Wednesday, November 30, 2011

My Holiday Baking List

It's that time of year again. Time to put on the sounds of the season, bring out the KitchenAid and gather with friends and family to start my long list of holiday baking. Unfortunately, my list is getting sooooo long that I'm not sure if I'll be able to make them all....but I will do my baking darnedest!



Every Christmas I send off cookie platters to family, friends, co-workers, and always take to holiday gatherings. Besides, I love any excuse to bake! Here are the ones I'm hoping to get onto my platters:

Grandma's Cut-Outs. First off, I have to make my Grandma Barb's classic Cream Cheese Cut-Outs. They're a family recipe and make an appearance at every holiday/family event. These are a must.

Fat Fluffy Snickerdoodles. I've got a headstart and made these cookies this past weekend. Definitely my favorite Snickerdoodle recipe yet! Head on over to Jessica's blog and check it out, and while you're there, take a gander at her holiday baking list.

Browned Butter Cookies with Caramel Frosting. Right behind chocolate chip, these cookies are my husband's favorite, so I have to find room for these on the list every season.

Almond Blueberry Cookies <--- my favorite cookie in the whole world. Tastes just like a blueberry muffin!

Apricot Pinwheels. I made these last year during our Cooking Club Cookie Exchange. My grandpa loved these and I promised him his own special batch this year.

Hot Cocoa Cookies. I always make one chocolate cookie, and this season these looked mouth-watering. I can't wait!

Raspberry-Lemon Thumbprints. These are two of my favorite baking ingredients, so I had to give this recipe a try. (I've never made a thumbprint cookie before.)

Strawberry Cream Cheese Cookies <---These look heavenly!!!! By far the cookie I'm most excited to try.

Skinny Peanut Butter Cookies. I love anything peanut butter, and a healthier cookie...yes, please.

Peanut Butter Cheesecake Bars. I always make a bar for my Christmas platter and figured I'd try something new this year.

Chocolate Chip Cookies. Of course I have to make these. I already made one batch last weekend, and I'm sure my husband will request another batch.

Chocolate-Dipped Clementines. I love dipping fruit in chocolate. It reminds me of those orange chocolate slammers Mama used to put in my stocking when I was little. Yum.

Lemon Bread <--- LOVE my lemon bread. I have to make it a least once a year and I can't believe I haven't made it yet!

Mocha Scones. These look delectable and something fun and different to add to the list.

Salted Caramel and Brownie Cheesecake Bars. These bars are for my co-workers on my Monday shift. We always bring in food for each other to try, and once I saw these I knew I had to make them ASAP.

Tiramisu Cheesecake Bars. These yummy treats are for my work's Christmas Party. Last year I took a tray of cookies and the year before that I made a light lemon cake. I found out people prefer bite size food versus cake.



Homemade Apple Butter. (which I made earlier this year for one of my Cooking Club recipes)
Candied Almonds. I'm making these two recipes to give as homemade gifts this year. A little something warm and sweet for the holiday season.

I always make something sweet and tasty for Christmas morning. This year it's this yummy dish:

Single-Serve Monkey Bread.
Mama used to make this all the time when I was little and it was a childhood favorite.

I've also bagged up a few of the Snickerdoodles and Chocolate Chips and shipped them off in a cute box to my brother down in Myrtle Beach. I miss him so much (he couldn't fly home for Thanksgiving, but he'll be home for Christmas!) and I wanted to send him a tasty home sweet home courtesy of his loving sister.




What's on your baking list this season?



Happy Holiday Baking!

With Love and God Bless,
Brindi

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Thanksgiving 2011

Happy (Belated) Thanksgiving!


I hope everyone had a fabulous and delicious Thanksgiving, whether you celebrated the holiday with family or friends.

I had so much to be thankful for this season. I celebrated my one-year wedding anniversary (which my husband bought me a Kindle!), I recieved and un-expected raise at work, I had the opportunity to gain valuable library experience and meet wonderful people throughout my practicum, and spent a beautiful vacation in Georgia with Mr. B.

But I am most thankful for my husband and all the time I got to spend with him this year.

Last December my husband was laid off from his job (he's a sherrif's deputy), which allowed us to spend lots of quality time together. Even though we had to watch our spending and create budgets, we never struggled or wanted for anything. The Lord blessed us with so much and it helped us realize that money isn't everything. I just wanted to share  with you all what I am most thankful for this season and that's my beautiful husband.

