The sun is warming the air and our bodies once more. We are starting our time outside earlier and earlier, and Grandmother Maple has had her red blooms out long enough to begin leafing! There's been a lot of laughter in the sunshine, snacking on violets, and learning about the crawlies and the furries of springtime.

Spring is such an incredible reminder that even after things have been cold, dark, and quiet, light and life can always return. When you least expect it, the sun's warm rays come back and everything is bursting with joy and color once more.

This spring we have our eyes and ears open for all the changes coming our way. And what can we all hear in the mornings once again? Birds!
We are learning about birds, the nests they make, and their eggs. 

We pretended to be mama and papa birds while we gathered sticks, then we sanded the twigs so they would be nice and smooth.

Then we cut yarn and felt beaks and wrapped our bundle of twigs with the yarn.

Everyone was super excited to use the hot glue gun to help our baby birds come to life with wings, eyes, and a beak to eat worms with.

Everyone wanted nests for their baby birds too!

Birds collect and use all kinds of materials to make homes for their babies. We braided all of our dancing scarves together to then sew and create a nest!

Creating eggs and nests from clay! We are getting hands-on with exploring these incredible creatures that call these mountains their home and are just excited as us for the warming of the weather.

On their own inspiration the kids made this community bird collage and turned it into a counting and identifying game.

We are going on a scavenger hunt! Looking for all the signs of spring, we collected leaves, grasses, and flowers to help us create our Nature Letters

Then came the best part -- GLUING!
All the flowers and plants we collected were then pasted onto paper with letters for S P R I N G
There were stickers for sticking, markers for marking, and washi tape to help make it all so colorful

All the hands and fingers (and footprints) that went into their work got to be seen at the Spring Potluck!

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup coconut oil
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup coconut sugar
• 2 Tbls maple syrup
• 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups blanched almond flour
• 2 Tbls coconut flour
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1/4 cup chopped pecans
• 1 cup fresh dandelion petals

We have been learning with Lynx about Self Expression. He is showing us the value in sharing how we feel and being honest about what we need. It's a skill to be perfected over our lifetime, tuning into our emotions and then actually sharing them with others. Lynx shows us this is not only possible, but important! 

Lynx also particularly ties into our main approach to conflict resolution. The practice of stating our needs, desires, and boundaries and learning how to do so with respect is brought up often throughout the day. We learn about speaking up for ourselves when we don't like how we're being treated, to use words to let the other person know what it is we don't like or want to be different, and we practice requesting what we do want.

We loved these coloring sheets of Lynx and his friends

 Lynx helping us with math! We worked on counting, drawing numbers, and representing them in different ways, such as colored boxes (a graph!)

 With springtime comes bunnies, and with bunnies come all kinds of carrot-y stories. Upcycling bits and pieces of egg carton, we painted and created our own carrot garden!

We did a science experiment demonstrating the effect of soap on germs. Using black pepper to represent the "germs" or "bacteria," the kids dipped their fingers in a bowl with plain water and pepper to become speckled with black

The germs on our skin are all hugging each other very tightly! So they stick to us. We talked about how we have germs all over our bodies--inside and out. And how important lots of them are to keeping us healthy

Some germs also get us sick. And keeping our hands clean helps us stay healthy, and helps the people around us stay healthy. The kids then dipped their finger in soap and tried to dip again in the black pepper/water mixture

With the soap on our fingers, the black pepper suddenly jumped away! You can see how most of it has moved to the outer edge, forming a ring. The soap acts as a buffer, helping break up the surface tension from the germs all "hugging" each other, and allows us to wash them off

 Using butterfly pea tea, we experimented with what happened to the color when we added drops of lemon juice. The acidic juice created a more and more vibrant purple color compared to the blue from before!

Our forsythia bushes bloomed practically overnight! Big and yellow, the kids are attracted to them like honeybees, wanting to play and decorate themselves

When we work together to build a ramp, everyone gets to play harder!

Our creepy, crawly friends are back with the warming weather, and we are celebrating them inside and out :)

Feels so good to use our bodies in the sunshine! What looks like just a pile of stuff is creative and kinetic play at work. We love encouraging cooperation, and the tactile feedback from lifting such heavy, bulky blocks helps calm, ground, and tire-out children.  

The girls work on a building project as a team, and build themselves a sweet firepit

Our new sand for the season arrived! Always so exciting when the sandbox gets refilled. Big gratitude to Mama Lindsay and Papa Chad!

X marks the spot! We've loved creating treasure maps, and then going on treasure hunts to see what we can find in the courtyard. Sparkly sequins, bits of thread, or even a cool stick or rock all count as treasure!

A little bit of luck and green for St. Patrick's Day!

Some natural paints made from clays and pigments found in nature!

The final dream pillow! Lavender we grew in our herb garden joined stuffing in this burlap pillow. Soothing aromatherapy for bedtime

The Power of Love (adapted from Becky Bailey's work in Conscious Discipline) is the conscious choice to see the best in others. This Power stems from the principle that what we offer to others, we strengthen in ourselves.

If we judge others or see them as lacking or bad, we generate a state of irritation and lack within ourselves. We can’t harbor negative thoughts toward others without negatively impacting ourselves.

On the other hand, as we extend well wishes to others, we experience appreciation and gratitude. We define others and ourselves in the highest possible way.

How to Access the Power of Love

When others act the way we believe they should, it’s easy to access the Power of Love. Our heart-shaped glasses are firmly in place, ready and often willing to see the best.

