HomeSchool: October 29 - November 2

Whew! This had been some week, with a lot of fun and excitement. The Kingdom of Halloween Festival was a great success and a good time was had by all. On Tuesday we created our lanterns for the Lantern Walk, got to see some live newts from a Cobb County park, put our troubles and cares into the Worry Frog, and played in the creek and on hay bales. Several students showed the class their leaf and rock collections. Brolin and Nellie (from Upper Grades) helped me test the temperature, pH, and dissolved oxygen level at Kindy Beach on Little Noonday Creek. Our Sapphires will be testing the creek once a month, partly to see how it's doing and partly to learn about water quality monitoring.

Thursday we gathered leaves to use in our leaf rubbings. Along the way, we found a new trail to try to improve. It leads to the area where the miller's daughter did her spinning during the Halloween Festival so we named the trail the Miller's Daughter's Trail. We used crayons for our leaf rubbings. We talked about newts and salamanders and created lovely watercolors of salamanders using blue, red, and yellow.

Next Tuesday we will give our Amphibian presentations! Please bring your four sheets of masterbook paper, ready to turn in. I can't wait to hear each presentation and learn more about the world's amazing amphibians. It looks like rain that day, but bring water clothes and water shoes just in case we get to go to the creek.

Also on Tuesday, the Garden Girls Girl Scouts will be doing some cast iron cooking. We'll prepare a meal in Dutch ovens and taste our creations. Girl Scouts should wear closed-toes shoes (not rubber boots) and warm clothes.

Next Thursday, for Veterans Day, we will do our Lantern Walk along the trails to Privet Pocket in the morning. We'll paint wooden leaves and hickory nuts for centerpieces. And we will write and draw cards for patients at the veterans hospital here in Atlanta.

Quote from a child: "We found a turtle in our yard and my Mom put it in a box so it was a box turtle."

Quote from Unknown: "Make the rest of your life the best of your life!"

See you on the trails,

Ki Sonya

Home School: October 22 - 26

Happy Halloween Week!

We enjoyed the past few days and got to spend some precious moments in Little Noonday Creek before the cold weather sets in. We worked in teams to build straw boats (boats made of drinking straws) and floated them down the creek. We created watercolor landscapes in blue and green. We looked at the the biggest shelf fungus in Cobb County. It was delightful to have Brolin's Mom, grandparents, and great aunt with us for his 10th birthday celebration. I've attached some photos below.

Please bring any rock or leaf collections that you would like to share this Tuesday. We will also start work on our lanterns Tuesday, gluing tissue paper to the jars. Due to parking and after-dark safety concerns, the evening Lantern Walk will not take place this year. Our HomeSchool group is going to walk the trails with our lanterns during the school day and we will write and draw cards to patients at the Veterans Hospital here in Atlanta.

We are beginning our study of newts and salamanders this week, and will have some animal ambassadors from Sweat Mountain Park. Please continue to work on your Take-Home Amphibian projects so that you are not rushed at the end. These are due Tuesday, November 6th. Be sure to practice your presentations at home at least once.

Bring rubber boots, rain jackets, warm jackets, and extra socks this week so we can spend some time outside on the trails. Write your name on everything!

I am extending an invitation to all HomeSchool families to join me at the Amphibian Foundation's annual Open House and Ribbet Exhibit (amphibian-based fine art). I was able to attend last year and it was a blast! It will be held Friday, December 7th, 6:00-10:00pm at the Blue Heron Nature Preserve, 4055 Roswell Road NE, Atlanta. You will definitely get to hold a frog, a toad, and a snake. The fun will include live animal demos, behind-the-scenes tours, food and drink, and a gift sale. Come and go as you like. This event is free. The nonprofit Amphibian Foundation is not generally open to the public. Mark and Crystal Mandica, founders of the Amphibian Foundation, are amazing! Check out their website at amphibianfoundation.org. 

I have three more sessions of occupational therapy for my left wrist and hand and I will be as good as new (on that side)! I will be away from school November 27th and 29th for our family cruise (with Kate Brown substituting) and December 20th for my right wrist surgery (with Kate Brown substituting).