Now onto the food!

Because my family lives two hours away, and Mr. B's lives 15 minutes away, we have to divide the holidays. Hence, we rotate Christmas and Thanksgiving. This year, my family got Thanksgiving, and Mama and Daddy hosted it at their house. Many relatives were out of town (including my brother, whom I missed terribly) so it was a small(er) dinner with my Grandpa, parents, cousin and aunt.

Mama made a nutella cheesecake, pumpkin pie and Daddy had to have pecan pie. So I decided to add an Upside-Down Berry Crostada to the mix. I don't know where I even got this recipe. All I know is I found it on a scrap piece of paper in my recipe keeper. No directions, just a list of ingredients.

So I put my baking skills to the test. And Betty Crocker herself would be impressed with the results.


It was by far one of the simplest desserts I'v ever made...and one of the tastiest. It didn't take long at all and the hardest part was waiting to eat it the next day! [These berries were so juicy I couldn't stand it!....in a good way]


The berries spilled out from underneath this perfect crust into this messy deliciousness. Ah-mazing!

And the cheese whip. Oh, the cheese whip. I can't even show you a picture of this white heavenly fluff that went on top because I forgot to snap a picture of it! I was in another world eating this dessert. The need for photos did not cross my mind. I apologize. I was distracted. I blame the crostada.

This whip is soooo good, I honestly don't know if I'll ever eat whip cream again. [Shut the front door!]

Yes, it's that good. Make it.

Upside-Down Berry Crostada

Serves 4-6


1 1/2 c flour
4 Tbsp Stevia, divided
1 lemon zested and juiced
1/4 tsp kosher salt
10 Tbsp unsalted butter, chilled and cut into pieces
3 Tbsp ice water
30 oz frozen mixed berries, thawed
1 1/2 Tbsp cornstarch
2/3 c mascarpone cheese
1/3 c heavy cream
3 Tbsp honey

Combine flour, 2 Tbsp Stevia, lemon zest and salt in a bowl. Add butter and mix until coarse. Add ice water, 1 Tbsp at a time, and pulse until clumps form. Gather dough into a ball and flatten into a disk. Wrap in plastic and chill until firm, about 1 hour.

Preheat oven 400 degrees. Stir together berries, lemon juice, 2 Tbsp Stevia and cornstarch and pour into 10" baking dish. Roll out crust to fit over berries. Place crust over berries and fold crust over itself until it just fits inside baking dish. Cut a 2" slit in center of dough. Bake until crust is golden and berries bubbly, about 40 minutes.

Meanwhile, whip together mascarpone cheese, cream and honey. Cover and reserve in refrigerator until ready to serve. (Serve on top of warm crostada.)



I've also included a few photos of the other dishes that graced our Thanksgiving menu.




For an appetizer, I made this tasty Baked Brie with Apples and Cranberries. It was demolished.

[Recipe below.]


Green Bean casserole is a must!



Love these holiday spreaders Mama had!



A rundown of our menu.



After our feast and football still on the TV, we filled the table with ads and planned our Black Friday route! We hit Walmart at 10 pm and didn't get home until after 7 am. It's a tradition in our family to hit the Black Friday sales and we always have a blast. Plus, stopping at Starbucks for a quick coffee break around 2 am and then breakfast aorund 5:30 am to kill time before the next store is super fun.

My hubby and I were excited to find towels super-cheap for our bathroom. He also bought himself a new griddle and I enjoyed a new pair of boot slippers. Don't worry....we did shop for others too.


Baked Brie with Apples and Cranberries

Serves a crowd

8 oz wedge of Brie cheese, or round
1/2 medium apple, chopped
1/4 c sliced almonds
1/4 c dried cranberries
1 Tbsp brown sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 Tbsp butter, melted

Preheat oven 350 degrees. Combine apple, almonds, cranberries, sugar and cinnamon in bowl. Stir in butter just until mixed. Cut Brie in half horizontally. Place one half of Brie, rind side down, in small baking dish. Spoon half of apple mixture on top of wedge, spreading evenly. Top with other half of Brie wedge, rind side up. Spoon remaining apple mixture on top. (If it falls down the sides, no big deal. It's still delicious.) Bake 13 minutes, or until cheese is just melted. Serve with crackers,  and apple and pear slices.


What was your favorite Thanksgiving dish this year?



