not be able to have at home.