Joyful Beginnings: May 16 - 20

Dear Joyful Families

Our school year has come to a close. We had a wonderful last week celebrating the birthdays of both Paloma and Asher, and saying farewell to each other on Thursday and Friday. Each child was gifted a sweet little treasure pouch adorned with their cubby symbols as a special way to remember their time in class. 

Saying goodbye was bittersweet, but all of the big hugs made up for it! It has been a very humbling and transformative year for us as teachers, and we thank you all so much for your support this year. We hope you all have a very restful and fun summer break! Thank you for a beautiful year in the forest. We will miss you all!

Announcements and Reminders:

  • Your child’s end of year report will be delivered to your email around mid-June. Keep a look out for this detailed, personal narrative of your child’s growth and development over the course of the school year.

With love,

Ki Jessica, Ki Gabby, Ki Ieva

Joyful Beginnings: May 9 - 13

Dear Joyful Families,

The school year is quickly coming to a close at The Garden School, and the excited end-of-year energy is quite palpable! The children were full of lively energy last week, and spent much of it outside, running, digging, working, cooking, and climbing. On Friday, a child shouted, “it smells like spring!”, so we investigated where the delicious smell was coming from. On the field we found a great wall of honeysuckle, which the students all took turns smelling. Another child exclaimed “it smells like birthday cake!” It was a very sweet moment in our day. They’ve also participated in circle more fully in recent weeks. It’s so rewarding to see the culmination of a year’s work coming to fruition. Most children now engage fully and joyfully in circle and in our many finger games, and we believe that is the result of building a very strong sense of rhythm and warmth into our days together. To see the children participating out of their own will reminds us that when we trust in the abilities of children, they each blossom in their own time. 

This is our final week of school and we will be celebrating the birthdays of Paloma and Asher on Tuesday and Wednesday. On Thursday and Friday, we will have a very special farewell ceremony for all of the children. Stay tuned for details to come. 

Thank you again for a beautiful year.

Reminders

  • Please pack bug spray, sunscreen, hats, and seasonally appropriate clothes for your children.

In gratitude,

Ki Jessica, Ki Gabby, Ki Ieva

Joyful Beginnings: May 2 - 6

Dear Joyful Families,

We enjoyed another beautiful week last week in our Joyful Beginnings class. As the weather warmed up, we stayed cool outside while tending to our sunflower sprouts and playing in the mud kitchen with an endless supply of creek water! The children also enjoyed their new puppet story last week about a very brave bunny named Fluffy Tail who journeys underground to help Mother Earth prepare all of the ladybugs and beetles for spring. We also planted some tiny pots with morning glories to give as gifts for Mother’s Day. On Friday, we visited the farm and marveled at how fast the kudzu grew! It seems to have taken over the hillside almost overnight! It was also teacher appreciation week last week, and, as teachers, we couldn’t feel more loved! Thank you to all of the families who treated us to so many gifts of gratitude. It was a very lovely week in every way.

This week we look forward to celebrating some of our summer birthdays, and adding some new songs & hand games into our late spring circle. 

Reminders

  • Please pack a hat, sunscreen, and bug spray for your child, and please make sure their change of clothes is seasonally appropriate 

In gratitude,

Ki Jessica, Ki Gabby, Ki Ieva

Joyful Beginnings: April 25 - 29

Dear Joyful Families,

We enjoyed more beautiful experiences in the Joyful Beginnings class last week. We celebrated not one, but two birthdays for dear Leo and Rose. It was so nice to celebrate our friends in this special way. In the forest, the children built a very lovely fairy house at the base of one of our trees. Every day we checked to see if there were any signs of a fairy coming to visit it, and we maintained the little home as needed. We also enjoyed several rounds of Duck, Duck Goose, and a variety of different finger games last week. As the weather warms up, it’s almost as if the children’s life forces have been freed up from regulating their body warmth, and are now available for more playfulness. They are very much enjoying the new games and songs we are bringing, which is inspiring us to bring more new games this week. 

This week we look forward to further mirroring the season in our rhythm, and enjoying this special time of year through song, game, and craft.

