The Children's Garden
  • Home
  • Philosophy
  • Early Childhood Programs
  • Homeschool
  • Summer Camps
  • Enrollment
  • About Us
    • Contact & Location
    • Open House
    • In The Press
  • Blog
  • Weekend Classes
  • Parent Portal

Basking in Fall

10/2/2025

0 Comments

 
Picture
“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!
Picture
Picture
Picture
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.
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
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!!".
Picture
Picture
Hammerhead Helping Us Learn Conflict Resolution
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.
Picture
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.
Picture
We colored and created Hammerhead crowns!
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
October's Herb Ally: Pine
Our plant friend for October was pine, inspiring white pine tea, art, pinecone projects, and more!
Picture
Picture
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.
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Some Pinus strobus (the scientific name for white pine) coloring sheets!
Picture
White Pine Tea Party!
After our leaf study, we were easily able to identify the White Pines on the land and collected some branches.
Picture
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.
Picture
Picture
Steeped in hot water for 10-15 minutes, with a little stevia, it's perfect for an autumn tea party.
Picture
The tea was a hit!
Picture
As we we poured we sang together "White Pine tree, thank you for our tea!".
Picture
Picture
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.
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Ooblek
A funny substance, ooblek is both a liquid AND a solid! Made of just cornstarch and water, it's a sensory enigma.
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Ooblek Zombies!
Picture
Volcano in the Sandbox!
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.
Picture
Picture
Picture
Science in Secret
We built a fort together--the perfect place for studying stars and birds!
Picture
Picture
Picture
All About Spiders
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.
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
 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! 
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
We got creative and water-colored some spiderwebs! Learning about habitat and where they come from.
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
We love listening to Anansi stories! Anansi is a clever and mischievous spider trickster from West African and Caribbean folklore.
Picture
Crafting Pumpkin Monsters
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
 Felting Acorns
Picture
Picture
Animal Memory Game
Great for cognitive development and building recall!
Picture
Xylophone Freeze Dance
Picture
Picture
Love Bug Creations
Using paint, glue, pom poms, sequins, and googly eyes everyone made their own unique rock friend
Picture
Picture
Picture
Glittery Letters
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.
Picture
Picture
Pumpkin Literacy
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!
Picture
Picture
Picture
Time Spent A'Tinkering
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
Picture
We especially love to empower the girls in using their bodies and feeling strong
Picture
Picture
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.
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Hammered Cookies
Picture
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 :)
Picture
Picture
To make these at home simply mix together 1.5 cups nut & seed flour with 1 cup coconut sugar, 1 cup stevia sweetened chocolate chips, 1 egg, 1/2 cup coconut oil, 1 tsp vanilla, and 1/2 cup hammered nuts.

Dollop onto a cookie sheet covered with parchment paper and bake at 350 for 10 to 15 minutes.
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Animal Yoga!
We took turns choosing yoga cards
Picture
Picture
Picture
And then everyone did that pose together
Picture
Picture
Picture
Heavy Work
Physical activités that involve pushing, pulling, or lifting provide proprioceptive input which helps support body awareness, focus, and self regulation.
Picture
Picture
Picture
​Clean Up Time!
Picture
Math-magical Marble Runs
Picture
Picture
Three Dimensional Cubes
Picture
Picture
Picture
​Turtle Tangram
Picture
Picture
Tower Challenge
Picture
Animal Love
Feeding the chickens and bunnies! 
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Sweet Friends
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
See You Next Time!
Picture
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    How we learn...

    The intention of this blog is to include the community in our learning process and to inspire families to engage in fun and healthy activities together!

    Archives

    July 2025
    May 2025
    April 2025
    March 2025
    February 2025
    January 2025
    November 2024
    October 2024
    September 2024
    August 2024
    July 2024
    June 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    December 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Subscribe To Our Newsletter!

* indicates required