Blog Posts

Exploring Outer Space!

6/5/2024

We Made a Space Ship!

Sometimes the best projects are made with a cardboard box and how many of these we have these days. Perhaps before we recycle that delivery box, we get one more use out of it by creating something magical together. This was so fun to work on together and then climb inside to blast off to far away realms.

We've Been Learning About Planets

Naming the planets and talking about orbits, constellations, the Sun, the Moon and all the far away galaxies and how little even us adults know about what's really out there...

We are so grateful for our Mother Earth for holding us and nourishing us!

Learning about Stars and Shooting Stars

This space theme has really captured their curiosity. We had so much fun making our own shooting stars and laying down on a hot day after lunch and dreaming of star gazing.

Constellation Concentration

The kids LOVED playing this memory game that teaches about the constellations.

Playing memory games can improve other brain functions, such as attention, concentration, and focus. Memory games give space to critical thinking and that helps children nurture their attention to detail.

Memory games can improve visual recognition. With many memory games based on spotting differences, or linking two related images, children improve their visual discrimination.

Short-term memory is key to playing memory games and playing them often will improve function in this area. A good short-term memory can improve a person's long-term memory too. Both are linked and being able to move things from your short-term memory into long-term will improve learning in other areas.

Though memory games are a short-term boost, players have to plan their moves as they go. From revealing a card to plotting their next move, children can learn the importance of thinking ahead and plotting their next choice.

Perhaps the self esteem boost is the greatest boon of all!

Weaving in stories of the stars is excellent for language development, summarising skills, and imaginative thinking too!

Outer Space Curiosities

How can humans travel to space? What do humans need to live? How do we survive if we are not on the earth?

Collaging Rockets

Rocket Puppets

And Launching Rockets!

This simple physics project was such a hit! We've also been counting backwards from 10 quite a bit this month.

Did y'all know that Teacher Ella is an astrophysics major? She has been expertly answering a lot of our questions about the cosmos! She goes back to school in the Fall but plans to be with us next Summer :)

Galactic Filaments! Far Out Dude!

In cosmology, galaxy filaments are the largest known structures in the universe, consisting of walls of galactic superclusters.

Morna's Feeling Better!

Everyone is overjoyed to have Morna's bubbly energy back in the garden. She has been sharing her loving attention, space travel yoga, storytelling, songs, and cooking classes.

The Garden is Poppin!

Special thank you to everyone that has helped or contributed to the garden in some way. We are so grateful to be able to share something fresh from the garden with the children almost every day!

Lunch Bunch Helpers

It's always exciting when it's your turn to be a lunch bunch helper and you get to help prepare lunch!

Blueberry Mooncakes

The kids loved making these mooncakes with blueberries for the craters in the moon!

Recipe

2 cups simple mills nut and seed flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ cup (1 stick) salted butter, softened
2 large eggs, room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
½ cup almond milk
1 heaping cup blueberries

Mix together wet and dry ingredients then combine and fold in blueberries. Scoop tablespoons of batter mixture onto parchment paper covered cookie sheet and bake at 375 for 15 minutes.

We enjoyed snacking on them while we read one of our favorite Grace Lin books.

Squeals of Delight

It's been hot and sunny and we have taken full advantage of this environment for some delightful water play. Nothing like the uncontrollable squeals of delight when the cold mountain water showers down.

Sharing with friends is fun. How many can we fit in a towel?

Beautiful Butterfly

There is so much always showing up and changing when the classroom is the magical world of Mother Nature.

Fresh Haybales!

The More We Get Together... Together... Together...

Teacher Ashley is traveling for July and she will be back with us for the Fall!

Musical Math

Music and movement fuels math early skills as we explore simple arithmetic while we have fun and create rhythm together.

Creating Shows with Friends and Makeup from Strawberries!

Watercolor is Not Just for Paper

Sweet Friends

See you next time!

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Flowers and Fae

5/23/2024

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“The earth laughs in flowers”
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

We have had an abundance of beautiful blooms in the garden this season!

Rose Petal Playdough

The kids loved making this lovely rose petal play dough!

2 cups plain flour
1/2 cup salt
2 tbps cream of tartar
1 cup hot water
3-4 drops glycerine
2 drops natural red food coloring
3 drops rose essential oil
2 tbps olive oil
Handful of fresh rose petals

Mix the flour, salt and cream of tartar in a bowl. Then stir through the oil. If using rose essential oil, add 1-2 drops at this stage, mixed into the oil to make it a carrier oil. This is important. Next, add the pink coloring to the hot water and add that to the dry ingredients slowly, mixing thoroughly as you go.
Wait a few moments until it has cooled down enough to touch, then turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead thoroughly for 2-3 minutes until it is no longer sticky. It will become wonderfully smooth and stretchy. Now add a few drops of glycerine and the fresh rose petals. All ready to play!

“Can you find your name?”

Faerie Minty Rose Tea Party

Rosa Cacao Ceremony

The kids measured out the rose petals and coconut milk, grated the cacao, and made a truly magical cacao to share! We didn't follow a recipe, we just intuitively added grated cacao to the coconut milk and rose petal tea until it tasted just right.

