Meet Queso!

Queso at summer camp at Sonshine Stables in June! He was a camp favorite!

We were given a generous gift this weekend by the owners of Sonshine Stables in Leander! Queso is a very gentle older horse they used for riding lessons and summer camp. They are scaling their business back a bit, and we were fortunate to receive Queso as a donation. We look forward to showing all of our clients our new pride and joy when we resume class 1/5! The children at our school should enjoy observing Queso!

A couple of notes--Queso wears a face mask to prevent insect bites to his eyes. He also has a very specific diet, and cannot chew hay or enjoy any treats such as carrots, apples, etc. If you visit Queso, please do not feed him!

We'll post pictures soon of two rabbits Sonshine Stables shared, too--Sir Benito and Milkshake!

Wood Chopping Rhyme

This rhyme is courtesy of the following blog:

http://maymomvt.blogspot.com/2008/02/winter-mix-day-3.html

Chip chop, Chip chop.
Cutting wood for winter's cold.
Chip chop, Chip chop.
All the wood the basket will hold.

The Story of Grandmother Wind

Since opening our school at the new location in November, the PreK has heard the story of "Grandmother Wind". We have been observing Silvia squirrel doing her work in the trees outside our classroom, we have witnessed the leaf children dancing in the wind down to the ground, and we have felt the chill most mornings. We have heard Grandmother Wind whistling through a crack in the front door at meal time! We have observed that it stays dark longer in the morning, and it gets dark as we are leaving school. The children are very excited for Father Winter to come on the Solstice!

This story is courtesy of: Antioch University New England "Growing Teachers Blog",

http://growingteachers.wordpress.com/2008/04/13/nature-stories-in-the-waldorf-elementary-classroom-by-carrie-reuther-waldorf-med-year-round-program/

The sun faded and the days had started to get shorter. The trees all around began to sing sweet melodies to Grandmother Wind. When the trees sang, beautiful colors appeared on them: crimson, rust, orange, gold, and lemon yellow. These colors then awakened the leaf children who loved to frolic and play with Grandmother Wind. One of their favorite games was to see how long they could float in the sky with Grandmother Wind, before they would eventually tumble to earth below. However, as the days became shorter the leaft children could not play as long during the day and began to argue about who would play when and where. When Grandmother Wind heard them bickering she was sad at the sight of their arguing.

"Have patience dear children. It is important your playing days are shorter now and you will soon know why."

"When will we know why Grandmother Wind?" they uttered back.

"You will know soon enough," she answered reassuringly.

And so it as that the leaf children kept playing and trusted Grandmother Wind knew why their playing days were getting shorter and shorter. As the days continued many of the leaf children noticed they were tired more easily and did not want to play as long. The leaf children felt content to lie on the earth's floor, because if felt soft and warm to them. They watched Silvia the Squirrel gather nuts and hide them in strange spots all over the meadow. The leaf children's game now was to count all of the places Silvia hid her nuts. So, their play changed from that of the sky to that of the earth. When Grandmother Wind saw they were all comfortable lying on the earth she knew it was time to talk to them.

"Your blanket over the earth is very important," she whispered to them. "Now Father Winter will know it is time for him to come. And soon enough he will tell the snow fairies it is their time to come. Without your help he would not know. Thank you leaf children, you are so dear to me."

Just then Grandmother Wind moved more strongly about as she felt Father Winter approaching.

Tuesday, 12/16/08

School Announcements:
Please continue to bring in cans for our Solstice Luminaries! Thanks again to Wacy's mom Sarah for punching the cans for us! The kids will be filling them with sand this week and getting them ready for the fesival.

Highlights from the Infant Room:
Gage is enjoying our new donated play mat (courtesy of Liam's family). He is starting to pick up toys that he drops from the Bumbo seat. Ali was able to pull toys off of the play dome and likes to lay on her belly and shake a large wooden rattle. She was excited to smell one of our sensory bottles. Jack tried a wooden puzzle today! He was excited to life the pieces up. He also discovered how to make a stuffed toy laugh by pushing the belly. He is pulling himself up on everything!

