Sweet Genius! Cooking Up A Little Playdough Fun

As you might guess, there are a few drawbacks to sharing my classroom with another group when Pre-K in not in session. There are also some major benefits. The elementary school age kids share my room in the mornings before school and later in the afternoons. I taught a majority of these kids when they were in Pre-K, so it has been a bonus to me to watch these kids grow and mature each year.

This morning, the kids were busily working with playdough at the table. I watched for a minute, thinking about how much their play with playdough had changed over the years. As I listened, there was a lot of talk of winning and getting judged, so I asked what they were doing exactly. "We're playing Sweet Genius",  one of them said. Apparently, "Sweet Genius" is one of those competition cooking shows on The Food Network ( I don't watch cable. I know, I live under a rock.). They were making a variety of pies, cakes and cookies and some of the other kids were going to judge them just like on the show. We talked for a minute, then I let them get back to their game. As I started to leave them to their game, they asked me to take pictures of their creations. They know that if they do something cool or interesting, no matter how busy I am, I'll want to see it and take pictures. I'll make the time. They know me well. 

Here are some of the sweet treats I found them making this morning:

Candies with Fruit

A Fancy Cake

 Layer Cake

 Fancy Pastry 

Cookies

 Adding Sprinkles to a Cupcake

Fancy Cupcake for the New Year

Just because a moustache is fun!

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Homemade Musical Instruments

Earlier this month, on PreK+K Sharing I wrote "Making Music With Young Children",  about making musical instruments with household items. I have had several requests to write about some of the instruments we've made and currently utilize in our music center. We've made a variety of shakers, Chinese twist drums, coffee can balloon drums and bongos! 

I wanted to make sure the readers here knew where to find this post. I'd hate for anyone to miss out! Please stop over to PreK+K Sharing and check it out!




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Musical Bridges: Building a Bridge Between Generations

Every month, we take a field trip to the VA hospital to visit with our Grandfriends. The VA hospital is about 20 minutes away from our school by car, so we get to ride the bus. This is always great fun!

Each session is planned and facilitated by a certified music therapist as part of the Musical Bridges program. Ms. Sheri, our Musical Bridges facilitator plans each session. One of the caregivers, Mr. Harold, usually greets us at the bus and walks us safely into the building. As we arrive, we march around the circle, greeting the Grandfriends. 

We sing, dance and play a game or two, then have a little snack of juice and cookies.  Mr. Harold draws a big face on the trash bag and calls it "Mr. Trashy" and comes around to collect the trash from our snack. "Mr. Trashy" has become one of the treasured parts of our visits---the kids can't wait for Mr. Harold to bring him out!

The children really enjoy the trip. Because most of the Grandfriends are wheelchair bound, they are seated throughout the sessions. The children may interact as much or as little as they like. Usually, we shake hands at the beginning and ending. We are working on practicing "random acts of kindness" this year, so we often make a picture or a card for the Grandfriends.  Some of the children are a little shy on the first visit of the year, but by the end of each year, we are all old friends. 

Ms. Sheri usually has a game of some sort planned. The parachute is one of the things we frequently use since when the Grandfriends are seated, they can manipulate the parachute as easily and at the same level as most of the kids. 

We've played indoor baseball, had stick pony races and played balloon volleyball during our visits.

Ms. Sheri is quite talented and often plays the guitar while teaching us all new songs. It really brings a smile to my face when the children are on the playground or while playing, and I hear the kids singing some of the songs we've learned at the VA. 

This intergenerational experience is priceless for the children and the Grandfriends. The children are learning about the differences in people and abilities and the Grandfriends are so happy to have visitors to interact with.

There is not much information on the internet available about this great program, but there is a book by Joan Shaw and Carna Manthey titled "Musical Bridges: Intergenerational  Music Programs".

If you'd like some more info on intergenerational music programs, be sure to stop by "Music Sparks". Joann Jordan is a certified music therapist and offers some great ways to get older folks and children engaged with music! 



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TOP 10 of 2012

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!

It's been a wonderful year! I'd like to thank the readers here for taking time to read, comment, share and pin the posts here. I get so many of my classroom ideas from things other teachers share, and little illuminations provides me with a way for me to pay it forward (just a little) by sharing here. I am so thankful to get to know so many wonderful folks via the blogosphere and social media. I was even lucky enough to meet several bloggy buddies this year in person! (note to self: I still need to finish that post about the meet-ups at NAEYC!)

To start the year off, I thought I'd share some of your favorite posts. These are the Top 10 little illuminations posts from 2012!

   10.  Perky Penguins In Pre-K
    9.   Jump Rope For Heart
    8.   All in A Day's Play
    7.   Pet Week Play In Pre-K
    6.   Baby, It's Cold Outside
    5.   A Gift For Dad, A Book and A Bloghop
    4.   Discovery Bottle Inspiration
    3.   Cloudy With A Chance Of Weather
    2.   Making Literacy Connections With Our Names

 And DRUMROLL, please......  the NUMBER 1 post of 2012 is:

    1.   Signing In And Out Of Pre-K

In all honesty, posts about bulletin boards are year-round hits---the number of visits to those posts far outnumber any others. I didn't include them in the list above for that reason. I thought I'd include a list of the TOP 5 Bulletin Board posts of 2012 here:

     5.  Back To School Bulletin Boards...Redux
     4.  Spring Bulletin Boards
     3.  Dr. Seuss Bulletin Boards
     2.  Fabulous Fall Bulletin Boards
     1.  St. Patrick's Day Bulletin Boards

Now, you've seen what was popular on little illuminations. What was YOUR favorite little illuminations post in 2012? Please share it in the comments!


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