Kids LOVE to play house! As we observed the kids' natural play and interests, a hands-on literacy theme emerged through art projects, oral storytelling, block building, dramatic play, classic fairy tales, cultural and global learning, songwriting, yoga storytelling and more! ​

​Hands-on language arts experiences provide a deeper meaning to words and bring a presence of aliveness to literacy. Research shows that when children are engaged in activities that include many senses it activates multiple areas of the brain and they are more likely to integrate and retain information. 

We are very inspired by the work of Howard Gardner and his Multiple Intelligences Theory. These 9 types of intelligences are doorways into learning. Check out Gardner's diagram below and how it reflects in our projects this month, which lay the foundation of higher order thinking and create a living literacy that touches the children holistically - emotionally, cognitively, and kinesthetically.

Can you make a picture of your house?
What does your house look like?
What shapes are in your house?
What colors are your house?
What materials are your house made of?

Learning to write our names is a springboard for literacy learning!

Tape-resist houses

​Geoboard houses

Making cube and pyramid houses with play-dough and popsicle sticks...

... or thinking outside the box and making a new unique design!

Lincoln Log houses

Sand castle houses - sand  is a wonderful sensory medium to build and create with!

Big block houses

Cardboard boxes, blankets, and scarfs make a fun house fort!

We didn't use a book for the classic fairy tale of the Three Little Pigs this time - instead we enjoyed listening to the story with words alone. This engages the imagination and helps to build the auditory processing system.

After hearing the story the kids created the different houses from the story with play dough, rocks, straw, and sticks with pig puppets. 

We made fairy houses and then played "Pass the Story" an interactive group storytelling game in which one person starts a story and then passes the story to the next person in the circle to continue it.

(Check out the young reader in the book nook below!)

Roxaboxen is a classic and true story of some very imaginative children who create whole worlds out of what they find around  them - mostly rocks and boxes.

The ACG kids created their own world too with rocks and boxes! They created toy stores, ice cream shops, a doctor's office, and a neighborhood of homes.

Welcome to Main St in Box Town with chocolate ice cream for sale, a pet store, and grandma's house!

We read some great books about different kinds of houses around the world and then made model houses out of similar materials:

Mud 'adobe' houses in Mexico!

Thatched roofs in Brazil!

Garden houses in Indonesia!

Apartment buildings in Hong Kong!

As the kids created buildings and apartments, then cities followed... we talked about different characters that might live there and made up stories about big city life!

We created our own cardboard city!`The older kids loved using the hot glue gun to create a whole skyline out of painted recycled cardboard shapes.

Our storytelling continued through telling stories about our homes and families with songwriting and a thumb piano. The kids had so much fun with this!

Once upon a time in the jungle - a yoga storytelling adventure - in English and Spanish!

Such a sweet gentle scene of children playing house, preparing tea and food, and serving each other in one of our house play areas:

This month we did lots of experiments, one of our favorites was an actual volcano eruption in the sandbox!

Broccoli is bountiful right now!

Red chard!
​"I like it!"

Lemon balm is a favorite herb with the kids.

It's asparagus season! We had some first time tasters :)

Wet ingredients:

• 1 cup mashed ripe banana (about 2-3 bananas)
• 1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk (or coconut milk)
• 2 tablespoons flaxseed meal
• ¼ cup creamy natural almond butter (or sub cashew butter or peanut butter)
• 1 tablespoon coconut oil, melted and cooled
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Dry ingredients:

• 1 cup fine blanched almond flour (or hazelnut flour)
• ¼ cup coconut flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a mini muffin tin with 9 muffin with coconut oil cooking spray.
2. In a large bowl, mix together mashed banana, almond milk, flaxseed meal, almond butter, coconut oil and vanilla extract until smooth and well combined.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the almond flour, coconut flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix well combined. Scoop batter evenly into the muffin pan. Bake for 18-20 minutes.

See you next time!

​     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. 

