Golden Carers adds new activities for seniors weekly to help you keep things fresh and stimulating. Be inspired with meaningful ideas for any occasion.
A recipe for quick and easy creamy orzo pasta made with spinach and Parmesan cheese. It's a perfect vegetarian dinner or simple side side.
If you’re in the mood for pizza, try these easy veggie crust pizzas that come together in 5 minutes and taste incredible! We devoured these mini pizzas in minutes and loved the broccoli crust so much that we can’t wait to make them again! The best part of these is that its a one step […]
Honey Pot is 4 years old. Little M&M is 26 months old. Books We borrowed numerous books from the library on caterpillars and butterflies. They varied from simple board books (for Little M&M) to more complex (for Honey Pot). Butterfly Matching The Dollar Tree had a large page of butterfly stickers. Honey Pot used many of them while making cards for her pen pals, but we had some left over. I used a few to create this matching worksheet, and slipped it into a page protector so she could use a dry erase crayon. Butterfly Trails - Prewriting Practice I used more butterfly stickers to create some tracing lines for Honey Pot on the other side. Learning about the Life Cycle There are so many flashcards and worksheets out there just explaining the life cycle, but I wanted something a little more hands-on. I came across this wheel from Lakeshore Learning and thought it was just perfect. I printed out the template, and Honey Pot wrote her name on the front. Then we colored in the pictures. And I assembled the wheel, using a brad from my scrapbooking stash. We talked about the life cycle of a butterfly as she turned the wheel. She really seemed to grasp the concept of the cycle (as she did so well with the water cycle during our rain unit). Pattern Block Puzzles I printed off two puzzles from PreKinders for Honey Pot. Magnetic Pom Pom Caterpillars - Counting Practice Peaceful Parenting had a nice idea using pom poms to help toddlers learn to count. I created a template in PSE and slipped it into a page protector onto which Little M&M could place magnetic pom poms. Right-click for your own printable: Butterfly Color Matching Although I feel confident that Little M&M knows his colors, it is still important to review them and this activity provided fine motor practice for him as well. I printed this coloring page off the internet and colored just the middles. Then I taped it to the wall with a piece of contact paper, sticky side up, taped over it. I set out a plate of sequins in the coordinating colors, and he got to work! This is a big commitment for a little guy, so we kept it out and returned to it throughout the week until it was complete. Build-a-Butterfly I came across this build-a-butterfly idea from Little Family Fun, and then extended it a little bit. First I cut various shapes out of foam, for the kids to build butterflies and decorate the wings with shapes. Then I set them out near the glass doors, with a cup of water and two paintbrushes. Instead of just building butterflies on the table or floor, the kids were able to paint with water and stick them up on the window. They had a BLAST with this activity! Sometimes they just liked painting with water. And sometimes they painted the window, then created beautiful butterflies! Just look at how cute they look! Butterfly Symmetry Painting I found this fun idea from Mom to 2 Posh Lil Divas. I printed a butterfly template onto cardstock, covered one side with parchment, and asked the kids to paint the side that was showing. Then we removed the parchment, folded the paper over... And revealed our symmetry! This was Honey Pot's first time hearing the word, and so we discussed what it meant and I think she has grasped the idea well. Once they were dry, I cut the butterflies out and hung them up. Coincidentally, I hung them right near the caterpillars the kids painted with balloons last summer! Symmetry Chalk Drawings We continued our lesson on symmetry with some chalk drawings. I drew half a butterfly on the driveway, and Honey Pot tried to finish them. For Little M&M, it became a nice lesson on recognizing shapes too. Butterfly Pretend Play Pretend play is always a favorite around here. I found these headbands at the Dollar Tree weeks ago and had to pick them up in anticipation of butterfly week. The kids had such fun! Butterfly Garden - Field Trip What butterfly unit would be complete without a trip to the local butterfly exhibit? It's so incredible being in a room full of butterflies. And it was an amazing experience for the kids. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
A million years ago, well actually maybe just 5 years ago, I has a very short stint as a 'book consultant'. Yep, another thing on my list. Well, it was short-lived, cause it quickly became apparent that I was spending a lot of money on books. In fact, not only was I not making money from the 'selling' I was supposed to be doing, but the bank balance was going south, rapidly. But, as I told my hubby at the time, 'books are an investment'. We have a HUGE investment in books. The book I want to share with you today is The Very Hungry Caterpillar! An oldie, but a complete goodie! After reading it to the class, I like to read other 'caterpillar' books, and talk about what is the same and different in them. It is also a great opportunity to introduce the idea of literary vs factual books! I also love to get a whole stack of Eric Carle books out, and provide lots of opportunity for students to explore his stories and artwork. It is such fun for the students to create some artworks in the style of Eric Carle also. Do lots of 'texture' and 'print' paintings, one week, in a stack of colours. When they are dry, the next week, or day, you can get them cutting and layering their shape sot make pictures. One of my oldest copies of The Very Hungry Caterpillar (cough, cough, I think I own 7), bit the dust. So instead of sending it to book heaven, I chopped it up and laminated it. NOW, I use it for sequencing and display. I keep an eye out when I am at the shops, and any cheap books on sale ($1-$2), I buy 3 copies and do the same. Use one for the story - and one to chop up and use for sequencing activities. The Very Hungry Caterpillar is such a wonderful book for K-2 classrooms! Here is a list of themes you can incorporate into your discussion and follow up activities: Basic Addition and Subtraction Butterflies Caterpillars Change Cooking Counting Days of the Week Diary Writing (On Monday....) Eric Carle Author Study Heathy Eating Food Life Cycles Living Things Painting techniques (using various tools to achieve painting effects) Size and Growth Story Sequencing And that is just the beginning! What do you like to do with The Very Hungry Caterpillar in your classroom? Here is a freebie I created for you, some basic tracing for your youngest learners - find it in the tracing category of our Pond Coloring Club. Find more butterfly teaching ideas HERE Find more insect/bug ideas HERE
Everything you love about classic eggplant Parm, stuffed into a hollowed-out eggplant shell and topped with melted mozzarella.
