Baking in the Classroom ~ Little Apple Sweetie Pies

Since our trip to the apple orchard, we have been enjoying the apples we took back with us at snack time.  We saved some so that each child could make a Little Apple Sweetie Pie.  What is a Sweetie Pie?  It is your very own tiny apple pie!

We began by washing our apples.  Each child had a turn peeling the apples using an apple peeler.  Once the apples were peeled and cored, each child cut their own apple into small pieces.

They placed these pieces into a prepared tart shell.  Using measuring spoons, they sprinkled flour, cinnamon and sugar on their apples.

The Sweetie Pies were put into the over to bake.  They sure smelled good when they were baking!

Once the Sweetie Pies were baked and cooled, each child took home their pie to share with their families.

We love to bake and cook things with the children.  These baking experiences are wonderful opportunities for the children to put some of the Practical Life skills they practice in classroom activities to use.

Fire Safety Month ~ A Visit From A Firefighter

October is Fire Safety Month.  One of our students has a father who is a firefighter.  He came in to speak to the children about fire safety.  He brought all of his equipment and had the classroom teachers try it on.  It is unbelievably heavy!  The children were fascinated by the big boots, helmet, visor, axe and especially the air tanks.  Did you know that the air tanks have a device on them that will start to make a beeping sound when a firefighter is down?  This helps the other firefighters find a fallen firefighter in a real fire.

In addition to our visit from Firefighter F., the children made their very own fire engines for craft.

Since his visit to our classrooms, Firefighter F. has become somewhat of a celebrity at our school.  When the children see him arrive in the morning with his child, they will stop and stare or follow him around.  We are truly fortunate to have a real life firefighter in our midst!

Happy Thanksgiving!

In our classrooms this past week, we have been discussing Thanksgiving and what it means to be thankful.  During one of our circle times, we read a lovely book that explains what being thankful feels like.  At the end of the book, we all shared some of the things that we are thankful for.   Here is a selection of the responses.

I am thankful for all the new friends in my class this year.  - age 4

I am thankful for my big brother. - age 3

I am thankful for getting to spend time at the cottage with my nonno and nonnie (grandfather and grandmother). - age 4

I am thankful that I went to visit my cousins in Boston. - age 4 1/2

I am thankful that my dad makes me pancakes on the weekends. - age 4

I am thankful for my mummy and daddy.  They love me and I love them.  - age 4

I am thankful that my big brother helps me. - age 5

I am thankful for trees, crocodiles, nonna (grandmother), nonno (grandfather), mummy and daddy. - age 3

I am thankful for my blankie. - age 3


We, the teachers here at school, feel very fortunate and thankful for the precious time we get to spend with all our lovely students and their parents.  Thank you for allowing us to be part of your lives.

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!

A Visit to the Apple Orchard

At the beginning of October, we went for a trip to the local apple orchard.  We couldn't have asked for a lovelier Fall day.  Trips are quite an event at our school.  The whole school goes on the trip and parents, grandparents and younger brothers and sisters are invited to come along.  It is  not unusual for us to have more adults than children.  This trip was no exception.  For the teachers, it was lovely to spend time with parents and grandparents in a setting other than our school.  We had a wonderful time catching up with grandparents we hadn't seen since our concert in June, as well as getting to know our new parents better.  Times such as these make us all thankful for the warm and loving community we have formed together.

In the classroom, we had been learning about the lifecycle of an apple tree and the parts of an apple.  The trip to the orchard allowed us to experience the things we had been learning.  At the orchard we took a walk through the apple orchard, picked apples, saw how apples are sorted and sampled some apple cider.  Our tour guides were very impressed with the level of knowledge our children had.  Everyone's favourite part of the trip was munching the sweet, juicy apples we picked.  At the end of our trip, we were given bags of apples to take back to the classroom.  We will be turning these lovely apples into something delicious to eat.  Stay tuned!