Garden Rose Water

- 2 cups fresh rose petals
- 2 cups distilled water
- 1/4 teaspoon glycerine
- fine sieve
- spray bottle

Pour the water into a pot, add the rose petals, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat so the water just simmers, and allow it to simmer for 10 minutes, or until the pigment is gone from the rose petals. Strain the water through a fine sieve, let cool, then pour into a spray bottle. Add a tiny bit of glycerine (if using) and shake well. Keep in the fridge or cool place and use frequently as a sacred water to cleanse and uplift your body or living space.

Kindness Celebration Pancakes

We filled up the Kindness Jar again. You know what that means?!? It's time to celebrate kindness again!!! Yay! This has been such a group effort, so many helpers cleaning up toys and helping little one up when they fall down, and sharing their toys and just a general air of kindness floating around.

So many seedlings!

More Flower Art!

Mother's Day Cards and Candles

We created some hand-made cards, necklaces, and beautiful beeswax candles lit by the Perpetual Flame in Kildare Ireland!

Plantain Herb Fairy

Making plantain balm and poultices

Lynx Slumberkin

Popcorn Party!

The Art of Listening

Muffin Math

So much mathematics in one simple recipe! The youngest are working on counting, the next on adding, and the oldest on estimating and multiplying.

IngredientsDry Ingredients

2 1/2 cups almond flour
1/3 cup arrowroot powder (can also use tapioca flour)
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

Wet Ingredients

3 eggs
1/3 cup maple syrup
1/3 cup coconut oil, melted (can use butter if not paleo)
1 tsp vanilla
2 tbsp lemon juice

Add-Ins

1 cup blueberries
1 tsp arrowroot powder

Instructions

Start by preheating the oven to 350f and coat a muffin pan with coconut oil.
In a large bowl, add the dry ingredients and whisk together to combine.
In another bowl, add the wet ingredients. (Just be sure the melted coconut oil isn't too hot or it will cook the eggs!)Whisk until you have one, cohesive mixture.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix just until combined. It will be a thick cake batter texture.
Before adding the blueberries to the mixture, toss them in 1 teaspoon of arrowroot powder to ensure they don't all sink to the bottom! One coated, mix into the batter.
Divide the batter between the 24 muffin cups and bake for 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean!

Science Experiments

Thank you lunch bunch helpers!

Garden Helpers planting Tulsi and strawberries!

Sweet Friends

See you next time!

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Spring Blessings

4/3/2024

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We had a Kindness Celebration!

We work together to fill our Kindness Jar with pom-poms! When some shows an extra level of loving kindness, helpfulness or generosity we offer them the opportunity to add pom-poms to the Kindness Jar. When we fill the jar all the way up we throw a Kindness Party to celebrate Kindness!
This time we made party hats, pizza and cupcakes! We even had some purple sparkling "Violet Soda" made from the violet flowers collected last month and made into a honey syrup.

Warm Weather Turns on the Water Table

Kids are learning to collaborate and exploring the effects of gravity and flow.

It's a Work Party - Because Sticks are Tools

We've been reminding kids when they play with sticks, they can be used as tools or magic wands. We reinforced this with providing some small people tools (brooms, shovels, and rakes) and they got to work right away!

We Love New Watercolor Day!

So fresh and so clean. It feels good to have all the colors just so in there little homes... but it doesn't stay that way for long. Watercolor is such a wonderful way for them to express themselves and make their mark - in any way they please.

Happy Full Moon! ~ Dogwoods are in Bloom!

Earth Day & Seed Starting

They really enjoyed planting weird, alien nasturtium seeds with Teacher Annalise for Earth Day. We enjoy getting our hands in the soil and tucking the little seedling away in it's bed to then, "Wake up! It's time to become a flower!"

The Barred Owl group has been working on their phenology journals, learning shapes in Spanish, and experiencing multiplication patterns in musical math.

Healthy Meals! Happy Bellies!

We strive to provide healthy, organic, well-balanced meals, often including salad and veggies from the garden that the kids help plant and pick, a warm soup on cold days, and delicious fresh fruit!

Lunch Bunch Helpers
Cooking helps kids learn to count, measure, to listen and follow directions. and to be patient. They love to pick from the garden and help prepare a meal together.

Carrot Ribbon Salad

We loved this delicious salad! We made carrot ribbons with a peeler then added garden cilantro, fresh lime juice, olive oil, honey, and a pinch of salt.

The Green Grass Grows All Around

We are so happy to welcome the green grass back to the big yard, all the songbirds in their nests, and the fresh bunny food from the garden. We have been singing the song "The Green Grass Grows All Around" during circle time and they are learning the hand motions!

And Thank You Parents for packing such Healthy Snacks!

Soon it will be Circle Time!

Circle time is a wonderful time for us to come together as a group and give everyone a chance to share what they are excited about, sing some songs and learn a lesson or two.

Wind Element & Quiet Play

We had some extreme weather changes in the beginning of the month. One day everyone is hot and we are splashing in the water table and the next a cold wind blows snow around. We spend most of our time outside, but when it's too cold and windy or raining hard, we will go into the classroom and have 'quiet play'. This is a great opportunity for everyone to practice there 'inside voices' and find a 'quiet activity. Here we made wind socks and played in the wind with them when we went to the big yard later.

New Spring Waterproof Shoes!

