Valley Mama

Watercolor Wednesday

I love finding ways to bring more rhythm to our lives.  The little ones and I are always more peaceful, calm and grounded when our days flow with a comforting rhythm...like breathing.   

The way we flow through our days, weeks, months and years all have a rhythm, and each one is important for keeping us centered, connected and present.  I watch my children and see how nourished they are by a strong sense of rhythm in their lives.

When I use the word 'rhythm' I am not talking about a rigid order where everything is always on a specific time schedule.  Far from it.  Rhythm (to me) is fluid and open, allowing for the spontaneity that keeps life interesting and flexibility to change course if the desire or need arises. 

Our weekly rhythm these past few years has often highlighted chores, meals, activities and outings.  I find that Mason really responds well to knowing what day it is, what he can expect that day to bring and what he might have to look forward to that day.  Knowing that "Friday is french toast for breakfast and story time at the library" gives him a predictable rhythm to his week which provides a sense of comfort and security in his world.

I also love alliteration (especially with Mason right now), and so I try to use it for our weekly rhythm whenever possible...and lately our weekly rhythm highlight has been on breakfast and activity.  The boy is very into letters and letter sounds right now, and seems to find a little more delight when our daily rhythm contains alliteration. 

Lately Wednesday has been Wednesday waffles and watercolor Wednesday.

Mason and I love painting with watercolors, and wet-on-wet watercolor is our favorite.  It is such a meditative, soothing way to just experience color, without the worry about creating a perfect form...just right for our little ones.  The process is enjoyable, and it is easy to create something beautiful.  It is also wonderful for learning about colors and color mixing, as the colors blend on the paper right in front of you.  

Sometimes we paint something specific, like a story, or a season, but today we just painted.  Mason wanted to paint a huge rainbow.

He also spinkled some salt on for a crystal effect.

Today I had hoped to paint with Mason while River was napping, but we had one of those days where her nap was cut short, so she joined us at the table for painting time as well.  

This was her first time, and she seemed to enjoy it.  I look at this photo and wonder if I might have two lefties... Eventually she got tired of the paper and started painting her tray, and then she experimented with painting her face.  Her brother thought this was hilarious.

We often try out new weekly rhythm focuses.  Some stick around and some fade away, but I think watercolor Wednesday will be with us for a while.  

What are your favorite ways to bring rhythm to your week? 

 

Co-op Day: Cold Weather Fun

It has been very cold here in the SLV lately.  We're talking twenty-below, freezing, frigid cold.  For our home school co-op this week we talked a little about how we, and other creatures, stay warm in the icy cold.

This is what we did today:

As usual, more information on our Waldorf-inspired home-school co-op can be found here.

Arrival

Instead of shaping our usual bread this morning we made gingerbread!  I had all of the ingredients measured in separate bowls so we could easily do all of the mixing and stirring together.  As we mixed the wet ingredients together, all the children took turns stirring.  Everyone had a little taste of molasses and we said our gingerbread rhyme:

"Mix a batch of Gingerbread, smooth and spicy brown,
roll it with the rolling pin, up and up and down.
Cut it with the cookie cutters, lots of little men,
Put it in the oven till half past ten!"

As we mixed the dry ingredients the children passed around little bowls of the individual spices... cinnamon, ginger, and cloves...to smell.  One child anointed herself with cinnamon so she could smell like that.  We used hands to feel the spices and flour and add them to our bowl.  

We had another smell as all of the ingredients came together in the bowl.  Then it was into the pan and into the oven!

Circle Time

Then it was to the rug for circle time.  We introduced a couple of new winter verses and songs this week...

I always try to have a verse that takes us from standing/moving to sitting in our circle.  This one is fun to act out and brings us from standing to sitting in a fun way:

"Once there was a snowman, snowman, snowman,
Once there was a snowman tall, tall, tall.
Then the sun it melted, melted, melted,
Then the sun it melted him small, small, small."

We talked a little about how cold it was outside, and what we humans do to keep warm in the winter.  The kids thought of fires, warm drinks/foods and warm clothes.  We sang this mitten song:

"Thumb in the thumb place, fingers all together,
This is the song we sing in mitten weather.
When it is cold it doesn't matter whether,
Mittens are wool or made of finest leather.
This is the song we sing in mitten weather,
Thumb in the thumb place fingers all together."

