Native Americans, Thanksgiving, and Gratitude

We Thank Thee

For flowers that bloom about our feet;
For tender grass, so fresh, so sweet;
For song of bird and hum of bee;
For all things fair we hear or see,
Father in Heaven, we thank thee!

For blue of stream and blue of sky;
For pleasant shade of branches high;
For fragrant air and cooling breeze;
For beauty of the blooming trees,
Father in Heaven, we thank thee!

For mother-love and father-care,
For brothers strong and sisters fair;
For love at home and here each day;
For guidance, lest we go astray,
Father in Heaven, we thank thee!

This next week will bring themes of Native Americans, Thanksgiving, and Gratitude.
Our projects will include a Tree of Thanks with Leaves of Gratitude, homemade cranberry sauce, corn cob painting, leaf garlands, Thanksgiving Day name cards, Native American bead crafts, games, and jewelry. We will be discussing all the wonderful aspects of Thanksgiving, being grateful for all we have in life, and learning about the history of Native Americans.

Some of the books we will share together:

Thanks a Million by Nikki Grimes
Giving Thanks: A Native American Good Morning Message by Jake Swamp
Thanks for Thanksgiving by Julie Markes
Cranberry Thanksgiving by Harry Devlin
Squanto's Journey by Joseph Bruchac
The Gift of You, The Gift of Me by Nila J. Webster
Grateful: A Song of Giving Thanks by John Bucchino
The Secret of Saying Thanks by Douglas Wood
The Circle of Thanks by Joseph Bruchac
Moonstick: The Seasons of the Sioux by Eve Bunting

This week's refection is Gratitude.

"If you have no friends to share or rejoice in your success in life - if you cannot look back to those whom you owe gratitude, or forward to those to whom you ought to afford protection, still it is no less incumbent on you to move steadily in the path of duty; for your active excretions are due not only to society; but in humble gratitude to the Being who made you a member of it, with powers to save yourself and others."
-Walter Scott

"How often do you look at your life and all of the things in it with gratitude? Often, we find ourselves focusing on how things could be better in our lives or on what we are lacking rather than the good that is surrounding us. What an amazing purpose you have in this world! It is no mistake that these little souls have been placed gently in your care. They were led to you for guidance. You are here to show them all the beauty and good the world has to offer. You were chosen to be their guide. Be grateful for this wonderful responsibility and remind yourself daily how special the work you do truly is!"
-Little Acorn Learning








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Other fun things

Our week has been full of wonderful fun and learning!
The children were deeply moved by the stories of St. Martin and were especially inspiring as they acted out the helpful ways of this great man. Taking turns being St. Martin, everyone had a chance to bring blankets and food to poor, cold, and sick individuals outside. We also sang "This little light of mine" and our lantern song that we sing in November:

"The sunlight fast is dwindling
My little lamp needs kindling.
Its beam shines far in darkest night,
Dear lantern, guard me with your light."

We talked about the light we all have inside and how it shines brighter whenever we help those around us. Making a list of tangible expressions of kindness helped the children see how they could show love and get along peacefully with their friends.

Monday is music day and this week we have been listening to Mozart and reading books about him as well. We also read the book My Family Plays Music by Judy Cox and talked about the many types of music and instruments that were shown. Our music basket came out and we all took turns with the different sounds and made up our own songs!

Friday is art day and this week we read Katie and the Sunflowers by James Mayhew. His books are a wonderful way to expose children to great artists within the context of a lively adventure!
Focusing on Vincent van Gogh, we picked his work, Sunflowers to imitate in our own art for the day as we made paper vases with stems and flowers and glued them on a background of colored construction paper.

We will be focusing closely on Mozart and Vincent van Gogh for the remainder of the year so the children can have a fuller grasp and understanding of the works of these artists.

Other books we looked at this week:

Children's book of Art
I Spy a Freight Train by Lucy Micklethwait
The Children's Book of Faith by William J. Bennett
Mozart: Scenes from the Childhood of the Great Composer by Catherine Brighton

The Wind, St. Martin, Living Peacefully

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The Playful Wind

The wind came out to play one day.
He swept the clouds out of his way.
He blew the leaves and away they flew.
The trees bent low and their branches did too!
The wind blew the great big ships at sea.
The wind blew the kite away from me.

This week we will be discussing the wind with stories, circle time songs, poems, and activities.
We will hear a story told, called " The Wind and the Sun."
Exploring the many aspects of wind we will experiment with fans and kites and observing the many results. We will read and look at photos of windmills and discuss the importance of using this natural source for our energy needs.

