How many times have your children come home with their finished art projects? So proud of their hard work these projects usually represent a well executed, fridge ready product. Well sometimes, these projects don't go according to plan, sometimes they don't work as expected, don't look as we the teachers wanted, and sometimes they are down right disasters. This is the story of one of these failures. We have been scouring the internet looking for fresh, different, open ended projects for the kids to do this summer so when we came across this one we were super excited. I mean what is more fun than homemade shrinky dinks? We all remember how excited we would get watching our creations curl up and shrink right before our eyes. What was even better about this activity, it used recyclable materials. A lesson inside a lesson, a teacher's dream! We cut out our designs on our recycled to-go containers, the kids colored away for what seemed like hours (about 10 minutes in real time) and we got ready to stare at the stove and watch the magic. The children waited anxiously as the shrinky dinks curled up just like they were told they would, and even more anxiously waited for them to uncurl and shrink........and waited....and waited........and waited. The problem? They never uncurled. They got harder, and harder but stayed in their little rolls until we decided it wasn't going to work. We did, however get a good science lesson on the qualities of different grade plastics. But even after this big disappointment did the children give up on this project? NO! They took one look at those colorful plastic rolls and they pulled out some string and they made necklaces! Ahh to see life through the eyes of a child. So, after this failure in our pockets we needed to make sure our next project was a complete success. We pulled a cooking project for this week that has been tried and tested in Ms. Bridget's own kitchen and we knew would work exactly as planned. We have been playing with our menu and wanting to add some new grains and recipes. Introducing new foods to children is always tricky, so we were eager to see what they thought of these Quinoa Bites. We are happy to announce they were a HUGE success! Almost all of the children ate these in multiples and the entire tray was gone! This recipe is great because it can be changed and doctored up any way that pleases your family. As long as you have the quinoa, egg and cheese to bind you can add any fillings you want! Turn them into lasagna bites with some browned hamburg and ricotta, try an alfredo sauce with some chopped broccoli or peas, or turn it into a taco bite with some cheddar and seasoned meat then top with a dollop of whipped cream and salsa. The possibilities are endless! For our first run we kept it simple, a little tomato sauce, mozzarella, parmesan, and light salt and pepper. Here is the original recipe we adapted this project from Quinoa Bites
So easy, and as you can see......a real crowd pleaser!
2 Comments
Sarah Mattice
8/16/2016 08:33:06 pm
Can I just say how blessed we are to have such great teachers at The Giving Tree? Thank you for all you do to enrich our children's lives with new and innovative and educational activities. So impressive.
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The Giving Tree
8/17/2016 08:29:35 am
Thank you so much! That means a lot to us all
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