Quote from a child to his Dad: "Let's play darts. I'll throw and you say "Wonderful!""

Quote from Unknown: "Fall asleep with a dream. Wake up with a purpose."

Hope you get all treats, no tricks,

Ki Sonya

HomeSchool: Oct 15 - 19

Hi everybody!

I've attached photos below from our wonderful week.

This Tuesday there is a Simplicity Parenting discussion in the parent lounge at 2:00pm if any of you would like to attend. I hope to be there too. On Tuesday the HomeSchool group will be singing our two lantern songs, Glimmer, Lantern, Glimmer and L'Bimba, L'Bamba, L'Boom, as well as All Through The Day, Let Us Sing Together, and Iko, Iko. We will celebrate Brolin's 10th birthday with special cupcakes at the Pond Overlook. We will be painting watercolor landscapes with blue, green, and red.

On Tuesday at 3:30pm, the Garden Girls Girl Scouts will do a Creek Cleanup on Little Noonday Creek so all Girl Scouts should wear old tennis shoes or rubber boots and old clothes that can get dirty and wet. Bring gloves if you have them.

Be sure to bring in your wide-mouth glass jars by Thursday so we can make our lanterns the following week. On Thursday, I will be asking each student to talk about how what they did to fill the Let's Go Outside prescription that I gave you during our parent/teacher conferences.

Join us if you can for the Kingdom of Halloween Festival this Saturday, 4:30-8:30pm. You are encouraged to wear a costume, as long as it is not scary, does not include a mask, and is not based on any media like movies, video games, or TV shows. I will be there as the official greeter and you may recognize other teachers and parents as you make your way through the kingdom.

Please continue to work on your Amphibian take-home projects and be ready to give presentations on them Tuesday, November 6th. Each student received 4 sheets of masterbook paper. These may not be folded. If you find that yours are folded please take home new sheets this Tuesday. The sheets should be used horizontally and front-only. 

Your presentation should include:

Sheet 1: A drawing of your amphibian (may be in crayon, colored pencil, or charcoal, may show parts of the body, stages of metamorphosis, color phases, top view, side view, whatever you want to share)

Sheet 2: A painting of your amphibian (may be watercolor or acrylic)

Sheet 3: Answers to these questions about your amphibian:

What is the common name and nickname (if any) of your amphibian?

How big is your amphibian? 

How would you describe it?

What is one cool adaptation that it has?

Where does it live?

What does it eat?

What are the stages of its life cycle?

What does it do in winter?

Is it common or rare?

How is is affected by humans?

Your answers and descriptions may continue on the 4th sheet of paper or you may use the 4th sheet as a do-ever sheet.

Here are the amphibians that we chose:

Ari: olm

Bear: goliath frog

Brolin: eft

Christopher: caecilian

Elsu: fire-bellied toad

Helene: southern leopard frog

Logan: African tree frog

Lucan: zig-zag salamander

Ollie: red-eyed tree frog

Ki Sonya: hellbender

As you practice, be sure to emphasize these public speaking skills: standing, facing your audience, making eye contact, projecting your voice, holding your paper so that everyone in the audience can see it, and, my favorite, exuding enthusiasm for your subject.

Quote from a child, written on the chalk board in the Marigold Room: "I don't fill good today. My trout hurts."

Quote from Rick Bragg, in My Southern Journey: "People ask all the time, what's wrong with kids today? I have long held that they have been brain-mushed by too much screen time, but as summer races past me now I think it is something else. I think they do not know how sweet it is to feel the mud mush between their toes."

May you find a mud puddle of your own very soon,

Ki Sonya

HomeSchool: October 8 - 12

Hello and happy fall! We had another week of learning, growing, fun, and adventure! We learned how frogs are viewed by different cultures around the world. We played a frog card match game, talked about the differences between frogs and toads, put together a rainforest tree frogs floor puzzle, and jumped our best broad jumps in the Frog Leap math activity. We lined up the stages of a frog's life cycle. We read a frog alphabet book and chose the amphibian that each of us is going to research. 