It’s much harder to choose this perception when we think others have made poor choices. When we’re triggered by misbehavior, we sink into the lower centers of the brain. Here, our heart-shaped glasses are nowhere to be found.

From the survival state, conflict appears threatening and bad. It’s a threat to our authority, our ability to teach, even our safety. We feel that it must be punished. From the emotional state, conflict is irritating and upsetting. We feel that the offending person is deliberately making our lives hard. The behavior must be stopped.

In order to see the best, we must reach our executive state. From the executive state, you have access to all your best skills. That means you have a choice.
You can choose to see conflict as a call for help and a teaching opportunity. You’ll be able to discern the communication embedded in the child’s behavior and solve the problem by teaching new skills.

So, when you’re triggered by conflict and misbehavior, pause. Understanding you aren’t wearing your glasses, don’t say anything just yet. Smile. Take a deep breath, and relax. Take two more deep breaths, reminding yourself, I’m safe. Keep breathing. I can handle this.
Now, put on your heart-shaped glasses and prepare to see the situation—and the child—through a loving lens.

Judging the Intentions of Others

​Every day, we judge the intentions of others. That person cut us off in traffic just to be rude. Our child is acting out for attention. Our dog only ruined our favorite shoes because he missed us.

When we’re in an upset state, of course, we tend to attribute negative intent. Our judgments are also influenced by automatic filters created from our past experiences. These filters are not based on the present moment or the person’s actual intentions.

Once we’re calm and wearing our heart-shaped glasses, we can choose to attribute positive intent instead. The Power of Love gives us the ability to see the best and respond accordingly.

Maybe that person didn’t mean to cut us off after all. Perhaps he was rushing due to an emergency, or maybe he had a bad day and was distracted. Let’s wish him well and move on instead of spending the day fuming about rude drivers.

Maybe our “attention-seeking” child really needs connection and doesn’t know how to ask for it. Punishing or isolating the child would simply make the problem worse.
​
Attributing positive intent is the healthier and happier option. It leads to effective solutions and powerful results.

Judging the Intentions of Children
Through the Power of Love, the goal is to look at every child, no matter what their behavior, and open our hearts.

Children attempt to meet their needs through whatever skills they possess. Unfortunately, many children learn inappropriate ways of expressing emotions and meeting their needs.

This may be the result of direct teaching or the modeling of negative behavior from adults. Common strategies include screaming when angry, hitting when frustrated, manipulating when wanting something, and lying or appeasing others to avoid conflict.

Adverse childhood experiences also teach children coping skills like distrust, withdrawal and aggression. Until they learn new skills, children will continue to apply these strategies to every situation in an effort to feel safe.

We can use the Power of Love to view these behaviors as a call for help.​

Judging vs. Seeing the Call for Help

WHEN WE JUDGE CHILDREN AND THEIR BEHAVIORS, WE:

• Keep them stuck in the lower centers of the brain, feeling unsafe and unloved.
• Teach the child to cope with abandonment and rejection instead of learning a new skill.
• Leave the child with two options: Accept that they are indeed bad, or try to defend their self-worth by engaging in a power struggle.

ON THE OTHER HAND, WHEN WE SEE MISBEHAVIOR AS A CALL FOR HELP, WE:

• Define the core of the child as good.
• Lift the child to the higher centers of the brain, where they feel safe, loved and ready to learn.
• Place the child and ourselves on the same team, where they begin to trust us enough to cooperate and feel motivated to learn new skills.
• Teach the child a new SEL skill they will need for the rest of their lives.

From this perspective, we see a call for help and a seed of potential in children who are being hurtful to themselves and others. Love is our most essential, most effective tool for reaching children who exhibit challenging or aggressive behaviors. Hurt, distrust and shame are at the root of these behaviors. To change challenging behaviors, children need someone to see them differently when they are expressing the behavior, use conscious language, and set a healthy limit. 

The Language of the Power of Love

To attribute positive intent, say, “You wanted ___________” or “You were hoping ______________.”

For example, let’s say a child pushes her friend. Why did she do it?

A. She wanted to be hurtful.
B. She enjoys behaving disrespectfully.
C. She wanted her friend to move, and she didn’t know how to ask.

We now have a choice. We can make up a negative story or a positive story about why the child pushed her friend. Using the Power of Love and the Skill of Positive Intent allows us to look at the story in a way, that sets us up for learning and problem solving.

Say, “You wanted your friend to move.” This statement acknowledges the child’s needs without labeling the child as bad. It's not dishonest or bypassing, it's just taking out the 'story' that the child is 'bad'.

You now have the opportunity to teach.
Now say, “Pushing hurts. When you want your friend to move, say, ‘Excuse me.' Using our words is helpful! We teach others how to treat us” This teaches the child a new skill and an acceptable, healthy way to meet her needs.

How the Power of Love Boosts Academic Achievement

We’ve discussed how the Power of Love helps children learn vital SEL skills. But that’s not all: It also helps children learn and thrive academically. When we see the best in children, we help them access the optimal state for learning.

All children internally ask, “Am I safe?” When their answer to this question is “No,” they remain in the survival state. There, they devote their energy to developing coping strategies that will keep them safe (e.g. hurting others before others hurt them, withdrawing from life and becoming invisible) instead of fostering curiosity for learning.