     Here are some simple ways to help children develop math concepts through natural play! See throughout our blog how we used some of these play-based, open-ended provocations and art activities at our school this month. 

Sorting and classifying - Sorting laundry, buttons, seeds, carrots from potatoes, spoons from forks, or toy cars from trucks. Grouping objects by color, use, or size. Collecting autumn leaves, stones, or seashells.

Comparing - "The Three Billy Goats Gruff" or "The Three Bears". Which item is bigger or taller than...? Smaller or shorter? Is this heavy or light? Finding differences in color, taste, smell, or temperature. Speech variation in storytelling or nursery rhymes. Does an object sink or float? Which is loud and which is quiet? Hard or soft? The contrast of rest and movement can become the foundation for music!

Counting - How many carrots do we need so that each rabbit will get one? How many pretzels are on the plate? Singing songs such as "Five Little Ducks", "This Old Man", or "Baa Baa Black Sheep". Verses such as “1,2,3,4,5 Once I Caught a Fish Alive”, “I Have Ten Little Fingers”, or “One, Two, Buckle My Shoe”.

Parts and Wholes - Slicing a loaf of bread, cutting apples in half, chopping vegetables for meals, cutting pizza into slices. Playing the game "The Farmer In The Dell" in which part of the group goes into the center and part stays in an outside circle. Activities such as peeling potatoes, cookies, grinding wheat, rolling oats, or acting out stories.

Language - Communication during work or play, describing ideas or observations, and naming activities. Using cooperative-play discussions among children. Telling stories, verses, or nursery rhymes.

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 such as tissue-paper 'stained glass' or stringing beads. 

Informal Measurement: Weight, Length, Temperature, Volume, Time, Sequence - Measuring ingredients for cooking and baking. Filling the bird feeder or pouring tea. Making growth charts. Is it hot or cold outside? Digging in sand and filling buckets. Pouring water at a water table or in the bath. Playing on a teeter-totter or using a balance scale. Who or what is heavier? Planting seeds and watching the seedlings grow. Dipping candles or ironing. Sequential stories and nursery rhymes such as “The Gingerbread Boy”, “Hickory Dickory Dock”, “Little Louse and Little Flea”, “Henny Penny”, “Jack and Jill”, “Little Jack Horner”, or “Brown Bear, Brown Bear”.

Graphing - Using a daily chore lists. Creating growth charts. Using a advent or birthday calendar. Making pictorial 'graphs', such as drawing pictures of what came to the bird feeder today.


For older children, consider these:

Number Symbols - Practicing recognizing number symbols. Using numerals to represent the amount of a group of things. "I am 6 years old." or "My phone number is...."

Groups and Symbols - Matching a symbol to a group or a group to a symbol. Playing with fake money or using a group of objects to represent 'money'. Pretend shopping, 'buying' things based on 'price'. In a sandbox, creating a 'birthday cake', putting 6 'candles' on it, or perhaps even writing '6' on it.

Concrete Addition and Subtraction - A child has 2 seashells and finds 2 more - 2 and 2 make 4. Giving away 2 seashells to a friend leaves 2. Using 'bartering' play. Handing out party favors to friends at a party. Collecting and using tokens in a game.

Each day at Austin Children's Garden, the wheel is 're-invented', in multiple ways. All physical laws are worked with unconsciously in play, as children test and discover new ways of working with the physical world around them. It  is an exciting and innovative 'flow'  environment, where every idea is 'possible' and each child is an inventor. The enormous 'research' of early childhood in play and movement forms the essential physical basis for math and science.

For a wealth of scientific research on these concepts check out Developmental Signatures.

How many dots can you fit on your popsicle stick?

How many dots do we count on the dice?

Counting match-up puzzles

Counting with play-do

Bracelet making with color patterns

Design your own pattern!

We can even see patterns in nature!

Who takes more blocks to trace? Who takes less?

Who is taller?

Which is longest?

Matchstick shapes - what shapes can we make with putting straight lines together?