Reminders

  • Please pack seasonally appropriate clothing, bug spray, and a hat

In gratitude,

Ki Jessica, Ki Gabby, Ki Ieva

Joyful Beginnings: April 18 - 22

Dear Joyful Families,

We enjoyed another beautiful week in the Joyful Beginnings class. The weather was perfect for starting our mornings on the small playground, and heading into the shaded forest for play time after snack and story. Our little sunflower seedlings were ready to be transferred into pots last week, and the children were very diligent in tending to their little seedlings. With warmer weather blessing our mornings, we are now able to incorporate water into the children’s free play. A bucket of creek water is brought up to the mud kitchen to further inspire their play and get their creative juices flowing!

This week we look forward to a new spring puppet tale about a very brave bunny who journeys underground to help Mother Earth prepare for spring. He does this by polishing lady bugs and beetles with his soft and very fluffy tail. Once all of the hard work is finished, he leads the procession of bugs out into the meadowland and into spring. It is a very sweet story about bravery and kindness, and a nice way to wrap up our year. 

Reminders:

  • Please pack a hat for your child every day

  • Please pack bug spray

  • Please provide indoor slippers for your child if you have not yet done so. Most have grown out of their school issued slippers 

In gratitude,

Ki Jessica, Ki Gabby, Ki Ieva

Joyful Beginnings: April 11 - April 15

Dear Joyful Families

We had another beautiful week in the Joyful Beginnings class. We’ve been enjoying observing all of the many plants in bloom this week, as the forest becomes more lush by the day. Our sunflowers and zinnias sprouted last week, and this week we look forward to transplanting them into some bigger pots. We also did some practical work in the forest last week. The children helped to shave our crayons to help keep them looking nice. The children very much enjoyed engaging in this type of work, and some shaved crayons for quite a long time! 

We enjoyed our new springtime circle last week, as well as our mama bird story. The story is about a mama bird who is busily building a strong and warm nest for her babies. A little chick pips out of its shell, and mama bird flies all around looking for sweet food to bring to her baby. After the baby is nice and full, she falls asleep and mama bird tucks her in and sings a lullaby. Then the night sky covers them both like a blanket and they drift off to sleep. Protection stories like this one are so beneficial to children of nursery age. It helps to reinforce that everything will be okay, and that mama (or papa) is there to protect and care for them. There are several gestures of protection within the story that help to fortify the children’s sense of well being. It is a very tender and well-received story in our class.

This week we look forward to tending to our growing flowers further, as well as settling into our springtime circle and story. 

Have a wonderful week!

Reminders:

  • Please pack hats for your children, and extra changes of clothes

  • Please purchase indoor slippers for your child with a rubber sole if you have not already done so this year. The children are growing out of the school issued slippers.

  • Our Auction is this FRIDAY, April 22! Please plan on attending as participation in our community is paramount! There will be many lovely items to bid on too!  As a reminder: it is an adults only event.

  • Saturday, April 23, is a Community workday.

  • Friday, May 6, is a half-day.

In gratitude,

Ki Jessica, Ki Gabby, Ki Ieva

Joyful Beginnings: March 28 - April 1

Dear Families,

Another blissful week passed by in our new outdoor space. The children enjoyed climbing and balancing on the circle of stumps and racing the dump trucks around the new space. They never cease to come up with new and resourceful ways to get into their play. One moment, a leaf is a bed for a butterfly, and the next it is currency for the mud kitchen bakery! We also brought some art supplies out to the forest with us last week. The children enjoyed coloring beneath the trees and crafting wool butterflies. 

We ended the week with Grand Friends Tea and really enjoyed meeting everyone who attended. It was great to put faces to the names we often hear from the children. They were so excited to see their family members at school, and joyfully showed them around very much. 

We hope you all enjoy the incredible weather and sunshine this week. Happy spring break!

Reminders:

  • No school this week for Spring Break

  • Friday, April 22nd is a half-day and our Annual Fundraiser.

