It's an All Request Friday!

Hello Friends From Around the World,

It's an all request day....let me begin by saying that we have a very few "chickens" here today...several out sick and some on vacation. That's fairly common in the summer to have low numbers off and on as children cycle in and out.

So, when you have a small group you can do a ton of things all in one day. Let's see:

1. Play with our tents
2. Listen to lots of stories (and beg for more)
3. Sing and dance
4. Sharing Day
5. Outdoor time in the sand box, riding bikes, on the climber and painting at the easels.
6. Pretend to be Spiderman, The Little Mermaid and Woody from Toy Story
7. Set up and serve each other in our ice cream shop with REAL ice cream with all the fixings!
8. Water and shaving cream fun outside in the water tables
9. Free choice with toys, dolls, cars and more
10. Have a yummy morning snack of applesauce and crackers
11. Full discourse on the merits of using your imagination
12. Play Simon Says to "exercize" our ears
13. Beg Miss Sue to tell "20 hundred" Susan stories (autobiographical stories used as cautionary tales!)
14. Ask if you can come to school tomorrow, even though it is Saturday.

Other than that, we just couldn't think of anything to do....come join us anytime to help us think of other things to do!

Have a great weekend!

Miss Sue

Let's Make Believe Some More....

Hello Friends Far and Near,

What do frogs, pizza, shaving cream and artwork have in common? The are all part of our make believe week! Check out our creative frogs crafted by our friends with the guidance of Miss Charlotte. We had our pizza parlor on Wednesday....it was a big hit. We played restaurant and took turns waiting on each other, being a cashier and a host. Whew! It was very expensive pizza...some bills were $200! We must be in Beverly Hills!

Today we pretended we were artists, taxi cab drivers outside on our bikes, singers, dancers, rock stars and anything else we could think about! We played outside with shaving cream and the ever popular bubbles in the water in our tables. Who knew you could have so much fun with so little?

Tomorrow is the piece de resistance....ice cream parlor day! I can't decide who has more fun; us grown ups or your children! Come join us for a jolly good time...SOON!

The Cherub Zoo

Hello All,

In the land of make believe, you can go anywhere, do anything, create anything in you imagination! Today, we spent time at the Cherub Zoo. We each took turns being the ticket seller, tour guide and greeter to the zoo. Wow! We learned lots of facts about animals; we many different species here...elephants, tree frogs, monkeys, bears and a full aquarium with an octopus, Dory from "Finding Nemo", some other fish and a turtle. We have a rare find here at the zoo...a fire breathing dragon, too!

We played outside on bikes, scooters, our climbing structure and sand box....for an extra added attraction, we had some dry rice and beans to make "cakes" with.

Tomorrow is our virtual "pizza parlor" complete with toppings of all kinds and getting to serve each other. My goodness...we have so much fun here! Enjoy the pictures!

Let's Make Believe

Hello Friends,

It's all about pretending and making believe! Oh my goodness, we have lots of lively imaginations here at Cherub! We have princesses, people driving to Hawaii, people flying with their wings to Disneyland, people pretending to be construction workers, Moms, Dads and more! We had a great time with dress up today!

We are making masks to enhance our alter egos...this is a big hit! We will finish decorating them this afternoon with Miss Charlotte. Oh, the fun we have, it's a blast. I told our friends that I was pretending I was flying by flapping my wings today...Miss Bette is swimming under water with the dolphins and whales. Oh, the places we can go! We are only limited by imagination! Come join us for a flight of YOUR imagination.

Homemade Bread and Butter! Yumm-o!

Hello Friends Around the Planet,

Ohhhh! Yumm-o! Homemade bread and butter! Does it get any better that this? Today, because it is restaurant week we made bread and butter! The children were amazed at the transformation from whipping cream to butter. Shake, shake, shake some more! Just pour whipping cream into a jar or other covered container. Add a pinch of salt....and then shake, rattle and roll until you no longer can hear the liquid sloshing around. It took about 15 minutes for each friend to take a turn to shake it as hard as they could. Plus some help from Bette and myself helped it along. We did this while the bread was in it's process of being made!