Highlights from the Toddler Room: A couple of friends went home today with fevers. We will be cleaning and sanitizing (even more than usual), and hope that our friends feel better soon! Kai, Luke, and Orion held down the fort today! They love books, and Kai often picks books and insists that Miss Lacey read his choice!

Highlights from the Twos Room: Today the class was very small, and they enjoyed much activity! At Community Time, the kids enjoyed reading The Gingerbread Man. The boys made their own gingerbread men with felt, buttons, glue, and stuffing. The gingerbread men were topped off by Michelle with some decorative stitching. The boys painted with pine needles and a pinecone, and used tree vocabulary including "pinecone", "pine needles", "trunk", and "roots". What a fun day!

Highlights from the PreK: Today at Community Time, we modeled beeswax while we listended to The Gingerbread Man, Dr. Suess's ABC, and Bear. We cut out a gingerbread man out of felt, and friends helped stitch around the outside. We will complete our gingerbread man and stuff it today for our classroom playtime. Fine motor work included drawing with beeswax crayons, dominoes, sewing, and puzzles. Outside, the children enjoyed digging, playing tag, and doing things to stay warm, including: jumping jacks, running laps, hopping on one foot, and marching. We look forward to a great afternoon!

AM Snack: rice cakes with peanut butter, water
Lunch: turkey sandwich on whole wheat bread, celery with peanut butter, organic apple slices, and organic milk
PM Snack: wholegrain Goldfish crackers, raisins, water

Monday 12/15/08

School Announcements:

Please continue bringing in cans all week for our luminaries at the Solstice Festival. Thanks for all of the donations so far!


Watch for some animal additions to our school thanks to the coordination of the Carter family and the Schumann-reus family! The Carter's have arranged for the donation of two show goats, and the Schumann-reus family is donating two barn cats!


Don't forget to come out for our first Solstice Festival! Celebrate the shortest day of the year this Sunday, 12/21, from 6-9 PM. Admission is $6 with children under 1 free. Luminariee s, labyrinth, a fire dancer, drumming, storytelling, and hot drinks/snacks for sale. Warm up beside the chiminea, bring a blanket, and enjoy a relaxing evening (during a busy season!) under the Texas stars.


Please remember a water bottle, gloves/mittens, hats, and extra winter clothes in cubbies!


Please remember that it really helps us start our day in a smooth way if everyone is here by 8:30!



Highlights from the Infant Room:
Jack and Gage held down the fort today! The enjoyed watching Luke play when he visited for a while at the beginning of nap time. We hope to see Ali tomorrow! Jack played peek-a-boo with Caprice, and Gage loves to smile and laugh.


Highlights from the Toddler Room:
The toddlers missed their abundant outside time today! They played inside with the large red ball, and did make it outside for just a couple of minutes this morning. Waylon and Gavin looked for Abby through the fence. Kai loves to watch the babies next door playing. Luke is smiling a lot and trying to say lots of new words, as are all of our toddler friends!


Highlights from the Twos: The Twos enjoyed cooking in their play kitchen and stacking blocks. Some of our friends like to spend a long time looking at books. At Community Time, the class read Going to Sleep on the Farm and practiced animals sounds for the book's characters. The kids went outside, but found it a little too cold for their tastes, though they were only out a brief time! The kids enjoyed inside gross motor time with Mr. Jamie and playing in the teepee.


Highlights from the PreK: At Community Time we enjoyed reading The Gingerbread Man, Are You My Mother?, and Dogs Don't Wear Sneakers. We sang some of our favorite songs and did our favorite yoga poses as well as a jumping contest. The children painted with brown paint and learned more about caring for our special paint brushes. Some of us considered using our brown paint to paint a gingerbread man like the one in our story. Fine motor work included puzzles, sorting recycled caps by number (written on the cap) and by color. We went outside much later than normal, and for a brief time, but did enjoy the opportunity to watch Lily Belle and Abby eat and lay down. Several friends helped make quesadillas for lunch and set the table.


AM Snack: whole grain bagels, cream cheese, water
Lunch: cheese quesadillas made with whole wheat tortillas, grapes, cucumbers, organic milk
PM Snack: banana, organic milk or water

Outside es mas importante!