Many of the kids came back from Spring break excited to show us their new waterproof shoes. We love that for them! Dry feet are warm feet.

And full rain gear really helps on rainy days.

Hooray! New Playground Balls!

Because "It's Fun to Have Fun!"... we love new things, new flowers, new games, new stories and especially new toys!

See You Soon Iris!

Sometimes a teacher gets called away to other opportunities and it's always nice when we can acknowledge the love and care they shared with us. We had fun all making her a card, and we had a few helpers join us in the kitchen to make Iris some special muffins for her last day... she cried. She'll be back to visit soon!

Play Time!

Happy Planting! See you next time!

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Spring is Coming! Spring is Coming!

3/28/2024

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Spring is coming! Spring is coming
Birdies build your nest
Weave together
straw and feather
Doing each their best

Spring is coming! Spring is coming!
Flowers are coming too.
Pansies, lilies, daffodils
All are coming through.

Spring is coming! Spring is coming!
All around is fair
Shimmer glimmer on the river
Joy is everywhere!

Spring is coming! Spring is coming!
Love is in the air
Parent, child, sibling, neighbor
Show them all you care!

Spring Equinox Celebration

Such a lovely time together welcoming back the returning sun with our songs and flowers!

Learning Science Through Establishing a Food Forest
The kids have been planting trees and tree helpers around the property and learning about how magical legume (clovers, peas etc.) plants help regenerate soil fertility with nitrogen from the atmosphere! Last week the kids planted clover seeds and then covered them with a little compost. They are already spouting in our little heart shaped baby food forest!

Art & Creative Invitations

Watercolor has been a regular go to this watery, rainy season. We have been exploring different mediums to use the watery paint on such as : paper, coffee filters and even faces!

We have also had quite a bit of messy fun with clay - it got a little too dry, no problem we will just add water!

Nature Plates and Art Plates have been a fun frame for them to contain their creative expression, allowing them to get up-close-and-personal with the new buds and blossoms of spring and creating symmetrical and asymmetrical designs.

CIRCLE TIME!

In are circle time we have been focusing on conflict resolution practices and celebrating spring! Bringing out our puppet friends, Man and Gillie, to help find empathy when we are scared or shy or sad and how to respond with our words when someone does something we do like. Rhythm sticks have been a hit! They are eager to have a turn to share their own rhythm with the group. Teacher Annalise has been dancing with silks to Celebrate that Spring is Coming and Mica shares many special songs and stories that immediately capture the children's attention.

Music with Katrina and Mateo!

How blessed we are to have songwriting and musical math classes with the fine folks of The Freedom Family Band!

The Virtues Project

This month we are focusing on the virtue of forgiveness using a variety of resources for conflict resolution and social-emotional learning. At circle we have been talking about different ways to practice forgiveness and remembering that everyone makes mistakes. We learned from Quoia that "forgiveness is giving love to someone who was being mean". We have been putting a lot of emphasis on treating all our friends kindly and having fun "because it's fun to have fun!"

Affirmation: I am forgiving of other's and myself. I am willing to give and receive amends. I learn from my mistakes. I have the power to keep changing for the better.

Hammerhead the Slumberkin

Some messages from Hammerheads book:

1. It’s okay to be upset — it’s good to let it out.
2. I hear you — I’m here for you — I’ll stay with you.
3. It’s okay to feel how you feel. It is not okay to _________.”

We loved learning these Tools to Cool with this month's slumberkin!

Hammerhead Breaths: Lock your fingers together and place your hands behind
your head. Cross your feet and take a deep breath in and blow it out. Switch your feet, and breathe again. Put your feet together for your final breath.

Recycled Ocean Waves: Grab a piece of paper from the recycling bin. Rip the
paper into wavy strips. After each page, check to see if you’re feeling calm.

Starfish Breaths: Place your hand in front of you like a starfish. Trace the outline
of each of your fingers. When you trace up, breathe in. When you trace down,
breathe out.

Seaweed Squeeze: Wrap your arms around your shoulders and squeeze tight.
Then release. Count to five and release. Continue three times or until your body
starts to calm.

Shark Fin: Place your palms together in front of you with your elbow out to the sides, creating a “shark fin.” Push your palms together, then release. Continue three times or until your body starts to calm.

Yoga & Tea Time

It's amazing what some fresh cut flowers and a little background music can do to set the stage for a delightful morning of tea, animal cards and conversation. We drank the whole pot of warm tulsi-rose tea before on the chilly morning and then sat peacefully with some water color pencils for creative expression.

Yoga is part of most all of our circle time activities in some way, whether its a fun sing-song of 'Head-Shoulders-Knees-And-Toes' or some AcroYoga airplane, we like to laugh and have fun as much as possible - "because it's fun to have fun!" (This is our mantra)

Garden & Kitchen

Mary, Mary, quite contrary, How does your garden grow?

We like to take the kids to the garden to cut herbs for lunch or scatter seeds or just to check to see how the strawberry's are doing. They have also been starting seeds in pots for the garden and to take home to care for. Perhaps this summer we will have a three-sister's tee-pee with sunflowers and cherry tomatoes to snack on during hot summer days!

And one day, if Mother Nature wills it, we will have a giant Mulberry tree in the Big Yard to paint our feet and stuff our faces with that we just planted together.

