Compost Happens

Today, Christine brought from home a small tub full of what appeared to be food scraps for the trash. The children eagerly inspected the mystery items in the tub.  It was scraps for our compost.

Every year, tons of organic materials are thrown away, needlessly filling up landfills. By composting materials, we can make a difference. Compost to plants is like a healthy gourmet dinner to us. Compared to preparing a snazzy dinner however, making compost is easy! Compost is not limited to tossing leaves and grass clippings into a pile.

Here is a list of things that can be composted (and yes, this is an invite to bring it in to school!)



From the Kitchen
Coffee grounds and filters
Tea bags
Used paper napkins
Pizza boxes, ripped into smaller pieces
Paper bags, either ripped or balled up
The crumbs you sweep off of the counters and floors
Plain cooked pasta
Plain cooked rice
Stale bread
Paper towel rolls
Stale saltine crackers
Stale cereal
Used paper plates (as long as they don't have a waxy coating)
Cellophane bags (be sure it's really Cellophane and not just clear plastic—there's a difference.)
Nut shells (except for walnut shells, which can be toxic to plants)
Old herbs and spices
Stale pretzels
Pizza crusts
Cereal boxes (tear them into smaller pieces first)
Wine corks
Moldy cheese
Melted ice cream
Old jelly, jam, or preserves
Stale beer and wine
Paper egg cartons
Toothpicks
Bamboo skewers
Paper cupcake or muffin cups

From the Bathroom (you may want to skip a few things from here. Just sayin')  ;)
Used facial tissues
Hair from your hairbrush
Toilet paper rolls
Old loofahs
Nail clippings
100% Cotton cotton balls
Cotton swabs made from 100% cotton and cardboard (not plastic) sticks

From the Laundry Room
Dryer lint
Old/stained cotton clothing—rip or cut it into smaller pieces
Old wool clothing—rip or cut it into smaller pieces
From the Office
Bills and other documents you've shredded
Envelopes (minus the plastic window)
Pencil shavings
Sticky notes
Business cards (as long as they're not glossy)
Receipt
Around the House
Contents of your vacuum cleaner bag or canister
Newspapers (shredded or torn into smaller pieces)
Subscription cards from magazines
Leaves trimmed from houseplants
Dead houseplants and their soil
Flowers from floral arrangements
Natural potpourri
Used matches
Ashes from the fireplace, barbecue grill, or outdoor fire pit

Party and Holiday Supplies
Wrapping paper rolls
Paper table cloths
Crepe paper streamers
Latex balloons
Raffia
Excelsior
Jack o' Lanterns
Those hay bales you used as part of your outdoor fall decor
Natural holiday wreaths
Your Christmas tree. Chop it up with some pruners first (or use a wood chipper, if you have one...)
Evergreen garlands

Pet-Related
Fur from the dog or cat brush
Newspaper/droppings from the bottom of the bird cage
Feathers
Alfalfa hay or pellets (usually fed to rabbits)
Rawhide dog chews
Fish food
Dry dog or cat food

So the next time you take a second look at something you're preparing to throw in the trash, ask yourself "Hmmm. Can I compost this?" And, as you can see, it's surprising how often you can answer "Yes!" And send it on in to school so the children can compost it!

oceanography and a sick computer (Krista)

friends,

my computer is sick. i am dropping it off at the apple store this afternoon, so in lieu of a blog post, i wanted to let you know (quickly before my battery dies) that i've been doing a little study of ocean life with the children this week. we separated ocean animals into categories and cataloged them on the light table. this prompted quite a discussion about about similarities and differences. i've got lots of great photos and quotes to go with a more detailed description of our exploration, and i'll add them as soon as possible, but it may be next week.

next week, we will return to our paper- making project.

happy friday everyone!

Class Photos

Photos courtesy of Mama Tanya
Handmade frame courtesy of Mama Jasmine

Group photos will be in by early next week. They are quite amusing. Getting a dozen children together for a group shot was not an easy feat. ;) Tanya was incredibly patient, thank you!

Photos are a fundraiser for Terra Luz. Price: $12 for an 8x10. Please let me know if you'd like one (or two). :)

New Property Prospect!

Families, we have something that looks promising! I'm shocked, that in one week, we were able to find something that's available. My realtor and I viewed two properties today, one was scary, but the other, I have a GREAT feeling about! We both do.

