Tuesday, April 30, 2013
Saturday, April 27, 2013
Spinach Time!
Hey parents, JJ here, guess what? Your kids love spinach! When I little I used to love Popeye the Sailor man, yet despite my affection for those bulging wrists (did the animators mean to draw his muscles in the wrong place?) marked with those infamous anchor tattoos, which I swore to get upon reaching 18 (thank The Lord for growing in wisdom, I have no such tattoos), I was never in love enough to succumb to eating spinach... especially from a can!
I know Popeye was often in too much of a hurry to sit down to a nice spring salad, plus the whole reputation thing of a one-eyed sailor being seen eating a salad, but a can? Come on, Popeye, you should know better. It's no wonder the whole "eat your spinach like Popeye" line didn't work... the only thing worse to a kid at dinner time than spinach is spinach that looks like it's been through the washing machine. Popeye obviously did not shop at Trader Joe's.
So the last couple of weeks the theme vegetable at the Sunshine School was spinach and while making spinach art may be way more fun than eating it, I wanted the kids to at the least be exposed to the creative culinary world of spinach and perhaps in due time grow an affection for all that this leafy green machine has to offer.
Here are just a few of the spinach inspired dishes we had over the last two weeks. I think it is safe to safe that Popeye would not only be proud, but would re-think the whole can thing...
Mini Spinach quiches. Fill muffin cups with whatever ingredients you like...
Pour egg mixture over top and bake at 350 for 20ish minutes, depending on your oven...
and BOOM!
The kids actually referred to them as egg cupcakes, which I like a whole lot more, and it sounds a lot more appetizing to a kid than "spinach and eggs." My favorite quote from that day, "teacher, there's grass in my cupcake!"
Spinach Hummus...
Just add a cup or two of spinach to your favorite hummus mix, process it and serve this pretty green dip along with carrots or pita chips... no food coloring needed!
Spinach muffins...
I know, it sounds crazy, but made with applesauce instead of oil, no butter and a limited amount of sugar, the kids gobbled them up!
Okay, so it did help that I put a cream cheese icing on top, but nonetheless, loads of spinach was had in the process.
In addition to the spinach muffins, spinach smoothies!
The kids LOVED the spinach smoothies, leaving barely any behind. Do you know what that means? Your kids ate raw spinach... and loved it!
Replicate this pretty green smoothie at home using spinach, frozen banana, frozen mango, plain yogurt, any kind of fruit juice, and honey. Blend it up, drink those greens, and enjoy the wonderful world of spinach!
I yam what I yam.... and that's the lunch lady.
Friday, April 26, 2013
May Newsletter
Annual Plant Sale
May 4-5, 9am – 3 pm
We will have a wide variety of annuals, veggies, herbs,
planters, and hanging baskets, and all proceeds from this event go directly to
improvements at Sunshine
School
Preschool May Day Parade
Wednesday, May 1
Our preschool
students will be creating bouquets and delivering them to our neighbors to
celebrate May Day. If you are able, please bring fresh flowers to share with
your child’s class. We love flowers from the garden or from the store! Also,
there is a sign up in the front hall for students to bring wagons to share with
their classes.
Upcoming School Closures
Monday, May 27 for
Memorial Day
Monday, June 17 –
Tuesday, June 18 for Teacher Planning
The summer program
will begin on Wednesday, June 19.
Preschool Graduation
Friday, June 14 at 6:30 pm
Preschool students
have started practicing their songs to sing on stage at graduation, and all
families are invited to this fun evening event as we wrap up the school year
and celebrate our students. Bring your camera, and invite your friends and
family members to join you!
Warm Weather is Coming!
We encourage you to
bring a bottle of sunscreen to keep at school for the season. Please be sure
that it is clearly labeled with your child’s name in permanent ink. Also, it’s
a good time to check on your student’s extra clothing supply at school to make
sure that it still fits and that it is seasonally appropriate.
Upcoming Preschool Themes and Events:
April 29 – May 3
Theme: Flowers
Color & Shape:
Pastels & Flower
Letter & Number:
Vowels & 8
Fruit or Vegetable:
Peas
Bible: Saul /
Paul
Memory Verse:
John 14:6
Special Events: May
Day Parade on Wednesday, 5/1
Annual
Plant Sale Fundraiser
on Saturday 5/4 & Sunday 5/5
May 6-10
Theme: Seeds
& Gardens
Color & Shape:
Pastels & Flowers
Letter & Number:
Consonants, 9
Fruit or Vegetable:
Peas
Bible: Followers
of Christ
Memory Verse: John
14:6
May 13-17
Theme: Insects
Color & Shape:
Rainbow & Teardrop
Letter & Number:
Consonants & 10
Fruit or Vegetable:
Lettuce
Bible: Old
Testament Review
Memory Verse: Review
Special Events: Preschool
Butterfly Release (Date TBD)
Hungry
Caterpillar Day on Wednesday 5/15
May 20-24
Theme: Reptiles
& Amphibians
Color & Shape:
Rainbow & Teardrop
Letter & Number: 3
Letter Words, Counting by 2’s
Fruit or Vegetable:
Lettuce
Bible: New
Testament Review
Memory Verse: Review
Special Events: Crazy
Color Combo Day on Thursday 5/23
May 27-31
Theme: Dinosaurs
Color: Neons
Letter & Number: 3
Letter Words, Counting by 5’s
Fruit or Vegetable:
Lettuce
Bible: Fruit of
the Spirit
Memory Verse: Galatians
5:22-23
Special Event: School
Closed for Memorial Day on Monday, 5/27
Thursday, April 25, 2013
Lunch Lady Land
Hey friends and family, JJ the lunch lady here! I want to keep you filled in with some of the fun and yummy foods being whipped up at the Sunshine School. Kids are willing to try all sorts of new things when meal time is fun, so that's exactly what we're trying to do with lunches and snacks. With a passion for nutrition and the occasional sweet treat, I'm loving life as your child's lunch lady! I'll try to incorporate recipes when I can and photos should you want to try anything at home. Feel free to come find me in the kitchen should you have any questions. Here is a sneak peak at some of the fun stuff we're doing...
Lorax Sandwiches: turkey and cheese with cream cheese, shredded carrots and olives.
Truffula Trees: apricots, prunes, sunbutter and celery.
Monkey Sandwhiches: homemade hummus, turkey and veggies of choice. Note: how you cut the red pepper will determine how happy or indifferent your monkey will come across.
Fresh fruit makes everything brighter, even rainy days in Portland.
Taste the rainbow, Skittles ain't got nothing on me!
In honor of the umbrella walk, what could make a ham and cheese bagel more fun? Umbrellas!
Lots more to come!
WORK DAY 2013
The Sunshine School's work day to fix up the playground took place on Saturday, April 20th and was a great success... it has to be when you start the day with this much bacon...
and of course, balance it out with some fruit...
From cooking breakfast to shoveling wood-chips to pressuring washing and painting, thank you to everyone who came out to help! We couldn't have done it without you...
Tuesday, April 16, 2013
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)