With Love and God Bless,
Brindi

Monday, November 21, 2011

My First Story Time

Saturday Story Time Sampler



For the last part of my library practicum, I had to create and lead my very own story time. I was scheduled to lead the Saturday Story Time Sampler in the Children's Library at Main of Akron-Summit County Public Library. The program occurs every Saturday at 11 am and is for all ages, and every week it is lead by a different children's librarian. (Not sure what focus to go with, I asked some other librarians and was advised to focus on the preschool age range.)

I was so excited to finally put all of my knowledge to use!

I was told there didn't have to be a theme for this particular program, so I decided to do a "sampler" of my favorite children's story time books, hinting towards a winter theme at the end of the program. Which would be perfect because it would be a week before Thanksgiving (kids might be tired of the Thanksgiving theme) and, in Ohio, there's always snow.

Who knew that this November would be one of the warmest on record?!

Yeah, no snow yet.


Anywho, I planned and reached into my bag of ideas and notes and came up with the perfect story time. I even decided to incorporate my new yoga routine that I created for the conference. And I was told I needed a craft....

I found the cutest Snowman Magnet craft from Kaboose.com (<--LOVE this web site!). After I purchased the supplies, I couldn't wait to get started.


I love crafts. Put on some football and my Sunday is spent. I had so much fun making these cute snowmen. I realized the hats would be too complicated and time consuming, so I went ahead and made them so the kiddos wouldn't have to mess with it. I also cut out all of the scarves, buttons and prepared the noses (which were pieces of leftover candy corn). I also gave myself a very painful hot glue gun injury.














Check it out!


The snowmen magnets look great on our fridge.

After that craft, I spent the rest of my evening hours creating my own props for The Enormous Potato. I drew and colored what I needed, and then the next day I went to the RECE Lab at the library and laminated them. When I got home I cut them out and attached magnets to their backs.




And then my husband had to patiently sit through my story time.


Saturday Story Time Sampler
Preschool/Kindergarten Focus

Opening Song: "The Wiggle Song"
Sticky Bubble Gum (Carole Peterson, 2002)

Book: I Ain't Gonna Paint No More!
(Karen Beaumont, 2005)
I know this book is quite popular and is used in many story times. So I changed it up a bit by passing out paint brushes so the kids could "paint" their bodies along with the story.

Book: The Enormous Potato
(Retold by Aubrey Davis, 1998)
I told the book from memory using a magnetic board and the magnets I created.

Movement  (Yoga) Book: The Very Hungry Caterpillar
(Eric Carle, 1987)
Here, I created my own yoga routine to coincide with the book. As I read the book, I did the movements, with some explanation, and the kids mimicked me.

Movement Song: "I'm a Little Snowflake"
Whaddaya Think of That? (Laurie Berkner, 2000)
I created movements to go along with this song, which is sung to the tune of "I'm a Little Teapot." We repeated the song two more times, and I also typed up the lyrics and made copies so the kids could do it at home with their parents.

Book: All You Need For a Snowman
(Alice Schertle, 2002)

Closing Song: "Story Time is At an End"
I did this song once, which if done as a closing song all the time the kids will be able to sing it with you. It is sung to the tune of "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star."

Story time has reached its end.
Say goodbye to all your friends.
We've read some books and had some fun.
Feels like we have just begun!
Story time is over, friends.
We have really reached the end!

Art Activity: Pom-Pom Snowman Magnets
(or Snowman Variation)

**Alternate Books:
Zooflakes: ABC (Will C. Howell, 2002)
It's Snowing! (Gail Gibbons, 2011)
Waiting for Winter (Sebastian Meschenmoser, 2009)



All my planning went out the window when the Children's Library Manager informed me (an hour before the program started) they were expecting a lot of younger-than-preschool-aged kids to this story time.

Uh-oh. This snowman craft is too difficult for that age group. So with only an hour to spare, I quickly grabbed construction paper and other materials that would allow the kids to create their own snowman on paper, and still use the supplies I had brought. I then quickly made a few "draft" examples so the kids and parents could see what kind of craft was coming up. Ai yi yi. Needless to say the craft didn't come out as pretty as I wanted, but I was able to come up with a few examples:


But the kids and their caregivers really enjoyed making their snowmen!


Because I was completely consumed with creating a new craft, I forgot to grab more age-appropriate books....like board books. Yeah, I had quite a few babies. Actually I had 18 kids, and ages ranged from infant-10 years. Definitely a wide range librarians aren't too excited about.

