From ghoulies and ghosties and Long Legged Beasts....

And things that go bump in the night... Good Lord deliver us! Traditional Scottish Prayer


Happy Halloween!

Welcome Spooktacular Friends!

What a jolly good, fantastic, spooktacular kind of day we had! Yahoo! It's Halloween. We had "Puff the Magic Dragon" bounce house, went Trick or Treating at the VA Hospital, had a party, sang songs! Whew! What a magical day it has been! Thank you to all the parents and grandparents who brought food for us! It was all yummy and delicious!

I came as Old Mother Hubbard...I asked all the children if they knew where I could get a bone to give to my dog. Even though I just had a dress, apron and bonnet on, I had several children ask if I was still Miss Sue! What a great day!

Enjoy the photos!

Miss Sue

They're Creepy and They're Kooky...

Mysterious and spooky....Spiders and bats that is.....

Hello Families!

Happy Friday to you all! This week has been all things Halloween. Today we continued our "Not So Scary" talk about spiders and bats. Did you know bats keep the bug population down? They are actually a big part of the web of life. Bats can eat 3 times their weight in bugs every night! Spiders eat bugs too and spin webs just about everyday.

We also made our own version of spiders. Check them out on our bulletin board! Also, don't miss the "Scaredy Cat" photos on our big bulletin board. Scary and funny at the same time!

Have a great weekend and make sure you make time to do something special with your families!

Happy Day to You,

Miss Sue

Have a Retro Halloween

Hello Friends,

Wow! Still more Halloween celebrating around here...today we did something retro...we actually popped popcorn in an air popper...really retro would have been a popcorn pot. However, a air popper was absolutely magical to these children. First I brought out the popper and asked if they knew what it was. No one could guess, some thought it was a mixer, a few thought it was a blender and one child thought it was a heater. I brought out a bag of popcorn and no one could guess what it was either...some thought it was sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds or just plain old seeds. Next we discussed how popcorn pops and how the air popper will heat the popcorn and air and we will begin to have popcorn in our bowl in just a few minutes. Shazam! Popcorn came popping out right into our big bowl. Next, we added the carmel syrup to make our popcorn balls. Pretty amazing according to the audience!

I explained that when I was a little girl, lots of times neighbors would give out popcorn balls instead of candy. One child asked, "Miss Sue, you were a little girl?" Yes, I said, we all start off as little girls and boys, even me!

Here is the recipe: (beware! It's sticky and addicting)

Best Ever Popcorn Balls

3/4 cup light corn syrup
1/4 cup butter
2 t. water
2 1/2 cup confectionery sugar
1 cup marshmallows
5 qts. plain popped popcorn

In a suacepan over medium heat, combine the corn syrup, margarine, cold water, sugar and marshmallows. Heat and stir until the mixture comes to a boil. Carfully combine the hot mixture with the popcorn, coating all kernels.

Greas hands with vegetable shortnening and quickly shape the coated popcorn into balls before it cools. Wrap with plastic wrap and store at room temp.

Enjoy your day...we are! Come and join us soon!

Miss Sue

It's the Great Pumpkin Festival!

Booooo to Everyone!

What a super, fantastic, fabulous, fun, splendid and spooky day we had! First off, the baby yard lawn area was covered with tarps and blankets and had hay bales, corn stalks, pumpkins and decoration everywhere. We spent the entire morning outside where we read stories, sang songs and heard a semi-spooky story about the "Vanishing Bones".

We got to eat some delicious cupcakes that Blake's family brought for morning snack. Then we decorated cookies, got tattooed and went searching for our own pumpkins and the mysterious bones. They were hidden all over the yard. Since we covered Anatomy yesterday, we had several children asking if they had found femurs or tibias. Actually, they were toilet paper and paper towel rolls painted white and semi-crinkled up to look old and battered. They asked for a "redux" of the game this afternoon!