In gratitude,

Ki Jessica, Ki Gabby, Ki Ieva

Joyful Beginnings: March 21 - 25

Dear Families,

Last week, the Joyful beginnings class thoroughly enjoyed the first week of spring and our new outdoor space in the woods! We had no trouble spending the majority of our time outdoors, only coming inside for snack and story. It was nice to enjoy circle time under the trees again, welcoming spring and showing our reverence to the natural world with our songs. As the seasons evolve, so does our circle. This week’s circle will look slightly different from last week’s, and by time we return from spring break, all of our songs will be different and new. The children love the process of learning a new song. It is lovely to see what resonates with the children, and to see what each child takes away from circle. We also did some gardening last week! Now that the last frost has passed, the children were able to plant some sunflowers and zinnias into little peat pots. We look forward to tending to them each day and watching them grow and grow.

This week we will settle further into our new outdoor space and rhythm. Thank you parents for your donations to our mud kitchens! The children love having a variety of tools to create with. We also wanted to put out the call for some gently used board books. Families, if you have any books you are willing to part with, please consider donating them to the class. The children enjoy books every day during wash up time, and it would be nice to have some new titles in our collection. 

Thank you for all that you do!

Reminders:

  • this Friday April 1 is Grandfriends Tea. Please rsvp to Ki Jessica to let her know who is planning to attend

  • next week is spring break, there is no school!

  • please continue to pack rain gear and a sun hat for your child as well

In gratitude,

Ki Jessica, Ki Gabby, Ki Ieva

Joyful Beginnings: March 14 - 18

Dear Joyful Families,

It was a wonderful last week of winter in the Joyful Beginnings class. We made festive fluttering butterfly puppets to welcome in the spring, which the children enjoyed playing with and proudly took home. We celebrated the birthday of our sweet classmate Sophia who is now 4 years old. We also celebrated St Patrick’s Day with a very special puppet journey through the forest. We came across several puppets on our search for leprechaun gold, and although none of the creatures had seen it, they gladly shared their own golden treasures with us. After much searching, we spotted a rainbow at last, and found the pot of gold! On Friday, we switched our rhythm around a bit, and the children seemed happy to spend their morning outside before the big thunderstorm drove us in. We finished up our leprechaun story last week, and we’ve modified the circle a bit to account for the official start of spring! For the coming weeks we will focus on a protection story about a mama bird who cares for her new chick. It’s one of my favorites, as it offers many gestures of protection within it, resonating with even our youngest students. 

This week we anticipate settling into our new spring rhythm, and new outdoor space in the forest! Thank you so much to all of the families who made it to the work day, and for all of the hard work you put into making our space so beautiful. We truly appreciate your efforts.

In gratitude,

Ki Jessica, Ki Gabby, Ki Ieva

Joyful Beginnings: March 7 - 11

Dear Joyful Families,

This week we celebrated the birthday of our beloved classmate Finley. Ki Ieva told a sweet story of Finley’s four trips around the sun, and we all enjoyed celebrating with her. We also welcomed lots of spring rain and puddles. The big playground was covered in water by Wednesday, and we had the best time sloshing through it. With the arrival of spring right around the corner, we brought our pots into the small playground and prepared them for planting after the last frost. The children were great helpers with this project. We look forward to planting some beans, sunflowers, and other plants this coming week. 

This week we are celebrating St Patrick’s day on Wednesday and Thursday. We look forward to taking the children on a treasure hunt for leprechaun gold in the forest, and seeing what mischief the leprechaun creates in our classroom!

Reminders:

  • Please bring your old kitchenware such as pots and pans, metal bowls, big spoons, etc to donate to our mud kitchen. It would be wonderful if every family could contribute 1 or 2 items.

  • Dress your children for the mud! Each child should have two changes of clothes, two pairs of shoes, a hat, and rain gear- every day. 

  • The Joyful Beginnings class is hosting the next community work day on 03/19. Please plan to attend, there are many projects to work on throughout the campus.

In gratitude,

Ki Jessica, Ki Gabby, Ki Ieva 

Joyful Beginnings: February 28 - March 4

Dear Joyful Families,

We welcomed spring a bit early in the Joyful Beginnings class. Last week we observed a quite rapid transition into warmer, brighter, longer days, and greeted them happily. We also began a new circle, filled with songs and verses about spring, as well as a sweet puppet story about a grumpy leprechaun who had misplaced his gold. The leprechaun goes searching all over the land for his gold, but is only met with disappointment when he cannot find it. The many animal friends he meets along the way try to cheer him up by offering bits of their gold. The rooster offers the golden sunshine he calls up in the morning, the cows offer some golden hay, and the birds offer bits of golden bread. 

