Friday, May 16, 2014

cocoa center in the classroom

It's been so so hot lately that I cannot even muster any cocoa fondness save for the fact that the children love when we have a cocoa center. Plus, it's gotta be cocoa weather somewhere, right? Our last cocoa center was in March on a rainy day. The set up is a plate with a ceramic mug, an open packet of instant cocoa, a spoon, and a small container of marshmallows. There is also a pitcher of warm water on the table. We do not have any allergies in our classroom so are able to use good old fashioned instant cocoa. We talk about the difference between cocoa recipes and the children love to share how they make it at home. We warm up our water in the microwave and transfer it to a plastic pitcher sized right for smaller hands. Before we begin the children name the items they are going to use and then together we talk about the steps or sequence of cocoa making.  They love adding their water and stirring it all up and often time will continue adding water until they no longer really have cocoa but it's all good and they own it!

Things learned at the cocoa station: vocabulary, patience, motor and math skills.

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