Lots of Little Autumn Notes

I had a friend write to see if I was OK because I hadn't been blogging lately and she was worried. Sorry! All is well. In fact, I have a box in my bedroom for notes for my blog and my website because they seem to be all piling up. I will try to work my way through for a bit.

Today I prepared a gluten-free sugar-free meal. Brown Rice Pasta with orange and tomato, roasted sweet potato wedges, green beans, and Pineapple Pops. The kids were very excited to help make the Pineapple Pops this morning! Yesterday after school we did a playdate at Clagett Farm, our CSA, and brought some friends along to help pick up our share (and gave them a share too since I was supposed to get a double share). We walked in the herb garden, picked little orange cherry tomatoes, and found the chicken tractor to say hello to the hens. Monday the girls and I took Toby for a walk at Jefferson Patterson Park and we found a bird nest that had fallen out of a tree so Natalie took it in for Show and Tell.

Friday I am subbing in the Kindergarten class so I am preparing what to do. I am relying heavily on Suzanne Down's book of Autumn Tales. For circle time puppetry I want to do "In my garden grows a pumpkin" on page 2. It is a tale about a mouse and a spider who share a cozy warm pumpkin house for the winter. I have a needle felted hollow pumpkin that I made for storytelling but can't find it!!!! So I will be searching in my office tonight. I also want to either tell her Harvest Moon Magic story and read Possum's Harvest Moon later in the day OR tell her Star Kisses story and read The Apple Cake later in the day. I also am torn between introducing Button Stacking from Button Button Whos Got the Button: 101 Button Games OR Conker Skittles from All Year Round.

I get to be there next Friday as well, luckily!

She also wants me to introduce finger knitting. I was thinking about doing that with Red Berry Wool.

Suzanne Down has a nice poem that would go with the chestnuts -- I will put it here since it is hard to find poems for this Autumn subject.


Swinging little chestnut cradles
In the branches high.
Rocking all the baby chestnuts,
As the wind flies by.
Still in the night, stars twinkle bright.
Jack Frost nimbly runs, over fields of white.
He nips at the cradles with fingers of ice,
Down fall the cradles, that's not nice!
Down fall the cradles and split open, POP,
And brown baby chestnuts, out of them hop.
In the warm earth they make a safe nest,
Sleep baby chestnuts, do rest and rest.
Sleep till the spring sun climbs in the sky
And Mother Earth wakens you by and by.



As you can see I'm full of ideas and it is hard to pin them down! I'll be teaching lessons in the classroom when they do their Colonial work (felting, dipping candles, etc) as I did last year. I like the idea of teaching finger knitting first and then looking at the process of making yarn: have us wash, card, and spin yarn with a drop spindle.