r is for roll

our giant tape ball had some action a few weeks ago.

from the sanctuary (also known as “big church room”) down to our classroom.

ball rolling

ball rolling

(i was on my back taking these and the ball rammed the camera into my face.  yikes.)

ball rolling

ball rolling

ball rolling

and if the ball made it’s way around the corner like this to the classroom, that was a “goal.”

k is for kansas

kansas turns 149 today (and no, i did not stay up until midnight to post this…i usually do a bunch of posts and schedule them for later).

butter time

our  kansas celebrations this week include making butter to eating zweiback brought by families.  its such a simple process, i don’t know why i don’t do it more often.

we used fancy local cream that came in a glass bottle, poured it in another jar and shook, shook, shook.

butter time

butter time

suddenly you hear a thunk, thunk, thunk and you know the butter is flopping around in there!

butter time

we sang happy birthday by “candlelight” (thanks for the inspiration, tom!) and enjoyed our feast.

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it’s been a cozy week.

b is for bell

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more thrifted wooden pieces, a bit of pipe cleaner, a jingle bell, watercolors and GLITTER!

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we used a couple of techniques to get glitter on:  glue and shaking it on and dipping the wet paint bell in a cup of glitter.  both worked fine.

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and yes, we have glitter all over the room (and i am guessing in back packs and homes too).

p is for paper ball

for great arm muscle work, make a ball (or snow ball or hail ball) out of crumpled paper.

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then fore great fine motor work, cut or tear tape to keep the paper ball together.

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make as big as children want to.

d is for dog bones

“d is for dog” week had many dog bone moments.

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first of all, we had an ongoing list of things we know dogs need.  dog bones came up more than once.

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this was not my plan.

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i have a hard time using food products for art projects.  and while dog bones are not people food, we made them inedible for the dogs.

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my plan was to sacrifice about 10 of the dog bones for us to make prints using paint.  the rest we would share with our dog visitors.

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i left the bag of dog bones near the paint table (to show the children the package, etc.).  within moments, the bag had been opened up and children were hand painting the bones.

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i brought out paint brushes, quit trying  to make excuses of why we were painting perfectly good dog bones, and let them enjoy the process.

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we glued them to old foam board and sent them home.  by the way, if your dog does eat them, the paint is officially non toxic.

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we made our own dog bones one day.

the recipe was very simple (and good enough for people to eat too):

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1/2 c corn meal

2/3 c meat broth

6 T oil

2 c whole wheat flour

Mix ingredients well.  (we smooshed it by hand)

Roll out to 1/4″ thick. (we each took a clump and flattened it with our hands)

Cut into shapes with cutter. (we shaped them by hand)

Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 min. (we overbaked them each day but the dogs still ate them)

Cool on wire rack.  (we left them on the pan to cool because we had to hurry to show and tell time)

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some of our snack friends brought dog bones for people to eat!

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when we get prepackaged snack items, i like to put the scissors on the table (preferably only a few pair per table so problem solving and sharing comes naturally) so they can open their snack on their own.

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