Week 13 - costumes + chilly mornings
Week 12: weaving baskets + using black walnut dye
Highlights from the week: (10/24-27)
Collected muscadine vines and began weaving a little basket for holding class materials.
A red shouldered (?) hawk swooped into our play area and landed on an oak branch above students. The curious hawk spent a few minutes observing students below their perch. It was such a special moment!
Dyed white bandanas with black walnut dye!
Built fairy houses
Swung on the leaf-filled burlap sack
Enjoyed a warm snack of oatmeal and lemon balm and elderberry tea
Week 11: roasted roots + wriggly worms + a burlap sack swing
Highlights from the week: (10/17-20)
Nocturnal Discovery box from Sandy Creek Nature Center: skunk and possum pelts, possum skull, dehydrated brown bat, a magazine all about bats
Weaving small mats using chunky yarn on Deanna’s loom
Warm snacks for cooler days: Elderberry and lemon balm tea, oatmeal and apple sauce
Roasted root veggies in lunch: turnips, potatoes, carrots, radishes
Burlap sack filled with leaves strung over a tree: a swing, a punching bag, a pendulum. The play options are endless!
Added red wiggler worms to our classroom vermicomposting bin
Mixed primary colors to create secondary colors and painted mini pumpkins
Week 10: weaving + watercolors + acorns
We enjoyed warm roasted foods including sweet potatoes, brussel sprouts, red potatoes, and onions. Pickled vegetables are a staple in our lunch. This week we had pickled button mushrooms, banana peppers, and beets.
Several activities students enjoyed this week were acorn collecting, acorn cracking, water color painting, leaf tracing, weaving, tree climbing, dirt sledding, planting seeds, learning about vermicomposting, leaf raking, and celebrating Josie’s [belated] birthday! What an action packed week!
Olivia’s family baked pumpkin chocolate chip cookies to share with the class. Thank you!!
Leo’s family donated red wiggler worms and a vermicomposting bin for our classroom composting project! Thank you!!
Charlie Mustard at Jittery Joe’s roaster donated burlap sacks to expand our open-ended play materials. Students enjoyed filling them with leaves to create a punching bag and tree swing! The opportunities for play are endless!
Week 9 - black walnuts + story sticks
Week 8 - root ball + shelter exploration
Week 7 - Autumnal Equinox Celebration!
Week 6 - sense of sight + garden day!
Continuing our sensory lesson, we spent this week exploring our sense of sight and touch. Lessons revolved around using a very gentle touch with animals and when is best to use only the sense of sight. We’ve found an abundance of caterpillars and not all are safe to touch! Mushrooms are another wild forest find where sight is the best sense to use; not only because of potentially poisonous species, but also because fungi is an important food for wildlife.
During Friday’s Garden Day, students weeded 3 raised beds, harvested fresh carrots, planted cabbage, collard greens, and kale, hulled black beans, collected American Beautyberry berries, and observed a beautiful tiger swallowtail caterpillar brought in a jar from Deanna’s home garden.
Fruits and veggies of the week included pickled beets, pickled okra, steamed broccoli, raw broccoli, steamed carrots, raw carrots, dried medjool dates, apples, mandarine oranges, and muscadines. Comparing cooked and raw vegetables was a fun experience!
Thank you to parents, Kristin and Marilyn, as well as UGA interns, Madison and Cat, for helping us in the forest!
Week 5 - exploring the senses - touch
Subtle changes of the seasons are abound! Jumping on crinkled tulip poplar leaves and feeling steady cooling breezes are just two examples of what we are experiencing in the forest. During our morning circle, we have explored our sense of touch by closing our eyes and comparing the differences between tulip poplar, oak, and mulberry leaves. Can you identify these leaves only by touch? Ask your child to teach you!
Fruits and veggies of the week included peaches, muscadines, kalamata olives, and carrots from Deanna’s home garden. We learned how to eat muscadines! While some students were still not keen on their texture and flavor, others were surprised to find that they really liked them!
As mentioned last week, we encourage students to bring books, craft materials, or tools to share at school if they so desire. (Please, nothing sharp!) Yonah found a turkey feather in her front yard and passed it around to share with classmates. Deanna brought a pocket microscope to explore butterfly wings and feathers. While students peeked through the ocular lens, she explained how wings are comprised of tiny scales, and bird feathers are barbed to maintain shape. Our world is amazing!
Thank you to parents, Kristin, Marilyn, and Jessie, as well as UGA interns, Cat and Leyou, for helping us in the forest!
