Nut Sorting & Nomenclature Printable

I meant to post about this activity a few months ago when it was nut season, but it got lost in the mix. Hopefully you can still find some nuts in your grocery store, but if not, there's always next winter!

This is a very cheap and simple sorting/matching activity. It was a favorite of James' when he was 2.5 years old and he still enjoyed it a year later. Normally, I would have James set out all the cards at once (on a mat) with a bowl beneath each card, but this set up was just for photographic purposes. :)

I forgot to include this cute little squirrel basket (found at the local thrift store) in the set up above, but he's a favorite in our classroom and he creates an added point of interest in this particular activity. James loves "feeding" him the nuts once the activity is over.

I created the cards you see in the photo above and have shared them with you via the link below. I added an acorn to the mix for those of you have access to them.

There are a couple of extensions you could do with this activity:
::Print out two copies of my printable and just do a straight matching or memory game.
::Using a child safe nutcracker like this one, have your kiddo crack open the nuts (hello, practical life!) and match them to the cards that way. Each photo includes an image of a shelled nut.

Here's the printable link - just copy the link into your address bar:

https://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0By-8pEe8O7e5M2E1NDVjMjUtNGY3Mi00ZTRhLTgzZjYtOTg5ZmU0YTJhYjJj&hl=en&authkey=CITV--oM

As always, my printables are for your personal use only - please do not sell them or offer them in giveaways. Thank you!

~Thank you for your comments!~

Fun Winter Sandwiches

We've been having a lot of fun with our lunches this month by making these cute sandwiches...

Reindeer

I used wheat bread and peanut butter for the head and face, raisins for the eyes, a maraschino cherry for the nose, and celery for the antlers. Note: to make the celery curl, simply cut a thin slit along each side of the stalk, then immerse in cold water for 15 minutes or so.

Snowman

I used white bread and smoked turkey for the body, mini chocolate chips for the eyes and mouth, a bit of carrot for the nose, a wheat thin for the hat, pretzels for the arms, and grape halves for the buttons.

Polar Bear

I used a honey wheat English muffin and veggie cream cheese for the head and face, egg halves for the ears, an apple slice for the snout, blueberries for the eyes, a grape half for the nose, and red peppers for the mouth.

Gingerbread Man

I used wheat bread and salami for the body, raisins for the eyes, a red pepper slice for the mouth and cheerios for the buttons.

Christmas Tree

I used a spinach wrap and melted mozzarella for the tree, pepper bits for the lights, a wheat thin for the trunk, and a slice of starfruit for the star.

I found these ideas in one of my Pre-K books and just modified them a bit to suit James' tastes. In most cases I used cookie cutters to create the shapes. I served additional veggies and fruits on the side, along with a warm cup of soup and a glass of milk. Whenever we make these we keep the crusts from the sandwiches and feed them to the birds while we wait at the ferry stop for Daddy to come home from work!

The best thing about these sandwiches is that James helped me make them, resulting in lots of smiles and giggles from both of us (and lots of Practical Life practice, too!). James loved these soooo much that I think I've now set a high bar for myself and will need to make lunch a more creative adventure going forward!!

~Thank you for your comments!~

December Discovery Tray

For our December Discovery Tray, I tried to find real items that represent the winter season. Not an easy thing to do when you live on a sub-tropical island! I found a pine tree branch, a pine scented wax candle, cranberries, cinnamon sticks and pine cones. The magnifying glass is a mainstay in all of our discovery trays.

One thing I really wanted to do was to get two branches of pine needles and put one of them in a vase with water. I thought it'd be interesting for James to see the difference in the branch that's fed with water and the one that's drying out. But, since we use the same artificial tree each year, I had to beg one of the local Christmas tree salesmen for a snippet of one of his trees. He was less than willing and I thought I'd be pressing my luck to ask for two samples!

~Thank you for your comments!~