This afternoon will bring us bobbing for apples, playing a bean bag toss game, pinning the nose on the pumpkin, dropping clothespins in the witch's cauldron and finally watching "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown", as many of our friends do not know who Snoopy, Linus, Charlie Brown or Lucy are.

Hope you had as splendid a day as we have!
Miss Sue

Anatomy 101

Hello Followers,

Today we learned some facts about skeletons. Did you know that children have 300 bones and us adults have about 260? That's because some of the bones become fused together. Today we learned that skeletons are not all that scary and that we need to have one to stand up otherwise we would be a puddle on the ground. We talked all about bones and where they are located. We learned that our thigh bone, called the femur, is the largest bone in our body. Next up an arachnid and a bat discussion.

Also we made our own Trick or Treat Bags that are drying due to the ample usage of black paint and glitter. We are really very Halloween-a-fied around here. Wait until you see the Great Pumpkin Festival tomorrow...Johanna and a wonderful volunteer, Teresa, have set up in the back baby yard for our festival tomorrow.

Enjoy the photos!

Miss Sue

Halloween-a-palooza

Good Afternoon Followers,

Wowweee! Welcome to Halloween-a-palooza! We are really in the Halloween spirit (!) around here. This morning we made purple glitter paint bats and pumpkins made with our fist. They are both so cute! The bats were marble art-ed and are still drying. The fist pumpkins are still drying too. Additionally, this afternoon we are going to try our hands at figuring out what is in the Mystery Box......ooooooooooohhhhhhhhh. Could it be a bat, a snake, some pom poms, a skeleton, what will you touch?

Yippee for good weather...some beautiful days to go out and play! Also, we are getting ready for the First Annual Great Pumpkin Festival, so bring on the pumpkins! We can hardly wait! Enjoy the photos!

Boo to you,
Miss Sue

Spooooooooky!

Welcome to our blog,

Today was quite busy with making paper candy corn or two types and playing pin the nose on the pumpkin. We also read, read, read...the children give me a pile of books each morning they are wanting to hear every day. Some are repeats, some a "number one best sellers" and some are much more esoteric and not as popular. In order, the most popular books are: "Art Dog" with the accompanying real paintings which we discuss the artist and the painting's name, "I Stink", the story told from the perspective of a New York City garbage truck, "The Gumdrop Tree" the story of a little girl who plants some gumdrops and watches a gumdrop tree grow, "The Spooky Hour", a Halloween tale, "Cars", a synopsis of the movie, "Stone Soup", the story from a few weeks ago about sharing and caring.

We have had a lot of fun this week with all things Halloween...and we have another whole week to indulge! Enjoy!

Miss Sue

How to Haunt a House

Hello Followers,

Today we made our own version of Haunted Houses...soon to appear on a bulletin board here at school. It was fun to see what they wanted to include for scary features on their houses.....bats, witch's hats, stars, spiders and more.

Today we will also be making ghosts, too! Can't wait! We also have new cash registers to play with in the late afternoon. Plus dress up...this is living large in Cherub terms! We have men's jackets, fatigues, fancy dresses, princess dresses, boas, purses, glasses, clip-cloppy shoes, etc. We have our own version of "Say Yes to the Dress" or "What Not to Wear". It is always full of laughs, smiles and giggles. More pictures of this coming your way....

Have a good one,
Miss Sue

Look What We Did Today!

Hello Followers,

It just gets better and busier around here! We love it! Between our outside activities and inside activities, books, dress up, cash registers, play doh time, story time and anything else you can think of...we are busy. The weather is great still and we are enjoying great play time outside...

We made our own version of Jack-O-Lanterns this morning, our Witch's Hats are up on the bulletin board and so are our sponge painted pumpkins. This afternoon we'll be assembling our egg crate pumpkins. All around the school I am hearing children singing our Halloween songs and discussing what they will be for Halloween. Many children have many costume changes in mind, just for this Halloween!

Today we read "Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel". It's a classic, written in 1939. But still as good as it was when I heard it as a child during the late 50s-early 60s on "Captain Kangaroo". Sheesh! I am dating myself! Lots of interest in learning more about steam shovels, bull dozers and more....