Time to wear a cape and follow one another like sheep!

Time to enjoy a fuzzy friend!

Time to move everything!

Time to chew the fat!

Time to consider a new path with the help of a friend!

Babies Have Rubber Bones

Toddlers Help Friends Put on Shoes . . .

As you can tell from the blurry photos, it is hard to capture fast moving toddlers with a camera! Here they are helping the teacher not only find a friend's shoes, but also help put them on!

Pictures from 12/8/08

Tuesday, 12/9/08

School Announcements:
Thank you to Wacy's mom, Sarah, for coming in to punch cans for our Solstice Festival luminaries!


Please continue to save cans and bring them in, and thanks for all of the donations so far!


Highlights from the Infant Room: Jack is scooting all over the room, nodding his head when asked a question, and waving "goodbye". Ali is rolling over and grasping for toys! Gage loves to laugh when teachers make funny faces or sounds. We have fun each day!


Highlights from the Toddler Room: The boys get excited to head outside, and Gavin and Waylon yell "Abby"! Kai likes to turn our table upside down, and has been doing a great job giving gentle touches. Luke still loves rice cakes and bouncing the ball! Orion enjoys being outside more than anything.


Highlights from the Twos Room: Today the class enjoyed learning our bread baking rhyme and the wood chopping rhyme. The class read Going to Sleep on the Farm and talked about our school animals. The kids did beeswax crayon drawings and visited the animals! The boys love pedaling bikes, jumping, and kicking balls outside.


Highlights from the PreK: At Community Time, we talked about the buffalo along 183A that can be seen while some of us are on our way to school. We sang "Home, Home on the Range", which talks a little about buffaloes. We talked about two new goats that we will receive in January from friends of Matt's family and read Miles' book. We jumped up and down to our names spelled aloud, one jump for each letter. We took care of the animals and composted with Jamie while others worked in the greenhouse tending our plants. Fine motor work included a peg sorting/patterning activity, drawing with beeswax crayons, tracing the letters of our name, and modeling beeswax. We had a very busy day, and many friends were exhausted by nap time.



AM Snack: raisin bran, organic milk or water

Lunch: casserole with roast chicken and vegetables, grapes, organic milk or water

PM Snack: cheddar cheese cubes, pretzel sticks, water

Monday 12/8/08

School Announcements: Please continue to save empty food cans for our luminaries for the Winter Solstice Festival to be held 12/21 from 6-9 PM at the farm.
Gift certificates are available for our next Evening of Indulgence. Sip Texas wine and enjoy our chiminea outside while you wait for a turn for massage, hair touch-ups or scalp massages, and brow waxing. A relaxing night and a great way to start the weekend! Held the first Friday night of each month with the exception of January , when we'll have the EOI on the second Friday of the month, 1/9/09.

Don't forget that families who refer a new client receive a $50 child care discount the month after a friend enrolls their child!

Highlights from the Infant Room: Miss Michelle filled in for Miss Caprice today as she had a doctor's appointment.

Highlights from the Toddler Room: We've discovered that our friend Luke loves rice cakes in the morning! He and Gavin are our early birds and they like to snack first thing in the morning while combined with the "big" kids. All of the boys enjoyed practicing jumping in and out of hoops outside. They also love to roll the big red ball in the classroom.

Highlights from the Twos and PreK: Our classes were combined today, and we were busy! At Community Time we counted from 1-10 in English and Spanish, learned a new wood chopping rhyme (since we helped gather firewood on Friday), and revisited our "Way up high in the Apple Tree rhyme". We sang and danced with partners to "Oats and Beans and Barley Grow". Outside, some of us helped in the greenhouse and with animal care while others worked with compost and chopped up our Fall pumpkins to see what was inside. Lucy the Pig will enjoy this tasty snack! Also outside, we painted with blue. It was so windy that we had to hold our papers down with rocks our friends found. Then, we decided we should paint the rocks, too. (NOTE: In Preschool, some of the best fun, and a teacher's greatest delight, is the unplanned . . .)