Meet Viola Our Herb Fairy

Here are some of the yummy recipes we made with violets!

Cinnamon Coconut Apples

We love to make these for lunch. Simply add some cinnamon and shredded coconut to sliced apples and shake them up in a bag. Shaking them up can be a lot of fun and its a great way to pack sliced apples for a snack for later!

Math - Counting & Geometry

We've been counting by twos when we clean up our MagneTiles by playing MagneTile basketball, appreciating all those who help! "2, 4, 6, 8 - who do we appreciate? Ella, and Cedar, Junie and Gillie, Asa and Laurie! Yay!

MagneTiles are also a great place for them to learn geometry and architecture - they sure do create so amazing structures!

Science

It may look like a messy poster board, but it became a collaborative art and science project that unfolded over days, helping them learn how layering can create art and using the theme of composting in the garden to provide a teaching moment.
First, we painted compost on our community art /science project and we talked about what goes in the compost. Then, when the Worm Moon arrived (March 11th) we painted the compost with worms (cooked pasta) and brown paint. We discussed how the worms turn the compost into soil. Finally, we added green plants and flowers to our garden and sang, "The Green Grass Grows All Around".

Play Time!

There is no shortage of that here at the Children's Garden. This is perhaps the most important part of our day, where so much experimentation and learning happens. Learn how to run, climb, jump, catch and also how to make friends, negotiate, have patience, share, and come up with wild imaginative ideas that keep us all having fun, because, say it with me, "It's fun to have fun!" and the most learning happens when we are having fun!

See you next time!

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Connected and Loved

2/17/2024

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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!

The Barred Owls took turns sharing their home family's cultures and traditions with the group.

Then we made a made a Children's Garden heart family poster where all the groups contributed!

The Virtues Project

This season we have been focusing on the virtue of LOVE with the fine folks from the Virtues Project.

At circle time we have been talking all about love!

What would love look like if...

You start to get upset with yourself about something you have done?

You want to do something thoughtful when your parent is sick?

Another child is acting cranky?

A baby bird has fallen from it's nest?

What are some signs that you are practicing love...

You treat others as you would want them to treat you.

Saying kind and loving things.

Thinking loving thoughts.

Taking good care of the things you love.

Valentines!

A big thank you to Mama Hannah for handcrafting these lovely hearts for us to make art, cards, and decorations with!

Chickweed!

Lady Chickweed has been a flourishing volunteer plant in the garden! Such a kid friendly herb with it's tiny flowers and mild taste.

We've started another season with the herb fairies to learn more about chickweed and all her healing and nutritious gifts. When the kids listen to the story and color in all her leaves and flowers it's really easy for them to identify it in the garden and forest!

World Culture

This season we have been learning about Japan, China, and Southeast Asia.

Mochi Math!

If we have 6 bars of mochi and we cut each bar into 8 pieces how many pieces of mochi will we have?

48! 6 x 8 is 48!

Fresh baked mochi is so yummy drizzled with honey and sprinkled with cinnamon.

Ancient Asia Collage

Tangram Puzzles

Lunar New Year

Musical Math

Birthday Muffins

Ingredients:

1 cup cooked and mashed beets
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 dark chocolate chips
1 tsp coconut oil for coating muffin pan

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and coat muffin pan with coconut oil
Add all of the muffin ingredients, except the chocolate chips and coconut oil, and mix well.
Add in the chocolate chips and mix the batter lightly.
Scoop the batter into the coated muffin pan, filling each slot just over half way full.
Place the muffins in preheated oven and bake at 350 degrees for 20-22 minutes.
After baking, cool the muffins for a few minutes in the pan, then transfer them to a wire cooling rack.

Science Experiments

In the Garden

We have been planting lots of seeds and harvesting herbs for our magic soup!

Spanish Class

Yoga

Sweet Friends!

See you next time!

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How to talk so kids will listen...

1/31/2024

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"How to Talk So Kids Will Listen & Listen So Kids Will Talk" by Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish is one of our all time favorite books that provides practical communication strategies for building positive relationships with children.

Here are 10 lessons from the book:

1. Acknowledge Feelings: Encourage open communication by acknowledging and validating your child's feelings. When children feel heard and understood, it creates a foundation for positive interaction.

2. Avoid Denial of Feelings: Instead of dismissing a child's emotions, the book advises acknowledging and accepting their feelings. Denying feelings can lead to frustration and communication breakdowns.

3. Give Information in Manageable Parts: Break down information into manageable parts to help children better understand and process. This approach can make instructions or explanations more accessible and effective.

4. Use Alternatives to Punishment: The book advocates for using alternatives to punishment, such as acknowledging feelings, offering choices, and problem-solving together. This helps children learn from their experiences without feeling punitive.

5. Offer Choices: Providing children with choices empowers them and encourages a sense of autonomy. It also helps prevent power struggles and fosters cooperation.

6. Describe, Don't Label: Instead of labeling a child with negative terms, describe their behavior or actions. This approach helps avoid a defensive reaction and encourages positive change.

7. Use "I" Statements: Express your own feelings and needs using "I" statements. This helps prevent blaming and fosters a collaborative atmosphere where both parent and child can share their perspectives.