When children answer, “Yes,” they’re able to move to the emotional state. In the emotional state, children internally ask, “Am I loved? Do I belong?” If their answer to this question is “No,” they remain in the emotional state. They develop mental models like, “Negative attention is better than no attention” or “Perfection is my only hope.”

When children feel both safe and loved, they experience an executive state, allowing them to focus on learning. The question the executive state internally asks is, “What can I learn?”

Isn’t the Power of Love permissive?

Wouldn’t I be letting children off the hook? No. It’s true that the Power of Love does not rely on punitive actions, but this doesn’t mean we’re being permissive.

We set limits and teach new skills in a healthy manner. Seeing challenging behavior as a call for help allows us to teach children safe, healthy ways to meet their needs. This perception does not let anyone off the hook; it lets everyone win.

By showing compassion to a struggling child, we help the child take ownership of their actions and reflect on their behavior. Shaming, judging, or scaring the child does not facilitate ownership or reflection. Personal responsibility can only be cultivated, not coerced or forced, and it is required before a child can choose to change their behavior or learn new skills.

In addition, showing children compassion and acceptance only when they behave sends the message, “When you do what I want, you earn my love.” This links love with approval and leads to people-pleasing behaviors. Children then act appropriately not because they love others, but because they fear others won’t love them.

For these heart-shaped valentines we practiced our stitching, improving hand-eye coordination, decorated them for our families. 

Huge gratitude to the sweet CG Grandma for donating all these lovely hearts to create with!

We also made some Valentine's collages! While we create we've been talking about all the people we receive love from in our lives and the different ways we feel it. A simple yet powerful theme--love comes into play as we interact with one another, with animals, plants, and the earth itself.

The kids loved passing out valentines to their friends. Everyone has fun trying to read their friends names.

You can read the book and access more resources here:
​https://slumberkins.com/pages/ibex-resources

We love celebrating birthdays! Big thanks to Mama Ali for bringing in this delicious chocolate banana cake.

Finding the corresponding shapes and colors for these cards helps with color and shape recognition. To be able to reproduce what they see,
many parts of the brain are engaged as they search for the correct shapes.

Counting is more fun when you get to guess first!

  “What do you think children learn through block play?” Here are some responses from NAEYC staff and Young Children consulting editors:
​

1. Problem solving. Sometimes it is intentional: “I want to build X. How do I do that?” Other times it is in-themoment: “To go higher and add to one side, what can I use?”—Peter Pizzolongo
   
   
   
2. Imagination. Children can follow their own plan, or they can share a friend’s vision and work together to create something they never dreamed of.—Karen Cairone
   
   
   
3. Self-expression. Blocks offer many ways for young dual language learners to explore, express themselves, and demonstrate what they are learning across languages.— Karen Nemeth
   
   
   
4. Mathematics. Important concepts and skills are practiced and strengthened through block play, including length, measurement, comparison, number, estimation, symmetry, balance.—Kristen Kemple
   
   
   
5. Continuity and permanence. Block play engages spatial sense and motor abilities; it can be a solo or a group effort; block creations can stand for an indefinite period of time.—Lawrence Balter
   
   
   
6. Creativity. Blocks and other loose parts can be moved freely by children, to be combined and recombined in countless ways.—Angela Eckhoff
   
   
   
7. Science. Blocks offer opportunities to test hypotheses and build scientific reasoning.—Gayle Mindes
   
   
   
8. Self-esteem. Children discover that they have ideas and that they can bring their ideas to life by creating, transforming, demolishing, and re-creating something unique.—Holly Bohart
   
   
   
9. Social and emotional growth. Blocks help children learn to take turns and share materials, develop new friendships, become self-reliant, increase attention span, cooperate with others, and develop self-esteem.— Kathleen Harris
   
   
   
10. Development in all areas. Block play requires fine and gross motor skills. Blocks enhance children’s problem-solving abilities, mathematics skills, and language and literacy abilities. And constructing “creations” builds selfesteem and feelings of success. —Linda Taylor
    
    
    

70 degrees in February! We love to get the most out of our sunshine. Any chance to shed layers and get our feet in the earth!

Thank you cleaner uppers!

As we slow down and turn inward, storytelling and dreams emerge! From co-creating a story all together around the table as we play 'pass the story' game to improvising new characters and tales, we've had a lot of fun embodying the creation of story. 

We loved making puppets! First we began with watercoloring our wooden shapes.

Then we made them come more alive by adding eyes, mouths, and magic sparkles! 

Finally, we got to perform and play with them!

We took turns coming up with where to create a stage and let the characters take us into a magical world! 

Our unicorns, elephants, butterflies, dinosaurs, and kitty cats went on all kinds of adventures.

Puppet shows began to spring up in all kinds of places!

Even the youngest in our tribe sailed off into deep imagination with these little pirates and their boat.

These three bears continued their story into the teepee cave.

Our Herbal Ally this month is Lavender! Bridging the dreaming and waking worlds, lavender is great aromatherapy for relaxation and sleep. We created these Dream Pillows from burlap, Lavender grown in our own Herb Garden, stuffing, and a few stitches!

