The Recorder on March 13, 2025
MONTEREY — Confused on the steps needed to make maple syrup? Shelley Thomas’ preschool class is helping you out this week. Here are their instructions.
• Find a maple tree. Poke a hole in the tree. Put bucket on tree at hole. Sweet water comes out of the tree. Stir it really fast! Boil it for five minutes. We eat it! Put it on two waffles and eat it! I love maple doughnuts!
~ Aiden, age 5
• I go in the woods with my daddy and my mommy. The one on the left is a maple tree. Make a hole, spin it, put syrup inside it until a rock comes out. Ice comes in it. Then we pour it out and then we cook it. Stir it. Put it in a bowl. Put it in the oven and then take it out. Put it on top of the counter, stir it. Put back in the oven for five minutes. Get it out of the oven. Put it in the pan, stir it again. Put it back in the oven for 40 minutes. Put it back on the counter. Put it in the back of the refrigerator. Put on waffles and pancakes. Mommy and Daddy make hundreds of them. I eat ten hundred thousand ‘cause I love them! Then I’m done. Go to the festival and just watch people.
~ Atlee, age 5
• Go to my house to find a maple tree. It tastes yummy. Drill a hole in the tree. Turn it round and round. Put a bucket on the tree. Sweet water goes in the bucket. I taste it at home. It is yummy. Cook it for five minutes. Put in a bucket. Pour it on pancakes. I eat four, fifty pancakes. My mom cooks five more pancakes. I go to the maple festival and eat pink strawberry cake. I will buy cotton candy and rainbow lollipops.
~ Autumn, age 4
• Daddy and me go to a tree. We put the thing in it. The thing that goes in the tree. We know it’s a maple tree because we write the names on them. We get the drill and drill it. Put the thing that makes it come out in the hole. We take it over to boil it. We take it to where it is warm. Take it to where the warm thing is at. You know where it is at? Boil for one minute. Get it in a jug and sell it to people for two thousand million dollars. Pour it on 2,000 pancakes. I eat it all in one single bite! I don’t go to the festival. I go to the fair because we bring our dirt bikes and derby cars!
~ Axel, age 5
• I go in my yard. I find a maple tree. My mom tells me about it. Tap the tree to put a hole in the tree. Sugar water goes in the bucket. Cook it on the stove 10 minutes. I put the maple syrup in a jar. Pour on five pancakes. My mommy and daddy make five pancakes. I eat five. I go to festival. I get the lollipops. The strawberry. My mommy and daddy get funnel cakes. My baby sister gets one, too!
~ Elizabeth, age 4
• I go and find a maple tree at my house with all the maple trees. My mommy tells me it’s a maple tree. Drill a hole in the tree. Put maple syrup in the bucket. Then you make maple syrup. Put it in a pan and in the oven for six minutes. Then you make pancakes. I make five pancakes because there’s family at my house. Sprinkle maple syrup on the pancakes. I go to the Maple Festival. I buy maple cotton candy!
~ Evie, age 4
• Find a maple tree in the forest. Look at the leaf. Maple leaves have five points. Put a hole in the tree with a drill. Put a spout in the hole. Take the baskets to the sugar shack. Build a fire with sticks and rocks. Wait until it boils down. Put the syrup in a jug. Sometimes we make a lot of pancakes in case someone wants another one. Pour syrup on your pancakes. I eat two or one pancake. Daddy eats three. Mommy eats two and SJ eats two. It’s been a long time since I’ve been to the Maple Festival. I love to get doughnuts and popcorn.
~ Evie Rose, age 4
• Go to the playground to find a maple tree. Drill the hole. I put maple water in the hole. When I put medicine in it, it turns to water. It goes to the bucket. Paint the bucket black because I love black. Cook the water a long, long, long, long time. Mix it up. Put it in a giant jar! Then put syrup in and mix it. I put black and green in it and it turns blue! Pour it on waffles. I eat just 10. Go to the Maple Festival. I paint my face.
~ Gabe, age 4
• Go in the woods and find a maple tree. Mommy and Daddy go with me. It’s a maple tree because it’s pretty. I drill a hole in the tree. Put the bucket in the middle of the tree. The bucket gets sweet water. Cook it for two minutes on the fire. Put in the jugs. Sprinkle maple syrup on waffles. Mommy makes me two waffles. Go to the Maple Festival, it’s when you get to Owen’s house. I get cotton candy. Mommy got some, too! We share it! Nothing else. We play on the playground!
