Osiyo, River Otter families

Fall is in the air and our forest classroom looks magical with the leaf-covered ground and light streaming through the thinning trees. It was the perfect week to add to our tea garden and plant some winter crops. On Tuesday, we planted chamomile, peppermint, and lemon balm in our tea garden. We also planted kale and cabbage collards, which are great fall and winter crops and will be delicious in our soup. Our painting this week reflected the new season as well. Tippy, our paintbrush, played with two friends at the same time, for the first time, as we painted with both red and yellow. On Friday, we visited the garden and were able to bring home a delightful vegetable grown by the grades students and Mr. Matan. We also took turns using our hatchet to cut some tall bamboo the 5th graders brought us. We used the pieces we cut in our fort building.

As the season changes, we will make a few small changes to our class routine. The rhythm of the days and week, however, will remain the same. We will have herbal tea with optional honey on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Fridays. The students enjoyed the tea we have already shared. They each have a reusable wheatgrass cup with their name on it, and they serve themselves the tea from a decanter and honey from a jar with a honey stir stick. We will also no longer play in the creek, though we will return later in the school year when mornings are reliably warmer and the nights aren’t so cold. Instead, Tuesdays will be the day we visit the farm and garden. We will have the opportunity to help with chores, visit the animals, and occasionally pick vegetables. We will also occasionally visit the farm on a Friday.

Announcements and Reminders:

Picture day is this week! We will have our class photo on Wednesday, 10/12 around 10:00 am. If your child does not usually attend on Wednesday, you are welcome to bring them to the school at this time to join us for the group photo. Please let me know if you plan to attend so we can look for you! Individual photos for 5-day and 3-day students will also be on Wednesday. Individual photos for 2 day students will be on Thursday, 10/13.
Conferences are also this week! Thank you all for signing up, I am looking forward to meeting with each of you to discuss your wonderful children. All students will be dismissed at 12:15-12:30 on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday (10/12-12/14).
Thank you for sending layers for your children! There has been a big temperature difference during the day. Pants, long sleeves, coats, and even hats and gloves are helpful in the morning.
Please send in clean Oui yogurt (small glass) containers as you are able. You may wish to ask a friend if they have some too. We will be using them as the Lantern Walk approaches.

Thank you for sharing your children with us, and for being part of our community.

Gvyalieliga,

Ki Holly