Tuesday: Soup Day
Morning
Morning Verse
Morning has come, night is away
We rise with the sun to welcome the day
To Earth I come
To greet the sun
To greet the moon
The stones that rest
The plants that grow
And animals that run
To greet all people in this world
Love greets me in all I do
And I and you and the world are one.
Vegetable Chopping
Vegetable chopping encourages fine motor development, offers and opportunity for purposeful work, and the process lays a foundation for math and science later in development.
To set your child up for success offer them a chopping board and knife proportioned to the size of their hand. For some children, they will be eager to partake in the treasured job of peeling the vegetables wearing sweaters (I.e. skins). Once the vegetables are peeled, prepare your child for success by cutting long, lean pieces for them to chop (the pieces should be the shape of a classic french fry). We chop our vegetables into tiny mousie nibbles.
Story
The Story of the Daffodil
Adapted and Narrated by Ms. Dylan from a Cornish tale.
Song & Movement
Throughout the year in Cedar Rose, we have been tall trees. In Autumn, the apples fell from our limbs, in Winter the raindrops dripped and dropped, and now it is Spring and the flowers are blooming!
This movement game invites the children to:
move and sing at the same time, which develops early literacy
cross the horizontal midline, a developmental milestone
touch their physical body to experience tactile sensory feedback
engage with the changes of the season in an imaginative way
This is my trunk
From standing, bend at the waist with straight legs and touch your toes
I’m a tall, tall tree
Run your hands up your legs and torso, eventually coming up to stand with arms over headIn Springtime the flowers bloom on me
Two arms overhead, make fists with your hands
They open
Right fist opens into a flower
They open
Left fist opens into a flower
Repeat 3 times.
Spring is Coming
Spring is coming
Spring is coming
Birdies build your nests
Weave together straw and feather
Each is doing their best
Spring is coming
Spring is coming
Flowers are coming too.
Pansies, lilies, daffo-dillies
All are coming through
Spring is coming
Spring is coming
All around is fair.
Shimmer, quiver, on the river,
Joy is everywhere.
Soup Recipe
Ingredients:
6-8 c water (or more, depending on how many vegetables are in your soup)
3-4 vegetable bouillon cubes (or replace water and bouillon with 6-8 c vegetable stock)
2 tbsp olive oil
1 small-medium onion (or half a large one), chopped small
4-6 cloves of garlic, minced
1 c dry lentils
2-4 tbsp nutritional yeast
Bay leaf
Spices of choice (we use thyme, sage, oregano, and rosemary), to taste
Black pepper, to taste
3-4 carrots, peeled (try letting your child peel a carrot, under your supervision, of course)
2-3 stalks of celery
Whatever vegetables you like! Cedar Rose favorites include potatoes, sweet potatoes, beets, parsnips, bell peppers, spinach, and mushrooms, but you can use whatever you have on hand. Just make sure all vegetables are washed and peeled (if applicable).
1 c brown rice spiral pasta (or small pasta variety of your choice)
Instructions:
Boil the water and stir in bouillon to prepare the broth.
In a large soup pot, sauteé the onion in the olive oil over medium-high heat until translucent (about 5 minutes). Add the garlic and sauteé for another minute, stirring occasionally.
Add the lentils and four cups of broth; raise heat to medium-high and bring to a boil. Add bay leaf. Once boiling, reduce heat to low and allow to simmer, uncovered.
Once all the veggies are chopped, add them to the pot along with the rest of the broth (the amount needed will depend on how many vegetables you have as well as your preference for how brothy you like your soup), your favorite spices, nutritional yeast, and black pepper (all to taste). Increases heat to bring to a low boil, then reduce heat and allow to simmer, uncovered, for 20-30 minutes.
Stir occasionally, and after 20 minutes, use your spoon to pull out a vegetable or two. Run them under cold water and taste them, checking for tenderness. Once you’ve sampled a few vegetables that are still slightly firm (but not hard), add the rice pasta.
Continue cooking until the pasta is al dente (check package instructions for cook time).
Turn off heat and allow soup to cool for a minute or two before serving. Alternatively, serve into bowls and allow the bowls to sit for a few minutes before eating.
Afternoon
Evening Wind
Adapted from Wilma Ellersiek
Blow the evening wind so mild
Rest my little flower child
Lu lu lu lu lu, lu lu lu lu lu
Flowers Grow
Words by Monica Stone
This verse can be accompanied by gentle therapeutic touch to help your child come to a state of rest and wellbeing.
The flowers, they grow on your ten little toes
With forefinger and thumb, gently caress and massage each toe
All the way up to your little nose
Gently draw finger down the length of child’s nose
The petals, they softly brush your cheek
Gently brush each cheek with back of your hand
As you lay down and fall fast asleep
Gently run fingers along child’s brow
My Big Blue Boat
I love to ride in my big blue boat, my big blue boat, my big blue boat.
I love to ride in my big blue boat, over the deep blue sea.
My big blue boat has two red sails, two red sails, two red sails.
My big blue boat has two red sails.
Come ride along with me.
My big blue boat goes splish and splash, splish and splash, splish and slash
My big blue boat goes splish and splash, over the deep blue sea.
Boo-Boo Bunny Craft Activity
Made from a baby blue washcloth with a cute little pom pom nose and tail, this wee bunny cheers little ones up when they fall down and helps ease the pain, thanks to an ice cube tucked into its belly.
Owwiess are never fun, but a boo-boo bunny helps to dry tears faster and can even change a frown into a smile! This simple no-sew project comes together in minutes with whatever you have on hand.