Kindergarten Oct 30 - Nov 3

What a fun week at The Garden School! We wore our Halloween costumes to school on Tuesday. We made leaf and flower presses so we can preserve some of the colorful leaves and pretty fall flowers we are finding. We took home bumpy gourds in our backpacks to show to our families. 

Miss Sonya told us a story about The Fox and the Falling Leaves. Miss Lindsey taught us how to sew shoulder holders for our water bottles. Mr. Warren helped us swing very high on a new swing. Mr. Lee let us smash pumpkins for the goats and miniature donkey to eat. We grated lemons to make lemon zest. We stood around the fire pit in the mornings but then took our jackets and gloves off for the warm sunny afternoons. We are learning two special lantern songs that we will be singing on the Lantern Walk this Thursday.

Kindergarten Oct 23 - 27

Fall is definitely here at The Garden School! The kindergarten students finished creating leaf rubbings using many different kinds of leaves from the forest floor. Miss Sonya told a story about pumpkins and gourds that were lumpy and bumpy and then we got to play with some very lumpy, bumpy pumpkins and gourds. Miss Jasmine taught us a lantern song that we will be singing on the Veterans Day Lantern Walk.

We worked to grind more cinnamon and nutmeg, and crushed garbanzo beans to make hummus for our snack. We played on the rocks in the creek. We visited the miniature donkey and the goats, Snow White and Prince Kudzu. Each day brought an opportunity for imaginative play as we rode on a stagecoach pulled by a powerful horse, cared for a snail that left a trail made of real silver, and dug in the sandbox for jewels buried by pirates. As they like to say in the Deep South, a good time was had by all!

Kindergarten Oct 16 - 20

The kindergarten enjoyed some gorgeous fall weather and a fun 5th birthday celebration for Eric and his Mom Anita. We worked to chop celery and zucchini for our soup and grind grain for our bread. We worked together to dig up a huge "golden stone" from the ground which we placed in the kindergarten classroom. We sewed our watercolor artwork into binders for new nature books that we will fill with drawings and bark rubbings. 

Miss Lindsey told a beautiful story about a mother spider and her babies. Miss Sonya taught us a fun song called "Froggy". We played with the colorful parachute. We walked over rocks through the creek. We walked to the garden to feed the miniature donkey and goats. And we had an archaeology dig in the sandbox where we discovered all kinds of bones, antlers, shells, and fossils.

Kindergarten Oct 9 - 13

We had short days this week as we spent the afternoons in parent teacher conferences. We made the most of them though! We chopped celery and bell peppers for our Thursday soup. We use small grinders to grind cinnamon and nutmeg for our holiday spices. We finished up our water color sessions using red and yellow paints. We ate tiny snacks of fun cucumbers and juicy plums. Miss Sonya told us a story about a kindergarten student who turned into a snail and had to take a long journey back to The Garden School. We sang a new song about a snail's trail. We ate our snacks outdoors and collected the colorful leaves that are beginning to fall.

Kindergarten Oct 2 - 6

The Garden School kindergarten was excited to return from Fall Break and get back to the business of play! Mr. Warren told us a story each day about a little boy and his star kite. Miss Lindsey taught us how to water color with red and yellow. Miss Sonya led us in sidewalk chalk art where we drew mermaids and rainbows and pirate ships. We sang a new song called "I Like to Eat Apples and Bananas" and ate bananas for a little snack on the playground. Then we slid down the new Banana Slide at the beach near the creek. We ate our snacks outdoors at the picnic tables. The weather was so pretty we stayed and ate our lunch outside too. Miss Naazneen shared traditions of Sharad Purnima, the Harvest Festival of the Hindu culture, and Miss Nina served us white bean quesadillas and cauliflower nachos to celebrate the eating of white foods on this special holiday. 

Kindergarten Sept 18 - 22

Kindergarten decided to celebrate the last full week of Summer by spending as much time outdoors as possible!  Ms. Sonya was out for the week with her family.  As a special treat Mr. Lee joined Ms. Lindsey and Mr. Warren with Kindergarten for the whole week!  We stayed on the playground for our morning circle and activities such as leather stamping, polishing wood, washboard laundry, practicing our sewing stitches and crayon drawing.  We enjoyed our morning snack at the picnic tables each day then headed into the forest for story and play.  Kindergarten loved seeing the grades students perform for the Festival of Courage and the story of the princess and the dragon. The javelin throw and silk flag dyeing were especially popular with the kindergarten children. Friday Ms. Lisa joined us for our morning circle and tea. Our time in the garden was spent feeding kudzu to the donkey and the goats. Afterward we all gathered down at the creek to cool down on a hot first day of Autumn. 

Kindergarten Sept 11 - 15

This fifth week of kindergarten was a short one thanks to Tropical Storm Irma. The water was too high and swift to play in the creek but we made the most of our time in the forest and garden. We learned to chop and peel, and prepared carrots, sweet peppers, spinach leaves, and apples for our morning snacks. Miss Sonya told us the story of Tiny Turtle and the Great Migration. We sang new songs about fairies and goblins, going to sea on a pirate ship, and waltzing with bears.

