Thursday, August 28

Special Note: We will no longer have splash days on Thursday as fall approaches. We will continue to do water discovery boxes, etc. outside with the children as part of their regular outdoor play. Swimsuits and towels are not necessary for this type of play.

Community: circle songs, numbers 1 - 20 sung outloud and written on dry erase board, counting by 10s to 100, ABCs, recognizing our names written on dry erase board and spelled aloud, read Miles' book The True Story of the Three Little Pigs, Three Billy Goats Gruff
Fine Motor: puzzles, stacking blocks,
Outside: wagon rides, cooking in the outdoor kitchen, riding tricycles and scooters
Indoor play: treasure chest of play clothes, building train tracks, cooking at play kitchen, building a structure with wooden stands, clips and silks
Cooking: Catherine helped set the table for lunch, the children enjoyed serving each other at meal time

Breakfast: vanilla yogurt, milk, fruit salad, oat cereal
Lunch: smoked turkey sausage, baked beans, pear slices, organic milk, homemade bread
Snack: cheddar cheese cubes, pretzels, water

Wednesday, August 27

Community: circle songs, nursery rhyme review, counting songs, read Mattvey's dinosaur book and Colton's Richard Scarry book

Fine Motor: kneading dough, puzzles, sorting activities

Outside: train rides on the wagons, swinging, cooking at the outdoor kitchen

Indoor play: treasure chest of dress up clothes, built structures using wooden stands, clips and silks, building with blocks, farm animals

Cooking: Colton, Jaden and Asa helped mix up the bread dough for today's baking project, the children worked with the dough and made loaves for baking, Miles, Gigi and Nina set the table for our meals.

Breakfast: mini bagels with cream cheese, organic milk, bananas
Lunch: homemade taco salad [ground turkey, black beans, brown rice, stone ground tortilla chips, lettuce, tomatoes and cheddar cheese], fruit salad, organic milk
Snack: granola bars, raisins, water

Tuesday, August 26

We're back! School has been busy and we've lost track of time and blogging!

We wanted to take a moment and welcome some new and old faces to school!

Welcome to Maksim, Nina's brother. Maksim is joining us three days a week. Maksim has completed his first week with us and is well on is way to fitting in to our school family!

Welcome to Gabrielle, Miles' sister. Gabrielle is joining us for one day a week until we transition to the new farm school. Gabrielle has enjoyed her first day and the children love having "little ones" around!

Welcome back to Spencer and his family! Spencer joins us two days a week after spending the summer with his family. The children missed their dear friend and were very happy to see him today!

Community: circle songs, name and letter recognition, number recognition 1 - 20, Leslie retold the story of The Princess and the Pea

Fine Motor: beeswax modeling, drawing and writing our names with beeswax crayons

Outside: cooking in the play kitchen, swinging, trucks, wagon rides

Indoor play: treasure chest of play clothes, cooking at the play kitchen, building a tent with the play stands and silks

Cooking: Asa and Catherine helped make homemade peach cake for snack this afternoon. Mattvey set the table for breakfast and the children enjoyed serving each other breakfast and lunch.

Breakfast: multigrain waffles, turkey bacon, organic milk, fresh cantaloupe

Lunch: homemade tuna salad, cucumber slices, red plums, organic milk, whole wheat crackers

Snack: homemade peach cake, water

Thursday, August 21

Community: circle songs, numbers 1 -10, read Wild and Wooley Mammoths, Mattvey shared his map from the San Antonio zoo and told us all about the animals he observed at the zoo, discussed what it means to be an endangered animal and learned about a few of the animals currently on the endangered species list

Fine Motor: homemade playdough, puzzles, drawing with beeswax crayons

Outside: "Shark Attack" tag, "train" rides in the wagons, cars, dump trucks, swinging, cooking in the outdoor kitchen, planted agave pups in flower pots, filled bird feeder

Indoor play: Cheerio bingo, building structures with wood blocks, treasure chest of costumes

Cooking: Olivia and Asa helped prepare homemade playdough for use this afternoon.