Week 4 - summer rains + september breezes
It’s the time of year where wildlife in the forest are beginning to prepare for the cooler months ahead. We are continuing to witness little creatures out and about during our class time: toads, millipedes, caterpillars, worms, snails, butterflies, spiders, and more. While it is tempting to catch these creatures, we are working collectively, as a class, to observe rather than collect and disturb what we find. We can learn so much about these wee beasties watching their behavior while moving freely. You can do the same with your child at home by asking questions like: Which way are they going? Do you think you they are interested in us? What do you think they might have eaten last? Do you think they are fully grown? These types of questions can help develop observational proficiency and critical thinking skills!
Seasonal fruits and veggies of the week included peaches, muscadines, pickled okra, sautéed button mushroom, and carrots from Deanna’s home garden. Not very many students were keen on the muscadines due to the tough skin and seeds. We’ll try them again soon with a “how to eat” demonstration :) The pickled okra was thoroughly enjoyed!
While we do ask that lovies and special items stay at home, we encourage students to bring books, craft materials, or tools to share at school if they so desire. Sunny was so excited to share rainbow scratch paper with classmates! It was a new material for a few friends and was very happily explored. Thank you!
William and his mom, Ginny, brought a very special treat to add to Friday’s snack: soft ginger cookies! While the class enjoyed the cookies, William shared details on how he baked them at home the night before. They were so delicious and everyone asked for seconds! Thank you!
Thank you to parents, Kristin and Marilyn, former AFK parent, Eric, and UGA intern, Cat, for helping us in the forest!
Week 3 - spiders + insects + sunshine
We are observing so many different spiders and insects in the forest! Invasive Joro webs are everywhere, but after looking closely we found native spiny orb weavers, wolf spiders, and more! Our new classroom magnifying lenses have come in very handy for observing these tiny creatures. We’ve also seen gulf frittillary and swallowtail butterflies fluttering through the forest and garden. Students have asked some wonderful questions about cicadas while observing the deceased specimens we have found. “How do they make the rattle sound? With their mouth? With their legs? With their wings?” Their questions have opened deep discussions about how insects make music.
The students were so excited to read a new book added to our library, “What’s Inside A Flower?” (gifted to the class from our wishlist). It’s full of beautiful illustrations that provide close up depictions of flowers and simple answers to so many questions we have heard. It was a great precursor leading to Garden Day!
We had some very special treats this week! Yonah and Marilyn brought pinecone syrup cookies (syrup recipe in link). Tilly and Lilly brought figs from their garden. We have begun to find muscadines ready for harvest in the forest. On Friday, a few students harvested lavender and mint from the class garden and used to make tea for the Nestling Celebration family lunch. Ingredients were not measured when harvested, but I will share a very loose recipe for the tea if you’d like to recreate it with your kiddos at home:
+ + + + + +
1 ½ cup fresh lavender leaves and flowers
1 cup fresh mint leaves
4 cups simmering (not boiling) water
4 cups cold water
ice cubes
Add fresh leaves to a container suitable for hot water (stainless steel, tempered glass, ceramic jar, etc…). Muddle leaves with spoon against the bottom of the container. Pour simmering water over muddled leaves. Add 1 cup of maple syrup and mix until combined. Cover and allow to steep for 15 minutes. Strain leaves from tea. Add cold water and ice cubes. Enjoy!
+ + + + + +
Another fun garden day activity for everyone was harvesting sunflower seeds from the giant sunflower heads and black beans from dried pods brought from Deanna’s home garden. We will cook and serve the beans for lunch in an upcoming meal!
Thank you to parents, Kristin and Marilyn, and AFK board members, Anna and Christina, for helping us in the forest this week!
Week 2 - weather observations + outdoor art
We felt the weather shift with cooler mornings and a wonderful breeze in the forest this week. Students commented on how different the forest felt between Tuesday (very hot and humid) and Wednesday (cool breeze). During morning circle every day, we ask students a couple of questions: What is the weather like? What kind of clothes are you wearing to prepare for the weather? These questions prompt students to observe their surroundings and reflect on how they fit in to their environment. Some students are comfortable in shorts while others wear pants. We talk about these differences in length! Students are reminded to always make sure their layers (if any are removed) are put in their backpacks so the sneaky squirrels don’t run off with them ;)
One type of open-ended tool students have available to them during class is a bulb-handled paint brush. Students have thoroughly enjoyed mixing up mud paint and chalk paint. They have also taken initiative to blend dry chalk colors with the brushes to make a smoothed colorful effect in their drawings. Consider providing outdoor paintbrushes at home for your kiddo to encourage outdoor art!
Seasonal fruits and veggies of the week included plums, apples, corn on the cob, and cucumbers from Deanna’s home garden. Deanna brought a whole cucumber for students to see and touch while she explained how the plant grows and what type of flower it has for pollination. The corn and cucumbers were a big hit!
