Dear Families,
It was a short, but very full week. On Thursday we celebrated Halloween. Everyone helped cut apples and press them through the juicer. We watched the apples transform into frothy juice and red flecked mush. At our morning circle we sang Halloween rhymes and welcomed Batman, UPS man, Spider-man Purple Glitter Kitty and Pink Tutu Elephant from the B3s and Bumble Bee, Lion, Thomas and Angry Bird from Pre-K. We paraded through the school and visited many classrooms and offices. Before our special snack, we read Pumpkin Moonshine, by Tasha Tudor and heard the story of a little girl whose pumpkin rolls away until it bumps into a barn. She and her grandfather carve it into a “Pumpkin Moonshine” and then save the seeds so she can plant lots more pumpkins in the Spring. The children thought this was a wonderful idea and really want to plant their own pumpkins in our bit of the garden patch. Next week, we will cut open our last two pumpkins and save the seeds for springtime. We will leave the pumpkin husks in the compost pile and watch how they also transform as they break down and return to the soil.
Bat-man in the Berkshire Room.
Spider-man pressing apples into the hopper.
Purple Glitter Kitty watches the apples disappear and emerge as juice.
Elephant and Bumblebee watch the mush come out.
Our very cheerful UPS man.
When we went outside to play we found a pumpkin shaped note in a tree, next to a little sparkly lady with a green crown and a pumpkin shaped body. It was the elusive pumpkin fairy who remembered us in spite of Hurricane Sandy! It was exciting to go for a walk and look for the little pumpkins she had hidden for us near the garden patch!
Mr. Moo-tel and the magical and mysterious note from the Pumpkin Fairy.
Pumpkins for all! Thank you, Pumpkin fairy!
On Friday we still had lots of apples left from our celebration, so we all took turns cutting and filled two big pots with apples. They cooked for a long time while we played in the gym and we were amazed to see another transformation – bowls of warm, sweet, fragrant applesauce – one with cinnamon and one without.
Washed apples.Working together to cut up apples.
Plain and cinnamon.
“I love warm applesauce with cinnamon!” “Me, too.” “Me, too!”
Before lunch we went for a walk through the woods. It was interesting to see how much more water was flowing through the streams in the woods and we spent lots of time helping our school by picking up little branches that had fallen across the pathway. Although we sometimes need to sit and rest on a log as we traverse the big loop, the children have become excellent hikers! Everyone has gained strength, confidence and the desire to persevere. They notice the changes in the landscape from week to week – trees losing leaves, goldenrod mowed down, birds more visible in the branches. We are so lucky to have this incredible resource of natural beauty surrounding us!
Walking back to school on the leaf-strewn path.Next week we will be learning about Norman Rockwell in preparation for our field trip to his museum on the 7th. We will also be putting finishing touches on our constructions and using them as inspiration for story telling. I look forward to meeting with you all on Thursday afternoon and evening. The children have grown and accomplished so much since late August!
All the best,
Sarah