Shape collages

Drawing and painting shapes

Shape puzzles

Rectangles!

Circles!

Triangles!

Squares!

First, we make the shapes using our hand or cookie cutters.

Next, we press the shapes onto the candle.

Finally, we melt the shapes on using warm air.

Ta-da!!

Beeswax candles make beautiful gifts!

First we fold a coffee filter in half....

Next, we cut out geometric shapes and unfold to see what happens.

Finally, we paint our snowflakes!

Ta-da!!

"I made a triangle!"

Sculpture building - inside and out!

Counting with music

Did you know that our body has 13 MILLION cells in it? Here's a great yoga song to sing about our Every Little Cell! Check out the moves on this link to practice at home.

These cookies were a hit at our Winter Potluck! Such a nutritious and fun way to explore measuring, counting, volume...

Mix together:

1 and 1/4 cups almond flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons softened butter
1/3 cup almond butter (no salt)
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons coconut sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup raisins

Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes or until edges look golden.

See you next time!

"Piglet noticed that even though he had a Very Small Heart, it could hold a rather large amount of Gratitude.” - ​AA Milne, Winnie the Pooh

There ​are many studies that show the benefits of incorporating a gratitude practice into children's lives (and their caretakers!). Scientific research shows that people who make noticing, feeling, and expressing gratitude a part of their daily routine experience many helpful results: improved emotional intelligence, better sleep, high self esteem, positive mental health, healthier relationships, and a stronger immune system to name a few.

Here are 7 tips to help develop a healthy gratitude practice in your family:

Modeling Gratitude - By noticing, appreciating, and using descriptive language to express what we feel grateful for we are helping to create fertile ground for gratitude to flourish. As teachers we are very aware to model gratitude by noticing and appreciating the little humans around us as well as our environment and the wonders of the natural world. By using vivid descriptive language that emphasizes the positive we are supporting a rich vocabulary and reinforcing that the world is a good place. What you focus on grows.

Gratitude Rituals - At ACG we incorporate daily rituals that focus on gratitude. We sing a gratitude song before we eat together and share what we are grateful for while we are eating. At the end of our day.we share something that we especially liked about our day. We also have a kindness jar that the children or teachers add pom poms to when we notice another child being helpful or kind. At home families can express gratitude at dinner or before bedtime. Writing thank you cards is a wonderful gratitude activity - even younger kids can make a drawing and learn the art of expressing thanks.

Gratitude Games - Make gratitude fun and play games that reinforce an attitude of gratitude - see some of our examples below.

Gratitude Journals - Keeping a gratitude journal is a powerful tool to create more awareness of our blessings and express gratitude - below we have detailed suggestions on ways to keep a gratitude journal with children.

Being Helpful and Making a Contribution - Involving children in the work that goes into daily living helps them to better understand why gratitude is important. At home young children can:

• Set and clear the table.
• Dust the furniture.
• Feed pets.
• Pick up toys.
• Help to cook meals.
• Carry in some groceries.
• Mop areas with help.

At ACG the children help to take care of our garden, tidy up our environment, and prepare healthy food together. We love to see their self esteem blossom as they make a contribution.

Read Books About Gratitude - Kids learn so much from stories and picture books. Selecting books that focus on expressing thanks helps to support a thriving gratitude practice. We love "The Thank You Book" by Mo Willems, "All the World" by Liz Garton Scanlon, and "Bear Says Thanks" by Karma Wilson.

Saying "No" Sometimes - By resisting the urge to give children everything they want all the time or everything we wanted when we were children we avoid creating a sense of entitlement and teach our children to appreciate the times we say "yes".

Here  are some fun ways we practiced gratitude at ACG this month:

A classic dice game with a gratitude twist. When kids actually help to make the game they are even more excited to play it!