I had a few other verses, but some of the group was a little restless, so I moved on to our story. (I'll add them all to our Verse and Rhyme page.)  I thought it would be fun if we learned a little about how animals that live in the super-cold arctic regions stay warm, so we read Little Polar Bear and the Whales from the well-loved Little Polar Bear series by Hans de Beer.

After the story we talked about how amazing it is that some animals can live in such cold places.  We talked about thick fur coats and blubber, and then I told them that we were going to do a little science experiment today to learn how blubber works.  I pulled out a few of the Nature's Children books about whales, seals and penguins for them to look at while we set up  the blubber experiment.

Activity

I have been wanting to try out this blubber experiment for a while now, and this seemed like the perfect time to do it.  I got the idea from the book Nature in a Nutshell, which has lots of simple ideas for exploring the world around us.

This is how we did it:

I got my big bowl out and filled it with water.  This went into the middle of our round table.  The little ones were already playing in it when we began to add the ice.  We added ice cubes from a couple of ice trays, but that wasn't quite cold enough.  We wanted it really cold.  So, Melissa went outside and came back with bowls and shovelfulls of snow and added it to the water.  The kids were able to feel the water get colder and colder.  

Then I brought out the "blubber glove", which was essentially a closed gallon sized bag of shortening placed inside another gallon size bag.  This way we could mold the shortening around each child's hands, while, in theory, keeping hands clean from the greasy fat.  It worked OK, but at some point a the shortening bag came open a little so a few hands got a little messy...but really it wasn't too bad.

We went around the circle and each child put his/her hand in the blubber glove and we helped them place it in the water.  We also had them put their other hands in the water as well, to feel the difference.  They were attentive and interested, and everyone tried out the experiment, agreeing that the blubber hand was very warm, while the other hand in the water was very cold.  

Playtime

After our fun with blubber science experiment, the little ones played while our snack finished baking. Under the stairs became a special cave, where much time was spent.

Snack time  

For snack we had our wonderful gingerbread the kids made, some fresh whipped cream from cream skimmed right off of the top of our milk, and little clementines.  Snack time conversation included how the spices in gingerbread are warming to our bodies, and where whipped cream comes from.  

And the gingerbread was delicious.

We had clean-up time, closing circle and said goodbye...

Another fun day with our co-op friends!

 

Co-op Day: Gratitude...A Thanksgiving Story and Craft

Since this week is Thanksgiving, our co-op day was centered around gratitude.  It was nice to get our little ones thinking about all they are thankful for in their lives. 

This is what we did...

As usual, more information on our Waldorf-inspired home-school co-op can be found here.

Our bread today was our basic Valley Mama Bread, made in 100% whole wheat.  Today, we talked about the gifts of the harvest, and made "harvest bread".  With the help of the children we shaped a braid and decorated it with wheat and a couple of little mice.  The children also made some of their own shapes with the leftover dough.  As we kneaded and shaped we talked about some things we're thankful for, and tried to shape them out of our dough. 

Dough ready to rise, we headed to the big rug for circle time!  The hit of circle time today was Oats and Beans.  To do this we stood in a circle holding hands and sang the lyrics to the traditional children's song.  During the first verse we walked in a circle, and during the second verse, someone (or several someones) jumped into the middle to be the farmer and act out the lyrics:

"Oats and beans and barley grow, oats and beans and barley grow.  Do you or I or anyone know how oats and beans and barley grow?"

"First the farmer sows his (her) seed, then he stands to take his ease, stamps his feet and claps his hands and turns around to view the lands."

We continued until everyone who wanted to be the farmer got a chance.

We ended circle time with a story about a little gnome who learns the change in perspective gratitude can bring. I wanted a story that would introduce our craft (making colorful corn necklaces), with a focus on gratitude.  I call it, The Gratitude Necklace, and it's sort of a Waldorf-style Thanksgiving Tale.  Click on the link to read the story.  

Our story led right into our craft, making gratitude necklaces.  Here's how we did it:

Gratitude Necklaces

The day before our group met I soaked some dried corn kernels so they would be soft enough to put a needle through.  I used dried blue and yellow (posole) corn from the bulk bins at the co-op, and an ear of red Indian corn I already had.