This week, we look forward to beginning work on our class auction project. The children will be fashioning butterflies out of tufts of wool, which will be made into a beautiful springtime mobile. We will also be busy preparing for the arrival of St Patrick’s Day by focusing on appropriately themed art projects. Finally, since Lady Spring has decided to come prematurely, we’ve decided it’s time to do some gardening! 

Reminders

  • As the weather warms up, please pack a sun hat every day for your child, and appropriate changes of clothes. 

  • March 19th our class is hosting the Community Work Day on campus. All families are encouraged to attend. Please keep your calendars cleared, and stay tuned for more information regarding this in the coming days.

  • No more soup day! As it gets warmer, we’ve decided it’s time to think of something else we can bring to the children. Please enjoy your veggies at home and we thank you all for your participation.

Thank you for another beautiful week! 

In gratitude,

Ki Jessica, Ki Gabby, Ki Ieva

Joyful Beginnings: February 7 - 11

Dear Joyful Families,

The children enjoyed learning some new finger games last week. These are traditional nursery rhymes that have fun gestures to go along with them that help the children to work on fine motor skills. Some gestures cross the vertical midline, helping to integrate both sides of the brain.  We do these movements while reciting rhymes that can be quite tongue-twisty. These are challenging enough to capture the attention of every student, and fun enough that they always ask for more! 

The children have been working on their gross motor skills quite a bit recently. They enjoyed lining up the weighted pillows in a row and leaping from one to the next like little frogs. They played in the mud pit on the big playground where there are lots of opportunities to practice balancing and jumping on the planks. The children have been working on their climbing abilities lately. Last week, they scaled a giant fallen tree and, with student teamwork that was beautiful to observe, all students were able to enjoy the experience. They were all very proud of their accomplishment! 

On Friday, four of the children, at long last, were able to pull themselves up onto the tire swing! When our students ask to be lifted onto the tire swing, climbing dome, etc., our customary response is “when you can climb up there on your own, you’ll be ready for it”. This is developmentally appropriate and in keeping with our school philosophy for a child’s healthy and natural development. Well, the time finally came, and all at once the children were able to climb atop the tire swing. The sheer joy on the faces of these children was totally intoxicating as we gave them a big push. They were so excited to have finally made it onto the swing! These students developed patience and perseverance and the reward was so worth the wait!  Their classmates had the joy of knowing they too will get to have the same fun when they are ready!

This week, we look forward to a Valentine’s Day tea party with the children on both Monday and Tuesday. In lieu of passing out cards, we will dress up the room in celebration and enjoy some tea and treats together. Parents, if you feel called, you are more than welcome to bring some treats that are gluten free, peanut free, and low/no sugar for the party. 

Thank you all for another beautiful week!

Reminders

-This week is parent conference week. Please refer to the sign up sheet for your appointment time

-Please pack rain gear! Even on fair weather days, we are still playing in the lingering puddles around campus

-Please pack two changes of clothes and a spare pair of shoes for the reason mentioned above

-Here is the link to our wintertime circle if you have not received it: https://youtu.be/bI0L1EXULWE

In gratitude,

Ki Jessica, Ki Gabby, Ki Ieva

Joyful Beginnings: January 31 - February 4

Dear Joyful Families,

We had another lovely week in our Joyful Beginnings class. We celebrated Candlemas on Tuesday & Wednesday by rolling beeswax candles with the children, and sharing with them a bit about the holiday. It is said that bright and sunny Candlemas days mean that winter will be prolonged, whereas dark and rainy ones signify that winter is waning. The children loved decorating their candles and were all very proud to bring them home! 

We saw some rain towards the end of the week which created the perfect conditions for extended periods of muddy play. Some walking planks had been placed across puddles on the big playground, and the children spent considerable time balancing, jumping, and walking on them.  

This week we look forward to continuing our puppet story about Grandmother February knitting a snowy blanket for the little seedlings stirring beneath the earth. We will also continue our winter time circle in class. I plan to send out a recording soon; please keep an eye out for that. Thank you again families for contributing to our soup every week. The children love sharing what they’ve brought, and it’s been fun to see them enjoy something they’ve made together.