​Say What You Love is another fun gratitude game we often play together to inspire  kids  to focus on what they are grateful for - some kids will get really enthusiastic with their heartfelt appreciation: " I love ice cream! I love the moon! I love dragons! I love coloring! I love my toys! I love hugs! I love swimming..." Their joyful expression is contagious!

Older children may enjoy a journal with written prompts. My son and I really enjoy doing this Thankful Unicorn journal before bed. It only takes us 5 minutes and it is such a sweet bonding activity to do it together :)

This soup is perfect for the chilly weather and a great way to consider what goes into the food we eat. So much to be grateful for!

Ingredients:

• 2 carrots, chopped 1/2 moons
• 1 delicata squash, de-seeded, chopped small cubes
• 1 sweet potato chopped small triangles
• 1 purple turnip, chopped small cubes
• 2 cups collards, chopped bite size
• 1 cup dinosaur kale, chopped bite size
• 1 cup sorrell, chopped bite size
• 1 handful rosemary, chopped fine
• 1 handful parsley, chopped fine
• 1 handful sage, chopped fine
• 2 TBS coconut oil
• Salt  to taste

Instructions:
Sauté the root veggies and half of the fresh herbs with a pinch of salt until their fragrance is released. Add the greens, another pinch of salt, and add water just to cover the veggies. Bring to a boil, then cook on a  low simmer for about 20 minutes until all the veggies are tender. Add salt to taste and garnish with the other half of the fresh herbs.

When encouraging the kids to eat new vegetables we love to ask them questions to help them feel more friendly with new foods:

• Can you see any of the vegetables we picked from the garden?
• Can you smell any of the herbs from the garden?
• Do you see any shapes in the soup?
• What happened to the color of the purple turnips?
• Taste your soup, would you like to add more salt or fresh herbs?

Before we eat together we love to sing our gratitude song together:

Give thanks to the mother earth
Give thanks to the father sun
Give thanks to the plants in the garden
Give thanks to the plants in the garden
Where the mother and father are one

(A big thanks to the Welch-Curry family for sharing this with us many years ago! With four kids they have been the longest attending family at ACG!)

This sweet poem with simple yoga poses inspires gratitude for our earth and each other.
​
I bow to mother earth
I lift to father sky
I open to the sun and the clouds passing by
I welcome the rain that flows to the sea
I honor the kindness in you and in me

One of the kids favorite parts of yoga class is to do "make up pose". Here the kids are creating a pose to express something in nature they are really grateful for. We had "rainbow", "growing  tree", and "butterfly" to name a few.

​To make our Thankful Pumpkin we took turns writing or drawing what we are thankful for on the pumpkin. It makes a great centerpiece for the dining table!

Pumpkin Hammering and Smashing!! Pumpkins are the perfect consistency to learn hammering skills and SO FUN to smash!

Pumpkin Drumming! Such a great way to learn new rhythms and easy on the ear while still making a satisfying sound :)

A HUGE thank you to all the families who donated pumpkins for us to play with!

Roasted pumpkin seeds

Play-dough bugs

Clay bugs

Drawing bugs

Beeswax bugs

 We have been planting wildflower seeds in our Wildlife Habitat Garden!

We are raising funds to help complete our Wildlife Habitat Community Garden! We would love for the wildlife garden to be a thriving learning center for the families at ACG with hand painted educational signs, insect hotels, a water fountain, more native plants as well as provide a community space for families to enjoy with a picnic table and some benches for enjoying the different areas. We will be installing a grey water irrigation system that will reuse water to help the plants thrive all year in a sustainable way. Please consider making a contribution to make this space a wonderful addition to our program on our GoFundMe page.
​

See you next time!

This Fall our whole community (teachers, kids, parents, and neighbors!) have come together to help create a new learning center for ACG - a Wildlife Habitat Garden!