Oh and even the landlord's broker mentioned we would need to file for a permit to change the use to childcare (which is what the last property's landlord and broker insisted we didn't need, and tried to make us look like the bad guys for "bringing up issues that don't exist"). Anyway, this broker said that process takes between 2 days to 2 weeks.  It also helps that the broker representing the landlord knows what he's talking about! So far, from what we can tell, the landlord is reasonable. We're waiting on the paperwork to come over with the exact square footage of the current layout, and lease figures, but here are some details.

Standalone building (nothing exciting, but we can make it work!), zoned LO (and more), 2700 sq ft, lots of natural light, 2 restrooms, kitchenette, walls aren't load bearing, which means we can change the rooms if needed, corner lot with great parking, reasonable rent, North Central Austin, off Burnet (don't fret northies, it's only 12 miles from my house, took me only 15min in morning traffic). Prime area! The landlord is willing to put in a play yard in the back with an 8ft privacy fence and pull up some of the asphalt, but he'll want a long lease term in return. Am going to do some research on "urban preschools" to see how they make their spaces work for outdoor area.

I've mentioned that a 5 year lease makes me nervous--I'd feel better about a 3 year lease, but if he's going to pull up asphalt and move walls, 5 years is understandable. Gonna crunch numbers to see if its viable, and to make sure I can do this for the long haul, and hope to have something moving on this pronto.

Eeeee...!! =)

[Property Search] Open Thread for Discussion

During my final checklist and going over things with a fine-toothed comb on the Parmer/Metric property, I reviewed my notes from last year’s childcare center training. I had questions on zoning, and if a permit, or a certificate of occupancy would be required from the City of Austin (certificate of occupancy was mentioned during licensing orientation, and also from a peer who moved her in-home program offsite last year). After calling the city, they confirmed that the property is zoned LO (light office) which will allow for a daycare, however, based on the permit history, they had never obtained permits for a daycare. According to the city, although the current zoning allows for a daycare, in order to establish that use legally, there are permit requirements to change the use (this addresses building code, fire code, etc.) The process to get the permit is 2 steps, and I was ready to start it over spring break.

When our realtor brought this to the landlord’s attention, he and his broker insisted no other permits are required by the city, that it’s zoned LO. Our realtor asked his broker to forward the written ordinance, she said she would. An hour later, she called our realtor back to inform us the owner did not want to lease to us because we were raising an issue they say did not exist. Our realtor told them he would not, in good conscious, advise us not to do due diligence on any possible jurisdiction that might later show up and say we are in violation. The broker told our realtor, they had made up their minds. We were all shocked, and I, heartbroken.

Over spring break, we’ve been scouring the area for properties, and did come across a new prospect. There were children and staff present so I couldn’t take photos of the inside. We’re unsure about this one, but I thought I’d share the details below:

There’s a daycare at Lake Creek Village shopping center, the corner of 620 and Lake Creek Pkwy, about 1/4 mile west of Lakeline Mall on 620 (ironically, about one minute from our house, where the Roaster’s coffeehouse is). The space is 3500 sf and has an outdoor play area. The current tenant has been there over 10 years and is now marketing to WIC clients, and in the landlord’s words, “very low-end clientele”. Landlord is not fond of what they are doing, the current day care is really struggling, so they are now on a “month to month basis”. The landlord wants this to be a unique shopping center, not really a retail type shopping center, as several of the tenants appeal to more high-end clientele. It has some unique high-end businesses from downtown Austin like Vivo and Grapevine Salon.

The space is similar to the Parmer/Metric in that it needs major updating and cleaning, but the landlord is willing to do some finishing out as he wants his space updated. There are 6 (small) classrooms, with a restroom in 5 of them, a small kitchen, a middle gathering area, and a director’s office. Some of the rooms are small, so we talked about knocking some walls down on one side to make the classrooms bigger, and there is space for an Atelier.

The pros: the landlord is willing to do a couple months free rent since we won’t be able to bring in revenue until we’re licensed there (which takes about 2 months), and then offer reduced rent while we build our business; it’s been childcare for 10 years, so it’s already set up, and it’s roomy. Currently licensed for 80 kids, which translates to about 30-40 for us.

The cons: well, it’s in a shopping center, and they are definitely going to want a 5 year lease, with triple net and 3% increase each year. The base rent is reasonable, it's the triple net that adds to cost, and I’m not sure if I want to be locked into a shopping center for 5 years.

