HomeSchool: May 13 - 16

Good morning HomeSchool families!


I'm a little slow getting this letter out. Larry and his colleague Scott were driving home from leading a Forest Service training last week and they were part of a 4-car accident on I-40 in Arkansas. Larry was taken to the emergency room in Little Rock. Their federal government van was totaled. They are both OK, and returned to work today despite being stiff and sore!


Last week in HomeSchool we did the monthly chemical water quality monitoring test on Little Noonday Creek. Our creek is surprisingly clean and healthy, with an average pH of 7.0 and an average dissolved oxygen level in the springtime of 8 ppt. After the monitoring, our group of 10 did a Creek Cleanup and collected 5 bags of trash from the log jams along the creek. The most common items we found were plastic bottles, glass bottles, baseballs, softballs, golf balls, plastic detergent containers, plastic cleaner spray bottles, paper cups, drinking straws, and foam pipe wrappers. The most unusual item was a pair of pliers.


We visited the chicks in their coop down in the garden. They are growing up but are still easy to catch and hold, thanks to being handled by dozens of kids each school day.  We added compost and mulch to the holes in the concrete blocks of our spiral garden and planted flowers and herbs in each one. We water and weed the spiral garden every time we are in the garden. So far, it includes marigolds, coreopsis, moss rose, lemon balm, fennel, and mint. We need 47 more plant to complete the spiral! If any of you would like to add flowers or herbs to the spiral, feel free. The gate to that part of the garden remains unlocked. You can get water from the large white cube by the chicken coop. Large blue and smaller red watering cans are nearby. Turn the blue handle to the left to fill a watering can. Be sure to turn the blue handle back to the right quickly to conserve water. If you have time, all of the garden plants could use a good watering whenever you are there.


We found a new tree that is perfect for climbing across the creek. We ate frozen fruit bars. We sang the Choo'n Gum song and the Floating Down The River song. We played with the school turtle one more time and told him "Goodbye". He will be living with his forever family: Travis, Candace, Major, and Pipor Parks. We each shared what we are going to do this summer and where we will be for school next year. There were lots of hugs all around!

Dates to remember:

Wednesday, May 22, 5:00pm: Middle Grades "Houses from Around the World" exhibit moves to Gritters Public Library. If you live close to the school, be sure to visit Gritters to see our houses during the next month.

Thursday, May 23, 7:30pm-9:30pm: Older Girl Scouts meet to help lead the Sunset Frog Walk on Noonday Creek Trail.

Tuesday, May 28~Thursday, May 30: Girl Scout Caving and Camping Trip to Tennessee.

Thursday, May 30: Ollie's 8th birthday.

Tuesday, May 28~Friday, May 31 and Monday, June 03~Friday, June 07: Summer Camp at The Garden School.

Tuesday, June 11th, 3:30pm-5:00pm: Girl Scout meeting at the school to receive Drinking Straw Campaign materials and instructions.

Tuesday, July 9th, 3:30pm-5:00pm: Girl Scout meeting at the school to submit results of Drinking Straw Campaign and receive final awards.

Wednesday, July 10th, 3:45pm-5:00pm: Ki Sonya leads Archaeology Dig outdoors at Kennesaw Public Library. Four assistants needed to help set this up at 2:30pm and assist kids in the dig!!

Friday, July 12th: Mike's 7th birthday.

Saturday, July 13th, 10:00am-1:00pm: Hiking with Prancer at Pettit Environmental Preserve. Text me when you arrive!

Saturday, July 27th: Cooper's 10th birthday.

Quote from a child: 1st student: "Look! Those two butterflies are stuck together!" 2nd student: "Shhhhh. They are on their wedding night."

Quote from Rusty Berkus: "There is no prescribed way for everyone. There is just your way for now, until you choose another. There is no one to compare yourself to, and no one to compete with. There never was. When the Rose and the Lotus are side by side, is one more beautiful than the other?"

Thank you all for a memorable year, and thank you for sharing your sweet and smart and talented children with me! I look forward to seeing them stretch and grow!

Ki Sonya

HomeSchool: May 6 - 10

Hi everybody!
First of all, let me say that my cup runneth over once again with your generosity and kindness. The basket full of gifts and cards, bread, eggs, and chocolate, and special notes is just beautiful! I have enjoyed my year with the HomeSchool so much. I told Ki Sarah it has been the cherry on top of my career sundae! Each of my HomeSchoolers is so precious to me and I hope to continue visiting with you all and watching you grow.
This past week we gave presentations to the class on our mammal take-home projects. Christopher told us about grey wolves. Ollie told us about jaguarudis and Brolin shared with us about margays. Cooper and Helene taught us about wild horses. Mike helped us understand giraffes. And Ki Sonya shared her research and stories about river otters. We studied the world map and globe to see the national parks where these animals can be found, and each of us shared a story about our mammal.
Students colored the covers of their masterbooks containing all their artwork and project work. We sang the Floating Down The River song and a new old song, Choo'n Gum, sung by Teresa Brewer in 1950. We celebrated Ollie's 8th birthday with gifts and song and a big card. Her parents made a fruit pizza and we ate it with sparkling limeade. We delivered a thank you gift basket to Ki Jasmine for serving as our wonderful school director this year.
We simulated a marine mammal rescue at HomeSchool Beach. Students came upon a whale. We called the Marine Mammal Stranding Network, talked to the whale in gentle voices to keep him calm, soaked beach towels in the creek and place them over his body to keep him cool and keep him from getting sunburned. We rubbed sunscreen and aloe vera around his eyes and blow hole to protect the most sensitive skin. We dug out the sand from under the whale's body so that there would not be so much pressure on his internal organs. Finally we played in the creek.
Next Tuesday, Elsu will tell us about sun bears, Bear will teach us about hippos, and Lucan will tell us all about deer. We will do the monthly water quality monitoring on Little Noonday Creek and do a creek cleanup. Wear swimsuits, shorts, and t-shirts to school. Bring water shoes, rubber boots, extra socks, and a change of clothes. Students will take home their masterbooks and portfolios this day.

Next Thursday, school will dismiss at 12:30pm. We will walk the entire length of the creek from Panda Mansion to Homerun Trail to Kindy Beach to the Beaver Marsh. Wear swimsuits, shorts, and t-shirts to school. Bring water shoes, rubber boots, extra socks, and a change of clothes.

We have a new date for our Hike with Prancer at Pettit Environmental Preserve. We'll meet on Saturday, July 13th, 10:00am to 1:00pm. Pettit is a 70-acre preserve in Bartow County (between Cartersville and Dallas). It is only open to the public one day a month. Use Douthit Bridge Road, Dallas GA when using GPS. It takes me 30 minutes from my home in northwest Kennesaw. I take Cobb Parkway to Acworth. Take a left from Cobb Parkway onto Blackacre Trail which become Dabbs Bridge Road. Turn right onto Harmony Grove Church Road. Turn right onto Cartersville Highway/Highway 61. Take an quick right onto Douthit Bridge Road. Then follow their small signs. It becomes a dirt and gravel road through dense woods. 

Text me when you get to Pettit Environmental Preserve to let me know you're there. Admission is $3.00/person with a maximum of $10.00/family. We will walk the 1 and 7/10-mile loop trail around Dellinger Lake. The trail is rough in some places and does not accommodate strollers. Leashed dogs are welcome. I'll text everyone by 8:00am that morning to cancel if there are thunderstorms.