Kindergarten Sept 5 - 8

As we finish up our 4th week of school, it has been a delight to watch the kindergarten students become more comfortable and self-confident. Week by week they realize they have a safe home away from home where they are encouraged and cherished.

This week we found lots of new mushrooms that had popped up after the heavy rains. Miss Lisa told us a beautiful story during storytime of two children, a caterpillar, and a butterfly. We walked on the tightrope, built bridges out of wooden blocks, built a fort for the chipmunks, played with rocks and shells, chopped carrots and apples, and could not get enough of the sandbox!

Kindergarten Aug 28 - Sept 1

Our third week of kindergarten was full of play!  We played in the creek and we played in the sandbox and we played on the swings and we played in the rain!  We built a fairy fort.  We listened to Aesop's fable about The Wolf and the Dog.  And we celebrated Rory's 6th birthday!

Kindergarten Aug 21 - 25

Our second week began with a very special Shadow Party, a celebration of astronomical proportions. Students and their families joined The Garden School staff in the playground for solar eclipse activities and delicious eclipse cookies. Using special solar viewing glasses, we went to the upper viewing field to watch the moon as it passed across the sun. We were delighted with the unique shadows of tree leaves that appeared on the ground during the eclipse.

Later in the week, we played in the creek and in the sandbox, chopped up vegetables to make our own vegetable soup, and got a closeup look at some cicadas. We listened to a great story of a boy and his parents who, with the help of the garden animals, pulled a ginormous turnip out of the ground.

Kindergarten Aug 14 - 18

Wow! Our first week of welcoming our preschoolers & Kindergarteners to the Garden School Family.  During indoor time we sang finger play songs with our ten fingers, played teacher directed games as we adjusted to our first emotions & experiences of our time in school and without our primary caretakers. We ate snacks together as a class; you may have heard them mention sauteed peas and steamed rice (yum!) . We also familiarised ourselves with outdoor rhythm as we played in the creek, had storytime about an old woman & her daughters by the pond, and discovered an inchworm, a five-lined skink, and a mama wolf spider. The students, new and old, are quickly coming together as a class and a community!

 

 

Kindergarten May 8 - 12

It was a busy week for the Garden School. Kindergarten celebrated two summer birthdays, Carden and Nico.  Plus, we were able to spend more time with our school goats! The grades put on an excellent play for Mother's Day on Friday, as well as a nice tea and snack party for all of the moms! Glad to see summer come but hate to see all the faces leave us. We wrap up school after next week.....summer is here! 

Kindergarten May 1 - 5

With only 10 school days left we still manage to fulfill our adventures. We have two new goats added to our beautiful school, and with time they will help our school grow even more. From mudpies to homemade bandages...we continue to embrace the beautiful weather. Until next time!

Kindergarten April 24 - 28

School is getting busier as we start wrapping up our year. This past week we enjoyed celebrating Noah's 6th birthday. Wet play is still among us as we approach Summer in full swing!! Until next time!

Kindergarten April 17 - 21

We had a great week this week in KDG. With only a few weeks left our school remains to stay busy with new visiting guest like Devon. Plus we had a busy week celebrating Elainas and Samanthas birthdays. As school begins to wrap up...I wonder what KDG will bring before the school year is over. Until next week!!

Click here to read Ms. Angela's goodbye message. 

Kindergarten April 10 - 14

We were happy this week to be back playing together after spring break. We saw and explored lots of things; a salamander, beaver sticks, snail trails, river oysters, caterpillars, and sniffed the wild roses and jasmine. We also crossed the creek bridge!

 

Kindergarten March 27 - 31

Busy week in kindergarten before our springbreak rest. We were able to spend more time with Ms. Tammy this week and continue her gardening project. On top of that we had many opportunities to interact with our baby chicks and include them with part of our free play! New faces continue to filter in and out of our room...hinting to us that next year will be even busier!  Until next week!

Kindergarten March 20 - 24

This week in kindergarten we started our new spring circle! New songs and rhythms are added to our day. We also welcomed back Ms. Tammy for a few days. We enjoyed a visit from a new and prosper student Nicolas. The class finished up our week with Ms. Tammy leading a great gardening project. Until next week! 

Kindergarten March 6 - 10

We had a very busy week this week in Kindergarten. We embraced the wet and cold weather of the mornings followed by the heat of the early afternoons.  We had a small family of chick's hatch and enter the world here at The Garden School, where now we shall raise them all just like our own ( because they are). Finally our thoughtful children finished up a Get well Soon card for Gabriela, who has been out with bit of a sickness this week. We sure do miss her. 

Until next week!!!

Kindergarten Feb 27 - Mar 3

This week in kindergarten, we experienced a taste of early spring by shedding layers, rolling up our sleeves and hunting down edible plants such as sassafras and cleavers. Also, we were able to celebrate Sadie Mann's Earthstrong and was surprised with a wonderful snack from Sadie's mother, Abby. Thanks again. Our children and their parents are so special!