The story time went by really fast because of no advertisement I wasn't able to perform the full yoga routine I had planned. We only could do a few of the moves, which cut down on a lot of time. Also, because of so many kids, I wasn't able to pass out the magnets so each kid could help tell The Enormous Potato story. I couldn't read any more books to take up time because they were too advanced.

Story time ended a little earlier than planned, but it was good because the little ones were becoming restless. Ah, the fun of story time.

On a better note, the parents and kids loved the yoga moves! I had many comment on how much they liked the idea, including my practicum supervisor. Another yoga success!!

A bitter-sweet first time.

With Love and God Bless,
Brindi

Sunday, November 20, 2011

Sunday Sweets

This is my first "Sunday Sweets" post!

I wanted a place to collect my favorite sweet finds that I stumble across throughout the weeks.
When I find something I love, I have to document it and pass it along. (Pinterest was invented for me. I'm so obsessed, and as soon as I get on the site, my productivity is over for the day. I.cannot.help.it.)

Apparently, Pinterest is not enough. And I find the need to share my super favorites here.

Hopefully, one of my "sweets" might encourage or inspire you to try something new or share with friends. Enjoy!



But first.....


What I Had For Breakfast Today: Cinnamon-Sugar Blueberry Oats. [I'm an oatmeal fanatic. Cottage cheese makes them soooooo good.]



Favorite Must-Make-Soon Dessert: Pumpkin Layered Cheesecake  (<--I love this blog!)


Favorite Mouth-Watering Dish: Green Bean Casserole is one of my favorite family dishes, and it's a must-have on our Thanksgiving table. I love my Mama's recipe. It's classic. But I WANT to try this!




Best Entertaining Idea: Such a great way to thank your guests for sharing in this holiday.

Pinned Image


Favorite Fashion Find: I want this outfit!

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Current Scent I'm Loving: Paula Deen's Pecan Pie candle! I bought this treasure when my husband and I went to Savannah on our vacation this year. We purchased it from her shop next to her restaurant (where I had the best dessert ever!), and I've been hoarding it all summer waiting for this time of year.

My living room smells like Thanksgiving every night!



Favorite Craft Idea: DIY Christmas gift tags (which I found here)



Favorite Dish I Want Right Now: These Brown Butter Mashed Potatoes. I can't stop thinking about these!


Best Helpful Tip: Make the perfect bow with a fork!

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Favorite Fitness Tip: This is what I need to hear every time I don't want to drag myself out of bed in the wee hours of the morning.

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Favorite Place: Isn't that sky gorgeous? That would be beautiful on a morning stroll.

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Best Gift Idea: I'm loving this wrapping idea! So simple and elegant. LOVE

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Don't You Just Hate That Fact: #135 Listening to a detailed explanation of how to do something you already know how to do. [Ugghh, I hate when this happens.]


Current CD Obsession: Love Lady A. I've been listening to this album for months and I'm still obsessed!

Own The Night by Lady Antebellum cover


Best Day Brightener: God guides us, despite our uncertainties and our vagueness, even through our failings and mistakes....He leads us step by step, from event to event. Only afterwards, as we look back over the way we have come...do we experience the feeling of having been led without knowing it, the feeling that God has mysteriously guided us.   --Paul Tournier

I hope you enjoyed this Sunday's favorite finds.

Was there something you came across this week and just have to share?

With Love and God Bless,
Brindi

Saturday, November 19, 2011

Cooking Club #9 {Updated}

[Updated 9/29/14: original, but separate, content, with updated photos and/or more details, if available.]


---> Cooking Club is coming up soon, and now that I'm blogging, I want to share these moments but I thought I should play catch-up first. So without further ado, here (and in other posts) is what we've been up to. Enjoy!


#9 March: Place or City

The Menu:
        Main Course
Hungarian Chicken Goulash
Mandarin Chicken
Hawaiian Spare Ribs
         Side
Georgia Peach Carrots
        Dessert
Jerusalem Kadafe
Mississippi Mud Pie


It's that time again: Cooking Club!

This month I decided on a "place" theme. I thought it would be fun to explore a menu featuring various regions and cities. Sort of a twist on ethnic food. I wasn't sure how the other members would respond, but they seemed interested and excited. All-righty then. Let's get to it.