The morning of our group day I drained the corn and put it in the warming oven of our wood stove to dry out a bit.  If the kernels are too wet they are a little tricky to handle.

After our story, all the children found a place around the table and we handed out supplies.  Each child choose a color of embroidery floss and some kernels of corn.  The parents helped with cutting the floss the right length, tying a knot at one end and threading a needle on.  We demonstrated how to poke the needle through the kernel of corn and slide in down the thread.  They were encouraged to think of something they were grateful for with each kernel they added to their thread, just like in the story.  

 

When the children were done threading their corn, we helped them tie the ends to make a necklace. 

Necklace made, everyone put on snow-gear and went outside to enjoy this amazing amount of snow we have right now!  The little ones had a blast, including some fun times on the swing and experiments with shoveling snow.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then we came in for our snack of apples, pears and harvest bread, clean-up time, and closing circle...

 

...And one more story time with Jen!

Reading The Little Warranty People

Last week we kicked off a new blog series called Mama and Mason Book Reviews, with some thoughts on reading Peter Pan.  This week we're reviewing The Little Warranty People, by Eduard Uspensky.  It's a Russian book, translated to English.  We found this book at the library, and it seemed light and fun, so we checked it out.

Who doesn't love the intriguing world of 'the little people".  The idea of little beings existing in our world, living alongside us but just out of view...is captivating for people of all ages.  This book is about a hidden world of little people called the Warranty People.  They work for factories, keeping all your appliances under a factory warranty running smoothly, only to leave for another assignment when the warranty expires.  Mason was intrigued from the beginning.  There is some mechanical and electrical talk, as the main characters go about their work and repair problems that arise.  While I know he did not completely understand all of this, I think he liked it...it certainly did not keep him from enjoying the story.  

The warranty people in the story travel with the family they live with to a vacation home, where they encounter a group of mice who want them gone and have deal with a clever little girl who is attempting to find them.  There is some war talk, which I was not crazy about, but everything turns out nicely.  The mice declare war on the warranty people, because that is the way it's always been.  The warranty people are not interested in war however, and feed the mice sausages instead.  It's quite humorous at times.  Even with the war talk and military jargon, there is no violence, which I appreciated.

Overall, it was a fun book to read with Mason, which has really fueled his creative play this week.  I've been asked to play 'warranty people' over and over.  Here is what Mason thought...

    

Me: "Mason, what was The Warranty People about?"

Mason: "It was about the warranty people.  They are little, tiny people that live in appliances, and they stay there until the warranty is over.  Like Coldman, Dustboy and News of the Day.  There were also some mice and two of them were really nice.  The others, not so much.  And there was a little girl, Tanya, who knew they were there, and kept trying to find them because she wanted them to be her toys!"

Me: "What was your favorite part of the book?"

Mason: "When the warranty people used suction cups to go up, up, up the wall to...what was that thing called?"

Me: "The chandelier."

Mason: "The chandelier, and then they parachuted down."

Me: "I like that part too.  Were there any parts you didn't like?"

Mason: "I didn't want Tanya to find them...I was worried Tanya would find them."

Me: "Mason, if you were a warranty person, what appliance would you live in?"

Mason: "I would live in a cuckoo clock and have a cuckoo bird for a pet!"

Mason: "Mom, do you know we have warranty people living here?"

Me: "No, I did not know that...where do they live?"

Mason: "Here!"

Me: "I mean, which appliances do they live in?"

Mason: "Mostly the vacuum, washing machine, car and fridge."

Me: "I want to hear more about that...is there anything else you think people might like to know about the book?"

Mason: "It's good [the book], and there just might be warranty people living in your house..."

Mason: "Let's play warranty people!  You be a little girl who is searching for me, and I'll go hide over here.  Then, I'll turn you into a warranty person so you can come inside my house...I can do that you know, make you small like me."

 

We then went on to play Warranty People for quite some time, hiding from big people and climbing walls with suction cups.  

Here's to the love of reading! 

 

Martinmas...and a Lantern Tutorial!

While we are eclectic in our approach to homeschooling, we are very influenced by the Waldorf tradition.  One of the many aspects of Waldorf that resonates with us is the celebration of festivals.  I love celebrating festivals with children.  They root us and connect us to something bigger than ourselves and bring a little joy and magic to the rhythm of our year.  Martinmas is one of the festivals celebrated by Waldorf schools that I completely love.    