Wood Chopping Rhyme: (make chopping motions on one arm with opposite hand)

Chip chop, chip chop,

Cutting wood for winter's cold,

Chip chop, chip chop,

All the wood the basket will hold.

AM Snack: oat and honey granola bars, water
Lunch: ham and cheese sandwiches on whole wheat bread, cucumbers, peaches, organic milk
PM Snack: organic apple slices, water

If you have a Mr. Jamie . . .

Mr. Jamie is an asset to our program. His kind spirit and way with children is certainly important to our work, but so are his crafty skills. These are some of the wonderful things he has made to enhance our school, all from things leftover from other projects at our farm school. Thank you for all of your creative work, Jamie!

The tops of fence pickets became places to hang the kids' gardening tools.

Found wood became a wall/coyote fence? and a roof between our big trees in the play yard!

Plastic from a floor project, doors taken out of the school house, windows Jamie found near his home, and various other items became a greenhouse one afternoon.

Scrap plywood, paint, and a closet door became a play tunnel for the play yard.

A piece of scrap fence post and a piece of a 2 x 4 became a wiggle board.

Scrap wood became a balance beam (that adjust for a wide or narrow beam) and a "jump".

Friday, 12/5/08

School Announcements: Don't forget our Evening of Indulgence for adults (teens, too) tonight! Come enjoy two spa services, a glass of wine, light appetizers, and a beautiful fire in our chiminea for just $25. Bring a friend and enjoy a third service free of charge! The EOI begins at 6:30 tonight at our school!

Miss Janie had her baby today! Janie and her husband Todd welcomed Emma Grace at 8:03 AM this morning. She was delivered by C-section. Emma weighed 8 lbs 14.6 oz, and is 20 inches long with strawberry blond hair. Brother Isaac will get to meet his new sister this afternooon after his nap at school! Congratulations!

Thanks to "Grandma" (Leslie and Janie's mom) for stepping to help out today in Janie's absence!

Highlights from the Infant Room: The infant room enjoyed a concert by Bach as Miss Caprice directed the show! They loved it! The children enjoyed watching older kids rake leaves and could smell wood burning outside in the chiminea.

Highlights from the Toddler Room: The kids loved a nature walk in the wagon with Tina to see the animals! The boys enjoyed their lunch very much--especially those that had the homemade cream of tomato soup. Several of our friends are teething, so they were a little cranky from time to time (understandably!).

Fridays are for relaxed grazing . . .

Highlights from the Twos Room: The class enjoyed reading Where's My Mommy and sang "Five Little Monkeys Swinging from a Tree" and "Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes". The kids enjoyed squishing, tasting, "cooking" and stringing cranberries using their pincers.

Highlights from the PreK: Inside activities included building a castle with silks, clips, and stands. A couple of girls were princesses waiting for their "husbands" to wake them. Must have been a long wait . . .
Fine motor work included snap blocks, using tongs to move macaroni wheels,

and building with dominoes.

Some friends constructed a train track . . .

Outside, the class enjoyed taking care of the animals with Jamie while others walked the labyrinth and then helped Leslie gather fire wood for our new chiminea. The chiminea needed to be "seasoned", so Mr. Jamie tended the fire out of kid reach, but much to their amazement!

AM Snack: organic apple-cinnamon granola, organic milk

Lunch: homemade cream of tomato soup, peanut butter sandwiches on whole wheat bread, bananas, organic milk or water

PM Snack: homemade chicken salad, whole grain crackers, water

Thursday, 12/4/08

Stringing cranberries . . .

School Announcements: Please save your tin cans for our luminaries at the Solstice Festival! Don't forget the Evening of Indulgence for "big" people this Friday night from 6:30-9:30.

Highlights from the Infant Room:

Miss Caprice helped the children visit "Hawaii" today! The kids listened to luau music and smelled white jasmine oil in a sensory bottle!

Highlights from the Toddler Room:

The children enjoyed playing with the parachute and bean bags. The kids collected eggs in baskets--a favorite from yesterday. The boys always love books as well as driving wooden cars and airplanes across the floot. Miss Janie read The Very Hungry Caterpillar and sang "Patty Cake" and "Tiny Tim" with hand motions. They counted from 1-5 in Spanish and English, too! Other fun including bouncing the big red rubber ball and scribbling with crayons. The class continues to work on giving one another "soft touches".

