Taste Test/Tea Party

Somehow the stars aligned (or more like curriculum's aligned) and Ty and Bryn were both learning about senses this week, and more specifically, the sense of taste. So today I told them we were going to have a tea party! The girls were thrilled, of course! They were already in their princess dresses and crowns for the day, so they didn't even have to change :). Tyler started making plans for what he could do instead, since tea parties are so not cool for boys. But when he heard that cupcakes and other food would be involved, he decided that he could join us after all. So they helped me make some mini cupcakes, and we set up all the cute, porcelain, tea party dishes that my friend Lisa Bowerman had given us. I got a plate of random food (turkey, carrots, grapes, mini choc. chips, peppers, tortilla chips, mini-marshmallows, goldifsh crackers, celery, mushrooms, and pepperoni) ready for taste-testing so it would be somewhat educational. They had such a fun time! I had them close their eyes and open their mouths and I put food in their mouths. Then they described the texture/taste/etc. and identified what it was. They loved that game! Then I just cut up their sandwiches small and they had a little picnic lunch with cupcakes for dessert :). Meals are always so much more fun when you use teeny, tiny dishes!