For us, this festival is about light and warmth, and how we can find and create those things within us, even as the days are getting shorter and the icy-cold of winter is upon us.  It is about honoring and bringing out the light within us, and sharing that light with others.  It comes at a time of year when we are really beginning to feel the dimming of the sun and the shortness of the daylight hours, and when we are preparing ourselves and our homes for the winter ahead.  

We spend a lot of time working on our lanterns.  (See below for how we made our lanterns this year).  We light candles in our homemade lanterns.  We warm up by the fire in the wood stove.  We sit in the darkness with our candles and appreciate the fire and the warmth that it brings.

We tell stories.  Lots of stories.  Nature stories of the season, of light and dark, fairy tales with characters who let their light shine, even in the darkest times, and of course, the story of Saint Martin, who shared his cloak.  

We make warming, yummy food and share it with friends.  We gather food to take to our local food bank.  

Since we discovered Martinmas, we've celebrated as a family, and it's been wonderful.  This year, we decided to invite our co-op friends over for a special dinner and a lantern walk.  Everyone was invited to make lanterns on their own and bring them, along with a dish to share.   

As everyone arrived they placed their lanterns on the wood stove (which was not burning, by the way).  Martinmas is a new festival to most of our friends, so we began the evening with a candlelight story of St Martin, and an introduction into why we were celebrating that night.  (The Seasons of Joy Martinmas Festival book was very helpful with lots of great ideas for stories, verses, crafts and more.)  Then we sang our blessing verse and had an amazing dinner (our community is great at potluck).  After dinner everyone put their coats on, got their lanterns and found a place in the living room.  I told the story The Lantern Prince (a wonderful story from our friends at Sparkle Stories), and we lit our lanterns at the end of the story.

We walked into the night, all the children holding their lanterns and singing songs.  We sang This Little Light of Mine, and one I learned a couple of years ago:

"My lantern, my lantern, shining near and far.  Shining like the moon, shining like the sun, shining like a silver star." 

I remember looking back at this flowing line of little lights as these little people walked into the dark of night.  It was a magical sight.  I was not able to photograph the walk, as my hands were a little full, but it was beautiful.  

After the lantern walk we went back inside for some hot apple cider and dessert...and more time to play, of course.  

When we said goodbye to the last of our friends, Aaron and I got two tired kiddos ready for bed.  Mason wanted to light our lanterns and walk upstairs with them, so we did, and so the magic continued.  We placed them on the beam of our loft railing for story-time.

It was a wonderful ending to a beautiful night.  

Sometimes the day after we host an event is tiring...sluggish, perhaps with lots of cleaning, or decompressing.  Not so on the day following our Martinmas celebration.  The house seemed to hold a peaceful, grounding energy from the festival, and we all had a calm, lovely day.  

The magic of the lanterns continues throughout the year, especially the winter season.  They remain on display, waiting for little hands to take them down and play.  

We make new lanterns every year, and Mason insists that everyone in the family have one.  Last year, we made these wonderful lanterns from some of our watercolor paintings.  They are still used and much-loved. I used this tutorial from Frontier Dreams.

This year we decided to make punched tin lanterns from cans from the recycling bins.  We had a lot of fun making them, and they turned out great.  

Punched Tin-Can Lantern Tutorial

First, we peeled off the labels and washed the cans well.  Then Mason filled them with water and put them in the freezer.  (This helps with the punching part later.)

The next day we took them out and set them on towels on a table.  We each used a nail and hammer to punch holes in the designs of our choice.  We kept our designs in the center part of the can, since we planned to cover the top and bottom with fabric.  I made a spiral and a star, Mason made a candle and a flame and Aaron made a big smiling sun.  (Of course, we made one for River, even though she would have loved to get her hands on that hammer...)  

Once our designs were punched, we removed the ice and dried the cans.  

Next, we painted the middle part of the cans in warm colors of fire and light, and rolled them in gold glitter.  If you do this step, you will have glitter everywhere, for always.  

Once the paint dried, we cut fabric strips and used Mod Podge to apply them to the tops and bottoms of the cans.  This is where I started taking photos... 

Then the whole can got a nice coating of Mod Podge, mainly so our hands would not be covered in glitter any time we touched the lanterns.  We used tooth picks to clear the glue from the holes of our designs.  