Logan gave her Great States! presentation on Hawaii as a puppet show complete with big surf, active volcanoes, nenes, and hula dancers! We completed the detail painting on our talking sticks, sprayed them with a matte acrylic sealer to make them weather-proof, and used sinew to add feathers, seeds, and beads. After the heavy rains and rising creeks this week, we hiked to 4 points along Little Noonday to check the water levels. We saw a paper wasp nest from a distance and a yellow jacket nest up close! Our students showed great bravery on Thursday and received Courage Awards from Ki Jasmine. 

Thank you to Ki Patrick for providing the materials for our talking sticks. Thank you to Ki Kelly and Ki Julia for helping with the talking sticks project. Thanks to everyone for taking the time to come in for our parent/teacher conferences. Please let me know anytime if you have more questions or suggestions.

For the take-home project this season, each student will bring home 3 pieces of masterbook paper. They should use one sheet to draw and color their amphibian. They should use the second to paint their amphibian. And they use the third sheet to answer these questions:

What is the common name and nickname (if any) of your amphibian?

How big is your amphibian?

How would you describe it?

What is one cool adaptation that it has?

Where does it live?

What does it eat?

What are the stages of its life cycle?

What does it do in winter?

Is it common or rare?

How is is affected by humans?

Here are the amphibians that we chose:

Ari: olm

Bear: goliath frog

Brolin: crested newt

Christopher: caecilian

Elsu: not sure yet

Helene: southern leopard frog

Logan: African tree frog

Lucan: zig-zag salamander

Ollie: red-eyed tree frog

Ki Sonya: hellbender

The Amphibians take-home project is due Tuesday, November 6th and we will do our presentations to the class that morning. In your practice, be sure to emphasize these public speaking skills: standing, facing your audience, making eye contact, projecting your voice, holding your paper so that everyone in the audience can see it, and, my favorite, exuding enthusiasm for your subject.

Here are the new songs we are singing together:

This is one I created last year to sing during transitions. I hope we can sing it as a round someday soon!

Sing a high, high, high note,

Sing a low, low, low note,

Sing a middle, middle, middle note,

All through the day.

Sing a hiiiiiiiiiiiigh note,

Sing a looooooow note, 

Sing a midddddddle note,

All through the day.

Sing a high, high, high, high, high, high note,

Sing a low, low, low, low, low, low note,

Sing a middle, middle, middle, middle, middle, middle note,

All through the day.

These are the songs we'll sing along the Lantern Walk on Thursday, November 8th.

Glimmer, lantern, glimmer.

Little stars a-shimmer.

Over rock and stock and stone,

Wander tripping little gnome.

Pee-whit, pee-whit, rick-a-tick-a-tick,

Roo coo, Roo coo.

Glimmer, lantern, glimmer.

Little stars a-shimmer.

Over meadow, moor, and dale,

Flitter flutter, elven vale,

Pee-whit, pee-whit, rick-a-tick-a-tick,

Roo coo, Roo coo.

and

I go outside with my lantern,

My lantern goes with me.

Above, the stars are shining bright,

Down here on earth shine we.

So shine your light through the dark, chill night,

L'bimba, l'bamba, l'boom!

'Neath heaven's dome til we go home,

L'binba, l'bamba, lboom!

We are going to make our own glass lanterns for the Lantern Walk. I have all the supplies we need except the jars. Please bring a wide-mouth glass jar for your child's lantern to the Blue Sky Room by Thursday, October 25th. Medium-sized jars are best, and the colorful tissue paper sticks best to those jars that are not embossed with Ball or other writing on the glass.

Quote from a child on the Cumberland Island trip (during the smelling activity on the beach):

The first scent was cinnamon, the second one was peppermint, and I'm pretty sure the third one was vanilla abstract!"

Quote from Sarah Williams: "I have loved the stars too fondly to be fearful of the night."

See you along the way,

Ki Sonya

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