Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do you see?

This week was cram packed!  We started off the week with an impromptu (and totally fun) sleepover with Leila!  Our new friend, May Fly, joined us for three days mid-week, and then Ju-Ju had a snow day on Wednesday, so she spent most of the day with us as well.  The girls LOVE Ju- Ju; she is such a good little teacher in the making, and a really great role model.  Needless to say, we had a house full of girls, and although, there were moments of what seemed like complete somewhat organized chaos, overall (now that I have had a chance to breathe), it was a great week!  We finished up our BEARS and HIBERNATION theme with some of my favorite Eric Carle books and learned about the Letter "I."  Next week we will begin our new theme, CASTLES, PRINCES, PRINCESSES AND KNIGHTS.  I am excited, but have quite a bit of prepping to do before next week!  Oh boy!  :-)

After finally getting three toddlers and a one year old down for nap time on Wednesday afternoon, I wanted to take some time to just spend with Ju-Ju.  She puts up with a lot and is so patient.  We read a chapter of Max Lucado's book, Tell Me the Secreats: Treasures for Eternity, together.  It was a beautiful chapter about growth.  Lucado wrote a great anecdote about three school children and their interactions with a blob of clay, a formless wood block and a bridle. You can probably imagine where the story went from there. The chapter concluded by saying:

                            Here is the secret.  When you pray for patience, God will usually allow
                                circumstances to help you develop it.  The same with courage, peace, trust,
                                and most other godly attributes.  You can make that process short or long,
                                depending on whether you choose to submit or to fight it every step of the way.

It was one of those stories where I found myself tearing up bit- ok...downright crying- as I was  reading.  It was just the reminder I needed, and, a very special moment shared with Ju-Ju. Sometimes if we just stop and pause, God has something beautiful waiting for us.  I am so grateful.

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"Consider it pure joy, my friends, whenever you face trials of many kinds,
because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. 
Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete,
and lacking anything."

James 1: 2-4
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BOOKS OF THE WEEK:

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?
By: Bill Martin Jr., and Eric Carl

Baby Bear, Baby Bear,
What Do You See?
By: Bill Martin Jr., and Eric Carle

I Howl, I Growl
By: Marcia Vaughan

(This book was in our
Letter of the Week "I" Bin)

BIBLE VERSE:

      "Ears that hear, and eyes that see- 
                        God made them both."
                        Proverbs 20:12

BIBLE STORY:

       Jesus Heals Two Blind Men
                 (Matthew 20:28-34)

This week we talked about two of our senses, seeing and hearing.  The two books we read asked the question, "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, what do you see?"  We thanked God for our eyes and our ears and for the ability to use them to see the beautiful things around us and to hear things like music, animal noises and the voices of our mommy, daddy and friends.

LETTER OF THE WEEK: I

• I is for igloo.
• I is for icicles.
• I is for ice cream.

MUSIC CONNECTION

Eyes and Ears

Eyes that see, (sol- la- sol)
Ears that hear, (sol- la- sol)
God has made them both! (sol- fa- mi- re- do)
Praise the Lord! (shouted)

Brown Bear, Brown Bear

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, (sol- mi, sol - mi)
what do you see? (sol- sol- la- sol)
I see a _______ (sol- mi- mi- sol- mi)
looking at me. (sol- sol- mi- re- do)

I used to sing this song with my kindergarten classes when I taught in the public schools.  Each child chooses a ZooPals paper plate.  When her animal is called, she responds melodically by calling out to another child's animal.  The girls did great with this!  They got it down quickly and had no problem singing back their responses independently (and with pitch accuracy too!)

ART CONNECTION: Colored Paper Collage

MONTESSORI MINUTES

I found these great FREE, printable resources on the blog,  1+1+1=1, and the website, Homeschool Share.  

Real/Pretend Sorting and Patterns

In this activity the girls had to try to sort the picture cards into two categories, real or pretend.  This work box also had a pattern card with animals from our book this week.  The girls had to try to complete the pattern. This was May Fly's favorite work box.  She would say the patterns out loud and then fill in the blanks with the correct picture tiles.

