Greetings Turtle Families,
It is hard to believe that Thanksgiving week is already here! Winter layers were shed throughout each morning this week as the temperatures climbed to springtime highs but signs of fall still abound. Leaf showers are plentiful and the forest floor is completely blanketed with crunchy leaves. In anticipation of the first frost nearing (maybe!), we planted some winter hardy greens and placed our planters in the sunniest spot we could find in our forest classroom. Old gourds and pumpkins were used to practice working with hammers and nails. It was fun to choose a wart on our warty pumpkin, press the nail in slightly, and hammer it in little by little. Once the nails went in, we practiced turning the hammer around and prying them out. After practicing a few times, one Turtle declared “Hey, I’m really starting to get the hang of this!” with a big smile on his face. On Wednesday, Ki Kim cut into a white cinderella pumpkin and the children were bursting with excitement to explore the inside, noting how it is very different from the inside of an ordinary orange pumpkin!
Our story this week was an endearing nature tale about a bird with a hurt wing who could not fly south. She asked the birch tree, oak tree, and willow tree if they would shelter her for the winter. Concerned only with themselves, they refused and turned her away. The spruce, pine, and juniper tree, however, were happy to provide shelter and berries for the bird all winter long. When Brother Wind came along, he blew all of the leaves from the trees except those of the evergreens, for Father Winter noted their kindness and protected their leaves and needles forevermore.
May everyone have a week filled with rest, relaxation and fun adventures among loved ones. I am so grateful for each and every Turtle. They are a creative, kind, imaginative, curious and loving bunch! Thank you for entrusting your children to our care :)
Reminders:
Please join us at 11:15 on Friday, 12/3 as our class walks the Winter Spiral in the pine forest below the dome. The children will walk into the spiral with a candle which will be lit in the center of the spiral. As they walk out, they will place their candles onto the spiral to lighten the path and share their light with others.
Kindly,
Ki Amy
