Fall Harvest Party

This past weekend we had a Fall Harvest Party.  In our wonderful stories (see resources below) Super Sam and his friends had a fall harvest party so we decided to have one too.  All month long the children followed along with Super Sam's adventures and also created their own invitations, snacks, decorations and games. On Saturday morning cousin E and one of our daycare girls came to celebrate in the fun.  Unfortunately not everyone was able to attend, but we still had a great time.

Welcome to the party

Fall Nature Table

Yummy treats

Bowling Squash

Pumpkin bean bag toss

Decorating coffee filters as jack-o-lanterns

Circle Time

Fall decorations

Dressing Up

Fall sensory bins

We are using Waldorf Essentials kindergarten curriculum that comes with their Thinking Feeling Willing program.  I can't say enough about how amazing Melissa is.  The children lessons are adorable and all the kids love Super Sam.  The mom lessons have taught me so much about Waldorf I feel much more prepared to homeschool now.  Of course the support from Melissa is invaluable and always so helpful. I do encourage anyone new to Waldorf or needing some help to check out this program.

I am really excited about the rest of the fall and into the winter.  We will continue to use the Waldorf Essentials and also have included some wonderful themes from Seasons of Joy Winter.

Check out the giveaway at Seasons of Joy this week and join their link-up!!

I'll be linking up throughout the week:

Waldorf Wednesday at Seasons of Joy
Happy Family Times
Natural Suburbia
It's Play Time

Week 4: Fighting Dragons

This week has been so much fun!  My knights learned to protect and help others, along with fighting monsters and dragons!

On Monday my niece joined us along with our daycare children.  We had a great time during circle time as TJ thought we should all dress up.  As my fairies danced about and sang we learned of a dragon in Super Sam's forrest. We then decided to be knights with capes and go fight the dragon in the playroom.  We put out his fires with play silks, which then turned into a river.  Some animals and toys needed rescuing so the children built bridges to help them cross.  Next we used the blocks to build castles for the dragon and some fairies.  I gave them some prompts to get their imaginations going and we had a lot of fun.  Sorry no photos as many of the daycare children in in the shots.  In the afternoon hockey was the name of the game.  MJ and E (my niece) were so cute playing together.

Hockey with cousin E, Our September nature table

Tuesday we went to Frootogo a local apple orchard.  We went there to meet friends and cousin E again. Playing on all the toys is always fun, along with feeding the animals.  All the kids were a big help with picking the apples.  We've already eaten most of our (no apple sauce this week).  In the afternoon we made swords.  MJ was scared of some monsters while pretending to have a nap, so fearless TJ came to the rescue and we fought imaginary monsters in every room of the house. (So cute and so much fun!)

Frootogo and fighting monsters

On Wednesday we baked gingerbread cookies.  Our dragon helped use his fire for good and baked the cookies for us.  TJ actually got our little plastic dragon and had him blow on each batch of cookies before I put them in the oven.  I wasn't too sure how to keep the little ones busy while we baked today so I got out some red kidney beans that we are never going to get around to eating.  Oh my the mess and fun.  It kept them all busy and happy.  I have come a long way with accepting and handling mess!  We used some healthier decorating toppings as it's all I had on hand.  I love that we made some Super Sam's, dragons, a turtle and fall cookies along with some other fun shapes.

Playing with beans and making gingerbread cookies

Wednesday afternoon the children made shields to go with their swords.  We played knights outside this time and had a great day. The kids were interacting more with each other.

Decorating cookies and making shields

On Thursday we went to run an errand near the park by my mom's house. TJ went off to explore the forrest while I played in the playground with the others.  It was chilly that day.  MJ also rode on his little motorized toy for the first time.  He is usually terrified of these things but when daddy put in a very small slow battery, he finally decided to get on.

Exploring the forrest, riding toys and blow kisses!

Thusday afternoon is our sensory day.  I tried putting different coloured paint in plastic bags for the kids to mush and mix.  I think I put in too much and the bags weren't very good quality.  We also experimented with cookie cutters and our hands.

No-mess paint in bags (make sure the bags don't rip)

Friday was another busy day.  Early in the morning I started taking the papers of old cheep crayons.  Both boys woke early too.  TJ was an amazing help and chopped most of the crayons up.  He is getting good with a knife.

