HomeSchool: October 1 - 5

Hi everybody!


A BIG thankyou to Ki Kate Brown for subbing for me Tuesday, to Ki Julia Fields for driving her vehicle to the Georgia coast, and to Ki Michelle Scott for bringing pumpkin and apple cinnamon muffins for a special snack! 


Our field trip to Saint Simons Island and Cumberland Island was wonderful and the staff at Driftwood Education Center is amazing! I've attached some photos below.


On Thursday, we had a going away get-together for Brendan down at the Pond Overlook. We created a big card for him and presented him with a special treasure. We are sad that he is no longer going to be a part of our little tribe!


Some students gave a recap of their Great States! presentations and others gave their presentation for the first time. It was clear that everyone had done good research on their state and learned a lot about it. We'll continue to work on our public speaking and presentation skills. We spent the rest of the morning painting Native American patterns on our talking sticks. See the photos for a preview of what they will look like.


On Tuesday, Logan will give her Great States! presentation. We'll continue painting our talking sticks. And we will begin our study of amphibians with a look at the differences between frogs and toads and how they are represented in cultures around the world. If your child wears older clothes that day, they will be less likely to get paint on them. (Kind of like when you bring an umbrella it is less likely to rain.)

On Thursday, we will go on a Creek Crawl so come to school in swimsuits, shorts, shirts, and water shoes or boots. Bring a full change of clothes including two more pairs of socks! We will spray our talking sticks with a sealant to protect them. And we will look at frogs of the rainforest.

Quote from a child: "The scorpion was the pioneer of all land animals. I think history will decide he is just as important as Columbus."    

Quote from Rachel Carson, from A Sense of Wonder, 1956: 

A child’s world is fresh and beautiful, full of wonder and excitement. 

It is our misfortune that for most of us that clear-eyed vision, that true instinct for what is beautiful and awe-inspiring, 

is dimmed and even lost before we reach adulthood.

If I had influence with the good fairy who is supposed to preside over the christening of all children 

I should ask that her gift to each child in the world be a sense of wonder so indestructible that it would last throughout life, 

as an unfailing antidote against boredom and disenchantments of later years,

the sterile preoccupation with things that are artificial, 

the alienation from sources of our own strength.

See you 'round the bend!

Ki Sonya

HomeSchool: September 17 - 21

This was a great week for HomeSchool. We were so glad to have all the DeWillers back. We found beaver sticks and deer tracks and tiny spider webs during Creekcess. The hop scotch to the New Orleans Mardi Gras song Iko, Iko was a lot of fun. Ki Mike delivered a 4-foot length of bamboo for each student and we began work on our talking sticks, painting each section of the bamboo a different color. When students return October 2nd, they will be painting their Native American/First Nations patterns on the sticks with acrylic paints. Each student shared with the class a time when they had to be brave and courageous to make it through. Ki Kelly and Logan brought us a beautiful bread dragon with apricot eyes as our snack on the Day of Courage. The Day of Courage celebration on the meadow was very dramatic with the Middle Grades telling the story in verse, the Upper Grades with their drum and rainstick,  all of us chanting, the huge red dragon, the princess who tamed the dragon, and the knight on a gorgeous black horse. I''m glad so many HomeSchool parents were able to attend. We ended the week by releasing the tiny turtle we had found back into the pond.

I am chaperoning the Upper Grades on their field trip to Saint Simons Island October 1st-3rd. Ari, Elsu, Brolin, and Ki Julia will be with me too. Ki Kate will be subbing for HomeSchool on the 2nd. She spent the morning with us Thursday to get to know the kids. On that day, each student will be sharing all they know about their Great State! and turning in their completed forms. They may also bring in mementos, clothing, pictures, food, and anything else that represents your state. Here are the states that were chosen:

Ari: Alaska

Bear: Washington

Brendan: Florida

Brolin: Tennessee

Christopher: Maryland

Elsu: New York

Helene: Colorado

Logan: Hawaii

Lucan: Texas

Ollie: New Mexico

The week of October 8th, the school will have early dismissal at 12:30pm each day. Please bring me any questions, concerns, and suggestions you have for HomeSchool or for the whole school when you come for your conference. If both parents are able to attend the conference, even better! 

Quote from a child, referring to our waterfall fun day: "Ki Sonya, when are we ever going on the Water Faucet trip?"

Quote from Sonia Sotomayor, Supreme Court Justice: "Don't mistake politeness for lack of strength."

