Autumn changes

sunflowerIn these first three weeks the children have been busy at play, building boats and houses and stores, being kitty-cats and going fishing, having trick-or-treat, making phone calls, painting and cutting and gluing, learning each others’ names (and names of family members!), and doing lots of giggling together. There have been lots of new experiences as well – grinding grains of wheat into flour and baking bread, making pesto, harvesting concord grapes and cooking them into juice, pulling up carrots, tasting new flavors in the garden (kale! nasturtium flowers!), and sitting at the table for the whole lunchtime.

Posted in seasons in the garden
Links

Every parent needs support, especially for learning how to handle behavior. The Parent Support Center, right here in Portland, offers classes that can help every parent become more confident. I am one of the Parent Support Center’s parent-educators, and I offer classes here in the school for Understory families.
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Do you wonder about the importance of play? This article is a few years old, and everything in it is still true. Read it, and then go play! Taking Play Seriously, NY Times Magazine:
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I am deeply grateful to Brené Brown for her work on courage, vulnerability and empathy. If you don’t know her work, start with this short but powerful animation, and then go to her webpage.
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When I’m not teaching, I volunteer with Bark, the defenders and protectors of Mt. Hood. Free monthly hikes, monthly educational talks on forest issues, families welcome! Come learn how to defend the forest.
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