Quote from a child: "If someone has a yard sale, then after is there house on just dry dirt?"

Quote from Shirley MacLaine: "Rare indeed is the child who has parents with love so wise, and understanding so objective, as to happily balance needed limits with the freedom to grow and develop the child's own talents, to allow realization of its full potential."

With great respect and gratitude to some of the best parents I've ever known,

Ki Sonya

HomeSchool: April 29 - May 1

Happy Cinco de Mayo!
This past week we compiled the students' masterbooks containing all of their artwork and project work from the 2018-19 school year. A BIG thankyou to Ki Debbie, Ki Paulyna, and Ki Kate for pulling these together, as well as Elsu who did all the hole punching! Students will decorate the covers of their masterbooks and be ready to take them home next Tuesday. 
We installed the last of the signs around the school campus. There is a sign at each trailhead and one marking special places like the Pond Overlook and Privet Pocket. HomeSchool students, Grades students, and Golden Knights blazed the trails, named the trails, and painted, nailed, and pounded the signs to mark them!
We began our study of marine mammals by learning about whales, dolphins, porpoises, seals, sea lions, walruses, sea otters, manatees, and polar bears. We told stories about them and created marine mammal figurines out of clay. We practiced the Maypole Dance. We practiced telling time on a clock with hands. We planted marigolds in the spiral garden. We talked about our mammal take-home projects and how they were taking shape.
On Thursday, we went on an all-day field trip to TELLUS Science Museum and the Booth Western Art Museum in Cartersville. We ate a picnic lunch under the trees by the Booth Museum. You only have to look at the photos to see that a good time was had by all!
This Tuesday we will present our mammal take-home projects. Please plan to show us on a map or globe the national park where we can find your mammal. I'll have both of these in the Blue Sky Room. The Garden Girls Girl Scouts will meet Tuesday at 3:30pm at the school for Caving Basics. Wear jeans, a t-shirt, and old tennis shoes that can get wet and muddy. Please bring your signed Cumberland Caverns forms for the Caving and Camping Trip.
Thursday we will celebrate Ollie's 8th birthday. We will also practice a marine mammal rescue!

This Saturday, May 11th, 10:30am to 12:30pm, Prancer and I will go on a hike and you are welcome to join us. We'll be at Pettit Environmental Preserve. This is a 70-acre preserve in Bartow County (between Cartersville and Dallas). It is only open to the public one day a month. Use Douthit Bridge Road, Dallas GA when using GPS. It takes me 30 minutes from my home in northwest Kennesaw. I take Cobb Parkway to Acworth. Take a left from Cobb Parkway onto Blackacre Trail which become Dabbs Bridge Road. Turn right onto Harmony Grove Church Road. Turn right onto Cartersville Highway/Highway 61. Take an quick right onto Douthit Bridge Road. Then follow their small signs. It becomes a dirt and gravel road through dense woods. 

Text me when you get to Pettit Environmental Preserve. Admission is $3.00/person with a maximum of $10.00/family. We will walk the 1 and 7/10-mile loop trail around Dellinger Lake. The trail is rough in some places and does not accommodate strollers. Leashed dogs are welcome. I'll text everyone that morning to cancel if there are thunderstorms.

Registration for The Garden School's Summer Camp closes May 15th. I will be leading Summer Camp activities the second week, June 3rd thru 7th. Highlights include: Creek Crawls, Wetland Walks, tending the raised beds in the garden, watermelon, building a bridge across the creek, The Water Brigade relay game, frozen banana snack, lessons on the Floating Classroom, more watermelon, and the Great Rubber Duck Race.

Quote from a child: "So much sand, so little time."

Quote from Jean Piaget: "When you teach a child something, you take away forever his chance of discovering it for himself."

See you down the trail,

Ki Sonya

HomeSchool: April 22 - 26

Hi!


Hope you're enjoying a wonderful springtime! This past week HomeSchool students chose the wild mammal they would like to research for their last take-home project. Projects are due and presentations will be made on Tuesday, May 7th. This is a big project, with many components. Please spend some time on it each day so you can be proud of it! Here are the details:Each student received 5 sheets of paper. One is in case you make a mistake on something.Page 1: Draw and color your mammal using any medium.Page 2: Write and/or draw a description of your mammal, including size, weight, colors, what they eat, what eats them, how long mothers carry their babies before they are born, how soon babies can walk/run after being born, how long young stay with their Moms, where they live, if they migrate from a winter range to a summer range, how many are left in the world.Page 3: Choose a national park where your mammal is found. Write about or draw your mammal in that park, where the park is located on a map or globe, what the population of your mammal is within that park, any problems or concerns for that mammal.Page 4: Write or draw a story about your mammal. It can be a story you found during your research or one that you make up based on what you have learned. You may write it out line by line on the masterbook paper or storyboard it on the paper, drawing several scenes from the story.


We continued to practice telling time on a clock with hands. Everyone is doing a fantastic job with this! We did an activity in which we looked at photos of animals and told which animal group they were in (insect, amphibian reptile, fish, bird, or mammal). Everyone was fast and accurate at this! We read The Mud Pony, a traditional Skidi Pawnee tale about a white-faced pony made of clay that comes to life to help a young boy.
We had a surprise visit on Thursday from Officer Ellijah and Norbo the Cobb County wonder dog. They brought us some of Norbo's business cards to share with all the students in the school. We attended the spectacular play, Joseph and His Coat of Many Colors, performed by the Lower Grades and Middle Grades students. We did an archaeology dig in the deep sand of HomeSchool Beach. Using shovels and rakes, we unearthed bones, skulls, antlers, horns, shells, coral, sea (creek) glass, jewels, and a turkey foot!
Next Tuesday morning we will have one more maypole practice before we perform the maypole dance at Grand Friends Day Friday, May 3rd at 11:00am. 

Next Thursday, we will meet at 9:45am at TELLUS Science Museum for our all-day field trip. Wear good museum walking shoes (not rubber boots) and bring a picnic lunch and rain jacket. It is supposed to rain in the morning but we will be inside. TELLUS is located at Exit #293 of I-75. Their address is 100 Tellus Drive, Cartersville. Admission to TELLUS is $11.95 plus tax for children (3 to 17) and $15.95 plus tax for adults. From there we will go to the nearby Booth Western Art Museum. It is located at 501 Museum Drive in downtown Cartersville. Admission to the Booth Museum is free for children 12 and under and $12.00 for adults. If you are not able to go that day, please arrange for your child to ride with another HomeSchool family. Please send about $14.00 with your child to cover their entrance to TELLUS.

Our next Garden Girls Girl Scouts meeting will be Tuesday, May 7th, 3:30-5:00pm. We will start out in the Marigold Room upstairs. The program this time will be Caving Basics. Wear jeans, a t-shirt, and old tennis shoes as we will get wet and muddy!

Save the date: Saturday, May 11th, 10:30am-12:30pm: Hiking with Prancer at Pettit Environmental Preserve. This is a 70-acre preserve in Bartow County (between Cartersville and Dallas). It is only open to the public one day a month. Use Douthit Bridge Road, Dallas GA when using GPS. Then follow their small signs. Admission is $3.00/person with a maximum of $10.00/family. Prancer and I will be there that day to walk the 1.7-mile loop trail around the gorgeous lake. The trail is rough in some places and does not accommodate strollers. Leashed dogs are welcome. Please join us! I'm sure it will become one of your favorite hiking spots.