Try some of these healthy oatmeal pancake recipes for a quick healthy breakfast! These easy oat pancakes are ready in 10 minutes and use simple ingredients like oats, milk, yogurt and fruit. Perfect kid-friendly healthy breakfast ideas for toddlers too!
Wat zijn edamame en wat kun je ermee? Wij vertellen je alles, uiteraard inclusief dé lekkerste recepten. Ga er snel mee aan de slag!
The whole family will love this classic eggplant parmesan! Slices of tender eggplant coated in homemade breadcrumbs, and then layered with melted cheeses & rich marinara! Whether you'd like to bake or fry the eggplant, this recipe has a method for both.
To wrap up our animal unit, we learned all about insects and life cycles! I used activities from my Insect/Life cycle unit if you are interested! We had already learned about insects back in kindergarten so we reviewed insects and did a sort in our science journals. The kids remembered lots of great characteristics such as six legs, three body parts, lays eggs, etc. They also remembered that a spider is not an insect! We then read books on insects and learned facts about different insects we were interested in. The kids then wrote 2 or 3 facts in their own insect books. They really enjoyed going to our classroom library to read insect books to use to find facts. Yay for research! :) To move on to life cycles, we started with the life cycle of a butterfly. In their science journals the kids illustrated the missing stage (pupa) and labeled all the stages. We also talked about the life cycle of a frog and did a similar activity but I forgot to take a picture! :) After talking about animal life cycles, we talked about how we have a life cycle also. The kids illustrated their own "I Grow and Change" books: At the beginning of the second week of our unit, I sent home a note asking parents to send in three pictures with their student (one of their child as a baby, one of them as a toddler and one of them now). I even showed them baby/toddler/kid pictures of myself and they LOVED THEM! I included some below so you could see :) I was so cute....what happened?? haha :) On Thursday, we used these pictures to write stories of what we were like at each stage of our life. The kids wrote what they looked like and could do at each age and drew a picture of the photograph they brought. Then they wrote a story about that time in their life. Here are a few examples: The kids really enjoyed learning about life cycles! We raised caterpillars last year so I didn't do it again....I wish I had taken pictures! I will try to remember to do that next year! :) We are about done with our Texas unit so I will have that up soon! And believe it or not we only have 9 school days left so we are right in the middle of our countdown to summer fun! Stay tuned for pictures!
Everything you need to know about making sourdough bread from scratch.
Learn how to make the perfect peanut sauce with just 8 simple ingredients and less than 10 minutes of your time! This is one of our go-to recipes in our house when we are in need of a good dip or dressing, and it hits the spot every time.
These FREE Printables and Unit Studies for Eric Carle's Books will help you expand on what your kids are learning through these beloved books.
Daily Recipes For Family
Free printable coloring pages for preschoolers full of spring bugs and beetles! I am sure these insect coloring pages will come in handy this upcoming weekend. Definitely, in our family! My boys have been interested
Learn how to make the easiest Homemade Tomato Soup! Say goodbye to the canned stuff. We are using a different set of cans (canned tomatoes) to make a much more flavorful soup! This recipe results in a creamy, smooth, and rich soup. It comes together in about 20 minutes! Make a few grilled cheese sandwiches and dinner is done!
Let me show you how to make this lemon risotto recipe at home! It's restaurant quality, but the method is easy and it's ready in 30 min.
This is the easiest side dish - Roasted Garlic Green Beans are a simple way to make green beans and so flavorful with lots of fresh garlic. It's the perfect holiday side dish but it goes great with any meal!
How to make Curtido Salvadoreño for pupusas.
Italian sausage marinara, cottage cheese, and fresh basil combine to make this decadent casserole. We've always called it "Postpartum Ziti" because it makes a TON and is perfect for bringing to new moms!
Spelt pumpkin waffles that are easier to digest literally and figuratively. Time to take your health seriously and give these spelt pumpkin waffles a try!
