Hot Chocolate!
Most of the children agree that they LOVE having hot chocolate (or hot cocoa) when they come in from the cold. A few like hot apple juice! Some like marshmallows, some whipped cream…candy canes are not very popular. In REAL hot chocolate. But in pretend, we need a LOT!
I wanted the children to be able to extend their imaginations and use materials that wouldn’t scream “I am hot chocolate and only hot chocolate.” I provided strips of brown felt, which worked very well in our family center.
A "healthy hot chocolate smoothie." This one had a pear. The day before broccoli and pickles!
But you can’t pour felt. Hmmm….
So I turned to our sensory table filled with rice! Duncan Hines has Frosting Creations which has provided some fun sensory play. (Gotta love Pinterest!) So we scented a big bag of rice.
It's heavy!
A toboggan on the table, a pot, some ladles, spoons, mugs... we're all set!
"Here, Mrs. Pizza, a birthday cake with candles, and a mug of hot chocolate with candy canes! Let's pretend it's your actual birthday!"
This firefighter was intent on measuring. "I got it up to 400! Now I want to get it to 500! I want to get it to ten hundred! "(reading the numbers on the side of the pitcher.) "I did it!" (dumps it out) "Now I'll do it again!"