Have a great day,

Miss Sue

Pumpkin, Hats and More!

Hi Followers,

We have had a busy day....we sponge painted pumpkins this morning and made Pumpkin Muffins. Then this afternoon we made Witch's Hats....so much Halloween, so little time! But we are doing our share of Halloween celebrating...all the way up to the day, 10/31! Can't wait!

Next week is the Great Pumpkin Festival on Wed., 10/26. Don't forget to bring your pumpkins by the day before with your child's name on them and wear black and orange to the Festival. Lots of surprises are planned for the day!

Here is the super simple recipe for Pumpkin Muffins that you would pay $4.50 for at Starbucks.....

Easy Pumpkin Muffins
(Yield about 1 doz.)
Preheat oven to 350*
1 box Spice Cake Mix
1 small can (15 oz.) pumpkin

Mix cake mix with can of pumpkin until slightly lumpy. Place into sprayed or paper lined muffin tins. Bake for 20-25 minutes until toothpick comes out clean. Cool slightly, then remove muffins to place on cooling rack. Enjoy with butter or cream cheese!
( I rechecked the recipe several times to make sure I had the right ingredients, no eggs, oil, water, etc. I was suspicious as to whether or not it would come it....hang in there with the recipe...it really comes out GREAT!)

Have a great day & consider making those muffins...easy peasy and people will think you went to Starbucks or Peets to get them!

Hugs,

Miss Sue

Pumpkin Pumpkin Shining Bright

Hello Followers,

Today we made some marble art pumpkins and painted egg cartons orange to make pumpkins. They will have to dry due to ample use of paint! This week brings us all things Halloween....tomorrow Pumpkin Muffins, Witch's Hats and more.

It's been great weather, so we were able to enjoy being outside with bubbles, chalk, trike riding, climbing and lots of running and giggling. It's a wonderful world! Come join us soon.

Have a good evening!
Miss Sue

All My Chickens

Dear Friends,

With the ending of "All My Children", we have a new reality soap opera right here at Cherub! It's called "All My Chickens". As you know, this is what I call my friends here, either my Chickens or Chicken Lickins. They giggle and laugh everytime I call them this. We have our daily traumas and dramas here too, people exhibiting the full range of human emotions every day! It's all in days work. However, if we could sell this to reality t.v., you'd never have to pay tuition again! Alas, no one has offered to feature us as "The Real Children of Cherub Child Care" or "Martinez Shore" or "Big Brother...the Cherub version" . OK, I'm done....

Today has been really fun! We played vegetable bingo where everyone is a winner and vegetable guess game...clues about a veggie and they had to guess what it was. We are working hard at learning our Halloween songs; lots and lots to learn and they are fun too!

This afternoon we "water painted". Just water in a bin, sponges, paintbrushes, rollers etc. and paint pictures on the concrete out back. The children loved it! So much fun with not much cost! I love it!

Thanks to the families that helped us fundraise $500 towards our sand for sandbox. Yahoo and thank you to everyone who helped. Your product will be here soon! Also, a new fundraiser coming up....I invented this idea about 25 years ago and it has been a hit at all the places that I have worked...it's called "Kid's Night Out". No parents allowed! Cherub families can drop off their child from 6- 10 p.m. on Friday, 11/18 for pizza, ice cream, craft project, movie and playing outside in the dark for fun! The cost is $35 per child and siblings are welcome. I am donating my time to fundraise for Cherub...hopefully $300-350. There will be a date for December, too.

Have a beautiful weekend and make a memory with your family!

Miss Sue

Finally....Stone Soup Day!

Hello FOCs (Friends of Cherub),

Wow! It was finally Stone Soup Day! What a fun time we had! Thank you to all the families that donated veggies for our soup....it came out great! We had the Stone Soup that we made together and then we had the "real" Stone Soup that I made in the kitchen. I have had requests for the recipe, which I have included.

