Oh, the weather outside is frightful…so this is the perfect time for a cup of hot chocolate! This past week at BBCLC, we continued Mindfulness activities in the classroom where we focused on our breathing with a Hot Chocolate activity during our weekly special of Yoga. For this activity, follow the steps below.
- Imagine you’re holding a cup of hot chocolate in your hands.
- Breathe in through your nose.
- Breathe out slowly and gently and blow on your hot cup of chocolate. Be careful, you don’t want to spill it.
- Feel your breath against your hands as you breathe out.
- Is your hot chocolate still too hot to drink? Gently blow on it again (repeat steps 2 and 3.)
Along with the breathing activity, we continued to focus on our 5 senses! The children and teachers had so much fun making homemade cinnamon spice playdough during our weekly special of Cooking this past week. The children helped to measure the ingredients by using measuring cups and spoons as well as helping with stirring using a spoon.
Easy No-Bake DIY Playdough
Ingredients:
- 1 cup All-Purpose Flour
- 1 tablespoon Cooking Oil
- ½ cup of salt
- ½ cup of warm water
- 2-3 drops food coloring
- Spices, if desired (cinnamon spice, pumpkin pie spice, etc.)
Instructions:
- Combine flour and salt in a medium bowl. Slowly stir in the oil, warm water, 2-3 drops of food coloring, spices until the mixture is well combined.
- Transfer the dough to a flat surface and let it sit for a few minutes. It may feel a bit sticky, but do not add more flour. As the dough sits, the salt will absorb the extra moisture. Knead well.
- If your dough is sticky after about 5 minutes, add an additional 2 tablespoons of flour at a time until it is the perfect consistency.
- Store in a Ziploc bag or airtight container and store in the refrigerator. If the playdough is getting dry, add a few drops of water and knead that into the dough.
This is a quick and easy recipe to make at home with your children (and maybe you can drink hot chocolate while making the playdough recipe). Be sure to ask them what senses they are using to make the playdough!
Check back next week for more information on Relationships/Connections and Mindfulness during our last week of November!!!