Aaron fashioned handles out of coat hanger wire, and after drying, our lanterns were done!

The little ones have had a blast with them.

Happy Martinmas!

Co-op Day: Carrots!

After the carrot harvest this past weekend, it seemed like a great time to celebrate carrots and how much we love them with our co-op group today.

This is what we did...

(For more info on how we structure our preschool/kindy co-op days, check out this post.) 

As everyone arrived we began kneading and shaping our bread dough for snack.  This week's bread was, of course, carrot bread!  I just used my basic bread recipe (which I will post soon), and for part of the liquid used carrots juiced in the Vitamix.  I also grated some carrots for the kids to knead into the dough.  They got right to work pulling balls of dough and shaping them...mostly into carrots!

Baking bread is such a wonderfully calming activity for the little ones, incorporating all their senses into the work at hand.  

Here are some of our finished shapes ready to rise on the pan!

We also washed our carrots for snack.  I set up a big bowl of water, a basket of carrots, a scrub brush and a place to put the clean carrots.  A couple of the kids really got into this.

Snack prepped and bread rising, we had circle time, ending with one of my favorite stories for this time of year, the Story of Hugin and his Carrot.  I found it here, and I'm so thankful they shared it!  It's very similar to The Turnip, only it's about a little boy named Hugin, some forest animals, and involves a little root gnome.  Maybe next year I'll make some little felt animals to act it out.  The props I used today were a carrot and a little root gnome figure.

Then the little ones played while we got our project ready.

This little one is a born story teller, and one of his favorites is the Three Billy Goats Gruff, which he plays every week!

A beautiful day for a swing!

Our project this week was making little wooden gnomes figures with acorn caps.  One parent had some wooden figures, and one had the acorn caps, so it seemed like a great idea!  And no, we do not have oaks here, and so, sadly, no acorns either, but Melissa had a family member mail her some.  :)

I thought of several possibilties for coloring the figures, and eventually settled on beeswax crayons, for the warming, tactile nature of the process.  I heated the wooden peg people in the oven while each child came in, found a seat and choose a crayone.  When you heat the wood first, the beeswax melts just a little, allowing it to be spread and rubbed in with the hands.  (You can also heat them after applying the wax, and then rub it into the wood.  Careful not to get anything too hot for little hands!  

Once colored, we glued the little acorn caps on, and let them dry.

Then we set the table and enjoyed our bread and carrots!  

Somehow the baby ended up with the biggest carrot...

But they were definitely enjoyed by all!

There was a little surprise at snack time today...Jen brought cupcakes to celebrate Cohen's first birthday!  The kids were thrilled.  We lit a candle and sang this song, inspired by the classic Montessori birthday celebration, while Jen walked Cohen around the candle:

"The earth goes round the sun, the earth goes round the sun, the earth goes round the sun and now Cohen is one!"

Then, of course, came the cupcakes and Happy Birthday Song.  

Happy Birthday, Cohen!

Then it was time for clean-up and good-bye circle.

Our gnomes were dry and ready to take home, perfect for adding to the nature table, and of course, playing with!

And that's how we had fun with carrots today!  

Planetarium Fridays

We live in a small town, in a very rural area.  At first glance it may seem like there is not much "to do" here, but that could not be farther from the truth.  True, we don't have city things like museums, aquariums, zoos, fancy parks, etc., but if you look closer, there are many awesome opportunities just waiting to be discovered.  

About a year ago I discovered that the small university here, Adams State University, has a little planetarium, and they offer free shows to the community.  We have been regulars ever since!  We are regulars at the Friday afternoon showings of short movies, and sometimes go to Thursday evening shows when they have telescopes available for viewing the night sky.  

This past Friday we went to see "Oasis in Space", "A startling and beautiful voyage through our universe, galaxy, and solar system in search of liquid water, a key ingredient for life on Earth."

We usually go a little early to play around in the grass...(not something we have at our house!)

Heading up the stairs.  Mason loves the staircase with glow-in-the-dark stars and paintings of planets. 

The moon was up when we came out.

Mason wears his "space hoodie" everytime we go.  Ok, he wears his space hoodie nearly every day.  

I made his "space hoodie" from the Luka Hoodie pattern in Sewing for Boys (an awesome book!).