As we crafted our dream pillows we listened to winter dreamtime stories inspired by master storyteller Danny English! Highly recommend his website for a lovely collection of nature stories, We Be Kids: www.webekids.net/community/storytelling

 

• 2 1/2 cups almond flour
• 2 tablespoons coconut flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
• 1/4 cup coconut milk (or almond milk)
• 2 eggs
• 2 tablespoons dried lavender, muddled or finely chopped
• Juice and zest of 1 lemon
• 1 cup diced green apples

Directions:

1. In a bowl, whisk the almond flour, coconut flour, salt, baking soda and cinnamon until combined.
2. Then, using a wooden spoon, mix in the vanilla, coconut oil, coconut milk and eggs until well combined. Then, stir in the dried lavender, lemon juice and zest and combine well. You can add more almond flour if the batter seems too thin, but it should be moist!
3. Add in the diced apples and mix until incorporated throughout the batter.
4. Scoop the batter into the a buttered muffin pan. You can also use muffin liners. Top each muffin with a few extra blueberries and a sprinkle of cinnamon,
5. Bake at a 350 degree oven for about 22-25 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through baking and checking on the muffins around 20 minutes. Take out when the tops are golden.
6. Let cool for a few minutes. Run your knife around the edge of each muffin to loosen them from the pan before taking them out. Take out and let cool completely on a wire rack. 

Serve with Lavender Chamomile Tea, delicious for dunking!

So fun to help our bird friends with sewing a string of cranberries for a bright wintertime snack.

We fold our coffee filters in 1/2 then in 1/4 then in 1/8.

So fun to watch the paint travel up the paper!

We loved practicing Dragon's affirmation and reading her story. Check out the link below for more resources of working with Dragon at home:

cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/1058/8734/files/2024_Dragon_Activities.pdf?v=1708535238

We love playing with the tambourines! 
We get to experience the making of music and sound firsthand. Great for developing brains, musical instruments strengthen hand-eye coordination and the understanding of cause-and-effect. Taking turns copying rhythms and counting beats, we love to make music together.

We love this game helping us identify emotions and develop more empathy for others.

"Kindness is like snow, it beautifies everything it covers"
​~ Khalil Gibran

We have been practicing speaking words that are calm, cool, and kind.

Our Peace Curriculum at the Children's Garden is deeply rooted in Maria Montessori's work in Peace Education.  While we draw from many educational philosophies to create our unique learning community, our years of teaching in Montessori schools have been integral in creating an environment to support young peacemakers.
​
Montessori recognized children as the redeeming factor in the evolution of humankind. In order to bring about a world of peace and tolerance it is important to focus and teach peace early. Having a peace curriculum is a sure way to prepare our children to be peace-seekers. Dr. Montessori said “…we must gather together all the elements of the world and organize them into a science of peace.” 

There are many forms and layers of peace.  To think about what peace is and how it can be practiced means analyzing possibilities for its application.  The Peace Flower diagram provides a simple, concrete framework upon which teachers and parents can focus on.

The Montessori Peace Flower- The Four States of Peace Awareness: ​​

Here are some of our favorite books that explore all the petals of awareness:

The Peace Stick by Nidhi Mirsa was by far the favorite book with the kids and had them eagerly using their Peace Flowers to take turns expressing their truth and listening with their hearts!

The kids loved decorating their popsicle sticks, threading their beads, and practicing the breath together.

These cookies were extra peaceful as we whispered prayers of peace for all while measuring, cracking, and mixing!

Ingredients

• For the cookies
  • 2 cups almond flour
  • pinch of salt
  • ¼ teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/3 cup melted coconut oil
  • ¼ cup honey
  • 1 tbsp pure vanilla extract
• For the cinnamon coating
  • 3 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 3 tbsp coconut sugar

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
3. In a bowl place the almond flour, baking soda and pinch of salt. Stir to combine.
4. Add the coconut oil, honey and vanilla extract.
5. Mix to combine.
6. Let rest for 10 minutes.
7. To make the coconut coating, combine the coconut sugar and cinnamon. Set aside.
8. Shape the dough into 1 inch balls and roll in the cinnamon-sugar mixture.
9. Place the balls on the prepared baking sheet.
10. Flatten each ball slightly with your palm.
11. Bake in preheated oven for 9 – 12 minutes or until golden brown.
12. Remove from the oven and let the cookies cool in the pan.

We made a delicious apple cider with fresh grated cinnamon, nutmeg, apple juice, orange juice, and fresh orange slices. Such a great winter treat!

​Alpaca teaches children to articulate their feelings, manage their anxiety, and share their worries with others. The link below has tons of free resources to practice at home together!

https://slumberkins.com/pages/alpacaresources?srsltid=AfmBOorTKZSVHrxtmyyMAcRSnqpI_2iHtFJpVAr2WxZb1L2_t1xb547C

On the really cold days we are grateful for our warm indoor space where we focus on getting along and creating collaborative environments! Our train tracks have been getting a lot of use as a wonderful team-working game.

And we have ben getting lots of outside time too! We see a lot of cooperation in the big yard! The kids love to build, and they create obstacle courses together. These wooden blocks help develop motor function, coordination, and creativity as they receive so much sensory input while playing.

Combining shaving cream with baking soda, we created some fluffy slopes. While we mixed and matched coloring dyes, we talked about color theory. Which colors create others, and how easy it is to end up back at brown

To prepare for our celebration the children have been exploring the spiral shape and the kingdoms of life on earth,

Thanks to all who came out and joined us for the Winter Spiral ceremony!

We found a Red Salamander in our hay! We got to talk about what they eat, and where they like to live. There is so much life around us even in the winter

The shadows are lengthening, our clocks have been set back, and the last of the leaves shake on the branches. The winter is arriving!