Chopping crayons and visiting farm

Once all our friends joined us we went to visit a farm belonging to one of our daycare children's grand parents.  Of course he had a wonderful time with grandma.  We loved looking at the pumpkins and visiting the animals.  Inside the store we had a treat and Auntie Bonnie and I bought lots of veggies.  We'll be going back there soon.

Visiting animals at the farm

Later Friday afternoon each child got to make their own crayons but filling up a mini muffin try with different colours of crayon bits.  We put them in the oven at 350 for about 15min or until they just melt (I left ours in a bit long each time). When they were cool to touch I put them in the freezer for a while.  The crayons worked okay.  The top half is just wax and the colour is only at the bottom.  The kids had fun trying them out.

Using the new crayon we made

Next week is a new month. Wow 4 weeks of 'school' already! I am trying out an idea of new circle songs this month. We are also going to be getting ready for a harvest party at the end of the month.  Hope you'll join us for more updates.

I'll be linking up during the week:

Happy Family Times 
Waldorf Wednesdays
MOB Society

Week 3: fall is in the air

This week you could tell by the weather that fall was coming.  The temperature dropped and the leaves have started to fall. We did some fun fall activities!

The boys were getting along well with our daycare children.  They have now started to interact more on their own and started to play together.  I was am also learning a lot too.  My biggest realization was a need to slow down.  In helping TJ realize that he needed to slow down a couple of times this week, I realized I was rushing through activities too!  We also all noticed that the tone in the house was angry.  Words, hands and feet have been flying and hurtful.  We will be concentrating on turning things around next week.

Monday was nature day.  We went for a wonderful walk lead by our fearless leader TJ.  We also talked about about how the animals are getting ready for the winter too. We donated much of our fall decorations to begin enjoying the splendour from nature around us.

Tuesday is handicraft day so we made leaf crowns just like the Gnome King in our story. It rained a lot so the boys and I made an obstacle course to keep them buys while I made lunch.  We also had a play/real picnic for snack time. Later in the day they went outside to take advantage of the puddles and mud!

Wednesday is our baking day and I took on a lot today.  I decided to make real bread (without the bread machine) and chocolate zucchini bread too. The kids had a lot of fun helping in the kitchen.  I do believe I put in way to much yeast (the bowl of dough overflowed everywhere as it was rising).  After adding all the flour I could find we did end up with some yummy buns. In the afternoon I brought out our file folder games for the kids to play with during quiet time.

Thursday is sensory day.  We made a big pot of spaghetti to play with.  Several of the younger kids just ate it which was also fun.  TJ had been asking for a while to make a snack for the birds.  We set out a bowl of treats and strung them on some string.  One of our decorations was eaten quickly by a squirrel and the other has been slowly worked on by some ants.

Friday is usually crayon day this month.  Today my sister and her children came to join us.  After playing and circle time we made coffee filter leaves.  This is such a simple activity.  Colour with washable markers on a coffee filter.  Spray with water and let it dry.  We cut out shapes first to make it easier.  Once dry we hung them on a large paper tree we attached to the playroom windows. In the afternoon we took a trip to the garden plot and playground!

Next week we meet a dragon and become knights! (I have some prep work to get to)

I will be linking this post mid week:

We are linked up to Waldorf Wednesdays over at Seasons of Joy
We are also linked to Happy Family Times over at Happy Whimsical Hearts

First Day of School

Yesterday was a very first day of school! Okay so it may have been a 'holiday' but there was not stopping my excitement.

TJ's first day of 'school'

MJ's first day of 'school'

First off the teacher in me wanted to wake up to a fresh, clean, organized house with all our activities falling into place according to my plan... but instead I was met to a pile of cloth diapers to fold, dishes, sick kids, and a tone of veggies to deal with before they went bad.

I quickly got to work on what was facing me as the boys didn't seem to mind.  As I was working away Jon reminded me that since we are homeschooling I don't need to worry about sticking to the plan, just go with the flow of the day.  Besides it is a holiday!

Deep breath and start again...

We had ice cream for breakfast (after our healthy stuff) I had offered pancakes but this was way better.  Then TJ gave every fruit and vegetable in the house a bath while I cut up a mountain of tomatoes and got them boiling for the pasta sauce.  Next we went to go pick up a dresser for the boys. By the time we got home it was already lunch.