For local people, here is the link to the blog for Zacheis Planetarium, where you can find a schedule of movies and events, and more information about the movies.

Aaron (the Valley Papa) happens to work at Adams State, so we usually stay informed about concerts, events and other fun opportunities, and take advantage of all the wonderful things the campus has to offer our community.  

Squirrels, Nuts and...Boats? A typical Home-school Co-op Day

For the last couple of years I've worked with some other parents to form a preschool group for our little ones.  We meet once a week to give the kiddos time to play and learn together.  Some of the kids will go on to public school next year, and some will learn at home, but for now, we're all still together.  The age group is mostly 3-5 years, with several younger siblings as well.  

I thought I would share what a typical co-op day looks like, for anyone who may be interested.  

This week we had so much fun exploring and playing with nuts!

Here is what we did this week:

Arrival Activity

As everyone arrived we got busy kneading and shaping our bread for snack...this week I used one of my basic go-to bread recipes, and put out a plate of chopped nuts for the children to knead and fold into the bread.  As the children arrive they go and wash their hands in the bathroom, then come to the table to work on the bread.  I attempted to shape a couple of pieces into squirrels...one child made a leaf...this week we just made whatever shapes we felt like.  When we're done with the bread, it goes to the kitchen for a final rise and we clean up the table. 

We almost always bake bread for snack.  The kids love participating in kneading and shaping the dough, and really enjoy eating something they've helped to make.  I usually have some dough made and ready for the children to shape as soon as they arrive.   Having an activity to keep them busy while they wait for everyone to arrive is extremely helpful.  It allows them to settle into the group setting in a calm, constructive way, and sets the tone for the rest of morning.  

Circle Time

Next I call everyone together for circle time.  I find that the best way  to do this is by singing a little song that brings everyone together, instead of just telling them to come to circle time now.  I use this one (sorry...I can't remember where I found the rhyme, and I just made up a tune)...

"Come along with me, we're walking, walking in our circle, come along with me, it's circle time again.  Come along with me, we'll dance and sing together, come along with me, it's circle time my friend."  

I begin walking into our circle time area (the living room) while singing, and the children join in and sing along.  We do various things during circle time, with some predictable rhymes and songs they know, and some new ones (usually related to a theme for the week).  I try to include movement, music and fingerplay each week.  As a part of circle time we usually have a couple of stories...one from a book and one that I tell from memory.       

Here's what this week looked like:

Come along with me

Opening verse, which we do every time:  

"The earth is firm beneath my feet,                                                                                                      The sun shines bright above,                                                                                                                And here I stand so straight and strong,                                                                                              All things to know and love."

Next, we talked a little about squirrels, and how we were going to pretend to be squirrels today.

"Whisky Frisky, hippety hop, up he goes, to the tree top.  Whirly twirly, round and round.  Down he scampers to the ground.  Furly curly, oh what a tail, soft as a feather, can curl like a snail.  Where is supper?  Look in the shell, snip, snip and crackle, and out the nut fell."

Next, we sang these words to the tune of She'll be Coming Around the Mountain.

I'll be gathering all the acorns till they're gone...

And I'll put them all inside my little home...

And I'll eat the nuts until the winter's gone...

Then I'll do it all again come next fall.

And then this rhyme, which we acted out with our hands:

5 little squirrels with acorns to store, 1 went to sleep and then 4.  4 little squirrels hunting nuts in a tree, 1 fell down and then there were 3.  3 little squirrels wondering what to do, 1 fell down and then there were 2.  2 little squirrels tossing acorns for fun, 1 got tired and then there was 1.  1 little squirrel playing in the sun, he ran away and then there were none.

Next, we read the book A Friend for All Seasons, by Julia Hubery:

Then I told a simple story about a little boy who helps a squirrel gather acorns in the fall.  It was similar to this one at Domestically blissed.

I finished circle time with an intro into our next activity.  I brought out a basket of autumn leaves and nuts (in shell) and we talked about how the nuts are hidden in the leaves, and hard to see.  We looked at each nut, and identified it...almond, walnut, hazelnut, pecan, etc.  They look quite a bit different in they're shells!  Then they were told that they're were nuts just like these scattered all over the back yard, and they were to be little squirrels and find all the nuts they could and put them in a basket.  For fun, they were each given a magnifying glass to use on the search.

