Mrs. Shields K1 Stars

Apple Explorations Room 107 has been enjoying a week of apple explorations! We have read stories, browsed non-fiction books, explored similarities and differences between different varieties of apples, participated in an apple taste testing, voted on our favorites, learned many new names of apples, including a Jonathan apple, observed apple seeds, and made apple prints at the Art Studio! The children were busy learning names of apples such as McIntosh, Golden Delicious, and Granny Smith! Ask your child what Granny Smiths are great for (baking apple pie), or what Mrs. Shields' favorite kind is (Gala)! The week culminated in the children following a recipe, chopping apples, and making their own applesauce! It was a sweet week in Room 107!

Caroline observes seeds from the apples with the magnifying glass. "This makes them look bigger," notices Caroline. Jonathan gets a better look at the core of the apple where "the star" is that we read about in the story of the Little Red House with No Windows, No Doors and a Star Inside! He can see the place where the seeds are held. Vasilia, Seamus and Ethan enjoy some freshly baked apple pie with the recipe they used from the cookbook! In small groups, Caroline, Sienna and Jonathan observe the 3 varieties of apples. They each select one to draw and describe to Mrs. Shields. Janeudy was going to make a Granny Smith apple like Caroline, but changed his mind to a Gala apple, which is Mrs. Shields' favorite! Summer enjoys making apple prints at the Art Studio. The children tried dipping apples in the paint, and also painting apples with paintbrushes and then printing onto the paper. Summer thought that using a paintbrush worked better than dipping the apple in paint! Jayden liked all of the apples, so he tries to decide which type he liked the best! Ethan and Jayden chop the apples and add them to the pot to cook them. We are going to add sugar, lemon juice and some water to the pot to make the applesauce. We looked up a recipe in a cookbook so that we would know how to make it. Everyone takes a turn chopping apples. As Summer and Seamus chop their apples, the pot is getting full and ready to cook applesauce! Yay! Our applesauce is ready! The chefs are excited to try it! Ethan had 1, 2, 3 servings of applesauce!		Cassie draws the seeds from the apple and then traces the apple that was cut in half. "Now it will be the right size,' she says. "Look, Mrs. Shields. We can make something with apples. It's apple pie!" In Dramatic Play, Ethan and his friends look through a cookbook for apple recipes. Jayden takes an apple pie out of the oven and can smell the aroma of apples, sugar and cinnamon! Mmm! Theo decides to make a mcintosh apple at the Art Studio. He knows that he has to use red tissue paper! We are making apples to give to our families at Open House! Mia is drawing a McIntosh and notices that it is not all red. She adds some green to her drawing to reflect exactly what she sees in the apple. After doing an apple taste test of McIntosh, Granny Smith and Golden Delicious apples, we voted for our favorites. Shawn'ae liked the Golden Delicious the best and attaches a yellow apple to the chart. Cassie, Caroline, Calum and Adam begin chopping up apples for our own applesauce! We can hardly wait to taste it! Nolan and Sarah add the apples that they chop to the pot. As we wait for the applesauce to cook, Seamus investigates some apple seeds and compares them to other seeds in a book in the Science Center. Sienna gives us the "thumbs up" sign and says it is "really good"! Michelle holds her bowl up to show that she ate every drop! Such great chefs in Room 107!