Quote from Max Phillips, 18-year-old Harvard freshman from Fayette County,Tennessee: Nature unites us. From the Inuit of Greenland to Tsonga of Mozambique to the inhabitants of every city, all of humanity share the same planet, the same very fragile drop of water and stone floating in the vastness of the known, and unknown, cosmos. To date, ours is the only planet amongst the stars able to support human life—adequate reason to warrant its protection. But nature offers humanity much more than sustenance; nature is purity, art, and life. Without it, we would lack not only the ability to survive physically, but also spiritually. Without nature, Mankind cannot exist in body or soul. Perhaps surprisingly, it is not the death of the first that frightens me the most. Before the famine and flood, comes the end of beauty and wonder, and with it, the death of the human spirit. As sand replaces fields of wild flowers, piles of plastic replace coral reefs and silent springs replace the raucous choruses of songbirds, we gradually lose that which has united us for eons. To live on an earth without nature is to merely exist, and yet, our very existence in a world without nature is, in itself, an impossibility.

I'm happy to share our little corner of the planet with you,

Ki Sonya

HomeSchool: April 15 - 19

Hello HomeSchoolers!

This week our HomeSchool went back to the neighborhoods behind the school. We cleaned and marked more storm drains and hung more educational packets on mailboxes. We feel like we have gotten good coverage on the streets along Little Noonday Creek and hope it will make a difference for our little creek!

We created some beautiful thank you cards for Cobb County Officer Elijah and his bomb dog Norbo. These will be mailed to him, along with drawings and messages from the Lower Grades and Middle Grades students. We've also included framed photos of Elijah, Norbo, and the two of them with our students.

This morning we practiced the Maypole Dance with other grades students. We learned how to tell time on a clock with hands! We went on an adventure along the creek that included hiking thru mud and wildflowers, sliding down a tiny waterfall, climbing thru huge bamboo, eating lunch in a meadow with hundreds of tiny spiders, and drawing in our nature journals.

Larry and I are headed to my aunt's funeral in Dothan, Alabama and will return Monday evening. Next week we will be without Elsu who is participating in the Pentathlon. On Tuesday, we'll discuss our take-home project on mammals, practice the Maypole Dance, and practice telling time. On Thursday, we will do an archaeology dig looking for bones, skulls, artifacts, fossils, and jewels and her some archaeology stories.

On Thursday, May 2nd we will go on an all-day field trip to the TELLUS Science Museum and Booth Western Art Museum in Cartersville. We will meet at TELLUS at 9:45am. They are located at Exit #293 of I-75. Their address is 100 Tellus Drive, Cartersville. Admission to TELLUS is $11.95 plus tax for children (3 to 17) and $15.95 plus tax for adults. Admission to the Booth Museum is free for children 12 and under and $12.00 for adults. Bring your lunches so we can have a picnic! If you are not able to attend, please arrange a carpool with another HomeSchool family.

Save the date: Saturday, May 11th, 10:30am-12:30pm: Hiking with Prancer at Pettit Environmental Preserve. This is a 70-acre preserve in Bartow County (between Cartersville and Dallas). It is only open to the public one day a month. Use Douthit Bridge Road, Dallas GA when using GPS. Then follow their small signs. Admission is $3.00/person with a maximum of $10.00/family. Prancer and I will be there that day to walk the 1.7-mile loop trail around the gorgeous lake. The trail is rough in some places and does not accommodate strollers. Leashed dogs are welcome. Please join us! I'm sure it will become one of your favorite hiking spots.

Quote from a child: "You don't have to be as big as the other kids. Not if you're fast and smart!" 

Quote from Dr. Seuss: "Children want the same things we want: To laugh, to be challenged, to be entertained, and to be delighted." 

See you soon,

Ki Sonya

HomeSchool: April 8 - 12

Hi!


Back from a wonderful spring break, we began our study of mammals. We talked about what makes an animal a mammal and drew some of our favorite mammals. We sorted animals by groups (land animal vs aquatic animal, diurnal animal vs nocturnal animal vs crepuscular animal, mammal vs bird vs reptile vs etc.).


We built several Marble Mountains. Then we did a bit of carpentry, nailing boards to wooden stakes to create signs for the trailheads around the school campus. We used rubber mallets to install our signs by several trails. Be sure to walk the trails and let us know how you like the new signs!


We hiked a circuitous route through the wetlands, along Little Noonday Creek, and back to Kindy Beach where we swam, played on the banana slide, and ate our lunches in the sun.


We had our last Creature Feature of the school year. Cobb County Officer Elijah Barnett brought his bomb dog, a dark German Shepard named Norbo. Both the dog and his handler were awesome and the students enjoyed petting Norbo and asking questions about their work.


We held the school's new baby chicks, eight in all. We played animal beanbag toss (not with the baby chicks!). To burn off some energy, we ran around the pond, in both directions! 


We continue to practice our Maypole Dance with the other grades students and under the excellent direction of Ki Kathee. The students will be preforming this dance at 11:15am on Friday, May 3rd. This is optional for HomeSchool since we don't meet on Fridays but come if you can. It is a lovely ceremony. More info will be coming about what they should wear.


The Springtide Festival was a great success and a lot of fun! In my area, kids built over 35 fairy houses to take home with them. Thanks to all of you who came out to play and to help with the setup, cleanup, etc.

It has been difficult to plan around the weather this spring! Tuesday looks like it will be drier than Thursday so we will do Storm Drain Marking, Part II on Tuesday. Students should wear tennis shoes, not rubber boots. We'll meet at the same location as before at 9:00am Tuesday so drive straight there rather than dropping off at the school. To get there, take a right out of the church/school and head north on Canton Road. Take the first right onto Ebenezer Road. Cross the railroad tracks. Take the next right onto Bellair Drive. Turn left onto Debonair Drive. We will meet in that culdysac. We will be marking storm drains from 9:00am to 11:00am. We ask that parents stay for that time. If you have a conflict that day, you may arrange with another HomeSchool parent to transport your child both ways. We will arrive back to the school by 11:30am, in time to write and draw our thank you cards to Officer Elijah.

On Tuesday, the older Girl Scouts (Elsu, Ellie, Nola, and Alys) have a planning meeting in the Blue Sky Room at 3:20pm to work on their Silver/Bronze Award project.

For Thursday, please make sure your child brings these things for our hike and swim in the creek: rubber boots, water shoes, swimsuit, shorts, t-shirt, a change of clothes, tennis shoes, three pairs of socks, and a dry bag for wet clothes.

Looking ahead, I will send out all the details next weekend about our HomeSchool field trip on Thursday, May 2nd. We will meet at TELLUS Science Museum in Cartersville at 9:45am that morning. All parents and siblings are welcome to join us! We'll eat a picnic lunch and tour the Booth Western Art Museum in downtown Cartersville in the afternoon. There is a cost for each museum. If you can't participate, you may make carpool arrangements with another HomeSchool family.

Quote from a child: "During spring break we found shark's teeth on the beach. Some were white and some were black. I know why some were black. Because those sharks didn't brush their teeth!"

Quote from Jane Nelson: "Children will listen to you after they feel listened to."

