January is Soup Month!
January is Soup Month! And while one could really enjoy a hot (or cold — gazpacho anyone?) bowl of soup any day of the year, there's just something wonderful about having a sip of simmering soup on a chilly winter's day.
To help get your soup celebration started, here are some books and activities to warm up your family's winter.
Making soup
Whether you are using an old family recipe or trying out something new, cooking together is a soup-er family activity. Not only does it create time to be together but it's also a great opportunity to combine learning and having fun.
And it can all start with a trip to the grocery store or farmer's market where you can search for your ingredients. Don't forget your shopping list! And don't forget to let the kids help, too. Writing out your list together and then letting the kids look for those written words on store labels is a great Ready for Reading activity.
Once you have everything you need, you're ready to start your soup. While it might not always be an exact science, cooking involves many scientific principles, as well as an opportunity to practice literacy and math skills. Recipes need to be read. Ingredients need to be measured. The number of carrot slices that you eat before they go into the pot need to be counted. (Ok, maybe that last one doesn't "need" to happen.) There's lots to learn and a way for everyone to help!
And we can help, too. Check out these books and get cooking:
Kids Cook! 100+ Super-Easy and Delicious Recipes
My Very First Cookbook by Danielle Kartes and Annie Wilkinson
Making Soups with Math! by Santana Hunt
Science Experiments You Can Eat by Vikki Cobb and Tad Carpenter
Reading about soup
When it's finally time to sip some soup, get yourself a bowl or a mug and maybe one of these soup-erior stories so you can read what you eat.
Boy Soup by Loris Lesynski; illustrated by Michael Martchenko
Brand New Bubbe by Sarah Aronson; illustrated by Ariel Landy
Every Color Soup by Jorey Hurley
Freedom Soup by Tami Charles; illustrated by Jacqueline Alcántara
One Snowy Morning by Kevin Tseng; illustrated by Dana Wulfekotte
Pinch and Dash Make Soup by Michael J. Daley; illustrated by Thomas Yezerski
Is That Wise, Pig? by Jan Thomas
Playing with your "soup"
As delicious as the real thing can be, you don't have to be making or eating it to have a soup-erb day.
- Let soup inspire your child's artwork. They could make a collage with pictures of all the foods they like best. Talk about whether or not all of those things would go together to make one yummy soup.
- Draw a picture of a bowl and then have your kids glue on foam letters or pasta shapes — instant alphabet soup and a fun way to help them to get to know letters.
- Sing a song about soup (like the "Purple Soup" song which is fun to do with a large group) or make up one of your own by using a familiar tune and changing the lyrics. For example, "Row Row Row Your Boat" can become "Stir Stir Stir the Soup". Or "The Farmer in the Dell" can become "The Soup in Boiling Up" and you can sing about adding different vegetables. Add an element of play by using a toy pot and pretend vegetables to act out what you are singing.
And remember, it doesn't take much to make up a story about soup. All you need is one small stone! Just like the traditional folktale about a stranger who inspires a community to share, your family can share a story by each adding your own bit of flavourful fiction.
Not sure where to start? Borrow one of the many versions of Stone Soup available at TPL and read it together. Put on some dress-up clothes and act it out, or use toys or puppets to bring it to life. Use your imagination and create a new variation. Will your soup story start with a stone, a nail, a quill, or something completely different?
With so many possibilities, which of these "ingredients" will you choose to add to your Soup Month celebrations?
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