Breakfast: Cheerios, organic milk, mandarin oranges

Lunch: Grilled turkey and cheese sandwiches, organic corn, organic milk, peaches

Snack: Ryvita crackers and peanut butter, water

Wednesday, August 20

Community: practiced clapping 1-20, added our fingers and toes to get 20, phonics work, sang some of our favorite songs with pictures on the wipe off board, listened for our names spelled aloud and did some tricks for our friends when it was our name that was spelled, read Matt's book The Gas We Pass, read Bear Around Town
Fine Motor: Building blocks [toddlers], unifix cubes, puzzles,

Outside: The children had great fun running and playing in their rain boots this morning.

We love a good excuse to wear our boots in Texas! We must keep our boots turned upside down as we have little birds that like to make nests in our boots and lay their eggs there!

Outdoor play is critical for children, not just for gross motor development, but also because children have a great need to be in contact with nature!

Indoor play: The children enjoyed a game of Cheerio bingo, addition puzzles, unifixcubes, constructing a house using play silks, clips and stands, treasure chest of dress up clothes, constructing a fort out of snap blocks,

Cooking: Catherine assisted with peeling the carrots for lunch, Jordan, Olivia and Iris helped set the table for breakfast and lunch.

Breakfast: Oatmeal with brown sugar and cinnamon, organic milk, fresh pear slices

Lunch: homemade chicken salad, whole grain crackers, fresh plums, organic milk, organic carrot sticks

Snack: pretzels, peanuts and raisins

Tuesday, August 19

Cowgirl Sue Concert Announcement at the Bottom!

Community: sang songs and rhymes about rain, counted 1-20, worked on written number recognition 1-20, beeswax modeling during a puppet show by Olivia that featured a police officer teaching us the word "precipitation"

Puppet show about precipitation, written by an 8 year old.

Fine Motor: beeswax modeling, drawing with pencils and beeswax crayons, castle construction, small cars and race track, our favorite Thomas the Tank Engine floor puzzle

Outside: we enjoyed wearing our boots and playing in the gentle rain showers that came and went

Movement: kids' yoga and kids' Taebo

Cooking: Jordan, Beckett, Olivia, and Iris enjoyed scooping out avocado and dicing for fresh guacamole, making pudding, setting the table

Making guacamole.

Breakfast: yogurt, organic granola, raisins, organic milk

Lunch: black beans, brown rice, homemade guacamole, peas and carrots, organic milk

Snack: vanilla pudding, graham crackers, water

NOTES: We would like to announce an Open House for our currently enrolled families at our new location on Saturday, 9/13 from 11:00 AM-12:00 PM. Families on the waitlist will be touring the school from 10:00 AM-11:00 AM the same day.

Additionally, we will be conducting an Open House that is for the greater community on Saturday, 9/20. We are excited to announce that Cowgirl Sue will perform at 10:30AM! It should be a lot of fun. The school will be open for tours from 9:30 AM-10:30 AM and again after the concert from 11:00 AM-12:00 PM.

Monday, August 18

Our new nesting people.

Pouring water.

Peeling a carrot.

Community: favorite circle songs, recognizing letters of the alphabet and people's names that start with each letter, read Really Big Cats and Who Am I?, reviewed our Planet Earth animal cardsPreparing a picnic of black beans.

Outside: cooking at the play kitchen, "train" rides in the wagon, animals and their keepers [rabbits, ponies, etc.], swinging on the horse swing, riding bikes
Cooking: Olivia and Nina helped make rice krispie treats for snack time
Art: painting with watercolors
Fine Motor: pouring water into containers; unifix cubes, nesting dolls
Pretend: dress up clothes, taking care of babies, cooking at the play kitchen

Breakfast: scrambled eggs, whole wheat mini bagels with grape jelly, organic milk, mandarin oranges
Lunch: homemade turkey marinara sauce with shells, organic milk, tossed salad with balsamic vinaigrette dressing
Snack: homemade rice krispie treats with peanuts, water

Friday, August 15

It's Friday. Another week has passed with double-digit temperatures. We'll be glad for cooler weather to arrive as the children really miss their afternoon outdoor play! Due to the dangerous heat index, it's not safe to have the children exposed to the afternoon heat. Once cooler weather arrives, we'll pick back up with our closing of the school day taking place outside so the children can run off their built-up energy! We hope that everyone has a safe, relaxing weekend.