Activity

This week we did the Great Nut Scavenger Hunt.   Between holding the baby and enjoying the process, I did not get a photo of this, which is too bad, because it was awesome.  The kids had a blast searching for nuts all over the yard.  (I'll be finding nuts out there for years.)  

When we filled our baskets, we brought the nuts inside and examined them with our magnifying glasses.  (I put our bread in the oven about this time.)  Then I brought out various kinds of nutcrackers, and the kids tried cracking nuts...and eating nuts!  They had a lot of fun with this.  One little boy kept telling me about his favorite nuts, and then he said, "I found a new kind of nut, a yuck nut!"  He was talking about a Brazil nut.  This I did get some photos of...

Creative Play

After the nutcracking the kids had free play until snack was ready.  One little boy got out the wooden figures I use to tell The 3 Billy Goats Gruff and began acting out the story...it's his favorite.  

Snack Time

Next we enjoy snack time.  The children go wash their hands and we sing this song:

"Wash hands, wash and dry them on the towel.  Soon it's time to eat our snack so wash our hands now."

This week we had wonderful homemade nut bread (which the kids helped with), and some homemade applesauce one of the parents brought.  The kids help set the table for snack time, and before we eat we light a candle and say this verse:

"The sun it shines so bright above it strengthens all I do, now let me take this bit of light, so I shine brightly too."

Then we sing our blessing song:

"Blessings on the blossom and blessings on the root, blessings on the leaf and stem and blessings on the fruit, and blessings on our meal".  This song was taught to us by one of our moms (who unfortunately moved away) and we use it every week.  

Then we eat!

Creative Play

After snack time, the kids spend some more time in creative play.  

Arts and Crafts Activity

We do not always do a second activity, but this week we had all these nut shells to use!  While the children were cracking nuts, a couple of the parents got some pretty good walnut shell halves to make walnut shell boats with.  

Each child got a walnut shell.  We put a little beeswas at the bottom to stick the mast and sail in.  Our first attempts at a mast and sail were little twigs and leaves gathered from outside, but the leaves were a little too crispy at that point to work well.  So...we improvised and used toothpicks and cut little sails from paper.  Whatever works!

Clean-up 

Next, we signal that it's time to begin clean-up by singing the Dust Fairy song (which the children love!):

Very quietly we sing, "The dust fairies are sleeping, the dust fairies are sleeping, the dust fairies are sleeping, all over the house."  Most everyone pretends to sleep wherever they are.

A little louder we sing, "The dust fairies are sweeping, the dust fairies are sweeping, the dust fairies are sweeping, all over the house."  The parents pick up children and pretend to sweep with them.  The children love this part.

And finally, enthusiastically we sing, "The dust fairies are flying, the dust fairies are flying, the dust fairies are flying, all over the house!"  The parents pick up children and fly and swing them all around, with smiles and giggles all around.

The we go into the classic preschool clean-up song:

"Clean-up, clean-up, everybody, everywhere.  Clean-up, clean-up, everybody do your share."

Everyone cleans up as we sing.  

Closing circle

Once again, I find it easier to bring everyone together for closing circle by singing a song that invites them to join in.  We love to use My Wee Ring.  

"Who will come to my wee ring, my wee ring, my wee ring?  Who will come to my wee ring and make it a little bit bigger?  

Will Mason come to my wee ring, my wee ring, my wee ring, will Bella come to my wee ring and make it a little bit bigger?"

We continue singing this until we've used every child's name.

Next comes our closing/centering verse:

I can be as small as a tiny seed. (Crouch down like a seed.) I can be as tall as a towering tree. (Stand up and stretch up like a tree.)  I can be as wide as the whole wide world.  (Stretch out as wide as wide as you can.)  Or I can just be me.  (Bring hand to heart.)

Next comes a child favorite...the Tide, which I got from the lovely book The Breathing Circle, by Nell Smith.  To do this one we join hands and, as we sing we bring our circle in, and out, in, and out.

The tide comes in and the tide goes out.  The tide comes in and the tide goes out.  The tide comes in and tide goes out, and when the big wave comes we all run out!  

Lastly, we sing our good-bye song.  

Goodbye, goodbye, blessings on your way, may the sun shine brightly in your hearts today.

 

And that's it!  A typical day of our little home school co-op.