See you in the culdysac,

Ki Sonya

HomeSchool: March 25 - 29

Hello everyone!

What a pretty week we had! On Tuesday we learned about the bp oil spill that occurred in April 2010 on the Gulf coast. We talked about how the spill affected so many birds, especially brown pelicans, seagulls, gannets, and ospreys. Please look up these bird species with your child so they can see what they look like! We did an activity where we found oiled pelican and seagull feathers and tried to clean them with Dawn dish detergent.

Also on Tuesday, Bear, Cooper, and Brolin helped me monitor the water quality on Little Noonday Creek. Our school has monitored the creek once a month since September and it is amazingly clean. It has an average pH of 7 (perfectly neutral) and an average oxygen level of 9 parts per thousand (very healthly).

Thursday morning, we placed frog markers from Cobb County Watershed on the storm drains in a neighborhood behind the school. It’s a way of reminding residents that only rainwater should go down our storm drains. That means no leaves, grass clippings, trash, pet waste, cigarette butts, leftover grease, motor oil, rocks, or coals from the BBQ grill! 

A HUGE thank you to Ki Debbie and Ki Heather for adding the collector app to their phones and helping us cover three large sections of the subdivision. We cleaned, marked, and recorded 34 storm drains. In addition, we hung 82 bags of educational materials on the mailboxes of the homes along the way. All of these storm drains lead into the Little Noonday Creek watershed.

The HomeSchool students were VERY excited to do a project that helps protect Little Noonday. They would like to go back and mark storm drains along the roads that we missed. We could do more storm drain marking Thursday, April 18th, either 9:00 to 11:00am or 3:15 to 5:15pm. Which is better for each of you? I would need two parents to be with us again to serve as small group leaders so we can split into three groups.

I hope you had a relaxing and adventurous spring break. I flew to Dallas to help my little sister Stacey. She had surgery on her foot  and will be in a boot for 5 weeks. I am her nurse, chauffeur, and egg collector (she raises chickens) for the first week! 

This week, we will begin our study of mammals. We'll have our last Creature Feature on Thursday: a Cobb County bomb dog!

Mark your calendar with these special events:

Saturday, March 30th, 8:30-9:30pm: Earth Hour

Tuesday, April 9th, 3:30-5:00pm: Girl Scouts storm drain marking, in the neighborhood the school

Thursday, April 11th, 10:15-11:00am: Cobb County bomb dog Creature Feature

Saturday, April 13th, 10:00am-2:00pm: Springtide Festival (I'll need some older kids help me teach younger kids how to build fairy houses, near the retention pond black fence.)

Thursday, April 18th, 9:00-11:00am OR 3:15-5:15pm: Storm Drain Marking, Part II for HomeSchool students

Tuesday, April 23rd, 6:00-9:00pm: Girl Scouts frog monitoring on Noonday Creek Trail, near Cobb Parkway (Sunset is at 8:15pm.)

Tuesday, April 30th: Receive take-home project on mammals

Tursday, May 2nd, 9:00am-3:00pm: HomeSchool field trip to TELLUS Museum and Booth Western Art Museum in Cartersville

Friday, May 3rd: Grand Friends Tea and Maypole Dance

Tuesday, May 7th, 3:30-5:00pm: Girl Scouts caving basics, at the school

Thursday, May 9th: Birthday celebration for Ollie

Saturday, May 11th, 10:30am-12:30pm: Hiking with Prancer at Pettit Environmental Preserve

Tuesday, May 14th: Mammal take-home project due, class presentations

Tuesday, May 14th: Water quality monitoring of Little Noonday Creek, Elsu, Helene, & Ollie

Thursday, May 16th: Last day of school

Thursday, May 23rd, 8:00-9:15pm: Older Girl Scouts sunset frog walk on Noonday Creek Trail, near Cobb Parkway

Monday, May 27th-Friday, May 31st: 1st week of Summer Camp at The Garden School

Tuesday, May 28th-Thursday, May 30th: Girl Scouts camping and caving trip, Nickajack Lake and Cumberland Caverns

Monday, June 3rd-Friday, June 7th: 2nd week of Summer Camp at The Garden School

Quote from a child: "I didn't stat crying because I knew I could do it. I'm a lot stronger than I look!"

Quote from Stacia Tauscher: "We worry about what a child will become tomorrow, yet we forget that he is someone today."

See you after the break,

Ki Sonya

HomeSchool: March 18 - 22

Hi!

We had a wonderful morning at Gibbs Gardens in Ball Ground. It started off cold but warmed up quickly. There was lots of sunshine and so many daffodils! We hiked the trails and climbed on the mulch pile and rolled down the hill at the great lawn and explored the lily ponds and enjoyed the many sculptures throughout the gardens. Our favorite place to sit was definitely the swimming pool with its many waterfalls and flower beds. Thanks to all the parents who helped. It was delightful to have all the little brothers and sisters join us too!

This Tuesday we will learn about the bp oil spill that occurred in the Gulf of Mexico in April 2010. We will try an activity that involves cleaning oil from feathers. We will do the monthly water quality monitoring on Little Noonday Creek.

Garden Girls Girl Scouts will meet Tuesday at 3:30pm in the neighborhood behind the school for our storm drain marking community service project. To get there, turn right out of our driveway onto Canton Road heading north. Turn right onto Ebenezer Road. Turn right onto Hadley Farm Drive. Turn right into the first culdysac, Croy Court. We will divide into three small groups led by Ellie, Elsu, and Nola. I'll work with one group. Kenny will work with a group. And we need one more parent to help with the third group. You will need to install a locator app on your smart phone before we begin (you can remove it afterward). Parents need to bring their Girl Scout to this neighborhood and stay until we are finished or arrange for a ride with another Girl Scout parent. I'll send out a Girl Scout email with more details.

On Thursday, HomeSchool students will mark the storm drains in the next neighborhood. We will meet at 9:00am. To get to this neighborhood, turn right out of the school/church driveway onto Canton Road. Turn right onto Ebenezer Road. Cross over the railroad tracks and turn right onto Bellair Drive. Turn left into the first culdysac, Debonair Drive and park there. You will need to drive your child there or arrange with another HomeSchool parent to transport your child. I will be able to take Elsu, Bear, and Mike in my car because it is such a short distance. Caitlyn: Debbie can transport Lucan if you will install his car seat in her car before you leave. You'll need to meet her at the school at 8:40am. I will need two HomeSchool parents to help me by installing the locator app on their smart phones and walking around a loop within the neighborhood with a group of 3 students, recording the storm drains. I will train the whole group before we begin! We'll return to the school in time for lunch and Creekcess.

On Saturday, March 30th, people around the world will participate in the annual Earth Hour. It takes place from 8:30 to 9:30pm local time. During that hour, we ask that you turn off all lights in your home (including porch lights and other exterior lights if you can control them). You may use candlelight or flashlights. Also turn off or refrain from using as many other electrical appliances (stove, television, dryer, etc.) as possible during Earth Hour. The drop in energy use is significant, and you can see the earth darkening from space as Earth Hour moves around the globe.

Quote from a child: "I didn't know there was such a thing as a waterfall and now it is my favorite thing in nature."

Quote from Wilfred Peterson: "Walk with the dreamers, the believers, the courageous, the cheerful, the planners, the doers, the successful people with their heads in the clouds and their feet on the ground. Let their spirit ignite a fire within you to leave this world a better place than you found it."