I decided to bring a taste of The South to our plates with Mississippi Mud Pie. I love Southern food. It is my absolute favorite. Seriously. Some people prefer Italian, Asian, or French cuisine. Not me. Give me some grits, fried pork chops, mashed potatoes, biscuits and gravy, soup beans and cornbread, chicken and dumplings, a pot full of green beans and bacon, and peach cobbler any day. (But, cough, in moderation of course, cough.)

As I've said before, I'm not really a chocolate kind of gal. I prefer my desserts to be fruity and cheesecake-y. (word?) But when I do choose chocolate, it's usually in the form of dark chocolate or ice cream. Yet, for some reason, when I came across this CHOCOLATE pie, it looked so delicious with the chocolate bottom and creamy whipped topping, I just knew I was making this southern classic. Yum.


As I melted my chocolate it looked much like a ganache. I [originally] baked my made-from-scratch pie crust (this is an area I'm a little challenged in...pie crusts...grrr) in a cake pan because I forgot my pie pan at home. [However, these updated pictures show a prettier pie crust in a pie pan.] It shrunk a little but I was impressed with how it turned out. Then I poured my yummy chocolate into the pie shell and baked it off.

Then I whipped up some cream and plopped it right on top and served it to a hungry crowd.

I remembered, as I scooped up the last bite, that I completely forgot the chocolate curls. Oh no! So much for presentation....

Original picture from Cooking Club...without the chocolate curls.
Isn't that the most boring pie you've ever seen? It looked so pretty and appetizing in the picture. I was so mad! My dish was ruined.

Don't get me wrong, it still tasted good. But it could have been so much better! [Like this one I made the other day. Look at how appetizing it is!]


Everyone laughed about how distraught I was, acting like it was the end of the world or something. But I take so much pride in making my dishes look good. I mean, we all know we eat with our eyes. Ugh....you can bet that won't happen again. We laughed it off, and now it's a running joke.....making sure no one forgot anything before we dig in. But everything turned out great, and some of my other menu favorites included:

Kelly's Georgia Peach Carrots (another Southern item!)


and Angelica's Mandarin Chicken.



The one interesting dish was Jenny's Jerusalem Kadafe. I guess this is what they have as a dessert over there. It was a couscous dish with lots of cheese. Definitely interesting and I'm still not sure how I liked it. One bite I'd think, this is quite tasty, and the next I'd think, yeah I'm not a fan. Hmmm...



Mississippi Mud Pie
*adapted from The Chocolate and Coffee Bible

Serves 8

1 1/2 c flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 c butter
3 Tbsp iced water ( or more if needed)
3 oz  dark chocolate, broken + 4 oz chocolate, shaved
1/4 c coconut oil
3 Tbsp light corn syrup
3 eggs, beaten
scant 2/3 c light brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/4 c whipping cream

Preheat oven 425 degrees. Sift flour and salt into a mixing bowl. Rub in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle in water, 1 Tbsp at a time, and toss mixture lightly with your fingers until the dough forms into a ball. On lightly floured surface, roll out dough and line a 9" tart pan. Ease dough into pan and do not stretch. With thumbs, make fluted edges. Using a fork, prick bottom and sides of dough. Bake 10-15 minutes, until lightly browned. Cool on wire rack.

In a heatproof bowl set over a pot of barely simmering water, melt 3 oz of chocolate with coconut oil and corn syrup. Remove bowl from heat and stir in eggs, sugar and extract. Mix well. Lower oven temperature to 350 degrees. Pour chocolate mixture into pie shell. Bake 35-40 minutes, until filling is set. Cool in pan on wire rack. Whip cream into soft peaks. Spread over top of pie. Decorate with chocolate shavings, or curls. Don't forget the curls.



*I hope you enjoyed these Cooking Club snippets. There are more to come as I try to play catch-up before this month's meeting. I hope these themes, and even Cooking Club itself, inspire you to gather with your friends and family in the kitchen, and make sweet moments (and delicious food) of your own.

**I've only included the recipes to the dishes I made. Only because I'm unsure of where everyone got theirs...and hey, we gotta give credit where credit is due. If you have questions about the other dishes, I'll ask the other members where they got their recipes and pass it along!


Check out our previous meetings!
Cooking Club #1-4
Cooking Club #5-8


[Update: Finally, better photos of the Mississippi Mud Pie! It's definitely decadent and delicious, even with my healthy coconut oil substitution.]

