Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Starbucks Pumpkin Scones
Yummy Goodness!
To make the scones:
4 c. flour
3/4 c. + 2 Tbs. sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. cloves
1/2 tsp. ginger
3/4 c. cold butter, cut into small pieces
1 c. pumpkin
6 Tbs. half and half
2 eggs
1 Tbs. cream
sugar for sprinkling
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly grease a baking sheet or line it with parchment paper.
Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and spices in a large bowl. Using a fork or pastry blender, cut in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Set aside.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the pumpkin, half and half, and egg. Fold the wet ingredients into the dry. Stir until just blended.
Lightly flour your work surface and pat the dough out into a 1-inch thick rectangle. Using a knife, slice the dough in half lengthwise. Then slice the dough twice through the width, making 6 equal portions. Cut those 6 pieces diagonally so that you end up with 12 triangular pieces of dough. You can also cut them out using a biscuit cutter. Place them on the prepared baking sheet.
Lightly brush the tops of the scones with the cream and then sprinkle them with sugar.
Bake for 14-16 minutes, or until the scones begin to turn light brown. Place them on a wire rack to cool.
To make the Icing:
1 1/2 c. powdered sugar
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/8 tsp. nutmeg
1 pinch ginger
1 pinch cloves
2 Tbs. milk
In a bowl, mix the powdered sugar and spices. Add the milk and stir until a the icing is smooth. Once the scones have cooled, drizzle the tops with icing.
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Pancake Day!
In the Our Time class "Milk and Cookies" we are talking about pancakes right now. You may ask yourself "what can pancakes teach my child?" Not only is it always a great idea to use familiar and enjoyable activities to teach your child anything, the song we song teaches so much more... here are just a few:
*The start of the song says "Great A Little a" and as a former Private Kindergarten teacher this sticks right out to me! I was always telling the kids about the "mommy A and baby a etc" to help them learn capitalization from day one. Raising our arms up on Great A and crouching down on little a reinforces that idea in a way easy for your 2-3 year old kids to understand. PLUS any time you can add a body movement to an academic thought, you cement the thought into your child's brain on two platforms!
*"Flip them HIGH flip them low" labeling our movements is not only a great way to foster language development but also a pre-reading skill!
*"PANcake Day!" the end of the song leads your voice on a little slide down that we call a glissando! Your kids at 2 and 3 may not know or care what a glissando is, but hearing it and mimicking it is not only a great vocal exercise, it will make it that much easier for them to learn musical vocabulary once they are a little older!
Now that you know how educational that ONE poem in class is... Have a little fun with it!
Here is a fun song to go along with our Pancake rhyme!
Sign Language!
This little girl named Anya is so cute! She does a great job showing you just a few signs we learn in Sign and Sing! Sign language is not only a great way to help your child express themselves faster and with more ease, but it is also a GREAT way to "grow" the part of the brain that holds on to language development. So not only will learning their native language be easier, it builds a pathway for future language development down the road! Just another way Kindermusik makes great parenting easier!
Homemade Costume Ideas!
If you're feeling crafty, here are some adorable and very simple homemade costume ideas. The one to the left here uses white gloves for antlers. How cute is that!
Parents.com Halloween Costume Ideas
Family Fun Costume Ideas
Micasa At My House
"Miss Jackie" Silberg, an award-winning songwriter and performer, on Music for Learning - your place for sing-along songs that tie-in thematically with monthly activities.
Activities for Mi Casa, My House
Talk with your children about what they do at their house. Do they sing, work, play, etc.? Use their experiences and sing about them in the song. For example, a child might say that they eat at their house. Then you can sing “at my house, everyone is eating”.
This song is wonderful for role playing. Children can take the parts of the various family members and act out the appropriate actions.This song emphasizes the family. Take out a photo album and look at pictures of the members of your family. Talk about them with your children and practice using Spanish words for the various family members.
You can see what's new from Jackie and the Miss Jackie Music Company, www.jackiesilberg.com.
Note: The word “caramba” means “good heavens”, “great scott”, “wow”, etc.
Lyrics MI CASA, MY HOUSE
At my house there are many people.
There are many people at my house.
At my house everyone is singing.
Everyone is singing at my house.
There’s la madre, that’s my mother.
There’s el padre, that’s my father.
They are singingOh! CARAMBA! You can always have a lot of fun at my house.
At my house everyone is playing.
Everyone is playing at my house El hermano, that’s my brother.
La hermana, that’s my sister...etc
At my house, everyone is working
Everyone is working at my house El abuelo, that’s my grandpa
La abuela, that’s my grandma...etc
At my house everyone is sleeping Everyone is sleeping at my house
La tia, that’s my auntie
El tio, that’s my uncle...etc
