When you have 45 minutes, pull up a chair, sit back and enjoy.
Linky HERE
11.27.2009
Time Magazine - The Case Against Over-Parenting
When you have 45 minutes, pull up a chair, sit back and enjoy.
Linky HERE
11.19.2009
Scenes from the Play Yard
We've had such a full and busy week, but wanted to quickly share a few sweet snippets.
::
Observing Shadows
Read-a-loud of My Family, Mi Familia, by Allie
Alaira decides she will be betrothed to Jason. These two spent the majority of one morning, walking hand in hand. Later, as he was sweeping up sand, she came over to him and reminded him, "don't forget, I get married to you, m'kay?"
Reminders:
*Parent Night is Tuesday, December 1st from 7:00-8:30. If you're attending, please sign up for a potluck item. The children have been excitedly working on a piece for the art show. =)
*Terra Luz will be closed next week for the Thanksgiving Holidays, for restorative rest. Wishing you a wonderful holiday with your loved ones!
::
Observing Shadows
Read-a-loud of My Family, Mi Familia, by Allie
Alaira decides she will be betrothed to Jason. These two spent the majority of one morning, walking hand in hand. Later, as he was sweeping up sand, she came over to him and reminded him, "don't forget, I get married to you, m'kay?"
Reminders:
*Parent Night is Tuesday, December 1st from 7:00-8:30. If you're attending, please sign up for a potluck item. The children have been excitedly working on a piece for the art show. =)
*Terra Luz will be closed next week for the Thanksgiving Holidays, for restorative rest. Wishing you a wonderful holiday with your loved ones!
11.16.2009
Autumn's Sweetest Harvest
Today, McKenna's family visited Terra Luz and shared with us some old fashioned, sweet goodness. We held our first "Cider Fest"!
The children were excited about the process, especially the grinding. Apples were fed whole into the grinder, which grinds them into a pulp that falls into a mesh-lined pressing bucket. The bucket is slid over to the screw, where a plate is inserted and the screw cranked down, exerting tremendous pressure and squeezing the clear juice from the pulp. Within seconds, this clear liquid oxidizes to the deep golden amber color we all know as apple cider. There was apple peeling, apple painting, apple hats, and full apple-tummies!
We thank the O'Connor family for coordinating, and bringing this wholesome event, to our school!
The children were excited about the process, especially the grinding. Apples were fed whole into the grinder, which grinds them into a pulp that falls into a mesh-lined pressing bucket. The bucket is slid over to the screw, where a plate is inserted and the screw cranked down, exerting tremendous pressure and squeezing the clear juice from the pulp. Within seconds, this clear liquid oxidizes to the deep golden amber color we all know as apple cider. There was apple peeling, apple painting, apple hats, and full apple-tummies!
We thank the O'Connor family for coordinating, and bringing this wholesome event, to our school!
11.15.2009
Come Together
With the year rapidly coming to an end, planning for the upcoming year has been on the forefront of my mind. Specifically, planning for moving Terra Luz offsite.
We searched on and off for the last year, taking a break for the last few months since coming to the decision to use our residence to accomodate our growing program for this year. With the year almost halfway over, time is ticking, and I need to have property secured and the program moved offsite by summer of 2010. This deadline is a firm one, and it's only 7 months away. And I will be completely transparent in telling you all, that the process of property search, can be overwhelming.
Families, this is a call for assistance from my community who are able to help me search. The area we're searching is anywhere in the NW Austin/South Cedar Park/West Round Rock area. My [idealistic] goal has been to find a house that is commercially zoned to help keep that cohesive feeling that we have in our current program. Ideally, it would be a house that has already been converted for childcare use. And ideally, it would not have a septic system--which has been the dealbreaker for 2 of the 3 properties we were working on last year (and is now the very first question I ask). However, this has proved to be hard to come by.
My husband and I are open to considering other types of properties because what I realized this past year, and what several of my mamas have reiterated, it's not necessarily about the property. Sure, that's an important factor, but more importantly--the teachers, the staff, the visitors who come in to work with our children, the culture built around a program--that is what makes a program truly successful. And I hope that you all have been able see a glimpse of this with what we've done this fall.
