CWCP
HAPPENINGS
News from Mrs.Tami's classroom
November is upon us-so long October and that lovely extra hour of sleep we all neglected to utilize, I'm sure!
As the rain falls and the crisp winds blow, the children still find time to enjoy one another. They admire the beautiful leaves that hang from the branches of playground trees. They sneak a glimpse at the migrating geese flying over head & often watch the beautiful deer that roam around the school grounds, we've on occasion seen them outside the snack-room windows... peeking in on the children with curious eyes. What life must seem like through their eyes, I often wonder and am ever amazed at their remarkable capacity to absorb their surroundings. As adults, we forget sometimes the pure beauty and joy in things, as the strains of life, the ever constant hustle and bustle
distract us... Thank goodness they are here to remind us!
What's happening in class this month & what's to come!
In December, the children will be working on Holiday Projects and cooking activities reflecting the beauty this festive holiday brings!
Notes to know
his head goes wobble, wobble
all he says is just one word
"Gobble, Gobble, Gobble!"
Books we Love this month
How Full is your Bucket, written by Tom Rath & Mary Reckmeyer
“A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops.”
-Henry Adams
November, the month of Thankfulness
When you feel sour and blue,
when you start to get mad...
you should do what I do...
Just tell yourself, Duckie,
you're really quite lucky!
Some people are much more...
oh, muchly much-much more
unlucky than you!
-Dr.Seuss
Parents Tidbits
Shared Insight
I do feel however, that we as parents indeed, need to take a little time for our own self- nourishment, as it will indeed help us to have more fun, sleep better and will then be better versions of ourselves, better parents in the long run. The answers are never easy ones. We're all doing our best on any given day, trying to be the best selves we can. Figure out what works best for your family. Be the best teacher your child ever has. Help your children be the best they can be! When parents are involved, kids do better. When kids do better, they feel better, too.
There was a discussion last school year at one of the parent meetings talking about "Permissions". I wanted to share it with you, it encourages you to ask yourself these questions, in your role as a parent, then trying to put them into practice with your child.
It is OK to try something you don't know.
It is OK to make mistakes.
It is OK to take your time.
It is OK to find your own pace.
It is OK to do it your way.
It is OK to bungle-so next time you are free of the fear of failure enough to succeed.
It is OK to risk looking foolish.
It is OK to be original and different.
It is OK to wait until you feel ready.
It is OK to question the "should".
It is SPECIAL to be you.
It is necessary to make a "mess" which you should be willing to clean up because the act of creating is often MESSY.
Get out and try these for November!
Collect birds' nests -as each spring most birds construct new ones (except owls & eagles, they use the same nests year after year). Can you tell what kind of birds dwelled there?
Search for witch-hazel flowers-it grows to be a large shrub/small tree and flowers in the month of November.
Start a nature notebook-fill it with leave rubbings, draw sites you see when you take a walk, even if it's just right outside your back door! Look around you, examine designs in nature, you'll see all sorts of interesting shapes and patterns, colors, textures!
Scrape some resin from a pine tree-you can boil the sap in some water and your house will be filled with the smell of pines!
Make folded paper plants & animals- the Japanese art of folding paper known as Origami, was brought to Japan from China during the 16th century.
Listen to composers using themes from nature. Classical composers such as Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov, composing "Flight of the Bumblebee" are examples in which composers have written pieces that illustrate aspects of nature! When you listen to the music, can you picture what the title suggests?
Make a musical rattle-the first music instruments were percussion instruments, things that bang on, scrape together, and shake. They were made of materials found in nature.
Make a world animal map-the United States has a wide variety of animals & plants too because it has so many different habitats, but think of all the other animals found throughout the world.
See how the continents have drifted apart- Do you ever notice how many animals there are that live thousands of miles from one another-often oceans apart-how they may look very much alike?
Find out where some food plants might have originated from-If you could buy and consume, fruits and veggies that were native to your supermarkets, your selection would be very small...
Play a nature game from another culture-Many games include regional customs & a lot reflect the native plants and animals of national importance. In Taiwan, children play a came called "Growing Rice," in Ghana, a game called "The Boa Constrictor." Both Dakota & Cheyenne North American Indians play games about bears; the Eskimos have a game called, "musk Oxen". The Pueblo Natives play a game called "The Coyote and he Sheep" Have you ever played any of these games?
Tasty bites to try!
