Fall to Us

Pumpkin spiced everything is finally acceptable and I couldn't be any happier! I'm so glad that it is technically fall but Mother Nature around here believes we need a heat wave of upper 80's everyday. So to try to put us all in the fall spirit my little man and I did a little arts and crafts. So I looked at the word fall and tried to come up with words that we like but that also represents the meaning of fall to us.

Let's start with the letter "F". This one was a little tricky to come up with at first but then it hit me like a ton of bricks. I'm out number two to one and when football is on tv you better believe that's what we are watching. Even though my little man is only two he loves football. Him and his dad can play for hours running around the house saying hike or hut hut and the ball being thrown everywhere. I'm just sooo looking forward to when he becomes older and all my house decor becomes broke from said game. No really I hope he continues to love the sport like he does now. It's a great bonding time between the most important men in my life. So to make this first letter I decided to get a brown stamp pad for him to use his fingers with. I let him get all messy and honestly that's what makes it fun. After he was done stamping with his fingers I turned his thumb prints into footballs. 

Now we are on to letter "A" which was quite simple, apples. Little man loves to eat apples anytime he can. Oh and apple juice don't even get my started on. Let's just say right now his favorite flavor of anything is apple. This was my favorite letter to create. I took an apple and cut in half and brought red and green paint outside. Instead of using a traditional paint brush he used the apple to paint with. His painting turned out really cute but I butchered it when I tried making it into the letter "A". You would think after how many years of school that I would be able to draw a block or bubble letter but nope. Still can't and don't think I ever will be able to. So please over look my horrible letters. 

Then we come to down to the last two letters "L". One of my personal favorite things about fall is all the leaves changing color and falling to the ground. So Kace and I went out on the hunt for leaves one afternoon and gathered as many as our hands could hold. After we got back we broke out the good ole glue and started glueing leaves to his paper. We talked about colors as we glued them on. 

In the end we came up with what fall meant to us football, apples, and leaves. Now Kace has a new door sign for his bedroom but the best part is that he made it and learned while doing it. Hope you all enjoy fall as much as we do. 

Apple Butter For All

Since we have been talking about Johnny Appleseed I decided to make apple butter for my classes for them to sample. I was amazed of the amount of students that had never tasted it before. Of course I checked to see if anyone was allergic and if so they had an alternative sample of apple juice. I went through the process of how I made the apple butter with them and preservative measures we use to ensure a life of a product. Here is the recipe I used. 

Ingredients

• 6 pounds apples (A mixture of sweet apples, such as honey crisp, pink lady, gala or golden delicious works best)
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 Tablespoon cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon nutmeg
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract

Instructions

1. Core, peel and slice apples and place in a pot on the stove.
2. Mix together sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt.
3. Toss apple slices with with sugar mixture.
4. Crush large apple pieces with a spoon while the apples cook down.
5. Cook on low for about 7 to 10 hours depending on the amount of liquid in the pot.
6. Stir in vanilla extract.
7. Allow apples to cool slightly and then puree with an blender (or transfer in batches to a food processor.)
8. Transfer to air tight containers and store in refrigerator for up to two weeks or store in the freezer for up to 2 months.

The kids loved it and enjoyed taste testing. Let me know how yours turned out if you decide to give it a try. It's the perfect recipe for a rainy day when your stuck inside with not a lot to do. 

Best Job Ever shirt is from one of my favorite stores on Instagram. Go check them out! Ezra and Eli

An Apple For The Librarian

This month in library has been an exciting one! The focus has been all about John Chapman aka Johnny Appleseed. Few people know that September 26th is Johnny Appleseed day. He is a great topic that covers a lot of content such as being a good citizen, biography, tall tales, facts, and opinions. We touched on each of those topics this past month in some sort of way. At the end of the this month each class will either get to sample apple butter or apple pie.

4th grade was the lucky grade that got to sample apple pie. They worked on coming up with different apple pie recipes. We then discussed why we use certain ingredients and the amount that we use. We took their recipes and turned them into books that can be checked out or used by the students. Of course if there was health reasons why a student couldn't sample the apple pie I had an alternative for them. I used this as a reward for good behavior but also as a lesson. The kids really enjoyed it. Here is the link to apple pie recipe cook book that we used. Apple Pie Cook Book 

3rd grade made posters about the life cycle of an apple. We got in a great discussion about bees and how and why they are important. Like I said before if I can bring other subjects into the library I do. The kids love science and loved making life cycle posters.

2nd grade made posters about themselves as if they where Johnny Appleseed. They had to come up with a different type of plant they would plant instead of an apple. They had to pick something they would wear on their head other than a hat or a pot. They also had to tell everyone what their favorite apple food is. This little project was a great way for the students to express themselves and to get to know there fellow peers. Here is the template we used to make our posters with. If I where Johnny Appleseed Poster

My little ones didn't miss out on the fun they also made a small poster about themselves. We worked on sentence structures. Starting out with a capital letter and ending our sentence with a punctuation mark. I try reinforcing what they are learning in their regular classrooms with what we are doing in the library.

On the 26th of September don't forget to wish someone a Happy Johnny Appleseed day!