Thank You Teacher Cookies

Here we are in May and another school year is quickly coming to a close. My daughter actually finishes preschool this week and my son will be done in three short weeks. They have both had a great year and wonderful teachers. I am so grateful for all the hard work, dedication and patients they have showed my children. We have been very blessed. Both of my kids have learned and grown so much!

For example, here is my daughter singing the "Continents" song. My 3-year old can name the continents....love it!



Every year, I give the teachers an end-of-the- year thank you gift. This year I think I will make them some personalized sugar cookies that they can enjoy and share with their families. These apple cookies are similar to what I will be making. I actually made these a few weeks ago for a teacher appreciation week order.


The cookies were green apples (instead of red) because the school colors are yellow and green.


I also made 6 dozen cupcakes for this order. Aren't the school themed toppers cute?

Bread Dough Fun!

I've just recently started making my own breads and rolls. I'm still new to the whole process, but I wanted to share this kid crafty idea if you're planning on baking your own rolls.

All you do is just reserve a bit of the dough (after it has had a chance to rise)and let your kids go at it! Just be sure to add a little more flour to the dough, so it won't stick to the kids hands. It's like playdoh, just less messy and great for kids as young as 15 months.

Oh, and if you need a good recipe for rolls, try this one from My Kitchen Cafe. Have fun!

Bread dough is great for:

pounding

stretching

patting

and twisting!


Plus, it's reusable! Just place inside of a Ziploc bag and it will keep for 2-3 more days.

Pasta Art

Here is another easy kitchen craft the kids can work on (independently) while you prep and cook dinner.

You should already have all the supplies in your house. Just look through your pantry and grab a bunch of different types of pastas. If you have colored pastas, even better! Then get some glue and construction paper...and let the kids do their thing!

For our pasta art, I found bow ties, mini penne, campanella and wagon wheels.


Supplies Needed
assorted dry pasta
construction paper
Elmer's glue
marker

Directions
Give kids the supplies and have them glue the pasta on the paper to make designs or anyway they want. You can also make a simple picture or even letters and have them trace that with the pasta.

This activity is good for 3 year olds and up.

Food Collage

The time just before dinner at my house is probably the toughest part of my day. It is usually just me, trying to get dinner made and 2 tired and cranky little kids. So, I often have a quick activity they can do at the kitchen table while I cook.

My criteria for this and any other pre-dinner activity/craft is that it can not make a big mess and must be done independent by the child. This craft fits both. Plus it also teaches them about sorting and they get to work on fine motor skills by cutting and pasting.

There were a lot more "likes"...phew!

Peaches, avocados, peppers are a definite "don't" for my son.


Supplies Needed
pictures of different types of foods (cut from magazines)
scissors
glue stick
2 pieces of construction paper
marker

How To
Earlier in the day, clip out pictures from a few magazines of foods (the more the better). If your child is a little older, just give them the magazines and let them cut out the foods themselves. Then label two pieces of construction paper. One is the "like" sheet the other the "don't like" sheet. Then let the kids glue the pictures to the sheets.

This activity is good for 2.5 year olds and up.