 In my original plan we were going to do circle time in the morning but today was a bit backwards.  We had lunch and set out on a walk.

MJ and Sam ready for our walk

I introduced the boys to "Super Sam" our gnome.  TJ was so excited he wanted to show Sam our garden plot.  As we walked I told them the story about Sam and his friends.

Super Sam our gnome

We showed Sam all our veggies and took him to the playground.  On the way home we did all our circle time songs and had a wonderful talk about harvest and why all the fruits and veggies are ready at different times.

 

When we arrived home we all worked together to finish the pasta sauce, (froze some and ate some with dinner).  MJ fell asleep for a while and TJ helped Daddy with fixing the van.  I took some quiet time for myself and was so very thankful for this amazing first day.  We had a wonderful family time and the boys are loving Sam. 

MJ hugging Sam all the way home

I am reminded again as to why we are homeschooling because the boys are so young and it is an amazing time to enjoy the magic of childhood. This precious time and the rhythm we have is also working well with our home daycare.

Resources

I found some amazing knitting patterns on Ravelry website.  

I first did a search for Gnomes and then looked for free ones to find this one that I used for Super Sam.  I have also made a few animals from this pattern

And found some really cute pumpkin, acorn and tree knitting patterns for free on Ravelry too.

We are using the Thinking Feeling Willing program from Waldorf Essentials for myself and the boys/daycare.  I have also taken a lot of our songs and a few activities from Seasons of Joy Autumn.

Natrual Playscapes

Today I am excited to share with you the beginnings our our natural playscapes.  Oh we do have a sandbox, swing set, swing on a tree, and various outdoor toys, but I find that time and time again the children are always choosing more natural areas to play in.  Most of the time it is our flower beds or the planters at the front door.

Earlier in the spring we created a Fairy house.  You can see more details in this post here. The boys often check in on the fairies and still do play a bit with them.  We have had a few toads stop by to visit too.  I also find that the fairy house is a great way to welcome new children to our Home Daycare, as it is interesting for them and opens up dialogue.

In order to create more natural play spaces the boys and I chose an area in the back yard for their own garden.  I am very impressed that with minimal help the boys used my gardening tools to remove all the grass,  brought 2 loads of dirt from the compost, collected rocks and made the border.

 I'm not sure if we will get around to planting any flowers in there.  For now we have been rescuing stuck trucks and making mud soups.

Across our laneway we have used some logs to make a stepping path.  We just mowed a larger area around this area so it does look a little bare.

Next to the stepping logs is the balance beam and ramp.  There is a lot of bouncing and gymnastics that happen over here.  My boys are learning a lot about lining up and taking turns when others come over to play.

We have more plans to turn the last large slice of a tree we had cut down into a table for the kids.  Next to the balance beam is also the future home of next year's vegetable garden plot.  We look forward to sharing our updates with everyone!

We also love collecting nature items we find around the property.  TJ was collecting nuts from a tree to create 'golf ball soup'.  We took the soup for a walk so it could see the world and be introduced to our laneway.  I just love his gentle nature and the way he sees the world!

How are you playing outside?  Any suggestions for us?

More summer activities for kids!

Wow I just realized that my last post with the giveaway was my 200th post!!!

Congratulations to Jessica Lynette Morris I'll be contacting you to choose your sock monster.

For those of you who haven't noticed my blog posts have been few and far between recently.  This is because I have been busy with house renos and living life with my kiddies.  I am making a focused effort to be more present and so I will be on the computer a little less.  But I will continue to share with you often.

Here are some more fun things we have been doing recently.

Rice sensory bin (the loader is helping to clean up spills)

Bubbles with friends

We made more fairies because you can never have enough

We went to the beach (Hamilton harbour)

A neighbour was moving and gave us a big roll of paper!  So much fun to colour on

Homemade playdough and craft bits (these are cake pops they made)

Homemade playdough 'desserts'

Mud bakery (so simple yet so fun)

Making muffins with mud

A fun lobster apple snack we made (I used a pear and apple)

TJ dressing up.  The amazing skirt we won from Beneath the Rowan Tree (amazing items there)

How is your summer going??