Butterfly Pea Family Tea

Labor Day provided a chance for siblings and additional family members to experience the Tending to Tots farm magic! 

                           

                           

The children picked, washed, and took turns stuffing bright blue blossoms into a container, which we then filled with warm water and let steep for 15 minutes. A few families went on a side quest for lemon verbena which added a perfect hint of flavor. After the tea cooled, littles scooped out the flowers and squeezed in some honey. 

           

Each tot got a glass of blue tea and a wedge of lemon, and watched in awe as the splash of citrus turned the tea purple. Nature is magic! Simple experiments like this introduces STEAM concepts rooted in reverence, and collaboration...science with heart.

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To accompany our tea, we snacked on millet flour butterfly cookies- a fam favorite and perfect pairing with butterfly tea. These were made with plant butter and milk, and coconut sugar and adapted from the recipe linked below.

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Fresh Sand!

Push, scoop, dump, repeat. For our sandbox enthusiasts, this was pure joy! Sand slipping through closed fingers is a tricky and curious concept for littles to grasp- literally and figuratively. As the adage goes, the tighter you hold, the faster it goes...speaking also to the parenting experience for many. Oh, these sweet sandy toes! 

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Young children are nurtured by familiarity. Knowing what is coming next gives toddlers a healthy sense of security, and our circle times are class constants. For this reason, we repeat many of the same songs and stories- children under the age of five rarely tire of hearing them over and over again! The tunes and tales become woven into memory and children gain confidence in their ability to join their peers in song and movement.

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Reads and Resources:

https://www.yellowthyme.com/ragi-cookies-millet-cookies/#recipe 

https://kiddipedia.com.au/how-do-children-benefit-from-playing-with-toy-cars-and-trucks/ 

https://www.brighthorizons.com/resources/Article/Importance-of-Pretend-Play-in-Child-Development