8. Encourage Autonomy: Support your child's growing independence by giving them opportunities to make decisions and solve problems. This builds their confidence and decision-making skills.

9. Engage in Active Listening: Practice active listening by fully focusing on what your child is saying without interrupting. This demonstrates respect and encourages children to share their thoughts and feelings more openly.

10. Problem-Solve Together: Instead of imposing solutions, involve children in the problem-solving process. Collaborative problem-solving teaches valuable skills and helps children feel more in control of their lives.

These lessons from "How to Talk So Kids Will Listen & Listen So Kids Will Talk" provide a foundation for effective and respectful communication between parents and children. Applying these principles can contribute to building positive relationships and fostering a supportive family environment.

You can also get the audio book for FREE using the link below. Use the link to register for the audio book on Audible ot have a listen:
https://amzn.to/3SwiOZ3

Stay tuned for more pics and projects soon!

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The Shapes All Around Us

12/31/2023

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"I found I could say things with color and shape I couldn't say any other way."
Georgia O'Keefe

Shapes help children identify and arrange visual information. By exploring and playing with shapes, children learn to make connections, notice patterns, and make sense of signs and symbols.

Knowledge of basic shapes may be connected to the following learning techniques:

-Describe objects based on attributes
-Group objects that are alike
-Sort and classify objects
-Identify sequence/patterns
-Complete patterns
-Reproduce and extend pattern
-Create own patterns
-Tell the quantity of objects (counting)
-Practice one-to-one correspondence

Investigating, Building, Playing!

Exploring Shapes Through Art

Shape Puzzles

Sacred Geometry

Snowflake Matching

Snowflake Science Experiment

This activity helps develop children's motor skills while teaching about symmetry and exposing them to paper chromatography!

Step 1: Take a coffee filter and fold it in 1/2

Step 2: Fold it in 1/2 again

Step 3: Then fold it again in 1/3

Step 4: Cut out various shapes.

Step 5: Then we get to the fun part: Watching the paint travel up our snowflake!

Here's the finished product!

The Magically Hidden Snowflake

Wax resist painting reveals a beautiful snowflake!

Acorn Pom Poms

A quick and simple way to use your abundance of acorn tops! Tie them up and you got a festive, simple, decoration for the holidays!

Exploring Nature's Textures

Circle Time Ball Game

No matter the topic whether it be saying our names, different animals or various other topics this is a great way to get the kids all together to practice public speaking, critical thinking, and motor skills! All you gotta do is say your part, pass the ball, and receive!

Thank you Lunch Bunch Helpers!

Walnut Currant Cookies

Ingredients

1 egg
2 tbsp melted coconut oil or butter
1/3 cup honey
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups almond flour
2/3 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/3 cup currants
1/4 cup chopped walnuts

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit
In a mixing bowl combine the egg, butter, honey and vanilla extract and beat well until the mixture becomes light and frothy
Add in the almond flour, baking soda and shredded coconut and stir to combine then add in currants and walnuts
Form the dough into balls approx 1 inch in size and place on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Press on the dough to flatten each ball
Bake for 10-12 minutes until golden
Remove from the oven and serve.

Winter Solstice Celebration

Sweet Friends!

See You Next Time!

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Walk in Peace, Live in Harmony

11/30/2023

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"Peace is what every human being is craving for, and it can be brought about by humanity through the child"
-Maria Montessori

In times of uncertainty, teaching peace to children becomes a vital and compassionate mission. Often, children might have heard about peace but may not fully grasp its meaning.

By instilling values like understanding, tolerance, and conflict resolution, we provide children with essential tools to navigate the complexities of a world marked by conflict.

While Maria Montessori's influence on the Children's Garden curriculum is broad, there is a distinct focus on her work with Peace Education. Her approach emphasizes instilling a sense of global citizenship and fostering values that contribute to a cooperative world.

Montessori's philosophy views peace as more than just the absence of conflict but the presence of justice, empathy, and understanding. She believed in nurturing children's innate kindness and cooperation through practical activities that encourage collaboration and community building. Montessori's vision aims to empower children as ambassadors of peace for a more compassionate and interconnected global society.

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

Peace manifests in various forms and layers, prompting a contemplation of its nature and practical implementation. Delving into how peace can be practiced involves examining potential applications. The Peace Flower diagram gives a simple and clear plan for teachers and parents to follow.

Self Awareness - An awareness of how we are thinking, feeling, and behaving. It means being mindful about thoughts, words, and actions.

Community Awareness - An awareness of other people in the community and the nature of relationships we have with people, especially people with whom we interact every day. Community radiates out from each individual to include family, other students, teachers, school staff, neighbors, shopkeepers, etc.

Environmental Awareness - An awareness of what the earth needs to stay healthy and how individuals, communities, and cultures treat the earth.

Cultural Awareness - An awareness and appreciation of the differences in people’s attitudes, beliefs, practices, customs, and social behavior.

In Early Childhood, we spend a significant amount of time on the first petal of Self Awareness. We want to help identify and name all of the various feelings the child will have, and help them know that all feelings are okay and give them tools to process their feelings in a healthy way. Continuing to move outward, we want to show them what appropriate actions they can do with these feelings. We then want the child to begin to contemplate and meditate upon their actions before they are performed.