See you soon,

Ki Sonya

HomeSchool: March 11 - 15

Howdy everyone!


Signs of spring are everywhere and we are enjoying more outdoor time at The Garden School. HomeSchool students gave their bird migration presentations and practiced tracing bird migration flyways on a world map and the class globe. Our champion migrator was Ollie's bird, the arctic tern, which travels up to 25,000 miles each year from its Arctic breeding grounds to Antarctica and back again. We drew birds using colored chalks. We learned how to use a compass, played compass basketball, and followed our compasses on a scavenger hunt through the forest. We took a close look at a goose egg and visited with a tiny turtle and an anole. We ate lunch on Kindy Beach and played in the creek, although the water is still a little cool.


This Tuesday, March 19th, HomeSchool will meet at Gibbs Gardens for a field trip at 9:00am. Gibbs Gardens is located at 1987 Gibbs Drive in Ball Ground, 35 miles and 45 minutes north of The Garden School. We will hike through the daffodils, 20 million daffodils in full bloom this time of the year, and tour the gardens. Gibbs has the largest display of daffodils in the nation. 


Parents should plan to come with us or arrange to have their child ride with another parent. Cost is $20.00 for adults and $10.00 for children. Siblings are welcome to join us. No pets are allowed. No food or drinks are allowed except for water bottles. They have an Arbor Cafe in the gardens, and restrooms in two locations.
Please be on time. There may be a line of cars at the entrance when you arrive. Go through the entrance and meet me in the parking lot. Text me when you arrive. We will be at the gardens from 9:00 to 12:00pm. We will not eat lunch as a group. I'll return to the school so I can help with afternoon programs there. I'm not able to transport students in my car that distance. You are welcome to stay at the gardens longer or to head home instead of returning to the school.

On Thursday, March 28th, we'll have our second field trip...to the neighborhood behind the school. That's right. We are going to place Watershed Stewardship frog markers on each of the storm drains in the neighborhood, and hang bags of educational materials on doorknobs or mailboxes of the houses along the way. We hope to educate residents that nothing but water should go down the storm drains (no plastic bags, no leaves, no grass clippings, no pet waste, no charcoals from the BBQ grill). Everything that washes into these storm drains finds its way into our Little Noonday Creek and beyond.

Meet me in the neighborhood at 9:00am on the 28th. Students should wear tennis shoes, not rubber boots. To get there, take a right out of the church/school and head north on Canton Road. Take the first right onto Ebenezer Road. Cross the railroad tracks. Take the next right onto Bellair Drive. Turn left onto Debonair Drive. We will meet in that culdysac. We will be marking storm drains from 9:00am to 11:30am. We ask that parents stay for that time. If you have a conflict that day, you may arrange with another HomeSchool parent to transport your child both ways. We will arrive back to the school by 12:00pm in time for recess and lunch.

Ki Kate will be with the students on March 21st. I'm going to Mobile for my niece's wedding.

Quote from a child: "If I was a turtle, I would not want to be a tiny turtle. The crows would be looking at me with dinner on their mind."

Quote from Unknown: "If your ship does't come in, swim out to meet it."

See you amongst the daffodils!

Ki Sonya

From The Week of March 4 - 8:

Hi HomeSchool families!

On Tuesday, we learned about Mardi Gras and celebrated with Mardi Gras coins from different years and mango chocolate chip bread. We learned about Great Blue Herons and met Perdido, the Great Blue Heron puppet. Ki Sonya told us a story about her encounter with a Great Blue Heron and we worked together to build a heron nest, complete with three huge sky blue eggs. We learned about the Ivory-Billed Woodpecker, which was thought to be extinct before a few were found in the swamps of Louisiana and Arkansas. We drew herons and woodpeckers. We covered the terms extinct, endangered, threatened, and species of special concern.

On Thursday, We celebrated Elsu's 12th birthday. Elsu and her friend Gabby made brownies for everyone. Elsu received a rock (blue geode), a feather (from an emu), a shell (shark eye moon snail), and a treasure (a bracelet made from snake vertebrae). We tied kite string to our painted duck decoys and floated them in the pond to see if we could attract any ducks. We played Hidden Birds, hiding painted Cardinals, Bluebirds, and Goldfinches in the forests for others in the group to find. We discussed camouflage, why female birds are usually mutely colored, and why male birds are so brightly colored. We visited the farm animals and ate our lunches in the sunshine on the beaver marsh pier.

Next Tuesday each student will give their bird migration presentation. I'll have a world map and the class globe. They can use either (or both) to trace their bird's migration path.

On Thursday, we will learn about the bp oil spill that occurred in the Gulf of Mexico in April 2010. I had the honor of spending 5 weeks after the spill interviewing oil spill workers, shrimpers and fishermen, restaurant managers, and others who were affected by the spill. I collected samples from the water and beaches, took photos, and kayaked to barrier islands to check on nesting birds. We'll experiment to see which substance works best to clean oiled feathers.

The Garden Girls Girl Scouts will meet Tuesday the 12th, 3:30-5:00pm at the picnic tables. We will learn how to use maps and compasses. Each girl will receive patches for their participation in the following programs: creek cleanup, stargazing, cast iron cooking, tent pitching, cookie baking, bird feeders, leash decorating, and reading to rescued dogs.

Mark your calendars! These are the three dates I'm requesting for our HomeSchool field trips:

Tuesday, March 19th: Hiking through the daffodils at Gibb Gardens

Thursday, March 28th: Storm drain marking in the neighborhood behind the school

Thursday, May 2nd: TELLUS Science Museum and Booth Western Art Museum

I still cannot bend my left thumb, the one I injured when I fell hiking in the snow out west. I'll be going to the hand physical therapist the next three weeks to try to regain flexibility in it. Please add my thumb to your prayers!

Quote from a child:"The minute I saw it, I knew you would say that it was special. It was different from all the other things in nature."
Quote from Gustav Mahler: "The point is to not take the world's opinion as a guiding star but to go one's way in life, and to work unerringly, neither depressed by failure nor seduced by applause."

See you down the trail,

Ki Sony

HomeSchool: Feb 25 - March 1

Hi and welcome to March!

HomeSchool had a wonderful week. We began our 5-week study of birds by learning what makes a bird a bird and discovering just how far a bird can migrate. Each student received their bird migration take-home project. We painted actual duck decoys to look like several species of ducks. 

We hiked to Quiet Corner with Prancer. Ki Erin brought a Russian tortoise and a bearded dragon for us to see and learn about in Creature Feature. We continued to practice with the other Grades students our movements and timing for the Maypole Dance. We'll be performing this Friday, May 3rd. The older HomeSchool students worked with Upper Grades to build marble mountains as a team building activity.

Next week we will celebrate Mardi Gras on Tuesday and Elsu's 12th birthday on Thursday! Elsu is baking brownies to share with everyone. We will take our newly painted ducks outside to see how they look floating on the pond. We will learn about Great Blue Herons, how they catch their fish and how they build their nests. We will paint a rain barrel to sell in the silent auction at the spring fundraiser next Saturday, March 9th.

Each student has received the name of a champion bird migrator and 3 sheets of masterbook paper. Here are instructions for your bird migration take-home project. 

1st piece of paper: draw and color your bird (may use crayons, colored pencils, watercolor, acrylics, or colored chalk).

