Moon & Stars, Harvesting

The Harvest Moon is the full moon closest to the Autumn Equinox and is often more bright and colorful than other moons. In Chinese culture, the Mid-Autumn Festival is celebrated at this time as a way to honor the end of the summer harvesting season.
We have been talking a lot about the moon and hopefully you have had a chance to observe the moon with your children over the last two weeks at night.
There was great excitement in putting together a solar system puzzle and we discussed the different characteristics and names of each planet. We made our own moon and stars with watercolor paints and glitter and heard a very special story called "The Star Dollars" by the Brothers Grimm. We gathered on our story circle rug while I told this precious story about a little girl who gave all she had to strangers in need of help. She was rewarded at the end with little star dollars sprinkled around her feet. We used little white felt cut outs of stars and passed them out to each child with a reminder to show kindness and help everyone around us who is in need.

Gathering In

Through the spring and summer hours,
Fed and warmed by rain and sun,
Bud has bloomed and fruit has ripened;
Nature's cared for everyone.
Now her messengers will scatter
Seeds for flowers another year
But with us she shares her bounty,
So our harvest time is here.
See! Our barns are brimming over,
So no winter's cold we'll dread
Let us thank our Heavenly Father,
Who has given us our "daily bread".

Books we have read:
Planets, Moons, and Stars by Laura Evert
Hello, Harvest Moon by Ralph Fletcher
Possum's Harvest Moon by Anne Hunter
When the Moon is Full by Penny Polluck
I Took the Moon for a Walk by Carolyn Curtis
Bunny Lune by Kae Nishimura

This Week's Reflection: Harvesting

"Care for those around you. Look past your differences. Their dreams are no less than yours, their choices no more easily made. And give, give in any way you can, of whatever you posses. To give is to love. To withhold is to wither. Care less for your harvest than for how it is shared and your life will have meaning and your heart will have peace."
-Kent Nerburn

"What do you have right now to give? It may be something simple such as extra tomatoes from your garden...maybe you have knowledge in a specific field or craft...maybe you have patience...or the ability to connect with young children or animals. You may have the ability to show someone else the way to a more simple life. How can you share your gifts with others? Take time this week to think about how you can share your harvest with those around you."
-Little Acorn Learning

The Family, Working Together

We have completed a week focusing on our families.
Activities included:

Nature Journals with special attention to the birds we saw
Drawing our families
Talking about different aspects of family life each morning: family size, who does the cooking, brothers and sisters, helping out with chores and work around the house, parents' jobs, and games we play.

We played "Mother May I?" and learned many new fingerplays that were incorporated into our circle times.
"Little Thumbkins", "The Happy Family", and "The Finger Family"

It was fun to see the children recognizing many of the trees and nuts we have learned while taking our nature walk this past Wednesday.

Art projects have included A Family of Hands with watercolors, making our own play dough, and a bird chart.

Nature Walk verse:
"The crickets are calling,
The red leaves are falling,
The meadows are brown and sere;
The birds are not nesting,
The earth begins resting,
Because it's the fall of the year"

Books from the week:
A Mother for Choco by Keiko Kasza
I Loved You Before You Were Born by Anne Bowen
If You Were My Bunny by Kate Mcmullan
My Dad/My Mom by Anthony Browne
A Circle of Friends by Giora Carmi

This Week's Reflection:

Working Together

"Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success."
-Henry Ford

"Without the love and support of others in our lives, our riches lose their value. Without our own hopes and dreams, our souls long for more. How do we create harmonious relationships with those around us while pursuing to our own desires and passions?

Balance is the answer to so many of our questions and problems. We each have strengths that we can contribute to the whole of our family or workplace. We also have talents and interests that should be fostered separately, which in turn fill our soul and enhance our relationships.

Do you strive to bring out the best in others or do you point out their weaknesses? Do you shine light on the gifts and strengths of those individuals that have been placed in your path? Do you nurture their hopes and dreams? Do you encourage them toward greatness?

Do you take time for yourself daily to sit and think/reflect? Do you follow your passions and make time to express yourself creatively? Are you making yourself a priority? How do you feel about who you are? Do you focus on your beauty, gifts, and talents? Are you thankful for all you have? How do you nurture and love yourself daily?

As parents, teachers, and caregivers, we often tend to everyone else's needs and forget our own. Spend time this week finding the balance you need in your life."
-Little Acorn Learning

Happy Fall to everyone!
This next week brings our attention to the moon, stars, and harvesting.

Squirrels, Nuts, and Preparation

Little squirrel living there

In a hollow tree,

I've a pretty cage for you

Come and live with me.

You may turn the little wheel,

That will be great fun?

Slowly round, or very fast,

If you faster run.

Little squirrel, I will bring

In my basket here

Every day a feast of nuts?

Come then, squirrel dear.

But the little squirrel said,

From his hollow tree,

"Oh! No, no! I'd rather far

Live here and be free."

So my cage is empty yet

And the wheel is still

But my little basket here

Oft with nuts I fill.

If you like, I'll crack the nuts,

Some for you and me,

For the squirrel has enough

In his hollow tree.