But first, the "faux" Stone Soup recipe included our 3 stones, water, salt and pepper and the veggies. Everyone was very interested in seeing purple potatoes for the first time, discussing how celery grows and saw carrots with the green tops on. Three stones were added to the water, then the salt and pepper, etc. Children saw how everything gets washed then cut up for the soup. Then the pot was wisked away and the real recipe began:

"Stone Soup" Recipe
1 large onion chopped
1/4 cup olive oil
1 heaping T. of crushed garlic
1 can stewed tomatoes
2 cans kidney beans rinsed
1 lb. (approximately) carrots either cut into chunks or use baby carrots
1 bunch celery chopped into chunks
1 lb. potatoes chopped into 1/4s
2 boxes of chicken or veggie broth ( 32 oz. size)

Carmelize onion and garlic in a large soup pot on medium high heat. Saute until soft. Add carrots, celery, potatoes and stewed tomatoes and cook until veggies are done. Add beans during the last 10-15 minutes so the do not become too mushy. Ready in 30 minutes. Add additional spices to taste. One of my favorite "go to" seasonings is from Trader Joe's called "21 Seasoning Salute". It is salt free and has a medley of onion, pepper, celery seed, parsley, etc.

We had about a 90% success rate on children enjoying the soup, some had seconds, some struggled through eating a few bites. All and all a "do over" for sometime soon in the future on a cold day. The children loved the idea that the stones could make such a delicious meal!

Happy Day to all,
Miss Sue

I and the Village

"I and the Village", a painting by Marc Chagall or the creation of our friends this morning? It's all in your perspective! This morning, we re-created the village where the peasants lived in the book, "Stone Soup". We covered cardboard shoe boxes with paper and had our friends make buildings out of the boxes by coloring, designing and setting up the village.

Then we acted out the story with our play characters as I read the story to them. It was great! Lots of people wanted to read the book themselves and lots of rearranging of the village depending on what was needed.

Yesterday we began "Project Cookbook" where we asked the children to give us their recipe for soup. First they illustrated their recipe...then they dictated their recipe to me. Oh my goodness! It was truly hysterical....one child stated, "You take one horse and put on a pot with some circles..." Another recipe included "4 tons of pineapple" to be added to the pot. It was not specified if you should peel and core it or not. Another child's recipe included cooking the soup for "one week".  More to come on this project...watch for the completed project around Thanksgiving.

Have a beautiful day!

Miss Sue

Stone Soup Week

It's Stone Soup Week! Today we read the book about how to make Stone Soup. The story takes place in 18th century France. Three soldiers come into a village hungry and tired. They ask the villagers for food and a place to sleep,  but the villagers are suspicious of the soldiers and refuse to give them any food or a place to sleep at night. The soldiers all agree that they must make Stone Soup. The get a large pot and add water and 3 stones. They place the pot on the fire and begin to stir and let the water come to a boil. The first soldier says, "It will taste so much better with salt and pepper." So some children run off to bring some salt and pepper. The second soldier says, "It will taste so much better with a few carrots...." and so on with potatoes, onion, beef, more veggies and soon they have a great soup. The village agrees that it is pretty magical how you can make soup from just stones! They all become friends and share their meal and a comfortable place to sleep.

It's a great story on how to share, how to cooperate and help each other out. We also played vegetable bingo and a veggie guess game....a jolly good time was had by all.

Come join us soon for all the fun! My phone/camera is uncooperative today and all I can get off it is 1 picture...I'm hoping for more tomorrow!

Hugs all around,

Miss Sue

"Stained Glass" Apples

Hello All,

This morning we made a huge collage of tissue paper, glitter, shapes and more that will be cut out and made into apple shapes and then hung in the window. We had so much fun decorating the contact paper, plus covering it up with a 2nd sheet of contact paper. Then we all worked out smashing it together so it would adhere to everything. We had a great discussion about collage, apples and art! What a smashing success!

It was fun and colorful! We have tons of fun things planned....stay tuned!

Smiles and Hugs,
Miss Sue