What's your favorite cuisine?

With Love and God Bless,
Brindi

Sunday, November 13, 2011

Conference Love

I am a huge advocate for work conferences. I think anyone in any profession should attempt to participate by going to their organization's meetings, be it as presenter or audience. It is so important to stay a fresh in one's field whether it be food blogging, tutoring or librarianship. If you have a passion for what you do, then push yourself. Never stop learning!

I love learning.


There are always new things to learn, concepts to try, people to meet and information to gather. Conferences are a great way to become more familiar with your field, update your resume and broaden your experience.


And I only better myself with each conference I attend. There is so much out there for me to try and to learn in all of my fields. There is just something I enjoy about working with my colleagues in order to inform others about what's going on in our writing center or what the library has to offer.

In my young professional career, I have attended two Northeast Ohio Writing Center Association (NEOWCA) conferences for my job as a writing assistant at Stark State, and two Resources for Early Childhood Educators (RECE) conferences for the library as part of my Master's "practicum."


My first conference experience was with the Writing Center at last year's NEOWCA. During that conference, I presented twice alongside my co-workers. One was a panel discussion on technology and non-traditional students. It was really nice to hear that other centers are facing some of the same challenges we are, and that there are many different approaches. The other involved a visual argument debate. This was a fun session, and once the debate got going, it was sad the time ended so soon.

I really enjoy listening to what my colleagues have to say and what information, experiences, and solutions they bring to the table. I always love when I can bring something valuable back to the writing center.

At this year's conference, I presented along with a few of my co-workers on boundaries in the writing center. We discussed issues between writing assistants and students that we face on a daily basis, asking if it's best to have a set of boundary rules in place or if the writing assistant should set them him/herself. We had scenarios to work through, a continuum to finish, and a short video (a co-worker created) to watch. It led to a very interesting discussion.

And I can't help but enjoy those moments! You know, the kind where everyone is taking part in the discussion, and you're learning about each center, addressing problems, sharing information and developing solutions. So fun! (I'm a nerd, I know.)

This year, during my library practicum, I had the wonderful opportunity of attending two conferences focusing on the Akron-Summit County Public Library (a wonderful library!) and RECE. The first, Nature's Realm: Taking Learning Outdoors, fell under my practicum hours, and I learned so much at this conference that I would love to go back every year. I came away with so many ideas for children's story times that I can apply to my future career. I also learned why it's so important to get our kids outdoors to learn about their environment and Ohio. At that conference, I grew as a children's librarian, making me well-equipped and a better candidate for future positions in this competitive field.

Source

The library's RECE department partnered with Summit MetroParks to inform early childhood educators (like head start programs, teachers, day cares, etc.) how important it is to get kids outside exploring their world, their own backyard. Whether you take them on a hike or have class outside, kids need to just be outside!!! The library then introduced how literacy can tie into outdoor learning. It was great! (I learned how to make the coolest turtle craft! and found great tools for story time kits.)

Source

The second conference, Building Healthy Kids, was actually my practicum project, and I had the opportunity to present alongside Laura (she is brilliant at what she does), who works for the library as an Early Childhood Specialist. We presented on the importance of keeping our kids healthy and active, creating healthy habits from infancy, and tying it in with the library and literacy. I spent hours and hours researching (I loved it) valuable resources that early childhood educators (ECEs) can use indoors with limited space. I created various supplemental materials on fitness, health and nutrition, and yoga.

My part of the presentation consisted of a quick introduction on why ECEs should include yoga practices in their curriculums. [I'm a huge yogini. haha. But more on that in a later post.] (We had a lot of information to share in a short 45-minute session.The good thing, we were able to present the same session twice, once in the morning and the afternoon. So what we didn't hit on the first time, we caught the second time around.) I showed them ideas on how to incorporate yoga throughout the day, resources that explain various poses, and I concluded with a demonstration of my own.

I created a yoga story time.

I applied various yoga poses to Eric Carle's The Very Hungry Caterpillar. A classic I'm sure we are all familiar with. I had so much fun skimming through resources and finding the best poses for preschoolers that fit with the book.





My yoga demo was the hit of the session!

One day I hope to attend the annual American Library Association (ALA) conference and other big ones in this field.



The next time your field is having a conference of its own, make sure you jump on that opportunity!

[And come back and share something you learned!]


With Love and God Bless,
Brindi