We have had a wonderful two weeks studying squirrels and nuts!

Our activities have included a daily morning talk about squirrels, looking for and observing squirrels with binoculars, collecting nuts, cracking them open, and making our own nut butter.

The children's nature journals are coming along nicely, we made tree bark rubbings, and played lots of fun games with baskets of acorns, walnuts, almonds, and peanuts.

We also incorporated a new "Mystery Box" game where we knock in different patterns to make the box open, close our eyes, and reach in to pull out one item at a time. This week it was a collection of different art prints that we would then look at and discuss.

This past Friday we played with an anatomy game where the children worked at placing different stickers of body parts on a body outline card.

Our nature walk verse:

The bright eyed squirrels, furry, fleet,

A-gleaming go with puttering feet.

Brown nuts polished by early frost

On the moss below by the winds are tossed.

Some of the book titles we have read this week:

Berries, Nuts, and Seeds by Diane Burns

Rabbits, Squirrels, and Chipmunks by Mel Boring

The Legend of the Kukui Nut by Brandon Henderson

Nuts by Paula Gerritsen (group favorite)

The Busy Little Squirrel by Nancy Tafuri

The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin by Beatrix Potter

Animals in the Fall by Gail Saunders-Smith

All children need to be adequately dressed for the weather. Especially when it is wet and/or rainy, everyone needs to have rain boots and pants to protect clothing. We play in all weather and it is extremely messy when children don't have appropriate footwear or clothing covers. There is only one child who consistently brings rainboots and rainsuit so we really need to work on this! Our new parent guide is coming soon and one of the new requirements will be that every child must have rain boots and rainsuit that stays here at school. New parent handbook will be going into effect starting October 1st. Thanks for your help!!

This week's reflection: Preparation

"If I had six hours to chop down a tree, I'd spend the first hour sharpening the ax."

-Abraham Lincoln

"Taking the time to evaluate our current situation and to prepare for upcoming events can save us a lot of time and energy. Our lives are so full it is often hard to find the time to think ahead.

This week spend 5 minutes each day in silence focusing on the present moment. Let your mind be at peace with where you are now. When your time is up, take out a pen and paper and make a simple list of areas of your life that would be wise to prepare for in the upcoming year. Keep this very simple and stay grounded in the present...it is the only moment we ever fully have."

-Little Acorn Learning

Boat trip day success!

Our Friday boat trip adventure was a huge success.
First we all went over to the world map and decided where we were going to sail.
Africa, China, Sweden, Ohio, New Zealand, and "a blue place" were the destinations of the day.
Tickets were made, necessary items packed, and we headed outside for our morning circle time.
Each child had the opportunity to describe the things they brought and why they would be helpful on a boat trip. I then walked over towards the boats and called everyone individually.
"I am looking for a Charlie Harp. Charlie Harp, you may now board your boat." He handed me his ticket, and he was off....
The children played out many different scenarios with all of their equipment and props and had many happy hours of fun.
We also made little wooden boats, painted them, and floated different types of boats in water as well.
Thanks to everyone for bringing in so many extra things to help us create a lively and enriching boating experience!
A special thanks also to Shane Minor for installing our new tree swing on Friday! The children were captivated by the men hanging from the tall tree and of course loved swinging for the rest of the day!!

Boats

We made boats today and discussed many different types including a schooner, sloop, dory, rowboat, skiff, kayak, scow, houseboat, and a tugboat. Each child picked out their favorite and we drew big pictures with chalk, designed our own with flat wooden blocks, and then glued one on paper. We measured the shapes and talked about the benefits and purpose of each kind of boat. It was fun seeing the children work together and independently on these projects of the day!

Thanks!!

Thanks to Banon, Ulysses, and Meredith for bringing such wonderful and delicious veggies from their garden for us to enjoy and for the lacing cards!! The lacing cards are a new interest for many of the children as they learn to string beads, cards, and finger knit and the ocean/sea creatures theme is perfect as we move into our new learning and play adventures this week.
Thank you also to everyone who has brought in old magazines...these help a lot with cutting, pasting, collage projects, and more!
We were so happy about the change in weather today and are looking forward to cooler days ahead.
It was fun having Roman come to play with us today and the children were excited to have him join in our day.

Playing

This week we have been following many of the children's ideas for play.
Wonderful houses, forts, and cities have been built, a little teddy bear playground, lots of water activities including observing the effects of magnets, and even a bit of wishful winter longing complete with blankets and scarves. I think there is a definite sense of the extreme heat as we imagine a variety of ways to deal with it.
Thanks to Charlie and his mom for bringing in lots of paper, puzzles, and books for our classroom and a delicious cantaloupe from the farmer's market yesterday. It is so wonderful to see the children get excited about fresh fruits and vegetables! This was the best and sweetest melon and we could smell it all around the room even before we cut into it. You would have thought we were opening a new toy by the gleeful sounds from everyone when we sliced it and passed it around.

Friday will be a Fairy Fun Day as we search for fairies outside, play games, and have a special tea party to celebrate Genevieve's 3rd birthday.

Next week we will be moving into our new theme of boats, oceans, and sea life.