2nd piece of paper: write a few fun facts about your bird (it's size, it's coloration, what it eats, how it catches it's food, wing span, how many miles it migrates each year, it's summer/winter migration path, if it is endangered or a species of special concern).

3rd piece of paper: draw a map of the area it travels and color your bird's migratory path on the map).

On Tuesday, March 12th, we will present our birds to the class. Each student will be expected to trace their bird's migration path on the class globe.

Be sure to bring with you each week: tennis shoes, rain boots, thick socks for the rain boots, extra socks, and pants to change into after our wet and muddy outings.

Quote from a child: "After I touched the bearded dragon, all the fear I felt just went away. Look at me. I'm not afraid!"

Quote from Maryann Coalmano Love: "I am your parent, you are my child. I am your quiet place, you are my wild."

Enjoy the daffodils,

Ki Sonya

HomeSchool: Feb 11 - 15

Hi everybody!

This was our last week of underwater exploration. We drew sharks and shark jaws, and each student took home a shark jaw to keep. We soaked up some facts about sponges! 

We also hiked with Prancer, read the book Zen Shorts, and helped set up the sanctuary for the Gilgamesh play. Our class loved attending the play and we were delighted to see Brolin and Elsu do so well in their roles. We had a get-together on Thursday to celebrate Valentine's Day and my 60th birthday and to wish Ari best of luck on his new adventures! Thanks to each of you for the beautiful Valentine's cards and generous birthday gifts. Larry and I have packed our snow boots and are looking forward to our trip to the Southwest.

As we turn the corner into a new season, we will begin to study one of the most amazing classes of animals: birds. When we return from the break, each student will receive their take-home project on bird migration. I'll give each one a different bird and 3 sheets of masterbook paper. They'll have 2 weeks to complete the project and prepare for their presentation on March 12th. 

Throughout our 5-week study, I am going to highlight some other special birds, including Great Blue Herons, ducks, sandhill cranes and whooping cranes, owls, ospreys, and seagulls.

The next Girl Scout program will be a two-part community service project. We will meet on Tuesday, February 26th at Mostly Mutts Animal Rescue, 3238 Cherokee Street near downtown Kennesaw. Meet us there at 6:30pm. We will paint leashes and collars for adopted dogs to wear to their new forever homes. Then we will meet the dogs, cats, and staff at Mostly Mutts. 

Girl Scouts who are 2nd grade and older can meet us again at Mostly Mutts the next night, Wednesday, February 27th at 6:30pm. The Girl Scouts will have an opportunity to read to the dogs in the kennels. Bring your own book to read and a towel to sit on. Due to space constraints and liability, parents and siblings will not be allowed in the kennel area (just the scout leaders).

We will have a school-wide shelter in place drill and a reptilian Creature Feature on Thursday, February 28th.

Quote from a child: "I better go to bed early tonight. I have a dream locked up in my heart that I need to let out."
Quote from Anne of Green Gables: "Dear old world, you are very lovely and I am glad to be alive in you."
Enjoy your winter break!Ki Sonya

HomeSchool: Feb 4 - 8

Hello HomeSchool!

Hope you had a refreshing weekend! Our past week was a fishy one! We created imaginary fish with sidewalk chalk on the back patio. We painted beautiful underwater scenes of schools of fish with watercolor. We talked about saltwater fish and freshwater fish and all the places where fish live.

Ki Melanie from Atlanta Audubon Society brought two rescued ruby-throated hummingbirds for us to see in Creature Feature. We learned how we can all protect hummingbirds by planting native plants that are hummer favorites and keeping our cats indoors (or putting bells on their collars).  Ollie took us on a student-led hike and we spent a lovely morning playing in the creek. We sang the high-energy song "Alive, Alert, Awake, Enthusiastic".

We practiced the maypole dance and song that all grades students will be performing on May 3rd. This is a Friday, but we would love for the HomeSchool students to be a part of that day's celebrations. It is Grand Friends Day, a special day when we encourage students to bring their grandparents and other family members for a formal tea and the maypole dance.

This week is Shark Week! We will explore the undersea world of sharks and why they need all those teeth. Both Tuesday and Thursday are half days. Students will be on the playground 12:00 to 12:30pm for pickup. They will need a morning snack but not a lunch. We will go to the creek Thursday morning. Bring rubber boots and shorts that day.

I'm looking forward to our parent/teacher meetings in the afternoons. This is a great time to ask any questions you may have and discuss classroom policies and discipline, content of the remaining sessions, and upcoming events.

Quote from a child: "I don't know where my boots are. Maybe they walked away."

Quote (on a small, hand-painted sign) from Buck, proprietor of a roadside boiled peanut stand, Hatchechubbee, Alabama: "Turn off the phone 'n games. Don't set there getting old, fat, 'n ugly. Go outside and do something."

See you at the garden,

Ki Sonya

HomeSchool: January 28 - Feb 1

Hi all! 

Well, we had a snow day on Tuesday with no snow. We did have some black ice in Kennesaw Tuesday evening so it was a bit sketchy driving around just after sunset. 

On Thursday, we celebrated Helene’s 8th birthday with lemon cream tarts and hot chocolate and singing and horsing around! We thoroughly enjoyed gyotaku (fish printing) with fabric paints on our white t-shirts. Thank you to Ki Heather and Ki Jill for all of your help that day! 

Remember that we have our mandatory parents meeting in the sanctuary this Tuesday evening at 7:00pm. Each family must be represented. 

Be sure to sign up for a parent/teacher conference with me one afternoon next week. Go to Signup Genius if you haven’t already. At this conference, I’ll show you your child’s class work and art, discuss any discipline concerns, and share details about upcoming events. 

Quote from a child: "No matter what the teacher says, February is the longest month."

Quote from Unknown: "Remember that everyone you meet is afraid of something, loves something, and has lost something."

See you around the bend, 
Ki Sonya

HomeSchool: Jan 22 - 25

Hello!

We are enjoying having our two new students, Mike and Cooper, join us in HomeSchool. This week we sang all the verses of She'll Be Coming 'Round The Mountain, all 16 of them! We received our Fishing Lines saltwater fish guides and each person drew a favorite fish from the books. Bear did an excellent job as our guide on the student-led hike. I continued to read to the students from the book Unlikely Friendships, about actual animal companions of different species. Ki Tess from The Amphibian Foundation brought amphibians and reptiles to share with us in the first Creature Feature of the year. 

We each wrote words that started with the first letter of our names, things that we like or that are special to us. For example, I wrote for Ki Sonya: sunshine, summertime, shrimp and scallops, strawberries, Samoyeds, skiing, and Saturdays. Some students wrote words for their middle and last names also. You can try this activity at home with the names of parents, siblings, and pets. The students will show you how to draw the big first letter and then the smaller words out to the right of it.

This Tuesday we will try our hand at gyotaku, Japanese fish printing, on white t-shirts. Wear old clothes as we will be using fabric paints. 

The Garden Girls Girl Scouts will meet upstairs on the basketball court at 3:30pm Tuesday for colorful candle dipping and learning about petitions for environmental causes. We will start our Skip A Straw, Save A Turtle campaign!
We may get a little snow Tuesday too. Be sure to bring rain/snow boots and rain/snow pants Tuesday and Thursday so we can play outside. Ollie will be guiding us on our student-led hike.