Gratitude in action is the practice of 
acknowledging and appreciating the good things in life, which can be cultivated with children through simple daily habits like sharing what we are grateful for at mealtimes, expressing thanks to loved ones, and engaging in activities that remind us to get back into gratitude when we notice we forgot. Regularly practicing gratitude can lead to numerous benefits, including improved mental and emotional well-being, stronger relationships, better sleep, and even enhanced immune function. 

This month's Slumberkin has been Honey Bear! You can find more free resources to do at home with Honey Bear here: 
​https://slumberkins.com/pages/honey-bear-resources

We've been reading Honey Bear's book, whose story is all about being grateful and how abundant love is around us. Talking about what gratitude means and how to bring it into our lives have been very present this November.

One of our favorite Slumberkin activities are the crowns--fun to color and wear at our Gratitude Party!

We created our own Gratitude Gardens. Discussing what we're grateful for in our lives and what we wish to see grow while we create our gardens!

It's so fun to mysteriously pick a colored popsicle stick and then express what we are grateful for.

Pizza and ice cream were at the top of the list for many and one child said spinach! They had just seen the classic Popeye movie :)

Lots of love was flowing for all the mamas and papas.

And the beach was a very popular favorite for places we are grateful for.

Huge gratitude to all the families that brought in delicious foods from around the world!
​
​The kids were so excited to prepare special foods that honored the ancestors of the land together.

• 1 cup Namaste gluten free flour 
• 1 cup local Carolina Grits cornmeal
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ½ cup honey
• ¼ cup butter, melted
• 1 cup buttermilk 
• 2 eggs

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. In a mixing bowl, whisk together the gluten free flour, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt until well combined.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the honey, butter, buttermilk, and eggs until well combined.
4. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix until everything is just combined. No need to over mix the batter.
5. Transfer the cornbread batter to a greased or lined muffin pan.
6. Bake the muffins for 13-15 minutes at 400 degrees until a toothpick comes out clean and the tops of the muffins bounce back if lightly pressed.

Ingredients

• 3 cups whole pecans or hickory nuts
• 6 cups water
• 1.5 tsp kosher salt, plus more to taste
• 2 tbsp maple syrup (optional, for a slightly sweeter taste)
• 1 tbsp fresh citrus juice
  
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  

Instructions

1. Make a thick, oily paste from the nuts using a variety of tools and kid power.
2. Whisk the nut paste together with the water, salt, cinnamon, citrus juice, and optional maple syrup  in a saucepan.
3. Bring the mixture to a boil while whisking constantly, then reduce heat and simmer until the liquid is reduced by about half and slightly thickened (about 30 minutes).
4. Serve over hominy, rice, or sweet potato.

After our feast we gathered at the ancestor altar we had been creating together for all of October.

The children were invited to share something special from their ancestry.

Then we offered hand made marigolds and love to all the beings who came before us to make our life possible today.

We've been working with our dear friend Rose this month. Bringing in rose water, rose essential oil, botanical art, and creating a heart warming Rose Cacao Ceremony together.

We crafted little rose gardens! Upcycling egg cartons and using some rose essential oil in our paints to incorporate our sense of smell in our art. Multisensory-play is great for brain development and inspiring creativity!

Rose coloring pages!

First we made Rose Water by counting out 2 cups of dried rose petals with 1/2 cup and added 3 cups water. Then we found a sunny spot and let the sun brew the rose water for 3 hours.

To make the cacao powder we hammered, ground, and grated 8 tbsp of ceremonial cacao.

Then we added 6 cups of coconut milk, I cup rose water, 8 tbsp cacao, and 1 tbsp of honey together and cooked on low until the cacao fully melted.

We gathered for our ceremony and we gave the first cup of cacao to Mother Earth, thanking her for all of the abundance in our lives.

Then we each held our cups to our hearts and shared something we feel so grateful for.

It was beautiful to witness the children express so much genuine gratitude and love for their families and the earth!

With clay, paint, washi tape, and popsicle sticks we explored and identified the shapes and sounds of the letters of our names.

These popsicle stick Name Puzzles were so fun and simple!

A whole theme of creating with popsicle sticks emerged!

We harvested some of our own Mountain Mint to make warm tea on a cool day.

Yum!

The kids love our tea parties, and it's great to practice living in close relationship to the plants that grow all around us.

Creating a chemical reaction, we got to physically see the interaction of a chemical and a base, vinegar and baking soda, as the beans in the jar were lifted and danced around as an effect! 

It was a cool, unexpected surprise when the bubbles fizzed up and over the top of the jar!

The kids raced to collect a certain number of items-- like 1 stick, 3 leaves, and 4 rocks. Strengthening their understanding of numbers, hand-eye coordination, and motor skill development. Kinesthetic learning is fun!

Creating a homemade loom, everyone got to take turns this month learning how to weave the needle under and over the alternating strings of yarn. Really sharpening hand-eye coordination, muscle memory, and pattern recognition!

This month we saw our first snows. Inspired by the fluffy white flakes, we created some of our own indoors!

During one of our indoor days the kids turned around around play kitchen to create a stage. They wanted to put on a show for each other. Grabbing our hand puppets and other stuffed animals, they collaborated on creating a story, and even had the audience play a part!

We love building obstacle courses to help strengthen our bodies, sense of balance, and adventure!

Using all kinds of colors, many hands worked together to create a paper chain to decorate our classroom, each link expressing a gratitude, reminding us of how we're all linked together.

Using watercolors, sponges, and crayons, we each crafted our very own tree.

We even tried different kinds of lichen as paint sponges!