~ Hailey, age 4
• Find a maple tree from a maple farm. They have special trees. You oil it with a baker. Poke a hole in the tree. Put a bucket on it. The sap goes in the bucket. You spill it in the cup. Then you pour it in the pan. I boil it for 10 years long. Put it on pancakes. I get 10! Mommy buys pancakes from the store. Sometimes she doesn’t want to go in, so my dad goes in and takes care of it. He saves her! We actually just buy the maple syrup from T&K. You go over the gas station and go straight down and find T&K. I go to the Maple Festival and get some cotton candy, doughnuts, coffee maple syrup and pancakes! I also like maple orange juice!
~ Jesse, age 5
• Go to a maple tree. It has pointy sides. Make a hole in the tree with a drill. You put a … I kind of forgot what it is called. It has a pointy side. It’s a thing that takes out the maple syrup. We pour the maple syrup into a big pan. Cook it for 40 minutes. Pour the maple syrup into a jar. Pour the jar on three pancakes. Humans make the pancakes. All three of us eat pancakes. I eat the most! I like to cut it up and sometimes I leave it like it’s supposed to be. Then we go to the festival. My dad got me a seashell necklace. It has a turtle inside of it. My mom loves turtles!
~ Lorrissa, age 5
• I go by the river to find a maple tree. If you see brown maple inside, it’s a maple tree. Mommy and Daddy and my brother go with me. Drill it and put the handle on and then the bucket. Wait until the sap goes in the bucket. You carry the bucket and boil it for 67 minutes. It turns into maple syrup. Put the syrup in a pot. Put on three pancakes. My daddy cooks 10 pancakes. My daddy is the Maple Man! I love my daddy! Go to the Maple Festival and buy aprons and flowers. Get drinks. Get cotton candy! We look for Daddy and bring maple syrup.
~ Lyla, age 4
• Go to a maple syrup place. Look for McDonald’s. Ask them for the maple syrup. Then I stir it. I pour on four pancakes. I eat all the syrup. Go to McDonald’s and get more!
~ Malachi, age 5
• Go to the festival and find a maple tree. Poke a hole. Put a bucket on it. It will get full. Take it home. Make syrup. Put it in the microwave for three hours. Put syrup on pancakes. I eat five pancakes. My dad makes pancakes. He makes lots of them! Go to the festival. I get pancakes!
~ Nova, age 4
• Go to a maple syrup farm. There’s one that way and one that way. Find a maple tree. I have a maple tree at my house. Roll around a drill to put a hole in the tree. Put a spile in the hole. Collect maple stuff. Take the bucket home and heat it up with a heater. Put it in the bottle. My daddy cooks two pancakes. I eat four pancakes. Daddy eats six pancakes. Raegen eats eight and mommy eats 30 pancakes. We use the whole bottle of syrup. I go get some more. I go to that Maple Festival. I love them doughnuts!
~ Owen, age 4
• I go in the woods with my daddy. We look and look and look for maple trees. Daddy cuts the tree. Daddy cut his finger. I cut a hole in tree with my ax. Daddy holds the bucket. Sugar water goes in the bucket. I make a fire inside. It’s big! Cook the water for four minutes. It’s maple syrup! I put it on my food. Mommy puts it on chicken. Do you like chicken? I like the Maple Festival. I got a pop-it. I broke my pop-it. I get cotton candy, lollipops and chicken.
~ Saw, age 4
• I go to my house. My mommy helps me. I find tree. I kick a hole in tree. Put straw in the tree. Mommy cooks syrup in stove. Put on a biscuit. I eat doughnuts. I like popcorn! I like drinking the syrup!
~ Tucker, age 4
• I go to the woods. I cut maple tree. I cook syrup. Big fire! Come here. (Gestures to show you the fire).
~ Weston, age 4
• My daddy says we can find it in the woods. Daddy finds the maple trees. He’s a good finder! He finds maple syrup, he finds maple trees, he finds bats, he finds everything! He breaks it down. The maple syrup goes down. Put the bucket under it so it doesn’t fall down. We cook everything. We do it so long.
~ William, age 3