Now that we’ve made it through the spooky season, we can really focus on celebrating the fall. November has been so full of activities. We’ve been working a lot on our balancing skills. Outside classroom has tires, boards, hopscotch and walking on cups. When the children use them it helps improve balance, coordination and awareness. Balance is the ability to maintain control of a particular body position while performing a given task with minimal posture sway. Balance helps the children be more aware of their surrounding environment.

One of the projects we spent a lot of time on was our fall leaf project. The children had to gather their own leaves and glue them onto to the paper. It was particularly fun taking photos of the children blowing. I think they all turned out awesome. We also made snake finger puppets. The children had fun playing around with them. I just wanted to add how thankful I am to have the privilege of working with your children in the outdoor classroom. I love watching them learn, play, develop new skills, make new friends and use their imaginations. I only wish I had a video camera ready at all times to capture some of those moments.

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1-CYjRpGJPh8ogqbikMWZTfHFzN3bJ5tD?usp=sharing

What do you think of when you think about fall? Changing leaves? Halloween? Apple cider? Or maybe it’s everyone’s favorite fall fruit…..pumpkins! This is the best time of year to be outdoors. Hummingbirds and butterflies made their daily appearances. Esmee captured the moment perfectly in her drawing. We had a nature scavenger hunt, a measuring scavenger hunt. Some of the girls made tape bracelets with the things they found. We had fun with the new farm sensory bins. One with a barn and farm animals and another one with a corn silo and a tractor and trailer. They improved their balancing skills while playing follow the leader. We set up a fall themed hopscotch. I’m sure a few of you will remember it from your own school years. Bugs, bugs and more bugs. They rescued them from a taped up cupcake pan and some friends used tweezers to place the bugs in a bug cage. Finally our art project was making paper pumpkins. Celebrate fall with your children by getting outdoors and going on a nature walk.

To see photos please click on the link below:

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1kIy5MVZyJPYn48at6GZ_jv7sat770Xki?usp=sharing

Is it fall?! I think we have finally emerged from the heat of summer. You may have notice things starting to change. Shorter days. Cooler temperatures. Fall is definitely here!

This month we have been having fun with the alphabet stepping stones. Matching capital letters to lowercase, to singing the alphabet song as we walk the stones. Water activities are always a favorite. Water play is a great sensory experience, and playing with water just feels good. We started by washing dishes and scrubbing fruits and veggies. This activity allows the kids to gain independence, develop fine motor skill, and learn some life skills (we all need to know how to wash dishes). We played in the sand, played cars, enjoyed the food we got at our outdoor food stand. We even painted some rocks! Being outdoors provides opportunities for the kids to burn up some of their energy and get our daily dose of vitamin D.

Welcome back! I hope you’re as excited as I am! New year, new friends and new experiences. Hope everyone had a great summer.

I thought I would share one of my favorite quotes from Maria Montessori:

“Let the children be free; encourage them; let them run outside when it is raining; let them remove their shoes when they find a puddle of water; and, when the grass of the meadows is damp with dew, let them run on it and trample it with their bare feet; let them rest peacefully when a tree invites them to sleep beneath it’s shade; let them shout and laugh when the sun wakes them in the morning as it wakes every living creature that divides its day between waking and sleeping.”

“Nature has the ability to calm us, to connect us with beauty, and to reconnect us to the earth and environment.”

This is my hope for the new school year.

As we come to the end of this school year, it’s an opportunity to reflect and think about the fun year we had in the outdoor classroom. It was so much fun watching them explore with binoculars and magnifying glasses. Create their favorite food out of mud. Plant and care for the flowers. Conquer the tires and boards. Make new friends.. Create their favorite food out of mud. Plant and care for the flowers. Conquer the tires and boards. Make new friends.I will Mr. funny stories.

I will miss their funny stories, their honesty, their laughs, their drawings, their smiling eyes, all their questions. I will miss them. I truly hope next year will be as exciting and enjoyable as this year has been.Your children have earned a special place in my heart.