Preschool activities and crafts with a strawberry patch fun theme!


Keep the good times rolling for your preschooler!

July 2005 - Issue 16

Contents
Quote Of The Month

Toddlers are more likely to eat healthy food if they find it on the floor. ~Jan Blaustone

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Editorial

Hello friends!

I hope this issue finds you enjoying a wonderful summer. It's certainly been hot here in Chicago, so having a resource with a few fun, indoor activities (such as the RockIt Times AmuseLetter) can be a great thing!

My 5 year old son, Ian, LOVES strawberries. If I ask what anyone needs before going to the store, I can be certain to hear "Strawberries!" yelled from wherever Ian is in the house.

Strawberries are nutritious, delicious, as much fun to pick as they are to eat, smell fabulous, and I even read recently that a half of a strawberry rubbed on your teeth will help to whiten your smile! With all those things going for them, I decided that it was only right to dedicate an entire issue to this wonderful little red berry.

Fellow KidRock instructors, Ms. Carol and Ms. Kim, were wonderful enough to volunteer their youngin's for some berry good fun. I think their smiling faces are testament enough to the joys of berryhood.

Have a wonderful month of July!

Mari

P.S. Having a 4th of July party? Be sure to check out our July 2004 issue for great ideas for the kids!

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Reading Rocks! Recommendations

The Little Mouse, the Red Ripe Strawberry, and the Big Hungry Bear

My 3-year old daughter and I were in the local bookstore, and she came running over to me with this book in her hand. She had just been playing with a baby mouse at the pet store, and we had compromised by buying her a small, stuffed mouse instead. When she found this, she was convinced this was the story of her mouse, who, like her, loves strawberries. I had to read it to her five times in a row before she'd even let me buy it; I can't even begin to count how many times I've read it to her in the week since. She just loves the mouse, the expressions on his face, and the joy of eating her favorite fruit right after! This is a great book that belongs in every child's library.

Reviewer: Robert Edward James (Culver City, CA USA)

Strawberries Are Red

There's nothing like the deep, ruby red of strawberries, glistening orange of oranges, dusky blue of blueberries, and sunny yellow of bananas. In this tasty treat, Petr Horacek celebrates the lovely natural hues of six different fruits. Each right-side page, outlined in the shape of a mound of fruit, decreases in width, creating ever-growing layers of fruit on the left side, until the final page, which brings a delicious surprise. Children will delight in identifying their favorite sweet (or tart) foods while learning their colors. Very simple text ("Strawberries are red, Apples are green, Grapes are purple," etc.) allows early "readers" to follow right along as they look at the watercolor-and-crayon illustrations. Reviewer: Emilie Coulter (Amazon.com)

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Kid Rock "Party In The Spotlight"

Strawberry Shortcake

If you love strawberries as much as we do, you are bound to love Strawberry Shortcake even more! Plan a Strawberry-themed get together for your child and be sure to have some Strawberry Shortcake fun!

  • Straw-buh-buh-berry Shortcake
  • Knock Knock, Who's There?
  • Work Together
  • Strawberry Girl in a Strawberry World
  • The Cookie Song
  • Growing Better
  • The Strawberry Shake
  • A Berry Happy Birthday
  • I love Berries
  • Friendship Grows

Reserve your party date today! Email to parties@rockitkids.com or call us at 847-961-6584.

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Craft Of The Month

Strawberry Play Dough

Materials:

  • 1 cup flour
  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
  • 1 package
    unsweetened strawberry Kool-Aid
  • 1/4 cup salt
  • 2 tablespoons cream of tartar
  • 1 cup water

Directions:

  1. Mix flour, salt, cream of tartar and Kool-Aid in a medium saucepan.
  2. Add water and oil.
  3. Stir over medium heat 3 to 5 minutes.
  4. When mixture forms a ball in pan, remove.
  5. Knead until smooth.
  6. Store in a covered plastic container.

*A special thanks to Ms. Carol and her adorable grandchildren for making our Strawberry Play Dough! Ms. Carol didn't have cream of tartar on hand, so substituted cornstarch instead. She said it worked fine, but needed an extra tablespoon added in by hand as the Play Dough was kneaded.

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Having a party? Don't forget to invite Kid Rock!

If you are in our neighborhood, we happily provide stress-free, interactive children's party entertainment for any function. Or, make it a Kid Rock day no matter where you live, with our perfectly assembled gift bags and party favors!