Here's how we keep our garden ready for wildlife:
​

• ​Provide water year-round - A birdbath is a great start. It can be a simple one, or a decorative one to go with the landscape in your backyard.  Change the water every 2-3 days in the summer and in winter. Place the birdbath about 10 feet from dense shrubs or other cover that predators may use.
• Install native plants - Select a variety of native plants to offer year-round food in the form of seeds, berries, nuts, and nectar. Try to recreate the plant ecosystem native to our area. Evergreen trees and shrubs provide excellent cover through all seasons, if they are part of your local ecosystem. 
• Keep dead trees - Dead trees provide cavity-dwelling places for birds to raise their young and as a source to collect insects for food. Many birds will also seek shelter from bad weather inside these hollowed out trees.
• Put out birdhouses / nesting boxes - Make sure the birdhouses have ventilation holes at the top and drainage holes below. Do not use a box with a perch, as house sparrows are known to sit on a nesting box perch and peck at other birds using the nesting box. Be sure to monitor the boxes for invasive animal species known to harm or out-compete native species.
• Build a brush pile in a corner of your yard - Start with larger logs and top with smaller branches. Some birds will hunt, roost or even nest in brush piles.
• Offer food in feeders - Bird feeders are a great sources of supplemental food during times of food scarcity, and also enhance bird viewing opportunities by bringing them to one spot.

While we waited for the weather to cool off to begin planting we started by focusing on birds and asking the kids a lot of questions:

What kinds of birds live in our area?
What do they need to survive? 
Where do they sleep?
What kind of food do they eat?
What can we do to attract them to our gardens?

They had a lot of thoughts in this and were eager to learn more. Check out a few of our projects:

Pumpkin Birdfeeders

Woodworking Birdfeeders

Collaborative Hummingbird Art

Hummingbird Puzzles

Birdhouses

Nests

In our hummingbird garden we planted Red Yucca, Turks Cap, Flame Acanthus, Columbines, and lots of Salvias.

We did our fun Halloween Yoga Adventure! Check out our previous blog to learn more (scroll to  the end for yoga poses!): The Many Benefits of Nature Based Learning

It's baking season y'all! These blueberry muffins were delish!

Ingredients:

• 2 cup almond flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 4 eggs
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/4 cup coconut yogurt
• 2 tablespoons coconut oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest
• 2 tablespoons chopped pecans
• 1 TBS coconut sugar
• 1 cup blueberries berries fresh or frozen

Instructions:

• Pre-heat oven to 350 and grease a mini muffin pan with coconut oil
• Beat together eggs, honey, coconut oil, vanilla, and lemon zest over medium speed until combined.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together almond flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
• Slowly add the almond flour mixture into the wet mixture.
• Gently fold in the berries.
• Scoop mixture evenly into muffin pan and top with chopped pecans mixed with coconut sugar.
• Bake for 25 minutes then let cool on cooling rack.

In a heavy bottom pan mix together 4 cups coconut milk, 2 TBS of xylitol sweetener, 1/2 tsp  vanilla, 10 drops vanilla stevia. Heat and stir until warm and throroughly dissolved!

​Magic Wands at the MakerSpace

Halloween Scratchers

Halloween Kids Night

Halloween Potluck

See you next time!

Rudolph Steiner, the founder of Waldorf education, believes humans have twelve senses, not just the 5 physical senses we all learned in school. Steiner believed children should be taught in three realms, "heart, hands, and head" and that experiences in school should allow for movement, moral development, and academic altogether. 

His goal is to help children develop four powers in a child, "strong will, rich feeling, creative imagination, and clear thinking" and the  way to do this in early childhood is through PLAY and accessing all 12 senses through rich experiences.

WILL senses (physical body)
Touch, Life, Movement, Balance

At Austin Childrens Garden, children are climbing, pushing, pulling, chasing, hopping in our outdoor play spaces. They're often barefoot, which provides a grounding to the earth or they're feeling the soil, clay, plant-life and natural materials in their hands. Being outdoors connected with nature exposes them to natural elements of climate, seasons, weather, and time (sun/shade).  