While concentrating on the first petal of self awareness, our overall goal is to help the child move from a less egocentric state to one of community, environmental, and ultimately cultural awareness.

Peace Flowers

An indigenous practice that we utilize everyday is holding a talking circle. They are a great way to bring everyone together to ground, take deep breaths, sing, listen, learn and share – which is also the foundation for a peace circle. Utilizing our Peace Flowers we help children feel more comfortable speaking and sharing while teaching how to actively listen.

First, we pick our colors and fold our paper back and forth, accordion style!

Then, wrap the pipe cleaner steam around the middle.

Lastly, carefully separate each layer of tissue paper and give your flower a good squishing to help it hold shape.

(Optional: You can trim the edges so the ends are rounded before separating)

The Peace Flower method of problem solving allows children to recognize and express their own feelings as well as learn respect for the other child’s feelings.

A basket containing the peace flower is made available to the children at all times. When a conflict arises one child will get the Peace Flower. While holding the Peace Flower the child can express what they did not like or how they feel to the other child. When they are done they pass the flower to the other child.

Respect for the other persons turn to talk is stressed. The children are encouraged to use “I” words such as “I didn’t like it when you hit me”. We use kind language when holding the Peace Flower.

When the two children reach a solution or simply get over their difficulty they put their hands on the flower and say, ‘we declare peace’, or ‘friends’.

Spreading Peace through Symbolic Art!

Peace Poster

Peace on Earth Plates!

Picasso's Peace Doves

This heartfelt tale brings to life the cherished symbol of global harmony—the dove—while also introducing young children to the renowned artist Pablo Picasso

We created our own doves of peace with water colors and a print of Picasso's - The Dove of Peace.

Breathing Beads

Whenever life gets tough the first thing we can do to center ourselves is BREATHE.
These breathing beads help you slow down and keep track!
We start with coloring our popsicle stick.

Then we thread beads onto our pipe cleaner.

Next we tape our beaded pipe cleaner to the popsicle stick.

The finished product:

Now we're off to counting our breathing!

Peace Yoga

Great activity to get kids moving, breathing, and being at peace!

We had a conversations about what it looks like to be peaceful. Here were some of the kids responses:

-"Taking deep breaths"
-"Getting a hug from someone"
-"Playing kindly"
-"Someone sharing with you and you sharing back"
-"Letting someone borrow a toy"

Peace Books

A lovely mindfulness meditation!

Parachute Cooperation

The synchronized opening of our group parachute shows the strength that arises when everyone comes together. By working in tandem to all lift the parachute the kids are being exposed to harmonious collaboration. This fosters a sense of community awareness, understanding and unity.

Moments for Gratitude

"Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow." - Melody Beattie

For circle time, we each took turns drawing a straw and using the correspondent color to express our thanks.

For our gratitude turkey, we envisioned each "feather" with what we were thankful for, writing out our messages of joy, and placing them inside our turkey as a token of our gratitude.

Students were prompted with "I'm grateful for..." and here were some of their responses:
-"Momma"
-"The sun"
-"My puppy"
-"Plants from the garden"
-"My warm bed"

Thank you Lunch Bunch Helpers!

Alphabet Scavenger Hunt

Oh the suspense of waiting for the hunt to begin! We had to close our eyes while all the letters were hidden away.
It was a blast thinking up all the people, places and things that corresponded with each letter.
Extra special if you could find the letter in your name!

Drumming, Shaking, and Singing along!

Story Time with Mica Sun

Mica effortlessly blends music into his story telling. Can't help but want to sing and dance along!

Sweet Banana Squash

A simple delicious recipe especially when you have a surplus of squash and don't know what to do with it!

Ingredients:

1 medium banana squash, scooped out and cut to bite size
2 TBS olive oil
1/3 cup of honey
pinch of salt
1 tsp of cinnamon (saving some to sprinkle on after it cooks!)

This recipe can be done easily (and mess-free) in a plastic bag. Just throw all the ingredients in give it a good shake, set the oven to 450, and cook for 15 minutes!

Kid approved!

Sweet Friends!

See you Next Time!

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In Love with Leaves

10/12/2023

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"There is no season when such pleasant and sunny spots may be lighted on, and produce so pleasant an effect on the feelings, as now in October."
-Nathaniel Hawthorne

Inquiry-Based Learning

Here at Children's Garden, we love to practice inquiry-based learning!

In traditional early childhood classrooms, children are offered many pre-determined activities, with “right” and “wrong” ways of completing them.

In inquiry-based learning the children wonder and ask questions. The educator takes into consideration the children’s interests when planning activities. An investigation is started when a group of children have a persisting interest and the educators create play invitations where the children explore, experiment and test their ideas.

A play invitation is an open-ended exploration. There is no predetermined outcome. The children may use the play invitation the way the educator envisioned – or take the materials and use them in entirely different ways.

In a play invitation, the children are not bound by the constraints of the materials they are offered. Instead, a play invitation acts as a launch pad for children’s own ideas and theories to develop.

Curious to learn more about inquiry-based learning? Check out the wealth of research and free trainings at Edutopia!

