As we think about cooking ideas and recipes that we like to make at home, we thought you would also enjoy making a tasty and refreshing beverage too – homemade, fresh lemonade. Emily demonstrates this simple and easy recipe that really only requires three ingredients!
- the juice of 2 lemons (1/2 cup lemon juice)
- 1 1/2 cups water
- 1/3 cup sugar
- add ice cubes to chill
This recipe incorporates many senses, like smell, touch, and of course taste. Squeezing the juice from lemons is a great sensory exercise for the Yellow Room children to utilize their strong muscles and fine motor coordination while pinching the lemon wedges. This is also a great way to relieve any stress or frustration children may be feeling in this time of uncertainty, squeezing the lemons requires lots of energy!
As always, cooking incorporates several other important skills such as scooping, sifting, measuring, mixing and also promotes thoughtful discussion while predicting the outcome of each cooking ‘experiment’! She also discusses the beloved spring and summer past time of holding a lemonade stand! This could be an exciting new dramatic play opportunity for the Yellow Room children to hold a lemonade stand at home for their families, including the fun of creating their own currency and practicing number recognition as they sell some of their fresh homemade lemonade to you.
With many parents busy working from home during this time, this could also be an engaging outlet for children to feel responsible and in charge of an adult-like task. Dramatic play and the freedom of expression is an important outlet for children to process and control activities or emotions in their daily lives, and fosters important self-regulation skills at an early age. During this current time and always, we encourage all children to freely express themselves and use their brilliant imaginations to plan, create, and most of all have fun!
We hope you all have a great day and enjoy this tasty treat! -Team Yellow