FEELING senses (soul senses)
Smell, Taste, Sight, Warmth

Children are naturally drawn to warmth and are more engaged in play when they're warm. This helps them access the deeper part of self in relation to the world around them. In addition, hugging the bunny, a friend, or a cloth doll develops the warmth of connecting to others. We reach the olfactory senses through nature play, essential oils, gardening, and cooking WITH the children. Our garden shades and art used in the program provide exploration of color, which Steiner believed stimulated imagination and lifted the mood. 

COGNITIVE Senses (spiritual/social)
Hearing, Speech, Another's thought, Another's "I"

Ironically, early childhood programs that focus solely on academic development often fail to develop the senses that later benefit a child's success in school. By following the child's lead in learning, encouraging peer relation, empathy, group play, and problem solving, we're developing aspects of self that allow children to take on another's perspective. Being able to think outside the box and outside the self creates thinkers, not just learners. 

A child is a unique being with a physical self, but also a spiritual self and emotional self. Rich sensory experiences and play help develop all parts of self to best prepare child for success and welcome the gifts they have to share with the world. 

Written by Chelsea Vail, ACG parent, Parent Educator and Teacher Trainer

Here are some insights to the rhythm of our days and some of the fun learning we get up to - can you see these 12 senses developing as we learn and play?

We love collaborative art projects!

The kids love the new makerspace to explore and create with!

We had a new teacher show us how to make fortune tellers on Waldorf Wednesday - introducing Mr Liam! 

Check out our previous blog on Emotional Intelligence to learn how we practice these skills for emotional growth and self regulation.

To learn more about the how and the why to the flow of our day visit our blog Learning with Rhythm.

Banana-dogs!

Spread almond butter on half a tortilla. Peel half a banana and roll up the banana in the tortilla. Eat whole or have an adult slice into circles.

See you next time!

We love our cooking classes at ACG! For more tips on how and why to cook with your kids please see our previous blog : The Top 10 Benefits of Cooking with Kids

It has been a long hot spell in Austin this year - here are some of our favorite recipes to help stay cool during the Texas heat!

In a high powered blender mix together until smooth:

4 frozen ripe bananas
1/2 cup coconut milk
1/4 cup almond butter
5 drops vanilla stevia

This one was so fresh and colorful. The chia seeds add protein and omega 3's!

In an ice ream maker combine

• 3 cups frozen strawberries
• 2 cans full fat coconut milk 
• 1 TBS chia seeds
• 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup or a few drops vanilla stevia (optional)

​Follow instructions on ice cream maker and watch the magic as the mixture turns into a pretty pink sorbet. Garnish with fresh strawberries.

The kids love all the lemon balm growing in the garden! We made these tasty popsicles together - so fun and easy to make.

Step 1:

Pick some fresh lemon balm and release the refreshing and uplifting aroma by rolling the leaves in your plams.

Step 2:

​Squeeze 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice.

Step 3:

Combine 1/4 cup lemon juice, and 2 cups water, 1 TBS fresh chopped lemon balm, and liquid stevia to taste.

Step 4:

Pour into popsicle mold and freeze until solid.

We love these popsicle molds made by Zoku. Perfect size for littles and pop out easy every time!

The kids loved growing and harvesting the lemon balm so much we sewed our own lemon balm dream pillows.

To practice our sewing skills we love using these simple circles with burlap and yarn.

Once we learned some basic stitches we made these lovely herbal pillows with fresh lemon balm from the garden.

Sweet Friends!

See you next time!

This summer I had the absolute delight of volunteering in Teacher Tom's classroom at the Woodland Park Cooperative School in Seattle, Washington. Teacher Tom has long been one of my early childhood heroes (he even wears a cape!) through his insightful blog Teacher Tom and various trainings he has led with the Pedagogy of Play conference.

I wish that it was already understood by the majority of parents and educators the huge value of a play-based curriculum, but as the co-founder and co-teacher at Austin Children's Garden (an experiential and play-based learning community), I regularly find myself defending children's play to adults who are concerned about their child's education with explaining how and why we learn through play. As Teacher Tom says "The idea that play is the opposite of learning is just too well embedded in our collective psyche".

