Austin Children's Garden

Cultivating Gratitude in Early Childhood

11/22/2019

"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:

Gratitude Game

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!

Gratitude Journal

Here are some suggestions for getting started.

1. Create the journal
Bind together different colors of construction paper. Encourage your child to decorate a cover for the journal using markers, crayons, stickers or photographs. On each blank page of the notebook, write “I am grateful for” at the top. We tried to leave several blank pages for you to continue the process at home.

2. Integrate journaling into your child’s routine
Determine the best 5-10 minutes each day for your family to sit down and journal without interruptions. Have your child draw, write or describe to you items that he is grateful for. Consistency is key for developing a habit, so try to follow the same sequence of events each day (i.e. dinner time, journal time, bath time, bed time). Even pre-verbal children can benefit from gratitude journals as they can understand so much of what we are saying and their artwork has meaning.

3. Give prompts if needed
Expressing gratitude might not come easily at first for your child and that’s okay. Prompt him by asking questions, such as “Who is a family member or friend you are grateful for and why?”, “What is one thing you enjoyed doing today?” or “What is one of your favorite toys?” Ask your child to draw a picture and if age appropriate, write a few words describing the drawing. Model positive behavior by sharing your own moment of gratitude for the day.

4. Set small goals
Set a short term goal with your child, such as journalling each day for a month. At the end of the month, remind your child of the fun they had by reviewing the entries together. You might be surprised to learn that your child wants to continue using the gratitude journal! If so, brainstorm a new goal and create a new journal if necessary.

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 :)

Gratitude Soup

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!)

Gratitude Yoga

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.

Pumpkins Galore!

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!

Pumpkin Muffins

Ingredients:

5 eggs
1 cup fresh cooked pumpkin or canned pumpkin puree
1/4 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup coconut flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla extract
1-2 TBSP pumpkin pie spice or cinnamon
1/4 cup coconut sugar

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 400°F. Lightly grease mini muffin pan. Put all ingredients in a medium-sized bowl and mix until smooth. Spoon into greased muffin pan and bake for 13 to 18 minutes.

Roasted pumpkin seeds

Bugs!

Play-dough bugs

Clay bugs

Drawing bugs

Beeswax bugs

Garden Time!

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

Annual Fundraiser!

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!

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Wild About Wildlife - Birds

10/28/2019

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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:

Birds eat worms!

Birds eat seeds!

Pumpkin Birdfeeders

Woodworking Birdfeeders

What birds do we want to attract to our gardens? Hummingbirds!

Collaborative Hummingbird Art

Hummingbird Puzzles

Where do birds like to live?

Birdhouses

Nests

What birds do we see in our ACG garden? Cardinals, bluejays, doves...

Bird Watching

Wildlife Habitat Garden

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

Yoga

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

Science Fridays!

Blueberry Muffins

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.

Hot Cocoa

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!

Halloween Fun!

Magic Wands at the MakerSpace

Halloween Scratchers

Halloween Kids Night

Halloween Potluck

See you next time!

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Developing the Child's 12 Senses

9/25/2019

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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?

Art Projects and Inside Creative Free Play

We love collaborative art projects!

MakerSpace!

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

Outside Free Play!

Gardening!

Music!

Math-Magical Projects!

Science Projects!

Circle Time!

Guest Teachers!

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

Counting and Rhythm!

Conscious Discipline

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

Yoga!

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

Favorite Recipe of the Month!

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!

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Cooking is Cool!

8/31/2019

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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!

Banana Chocolate Ice Cream

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

Strawberry Chia Sorbet

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.

Lemon Balm Popsicles

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!

Lemon Balm Dream Pillows

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!

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Why We Love to Play

7/31/2019

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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".

"Play is often talked about as if it were a relief from serious learning. But for children play is serious learning. Play is really the work of childhood." - Fred Rogers

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.

Having been an educator in many types of schools there are a few principles that I have seen integral in supporting young children's growth and learning across the board:

Longer stretches of time with the freedom to play, explore, and discover in a natural yet stimulating learning environment that engages all the senses, alternated with an offering of shorter segments of meaningful hands on, experiential projects that foster new skills and encourage mastery.
A small group size of mixed age children, more like an extended family than a large classroom, to play with and learn together.
Fun, inspired, and loving adults who focus on empowering the child with inquiry-based learning, modelling self regulation tools, and creating a physically and emotionally safe environment.
Ample outdoor play and exploration that allows nature to be a powerful learning experience filled with wonder and reverence.
Open ended and natural play materials that encourage creative imagination and the discovery of innovative solutions.
Open ended, process-based art and creative activities that are set up as an invitation to explore and express.
Predictable rhythms through the day, week and year that create a natural structure and provide security with a sense of the interrelationships and wholeness of life.

"We can best help children learn, not by deciding what we think they should learn and thinking of ingenious ways to teach it to them, but by making the world, as far as we can, accessible to them, paying serious attention to what they do, answering their questions - if they have any - and helping them to explore the things they are most interested in." - John Holt

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!

"Play is the highest form of research" - Albert Einstein

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.

