A Peek Into the Classroom

Here are the classroom photos for the time between Autumn Break and Winter Break. I hope families have enjoyed their two weeks off from school!

Zac and I used this time to spread some mulch on the muddy areas of the yard where our grass has died due to frequent foot traffic. The City of Carbondale gives away free mulch, so if any parent or grandparent with a truck wants to help by collecting a load, I would welcome more! They've informed me that the best times for pickup are 7 am, 11:30 am, and 3:10 pm. They put it into your truck for you so it's easy. And I would be more than happy to help unload it onto the driveway and the children will joyfully transport it to needed spots. Zac had a great time!

Zac loves his John Deere Steel Wheelbarrow

climbing the mulch mountain

using the Trake to loosen the mulch

checking out the path

hmmm... let's test this path again

now we don't have to walk in mud when we come out the front door!

I'm also interested in adding a rain garden to the low marshy part of the yard so if you are a gardening person and are excited about helping me plan this, let me know! And now, more pictures...

making playdough treats for friends

hiding in secret spots to work on surprise presents

suddenly shifting the play to making pinch pots

introduction to Mass vs. Volume

the chopstick and rice demonstration

making Honey Cake

the enormous Styrofoam hammering project

a HUGE turnip for Stone Soup

the metric stair

the metric stair with Stamp Game / Decimal Stamp Game tiles

design sketches for How Strong is Spaghetti?

explorations in Science Club

team planning

testing the strength of spaghetti vertically

testing the strength of spaghetti horizontally

now the teams switch and try new explorations

decorating the Nature Table with Mary's path of stars for Advent
instructions in All Year Round

large stars are for Sundays

each Sunday new items are added to the scene

the last star, Christmas Eve, is placed in the stable

the Tomten in his snowy scene

the ornament Advent calendar

my cheery stained glass snowman

and, of course, the Christmas Tree!

adding stones and crystals on the first Sunday of Advent

a pregnant Mary, Joseph, and the donkey start their journey

art lessons with Ms. Anna

a cozy bed of silks in imaginative play

we leave our shoes out for Saint Nicholas

Saint Nicholas brings us chocolate coins, clementines, and

the amazing new Grimm's Large Stepped Pyramid Blocks

and Zac's new Ride-On Caravan

washing veggies

Miss Aliya is a wonderful cooking helper

final explorations to wrap up our Measurement block

Zac watches carefully and wants to try too

investigating a Colorful Sugar Water Density Tower

invitations to the Advent Spiral celebration

joyful fort building under the magnolia tree!

long division problems with the Stamp Game

grammar work with the Grammar Cabinet

making pine cone ornaments

new ways to build forts out of our silks and giant play clips

the dining room chairs line up to form long tunnels

Stone Soup every Thursday

the oldest girl is always Santa Lucia in Swedish celebrations

passing out our sweet buns

gathering greenery for the Advent Spiral
instructions in All Year Round

come on... come see it!!!

Becca practices walking it

choosing soaps for our wet felted soaps

Handmade Organic Soap Half Bar Sampler Set

from SweetSallysSoaps on Etsy

looking at examples of felted soaps

this one is from the alpaca farm near us

preparing to pour our earth candle
instructions in All Year Round

mixing golden and red melted beeswax

the edges cool first

as it hardens it gets a wrinkled skin

advanced Decurian Division with a two-digit divisor

as Mary travels, more and more stars from her path are added to the sky

items from the Plant Kingdom (moss) are added in week 2

items from the Animal Kingdom (ox, sheep) are added in week 3

carving apple candleholders

red pure beeswax candles from Nova Natural

we practice holding our candles and walking the spiral

we moved our Advent Spiral inside due to rain and it was just as lovely

the Nativity scene on

Christmas Eve

Christmas Day

Happy Holidays to everyone!

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