Heads and Tails Matching Cards

This was a favorite work box of June Bug and May Fly.  They really enjoyed completing the picture with the appropriate head and tail!

Clothespin Color Wheel

I colored clothespins with markers for this fun activity.  This was by far Leila's favorite work box.  June Bug really enjoyed it as well. Roo liked to suck on the clothespin, which I eventually realized when her lips were blue from the ink.  Whoops...mama fail! :-/

Insect Lacing Cards

I got excited about this activity because it started with our Letter of the Week.  Unfortunately, this work box was much too hard for the girls.  I thought with their success with the lacing beads they may be ready for these.  They liked the pictures, but frustration quickly surfaced as they tried to lace them.  This work box was left untouched after its first attempts.  We will try again down the road!

FOOD FUN

Homemade "Ice Cream"

We couldn't talk about ice cream for "I" week and not eat some!!! This is a healthier alternative and was a huge hit for all for the girls, except June Bug.  Ah well, you can't win them all!

INGREDIENTS:
2 bananas, mashed
2 cups plain yogurt
1-2 Tbsp honey

Bear Claws

I found this cute idea on Pinterest, which led me to a great blog, Sprinkle Bakes.  I suggest making this over the course of two days.  The dough can be made the first day and refrigerated overnight.  The dough can be rolled, filled and baked on the second day.  The original recipe called for an almond paste filling. Yummy, but, unfortunately, very expensive.  I adapted it, and we made an apple filling...also yummy, and much more affordable!  These were a lot of work, but really delicious (especially fresh out of the oven!)

Danish pastry dough:
3 1/2 cups all purpose flour (extra for dusting)
1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, very cold
2 packages active dry yeast
1/2 cup warm water 105F -115F
1/2 cup heavy cream or whole milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs room temperature
1/4 cup sugar

1. Add flour to the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Cut butter into 1/4-inch slices and add to the flour. Process until the mixture until the butter is about the size of kidney beans.  If you don't have a food processor you can cut the butter into the flour with a pastry blender or other cutting tool.
2. In a large bowl, dissolve the yeast in the warm water.  Let stand 5 minutes.  Stir in the cream or milk, salt, eggs and sugar. Turn the flour-butter mixture into the liquid ingredients and with a rubber spatula mix until the dry ingredients are just moistened.  Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate 4 hours, or overnight (preferred) or up to 4 days.
3. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Dust dough with flour. Pound dough with rolling pin; roll out to make a 16x20-inch piece. Fold into thirds making three layers. Turn dough and roll out again. Fold again into thirds. Place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. Prepare the filling while you wait for the dough to chill.

Apple filling:
6 apples, peeled, cored and diced
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup brown sugar
1 Tbsp corn syrup

1. Cook in a skillet until mixture thickens.  Set aside.
   

Assembly:
1 egg, beaten (for brushing pastries)
Large crystal sugar

1. On a lightly floured surface, roll the chilled pastry out to make an 16x18-inch rectangle. Cut lengthwise into 4 strips.
2. Spread the filling evenly over the center of each strip. Roll each strip from the long side jelly-roll style and place seam-side down. Roll lightly to flatten and seal the edges.  Cut each strip into 4-6-inch pieces, then cut 3-5 slits for "toes". Place pieces on the prepared baking sheets, curving them slightly. Allow them to rise in a warm place for 20 minutes or until puffy, or you can cover them with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight (after refrigeration let stand at room temperature until puffy).
3. Preheat oven to 400F. Brush with the beaten egg and place a sliced almond on each bear "toe". Sprinkle with large crystal sugar. Bake 5-8 minutes for small pastries, 10-12 minutes for larger pastries.
4. Let cool slightly on wire racks.

Glaze:
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1 tbsp. honey
1-2 tbsp. whole milk

1. Stir together ingredients until smooth. Add more confectioners' sugar if too thin, or add more milk if too thick.  Drizzle over warm pastries.