Exploring Leaves

The theme that emerged for our month of October was "In Love With Leaves." From our silver and red maple trees dropping yellow, orange, and red leaves all over, to the crisp, chilly mornings, we all appreciated the gentle glow this time of year brought to the Children's Garden.

Leaves are nature's treasures, and they hold a world of wonder waiting to be discovered. Think about the joy and curiosity a child experiences when they find a vibrant leaf on the ground or notice the changing colors of trees in the fall.

Together we pondered many questions and offered play invitations and activities around all the lovely leaves in the garden!

Why do leaves fall from the trees?
Why do some leaves have different shapes and sizes?
Why are some leaves smooth and some bumpy?
Why do leaves crunch when we step on them?
How do leaves know it's time to change colors?

Circle Time

This month, we began singing a few new songs and playing some new games during circle time! We marched, galloped, jumped, and stomped around a pumpkin, while also passing the pumpkin around and saying our name and one thing we're grateful/excited for this season.

Art

Gardening & Cooking

This month, we picked lots of tomatoes, herbs, and greens from the garden with with the kids for our magic soup and also got really into baking!

Coconut Cookies

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

⅓ cup / 50g coconut flour
⅓ cup / 75g butter or coconut oil softened
2 eggs large
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 tablespoon coconut sugar.

Instructions

Pre-heat the oven to 180 Celsius / 350 Fahrenheit.
Add all ingredients to a mixing bowl. Stir together with a fork.
Knead with your hands until you have a smooth dough. Let is rest for a few minutes to let the coconut flour expand. Then form a large ball. (If your dough is too soft for this, place the bowl in the fridge for 15-20 minutes first).
Cut the large ball into 16 pieces and roll into little dough balls. Place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and press down with the palm of your hand into fat discs of circa 4 cm diameter (1.5 cm thick).
Bake in the oven for about 11-13 minutes or until golden.

Ultra Chocolatey Brownies

Ingredients:

½ cup coconut melted
½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
¾ cup coconut sugar
3 large eggs for cakier or 2 eggs for fudgier
2 teaspoons chocolate, or vanilla extract
½ cup Coconut Flour
¼ teaspoon salt

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 325°F.
Lightly grease an 8-inch square baking pan with coconut oil. Line with parchment paper (or baking paper); set aside.
In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the melted coconut oil, cocoa powder and sugar for about a minute.
Add the eggs and extract using a wooden spoon or spatula.
Add in flour and salt and mix into the wet ingredients until combined.
Pour batter into prepared pan, smoothing the top out evenly.
Top with chocolate chips, or other add-ins if you wish.
Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the center of the brownies in the pan no longer jiggles and is just set to the touch. NOTE: The brownies will keep baking in the hot pan out of the oven so you don't want to over-bake.
If testing with a toothpick, the toothpick should come out dirty for fudge-textured brownies. Remove and allow to cool to room temperature.
Makes 9-16 brownies depending how you big you cut them.

Double Chocolate Chip Muffins

Ingredients:

½ cup Coconut flour
½ cup Sugar--2e did 1/4 cup monk fruit sweetener & 1/4 cup coconut sugar
2 Eggs
1 cup almond milk
½ tsp Baking soda
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
¼ cup Cocoa powder
2 tbsp Coconut Oil
½ cup Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips
Salt a pinch

Directions:

Preheat oven to 180 degree C. Line 12 cup muffin pan with cupcake liners and set aside.
If you are using butter, melt it and set aside to cool.
Take eggs, sugar, vanilla, coconut oil in a bowl. Whisk till combined.
Add milk and mix well.
Add in coconut flour, cocoa powder, baking soda. Mix well.
If the batter is too thick, add some extra almond milk and adjust the batter consistency.
Add in chocolate chips and mix gently.
Use an ice cream scoop to fill your muffin liners. I would fill it ¾th of the liners.
Pop it into the oven, bake for 15 to 20 mins.
Remove and cool completely.

Yoga

We love playing with yoga cards! Check out our Lion's Breath, Peacock Pose, and Peace Warriors!

Social Emotional Learning

Everyday at snack we read books to boost our emotional intelligence!

Spanish

We have been loving our Spanish classes with Mama Annalise!

Music

Spelling our names with the beat of the drum and learning about harmonizing notes with the harmonium!

Science & Math

We foraged for berries and tree bark to dye cotton muslin. After adding a base (baking soda) and an acid (lemon juice) to each dye, the color amazingly changed!

Tree nut identification! Playing "What doesn't belong?" to build our critical thinking and mathematical skills!

Learning the basics of telling time!

Math notebook to show our thinking just finished!

Sweet Friends

See you next time!

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Happy September

9/15/2023

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"By all these lovely tokens, September days are here. With summer's best of weather and autumn's best of cheer." -Helen Hunt Jackson

We had a wonderful time this month transitioning from the end of summer into the start of fall. Here's just a glimpse!

Science of Soap

Soap has so many possibilities. From bubbles, to making art with them, the kids loved getting into soap while the weather was still warm. They enjoyed blowing colorful bubbles with their own pipe cleaner bubble wands. They also made art with those bubbles, and their foam prints were incredibly vibrant and had a really cool texture and pattern!
Below is the result of our "Magic Milk" experiment. The kids answered the question: "What happens when soap is added to a dish of milk and 4 separate food colors?"

