Pin Pretty Please!!! Grasshopper Guts are a Halloween twist on a classic kids treat! This one is simple, not too sweet, and easy to make for your Halloween party. If your preschool regularly allows homemade treats, it also qualifies for the G snack. :-) The F snack? Smashed Frog, of course. For a peanut free treat, use chopped almonds or pecans instead. Or go nut free and use mini M&Ms. Chopped toffee is another possible substitute. Halloween in a preschool classroom is fun! The little ones get so excited about dressing up and “be-tending”. Isn’t that a perfect word!? A great term for trying on a new persona. Being and pretending at the same time. That’s the best part of Halloween -- letting out the inner princess in charge of the world or being the great ... [Read More]
Kids
Smashed Frogs – Halloween Candy
Notice that Smashed Frogs cereal snacks only take one half bag of fall colored M&Ms. They only come in the big bag so don’t look for a little one. If you can’t find the fall colors, you’ll have to pick out the brown and yellow and orange ones from a regular mix. And that also means you’ll have to buy a big bag of the regular mix so there is enough. Whichever you buy, you know what to do with the leftovers to keep them from going stale. You are welcome! :-) Smashed Frogs is a pretty standard cereal and marshmallow mixture and follows the same process. Choose dark green food coloring paste if you can find it, as it is easier and quicker to stir into the melted marshmallow mixture. You can wipe butter on a couple of tablespoons and use them to drop the candy mixture on waxed ... [Read More]
Twenty- three things to do with kids before Christmas
Sledding Luminaria Make Cookies Hang a Wreath Go Ice Skating Build a Snowman Make Hot Chocolate Make Popcorn Garland Listen to Christmas Songs Go See a Christmas Movie Go see Neighborhood Lights Read a new Christmas Story Go To a Christmas Concert Take a Family Christmas Photo Make Christmas Cards for special people Watch a tv Christmas special with popcorn Make Christmas Ornaments Wrap Gifts Read a Story About the Birth of Jesus Read "The Night Before Christmas" Drop money in the Christmas Kettle Buy a Gift For a Needy Child Host a Christmas Party I’m so glad you stopped by today! Be sure to follow A Pinch of Joy so you don’t miss a thing! Subscribe by email on the sidebar or follow on Facebook, RSS feed, bloglovin’ twitter and check out my pinterest ... [Read More]
Halloween Party for Preschoolers: Snacks
Plan a fun Halloween play date with the preschool set! Nothing truly scary for this age. I’m a fan of decorations, snacks and games centered around scarecrows and spiders, pumpkins and cats for little ones. Parties should be simple, quick and colorful with the emphasis on the fun activities and playing with friends. These cute – and yummy—little mice are made with three simple ingredients. Glazed donut holes, chow mein noodles for the tail and sliced almonds for the ears. Sammy Snake is made from pieces of string cheese alternating with cherry tomatoes. He has a cheddar slice tongue and eyes from black frosting gel. Instead of cherry tomatoes, use chunks of ham, mini crackers, carrot or green pepper slices. Spiders made from round snack crackers are quick and easy. Use Ritz ... [Read More]
Top 3 things to look for when choosing a Day Care Center
A Pinch of Joy welcomes a guest poster! Miss Angela, as she is known, has 14 years experience working with older infants, toddlers and young preschoolers as a Child Day Care Teacher. Today she shares her own list of important things to look for when choosing a day care center from an insider's point of view. These three things are not what most parents think about when choosing a day care, but looking for them can make day care a positive experience for parents, children and teachers. Angela says to look for: 1. Teachers who seem to actually enjoy working with children. They smile when each child walks in. They offer hugs for the ones who are having a rough drop off. Certain ages will have those rough drop offs almost constantly. A teacher who reaches out and offers hugs to ... [Read More]