Reminders

  • please pack rain gear every day

  • please pack two changes of clothes including extra socks and shoes

  • Conferences are next week. If you have not yet signed up for a conference time, you can do so here. Please indicate in the comments whether you prefer to meet in person or virtually.

In gratitude,

Ki Jessica, Ki Gabby, Ki Ieva

Joyful Beginnings: January 24 - 28

Dear Joyful Families,

Last week we welcomed back many of our classmates from their kindergarten observations. We dug up worms, and fearlessly climbed on the climbing dome- higher than ever before! We also stopped each day to appreciate the beautiful new bench that was installed at Liza’s loom. The children enjoy the spot daily, whether to help with its maintenance, or just to pay a visit. Soup day was a hit once again, and we wrapped up our story about King Winter and the Wise Gnome providing warming soup for all of the hungry woodland animals.

This week we look forward to the introduction of a new puppet tale. Grandmother February busily knits the earth a cozy blanket to keep the tiny bulb babies warm in the ground until spring. With the help of Brother Wind, they tuck each one in for the last leg of winter. We will also observe Candlemas with a song and some candle making, as we anticipate the return of light in the northern hemisphere. 

Reminders

-Please pack rain gear and spare clothes for your child daily

-Please bring a chopped veggie and bowl/spoon on Wednesday and Thursdays

-Sign up to bring flowers if you haven’t yet

-Please join us for our All School Meeting this Saturday, February 5th.  We will meet in the forest and enjoy homemade soup as our administration and Board of Trustees share our growth this past year and look ahead to our coming changes and adventures as a school. 

-Spring Parent Conference sign up links are located here.  We look forward to talking with you then 

Thank you for another beautiful week!

In gratitude,

Ki Jessica, Ki Gabby, Ki Ieva

Joyful Beginnings: January 18 - 21

Dear Joyful Families

We had another lovely week in the Joyful Beginnings class. We welcomed back our classmate Sophia on Wednesday from her extended vacation. Her friends were so happy to have her back; they missed her very much! Towards the end of the week we also had some of our own Joyful Beginnings students observing in the kindergarten, so there was quite a bit of excitement buzzing about the class. 

Soup day turned out to be a wonderful success. Thank you families for making it so. The children loved sharing what vegetables they brought, and everyone seemed to enjoy the soup. We look forward to incorporating this into our weekly rhythm throughout the season.  Please continue to send your child to school with a chopped vegetable, and a bowl/spoon every Wednesday & Thursday. 

We’ve also noticed the marsh teeming with life at this time of year! Last Friday, we saw a gaggle of geese, and a few mallard ducks as well. The children have now made this a regular pit stop on our daily walk, and love observing all of the different kinds of birds that live there. On our way to the marsh we also noticed the very first sign of Spring! Wild daffodils have begun blooming in our forest. It was quite the sight to behold this early in the year! The yellow flowers were so vibrant against the backdrop of barren branches, leaves, and vines.

This week we look forward to more delicious soup and more special sightings out in nature as Mother Earth continues unfolding winter and slowly preparing for spring. 

Reminders

  • please pack two warm changes of clothes for your child each day 

  • make sure their rain gear is packed

  • always pack gloves and a hat

  • please bring a chopped vegetable on soup day along with a bowl and spoon

  • enrollment season is underway. You may hear the names of new children as they visit our classroom over the coming months. This is an exciting time for all of the children

In gratitude,

Ki Jessica, Ki Gabby, Ki Ieva

Joyful Beginnings: January 10 - 14

Dear Joyful Families,

We had another lovely week together last week as we enjoyed our new rhythm and really leaned into winter. Outside, the children enjoyed all that the forest had to offer. They stopped at the marsh to hear the many birdsongs on our land, and visited the farm where they filled the wild bird feeders and greeted the chickens. In class, we enjoyed our new puppet story which tells a tale about King Winter and a wise old wise gnome helping to feed the hungry animals who’ve been caught out in the snow. They create shelter and warmth for the animals and bring them a pot of nourishing soup. 

This week, we look forward to more of the same as we settle even further into winter, continue feeding the hungry animals, and enjoy our own nourishing soup! Thank you for another inspiring week.