See you next season,

Ki Sonya

HomeSchool: Sept 10 - 14

We had so much fun this week, and learned a few things along the way! On Tuesday, we explored the retention pond and collected a few cattails for our classroom. We sewed our master book portfolios together with yarn and practiced the Native American/First Nations patterns we are going to paint on our talking sticks. We made insects out of clay. On Thursday, we played the Fire Brigade water relay at the creek. Getting the pitchers of creek water up the cliff was exciting and wet! We created water color paintings of sunsets in blue, red, and purple and learned more about monarch butterflies and their winter homes in Mexico.

This Tuesday, each HomeSchool student will choose a state to study as a home geography project. They will bring home an envelope with a Great States! form to complete. They should bring these back to school Tuesday, October 2nd (after fall break) and be prepared to share some fun things about their state with the rest of our group.

This Thursday is our school-wide Day of Courage celebration. It is from 2:00 to 2:30pm on the meadow and parents are invited to attend. All students will be singing this chant from the traditional Waldorf Michalmus feast day:

"When I conquer within me fear and wrath,

Mi-chi-el in heaven casts the dragon forth."

For a special morning snack on the Day of Courage, Ki Kelly and Logan are baking a Bread Dragon to share with us. It will contain gluten, raw honey, and butter. It may be decorated with dried coconut shavings, pepitas, dried cranberry, and/or cashews. Bring an alternative snack if you need to. I can't wait to see what our dragon looks like!

I will have carpal tunnel surgery on my left (dominant) wrist this Friday. I'll have fall break to spend some time resting and recovering. I'm assisting with the field trip to Saint Simons Island for Older Grades October 1st thru 3rd so will not be at the school those three days. Kate Brown, Nola and Mike's Mom, will be subbing for me during that time. Ki Kate is going to join us this Thursday, getting to know the students and our rhythm. 

Thanks to Heather and Julia for signing up for a time slot for parent/teacher conferences the week of October 8th. If you have not yet signed up, see the September 10th Monday Messenger that you received as an email, scroll down to Sign-ups are available.... and click on HomeSchool Group. Our conferences will be on the afternoons of October 8th, 9th, 10th, and 11th.
Quote from a child: 

Ki Mike, from Peachtree Bikes: "Be sure you always have plenty of air in your bike tires."

Girl Scout: "Do you mean that when we get our hair cut, we need to stuff the hair into our tires?"

Quote from Unknown: "We do not see the world as it is. We see the world as we are."

See you on the meadow,

Ki Sonya

HomeSchool: August 27 - 31

Thanks to our HomeSchool parents for all your support in these first weeks of school. Your donations of program supplies and gear have helped tremendously. It was great visiting with Justin and Paulyna and Michelle at the parent evening. 

This week the HomeSchool group collected and studied insects. I told a monarch migration story. We made monarch caterpillar bracelets (black, white, and light yellow striped) and gave them to the first graders in Ki Melissa's class. We wrote in our nature journals, painted watercolors outdoors, fed kudzu to the farm animals, and ate lunch at HomeSchool Beach for the first time. We collected kudzu blossoms and made a kudzu chamomile cinnamon sun tea. 

We sang these two new songs this week:

Swinging Along the Open Road:

Swinging along the open road under a sky that's clear

Swinging along the open road in the fall of the year.

Swinging along, swinging along, swinging along the open road, all in the fall of the year.

Swinging along the open road, swinging along under a sky so clear

Swinging along the open road, all in the fall, in the fall of the year

Swinging along, swinging along, swinging along the open ro-ad, all in the fall of the year.

I Like Dirt:

Ohhhhhhhhh, I like dirt, I like dirt

And it doesn't hurt if I get it on my shirt.

I like to squish it through my toes.

I like to spray it through the hose.

It's why our garden grows and grows.

Oh I like dirt, I like dirt, I like dirt, I like dirt....

It is heart-warming to see how the HomeSchoolers are enthusiastically doing their chores on Thursday afternoon. These are simple tasks like helping to clean the two small bathrooms we use, taking the trash to the dumpster, vacuuming the Blue Sky Room, and packing up our classroom for the end of the week. Many hands definitely make light work.

The hot and dry weather has been perfect for our time at the water. We know it cannot last, so we'll take full advantage of it this next week. On Tuesday, we will eat lunch at HomeSchool Beach so bring water shoes, clothes that can get wet, a change of clothes, extra socks and shoes. On Thursday, we will have circle and then go on a Creek Crawl so wear swimsuits, clothes that can get wet, and water shoes. Bring more clothes, socks, and shoes to change into.

We will have a special fruit snack this Thursday morning. It will be an island scene of pineapple slices, banana slices, green apple slices, and red grapes. The apples and grapes are organic. Fell free to count on this as your child's snack that day or bring an alternative snack.

