*Read to the children in your life every day. You are giving them a gift that will last a lifetime!
Miss Bindergarten Gets Ready for Kindergarten By: Joseph Slate Illustrated by: Ashley Wolff
This is a must read for any child getting ready to enter kindergarten. This humorous book expresses the mixed emotions of getting ready for the first day of school. The child will get a sneak preview of how kindergarten teachers get ready for their students. The book incorporates the alphabet and rhyming text as the story unfolds.
Tips for Reading:
- Prior to reading the book, talk with the child about his/her feelings regarding the first day of school.
- After reading the book, use the child’s name to make a rhyme following the patterns in the book.
- Using magnetic letters, have the child practice making his/her name.
- Help the child practice writing his/her name.
- Using the magnetic letters, help the child arrange the lower case letters in the order of the alphabet.
*Information on magnetic letters can be found under the book, Goodnight Numbers.
Additional Books:
- It’s Hard to Be Five By: Jamie Lee Curtis and Laura Cornell
- Look Out Kindergarten, Here I Come! By: Nancy Carlson
- On the First Day of Kindergarten By: Tish Rabe Illustrated by: Laura Hughes
- Kindergarten, Here I Come! By: D. J. Steinberg Illustrated by: Mark Chambers
- Jumping into Kindergarten By: Julia Cook and Laura A. Jana, MD Illustrated by: James Newman Gray
Cooking Time:
Apple Ladybug
When we think of school starting, apples come to mind. This cute little ladybug will be fun to make and healthy to eat. Children can help assemble the ladybug by themselves once they are given the fruit needed.
Lettuce for the base.
1 medium Red Delicious apple, quartered and cored
2 teaspoons peanut butter
10 to 12 raisins
3 to 5 red seedless grapes
- Place the lettuce on the serving plate.
- Arrange two apple quarters, peel side up, on the lettuce.
- Dab peanut butter where the apples connect in the middle.
- Put raisins on the peanut butter.
- Dab peanut butter on 6 more raisins and place on the apple to form spots.
- Put a whole grape at the large end of the apple to form the head.
- Slice a couple of grapes into 4 sections.
- Place the sliced grapes on each side of the apple to form legs.
- A ladybug will appear.
Old Fashioned Apple Dumplings
This recipe came from a bicentennial cookbook from my hometown of Mechanicsburg, Ohio. I have made these apple dumplings for a number of years and they are a family favorite. I have made this recipe easier by using refrigerated pie dough. Children can help by adding the ingredients to the pie dough quarters. They can also help roll the apples up in the dough and place them in the baking dish. Always include children in the kitchen clean-up. Enjoy! Judy
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
2 cups water
2 tablespoons butter
2 to 3 Golden Delicious apples, peeled and chunked
1 package refrigerated, rolled pie crust dough
Additional sugar, cinnamon and butter for each dumpling
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
- Spray a 10 inch by 10 inch baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.
- Take the pie crusts from the refrigerator and let them sit at room temperature for 15 minutes.
- Place the sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, water and butter in a medium saucepan.
- Bring to a boil, then put on low to simmer for 5 minutes.
- Take the sugar mixture from the burner and set aside.
- Unroll the two pie crusts and place each on waxed paper.
- Cut each roll into four even sections. (see picture below)
- Put a teaspoon of sugar in the middle of each section.
- Sprinkle cinnamon on top of the sugar.
- Put a dab of butter on top of the cinnamon.
- Place a few chunks of apple on each section of dough. Put in as many apples as you can.
- Roll each section of dough around the apples.
- Pinch the top tight so that the pouch does not open during baking.
- Place each apple dumpling in the baking dish.
- Pour the sugar mixture over the dumplings.
- Place dumplings into a preheated oven at 425 degrees.
- Bake for 10 minutes.
- Reduce the oven heat to 375 degrees.
- Bake for an additional 30 to 40 minutes or until golden brown.
- Serve warm.
- Very good with vanilla or cinnamon ice cream.
Makes 8 servings.
