Fried Rice and Chinese New Year

Happy year of the Rooster to all of you!  We had a wonderful day celebrating.  One of our parents sent in chinese dumplings, which we ate alongside quick fried rice.  It's like the one you get at your favorite Chinese restaurant and all you will need is couple of eggs, veggies, rice and soy sauce.

Ingredients

• 2 cups enriched white rice
• 4 cups water
• Cooking oil of choice
• 2/3 cup chopped carrots
• ½ c. chopped celery
• ½cup chopped green peapods OR frozen peas
• 2/3 cup bean sprouts
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 3 eggs
• soy sauce to taste
• sesame oil, to taste (optional)

Directions

In a saucepan, combine rice and water. Bring to a boil. Reduce

heat, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes or until cooked

Heat wok/pan over high heat. Pour in oil, then stir in onions and

carrots cook til onions are translucent.  Add peas; cook about 30 seconds. Crack in eggs, stirring quickly to scramble eggs with vegetables. Stir in cooked rice. Shake in soy sauce, and toss rice to coat. Drizzle with sesame oil, (opt.) and toss again.

Serve and enjoy! Happy Chinese New Year!

finger painting

Continuing our sensory painting, the toddlers and I explored finger painting in the studio.

Different paint medias have different tactile qualities and finger paint is wonderful to play with.  It is viscose and smooth and the toddlers loved it!

I have a dream...

The children worked with Amy and I to create clay hearts as an extension of their "I have a dream..." exploration.

As the children held the clay in their hands and considered what their wish for the world might be, they imbued it with hopes for a better world.

When they were ready, (and I had written down their words) they set to work forming the clay ball into a heart shape.

 The toddlers did a similar project with Amy on Friday.

These hearts will be fired, then painted by the children and sealed.  In the Spring, we will deliver our clay wishes anonymously throughout the community and city... so stay tuned.

I will share a few of their words with you here and as you read them I hope it inspires you to consider what how we might contribute to a better, more just and caring world.

I have a dream…

My dream is that everybody will be happy and smiling.  You need to love people to be happy.  I want people to love each other so they will be happy.

-       Dillon

If people treated other people kindly no matter how they look and no matter if their eyes are different, and just treat everyone respectfully, that would make a better world.

-       Oliver

People need to play to be happy, like with ball toys and trains.  Everyone needs to play.

-       Aiden

I have a dream that everyone is treated kindly and with respect.  That means if you mess something up, you need to fix it.

-       Graham W.

I have a dream that all people will know that they are loved.

-       Lila K. 

My dream is that every kid will learn what it means to be really, really, really, nice.  That means all grown ups need to treat a kid kindly.

-       Ella H.