Community: Olivia and Iris led the children in their favorite circle time songs including ABCs, Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star, 1-2-3-4-5, Mr. Clown, read Queenie Farmer Had Fifteen Daughters, learned about the Eider duck, Bison, Locust and Lion using our Planet Earth cards.
Outside: Cooking in the outdoor kitchen, bikes, trikes and scooters, "train" rides in the wagons, swings, observing roly polys in their natural environment
Cooking: Isaac helped shred cheddar cheese for our tasty cheese toast, the children set the table for our meals
Fine Motor: building blocks, race track construction
Pretend: Treasure chest of dress-up clothes, building blocks, cooking at the play kitchen

Breakfast: cheddar cheese toast, organic milk, organic orange slices
Lunch: smoked turkey breast slices, baked ham slices, provolone cheese, Club crackers, tomato soup, organic apple wedges, organic milk
Snack: organic carrot sticks with ranch, pretzels, water

Thursday, August 14

It's another hot day but the children had a great time splashing outside this morning. The children continue to enjoy the treasure chest of dress up clothes and ask several times a day if they can open the chest to dress up.

Community: Olivia led the children in their favorite circle time songs and reviewed animals of the land cards
Outside: Splash Day!!!!!!!
Cooking: Matt helped prepare the strawberries for the strawberry and blueberry fruit salad for lunch. Jordan and Olivia set the table for our meals and the children enjoyed serving each other at the table.
Fine Motor: Following splash time, the children enjoyed shelling roasted peanuts as a morning snack...their fingers really got a workout from shelling! The children also had time to glue cut pieces of paper to create different designs.
Pretend: Hyenas and princesses--and everything in-between using the treasure chest of dress up clothes

Breakfast: Cheerios, organic milk, sausage links, raisins
Lunch: organic macaroni and cheese fortified with fresh shredded cheddar, steamed broccoli, organic strawberry and blueberry salad
Snack: Make your own snack mix with pretzels, Goldfish crackers and raisins

Kandle Kids Wear

We've stumbled on to some Austin original kids t-shirts that are lovingly designed and made by two Austin mammas.

Kandle Kids Wear features unique felt decorated shirts ranging from onsies for the littlest Central Texan to size 4 T.

Check out their website for additional information as well as local businesses that feature the shirts for sale.

http://www.kandlekidswear.com/

Wednesday, August 13

Community: favorite circle songs led by Olivia, reviewed our colors, read Farm Puppy
Outside: "The Dog Pound"--the children had great fun outside pretending to be a pack of dogs. Some were nice and some were growlers. They ran, sat, jumped, climbed, and were generally wild dogs [all in good fun!]
Cooking: we hand cranked vanilla ice cream this morning before lunch
Pretend: The treasure chest proves to be one of the best items that we have out for the children to play with in recent weeks. We had brides, princesses, construction workers, etc. preparing food, taking care of babies and building race tracks.
Afternoon: Yoga for kids--we'll be stretching our muscles and relaxing while getting in a nice workout after snack

Breakfast: peanut butter pancake "tacos", milk, peaches
Lunch: Frito pie, tropical fruit salad, milk
Snack: homemade vanilla ice cream [more like ice milk!], graham crackers

Tuesday, August 12

Hooray for rain! The children enjoyed running around in the light rain shower in their boots and playing.

Community: We enjoyed several of our favorite songs, read Oh Where Oh Where Has MY Little Dog Gone?, The Very Hungry Caterpillar and Explore A Spooky Swamp, learned about flying frogs, African elephants, giant pandas, Emperor penguins and hummingbirds, recognized our names when spelled aloud

Outside: "X" marks the spot--searching the backyard the children marked "X"s in the bike path and dug for treasure, built a rain shelter using a shower curtain and the play scape, dump trucks

Cooking: served friends, set the table

Fine Motor: beeswax modeling, tracing shapes with beeswax crayons

Pretend: dress up, building at the train table, playing house and tending to the needs of babies, cooking at the play kitchen

Breakfast: mini bagels with peanut butter, raisins, milk

Lunch: bean and cheese burritos on whole wheat tortillas, organic blueberries and strawberries, milk

Snack: granola bars, apple juice

Monday, August 11

Sorry that we weren't able to post due to trouble connecting with the blogger site. Note that the picture is from another day of dress up!