We sat down with the realtor, did some number crunching, and we all basically came to the realization, that we need more cash on hand in order to start out of a place like that. Since we’ve never looked at this type of property (shopping center) there were costs we weren’t aware of. (i.e. commercial electric deposit: $2000; signage $4500; letter of credit or min 3 months up front of rent; cash in reserves, etc). He’ll still tell the landlord we’re open to considering it, but will let him know we are not quite in the financial position to start out as big as the place is.

This week, my brother told me about this nature-esque property that he has driven by for months that he thought would be perfect for Terra Luz, it’s only 3 miles from my house on the way to Volente.  I drove by it, called on it, and it’s about to go under contract.

So, this is where we are now. What we need is an investor, or a business loan for what I’m trying to do, and the latter is extremely hard to come by right now with the economy.

We will continue aggressively on the search, but I want families to be aware of the shrinking timeline for our Terra Luz.

Warmest,
Andrea

What does it feel like? (Krista)

Gratitude:

This week at Terra Luz, I am grateful for: the warm sunshine, the joy of playing in the mud (and the fact that the mud is drying up), newly budding leaves on trees, discovering bird's nests, watering the plants and citrus trees, yoga practice outside, bare arms and legs, picture day(s), the return of the sand babies, paper- making and shadow drawing, donated paper-making materials and recycled treasures, reading books outside and doing handstands against the fence...

Paper-Making:

This week, we added water and glitter( also, we accidentally added crushed eggshells, but we won't talk about that) to our container of torn paper.

Over the course of several days, the children used their hands, spatulas, melon-ballers, large kitchen spoons and pie servers to mix the ingredients into pulp.

As you can imagine, the children delighted in this sensory experience.

I asked: What does it feel like?

Damon: It's like wet carpet

Jalie: It's like a soft cricket chirping in there

Jason: Like food

Mia Gleinser: It feels like squishy on my hands

Alaira: It feels like mud

Lucca: It's like grass

Atticus: It feels like jelly

Eddie: It feels like wet

Mia S: It feels like color

The children formed the mixture into 'snowballs' and flattened it into 'pancakes' and sculpted it into 'volcanoes' and 'gardens'.

Corbin said, "I'm making a big ball like on Shawn the Sheep."

As Jalie was pouring water onto the paper, she said, "Paper just loves water!"

When I asked what they thought the next step should be, Allie suggested, "Let's put it in the oven so it can get bakeded."

Natalie thought we should put it in the washing machine for a' longlonglonglonglong' time!

Spring Time Reminders:

Friends, the Texas sun is hot, and it's time for sunscreen. If possible, please put sunscreen on your children before school.

Also, the warm weather means that socks are coming off. We often find socks strewn about the yard or buried in the sandbox, or stuffed into a corner. Would you mind writing your child's initials on their socks? It would help us get them back to you at the end of the day.

Thanks so much for being the wonderful parents that you are, and for arriving each morning with a smile on your face--it's nice to see each and every one of you! Happy Spring Break!

xo

What skills and tools could help us further our shadow exploration?

As I pondered directions to go for our shadow work, I had the idea to have children begin drawing shadows. Many things I love about drawing:

- it helps us examine things with more detail
- it helps us clarify our ideas, creating something concrete and tangible from thoughts that may be a little more nebulous in our heads
- it helps us convey our ideas to others
- it helps us revisit our ideas, inspect them and revise them as necessary

I wanted to see where the children were at, in regards to representational drawing. I offered small groups of children a piece of white paper and I sharpened pencils with them so they could work and rework their drawing if they wanted to. I also set out a few objects on the table if they wanted to use them for inspiration. This is what I noticed:





Though I was interested in their representational drawing skills, I noticed, first, how their grips on the pencil were different. Different grips help and hinder different techniques. They make us use different muscles that affect how much pressure we use, the angle of the pencil, as well as the control and precision of our marks.

I decided to take a step back and look at how we could nurture each of the children's skills, where they were at. What is it about the environment that I can change? What is it about the activity that I can change that would make it more developmentally appropriate? How might these changes help the children to be more successful?

When I think about the basics of drawing (and writing, for that matter), all they really consist of are straight and curved lines. We set out to find straight lines in our environment, tracing our fingers over the line, and then worked on creating straight lines on paper.