Thank you to Kristin and Marilyn for helping us in the forest this week!
And, thank YOU for understanding why we had to cancel class on Friday. My daughter, Matilda, is experiencing very mild Covid symptoms. I will test myself again before returning to class and will wear a mask just to be extra careful. Sheena, the AFK Board Secretary, will be in the forest substituting in my place on Tuesday.
Have a wonderful weekend!
Week 1 - a warm forest welcoming!
What a wonderful first week! Students have settled in, finding commonality with friends, new and old. They really enjoyed playing in the mud, building a tent with yarn and sticks, and creating all kinds of things with materials on hand.
Seasonal fruits of the week included plums, apples, cantaloupe, watermelon. During Snack and Storytime, a few students brought books to share. If your child would like to bring a book for the class to read, please make sure it is not too precious of a book. Though we do our best to care of what we have, accidents happen and it would be so sad for an extra special book to get muddy or torn.
Seasonal veggies of the week included carrots and sweet bell peppers.
We hope you all enjoyed Coffee Hour! A huge THANK YOU to Jessie for initiating this gathering, providing tasty treats, picking up the coffee, and hosting! Would y’all be interested in having this type of after-drop-off-gathering once a month? Let us know!
Thank you to Kristin and Marilyn for helping us in the forest this week!
And, a HUMONGOUS thank you goes to everyone who has donated from our classroom wishlist. The binoculars, paint brushes, instruments, and clothes pins have been a hit. As they express interest in particular ideas or topics, we will add to the list if we don’t already have items on hand.
Don’t miss the Perseid Meteor Shower this weekend! It’s a fun family activity we can all enjoy from the comfort of our homes… in pajamas :)
Week 38 - nestlings and fledglings
Friends, what an amazing, amazing year! We are truly so grateful for every one of you, and most of all for your incredible children who bring magic to this space everyday.
This year has been one of growth for every one of us, both as individuals, and as a community. Truly, this year in the forest has just been so beautiful and profound. Thank you for creating this place with us.
For our Fledglings, we wish you well on your next adventure! We know you will bring kindness, curiosity, and soundness wherever you go. Please keep in touch, you know where we’ll be!
To our Nestlings, we can’t wait to begin a new year with you in the Fall! We will be busy this summer gleaning inspiration, cultivating relationships, and planning another wonderful year ahead.
Until next time…
Ashley, Kylie, and Deanna
Week 37: Garden days and indigo dye
What a great week! The students are more curious than ever, and we’ve done so many fun and interesting things!
We tidied our gardens this week, pulling weeds and placing the sweetest garden signs! Last week the children painted small boards and collaborated on one large board. Kylie took the boards home and painted the names of each plant the students brought to plant in this year’s garden. They’re really delightful, and if you haven’t, do stop by the garden to take a look!
On Thursday, the students played and played back in the forest; This time of year is just so special. There is so much familiarity and community within the group. Small groups of children build “hang out houses”, create shops (Thursday, we had an ice cream shop, taco shop, and popsicle stand), and come together for snacks and stories. The students have been very interested in helping with snack lately, which has been such a great way for them to care for each other, and to practice patience and communication!
Friday brought us back to the field and garden for a potentially stormy day. We were fortunate with the weather, and were able to spend most of the day outside! We started our last dye project of the year, a beautiful vat of indigo. Next week, we’ll rinse the fabric and yarn together!
Speaking of next week, we’re planning a lovely celebration for the end of the year. We hope you’ll be able to join us next Friday, the 19th for a family potluck and what we’re calling a fledgling celebration! We’ll celebrate the fledglings in our flock who are moving on next year, as well as the nestlings who will join us at AFK again!
Happiest Mother’s Day to the mothers in our community! We’re wishing you a beautiful weekend with your family!
Week 36 - wind and birthdays
We’ve had such an exciting week! The wind has been incredible, and although we needed to be under the Crow’s Nest’s shelter at times, it brought lots of energy to the group!
Shelter building continues to be a strong theme with the students, but we are noticing how independent they’ve become in their building! These kids are incredible…from collaborative planning, gathering materials, and building a structure, they know just how to make their collective ideas come to life!
In the last two weeks, we’ve celebrated Theo, Caroline, and Tilly’s birthdays! Happiest birthday to all of our birthday friends!
This weekend is a busy one for AFK! Saturday, from 9:00-11:00, we will be hosting our first ever open house! Do drop by if you’d like to visit with friends, get in some weekend forest play, and mingle with prospective new AFK families! On Sunday, Sarah is facilitating a Circle of Security workshop titled, How to Raise a Secure Child at Reblossom from 1:00-3:00!
