Greetings, Turtle Families,
Hopefully, you all had a wonderful break! It is so great to come together as a class again. The children missed each other and we missed them! Fall is here! We are starting a new autumn circle this week. There will be new songs, verses, and movements for the students to learn.
The week before break was busy! We completed our shooting star rings and the children brought them home. We also dyed some fabric; the dyeing process is an amazing sensory experience! First, we collected goldenrod and marigolds. (Thank you to everyone who added to our collection.) As the students pulled the goldenrod flowers from the stems and plucked all of the marigold flower petals, many commented on how good they smelled and how soft the marigolds were. The children also learned how it felt to strip the goldenrod from the stems. We added all of the plucked flowers to a pot and poured water on top. Ki Ieva helped us by boiling the flowers and water and letting them stew, and she also prepared some turmeric for us to add. When the dye was ready, each student dipped a cloth into the mixture and stirred it. As they did this, many noted the good, but different smell, of the dye mixture and also that the dye water was not clear anymore. A few hours later, we pulled the cloth out and hung them each to dry. The children were thrilled to see the white clothes turn such a beautiful yellow. Naturally dyed fabric makes a wonderful addition to loose parts and imaginative play - it can be a cape, a blanket for a stuffed animal, a fort for some peg dolls, or anything they can imagine.
Our story to connect with our Day of Courage celebration was about a hungry dragon collecting cloudberries and a kind family. The dragon was afraid of people and the people were afraid of dragons. As the story went, the dragon found himself face to face with a child who was very scared to talk to the dragon. The dragon was scared too. The child’s family needed help lighting their fire to cook their food. The dragon agreed to help them. When the fire was lit, the family invited the dragon to stay and eat pancakes with them, and the dragon shared his cloudberries to make a delicious syrup. On Thursday and Friday, we had pancakes and cloudberry (Blueberry) syrup. Just like the dragon and the family, we ate every last bite!
Announcements and Reminders:
If you have not yet signed up for conferences, please do so here. It will be lovely to meet with each of you.
As the days get cooler, and mornings can be especially cool, please send your child with a sweater, sweatshirt, or jacket every day. It is around 10 degrees cooler in the shaded forest. Please also include long pants in your child’s backpack if they wear shorts to school.
Upcoming Events:
10/11 - 10/12 Sixth grade caving field trip
10/12 Half Day - Parent Conferences
10/13 No School - Parent Conferences
10/14 Community Work Day 10 am - 1 pm *Please note date change
10/21 Kingdom of Halloween
11/1 NO SCHOOL - Teacher in-service
Thank you for sharing your children with us and for being a part of our community!
Grace and Peace,
Ki Kim