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

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.

"Almost all creativity involves purposeful play." - Abraham Maslow

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.

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The Art and Science of Bubbles!

6/26/2019

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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.

Bubble Science

We experimented with several different types of bubble solutions. As we were playing with our bubbles we talked about what happens when a bubble touches a wet surface versus a dry one. We used different types of wands and gadgets to blow bubbles with such as pipe cleaners made into different shapes, funnels, paper cups, straws, and even a hula hoop.

Bubble Art

Bubble-Wrap Prints

Bubble Landscape

More Bubble Science

Bubble Music

Can you make music that feels like bubbles?

In the garden

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.

Superfood Brownies!

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.

Summer Suncatchers

Ice Painting

Before water...

...after water!

See you next time!

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Wild About Wildflowers!

5/28/2019

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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.

Local Wildflower Books

Texas Wildflower Illustrations

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!

Exploring Wildflowers

Still Life Wildflowers

Dissecting Wildflowers

Painting with Indian Paintbrush Flowers

Bottle-cap Bluebonnets

Q-tip Wildflower Fields

Planting Flowers

Spoons make excellent flower pot shovels for toddlers!

Collaborative Collage

Georgia O'Keefe Collage

Creating Circuits with Light Up Flowers

Mother's Day Flowers

Rose Petal Play Dough

To make a lovely spring scented play dough:

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups water
1/2 cup salt
4 tsp cream of tartar
2 tsp beet powder
5 drops diluted rose essential oil
Rose petals

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!

Fairy Flower Tea

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.

Yoga Fun!

See you next time!

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Amazing Geology!

4/29/2019

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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!

Chocolate Earth Balls

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.

Conglomerate Cookies

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.

Cocoa Crust

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!

Chocolate Excavation

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

Earth Pigments

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!"

Earth Caretakers

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!

Magical Magnetism

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!

Exploring Rocks, Fossils, and Crystals

Sorting Fossils and Rocks

DIY Fossils

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!

Rock Puzzles

Can you put these rocks back together?

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

Earth Book

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

Land and Water

Earth Model

Earth Watercolors

Earth Yoga

Volcano Pose!

Earth Music

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

Earth Art with Recycled Materials

Fun Math Activities

Sculpting Geometry

Counting Money

Designing Tangrams

Crafting Together

Exploring Primary and Secondary Colors

Spring Flowers

See you next time!

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The Marvels of Mammals!

3/31/2019

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With all the nature meditation projects in January and the love of learning about worms in February it's clear we currently have a bunch of learners who are nature enthusiasts!

Early this month the children were offered all kinds of nature pictures to create collages with. The teachers observed over and over that the children had more interest and questions about the mammals than any other pictures. Those observations led us to offering lots of projects about mammals!

This is a wonderful example of emergent curriculum in action - when projects are inspired by the children's interests we see a a lot more enthusiastic learning happening.

We began with a broad selection of mammal projects. As we explored different mammals through art, stories, and activities the teachers observed which mammals and what about them sparked the most curiosity from the children to evolve into more in depth projects. Check out all the fun learning in action:

Wild Life Drawing

Farm Animals with Watercolor Pencils

Texas Wild Life Animals

National Geographic African Mammals

Exploring Sea Mammals

Gerbils Are Mammals!

Tracing Bats

Animal Track Painting

Animal Geography

Mammal Habitats with Shelter, Water, and Food

Red Fox and Gray Fox Masks

Fox Walking!

Fox Walking is one of the first skills taught to children in wilderness awareness schools across the globe. Learning how to move in nature is very important if we want to be able to be fully aware of the natural world around us. To practice walking quietly like a fox:

1. Lower the foot to land on the outside of the ball with light pressure.
2. Roll off the edge of the foot onto the ball laying the whole foot down still with only partial weight.
3. Place full weight on foot.

Another way to explain it to kids is to ask them to walk "like their soles of their feet are kissing the earth".

Sit Spots

Sit Spots are another core routine of deep nature connection. A sit spot is a child-selected space where he or she can observe the natural world. For more details on sit spots and sensory awareness see our previous blog Learning With Our Senses.

Mammal Yoga!

What are some mammals that we keep as pets?

Barking Dogs!
(Downward Dog Pose)

Stalking Cats!
(Cat Pose)

What are some mammals who live on a farm?

Cows!
(Cow Pose)

Horses!
(Low Lunge Pose)

What animals can you find in the woods nearby?

Deer!
(Seated Twist)

Porcupines!
(Child's Pose)

Howling Coyotes!
(Camel Pose Variation)

Fox (with a bushy tail!)
(Bird-Dog Pose)

What mammals can you find in Africa?

Giraffes!
(Tree Pose Variation)

Elephants!
(Wide Legged Forward Bend)

Lions!
(Lion Breath)

Mammal Geometry

Classifying Mammals

The Art of Questioning

Rather than give all the answers, to help people think critically and creatively it's often best to allow a mystery and answer questions with more questions!

