Happy March, Athens Forest Kindergarten families!
These sunny days have been so refreshing! Bird calls echo between the trees, tiny blossoms and buds are forming on plants, and the forest is buzzing with insects! Since the trees are still bare, the sun is beating down on us for the later half of our school day. Please pack a sun hat and sunblock for your child.
Please check the Forest Helper sign up sheet on the portal. A lunch helper is needed on Wednesdays for the remaining school year: March 16, March 23, March 30, April 7, April 13, April 20, and April 27.
Our lunch menu has been updated for the month of March! Take a look at what we’re eating for lunch.
Next week is Spring Break! We’ll see you all on Tuesday, March 15!
Oh, and just a gentle reminder: Please stop at the Sandy Creek gatehouse and show your annual pass when you arrive at the park. Thank you!
Head
We found the shriveled, dropped tail belonging to an anole on Tuesday! This discovery opened a discussion about animal mimicry; the tail continues wiggling like a worm, distracting the predator and allowing the lizard to escape. The kids were very excited to pass the tail around and compare it to a lizard that was recently found by Nat. Perhaps the tail came from the lizard he found, since it was also missing a tail!
Heart
There were quite a few tumbles, bumps, scrapes, and boo-boos that occurred during our school days. Henry made it his mission to clear walk ways of sticks and rocks to ensure his friends wouldn’t fall any more. Juniper and Caroline rushed to the aid of friends with a first aid kit and water bottles. Thankfully, we had restocked bandaids because we used quite a few this week :P
Many students are beginning to bring special lovies to show classmates. Our preference is for these special lovies to stay inside backpacks with their tiny smiling faces poking out of the top zipper, enabling them to watch all the exciting things happen during the school day. We’ve had a few lovies jump out of backpacks and start playing with students during the day. Lovies have been temporarily lost and it has created a lot of unnecessary heartache and worry. If your child brings a lovie to school, can you please help remind them where the little buddy as to stay during the school day? If lovies can’t stay inside backpacks, we won’t be able to let them visit for the day.
If your child is interested in sharing things with classmates, may I suggest they bring books or forest-friendly, open-ended tools or craft supplies.
A new student, Alma, came to visit us on Friday. It was so heart-warming to see students welcome her with open arms and help her find her way around our play site. By the end of the day, it was as if she has been there all year. We are very excited for Alma to join our class!
Hands
Using a rope and a small tarp, Ashley made an A-frame tent for students to play in. It was enthusiastically accepted by all students, but one particular group of students quickly settled in. Maisie, Mabel, Amora, Orora, Naia, Caroline, Silvia, Tilly, and Juniper huddled in the tent and “camped” every day of our school week.
Holism
William found a freshly sprouted seedling in the old fire pit at the fallen oak. He promptly pulled it out of the ground and carefully held it in two hands, declaring that he was going to take care of it and watch it grow big. We talked about what a plant needs to grow and all the things he was going to do to make sure it grew big and strong. Other students joined the discussion: plants need water and sun and soil! William and Sylvan found a mud kitchen bowl to put the plant in, filled it with water, sprinkled some soil in the water, and set it in the sun. While this may not be the exact proportions of what the plant needs, it was so sweet to see the students’ attempts to care for this tiny seedling.
Thank you to our AFK Co-op Helpers this week: Hala, Bernice, Clarke, Iralyn, Lily, and Sarah W.! This program would not be the same without everyone’s contributions.
If you enjoy our weekly updates, we would love for you to interact with our posts by commenting or “liking” them by clicking the heart icon :)
We are grateful for you all!