Books we will look at include:

When the Wind Stops by Charlotte Zolotow
Wind Says Good Night by Katy Rydell
How the Ladies Stopped the Wind by Bruce McMillan and Gunnella

We will also be hearing about St. Martin, who was said to be a man of peace and generosity. He did not want to fight but obeyed the law . He took his earnings and gave it to needy families. One story tells of how he cut his own cloak in half to warm a homeless beggar on the street who was Christ in disguise.

Monday: A special afternoon tea
Tuesday: Kite day
Wednesday: Windy wind chimes
Thursday: The Windmill Game
Friday: Game of the Weather Vane

Nature Walk verse for the week:
"Whichever way the wind doth blow,
Some heart is glad to have it so;
And blow it east or blow it west,
The wind that blows - that wind is best."

This week's reflection:

"Do not judge men by mere appearances; for the light laughter that bubbles on the lip often mantles over the depths of sadness, and the serious look may be the sober veil that covers a divine peace and joy." - Edward Chapin

" In times of conflict, it is important for us to approach the situation without judgment. This requires us to be conscious of our ego's desire to make our point of view 'right' and the others 'wrong'. We do not know what experiences have formed our opponent's opinion. We cannot tell what lies in someone's heart from outward appearances or actions. The answer is to step into their soul and see outward through their eyes. Only then can we move forward with peaceful action."
-Little Acorn Learning

November

The Centaur, Sagittarius, am I,

Born of Ixion's and the cloud's embrace;

With sounding hoofs across the earth I fly,

A steed Thessalian with a human face.

Sharp winds the arrows are with which I chase

The leaves, half dead already with affright;

I shroud myself in gloom; and to the race

Of mortals bring nor comfort nor delight.

-Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

The first week of November is a special time when we celebrate All Saint's Day and remember loved ones. We will also be discussing the many aspects, characteristics, and uses of fire this week.

Please bring a photo of a loved one for your child to share with the class this week.

Morning talks will look something like this:

Monday: We will be sharing happy memories of people who we have loved. Memories are special because they help us to remember the people we love and the things we do/did together.

Tuesday: Discussion of fire. Why is it important and how does it help us? What good things can fire be used for? If fire gets onto your clothing, what should you do? We will practice together.

Wednesday: Where can an adult make a fire safely? Should children go near fire?

Thursday: Firefighters

Friday: Elders. People who are older than us. Talk about grandparents. What types of things can someone who is older teach us?

This week we will make soul cakes, watercolor "flames", paper torches, having a marching parade, a very fun and peaceful fire drill, playing a fire bucket game, and visiting with an elder.

Autumn Fires

In the other gardens

And all up the vale,

From the autumn bonfires

See the smoke trail!

Pleasant summer over

And all the summer flowers,

The red fire blazes,

The grey smoke towers.

Sing a song of seasons!

Something bright in all!

Flowers in the summer,

Fires in the fall!

Books we will share together:

Granny's Cozy Quilt of Memories by Pamela Kennedy

Runya the Fire Fairy by Simone Lindner

The Fire Children; A West African Folk Tale by Eric Maddern

Fire Race by Lanny Pinola

Forest Fire by Fraser

Making Memories by Janette Oke

The Secret of the Red Shoes by Joan Donaldson

Remembering Grandpa by Uma Krishnaswami

Lifetimes by Bryan Mellonie

The Next Place by Warren Hanson

Felipa and the Day of the Dead by Birte Muller

The Memory String by Eve Bunting

A Ladder to the Stars by Simon Puttock

The Magic Memory Box by Debbie Haney

We will also focus on a story that will be told called Burg Hill's On Fire - A Celtic Fairy Tale by Elizabeth W. Grierson

This week's reflection:

"It is often said that something may survive of a person after his death if that person was an artist and put a little of himself into his work. It is perhaps in the same way that a sort of cutting taken from one person and grafted onto the heart of another continues to carry on its existence even when the person from whom it had been detached has perished."

-Marcel Proust

"Our loved ones truly do survive within our souls. Even though they are no longer physically here, so much of who they are still lives inside of us. Reflect on the beauty that has been brought into your life by loved ones who have passed on. Ask yourself what memories you are creating with the people in your life now and make the necessary adjustments to ensure that you leave a legacy of love."

-Little Acorn Learning

Pumpkins, Caves, Bats, and Spiders

We have had a fun week with many adventures!

Caves became a favorite focus as we discovered the many types of animals who live in these habitats and created our own "caves" to simulate the experience.

We heard a story of little gnomes who work hard to find crystals in caves and learned a little song they sing: "Hack, hack, the rocks we crack. To find some crystals for our sack"

Using different shapes from felt, we designed our own faces on pumpkins, carved actual pumpkins, observed the insides with all of our senses, looked at the seeds, roasted them, made a pumpkin collage, paper bag pumpkins, hanging spiders, watercolor paintings with orange, play-dough bats, clay caves, and pumpkin bread!!