On Thursday, we will celebrate Helene's 8th birthday HomeSchool style! Ki Heather is bringing lemon creme tarts with fresh fruit. Please bring an alternate snack if you need to. I'll bring the hot chocolate. We will paint schools of fish in watercolor.

Mike will be taking the school turtle home for the weekend on January 31st. Let me know if your family would like to take him home for the weekend February 7th or for the long winter break February 14th thru 25th. I can give you all the details of turtle care if you are a first-timer

On Tuesday, February 5th, from 7:00 to 9:00pm, we will have a mandatory, all-school meeting for parents only, in the sanctuary. Each family must have a representative at the meeting. We will discuss highlights from each class and plans for next year. 

During the week of February 11th, school will dismiss each day at 12:30pm. We will have parent/teacher conferences on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday afternoons. Please sign up for a 30-minute time slot to meet with me. Check the Signup Genius for times.

Quote from a child: "If you're going to bother wetting the soap and messing up the towel, you might as well just go ahead and wash your hands."

Quote from Anne Lamott: "I hope that on the day I die I will have had dessert."

Stay warm and dry!

Ki Sonya 

HomeSchool: Jan 14 - 18

Hello!

We had a great first week of 2019!

 On Tuesday we celebrated Lucan's 7th birthday with song and candle and strawberry oatmeal cake and gifts of rock, shell, feather, and treasure. The HomeSchool students each gave their reptile presentation and did a fine job with it. I've attached some photos of their drawings. We visited with our school turtle, a male yellow-bellied slider named Gerta. I started reading to them from the book Unlikely Friendships, 47 Remarkable Stories from the Animal Kingdom, by Jennifer Holland. These true short stories are about animal companions of different species, like the black bear and black cat that we read about. 

On Thursday, it was Trains, Trains, Trains at The Garden School. Ki Richard and Ki Josh from the Southern Museum in downtown Kennesaw set up four train layouts in the Blue Sky Room. Every student in the school, including the Joyful Beginnings toddler class, got a chance to see and hear and learn about the trains. A BIG thankyou to Richard for organizing this. That night I dreamed that Larry and I took a train ride across the country encountering coal cars and railway switching yards along the way! Be sure to take the opportunity to attend the Trains, Trains, Trains event at the Southern Museum coming up January 26th and 27th, 9:30 to 5:00 each day.

On Thursday we also ate our lunch in the garden, fed apple slices to the donkeys and goats, and played Freeze Tag in the rain. We are working on carving out a new trail that wraps around the pond from the pond overlook to the Daisy Cottage. It is walkable but still rough and slippery in places.

This week in Girl Scouts we had a great time and made a big mess as we worked together in the Blue Sky Room. We crreated pinecone bird feeders packed full of peanut butter, birdseed, and blueberries. We hung these on trees around the school campus to help the birds make it through these next few cold weeks. We made sugar cookies and frosting from scratch and delivered them to fire stations and police departments as a thank you for their service to our community.

I've postponed our gyotaku fish printing activity til Tuesday, January 29th to give everyone a chance to bring in a plain white t-shirt for your child. Some kids may have outgrown the shirt you brought to me in August so you may need to bring a new one.

This Tuesday we will do the Build-A-Fish activity and receive our Fishing Lines saltwater fish guidebooks. Each student will choose a fish from the guidebook to draw. Two students will help me with the monthly water quality monitoring of Noonday Creek.

Thursday we will have our first Creature Feature of the new year. Tess Yaney will share her amphibians and reptiles with us. I will read more stories from the Unlikely Friendships book. Ollie will take us on our next student-led hike.

Quote from a child: "Is this when we add the vanilla abstract?"

Quote from Mitch Hedberg: "On the fishing shows on TV they catch the fish and then let it go. They don't want to eat the fish; they just want to make it late for something!"

Thanks to all of you for your kindness and support.

Stay warm and dry,

Ki Sonya

HomeSchool: Dec 10 - 14

Happy Christmastime!

We enjoyed the past week but missed our students who could not be there. We hiked on the new trails. We sang the Boondocks song about fishing in the crawfish hole and a seasonal Hanukkah song about the menorah. We did stretching exercises on the exercise balls. We learned more about reptiles and created some of our own out of modeling clay. We practiced walking with a lite candle in a base made from an apple. We helped Ki Jasmine set up the sanctuary for the Advent Spiral and then participated in this beautiful ceremony with the other grades students. I was so impressed with the students in how quiet and respectful they all were.

We cared for our new school turtle, a male yellow-bellied slider, in the Blue Sky Room this week. If you would like to take the turtle home for a weekend this winter, let me know. I've attached below a list of tips of how to pack him up and set him up at your house.

We will celebrate Lucan's 7th birthday on January 15th, our first day back at school. Caitlyn: Please email or facebook the other HomeSchool parents to let them know what birthday treat you will be bringing that day!

We will also give our reptile presentations on January 15th. We will get 4 sheets of master book paper to you by next Sunday the 23rd so you can work on this take-home project. Please use this paper horizontally and front-side only. Each student may choose a reptile to research. On the first sheet, write the name of the reptile, as well as a physical description of the animal (size, length, color, eyes, teeth, tail, feet, etc.) On the second sheet, draw or paint the reptile using crayons, colored pencils, watercolor, or acrylics. On the third sheet, draw or paint a dinosaur or other prehistoric animal that your reptile may have come from/descended from. Use crayons, colored pencils, watercolors, or acrylics. The fourth sheet is for mess-ups or to add additional info. (Some students are going to draw bones or muscles of their reptile on their fourth sheet.) Put your name on the back of each sheet. Don't forget to bring your competed master book sheets back with you on the 15th!

The next Garden Girls Girl Scouts meeting will be Tuesday, January 15th, 3:30-5:00pm. We will be in the Blue Sky Room, baking cookies to take to fire and police stations and making pinecone bird feeders to hang around the school campus.

We are excited to have Christopher's Dad bring in the train layouts on Thursday, January 17th. The HomeSchool students will mentor and shepard the two kindergarten classes as they come through the Blue Sky Room to see the trains that morning.

In the next season, we will be studying fish and other marine creatures. We will do the long-awaited activity with the white t-shirts that you brought to school. We will do gyotaku, the traditional Japanese method of fish printing, on Tuesday, January 22nd. Kate: Please bring a plain white t-shirt in Mike's size when you come back on the 15th. You can find inexpensive white shirts on the back wall of Hobby Lobby.

Quote from a child: "Never walk on ice with your hands in your pockets."

Quote from Unknown: "Every so often, invite the person in line behind you to go ahead of you."

See you next year!

Ki Sonya

HomeSchool: Dec 3 - 7

Hi HomeSchool families!

Fun times at The Garden School!  On Tuesday, we celebrated Ari's 14th birthday and had final amphibian presentations by Ari, Elsu, Bear, Lucan, and Ki Sonya. We studied Amphibians vs Reptiles, the similarities and the differences. We went on a student-led hike led by Christopher, who took us to Kindy Beach, Quiet Corner, and to visit the farm animals. And we played Toe Dominoes (see photos)! 

On Thursday, we cut up apples and took them with us when Helene led us on a student-led hike through the playground to feed the donkeys and goats and climb on rocks. The Helene led us to the marsh pier to play with the 1-inch-thick ice that had formed on the surface. This was so much fun nobody wanted to leave! Back inside, we learned about sea turtles and why they are truly world citizens. We got to see an actual baby sea turtle and egg, and we drew sea turtle adults and hatchlings.