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 is my child actually learning when they play?

​After spending my childhood attending various Montessori, Steiner, and Democratic  schools in the 1970's and 1980's (thanks Mom and Dad!) I have devoted my adult life to understanding early childhood growth and development (birth through age 8) from an integrated and holistic perspective. I am fascinated with how children learn and feel grateful for the calling to co-create the most healthy and joyful learning environment I can with the local community around me, as well as the global community of inspiring educators around the world.

All of these principles can be woven together to create a strong foundation and love of learning in a healthy, balanced, and experiential play-based environment. There is argument among some educators that to be truly play-based there would be no adult guided projects. However in my experience as long as they are offered as a creative invitation with freedom of choice rather than a demand for every child to sit down and perform an activity only in the way the teacher dictates, and when these guided activities are sandwiched with longer times of free play, then meaningful hands-on projects are a wonderful inclusion in a play-based curriculum!

One of the most fascinating aspects of children's play is to observe how much they are naturally learning about language, reading, math, science, culture, social skills and more. I encourage parents to research all the educational benefits and foundation for healthy learning that play provides from Harvard University to the high academic performance of play-based schools in Finland to the most current research by the NAEYC.  All of this is important information, but as an educator and parent myself, what I am most inspired by is the growth and development of the whole child, not the ability to regurgitate information and perform on current academic testing methods.

Children are born to learn. The human experience is designed to learn about life in a natural unfolding rather than a rote exposure to dry activities that lack a sense of meaning or connection to them. Children love to play because it's fun and it feels natural to them! Play is their true state of flow. When children are allowed ample time to play they intrinsically make the connection that learning is fun, they discover what truly makes their hearts sing, and they develop the power and inspiration to follow their bliss.

It's an exciting time for education! Old paradigms are shifting. To be a part of this positive shift for whole-child education here are a few ideas for parents of young children to consider:

• Ask your child's school how much time your child spends in free play a day. Many schools claim to be play-based but often only provide 30 minutes of outside play and/or 30 minutes of guided indoor play. Children thrive with hours of play! Advocate for more free play and more outside play. Create parent alliances in your schools and make your preferences clear to the teachers and administration as well as the local and national government.
• Do the research and trust that you are giving your child the best opportunity possible by allowing them the opportunity to spend hours a day in play.
• Support children's outside play - host backyard play dates, spend the day in the woods, get friends together and go camping, check out so many of our awesome local programs like the Free Forest School and Earth Native Wilderness School to supplement more play in nature.
• Limit or eliminate screen time and observe the quality of play that arises when ample time and space allow for it.
• Provide open-ended toys like blocks, silk scarves, magna-tiles, simple figures, and natural objects like sand, shells, and pine cones that allows children to use their creative imagination.

Teacher Tom says it beautifully "I invite you to imagine for a moment "schools" in which children are free to discover and pursue their passions while marinated in community. Imagine that transformation, then imagine how all those free and motivated minds will transform their world."

In the alternative education community of Austin this transformation is a reality with a growing number of holistic and experiential play-based learning environments. It is a profound honor to be a part of that transformation and the lives of the thriving children in our community.
​

To learn more about the benefits of play and how parents can play with their children to help develop their brains, bodies, and hearts please come to our free talk by play therapist and parent educator, Chelsea Vail, before our Open House at Austin Children's Garden on November 16th at 1pm.

Its been bubble-mania this summer at ACG! Bubbles are such a fun and magical way to enhance learning in all kinds of developmental areas.

Can you make music that feels like bubbles?

We have been harvesting lots of summer green beans and fresh herbs.

Check out our previous blog Learning With Our Senses for the recipe for these salt preserved herbs.

The kids love these nutrition-packed treats!

