Literacy & Learning :: Day 24 – A Sick Day for Amos McGee

READ.

By Philip C. Stead

“Sick
Amos McGee is a man who works at the zoo taking care of the animals.
Day in and day out, he feeds the animals, plays with them, talks to
them, and is a constant source of companionship in their lives.

Every
day Amos does the same thing. He wakes up at the same time, takes the
same bus to work, and visits the same animals in the same order.

One
day, Amos gets sick. He cannot go to work, so he stays home and takes a
sick day. He is not there for any of his animal friends. Each of them
waits for Amos but he never shows up.

In the end, the animals all take a trip over to Amos’ house to find him and cheer him up.

Even
though Amos is just one man, his actions meant so much to those around
him each day. He didn’t realize the impact he made on so many until the
day he didn’t.

This is a great read with wonderful pictures and thought-provoking themes.

PLAY AND EAT.

Today
we will be making “Sick Day Chicken Soup”.

Make
this soup with your kids anytime you hear of a friend or family member who is
sick.

This
particular version of chicken soup is so great for three reasons:

1)
It’s made in the slow cooker, so you can deliver it any time you are ready in
the afternoon: take some for the sick person you are going to see and keep the
rest in the slow cooker waiting for you when you return home!

2)
Kids can help with adding slow cooker ingredients and you don’t have to worry
about an open flame on the stove to burn them

3)
All of this soup’s ingredients are bite sized (i.e. no long noodled, long
shreds of chicken, etc), making this soup very kid friendly.

And,
by the way, it TASTES . . . . AWESOME.

HERE
is the recipe I found awhile back on Food Network upon which the following
recipe is based. I found it several months ago while searching for
healthy meal ideas for my family. Since then, I have never made another
version of chicken soup. This one is just too tasty and easy for me to do
anything else!

“Sick
Day” Chicken Soup

Ingredients:

2
boneless skinless chicken breasts, cooked and diced (I like to slow cook mine
in the morning for 4 hours on low, remove them, dice them, and then add them
back into the soup with the rest of the ingredients)

3/4
cup diced carrots

3/4
diced onion

7
cups chicken broth

4-5
tablespoons of chopped fresh dill (2 teaspoons dried)

zest
of one lemon, or 2 teaspoons lemon juice

3/4
cup frozen peas

3/4
pasta (Ditalini is awesome)

Place
chicken in slow cooker with 1 cup chicken broth and cook on low for 4 hours.

Remove
chicken, place on cutting board, and dice to your size preference.

Saute
carrots and onions in 1 T olive oil for 5 minutes until onions are translucent.

Slide
diced chicken back into slow cooker along with sauteed carrots and onion, {then
let the kiddos add} 6 cups chicken broth, dill, and lemon, and cook 3-4 more
hours on low.

About
20 minutes before serving, add pasta and peas to soup (again, these two are
good for the kids to add). Stir all together well.

Serve
and enjoy!

Create
your card by using leftover craft supplies like scrapbook paper, and markers.
Punch a hole, tie some twine around it and attach to your container of soup!