It's so cool to see the paint reveal the crayon underneath as it dries.

“Fall has always been my favorite season. The time when everything bursts with its last beauty, as if nature had been saving up all year for the grand finale.”
-Lauren DeStefano

Children love this time of the year for all its transformation. The leaves are turning, every color bursts forward, and, of course, Halloween itself approaches. Giving us all a chance to connect with the cycle of hunkering down for slowness, and extending into play and imagination.

Fall is also the most common time of year for ancestor celebrations; the light is waning, plants are returning into the ground and lore says "the veil between the worlds is thin."

All the children have been building an ancestor altar for our annual Ancestor's Feast and Lantern Walk!

Using a big map, we learned about where on the earth we live, and where our families and ancestors come from! We even got to learn about the animals that live in different lands.

We checked it out on an actual globe, too! Hearing more about continents, the oceans, and how our families originally came from far away. Once child said "My ancestor's come from all over the planet!!".

Each month we work with a different Slumberkin, a social/emotional learning buddy that focuses on different qualities and skills. Whether that's gratitude, embracing how we're each unique, or learning to sit with our feelings, we read their book during the month and practice skills related to the topic.

Hammerhead is all about recognizing when we might start feeling angry or upset and using breathing and space to calm down rather than hurting somebody else. And that even if something does happen, we can apologize and take responsibility for our behavior.

We colored and created Hammerhead crowns!

Our plant friend for October was pine, inspiring white pine tea, art, pinecone projects, and more!

Some still-life drawing of white pine branches! Feeling pine needles, smelling the sap in their branches, and fostering hand-eye coordination and observational skills.

Some Pinus strobus (the scientific name for white pine) coloring sheets!

After our leaf study, we were easily able to identify the White Pines on the land and collected some branches.

Then we picked off the needles, talking about how they're the leaves of pine trees, and counting how many needles are in each bundle! We discovered the white pine has 5.

Steeped in hot water for 10-15 minutes, with a little stevia, it's perfect for an autumn tea party.

The tea was a hit!

As we we poured we sang together "White Pine tree, thank you for our tea!".

Reciprocity is one of our vocabulary words this month! To express more gratitude for White Pine we made bird feeders with pinecones, nut butter, and seeds to hang in her branches.

A funny substance, ooblek is both a liquid AND a solid! Made of just cornstarch and water, it's a sensory enigma.

Ooblek Zombies!

Using just baking soda, soap, a little food coloring, and vinegar the kids get to see an amazing chemical reaction first-hand! Safe enough to do in our sandbox, everyone got to take turns "erupting" the volcano.

We built a fort together--the perfect place for studying stars and birds!

Using a papier-mache-like clay, we learned about spiders! That they all have 8 legs, unlike insects which have 6. They're hunter bugs, eating other critters and helping us all out.

 We also got hands-on with spiders through beads and pipe cleaners! These creatures are easy to see and find in all the falling foliage, and are important to build a positive relationship with. They also have a bit of Halloween fun! 

We got creative and water-colored some spiderwebs! Learning about habitat and where they come from.

Great for cognitive development and building recall!

Using paint, glue, pom poms, sequins, and googly eyes everyone made their own unique rock friend

We love this mermaid cloth, glittery and multicolored! A great sensory tool, which is grounding and helpful for brain development, we practiced the letters of our names. This worked our letter recognition and fine-motor skills.

A super fun pumpkin game where we pick different action words out of a jack o lantern and then do the action around the pumpkin. They were all so inspired to put the letters together to figure out what action to do next!

Everybody loves the tinkering shed. It's a special place where we get to work with tools, talk about safety, and have extra special crafts!

Fixing the wood into place

We especially love to empower the girls in using their bodies and feeling strong

So good to practice hammering! It builds hand-eye coordination, and is extremely satisfying and empowering to see the nails and screws go into the pumpkin.

Do your kids have a lot of energy? Give them a hammer and a bag of nuts to smash! When we keep both hands on the handle we can't hurt our fingers :)

We took turns choosing yoga cards

And then everyone did that pose together

Physical activités that involve pushing, pulling, or lifting provide proprioceptive input which helps support body awareness, focus, and self regulation.

Feeding the chickens and bunnies! 

In the beginning of the year we are laying the foundation of our learning community as we tune in to our daily rhythm and co-create a culture of kindness.

Our daily rhythm alternates periods of concentration and expansion, as if in a breathing rhythm where there is inhaling and exhaling. In the inhaling or breathing-in phase the child directs their attention to an activity that basically relates him to themselves (drawing, water painting, eating…). In the exhaling or breathing-out period, the child relates mainly to the surrounding world (free play, gross motor movements, guided activities etc.). For each breathing-in period the child needs a breathing-out period and so a pattern and balance is established. 

We do not adhere to a rigid time structure for the day but we do generally follow the same order so there is a natural predictability of what comes next. This natural predictability helps support positive transitions for the children - if they know what is coming next they feel more ease with the flow of the day:

Arrival
Creative Arts
Circle Time
Snack with Social/Emotional Learning
Free Play
Guided Activity 
Dance Party!
Lunch
Story Time

As the children arrive, they put their meals and water bottles in the baskets and have art invitations and manipulatives to create with.

We love process based art!

The kids keep asking for more finger painting! It's so wonderful for fine motor development and creative expression.

It takes a lot of cooperation to lift the parachute together and fly our little animal friends high!