Community: We enjoyed several of our favorite songs, reviewed colors in Spanish using Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do you See?, read Busy, Buzzy Bees and Matt's Alphabet Soup, reviewed the life cycle of a butterfly

Outside: enjoyed running laps around the bike path, wagon rides, easel and sidewalk chalk

Cooking: served friends, set the table, several friends helped make homemade blueberry banana muffins

Fine Motor: puzzles, using chopsticks to move beans, drawing, painting, snap together race track, building with wooden blocks

Art: watercolor painting

Pretend: dress up, including a scenario dressed as a king, queen, prince, and princess. The queen and princess kissed a plastic frog, placed the frog under a pillow, went to asleep, and awoke to a handsome king and prince. The king and prince learned to say, "may I have this dance?". We also enjoyed building structures with our silks and clips.

Breakfast: blueberry banana muffin, scrambled eggs, milk

Lunch: brown rice, barbecued shredded pork, mixed vegetables, fresh fruit salad, milk

Snack: crackers with cream cheese or peanut butter, water

Blueberry Banana Muffins

Unlike many quick muffin/bread recipes, this recipe doesn't have much sugar, has no butter, and a minimum amount of healthy oil. The kids really enjoyed these for breakfast today!

Blueberry Banana Muffins

In a large bowl, combine:

2 mashed bananas

1 egg

1/2 c milk

1/3 c olive oil

1/4 c packed brown sugar--light or dark

1 tsp vanilla

the juice and zest of 1 lemon

pinch of salt

Combine well with a whisk.

Then add:

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

2 c flour (white all-purpose, wheat, or a combination of white and wheat to equal 2 c)

Combine well with a whisk.

Then stir in:

1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries.

Portion into twelve large paper-lined or greased and floured muffin cups. Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes, until the tops are golden. You may also make a loaf by pouring the batter into a greased and floured loaf pan. Bake 20-30 minutes, until the loaf is golden on top.

Friday, August 8

It's Friday! We hope that everyone has a relaxing weekend planned. We are very excited that the rezoning process for the new property has been approved and we can move on to the next item on our "new farm school" to-do list! Have a wonderful, safe weekend.

Leslie & Janie

Community: circle songs - "Texas Star", "Ten Little Puffer Bellies" and enjoyed animal fact/picture cards about wolverines, Amur leopards, wildebeests, jaguars and caribou

Cooking: Iris helped prepare the goulash and chopped chicken breasts for the chicken and cheese quesadillas. Mattvey and Jordan set the table for breakfast and lunch. The children enjoyed serving each other during both meals.

Fine Motor: pouring water, moving objects from one container to another using tweezers, chopsticks and other utensils, unifix cubes, sorting "math" activity using colored objects

Pretend: cooking in the kitchen, building a train route on the train table

Outside: wagons, cooking in the outdoor kitchen, school clean up day--the children washed a variety of indoor toys outside

Breakfast: scrambled eggs, milk, whole wheat toast, fresh cantaloupe

Lunch: [today was mixed up lunch day where we offered two main dishes] chicken and cheese quesadillas, goulash, milk, fresh pineapple and cantaloupe

Snack: "It's Friday" snack mix--roasted peanuts, raisins and goldfish crackers [the children love this combo!]

Planet Green

Leslie and Jesse have really enjoyed the new "Planet Green" channel on Time Warner Cable (channel #203). There are great shows featuring remodeling projects, Emeril has a cooking show filmed at Whole Foods Market, there is a great show where families learn to recycle, and there is an on-going series about the greening of Greensburg, Kansas, which was destroyed by tornadoes.

Their website had tons of great information and projects, too!

http://planetgreen.discovery.com/

Natural Toy Sites

As we are shopping for items for the new school, and pirating ideas (as teachers do!), we have run across some great toy sites.



Sara's Toy Box blog--fun, with product trials and reviews. Most of the toys are natural and open-ended. Note that Sara has a section on the left side of her blog with discount codes to use on various toy websites.



http://saras-toy-box.blogspot.com/

A Toy Garden is located in Fair Oaks, CA, the town where there is a Rudolf Steiner training school and a huge Waldorf community. Sonya's prices on silks and play clips are hard to beat, and she always has something neat in her "clearance" section. Great ideas for things that you could try to replicate for play at home. There is a great "birthday" section with some fresh ideas for grandparents and friends who ask what your child might enjoy.

http://www.atoygarden.com/