Soy ginger glazed meatballs
INGREDIENTS
Sauce
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup soy sauce, preferably Japanese or reduced sodium
1/2 cup mirin (sweet rice wine), or 1/2 cup sake with 1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup peeled, chopped ginger (I used half and it tasted like plenty to me; adjust to your preference)
1 teaspoon ground coriander
4 whole black peppercorns
Meatballs
1 pound ground turkey
4 large or 6 small scallions, finely chopped
Half bunch cilantro, finely chopped (about 1/2 cup)
1 large egg
2 tablespoons sesame oil, toasted if you can find it
2 tablespoons soy sauce
Freshly ground black pepper
Vegetable oil
DIRECTIONS
Make sauce: Bring sugar and water to a boil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring until sugar melts completely. Reduce heat to medium-low, add soy sauce, mirin, ginger, coriander and peppercorns. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until reduced by half, about 30 minutes (watch it closely, as it may need a little more time to reach a thickness with which it can coat the meatballs) and not just dribble off the meatballs). You can keep it on a back burner, stirring it frequently, while browning the meatballs in the next step. Once it has reduced to your satisfaction, strain through a sieve.
Make meatballs: Mix turkey, scallions, cilantro, egg, sesame oil, soy sauce and several grindings of black pepper in a bowl. I like mixing meatballs with a fork; it seems to work the ingredients into each other well. Roll tablespoon-sized knobs of the mixture into balls. The mixture is pretty soft; I find it easiest to roll — eh, more like toss the meatballs from palm to palm until they’re roundish — meatballs with damp hands.
In a skillet over medium-high heat, generously cover bottom of pan with vegetable oil. Working in batches to avoid crowding, place meatballs in pan and cook, turning, until browned all over and cooked inside, about 8 minutes per batch. Arrange on a platter (a heated one will keep them warm longer), spoon a little sauce over each meatball, and serve with toothpicks. Alternatively, you can serve the glaze on the side, to dip the meatballs.
Apple Butter
INGREDIENTS
- 5 pounds (about 10 large) mixed apples, peeled, cored, and cut into medium-size pieces
- 1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
- 1 whole star anise pod
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 2 cups fresh apple cider
- 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
DIRECTIONS
Turn a slow cooker on high and add all ingredients. Cover and cook for 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally. Mixture should be bubbling vigorously. Reduce heat to low and cook for 1 hour more. Remove and discard star anise pod.
With the lid set slightly ajar, continue cooking until apple butter is dark brown and thick, 7 to 9 hours more. Stir well and pass through a food mill or strainer, if necessary, to remove any lumps (feel free to skip this step if you love your apple butter chunky).
Pumpkin bread
INGREDIENTS
- 1 cup cooking oil
- 3 cups sugar
- 4 eggs
- 1- 15oz can of pumpkin (2 cups of mashed pumpkin can be substituted with the need to adjust the water as necessary)
- 2/3 cup water
- 3 1/3 cups of all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp. baking soda
- 1 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. baking powder
- 1 tsp. cinnamon
- 1 tsp. ground nutmeg
DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, grease bottom of pans and halfway up the sides of two 9x5x3-inch, three 4x8x2-inch loaf pans; set aside. In your big-daddy-mixing bowl, combine sugar and oil with an electric mixer set to medium speed; to that, add your eggs and beat well; set sugar mixture aside.
2. In another large bowl, combine flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon & nutmeg. Slowly combine ingredients, adding the flour and water mixtures slowoly to the sugar mixture. Beat ingredients on low speed until just combined. Beat in pumpkin and spoon batter into your prepared baking dishes.
3. Bake for 55 to 65 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let your bread cool on wire racks for 10 minutes in their pans before removing them to cool completely.
Upcoming Events
Friendship Feast
Wednesday, Nov 19, 2014, 09:00 AM
CWCP
CWCP Christmas Parade
Saturday, Dec 6, 2014, 03:30 PM
Ebey Bowl, West Terry Road, Coupeville, WA, United States
CWCP Family Christmas Party
Thursday, Dec 18, 2014, 06:00 PM
CWCP
Upcoming Fieldtrips
Ciao Pizza & PJ Party
Wednesday, Dec 3, 2014, 10:00 AM
Ciao, North Main Street, Coupeville, WA, United States,
Reminders
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Living Hope Four Square Church
Northwest Broadway avenue
Coupeville, WA 98239
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Cold season is here!
Parent Central
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CWCP Board Members 2014-2015 School year
Kari Habeck, Treasurer
Kelly Powers, Secretary
Mindy Grove, Am Parent Coordinator
Mikel Peabody, Pm Parent Coordinator
Cheree Francart, Public Relations
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Email: francart@wavecable.com
Website: http://www.coupevillepreschool.org
Phone: (360) 621-8775