Visit the official Kid Rock website at http://www.rockitkids.com/
for more information!

Snack Of The Month

Mashed Strawberries

  1. Place a few strawberries, leaves removed, in a Ziploc bag.
  2. Mash up the strawberries by hand.
  3. Then spoon over ice cream or blend into milk for a yummy treat.

This is a SUPER easy recipe that even a very young child will enjoy doing. It's not at all messy, since the strawberries are contained within the baggie. This is also a wonderful exercise to build fine motor skills!

*Big hugs to Ms. Kim for sending pictures of her sons working on this recipe. The boys were overheard saying such things as, "This feels so cool!" "This is awesome." "Can we do this again?"

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Music Rocks! Recommendations

Strawberry Jams

What a pleasant, refreshing change! I was very hesitant to purchase this CD. My husband, our 3.5 yr. old daughter, and I all have been SO happy that I did! Filled with REMARKABLY FRESH, POSITIVE, PERKY songs, not babyish, not rehashed tunes, not too mature in themes, it is PERFECT for little girls. HOW lovely to find something so suitable for our daughters!

Reviewer: Anonymous

Strawberry Shortcake: Seaberry Beach Party Music

Who can resist singing the theme song to Strawberry Shortcake? The music rocks and the lyrics are catchy. The songs on this CD are taken from three recently released Strawberry Shortcake DVDs: Seaberry Beach Party, Adventures on Ice Cream Island, and Play Day Surprise. My 5-year-old and 3-year-old daughters really enjoyed watching the movies, so we got the CD so we could enjoy the music in the car. As an added bonus, the CD insert includes song lyrics, names of the singers, and song lengths.

Reviewer: Michelle (Friendswood, TX)

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Motor Activity Of The Month

Strawberries

Strawberries are so good, (clap hands)
Strawberries are so fine, (clap legs)
Strawberries are so yummy, (rub tummy)
I eat them all the time! (wave jazz hands with spread fingers)

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Special Guest Article

5 Fun Ways to Beat the Summer Heat
by Sherri Allen

Summer's finally here and the kids are all revved up for fun. But wait...the temperature's rising and it's just too hot to run around outside. What are they (and you) going to do now? Here are some great ideas to help you keep the kids entertained without resorting to ANOTHER viewing of their favorite video.

1. Take your kids to a local museum. Most cities have museums that either never charge admission, don't charge admission on certain days or charge only a nominal admission fee. In addition to having fun in an air-conditioned building, your children will be introduced to art, history, science or whatever topic your particular museum covers.

2. Include water in your activities. Take advantage of your municipal pools and lakes. Set up a wading pool in your backyard. Have a contest with water guns and water balloons. Put bathing suits on the kids and let them "help" you wash the car. Even something as simple as running through the sprinkler can bring a lot of cool, wet joy to a child.

3. Make and serve some cool treats. Nothing beats homemade popsicles, sun tea or lemonade on a hot summer day.

4. Go to "storytime" or book club meetings. Most local libraries offer different storytimes for different age groups, often with summer reading clubs for older kids. Many bookstores also frequently offer storytimes for kids (with no obligation to purchase anything).

5. Have an indoor picnic. Spread a blanket on the floor, serve kid-pleasing finger foods and have a picnic without all the heat and the ants.

Have fun and stay cool!

About the author: Sherri Allen is the editor of an online publication featuring topics such as family, food, home, garden and money. For great tips, resources, articles, recipes, reviews and coloring pages, visit http://www.SherriAllen.com/

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Subscriber Talk!

Do you have comments or suggestions for us? We love to hear and share what our readers think! Please send your feedback to us at: rockittimes@rockitkids.com

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Great Links and Freebies

Check out these great links for parents and caregivers!

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  • Join free at Chart Jungle and download a never ending supply of printable calendars, charts, schedules, and more. Great stuff for parents, along side everything you can think of to motivate and organize your child -- a "Stop Sucking Your Binky" chart, a "Stay In Bed" chart, "Please and Thank You" charts, and much more!

  • As a believer in holistic and natural remedies, I was thrilled when I found this site -- Native Remedies, The Psychologist's Natural Choice. I personally use many of the products from this site for both myself and for my children. I've been a regular customer since mid-2004 and have loved everything I have purchased from them.

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Mari Peckham
RockItTimes@rockitkids.com
IPRA "Outstanding Teacher of the Year" Award Recipient
Publishing Editor, Rock-It Times

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