Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies- Tuesday's Recipe of the day

Here's what the kiddos will be making today:

Chewy Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 cups quick-cooking oats
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs one at a time, then stir in vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt; stir into the creamed mixture until just blended. Mix in the quick oats, walnuts, and chocolate chips. Drop by heaping spoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheets.
3. Bake for 12 minutes in the preheated oven. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Nutritional Information

Amount Per Serving Calories: 145 | Total Fat: 8.1g | Cholesterol: 22mg

Chocolate Chip Biscotti

Chocolate chip biscotti recipe courtesy of the Wheat Foods Council.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
• 3 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 tsp vanilla

Preparation:

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. In medium bowl, mix together flour, sugar, baking soda, salt and chocolate chips. Add eggs and vanilla, stirring until blended. Turn dough onto lightly floured surface; knead 8 to 10 times. Form dough into a log about 2-inches wide and 16-inches thick.
Place log onto baking sheet coated with non-stick spray. Bake 30 minutes; remove from oven and cool for 10 minutes.
Place log on cutting board and with a serrated knife, cut log diagonally into 1/2 inch slices, using a sawing motion. Place slices cut side up, on baking sheet.
Reduce heat to 325 degrees and bake for 10 minutes. Turn slices over and bake an additional 10 to 12 minutes until golden. Centers will be slightly soft, but will harden as they cool. Remove to wire rack to cool.
Servings: 2 dozen
Calories/Serving: 92
Nutrition: One biscotti provides approximately: 92 calories, 2 g protein, 17 g carbohydrates, 1 g fiber, 2 g fat (1 g saturated), 27 mg cholesterol, 19 mcg folate, 1 g iron, 109 mg sodium.

Information for the week of December 12

Our theme this week will be Yummy Treats and we will be cooking sweet treats all week long!  I look forward to this special time with the kids all year long.  Cooking with our kids is an important activity that provides so many teachable moments.  Math skills are taught by measuring, science is covered as we combine different ingredients to create something totally new, and most importantly, sharing is reinforced as we share the fruits of our labor.  This should be a very fun week.  Our shape this week is Square, the Color is Tan, the letter is Q q, and the number is 17.  Have a great weekend!

Information for the week of December 5

Hello!  This week we will be learning more about decorating for Christmas and also about gifts as we start making some of our Christmas gifts.  The letter of the week will be P p, the number will be 16, the shape/object will be circle, and the color will be Red.  Also, we will be sending out information this week about our Christmas party.  Have a wonderfully merry week! 

Information for the week of November 28

Hello!  I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday.  Our theme for this week is Decorations.  The kids will be decking our halls all week long in preparation for Christmas.  Our letter is O o, our color is Red, our number is 15, and our shape is triangle.  This week one activity you can do to reinforce skills at home is to cut two triangles out of construction paper and show your child how the two triangles can make a Christmas tree shape.  Have a great week!

Thanksgiving Luncheon Sign Up Sheet

We are asking our guests to bring a dessert or side dish to the luncheon.  Please let us know what you are bringing by commenting below, so that we don't have lots of the same thing (:  Looking forward to our feast!

Information for the week of November 14

We will be talking about thankfulness this coming week.  Our letter is Nn, the number is 14, the color is brown, and the shape is heart.  We also will be hosting a Thanksgiving Luncheon on November 18 at 3:30 pm.  More details to come via email.  Have a great weekend!

The Outdoor Classroom

Yesterday we had a wonderful reminder of why fall in Middle Tennessee is so amazing.  Because of this, our friends spent most of the day in their outdoor classroom.  We did circle time outside, as well as having a picnic lunch on our storytime blanket.  It was truly an awesome day and I am glad that we had the opportunity to take advantage of it.  Sometimes we worry so much about our schedule or our to do lists that we miss the best opportunities for growth and learning.  There are pictures of our fun day on our Facebook page.  Check it out at:  https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Learning-Nest/132176263555561.  Have a great Wednesday!

A cute video on Manners...

Hi Parents!  This week we are learning about Manners.  Sesame Street's website has a really cute video on manners and sharing that we would encourage you to share with your kids.  Here is the link:

http://www.sesamestreet.org/video_player/-/pgpv/videoplayer/0/58a8fc6d-e6dc-4e74-9287-2dc0709303a5

Have a great day!

Amanda and Gigi

Information for the week of November 7th

The week of November 7, we will be learning about Manners.  Our color will be Pink, our number 13, our shape Rectangle, and our letter M m.  Our friend, EJ, will be turning 4 this Tuesday.  We wish him a VERY happy birthday!! 

Leaves, Leaves everywhere

Yesterday we went on a nature walk to collect and observe leaves that had fallen from the trees.  Before we went, we looked at our Leaf Guide and talked about the different types of leaves we might find.  Once we were on our walk, the children were very excited to collect several different colors of the same type leaf.  We will be using the leaves they collected to make leaf collages today.  Here are some pictures of our nature walk:

 

Halloween 2011

Our first Halloween at the Learning Nest was lots of fun!  Ms. Amanda's friends went trick or treating on the square and Ms. Gigi's friends decorated pumpkins and made roasted pumpkin seeds in their classroom.  A spcial thanks to The Dodson family and the Cameron family for helping Ms. Amanda with
her kids on the square.  There were lots of people there, but it was a really neat experience.  I hope to make it a part of our Halloween tradition in the future. 

Now that October has come to a close, we are looking toward our first Thanksgiving together.  This is a special time of year for Ms. Gigi and I and very excited about celebrating it with you all.  Our Thanksgiving luncheon will be held at Ms. Amanda's house on November 18.  Have a wonderful Tuesday!

Information for the week of October 31

Hi to all!  Next week we will be learning about "Happy Fall Ya'll!"  Our color will be yellow, our number will be 12, our letter will be Ll, and our shape/object will be leaf.  Halloween will be on Monday, and your child is encouraged to dress up in their costume.  Be sure to send extra clothes to change into.  Ms. Amanda's friends will be going to the square for trick or treating  that afternoon. 

The Learning Nest is officially launched

Although the Learning Nest has been operational since August, we have had to wait for the county to approve rezoning before we could apply for our DHS license.  Yesterday, we were approved for rezoning and our licensing process has officially begun!  Ms. Gigi and I are very excited about getting this process finished.