Reminders:

  • Please sign up to bring soup veggies and fresh flowers this semester

  • Please pack two changes of clothes and a spare pair of shoes every day

  • Always pack your child’s rain gear

In gratitude,

Ki Jessica, Ki Gabby, and Ki Ieva

Joyful Beginnings: January 5 - 7

Dear Joyful Families,

Welcome back everyone! We had a delightful week back in class and loved seeing how excited the children were to return to school. We’ve welcomed several changes into the spring semester. Our daily rhythm has been adjusted to accommodate for the frigid weather. We will now start indoors each day where the children can enjoy free play, a new wintertime circle, and a puppet story about King Winter unfolding winter and caring for all. We would also like to add something else very special to our days-Wednesdays and Thursdays will now be soup day! A sign up page will be sent out this weekend along with the details of how each family can participate to help make it a success. Also, you and your child may notice a new face around our class this semester. We are so lucky to have Ki Ieva stepping in on Tuesdays and Thursdays as support for Ki Gabby while Ki Jessica is away finishing her Waldorf teaching certification. Your children are in the best of hands with them both!

Reminders:

-Please pack a small soup bowl and spoon for your child to bring to and from school on Wed/Thur

-Please dress your child in layers and double check that their backpacks have 2 changes of warm clothes each. A spare pair of shoes is also necessary. 

-Keep an eye out for a sign up page for soup day, as well as for our classroom flowers

Thank you all for a lovely wintery week!

In gratitude,

Ki Jessica and Ki Gabby

Joyful Beginnings: December 13 - 16

Dear Families,

Last week was enjoyed by all as we wrapped up the fall semester together. We enjoyed our outdoor time by the farm, feeding evergreen boughs to the donkeys, and playing hide and seek with one another. The children went home with a book of their paintings, a lavender-scented bean bag they helped to make, and a sweet little peg doll to play with over the break. 

It has truly been an honor to spend the past few months with your children. Watching them grow individually and together has been such a treat. We hope you all have a very restful break and we look forward to what the spring semester will bring us. Thank you all for your contributions to our class this year. We appreciate you all so much.

In gratitude,

Ki Jessica & Ki Gabby

Joyful Beginnings: December 6 - 10

Dear Joyful Families,

This week flew by with many wonderful moments to reflect upon. We celebrated the birthdays of two of our students, Nika and Shepherd. We also had not one, but two visits from St Nicholas who left each child a golden walnut and tangerine beside their boots. The weather was chilly, but the children were happy to be out in it- busily digging up earthworms and splashing in the new puddles. The children also painted on fabric this week in preparation for a special holiday gift that we are putting together for them. 

This is the last week before winter break, and as a reminder will not have class this Friday. 

Thank you for another lovely week!

Reminders:

  • It’s the final week of our TOY DRIVE for Must ministries.  Please donate a new, unwrapped toy during carpool or you can make a monetary donation here, if desired.

In gratitude,

Ki Jessica & Ki Gabby

Joyful Beginnings: November 29 - December 3

Dear Families,

It was a wonderful week of welcoming students back from break, both old and new. We warmly welcomed Eleanor into our Tuesday class, and the children were helpful in guiding her through our daily routines. Our hours outside seemed to slip by as the children found their ways into imaginative and cooperative play with one another. Our circle has once again been adjusted to reflect the changing season by adding in songs about mittens and the coming winter, and will further undergo change this week as we approach the holiday season. This week we say goodbye to our cozy autumnal story “Mouse and the Pumpkin House”, and we welcome the story of St. Nicholas for the coming weeks. We closed last week with the Winter Spiral, which I hope left you all with as many profound moments of reverence as it did for us. It was such a treat to see the individuality of each child shine as they walked the spiral. Thank you for being a part of it.

This week we celebrate the birthdays of two of our students, Nika and Shepherd, and we also look forward to St. Nicholas stopping by to leave little treasures for the children to find! It’s going to be another lovely week full of warmth and joy. 

In gratitude,

Ki Jessica and Ki Gabby

Reminders:

  • There will be rain this week and it will be chilly again.  Please dress your child for the weather and in layers. 

  • Please consider donating to our Must Ministries Toy Drive.The Amazon wish list of the most needed toys is here and you can also make a financial donation here.  

Kindy,

Jessica and Gabby