Greetings Forestgarten Families!
It finally feels like fall! The forest is full of beautiful colors as the leaves are changing and
dropping to the ground. The mornings are actually a bit chilly and it is always cooler in the
forest, so please remember to begin sending a jacket or sweater daily.
The children are really enjoying our new fall circle. Below are the words to our farmer song and
dandelion verse in case you’d like to learn them along with your child.
The Farmer (song)
A farmer arose at the break of day
He got on his horse and he galloped away
He galloped away, he galloped away
He got on his horse and he galloped away
Oh come all my friends, oh come said he
Our carrots and turnips for to see
In the warm brown earth they have grown so big
So with our spades we must dig and dig
So fetch your spades and come along
To dig up the roots with your arms so strong
We’ll lay them out in the sun to dry
And then on the cart pile them up so high
A farmer arose at the break of day
He got on his horse and he galloped away
Oh Dandelion (Verse)
Oh dandelion yellow as gold
What do you do all day?
I sit here in the tall green grass til the children come to play
Oh dandelion yellow as gold, what do you do all night?
I wait and wait til the cool dew falls and my hair turns long and white
And what do you do when your hair turns white and the children come to play?
They scoop me up in their little hands and blow my hair away!
Our story this week was about a little girl named Lily and her grandmother who went on a long
journey to pick a pumpkin for their pumpkin stew. In order to reach the pumpkin fields, they
had to pass through the fiery forest, a ten-mile cornfield and a scarecrow crow field. When
they finally arrived to the pumpkin patch they were sad to see that there were no pumpkins in
the field. Feeling quite disappointed, they made the difficult trek home and when they arrived
at the cottage, grandmother’s garden gnome heard them talking about their unfortunate
journey. He wanted to help so he collected a large ball of beautiful leaves and made the same
difficult journey, but instead of arriving at the pumpkin patch, he visited with a kind witch and
he asked her to help him create a pumpkin for the little girl and her grandmother so that they
could make their favorite pumpkin stew. The witch was obliged to help and she took the leaves
to her cauldron and worked on a pumpkin spell. Did it work? Ask your child to help finish this
magical story, an original tale written by our very own Ki Fatima!
We had a wonderful work session this week with hammers and nails. Students hammered nails
into stumps and into the ground. Nailing into the ground was especially fun, as the children
were then able to practice taking the nails out of the ground with the other side of the
hammer.
On Friday, we took a break from grating cinnamon to grate soap for hand washing in the forest.
The children love the smell of the fresh soap and watching the bars disappear into tiny shreds!
It is fun and satisfying activity that can be done at home as well if you wish.
We look forward to seeing all of you next week during conferences. Please reach out to us if
you have any questions or concerns regarding your scheduled time.
Kindly,
Ki Fatima
Ki Holly
Ki Amy