Since our business is still very small, we prefer to lease, but if the price and location is right, we may consider buying. The beauty of what I have spent the last 3 years building with my program is, that we have a strong foundation for our escuelita. We just need property.
We searched on and off for the last year, taking a break for the last few months since coming to the decision to use our residence to accomodate our growing program for this year. With the year almost halfway over, time is ticking, and I need to have property secured and the program moved offsite by summer of 2010. This deadline is a firm one, and it's only 7 months away. And I will be completely transparent in telling you all, that the process of property search, can be overwhelming.
Families, this is a call for assistance from my community who are able to help me search. The area we're searching is anywhere in the NW Austin/South Cedar Park/West Round Rock area. My [idealistic] goal has been to find a house that is commercially zoned to help keep that cohesive feeling that we have in our current program. Ideally, it would be a house that has already been converted for childcare use. And ideally, it would not have a septic system--which has been the dealbreaker for 2 of the 3 properties we were working on last year (and is now the very first question I ask). However, this has proved to be hard to come by.
My husband and I are open to considering other types of properties because what I realized this past year, and what several of my mamas have reiterated, it's not necessarily about the property. Sure, that's an important factor, but more importantly--the teachers, the staff, the visitors who come in to work with our children, the culture built around a program--that is what makes a program truly successful. And I hope that you all have been able see a glimpse of this with what we've done this fall.
Since our business is still very small, we prefer to lease, but if the price and location is right, we may consider buying. The beauty of what I have spent the last 3 years building with my program is, that we have a strong foundation for our escuelita. We just need property.
11.12.2009
Dia de los Muertos with Allie's Familia
Allie's family helped us celebrate Dia de Los Muertos this year. Carlos, Allie's Papa, read I Remember Abuelito, Yo Requerdo Abuelito.We enjoyed the most delicioso South Mexican Tamales, sweet Pan de Muertos (delivered all the way from Mexico), and some savory Abuelita's Hot Chocolate. Allie's Mama, with a handful of girls in her lap, also read a story called Dia de Los Muertos.
¡Muchas Gracias por compartir su cultura con nosotros! Thank you for sharing part of your culture with us!
Gwen LOVED these tamales.
Following photos below, courtesy of Jasmine, mama to Atticus
Yvonne, our beloved visiting artist.
¡Muchas Gracias por compartir su cultura con nosotros! Thank you for sharing part of your culture with us!
Gwen LOVED these tamales.
Following photos below, courtesy of Jasmine, mama to Atticus
Yvonne, our beloved visiting artist.
11.10.2009
Zooshi making with Chef Dan (Krista)
We welcomed our visiting Chef, 'Mr. Dan' today. In addition to being an accomplished musician and published writer, Dan is an amazing Vegan/Vegetarian and Raw Foods Chef. He is also my sweetheart ;).
Chef Dan prepared wonderful vegan nori rolls as we snacked on raw veggies, explored the textures and smell of the nori sheets and miso paste, and learned about the origins of sushi, nori, miso and tamari. The children were engaged and very interested in the process of rolling the sushi. When it was time to sample the rolls, almost everyone dug right in. Allie J. explained that she doesn't like vegetables, but she likes cooking.
Smelling Dill
Tasting and Exploring Sesame Seeds
MmmmmMmmmm Sushi!
Even the teachers got a shot at making a Nori Roll!
Here's a clip of Dan working his yummy magic.
Chef Dan prepared wonderful vegan nori rolls as we snacked on raw veggies, explored the textures and smell of the nori sheets and miso paste, and learned about the origins of sushi, nori, miso and tamari. The children were engaged and very interested in the process of rolling the sushi. When it was time to sample the rolls, almost everyone dug right in. Allie J. explained that she doesn't like vegetables, but she likes cooking.