What are these mysterious bones deep in the sand box? Do you think they belong to a mammal? How old do you think they are? What kind of animal do you think they are from? What do you think this animals head looks like?

Design Your Own Alebrijes!

Remember those beautiful mexican folk art creatures in Coco that were 3 animals all mixed up together? We made up our own animals and animal names with different animal parts!

In the Garden...

Kids who grow vegetables eat vegetables!!

Math-Magical Projects!

These geometrical figures help children to understand the core basics of mathematical figures & shapes. As they study and draw planar figures they begin to understand unique geometric principles.

Given the prompt to create a shelter with these awesome Spielgaben tools the kids learn how abstract ideas of shape, form and space composed of arbitrary lines and points can be realized in solid 3D form.

Designing Bat Houses

Hydrology and Engineering in the Sandbox!

Balloon Science!

Chocolate Monkey Bites

These tasty little treats are made with Green Banana Flour - a favorite with monkeys (and kids!).

Mix together:

3 TBS Green Banana Flour
3 TBS Coconut Oil
3 TBS Nut Butter (we used sprouted almond butter)
3 TBS Honey
1.5 TBS Cocoa Powder

Form mixture into balls and roll in grated coconut or hemp seeds. If the mix gets too soft put it in the fridge for 10 to 15 minutes in the fridge. This recipe makes about 8 bites.

A swing in Spring...

... and a tunnel!

See you next time!

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The Wonders of Worms!

2/28/2019

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While planting baby lettuces in the garden we discovered a whole bunch of earthworms! Worms help to create healthy soil for our beautiful veggies by aerating the soil and adding humus through their castings.

The hunt for worms created an enthusiastic flow of questions:

Why are worms so slimy?
Why are worms so wiggly?
What do worms eat?
How long do worms live?
Where do worms live?
Why do worms hide under the dirt?
Can worm see? Can they smell?

Worm Hunting!

Worm Habitat

To learn more about worms we created a worm habitat so we could observe a few worms more closely. What do worms need to survive?

Soil! Water! Decomposed leaves! Fresh leaves!

Light or Dark?

Think about where earthworms live, do you think they prefer light or dark?

When half the box was covered in dark cloth all the worms eventually went over to the side covered with the cloth!

Wet or Dry?

Do you think worms prefer to live in a wet or dry environment?

When we put our worms in the middle of a dry paper towel and a wet paper towel, they quickly moved over to the wet side! Worms breathe through their skin and they need wet skin to be able to breathe.

Do Worms Have Senses?

One cotton pad is soaked in lemon juice, one cotton pad is soaked with salt water, the other cotton pad is soaked with spring water. One corner of the tray also has a fresh apple slice. Which corner would attract the most worms?
They strongly avoided the salt water and lemon juice (like with convulsions!). A few worms went after the water, but they swarmed the fresh apple.

Earthworm Hearts

Did you know that an earthworm has 5 hearts!?! We looked for their hearts by placing a worm in a petri dish and using a light to better see the pumping action of their many hearts!

Measuring Worms

To learn more about worms we created our own rulers and practiced measuring drawings of worms, then we measured some real worms!

"Worms are wiggly!"

We had so much fun measuring worms we used our rulers to measure different plants in the garden too!

Worm Books!

Worm Farm!

Now that we know how awesome worms are for the garden soil the kids were inspired to build a permanent worm farm that we feed with scraps from our snacks and lunches.

Love Grows!

This is one of our favorite action songs to practice in February - a wonderful month to celebrate love! Here are the words with the actions so you can sing at home together :)

"Love"

"grows"

"1 by 1"

"2 by 2"

"and 4 by 4"

"Love"

"grows"

"round like a circle"

"and comes back a knocking"

"at your front door!"

Love Yoga!

This month in Hola Yoga we have been practicing with loving affirmations in English and Spanish!

I am awesome!
¡Soy increíble!
Star Pose

I am open!
¡Soy abierto!
Crescent Moon Pose

I am strong!
¡Soy fuerte!
Warrior 1 Pose

I am beautiful!
¡Soy hermoso!
Dancer Pose

I am healthy!
¡Soy sano!
Cat/Cow Pose

I am creative
¡Soy creativo!
Bridge Pose

I am honest!
¡Yo soy honesto!
Camel Pose

I am loving!
¡Soy cariñosa!
Hugging Twist

I am happy
¡Soy feliz!
Happy Baby Pose

I am calm!
¡Soy calmado!
Resting Pose

And the best way to finish love yoga...

Big hugs!

Sweet Valentine Crafts!

Learning Fractions with Circles!

Music Class!

We have been learning to play 'Row row row your boat" on the autoharp and writing our own songs too!

Healthy Chocolates!

Simple, no-bake, no-sugar yumminess. Combine 1 cup of warmed coconut butter, 1 cup of warmed coconut oil, 1/2 cup cacao powder, 1/3 cup coconut flour, and 4 TBS monkfruit sweetener. Then spoon into heart molds, refrigerate for at least 2 hours, and tong hemp seeds or shredded coconut on top. The kids ate them all up!

Sweet Friends!

See you next time!

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