Squirrels and Nuts
Originally Published Sept 17, 2022
It was another lovely week on the farm and in the forest! We were so lucky to have our new friend Emet Koffman joining us this week as a volunteer assistant teacher. Emet is a BBA and UVM graduate with a background in environmental education and early childhood education. We are really grateful for her help and presence.
On Monday we went to the forest again, brainstormed about chipmunks and squirrels, and continued to practice our routine and get to know each other.
On Tuesday we stayed at school due to a chance of thunder showers, and had circle time down by the pond. We read the lovely book Mother Earth, by Nancy Luenn. We talked about the ways that the earth is our mother, and what we can give back to her. Our attention and care is the best starting place.
We picked and ate husk cherries in the garden. We played in the barn and collected eggs, and then we read The Busy Little Squirrel and played a squirrel game.
We talked about how squirrels collect nuts and bury them or hide them in places like holes in trees, attics, or other secret spots to save them up for winter. After that we talked about how they find their nuts again; by smell! Then we had a squirrel nut hunt in the classroom using acorns, (donated by Fritz and Fam, thank you), which were heavily scented with tea tree oil and thus easy to smell out. We worked as a team to collect our nuts together, and then we counted how many we had found. I believe the number was 45! That was some big counting. This was a great activity to have in a multi-age classroom. Some people are just working on 1-10, and some people are going to 100 and thinking about place values. We learn a lot from each other!
On Wednesday we went back to the forest and read Frisky Brisky Hippity Hop, a fun story about squirrel movement, and then we tried on squirrel tails and practiced balancing all the way down the length of a long fallen log and leaping off the end. It was fun! And good practice in learning our limits and feeling safe in our bodies.
On Thursday we stayed at school and made homemade peanut butter and pistachio butter. We cracked and peeled the nuts ourselves, squirrel style! Then we watched them turn into nut butter in the food processor. We ate a LOT of nuts while cracking them, and then ate even more once we had turned them into peanut butter. We tried the nut butter on graham crackers with honey. It was great! Sorry if no one ate their lunches We also read the silly book The Secret Life of Squirrels, and we read Scaredy Squirrel, Scaredy Squirrel Makes a Friend and Scaredy Squirrel at Night.
Next week we will continue to talk about squirrels and chipmunks. We will also be talking about the change of seasons and the start of fall. On Tuesday we are tentatively planning to meet the Red Fox Owls class in the forest for a brief Autumnal Equinox celebration together. Please join us for another brief Autumnal Equinox ceremony to celebrate the actual equinox at school on this Thursday the 22nd at 5:00. Bring a little something to add to a communal altar that signifies the end of summer and the beginning of fall to you. We will sing a few songs and do a few poems, share our altar offerings, share some gratitudes for summer and hopes for the fall, and then we'll have some tea and apple bread together. It'll be quick, we'll probably be done around 5:30.
Thanks for the chicken support! We sold out of eggs this week. Hopefully those chickens will get to work again this week. We should have another dozen or two for sale by next Thursday. Later this month we are supposed to be getting 6 new chickens, so by late winter, early spring our egg capacity should really be getting up there. I am happy to report that our little bantam, Robin Hood, (who is supposed to be a maran just like Stompy and Bowser, the large black chickens that lay the dark reddish brown eggs, but she actually bears very, very little resemblance to them...), finally started laying this week! Her eggs are tiny, light pinkish and just lovely!
I think everyone has met him, but just in case, here is Smudge. He is the newest addition to the cast of school pets. He was Tim's impulse buy at the Newfane flea market last weekend. He's about 9 weeks old, is insanely cute, and he and Nimbus are sweet buddies.
Aftercare families, thanks for your attention to the updated invoices from Amanda. If you haven't had a chance to pay the remainder of your balance please do so asap. Also, if you do not have a blanket at school for your child to use at rest time please send one in. Stuffies are welcome too.
Rest up this weekend, get plenty of rest and down time, and I predict that by next week their stamina will be getting up there and they will all be adjusting to their new routine. The beginning of the school year is a lot! Everyone is doing beautifully though and learning so much so fast from the teachers and from each other too. It's a wonderful class.
Take care everyone and have a great weekend! May you be happy, may you be healthy, may you be peaceful, may you be filled with joy!