The children didn't seem to have much difficulty finding lines in the environment. However, I noticed that there weren't as many "stand alone" curved lines in the environment. They were mainly part of an object (ex. the side of a leaf). It makes me wonder if they would have such an easy time finding curved lines. Another thing that I noticed was that Jason used a different grip when using a pencil and when using a crayon. In reflecting on what I've observed in these two provocations, I think about new questions to move us forward.

What writing/drawing tools can I offer to encourage more precision in their marks? How can we work on looking closer at objects and breaking them down into manageable parts?

As I was talking to Melanie (Damon's mom), she mentioned that some of the basics of drawing start with negative spaces. I don't have all the answers and expertise, but I love that in a community, we are all equipped with different skills, knowledge and expertise that we can draw from!

Stories in Photos

Step One of Papermaking Project



Christine brainstorming with the children ideas about how we can mark the garden paths.



What Gorilla pose looks like (if only you could HEAR it!). Krista is THE master at Gorilla.



Jason LOVING Gorilla pose.


Helping with lunch setup.



"Ms. Andrea, look, I'm a good helper-er!"
-Allie


Christine working with a small group in Atelier





Tea Party Offering, cake included.
by Sophia


Puzzle work. After trial and error, puzzles are completed!





Just a photo I liked. The way the sun warms up the front room makes me feel warm and happy.

What does it sound like? (Krista)

This week, we took the first step in our paper making project: We tore paper.

Each day, the children spent some time tearing paper into small pieces. The goal was to fill a large plastic tub with shredded paper, and after a week of focused effort, the tub is filled to the brim.

We tore (recycled and re-used) construction paper, tissue paper, newspaper, wrapping paper, pages from magazines, and notebook paper.

Together, we noted the similarities and differences between types of paper. We paid particular attention to the sound of paper tearing. We took turns holding strips of paper close to one another's ear and, while our friend was listening, we practiced tearing the paper quickly and then, s-l-o-w-l-y.

I asked, "What does it sound like?"

Alaira: A pig snorting

Lucca: A hungry goat

Jalie: A fire crackling in the sky

Allie: A monster crashing on the floor

Damon: Like toilet paper

Mckenna: Like 'snap'

Corbin: Rocks rubbing together

Sophia: Like a scary noise

Natalie: Like yelling

Mia S: Like mowing the grass

Atticus: Like paper

Next week, we will mix the shredded paper with water and glue...

Conversation between Alaira and Corbin:

Corbin: Orca whales are really big.

Alaira: Yes, they might even be bigger than Ms. Krista!

More conflict resolution (Christine)

One of the things I love about the Reggio philosophy is that they esteem children as equal citizens. They respect their development, skill, and work, even displaying their work alongside their adult counterparts throughout the city. I am often reminded how children are really not so different from us adults.

Today, as we were cleaning up the classroom to prepare for lunch, I overheard Corbin and Jalie arguing. They were pulling the hexogonal puzzle (that the children often pretend to be cake) back and forth, neither child willing to let go.

Corbin: I want to put it away!
Jalie: I want to put it away.
Corbin: No, I want to put it away!

Christine: It looks like you both have ideas about this cake. Can you tell me what your ideas are?
Corbin: I want to put this cake away!
Christine: Jalie, what's your idea?
Jalie: Well, I want to put this cake away.

Christine: So it sounds like Jalie wants to put this cake away and Corbin also wants to put this cake away. You both want to put it away. Is there a way that you can both put it away?

Corbin and Jalie resume expressing their desires to put the cake away.

Christine: So I was wondering if there was a way that you could both put it away. Do you have any ideas?

... (pause)

Corbin: Well, maaaybe, we can put it away TOGETHER!

Corbin and Jalie, still both holding the "cake," walk together to the shelf and put it gently on the top shelf. They looked at each other with wide grins on their face. They turned and grinned at me too. They quickly ran to Ms. Krista and told her the good news that they put the cake away together!

When we're angry, it's hard to think about anything else besides our own needs. It's hard to think about another person when we're in an emotionally charged situation and it's often hard to listen - really listen - to another person and their needs. As Jalie and Corbin demonstrated, sometimes there is a solution where you can meet your own needs AND someone else's needs. What I also noticed was how proud they seemed after they came up with a solution themselves. This was definitely not the solution I would have come up with, but with a little guidance and a little space, the children were able to have pride in accomplishing difficult tasks - reigning in their emotions, and solving their predicament on their own!