In circle we have had many conversations with all the groups of how can we create a healthy, fun, and safe learning community for all here at the Children's Garden. What are the agreements we can create that will help us grow from a "me" to a "we" community?

In a Caring Circle we all took turns sharing something really kind about a friend. SO many sweet things were shared. Then we shared something kind about ourselves and one child said "I really love my heart." 

Thank you parents for talking about these agreements with the kids at home, it really helps us remember at Children's Garden!

The Kindness Jar is a practice that helps us to spread kindness in our community. Any time we see someone else doing something kind or helpful we put a pompom in the jar. What you focus on grows and a momentum of kindness, generosity, and helpfulness is growing fast. Once the jar is full of pompoms we are throwing a kindness party to celebrate growing kindness in the world!

​Highly recommend creating a kindness jar at home to celebrate all the ways we see our family showing up with kindness everyday and then doing something really special together to celebrate kindness once the jar is full up. You don't have to use pompoms, could be coins, marbles, leaves...

At snack time we like to read a social emotional learning book and talk together about identifying our emotions and healthy ways to respond to them. 

Foraging for Wood Sorrel!

Collaborative building play

Digging for treasures

A completely kids-built and run slide + obstacle course! Learning teamwork and sharing as they practiced taking turns and staying in line.

We love to play house!

Sweet new friends :)

The kids loved reading this book about mixing halves of mythical creatures and were inspired to collage their own magical creatures

Check out our magical creatures!

We learned about lacing and got to practice with fun animals + shapes! Weaving through the holes helps fine-motor development as well as hand-eye coordination. We are ready for some plastic needle and thread next.

We found an Imperial Moth caterpillar! We got to learn about the life cycle of caterpillars and build a cool terrarium to keep her safe until she transforms into a moth

We researched what she needs to survive and gave her moist soil to burrow in and maple leaves to eat

The bunnies and chickens love being cared for by the children!

We were so excited about our caterpillar friend and learning about butterflies, we did some dress-up and theatre to explore what transforming into and out of a cocoon feels like.

We set off on an adventure in search of Lady Goldenrod...

And found some tasty mint on the way!

Where is that Goldenrod?

There she is!

We dried the goldenrod and then covered the dry plant with oil to make an oil infusion which we will make into a healing salve for ouchies and bruises.

As the children were mixing the flowers into the oil, we invited them to offer a magic spell, and they started chanting "kindness, kindness, kindness..."! We promise there was no teacher intervention here! And goldenrod salve is indeed very kind to our skin!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup cooked and mashed pumpkin
• 1/2 cup almond butter
• 2 large eggs
• 2 Tbsp avocado oil
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup cacao powder
• 1/4 cup coconut sugar
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/3 cup chopped pears
• 1/4 cup smashed pecans
• 1 pomegranate de-seeded
• 1 tsp coconut oil for coating muffin pan

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and coat muffin pan with coconut oil
2. Add all of the muffin ingredients, except the pears, pecans, pomamegranate seeds, and coconut oil, and mix well.
3. Add in half the pears and pecans and mix the batter lightly.
4. Scoop the batter into the coated muffin pan, filling each slot just over half way full, and top the muffins with the remaining pears and pecans. 
5. Place the muffins in preheated oven and bake at 350 degrees for 20-22 minutes.
6. After baking, cool the muffins for a few minutes in the pan, then transfer them to a wire cooling rack. Once cool, decorate with pomegranate seeds.

Pomegranates... training the next generation of surgeons with focus and fine motor control!

Smashing pecans is so empowering!

Have you ever seen such joyful whiskers?

We affectionately refer to these young chefs as the three amigos :)

Taking deep breaths is so fun with the Hoberman Sphere!

How many breaths does it take you to blow the pompom off the table?

A great game to funnel some competitive energy into some deep breathing fun!

​We have been learning all about love and growing our community from our home family to our Children's Garden family with Otter from the Slumberkins!

Thank you so much for filling out these sheets at home and returning them to us! 

The Slumberkins curriculum really inspire kids in so many ways.

The songbirds were so excited to practice their numbers and letters with Otter.

And then everybody wanted to join in!

We love dressing up for dance party! Scarves, wings, + capes of all kinds.

We love sharing gratitudes at lunchtime. Mama and Papa are always first on their list.

We love stories and lessons in Spanish too!

It's been such a sweet few weeks of August! We have a gentle flow these first days of the new year as we get to meet new friends and know old friends better.

​Here are a few pics of us loving these last days of Summer! 

We loved creating these still life paintings of jewelweed bouquets with watercolor pencils. 

We love playing the name game at the beginning of a new year where we roll the ball to a friend while calling out their name.

Snack with Social/Emotional Learning
Schubert's Big Voice, (or Sophie for a simpler read) is one of our favorite books to read at the beginning of a new year and really helps with empowering children in conflict resolution. Check out these great videos of them being read out loud: 

Schubert's Big Voice: youtu.be/9vg_1Is_MdE?si=g8YYP9_-E3XYw1nd
​Sophie's Big Voice: youtu.be/K5ZBgGn3w_k?si=etk2MU3p8S5ys8D2

So fun to explore momentum, gravity, and friction with these fast spinning tops!

Cooking Class
​We loved making these delicious Cinnamon Pear Muffins with fresh pears form our sweet Pear Tree!

