Sunday, March 22, 2020

Activities to Help Motivate Your Team

Activities to Help Motivate Your Team

Activities to Help Motivate Your Team - team building cooking class

As a leader, motivating your team requires certain activities and interactions. Many choose to do group outings at sporting events, a restaurant, or pot lucks as a form of motivation. While these activities are popular and can be effective, there are less popular options that work well that need to be considered. For instance, a Team Building Cooking Class is a great way to get employees together for fun, learning, and a boost in motivation. The following activity ideas for team motivation are sure to give leaders inspiration in motivating their own teams. Additionally, understanding exactly why certain activities are motivational can help leaders to choose the best fit.

Team Building Cooking Class

Maybe a team building cooking class is something that hasn’t been considered as a motivational tool within your organization. There are a number of reasons it should not only be considered but at the top of your list of options. When it comes to motivation, taking a cooking class as a team benefits employees in 3 ways.

1. Team Bonding 

How does a bonded group of people lead to motivation? Individuals that know and trust their coworkers are more likely to put in the effort for one another. There will be no need for one person to carry the team since everyone is more willing to work for the team they are friendly with. It’s motivating to work with people that enjoy reaching the end goal together.

2. Health and Wellness 

Learning to cook is more than just a team bonding experience, but it’s one that encourages people to cook at home. Too often we find ourselves in a drive-thru eating unhealthy and fatty meals. When we teach employees to cook healthier options at home, they will see the effects on their work. Employees that eat healthier are employees that have more focus, an increased level of energy, less anxiety, and a better overall mood.

3. Positive End Results 

Cooking classes result in a delicious meal at the end of your session. Workers can then associate the positive end to a cooking class - eating something yummy - to the positive end of their work efforts - a completed project. It can be incredibly motivating when employees get a sense of accomplishment as they come to the end.

Other Motivational Activities

Giving employees a bit of competition is another activity that can increase the level of motivation within an office. That can be done with lessons learned from the above-mentioned cooking class, a project, or even a fundraiser for charity. Adding in competition in any form can be a way to inspire employees to do their best in all aspects of work life, as long as it’s done in a friendly and fun manner. A group field trip during working hours can be a fun way to motivate all employees, as well. For example, moving a meeting to a park on a nice day is a great way to get through a long day. Providing healthy breakfast options to get a kick start on the day is another idea. Finding what works for you and your team is a matter of simply listening to their needs and wants.

Motivate the Team

Whether a team building cooking class, pot luck, or regular office breakfasts motivate your team, ultimately what matters is being an employer that people want to work for. Offering these motivational activities and ideas is a great way to show employees that their organization cares. Knowing that a company does care about its employees is the biggest motivator there is.

Wednesday, March 18, 2020

Cultural Diversity in the Montessori Preschool Environment

Cultural Diversity in the Montessori Preschool Environment

Cultural Diversity in the Montessori Preschool Environment - Montessori Preschool

When we talk about cultural diversity in the Montessori preschool environment, the goal is to teach about inclusion and acceptance. Preschoolers who learn about the fun and exciting parts of other cultures are more inclined to be accepting of people who come from those places. To that end, the suggestions provided here are intended to avoid racial implications while opening the world up to the imagination of young minds.

The Clothes We Wear

From sombreros to fedoras, the hats people wear have origins from around the world. Teaching Montessori preschool children about hats and other traditional attire not only gives them a point of cultural reference, but it also helps them discover their own inherited ties to places they may never visit in person.

The Songs We Sing

Singing children’s songs is popular in the Montessori preschool. Learning the origins-- and native words-- to nursery songs is also another way for kids to learn about cultural diversity. Most of us know the English and French words to “Brother John,” but there are many other popular songs to investigate, including most of the collected rhymes of Mother Goose.

The Foods We Eat

The American diet is a smorgasbord of international cuisine. Learning about the origins of the food they eat gives young children a personal connection to cultures globally. For example, spaghetti, corn, and potatoes all have origins in other nations, as well as foods like pastries, bagels, and pork.

The Things We Do

Traditional and ceremonial dance styles of other cultures provide an entertaining way to learn about people all over the globe. Kids are also interested in customs practiced in other parts of the world, including recreational activities, architecture, personal fashion, and more.

The Flags We Fly

Drawing and learning about national flags helps children explore other nations and the cultures associated with them. A great class project is to represent every nationality in the class with flags and other cultural accouterments of every student. Keep in mind that most flag components have specific meanings, giving insight into how and why the nation exists.

Learning about cultural diversity in the Montessori preschool is also an opportunity for each child to have a moment in the sun. Taking turns sharing information about their own cultural origins opens a channel of communication that blur the distinctions of color, race, and creed.
Easter Dishes To Feed a Crowd

Easter Dishes To Feed a Crowd

Easter Dishes To Feed a Crowd - Large group cooking class

With Easter Sunday just around the corner, you may be wondering what you might make to serve your family. You may even need to create the perfect dish for a social gathering. No matter your need, there is an Easter dish for you. Whether your skill level is minimal or professional, cooking something delicious is entirely possible.

Simple Easter Dishes

Easy Easter dishes can vary in size and type - from a vegetable to a starch or something in between. Making a dish large enough for a group of people might seem stressful, but there are many options for the beginner chef. Some choices might include:

  • Butter & Herb Mashed Potatoes 
  • Roasted Asparagus 
  • Fruit Salad 
  • Scalloped Potatoes 
  • Baked Sweet Potatoes 
  • Deviled Eggs 
  • Green Bean Casserole

Choosing an easy dish to make is as simple as finding a recipe online. Many of the easy dish examples require no more than a few ingredients and are hassle-free in the kitchen. If cooking is not your strong suit, but it is something you and your family and friends would be interested in learning, a Large Group Cooking Class is a great way to get a jump start on your kitchen education! It also serves as a great way to bond this Easter.

Complex Easter Dishes

Perhaps you’re a bit more experienced in the kitchen and appreciate a challenge. If this is the case for you, bringing an Easter dish that impresses the crowd is the way to go. Whether you’re a baker or prefer to stick to the main dishes, some of the ideas listed below might provide some inspiration.

  • White Bunny Cake Lamb with a Red Wine Sauce 
  • Roasted Honey Ham with Pineapple 
  • Smoked Pork Butt 
  • Hot Cross Buns 
  • Bread Pudding 
  • Quiche 

With the influences above, your Easter dinner is sure to be a crowd-pleaser. As a professional in the kitchen or an individual simply experienced in cooking for your family, choosing the right option for you is a matter of skill and want.

Choosing the Right Dish

What dish should you choose to feed your Easter crowd? The more complex dishes offer a wide array of possibilities in skill - from a relatively easy, yet more complicated than “simple” quiche to the lamb with a red wine sauce. Not many new cooks have experience cooking lamb, so that option is one that is for those that want the challenge. By weighing your options and measuring your skill (and ability to follow a recipe), the perfect Easter dish can be as simple as picking what sounds like a success. The crowd that gets to enjoy your dish, whether it was created in a large group cooking class or in the comfort of your own kitchen, is a crowd that is sure to rave over your accomplishment.

Tuesday, March 17, 2020

How Parents Can Support Their Montessori Preschool

How Parents Can Support Their Montessori Preschool

How Parents Can Support Their Montessori Preschool - montessori preschool

Authentic Montessori preschools rely on the interaction of parents for the Montessori Method to work correctly. The triad of child, parent, and school is a complicated but necessary relationship. It demonstrates to the child that parents and teachers are on the same team and opens the door to a seamless transition between school and home activities.