This was a really fun week for me at school. My class did a little ELA unit using the story Stone Soup. I used the Reading A-Z version for the students, and then read aloud the classic Marcia Brown version.
We compared and contrasted the folktales with an anchor chart:
For writing, I used this adorable book from Mrs. T’s First Grade. We used it for writing with sequence words. They were a big hit, and will be so fun to have out for our open house night.
The HIGHLIGHT of the week though was actually making the Stone Soup. My sweet friend Wendy from 1st Grade Fireworks shared her “secret” recipe with me. I changed it up a bit to fit what I had on hand and my limited time schedule, and it turned out GREAT!
Let’s be honest here… I kinda faked it – with Wendy’s advice. 🙂 I kept it very simple. I pulled my students to the carpet, and I peeled and cut one potato, a bit of onion, a stalk of celery, and a carrot.
I picked kids to help put the things in the Crockpot. We added a cup of water, and a can of great northern beans. (You could use green beans, too.) Of course we added a magic stone to our pot. I let everyone come up and look, then let it “cook.”
Then, at lunch… I added 5 cans of Campbell’s Hearty Vegetable Soup, a can of beef broth, and about 2 Tablespoons of Italian seasoning. I let it warm up for the rest of the afternoon. They were truly none the wiser.
I ladled it into small foam cups and let them go to town. (I used a 3 oz. ladle.) They LOVED it! I was really surprised… only two of them didn’t gobble it down, and many asked for seconds. The person who got the stone in their cup got a special prize, too which added a bit of fun. It made enough for my large class of 35, with many getting seconds. (My intention was for this to be a snack, and not a meal.) I also gave them a pack of crackers to enjoy with their soup, courtesy of a local restaurant.
Crockpot Tip: If you don’t use the Crockpot liners, you should! It makes classroom cooking sooo much easier!
I hope everyone had a great week!
