| A delicious way to start learning the shapes and names of the letters of the alphabet! Ingredients: 8 tablespoons soft butter 2/3 cup coconut sugar 1 egg ½ teaspoon vanilla extract 1 ½ cup whole wheat flour ½ teaspoon baking powder ½ teaspoon salt Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Combine flour, baking powder and salt, in a bowl, stirring thoroughly Separately, beat butter and sugar thoroughly with a whisk, then add egg and vanilla. Add the dry ingredients from the first bowl gently to the butter and sugar mixture. This is a traditional cut out sugar cookie recipe, however the kids also love to create letters, shapes, and sculptures with their hands. Place cookies on a baking sheet covered in parchment paper and bake for 8 to 12 minutes until golden. Icing 2-3 tablespoons water 1 cup confectioners sugar India Tree Natural Food Coloring Sprinkles, if desired Put 2 tablespoons of almost-boiling water in a cup, adding confectioner’s sugar (powdered sugar) slowly until you get the right consistency—like thick paint. Mix several colors. Apply to cooled cookies with a brush. Color on color looks good too. The kids loved painting the first letter of their names! | 
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The kids have been a huge help in the garden! Here they are picking veggies for our well loved Spinach Pesto.
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We have been studying the wonderful Russian artist Wassily Kandinsky...
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and then enjoyed creating our own circles of color!
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Drawing circles inspired us to look for all kinds of circles on our nature hike through the park:
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| We also learned how Kandinsky liked to express his emotions with colors. We read The Rainbow Book by Kate Ohhrt to introduce the concept of colors symbolizing emotions and it opened up a great conversation with the kids: "How does green make you feel?" "sleepy", "like a plant", "happy"! | 
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Music in the sunshine with Amanda Panda!
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The amazing Kirsche Dickson, PHD Dance Instructor and Choreographer (and my beautiful sister!), came by to lead an inspired dance class. The kids loved dancing with colored scarves, creating body sculptures, and having a peaceful rest at the end of class. Thanks so much Kirsche!
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| Dandelions! Did you know if you rub the flowers on your skin you can dye your skin yellow? 
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Fairy houses...
fairy yoga...
and fairy dancing!
Mama Snow came by to read us books for story time in the park!
We studied the difference in pattern and texture of the bark of a variety of trees and marveled at the bright and soft newborn leaves of a Cedar Elm.
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We discovered a majestic Live Oak with low branches and had some of our very first tree climbing adventures!
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We read Mama Built a Little Nest by Jennifer Ward and then built our own nests. This toy cardinal bird was designed by the Audobon Society so a real recorded cardinal song plays when you squeeze it. While the kids were playing with it a real Cardinal flew by to see what all the singing was about!
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More free play and frolicking!
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And finally, the following is a list of 20 ways to connect with your kids from Dr Laura Markham at www.ahaparenting.com. We love getting her regular emails with free parenting advice - check her out!
1. Snuggle with each child for five minutes when they first wake up.
2. Take an extra minute to sit down with your kids at breakfast, asking what each one is looking forward to today.
3. Instead of yelling at him to keep him moving through the morning routine, empower him with a chart with photos of him doing each task, and let him be "in charge" of himself while you just smile and point to the chart, asking what he needs to do next.
4. Write a love note to slip into her lunch box.
5. Skip together as you walk to the school bus, or sing happy songs in the car.
6. As you hug her goodbye, tell her you can't wait to see her this afternoon and hear all about her day. Remember to say "Have fun!" instead of "Be good!"
7. During the day, find five minutes here and there to simply close your eyes and get centered. Try to get organized before you leave the office, so you can really leave your work behind and turn off your phone. In the evening, you'll be able to give your family the best of you, not what's left of you.
8. Turn off your phone and music when your child gets in the car with you at the end of the day, and listen to her most and least favorite parts of the day.
9. When your children get into a fight, keep your sense of humor, listen to both kids without taking sides, and help them work out a win/win solution.
10. When he has a meltdown because you cut his sandwich wrong, don't make a new sandwich, but remind yourself that tantrums signal distress, not defiance. Stay close and compassionate so he feels safe enough to cry and empty all those upsets out of his emotional backpack. You'll all have a much better evening.
11. Commiserate and encourage as you help her study for her spelling test.
12. Laugh at his jokes.
13. Spend fifteen minutes of special time with each child, just following her lead and pouring your love into her. This habit alone can transform your relationship with your child. When she wants to use the couch cushions to build a fort, say yes. Let her be the director and tell you what to do.
14. At dinner, ask an interesting question and give each child time to answer while everyone listens. (Here are over 150 ideas for questions to ask.)
15. Have a pillow fight before bath time.
16. Empathize and keep your sense of humor when he doesn't want to stop playing and get ready for bed, even while you insist.
17. Listen compassionately to her long story about troubles with girls in her class, without getting over-excited or jumping in to fix anything.
18. Notice that you're getting frustrated about getting him to bed, and calm yourself down. Then, reconnect with him and use that warm connection to get him tucked in.
19. Enjoy reading the bedtime story. Savor the smell of your child's hair and the warmth of her body. Send her off to sleep with a sense that all is right in her world.
20. Lie with each child for a few minutes in the dark, just snuggling companionably and telling him that you feel so lucky to be his parent.
1. Snuggle with each child for five minutes when they first wake up.
2. Take an extra minute to sit down with your kids at breakfast, asking what each one is looking forward to today.
3. Instead of yelling at him to keep him moving through the morning routine, empower him with a chart with photos of him doing each task, and let him be "in charge" of himself while you just smile and point to the chart, asking what he needs to do next.
4. Write a love note to slip into her lunch box.
5. Skip together as you walk to the school bus, or sing happy songs in the car.
6. As you hug her goodbye, tell her you can't wait to see her this afternoon and hear all about her day. Remember to say "Have fun!" instead of "Be good!"
7. During the day, find five minutes here and there to simply close your eyes and get centered. Try to get organized before you leave the office, so you can really leave your work behind and turn off your phone. In the evening, you'll be able to give your family the best of you, not what's left of you.
8. Turn off your phone and music when your child gets in the car with you at the end of the day, and listen to her most and least favorite parts of the day.
9. When your children get into a fight, keep your sense of humor, listen to both kids without taking sides, and help them work out a win/win solution.
10. When he has a meltdown because you cut his sandwich wrong, don't make a new sandwich, but remind yourself that tantrums signal distress, not defiance. Stay close and compassionate so he feels safe enough to cry and empty all those upsets out of his emotional backpack. You'll all have a much better evening.
11. Commiserate and encourage as you help her study for her spelling test.
12. Laugh at his jokes.
13. Spend fifteen minutes of special time with each child, just following her lead and pouring your love into her. This habit alone can transform your relationship with your child. When she wants to use the couch cushions to build a fort, say yes. Let her be the director and tell you what to do.
14. At dinner, ask an interesting question and give each child time to answer while everyone listens. (Here are over 150 ideas for questions to ask.)
15. Have a pillow fight before bath time.
16. Empathize and keep your sense of humor when he doesn't want to stop playing and get ready for bed, even while you insist.
17. Listen compassionately to her long story about troubles with girls in her class, without getting over-excited or jumping in to fix anything.
18. Notice that you're getting frustrated about getting him to bed, and calm yourself down. Then, reconnect with him and use that warm connection to get him tucked in.
19. Enjoy reading the bedtime story. Savor the smell of your child's hair and the warmth of her body. Send her off to sleep with a sense that all is right in her world.
20. Lie with each child for a few minutes in the dark, just snuggling companionably and telling him that you feel so lucky to be his parent.
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