​Ingredients

• 2 ½ cups almond flour
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 3 tbsp honey
• 3 eggs
• 2 tbsp melted coconut oil
• 1 cup chopped pears

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
• In a large mixing bowl, add all of the ingredients except for the pears. Whisk until everything is evenly combined.
• Add the pears and use a wooden spoon to fold them in.
• Grease a muffin pan with coconut oil (or line the pan with muffin cups), and spoon the batter into the pan, filling each muffin cup about 3/4 of the way to the top.
• Bake for 18-20 minutes, until the tops are golden brown. The muffins are done when they are slightly golden brown on top and you can stick a knife in the center and it come out clean.
• Remove from oven and let cool for about 5 minutes before removing them from the pan. After removing them from the pan, let cool on a wire rack before serving.

The hummingbirds helped measure and mix the ingredients...

While the songbirds chopped pears, cracked eggs, and whisked while they counted together to 20.

Pear Butter
So easy to make Pear Butter! We covered our pears with apple juice and a splash of lemon juice, then boiled until soft and pureed until smooth. Yum!

The kids had great form when chopping with keeping both hands on the handle!

Math & Literacy
Geometry! Creating shapes of different numbered sides with natural objects.

Developing number recognition and fine-motor skills through throwing dice and hole-punching leaves

Tracing the letters of our names

Teacher Bluma is a master storyteller! This month she shared a story of a great magical sturgeon to honor the Sturgeon Moon. Her daughter Sophia has also been coming in an extra support teacher, so great to have a Mother/Daughter teaching team!

Our Herb of the Month was Jewelweed! We talked about its wonderful uses, and the kids got to identify, pick, and create poultices to heal any itchy bug bites.

We have been learning colors and numbers in Spanish!

Teacher Anna loves teaching music and we learned to play some major chords on her harmonium!

We reached into a bag of soil for treasures and tried to guess what the items were before revealing them.

Then we made nature impressions into homemade salt dough scented with clove and cinnamon oil!

We created rose stamps from the bottom part of a bunch of celery while being immersed in the cooling and uplifting effects of a rose water spritz!

Turns out the tops of celery make great paintbrushes!

Made with beets, turmeric, and chocolate

Growing food and medicine in our garden and then preparing it together is an incredible sensory experience!

We love to incorporate learning math skills like fractions and multiplication into cooking class.

The freshness of our own mint, parsley, and edible monarda flowers with cucumbers and tomatoes the kids helped plant, then dressed with simple olive oil and Ume plum vinegar, all put together with their loving hands! Yum!

Using a strawberry huller and slicer takes a lot of focus and hand strength!

Watermelon is a great first food to practice knife skills with

Garnishing with fresh mint from the garden for contrast and beauty.

Toddlers can enjoy making shapes while the older kids work on creating their name!

Using natural beeswax crayons with their lovely scent of honey and rich colors enriches the sensory experience of this project!

This celery and food coloring experiment is a simple yet powerful hands-on activity that offers a variety of learning benefits:

Understanding capillary action and plant biology

Visualizing water transport

Learning that plants have tiny tubes that act like straws, drawing water up the stalk

Developing scientific skills like creating a hypothesis, observation skills, experimentation and collecting data

We counted out drops and combined colors to make new colors

After 2 hours in the water and food coloring we could see the xylem (tiny tubes) carrying the water up the celery. This is how our capillaries in our body work too! We are related to plants!!

After 24 hours the tops of the celery were drenched in color!

Maria Montessori stated that ”When you help a child understand it’s sensory and aesthetic sensibilities you prepare their moral awareness!"

We love the wonderful Montessori “Flower Arranging Activity “. It teaches children how to create beauty in their space, while also developing fine motor skills , independence, and concentration.
​
Care of Environment activities are a type of practical life activity that encourage children to care for their classrooms, homes and outdoors.

Working first with the glue, kids have to exercise awareness of where and how they've made marks on the page in their creating. This helps the little ones with object permanence, and supports memory and spatial awareness.

​Questions that often come up are:

So what does a 'play-based curriculum' even mean?

Does that mean the children just play all day with no structure or learning? How will they transition to traditional school?

What are children actually learning when they play?

​"Creative people are curious, flexible, and independent with a tremendous spirit of adventure and a love of play" - Henri Matisse

This article was originally published in October 2019 at AltEdAustin: ​https://www.altedaustin.com/blog/why-we-love-to-play

We love to play AND we love projects.

Herb Weaving with our fresh garden herbs :) 

Experimenting with Art: What happens to the colors when you use droppers with diffusion paper?

We love making birds with natural cotton, we made a whole flock!

These guys are so cute, we had to see it twice!

Making muffins for our kindness party!

Chocolate Cupcakes with Buttercream Frosting

Cupcakes:

• 4 small bananas mashed
• 6 tablespoons maple syrup
• 1.5 cups sunflower seed butter  
• 2 large egg
• 2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 2/3 cups cacao powder
• 1/4 cup dried coconut flakes for sprinkles

Frosting:

• 4 sticks butter, at room temperature
• 1/3 cup honey
• 1/2 cup cacao powder
• 3 teaspoons vanilla

Instructions:

• Preheat oven to 400° 
• Mix together banana, maple syrup, sunflower seed butter, egg, vanilla, baking soda, and cacao powder.
• Scoop into the muffin pan and top with the chocolate chips. Bake for 7 minutes. 
• Mix together butter, honey, cacao, and vanilla for frosting
• Frost cupcakes once cool and top with dried coconut flake sprinkles

It's garden time!

We love our chickens!

Digging for bones!

See you next time!!