As it turns out, sushi isn't easy for everyone to pronounce. The children asked for more:
- zoo-shi
- you-see
- juicy
- shoe-zee
Everyone had a great time eating healthy, fun food, and we were reminded that the children really love culinary projects. We look forward to seeing Chef Dan again!
Smelling Dill
Tasting and Exploring Sesame Seeds
MmmmmMmmmm Sushi!
Even the teachers got a shot at making a Nori Roll!
Here's a clip of Dan working his yummy magic.
11.09.2009
Natural Materials Needed, please
Offering brought in by Jalie's family. Photo by Nicola
Families, we would LOVE if you could gather some natural items this week for a project we're about to embark on.
leaves
acorns
sticks
nut shells
bark
dried berries
etc...
Even if it's just leaves you can gather, that would be great.
Muchas Gracias!
Recently, at Terra Luz (Krista)
Scenes from the Classroom:
Tea Time:
Alaira: "I drink tea when I have coughs and hiccups."
Mia: "Here everyone, would you like a lot of tea for your good body?"
Jalie: "I sometimes like to dip just a little something sweet into my tea, and that's what my body needs."
Dramatic Play:
Ava, putting on one of the white bonnets: "I'm dressing up as somebody else's grandma."
Alaira: "I'm not old, I still young...it's not fun to be old."
On Halloween:
Jalie: "My nan was a stick in the mud for Halloween."
Anika: "This is true...we have REAL CANDY in our house right now!"
Atticus and Jason using the cylinder shaped blocks as rhythm sticks and imitating Andrea when she leads our welcoming songs.
Outside:
The children have been exploring light and shadow together, they chase each other's shadows and practice yoga poses, marveling at how looooooong their shadows are.
Jason, standing on one of the beautiful tree stump stools, blowing into one of the sea shells as if it were a conch shell. He looked so centered and regal...
Alaira and Ava sitting on the patio, arm in arm. Ava had just shared how she was missing Sophia. Alaira:"I know that you really love Sophia. She's having fun, but she be back to you."
Our Yoga Practice:
Princess, Dancer, Tree, Talking Turtle (in connection with our Spanish language study, we pop our heads up and say, "Hola' & "Adios"), Silly to Calm, Helicopter Breathing, Horse, Donkey, Seaweed Breathing, Take 5 Breath.
Cider Festival
Hello Families!
Terra Luz is going to have its first annual "Cider Fest"! McKenna's Bama and Papa are going to bring their cast-iron antique cider press and we're going to make apple cider!
This will take place on Monday, November 16th. For those in attendance that day, we'd love if each of the children could bring two organic apples each (doesn't matter which kind).
Thank you!
Terra Luz is going to have its first annual "Cider Fest"! McKenna's Bama and Papa are going to bring their cast-iron antique cider press and we're going to make apple cider!
This will take place on Monday, November 16th. For those in attendance that day, we'd love if each of the children could bring two organic apples each (doesn't matter which kind).
Thank you!
11.02.2009
Snippets
Working with Yvonne in the Atelier
Then the Blue-Haired Lady arrived...
Exploring with Wire
Lots of rainy days lately
Got my hands on a nifty apple peeler (gotta love craigslist!)
Photo by Yvonne
Orange and Yellow Offering - by Anika
Beautiful Tree Stumps prepared, treated and offered for all sorts of play.
Thank you Chris (daddy to Jalie) for taking the time to pick up the tree stump and create these nature-esque chairs for our children!
Meet La Luna, our beloved new mirror
Halloween pics will be next, for now, I need to rest this neck. ;)
Then the Blue-Haired Lady arrived...
Exploring with Wire
Lots of rainy days lately
Got my hands on a nifty apple peeler (gotta love craigslist!)
Photo by Yvonne
Orange and Yellow Offering - by Anika
Beautiful Tree Stumps prepared, treated and offered for all sorts of play.
Thank you Chris (daddy to Jalie) for taking the time to pick up the tree stump and create these nature-esque chairs for our children!
Meet La Luna, our beloved new mirror
Halloween pics will be next, for now, I need to rest this neck. ;)
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