Mix together:

1 cup almond butter
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup soaked chia seeds (1 tsp chia seeds soaked in 1/4 cup water)
2 TBS coconut oil
1 tsp vanilla flavoring
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking soda

Bake for 20 to 23 minutes at 325 degrees.

We have had such a marvelous Spring with wildflowers galore! The kids loved collecting flowers from our gardens and creating all kinds of wildflower inspired projects.

A HUGE thank you to Lorna, Julie's mama, for creating these beautiful Texas Wildflower coloring pages with the same wildflowers that we learned about in our book above about local flowers - Bloomin Tales!

Spoons make excellent flower pot shovels for toddlers!

To make a lovely spring scented play dough:

Mix all the ingredients together except for the rose petals. Once well mixed, an adult heats it up in a sauce pan until it forms into a nice dough. Once cool add rose petals and play with your dough!

The kids love making fairy tea with the jasmine flowers. We counted out 30 flowers then poured in 4 cups of water and let it steep in the gentle sun for 2 to 3 hours. 

See you next time!

We started off this unit of exploring the wonders of the earth with some edible geology projects! Turns out that chocolate is quite an inspiring medium to ignite curiosity!

​Ingredients: 

• 1 cup unsweetened sunflower seed butter
• 1/4 cup raw wildflower honey
• 2 teaspoons raw cacao powder
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 3/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut, divided
• 1/2 cup stevia sweetened chocolate chips
• 1/4 cup hemp seeds
• 1/4 cup finely chopped sprouted walnuts

Method: 
​
Mix sunflower seed butter, honey and cocoa in a medium bowl until well combined. Stir in the raisins and 2 tablespoons of the coconut. Stir in chocolate chips. Refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours.

Place remaining coconut, hemp seeds and nuts into 3 separate bowls. Using a spoon, scoop small heaps of the mixture from the bowl; roll into 1 1/4-inch balls. Roll each finished ball in more coconut, hemp seeds and chopped nuts. Arrange the balls on a plate, cover loosely and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

Conglomerates are common sedimentary rocks made from different shapes and sizes of smaller rocks. We made some edible conglomerates with chocolate chips, oats, puffed rice, gluten fee pretzels and honey!

To make these tasty treats combine:

2 cups oats
1 cup puffed rice cereal
1/2 cup pretzels (chopped up)
1/4 cup chocolate chips
1/4 cup coconut oil
1/4 cup honey
​1 tsp vanilla

Mix thoroughly and heat mixture on stove while stirring for 5 to 10 minutes. Scoop mixture into a baking dish. Pack it down with a spoon so it is even and refrigerate for 30 minutes, then remove and cut into squares or rectangles.

We used classic hot cocoa ingredients to show how the earth's crust moves due to the heat from inside the planet. After the experiment we added a little honey and enjoyed some tasty hot chocolate!

To explore how geologists find fossils in the earth we looked for 'fossils' in chocolate bars with nuts.

Ancient humans made their own paints from rocks and we did too! We made paints from ochre, chalk, and black earth to create these rich and textured paintings.

"I like to paint with both hands!"

Folks are always remarking how abundant and fertile our gardens are. We believe that the soil responds to the gentle care the children give with happy and healthy plants!

Exploring and playing with magnets helps give an intrinsic understanding of the North and South Poles. And magnets are fun! These facial expressions are priceless :)

Hematite Sculptures!

Tegu Magnets!

Magna-Tiles!

We learned how most plant fossils are simply an impression of the original plant - not the actual plant. We started with pressing plants onto clay, then tried shells and small toy dinosaurs to explore more varieties of fossils.

It's fun to play 'Match the Fossil' too!

Can you put these rocks back together?

Rock puzzles are easy to make! The (older) kids loved using real tools to break open rocks.

To learn more about our magnificent planet we loved reading The Earth Book by Todd Parr.

Volcano Pose!

Singing 'Our Roots Go Down Into the Ground' and drumming the earth with our hands!

Sculpting Geometry

Counting Money

Designing Tangrams