Helping Preschoolers Unwrap the Greatest Gift – Day 17

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“God gathered His children and told them what would happen even before it happened. The Father-King of the heavens and of all the universe and His Son-King looked across Their Kingdom and saw how all the children They had made were being held captive by the dark and the sinfulness and the sickness and the badness. They knew Their unconditional, unstoppable, unwrappable love had to come and get Their people -us—so They came up with the very best rescue plan.

This is what they decided: The Father-King of the heavens and all of the universe and His Son-King would open the back side of the world, and the Son-King would would unexpectedly slip right into the Kingdom through a little, unlikely door: Bethlehem.”

-Ann Voskamp, Unwrapping the Greatest Gift

Today we are going to help our preschoolers connect with our advent teaching by making bread. Bethlehem literally means “house of bread”….isn’t it cool that Jesus, “the bread of life” was born in “the house of bread”?

Cooking with small children is such a fruitful educational opportunity! They practice language as you both talk through the process. Math is experienced in a hands-on way as you measure. Fine and gross motor muscle planning takes place as batter is stirred and dough is kneaded. Smells and sounds abound! Cooking is also a bonding process that fosters connection and builds common memory.


Bread is an ideal thing for preschoolers to start with! It’s relatively forgiving and fun to knead and shape. Today we are sharing Rosalie’s favorite bread to make…it is a challah that she calls “Rupunzel Bread” because it looks like a blonde braid! This is a bread machine recipe, but can easily be adjusted to be made with a mixer.  Let your little one help with an easy pot up soup….the kind where you just dump stuff into the pot (I added our current EASY favorite recipe below) and have your family devotion at the dinner table. Let your preschooler proudly serve the meal and  tell the whole family what the world Bethlehem means!


Creamy Tomato Tortellini Soup


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Source: www.keyingredient.com

Course: Soup

Serves: 1

Ingredients

  • 2 whole large Cloves Of Garlic Minced

  • 2 Tbl Olive Oil

  • 2 10¾ oz Cans of Condensed Tomato Soup

  • 1/4 cup Sun Dried Tomatoes chopped or 2 Tbl Of Sun Dried Tomato Paste

  • 2 cups Half-and-half

  • 2 cups Chicken Stock

  • 1 tsp Onion Powder

  • 1 Tbl Italian Seasoning

  • 1/2 tsp Salt

  • 1/2 tsp Pepper

  • 1 whole 9 Oz Package Of Cheese Filled Tortellini

  • 1/2 cup Shredded Parmesan Cheese for garnish

Directions

  1. Saute garlic with the olive oil in a large stock pot over medium heat until golden brown.Be sure to keep an eye on it so it doesn’t get too brown or burnt.When the garlic is done, add tomato soup, tomatoes, half and half, chicken stock and spices.Bring to a simmer.Once simmering, drop tortellini into the soup. Cook according to the package directions.After tortellini are cooked, ladle soup into bowls and top with parmesan cheese

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