On to the bread, flour, salt, oil, sugar, yeast, water! That's all there is to it! Well, a little more work than that....we first discussed the yeast; what it was and what it needed to become active: warm water and sugar and then watch it foam up. We discussed the microbiology of yeast, how it helps the bread rise and why it is needed. Who knew that some tiny organisms could do all that work? Then mixing and the kneading to mix everything up "exercise" the gluten to make it stretch and do it's thing. We watched it rise...it took about an hour to double in size...oooooohhhhh....ahhhhh! Then it get's punched down and kneaded again and another rising for another hour....finally ready to bake....it smells heavenly! Finally ready after 45 minutes in the oven. We served it with a dollop of our homemade butter and strawberry jelly and some grapes and juice for afternoon snack. Nothing beats this for yummy-ness!

We have a simply sublime time here everyday...come see how you can join us too!

Thought for Food

Hello Followers,

Today was our big field trip to Nob Hill Foods to go on a tour and pick out what we were going to eat for lunch today. Our guide was, Carol, the assistant store director, who showed us all kinds of vegetables, fruits, how they are grown, how to cook them, a viewing of the fish/meat market, the deli, the dairy aisle and everyone's favorite, the bakery!

We got to take home balloons for everyone and some cookies as a gift for coming to their store. It was eye opening to see the many different choices that there are in the grocery store that are not "processed" foods, just plain, simple ones that we can enjoy. Our menu included grapes, crackers, cheese, turkey, some chips and the cookies and a cold cup of milk.

Lots to talk about and see! Glad we went in the morning, because it was getting hot...ready for our next adventure, water play this afternoon!

Enjoy our photos!

Summer smiles,
Miss Sue

Restaurant Possible! Wahoo!

Hello Friends,

Cafe Cherub opened for business to rave reviews..."the wait staff is attentive and excited to serve us". "The food was simply divine, the popcorn was the freshest ever, the animal cookies were pure genius, the string cheese was aged to perfection, the pretzels were crisp and tasty." "The atmosphere was delightful with flowers on the table and a special touches like pleasant conversations surrounding everyone." "The view from the dining room is breathtaking...a perfect view of the V.A. Hospital." "This is one of the 1000 restaurants you must eat at before you leave the planet..." according to Frommer's Dining Guide.

It was a treat to watch our friends take the role of Host/Hostess, Cashier, Waiter/Waitress and customer and all the responsibilities that come with each role.

We have a ton of things going on every day....we paint, run and play and find time to learn some great stuff too with all the planning that goes into each event. Join us soon!

Hugs to you,

 Miss Sue

Bon Appetit!

Hello Friends Far and Near,

It's restaurant week here at Camp Cherub...or this week known as Cafe Cherub! Today we talked about all kinds of restaurants from McDonald's to Chez Panisse! We talked about menus, wait staff, chefs, cooks, table bussers, host and hostesses.

Then we created our custom menus that we will be serving to our customers tomorrow. We have string cheese, apple juice, animal crackers, bananas, pretzels, water on our menu. Everyone will get a chance to be both a wait staff and a customer! We have 2 tables with lovely flowers and a view to die for...overlooking the VA Hospital! We have name tags and order pads, fancy pencils to write orders down, aprons. We are really upscale here.

Tomorrow will be our first day of the restaurant....can't wait!

We had a ball in the sand today, discussed the many aspects of art appreciation including new paintings to us by Salvador Dali, "Persistance of Memory", paintings by Andy Warhol, Jackson Pollock and more. This is only after we read "Art Dog" and named all the paintings in it....

Oh we have so much fun and laughs!

Happy day to you!
Miss Sue

Cars R Us

Hello Followers,

With all our transportation talk, we were able to finish our cars and test drive them out on the "road" today. We have cars of all models, makes, colors, conditions. We played "Red Light Green Light" today first sans our cars, then with our cars. We talked about traffic safety; it's important to all go in the same direction, watch out for pedestrians, stalled cars or "impared" drivers distracted by texting, cell phone calls, etc.

