Happy Birthday and Spring Break

We'll be closed next week for Spring Break for restorative rest.
Wanted to leave you all with a few snippets though.

And Happy Birthday to Ms. Kellyann. We lit the birthday candle, sang her Happy Birthday and she now has a handmade apron, since we get good and messy here, ya know. (A big thank you to Tanya for driving to South Austin in the rain to retrieve it for me!)

Introducing Ms. Kellyann

Today, the house reopened after a stomach bug hit, and we were so excited not only to see our friends again, but because we now have a wonderful teacher who joined our little community! Her name is Ms. Kellyann. She is a recent graduate of Western Kentucky University and has experience with children ranging from being a Nanny, to working as a Youth Leader for the YMCA. Ms. Kellyann is originally from Wisconsin and recently moved to our area. She's married and lives here in Cedar Park. Once I move offsite, she would like to join us full time, and I could not be happier. I was so pleased to see her jump right in. The children all took to her right away.





Today was low key, since it was pretty chilly in the morning and we were inside for a good chunk of time. We worked on getting everybody back into the routine and showed Ms. Kellyann around. We taught her how to sing our "Hello Song" and she helped us assemble our new Horizon Puzzle. Isn't it beautiful?

We have some new additions to our playthings which arrived last week. And, we have something super exciting on its way!
It's a bit bigger, so shipping must take longer. =)

We read Five Little Monkeys Jumping on a Bed, My Many Colored Days and We're Going on a Bear Hunt. Mia, Sophia, and Lulu watercolored while the Damon and Corbin played with the wood trains and cars. Once it got sunny enough, the children bundled up and went outside to burn off some energy.

We also read Grandfather Twilight before the children went down for nap, and they were excited about sleeping in their own forest (Sophia's Papa had brought in our tall ficus trees from the patio so it was very much like the book).

Materials for next week
We'll begin our Clay exploration next week, and the focus for next week will be on Shadows. If you have any small flashlights, please send them to the house. We will return them the following week. If I can find all the supplies in time, the children will also have the option to roll their own beeswax candles. We will also practice doing a fire drill and discuss how to safely exit the house in case of a fire. Last, we're also going to be doing a yummy culinary activity (hint: think crepes). The house will provide all ingredients for this activity.