Quote from a child: "It's impossible to say how many fireflies are in the night sky. There would only be too many if the whole sky glowed green."

Quote from John McCain, 1936-2018: "Nothing in life is more liberating than to fight for a cause larger than yourself, something that encompasses you but is not defined by your existence alone."

See you at the creek!

Ki Sonya

HomeSchool: August 20 - 24

From the pond to the creek to the wetland, this was a week of water exploration for the HomeSchool group. We are also exploring the world of insects so we collected some to observe during the week and sang the insect song called Head, Thorax, Abdomen! We celebrated Bear's 9th birthday at the pond overlook. This next week we will be looking at two big M words, metamorphosis and migration, making monarch caterpillar bracelets, and trying our hand at watercolor. You do not need your water clothes, just some good walking shoes, rubber boots, and extra socks. Be sure to write your name on everything.

Join us for these events if you can:

Parent Evening for HomeSchool is tonight at 7:00pm in the Blue Sky Room.

2nd Garden Girls Girl Scout meeting is tomorrow at 3:30pm at the picnic tables.

HomeSchool Waterfall Fun Day is Friday at 10:00am at High Shoals Falls in Dallas.

Garden families fall camping trip is September 8th & 9th at Fallen Oak Farm in Dahlonega.

Quote from a child: "I'm not sure what that bug is called. I learned it twice but I forgot it three times."

Quote from Aretha Franklin, 1942-2018: "Music does a lot of things for a lot of people. It's transporting, for sure. It can take you right back, years back, to the very moment certain things happened in your life. I will always be singing somewhere."

Homeschool: August 13 - 17

The HomeSchool group took advantage of the abundant sunshine this week to take a full tour of the school campus, play King of the Mulch Pile with beach balls, draw in our nature journals, play the Fire Brigade water game, eat delicious watermelon, feed watermelon rinds to the goats and donkeys, explore our new stretch of creek, and do some hot yoga! We sang songs, including I'd Like To Teach The World To Sing, Swinging Along The Open Road, Let Us Sing Together, and If You Can't Say Something Nice. We told a collective story about a boy and girl who went on a journey with a number of different insects. Ask your child to try to name the nine insects that went on the journey!

We have a field trip opportunity for Bear, Helene, and Ollie. They will get to go with Ki Kathee's class to see the play The Phantom Tollbooth, playing at Cobb Galleria on Wednesday, October 17th at 10:15am. Please let me know by August 28th if each of these three students can attend. We will send you updates on the departure time, appropriate dress, etc.

If you would like to chaperone and drive on The Phantom Tollbooth field trip, you will have to be cleared as a volunteer with a background check. If you want to help with future field trips, attend HomeSchool activities, participate in Girl Scout programs, or serve as a substitute teacher, you will need to be an approved volunteer. Please check in with the front desk to get the forms needed to start this process. 

Because it is so warm, we are taking a Water Bottle Check regularly, in which we take a break and each drink 10 big sips of water before going on to the next activity.

Next week please wear clothes that can get muddy and your mud boots on Tuesday as we will be going into the wetland. Bring a change of shoes and socks for Tuesday too. For Thursday, wear your swimsuit (under shirt and shorts) to school with water shoes and bring a full change of clothes including socks. On that day we will be doing a Creek Crawl. 

Don't forget to bring back your yoga mat. We are working on a good place to store them in the Fern Room so we do not have to ferry them back and forth each week. Be sure to bring an art project you would like to display if you have not already done so!

Please put your name on backpacks, lunch bags, water bottles, boots, rain jackets, and yoga mats so we can keep up with everyone's gear (less lost, more found!).

Next week we will discuss and draw insects. We'll be singing The Insect Song.

A BIG thank you to the Banz family and Maher family for helping to clear our new HomeSchool trail, prep the blackboard in our outdoor classroom, the Privet Pocket, and create seats and table on our lunchtime beach at the creek. A HUGE thank you to the Fields family for leading us in a beautiful smudging ceremony for our new classroom, the Blue Sky Room.

Looking forward to the next week!

Ki Sonya

Homeschool: First Week of School

Our HomeSchool group kicked off the school year with new songs and fun movements in our morning circle. We toured the school building, went for a walk on an Unnatural Nature Trail, created drawings of our box turtle animal ambassador, played King of the Mulch Pile, and discussed expectations for the coming year. We finished off our first day with an introduction to handwork, music, and yoga. We fell into an easy rhythm and look forward to more sunny days at The Garden School. Thanks to all the HomeSchool parents for your help!

~ Ki Sonya

Drawing the Box Turtle