One child asked if they could sleep and drive...I stated that I felt like I have driven behind people who appear to be slumped and unresponsive behind the wheel, however, it is a best practice to stay awake and alert while driving....I'm just saying.

Check out these cars! You will not find better ones around! They are custom built with all sorts of bells and whistles! We really had a ball with them...who knew how much fun a cardboard box, paint and paper plates could be? They rocked. We can give you a good deal on any of our cars, free financing, no down payment and no high pressure salespeople! Come see us!

Have a great day!

Fun and laughter to YOU,
Miss Sue

Welcome Summer Time!

Hello All,

It has been a rockin' week here at Cherub...We started our week off with finishing up our multiple step Father's Day gift. We can't wait for our Dads to see it! We worked long and hard on it!

Plus, the highlight of our week...water play! Wahoo! We have a water sprinkler that has plastic wiggle worms on it that move all over when the water is turned on! Super fun to run through or ride your bike through or put your face in or ? It is squeal your heart out kind of fun!

This is transportation week and we started making our cars, by painting them and today we took a virtual trip to our imagination on Cherub Airlines. John's Mom, Katie, was gracious enough to be our flight attendant today. She taught us about buckling up our seat belts, listening to instructions when you are on the plane. Our trip was short, about 30 minutes long. Several people were going to Hawaii, some to Disneyland and one to Fairy Princess Land. We got to have some yummy cookies and apple juice on our trip, too. We were treated to First Class Elite Level Service today, by our terrific guide and flight attendant.

Enjoy the photos...see you soon!

Miss Sue

I Scream for Ice Cream!

Hello Friends,

We had a supercalifragilisticexpialidocious day today. How can it get better? Gentle weather which allows us to be outside without roasting, so much fun in the sand, sharing day, learning more "camp" songs and the coup de grace...homemade ice cream!

Our friends here took turns measuring, pouring, mixing, adding ice to the bucket and the salt to make it melt...discussing all the ingredients including eggs, sugar, milk, heavy cream, vanilla and a pinch of salt. Then let it churn, churn, churn for a long 45 minutes. I asked the children if they thought it we could do this everyday, one child said "No, this is too much work". I agree, but it is worth the wait and effort!

Yesterday, we went on a pretend hike: around the desert (our sand box), climbing up the mountain to cross the river and into the cave, then down the waterslides(our climbing structure) to our cool place to have our hiker's snack! It was a blast. I was the trail guide and was begged by our friends to do the hike again today! Yippee! A real hit!

Next week up is Transportation Week! Wait 'till you see what we have in store!

Make a memory this weekend!
Miss Sue

Latest News from Sand Heaven!

Hello Followers!

It is with great enthusiasm and excitement to announce that our sand boxes are now filled with beautiful, clean sand, just begging for children to dig to their hearts content. We were able to purchase 10 yars of sand with our fundraising money and brand new sand toys to play with....we have enough for everyone to have fun with....pails, shovels, scoops, molds, sifters, ladles and more!

Today we had our first BBQ also, super exciting! Hot dogs, watermelon, beans, chips, lemonaide and at snack time, s'mores. This is living! We had children who wanted 2nds, 3rds and more on all the food!

Check out our progress pictures...from dumping to playing! Thanks to all who participated in the fundraising to buy our sand! We appreciate YOU!

Smiles,

Miss Sue

Rainy Day Monday

Hello FOCs,

Well, the first day of Summer Camp has been rainy! Boo hoo! We have had to play inside this morning....but have had lots of fun working on our Father's Day projects, our "Camp Cherub" banner, making paper plate suns, learning some new "camping" songs like: "I Stuck My Head in a Little Skunks' Hole" and more....lots of laughs, learning and fun!

Guess what? OUR SAND IS COMING TOMORROW! YAHOO! We have fundraised for almost a year to purchase sand and the cover to keep everything clean! It's been a long journey, but we made it! We have brand new sand toys and we are good to go!

Enjoy our pictures...see you tomorrow!