More Science!

We learn math through science: children counted the number of water droplets from a pipette that a penny could hold!

Art

From collages, to finger painting, to gluing feathers and leaves, to stencils and stamps, to watercolor painting, to making clay prints with shells and wooden design rollers, the kids are always welcomed to a new project every day.

Cooking

Purple Pickles

The kids did a great job helping us make sauerkraut ("Purple Pickles"). While the kids were pressing the cabbage down for our kraut, we all counted to 10 for each kids turn!

Pear Butter

We had such an abundant pear harvest this year from our pear trees. The kids loved chopping pears freshly picked for pear butter.

Magic Soup

The kids had a great time scooping out seeds from our garden squash for our soup, and tearing garden kale for our "Magic Soup" as well! It's amazing how many kids love eating our soup!

Literacy

Dot paints are a great way for the kids to practice letters and counting all in one.

Math

Children are natural scientists and mathematicians, simply learning as they move through and explore their world. In fact, research shows that early introduction of structured math lessons can interfere with proper brain and concept development. Nature and play-based childhood environments are rich with opportunities for developing knowledge of math concepts! These concepts are accumulated and constructed through the child's own experiences and physical understanding of the world. This knowledge develops through the manipulation of tangible materials, including the children's physical bodies, collection of 'data,' and organization of that 'data' in a way that makes sense.

Ordering, Seriation, and Patterning - Singing daily, weekly, or yearly rhythms. Seasonal festivals. Circle games! Story-telling, poetry, or verses using the rhythm of language. Using rhythmic clapping. During play, lining up cars, blocks, or trains in order of size, color, or weight. Stacking toys. Putting toys away into their places after playtime. Experimenting freely with materials to create a pattern.

The kids love experimenting with balance, counting, and physics by making obstacle courses and all sorts of shapes and structures with both magnet tiles and rainbow blocks!

Sweet Friends

The smiles, curiosity, and laughter are endless!

Gardening

As our summer garden transitions into fall garden, the kids and our bunnies are amazed by our giant collard greens. Every week, kids are also invited into the garden to help us harvest some of our food for lunch. Featured here: giant magic green beans! The kids learned how to open the green beans and eat the beans from inside them.

Snack & Lunch

We invite kids to take part in the preparing process of their food by giving them spoons to spread dollops of hummus, homemade pear butter, and more on their sandwich bread and rice cakes! We also love to read the kids social emotional learning books during snack, and singing to our garden during both snack and lunch!

Equinox Party

"Autumn leaves don't fall, they fly. They take their time and wander on their chance to soar." --Delia Owens

Happy Equinox--the first day of the season of Autumn! We threw a lovely equinox party, where parents brought yummy food to share, Jacqueline painted amazing faces on kids, and we hung our wishes for the fall season on our maple tree. It was so wonderful to have parents and their children come together for a celebration!

See you next time!

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Forward>>

We Made a Space Ship!

We've Been Learning About Planets

Learning about Stars and Shooting Stars

Constellation Concentration

Outer Space Curiosities

Collaging Rockets

Rocket Puppets

And Launching Rockets!

Galactic Filaments! Far Out Dude!

Morna's Feeling Better!

The Garden is Poppin!

Lunch Bunch Helpers

Blueberry Mooncakes

Squeals of Delight

Beautiful Butterfly

Fresh Haybales!

The More We Get Together... Together... Together...

Musical Math

Creating Shows with Friends and Makeup from Strawberries!

Watercolor is Not Just for Paper

Sweet Friends

See you next time!

Kindness Celebration Pancakes

So many seedlings!

We had a Kindness Celebration!

Warm Weather Turns on the Water Table

It's a Work Party - Because Sticks are Tools

We Love New Watercolor Day!

Happy Full Moon! ~ Dogwoods are in Bloom!

Earth Day & Seed Starting

Healthy Meals! Happy Bellies!

The Green Grass Grows All Around

Soon it will be Circle Time!

Wind Element & Quiet Play

New Spring Waterproof Shoes!

Hooray! New Playground Balls!

See You Soon Iris!

Play Time!

Happy Planting! See you next time!

Garden & Kitchen

Investigating, Building, Playing!

Exploring Shapes Through Art

Snowflake Matching

Snowflake Science Experiment

The Magically Hidden Snowflake

​Acorn Pom Poms

Circle Time Ball Game

Thank you Lunch Bunch Helpers!

​Walnut Currant Cookies

Winter Solstice Celebration

Sweet Friends!

See You Next Time!

Spreading Peace through Symbolic Art!

Picasso's Peace Doves

Breathing Beads

Peace Yoga

Peace Books

Parachute Cooperation

Moments for Gratitude

Thank you Lunch Bunch Helpers!

Alphabet Scavenger Hunt

Drumming, Shaking, and Singing along!

Story Time with Mica Sun

Sweet Banana Squash

Sweet Friends!

See you Next Time!

Inquiry-Based Learning

Exploring Leaves

Circle Time

Art

Gardening & Cooking

Yoga

​Social Emotional Learning

Spanish

Music

Science & Math

Sweet Friends

​Science of Soap

More Science!

Art

Acorn Pom Poms

Walnut Currant Cookies

Social Emotional Learning

Science of Soap