Stellaluna was a popular book among the children and we read, sang songs, and acted out the story together.

Our Halloween circle time was filled with songs, stories, poems, and fingerplays that revolved around our theme.

Other books we shared together included:

Hello Bumblebee Bat by Darrin Lunde

Stellaluna by Janell Cannon

Bats at the Beach by Brian Lies

Let's Take a Field Trip to a Cave by Kathy Furgang

Caves - Mysteries Beneath Our Feet by David Harrison

Pumpkin Fiesta by Caryn Yacowitz

Anansi the Spider by Gerald M. Dermott

Diary of a Spider by Doreen Cronin

Up, Up, and Away by Ginger Wadsworth

Dream Weaver by Jonathan London

Next week our theme will be Fire, All Saint's Day, and Remembering Loved Ones

Happy Weekend to everyone!

Soup Days and Sand

Soup Days are back every Thursday!
Please bring a vegetable to share on Thursdays. The children gain a great sense of satisfaction and joy when they are able to contribute something special to our meal. We all help wash, cut, and chop the vegetables together and participate in the making of a different soup each week. It is fun to see the result of each soup day!

THANK YOU to everyone who has helped out with SAND!!
We are in the process of putting together a nice big sand play area, which will be covered at all times except during our hands on sand time!!

There is a note coming home soon about parent participation.
It is a heavy load of many hours (about 15 every day) to run Apple Blossom Preschool and parent help and participation are vital components of any healthy school community. WE are a small program and requests will be made increasingly for help in a variety of ways as the children are growing and needing developmentally appropriate activities.
Thanks again for all your help and support!

Apple Day!

Apple Day was fun and successful!
The children enjoyed the peeling, slicing, and coring machine and participated joyfully in the making of homemade applesauce. The variety of apples sure made it sweet and delicious!
Thank you for sharing all the apples with us!
We talked about the different names for the apples, drew pictures of them in our nature journals, and learned special poems to go along with our day.
We have found apple stars, examined many seeds, made apple prints, and talked about picking apples at an apple orchard.

The Apple Star

Take an apple round and red.
Don't slice down
Slice through instead.
Right inside it you will see
A star as pretty as can be!


My Treasure Box

This is a little treasure box;
Although it has no keys or locks.
A wondrous treasure does it hold
More precious than a purse of gold
These shining pointed seeds you see,
Each one contains an apple tree.
But every little seed we've found
Must first be hidden in the ground;
And by and by, the fairy elves,
Sunbeam and Raindrop come themselves,
To make each little seed they see
Into a glorious apple tree.
How strong it grows! How green and fair,
Tossing its myriad leaves in air!
In spring, its white and roseate blooms
Scatter a thousand sweet perfumes.
And then, at last, one splendid day
Foretold by all the blooms of May,
A hundred rosy apples swing,
Sweet sequel to the flowers of Spring.
Hundreds of apples from one seed!
Ah! 'Tis a fairy tale indeed!
No wonder, tho' it has no locks,
I call this apple, "treasure box."

We have also heard a sweet German story called The Sleeping Apple which illustrates how we must be patient and wait for some things. When they do arrive, it is at just the right time!

Other books we have read and discussed:

The Seasons of Arnold's Apple Tree by Gail Gibbons
Share and Take Turns by J. Meiners
How Do Apples Grow? by Betsy Maestro
Autumn is for Apples by Michelle Knudsen
Apple Picking Time by Michele B. Slawson
Applesauce by Shirley Kurtz
Johnny Appleseed by Reeve Lindbergh
Ten Red Apples by Pat Hutchins
Our Apple Tree by Gorel Kristina Naslund
Out and About at the Apple Orchard by Diane Mayr


We did a floating fruit experiment, observed all the parts of an apple, learned circle time poems and fingerplays about apples, and acted out our apple stories.
Letter and word stamping have been fun ways to play with new words and we have been creating our own word collections in small recipe boxes, making our own poems, and constructing word boards where everyone takes a turn putting together different words to make stories.

This week's reflection: Patience

"Have patience with all things, but first of all with yourself."
-St. Francis de Sales

" We are so very hard on ourselves. We have so many expectations of where we feel we should be or what we think we should be doing differently. Take time this week to stop and focus on totally loving and accepting yourself where you are right now. Forgive yourself for not being perfect. Allow yourself the space to be human. Look back on your life and see where you have come-all in good time. Be proud of the things that you have accomplished in your life. Continue to strive to do better and grow, but be patient with yourself in the process. Never give up and allow yourself the freedom to start over and over again."
-Little Acorn Learning