We’re wishing you all a wonderful weekend, and will see you Tuesday.
Week 35-Gardening and painting
We had a wonderful week full of gardening, rainy days, a little sunshine, painting, and play! Aside from magical play in the forest, this week brought lots of talk about garden plans. The students planted the plants they brought earlier in the week, tucking them into spots in the raised beds. On Thursday and Friday, Kylie led the children in an activity where they are painting markers and stakes for the plants in the garden. So many students are interested in either writing or tracing letters onto the markers themselves, we will continue this invitation next week when the paint on the wooden stakes is dry!
We had two celebrations this week, one to celebrate Theo turning six on Tuesday, and this Friday, we celebrated Christina’s fifteen weeks with us! Christina has been such a welcome addition to our teaching team on Fridays, and we’ll miss her greatly!
We hope you all have a beautiful weekend, and we’ll see you next week!
Week 34 - butterflies and weaving
What a beautiful week we’ve had! We built a semipermanent loom in the forest this week, which the children have loved weaving with. We can’t wait to see what develops in the next few weeks with this new feature!
The forest has been so alive this week! We’ve watched baby birds, and observed new plants and insects. Caroline recommended we include couscous on our lunch menu, so we’ve incorporated that this week with rave reviews!
The hit material this week has been paper! The students have created elaborate stories and play using such a simple supply. They’ve created X-rays and maps, sometimes asking friends who are learning to write to help them get their words onto paper. We’re seeing so much care and collaboration within the group.
We’re wishing you all a beautiful weekend, and can’t wait to do it again next week! If you’re out and about this weekend, don’t forget to pick up a starter plant or two to bring next Tuesday or Wednesday for garden day on Thursday! We’re looking forward to planting a “patchwork quilt” of a garden together this year!
Letter from Sarah about 2023-2024
above: 2018 at Earthsong, first site of Athens Forest Kindergarten
Dear Forest Kindergarten Families,
I’m announcing today that I’ll be stepping down as Executive Director of Athens Forest Kindergarten, effective July 1, 2023. The Board has approved a new organizational structure that brings an exciting change, with two co-equal Directors overseeing our two major programs. Shelley Olin (Part-Time Educator, Fall 2022) will be back with us, this time as Director of AFK Connects, with a joint appointment as Educator. Ashley Dunn will be Director of the Preschool Program, and serve as Educator as well. We are so happy to report that Kylie Hamlin will remain on faculty in her position as Educator so that we will now have three regular Educators to facilitate our well-established forest kindergarten program!
It has been a joy to oversee Athens Forest Kindergarten’s growth in the past 6 years. In the Spring of 2017 (pregnant with Sylvan!) I was assessing interest on a Facebook group. Then just a year later a steering committee and I were wrapping up a pilot program, choosing a logo, hiring our first teacher, and beginning enrollment of students one day a week! The model has proven to be successful, as evidenced by our growth since then. Even with a pandemic closure of over a year, we’ve realized many of the goals we set out to achieve including a 4-day a week preschool, a fully enrolled class, the financial capacity to pay teachers a living wage, a vibrant working co-op model, an established partnership with UGA’s Education program, and successful implementation of AFK Connects outreach programs from playgroups to academic conference presentations! I’m so grateful for all of the families, volunteer board members, and hard working faculty and staff, and other community members who were inspired by this vision and helped to bring it to life. I’m immensely proud of what we’ve done together!
I’m also pleased to share that the Board of Directors has offered me an honorary position as Director Emeritus. In this non-voting, non-compensated seat on the Board, I will act in an advisory capacity, offering guidance and support where needed, beginning July 1, 2023. I look forward to watching as the next generation of AFK leaders bring their own experiences and perspectives to the continuation of this sacred, transformative work.
There is a lot to look forward to in the coming months including some several more AFK Connects events this Spring, a growing Board of Directors, plans for onsite composting next year, and more! Thanks for your support and patience and thanks for being the families that make the magic possible!
Warmly,
Sarah
Week 33 - birds, bats, and friends!
We’re so happy to be back together in the forest after spring break! We’ve enjoyed hearing about the children’s adventures, big and small, during their week away from school!
We are planning a garden day on 4/27, and are trying something new. We’d like to expand upon the “community” of the AFK community garden by the children bringing in a starter plant or two! We hope to end up with a hodgepodge of plants the children have chosen. This is of course optional, and if you are unable to contribute plants for any reason, we’ll have extras! We’re asking for the plants to make it to us on 4/25 and 4/26, and will share more details soon!
In other community news, Anna has arranged a percentage night for AFK at El Barrio on 4/20, beginning at 5:00. Join us for dinner and to represent AFK!