Highlights from the Twos Room:

The kids enjoyed listening to farm songs on a CD--even singing some of the songs that were familiar. Books at Community Time included: Baby's First Library: Farm and First Words. The kids got to take a look at some fresh cranberries and practiced some descriptive words including: "round", "red", and "small". Several of the older boys enjoy pedaling bikes on the concrete patio!

Highlights from the PreK:

This morning, several friends helped assemble the enchilada casseroles for lunch. MMmmm! Fine motor work in the classroom including stringing cranberries with real sewing needles (!) and supervision! At Community Time, the story of Grandmother Wind and Father Winter was retold to the kids delight as many of them heard lots of wind last night and know that the solstice, which signals Winter, is just 17 days away! Our friend Jordan saw Silvia squirrel from the story as he was lying on his nap mat--we wonder where she is hiding her nuts to prepare for winter? During story time on our nap mats before lunch, the story of "Snow White and Red Rose" was read for the third consecutive day, by request. This quiet time at the end of a busy morning is a time to imagine a story as it is read/told rather than seeing pictures in a book. The kids really have great imaginations! We also enjoyed Claudia's book called Give Me Grace.

AM Snack: whole wheat bagels or whole wheat English muffins with raspberry cream cheese, water

Lunch: organic gala apple slices, enchilada casserole, organic milk

PM Snack: Goldfish crackers, raisins, water

Babies: Before and After

Reaching out to one another to hold hands . . .

Then, completely wiped out, and Miss Caprice calling for back-up!

Enchilada Casserole

The kids really enjoyed making and eating this at school today! It freezes well, and is quite easy on the budget in these times! Add a salad or fruit, and the meal is complete. Great topped with a little sour cream or plain yogurt.

Enchilada Casserole

1 large green pepper, diced
1 large onion, diced
1 T olive oil or canola oil
1 tsp salt
1 tsp garlic powder, or two or three cloves of garlic, minced
2 T chili powder
1 T cumin
2 10-12 oz cans diced tomatoes or tomoto puree
2 cans black bean or pinto beans, drained and rinsed
12 corn tortillas
approximately 4 cups shredded cheese--cheddar or a Mexican blend is good


Preheat oven to 350.

Saute the pepper and onions in the oil in a large saucepan or dutch oven. Sprinkle with salt, and add garlic powder or fresh garlic. Cook until the vegetables are soft. Add the chili powder and cumin, then the two cans of tomatoes plus 1/2 can of water. Simmer for 10 minutes. On a plate mash about 1 cup of beans with a fork, then add to the sauce (this thickens the sauce a little). Add the remaining whole beans and remove from the heat.

Cover the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish with a thin layer of sauce--approximately 1/2 cup. Lay 6 corn tortillas over the sauce, then cover with a 1/2 of the sauce and cheese. Repeat with another layer of tortillas, the remaining sauce, and the remaining cheese. Cover lightly with foil. Bake for 15 minutes covered, then uncover for the remaining 5-10 minutes.

Apple Date Bars

We made these today and they are very good! Next time we will make a few substitutions to make them even healthier!

Apple Date Bars

5 oz butter, softened
1 1/2 c brown sugar--this could be cut back
6 T milk
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
2 2/3 flour--next time we'll try this with whole wheat flour
1 tsp cinnamon--a little more would be nice, perhaps 1 1/2 tsp
1 cup chopped nuts--we used almonds, but walnuts would be great, too!
1 cup dried dates, chopped--dried cranberries, apricots, or raisins would be nice!
1 cup apples, peeled and chopped fine--a tart apple would be nice, or blueberries.
2 eggs
grated orange rind or lemon rind would be a great addition!


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a large sheet pan. Cream the butter and brown sugar. Mix in the egg and milk. Stir in the apples. Add the flour, baking soda, and cinnamon. Mix thoroughly. Stir in the nuts and dates. Spread dough into the pan and bake 20-25 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes before cutting into squares.