This Tuesday, Ollie will be guiding us on our student-led hike. We will play the Project WILD field game called Turtle Hurdles, highlighting the predators and risks that sea turtle hatchlings have to avoid to survive. You will need warm clothes and tennis shoes or hiking boots. 

This Thursday will be an inside day. Wear a nice outfit as we will have our class photos taken that morning. Christopher's Dad, Ki Richard, will set up several train layouts in the Blue Sky Room. HomeSchool students will get to see the trains and ask questions about the mechanics and stories behind them. We will also serve as mentors for the kindergarten students as they visit the train layouts. We will practice walking with a candle so that each student is comfortable with this. In the afternoon, we will participate with our grade levels in the Advent Spiral, held in the church sanctuary. Please make sure your child's hair is pulled back on this day (or I can help put it into a ponytail holder at lunchtime).

On Tuesday, each student will bring home four more sheets of white masterbook paper, signaling the next take-home project. Please use this paper horizontally and front-side only. Each student will choose a reptile to research. On the first sheet, write the name of the reptile, as well as a physical description of the animal (size, length, color, eyes, teeth, tail, feet, etc.) On the second sheet, draw or paint the reptile using crayons, colored pencils, watercolor, or acrylics. On the third sheet, draw or paint a dinosaur or other prehistoric animal that your reptile may have come from/descended from. Use crayons, colored pencils, watercolors, or acrylics. The fourth sheet is for mess-ups or to add additional info. Put your name on the back of each sheet. We will be presenting these on our first day back, January 15th, so don't forget to bring your competed masterbook sheets back then!

Always have one or two extra pairs of socks in your backpack. One can never have too many warm, dry socks at this time of year!

Quote from a child: "I've learned the best time to ask your Dad if you can do something is when he's sleeping."

Quote from Unknown: "Never wash a car, mow a yard, or select a Christmas tree after dark."

See you at the marsh,

Ki Sonya

HomeSchool: Nov 26 - 30

Hi everybody!

It is great to be back at The Garden School and I want to thank Ki Kate for subbing for me last week. We have an exciting day planned tomorrow with Ari's birthday celebration and the DeWillers amphibian presentations. Our activities on Thursday, inside and outside, are all focused on one of my favorites subjects: sea turtles. You don't need boots, just some good tennis shoes or running shoes and a jacket.

I want to remind you to join me at the annual open house of The Amphibian Foundation. It will be this Friday from 6:00 to 10:00pm, but come anytime you'd like and for as long as you'd like. There is no charge. We'll be at Blue Heron Nature Preserve, 4055 Roswell Road NE, Atlanta. Highlights include the Ribbit Exhibit of amphibian art and photos, a backstage tour to see where the flatwoods salamanders are raised, food and drink, and the opportunity to hold a frog, a toad, a salamander, a turtle, and a snake. Bring your whole family!

Quote from a child: "Make sure there's toilet paper before you sit down."

Quote from Carter Roberts, President & CEO of World Wildlife Fund: 

"People sometimes ask me what I worry about most. Climate change? Species loss? Habitat destruction? I worry about all those issues. But what I worry about most is running out of planet."

See you down the road,

Ki Sonya

HomeSchool: Nov 12 - 16

Hi!

We learned about animal timekeepers this week, and talked about which ones are nocturnal, diurnal, and crepuscular. We discussed which animals sleep a lot in a 24-hour period and which ones sleep very little. As you study different animals, this is a good question to ask about each. 

We drew fairies, read poems about fairies, and then sketched plans of how we would build houses for fairies. Finally the time came to create a fairy village at the edge of the woods, complete with fairy houses, bridges, tunnels, pools, a beach, a theater, and tiny lights to welcome them. Before we were finished with the village, a cold, fine mist moved in. It dampened us but not our spirits! 

We had a going away get-together for Logan whose last day was Thursday. Logan and her parents, Mike and Kelly, are moving back to southern California to complete the movie Mike is directing. A BIG thankyou to Ki Kelly, Ki Julia, and Ki Debbie for preparing a special snack and hot beverage for us all! Thank you too for the beautiful fall centerpiece.

We will begin our reptile study the week of November 28th. Ki Kate will be subbing for me and she'll talk about snakes. When I return on December 4th, we'll finally get to celebrate Ari's 14th birthday at school. This will also be the day for Ari, Elsu, Bear, and Lucan to give their amphibian presentations, and I'll give my presentation on hellbenders. Thursday, December 6th we will be focusing on sea turtles.

The next Garden Girls Girl Scout program will be Tuesday, December 4th, 3:30-5:00pm at the school. We will learn how to pitch a tent and the kinds of gear you need for a camping trip. 

We have started singing a new song and look forward to teaching it to the DeWillers. Here is the chorus:

You grab a line.

I'll grab a pole.

We'll go fishing in the crawfish hole.

Under a full moon Saturday night

Till the sun comes up in the morning.

Quote from a child: "If the horse you're drawing looks more like a dog, make it a dog."

Quote from Sir Laurens Van Der Post: "Convoys, boating trips, and hiking expeditions are best led from behind, where trouble, like the dust, invariably settles."

I am so thankful for all of our HomeSchool families during this, my favorite holiday. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Ki Sonya

HomeSchool: Nov 5th - Nov 12th

Hi HomeSchool families!

HomeSchool students gave their Amphibian presentations Tuesday morning. I was very impressed by their public speaking skills with each one standing, making excellent eye contact with their audience, and speaking clearly. Great job!

Thursday dawned cloudy and cold for our Lantern Walk but we had a good time walking the trails with our handmade lanterns and singing the lantern songs. We worked hard on Privet Pocket, our outdoor classroom, cleaning, sweeping, and clearing vines and limb from HomeSchool Trail. We wrote and colored thank you notes to Atlanta-area veterans. Ki Jasmine delivered these for us.

We painted wooden maple leaves and real hickory nuts to add to the centerpiece decorations for Thanksgiving dinner November 16th. This potluck begins at 11:30pm on Friday, and HomeSchool families are welcome to participate. It is a Three Sisters dinner. Bring a corn dish, a bean dish, or a squash dish to share.

On Tuesday we will learn about animals as timekeepers. We'll talk about Aldo Leopold's Dawn Bird Chorus and generate a list of animals that are nocturnal, diurnal, and crepuscular. We will talk about fairies (mostly nocturnal) and collect materials from the forest for fairy houses building. On Thursday we will build fairy houses outside and, if it gets too wet and cold, we'll play Nature Bingo inside. Bring raincoats or jackets, rain pants, extra socks, and rain boots for both days!

Logan's last day with us is Thursday. Ki Kelly will bring a special snack and hot beverage for her going-away get-together that day. Their family is moving back to southern California, and not a minute too soon if they want to avoid the cold weather.

Thanksgiving Break is Monday, November 19th through Friday, November 23rd. Ki Kate Brown will be subbing for me the following week, November 27th and 29th, while Larry and I are on the family cruise with my Dad. That will be the first week of our study of reptiles!

Quote from a child: "Toads aren't ugly. They're just toads."


Quote from William Morris, English writer, artist, & designer, 1834-1896: "Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful."

See you in the leaf pile,

Ki Sonya