Apples and Chickens and Pumpkins

We have had a full week here with our apple theme which was a huge success.
Friday's events included visiting the chickens in our next door neighbor's yard, bringing banana bread to our neighbors, walking to a nearby pumpkin patch, and starting our lanterns for our upcoming lantern walk on November 7 at 5:30 p.m. Hopefully you will all make it over for an evening of singing, warm snacks, and walking around the neighborhood with lanterns aglow.
Last year's lantern walk was a wonderful time of connecting with all of our children and families and sharing a night of warmth together. We want our home to feel like home to all of you as well and our vision is to create a deep sense of community among everyone.

There are new health procedures in place effective Monday morning as we are striving to keep everyone healthy. Upon entering, we will be having everyone use a natural hand sanitizer from Mama Jean's before walking through the gate. We hope this helps to eliminate bringing any new germs into the house. We will also be using this throughout the day in addition to our normal hand washing routines. It would be a good idea for you to purchase this as well to keep with you when you have your children out in various places.
We will also be taking temperatures throughout the day.
According to the parent handbook, no child will be admitted who has a fever, who is vomiting, or has diarrhea. If one of these develops once the child is already here, we will call and ask you to take your child home. A child must stay at home for 24 hours after the fever has gone away and/or after the last episode of vomiting or diarrhea. This is so important in keeping the other children from getting sick as well. If your child has any of these symptoms please keep them at home. Many of us have been getting ill these past few weeks and it can be very frustrating. We are doing all we can here to prevent future sickness and we appreciate your help and cooperation.
Our recipes starting this next week will be taken from the book SuperImmunity for Kids...what to feed your children to keep them healthy now and prevent disease in their future. I would highly recommend this resource.
One of the most important supplements to be giving your child on a daily basis is cod liver oil.
This has multiple benefits. It provides a barrier of warmth, keeps skin smooth and moist, and helps boost immunity against many illnesses. I have noticed lots of dry, itchy, scaly skin that happens a lot during winter and is also a sign of a lack of essential fatty acids in the diet. It's very simple to add to the daily diet in pasta, smoothies, etc. Nordic Naturals is a brand we use in our family and is available at Mama Jean's also. There are many great children's vitamins there that are invaluable during this season.

We will be exploring pumpkins this next week!
Activities will include a trip to the nearby pumpkin patch, sensory experiences with the insides of the pumpkin, roasting pumpkin seeds, and a variety of art projects. Our new weekly lesson plan will be available on Monday. I will send home a copy for each family and it will also be posted on our bulletin board by the door.
Our books this next week will revolve around the theme of pumpkins, fall, and leaves and some titles I have presently are:

Pumpkin Moonshine by Tasha Tudor
Let's Look at Fall by Sarah L. Schuette
Pumpkin Pumpkin by Jean Titherington
Autumnblings by Douglas Florian a book of poems and paintings
All the Colors of the Earth by Sheila Hamanaka

We will also be earnestly working on our paper lanterns this week, learning our lantern walk songs, and joyfully participating in new harvest and pumpkin circle times.
Thankyou for sharing the children with us.

Apple Days

We are having so much fun with our apple theme this week!
Thankyou to everyone who brought in apples, applesauce, muffins, and more to share with all the children.
Tuesday morning we started out with a hunt for hidden apples that we colored the day before, we made apple prints with colored tempura paints, read Our Apple Tree, by Kristina Naslund (a Swedish author), and made an apple crisp using a recipe from the book sans the sugar.
Today we read more stories about apples including:
Out and About at the Apple Orchard by Diane Mayr

Other books we are reading this week are:
We Gather Together : Celebrating the Harvest, by Wendy Pfeffer
Fairy Houses by Traci Kane
Living Alphabet
One Green Apple
The Apple Pie Tree

Smiles and laughter filled the backyard as the children attempted to take bites from apples hanging on a string from branches......without using their hands.
Hilton was determined and followed the apple around as it swayed.
Addi found the easier way to get that apple and quickly decided to hold onto it and eat it.

This morning we took a walk and toured the art museum. Quietly, the children discovered many wonderful paintings including new fall exhibits made with felt.

Our new class/play/art room is slowly transforming into a magical place for the children who are adding lots of creative touches with their artwork, nature mobiles, and posters.

Tomorrow a new magnetic board will be installed for lots of open-ended play opportunities with magnets, storytelling, and design.

Starting next week I will be sending home a weekly plan sheet that will include all the activities for the week so the daily reports will only have basic information on them such as eating and sleeping times.

If you are not already, please make sure your child brings appropriate clothing for outdoor play.
Warmth is very critical for the developing nervous system in young children. Dress in layers with undershirts, tights, etc. Make sure there is something to adequately cover the head with a beanie that will not come off easily. Nova Natural Toys has wonderful wool head coverings that fully cover the sides, ears, and neck. Hanna Anderson also has very good head caps, slippers, rain boots, coats, and pants.
The children need all of these for their time here as we go outside every day.

Happy Birthday to Finn who has just turned one!!

Thankyou also to everyone who brought in tomatoes, peppers, garlic, zucchini, and cucumbers from their gardens to share with us!!

Having a wonderful time.