SEPTEMBER NEWS
Welcome to all of the new families and students that have joined us over the past few weeks! We have been consumed with preparations but have finally completed planning, renovations and are now settling into a daily rhythm with students as we enter Fall.
THEMES
The Saplings are spending the month focusing on Birds/Kindness and Moon/Harvesting. Ms. Melissa and Ms. Barbra are integrating these themes into circle time and will spend time rotating through fine motor, gross motor and sensory activities.
The Treehouse students have been enjoying the Tale of Squirrel Nutkin at circle time and collecting acorns from the school grounds. They will also be discussing the Autumnal Equinox and Michaelmas/Dragons. Ms. Janie and Mr. Robert are fine tuning their rhythm and will be working to ensure that all students are getting to participate in the activities by offering wet on wet watercolor painting on Monday/Thursday and Handwork, Bread Baking, Beeswax Modeling or Drawing on Tuesday/Wednesday. There is talk of making “Dragon Bread” so be on the lookout for tales of baked dragons with fiery eyes!
MENU
Many of you may have been in search of this week’s “Weekly Meal Plan” and I apologize for the delay in getting this menu to you. We have planned a 2-week menu that will rotate September through November. In repeating the same menu every 2 weeks we are further reinforcing routines and meeting the children’s expectations. This plan allows us to purchase seasonal Organic produce and bulk Organic pantry items so that almost everything on our menu is organic, gmo-free and something we can feel good about serving. Staff and students will be spending even more time preparing lunch as a class and catering to the needs of the age group. We hope the repeated opportunity to try new foods will even further expand the palates of our little ones! The menu is now permanently housed online under the resources tab here: https://www.goodearthfarmschool.com/weekly-menu-plan
You will notice that we have listed the most common allergens among the student population. While we will be working to adhere to our meal plan occasional substitutions may need to be made. If your child has a life-threatening allergy please ensure they have non-perishable snack items in their bag or cubby.
GRANDPARENTS CELEBRATION
Good Earth will be celebrating Grandparents Day on Monday, September 10th from 8:30-9:30am. This event is an opportunity for children to give their Grandparents a tour of the farm and enjoy a little snack together. Children are welcome to attend with Grandparents even if they do not attend school on Monday.
PARENT WORKDAY
The first of the three scheduled parent volunteer workdays will take place on Saturday, September 15th from 8am to Noon. We have a list of projects both big and small and will provide light refreshments but feel free to bring a re-usable water bottle and/or additional snacks. We are in need of a couple parent volunteers that can provide childcare while parents are working onsite. We are also in need of 2-3 volunteers to assist in the installation of a patio for the Kinder classroom and that project will begin at 7:30am that same day. If you are interested in committing to either of these opportunities please contact Andrea via school email. Just a reminder that each family is asked to have a representative participate in 2 of the 3 scheduled workdays. If conflicts arise please let us know as we sometimes have offsite projects available. I currently have a sewing project that needs completion if anyone is interested in working from home. Older siblings are welcome to attend the parent workday and childcare is provided for children pending parent volunteer support. Children over age 5 are encouraged to work alongside parents and while younger siblings are welcome onsite we cannot provide care for infants. We are looking forward to communing with all of our families and catching up on what you have been up to this Summer!
CALENDAR/HANDBOOK
Just a reminder that our full calendar of events and closures is available online. The 2012-2013 Family Handbook is also available online and includes a copy of the calendar as well as very important information and policies for all families. If you have not already read the handbook in its entirety and submitted an Acknowledgement of Receipt Form please do so as soon as possible. Forms are available at the school and required in order for your child to attend.
As always please feel free to contact us with any questions!
We are looking forward to another great year on the farm,
Leslie, Janie, Andrea, Melissa, Barbra and Robert
