The boys have a dog and love him!

Calen says "he is a cute little puppy and he is very calm and doesn't bark."

Bryce says "he is cute and the best dog in the world and I love feeding him treats."

Calen is a 5.6 climber!

Today Cale scampered up a number of really hard climbs at vertex climbing gym. This picture of him in an overhang where he's literally hanging by his hands. It was so fun to watch.

Out back Bryce found a trowel and learn how to sled on it.

Dad and Bryce making chocolate cupcakes for his party tomorrow.

Bear at Yosemite

This squittish teenaged bear decided he wanted Bryce's backpack.  I guess he smelled the few almonds in it from far away.  I chased him and he ran away holding the top handle in his mouth.  He stopped at the nearest tree and ripped the pack to get to the almonds and granola mix.  Poor Brycey was so sad that the bear stole his backpack.  Once he had eatened everything in it, he left it and we were able to retrieve it.

On the river...

Calen and bryce decided to float southern style in a tube.

Felted eggs and Easter egg hunts on singing frogs farm.

it was a pretty amazing day before Easter. We spent the morning hunting Easter eggs at our local community supported farm. Then we Felted some eggs and they turned out great. This is a photo with the eggs they made. Hope to get egg hunt photos from Paul kaiser later and add them.

Decorating Easter Eggs

Singing Frogs Farm invited us to their egg hunt tomorrow, so we helped them paint eggs this morning.

Calen feeding the baby goats at the Old Faithful Geiser in Calistoga

Eating salad from the garden

Our winter hoop garden

We built this garden about 6 weeks ago and put in starts from the local nursery and a local farmer. The farmer's name is Paul Kaiser, of singing frog farms. Paul's starts were unusually productive. As you can see we got lots and lots of food we haven't bought salad for weeks.

The Petaluma Seed Bank

Video's of Calen and Bryce skiing at Homewood ski resort in Lake Tahoe

This is Bryce going down hill alone after a morning in Stephanie ski school

This is a video of me chasing Calen down a blue run at Homewood.  

As you can tell, they are both having a blast.

Trip to lake Tahoe to ski

This is ski week at Summerfield something like an early spring break. We headed up with a school friend and his family on Monday. His name is Neils Lemon, one of calen's best friends. These are some photos from the car. It was high energy but the trip went fast and no one fought :-)

How we punish here in Sebastopol

Bryce why did you get in the cage? Because tutti was in there and I wanted to snuggle with her!

Celan, why did you get in the cage with Tootie? Because she's fat and I wanted to get in there with her and see how much she ate!

Farm Day at Calen's Class two

Here is calen with Evan shucking corn.

Annemarie is the class teacher with another group shucking corn.

I got to be the Farm Hand at Calen's farm day.  We shucked the corn that they grew in the fall as well as cleaned other veggies and looked at the new lamb that was born.  Part of the experience that they get on the farm throughout the school year.

Fwd: Class Two Newsletter 2/10/13

Dear Families,
 
Last week began with a trip to the Third Grade Market.  Just having coins in their hands was exciting enough to the children, but then we got to browse through a room filled with delightful creations, and then we got to take some home!  Afterwards, as they mastered their button strings and feasted on popcorn, the second graders were full of talk about what they might make next year when they have their market.
 
The following day we began working with our fifth grade reading buddies, which was also very exciting, and is the beginning of a wonderful collaboration that will last through the year.  The children earnestly shared their books with the fifth graders, taking turns reading to each other.  I heard many good questions and useful hints coming from the fifth graders, and the second graders were full of appreciation afterwards for the many ways their buddies helped them.
 
Another treat came on Thursday when Farmer Dan took us on a walk down by the stream.  It had rained in the morning but was beautifully sunny by our Farm time.  So we donned all our raingear, and then splashed through puddles, threw rocks into the stream, and waded through the water looking for beach glass.  The children were overjoyed by the freedom to run and splash and get messy, and I was reminded of how important it is for them have the space to explore the natural world in this way.  I encourage you to make a walk in the woods or the park a regular part of your weekends together.
 
This week we will continue with our number work, working with carrying over from one house to another.  We will hear the story of St. Valentine, whose holiday we celebrate on Thursday.  This year we will make our Valentines cards in class, each child making note of their secret valentine's strengths and exchanging cards at our Valentine's tea party on Thursday.  (Please note that any other cards the children have made for each other should be sent in the mail or given at home, not brought to school.)  Thursday we will also get to watch and participate in a dress rehearsal for the Festival of the Arts, which we look forward to sharing with you the following day.
 
A Happy Valentine's Day to you all,
~Annemarie
 
Upcoming Dates to Remember:
 
Fri. Feb. 15th, 1:30 pm - Festival of Arts in Sophia Hall
Feb. 18th-22nd - Teacher's Conference Week – No school, but aftercare available.
2013 Parent Evenings - Weds. March 13th, 6-8pm
Weds. May 15th, 6-8pm

Back at bullfrog pond.

We are camping tonight at bullfrog pond. Looking at the sun setting before we have some home made soup and go to bed early. The boys fished in the pond for a bit and then send pitched the tent and  made a fire. They love it. Bryce wants to have his birthday party here.

Bull frog pond

We heard about this camp ground in Armstrong park and finally visited. Now both boys want to camp here.

Bryce even wants his birthday party to be here.

Bryce has the stomach flu

Tuttie is giving him some comfort as he is stuck on the couch. Poor guy.

Letter to Yellow Rose

Here is the most recent letter form Ms Sarah from Bryce's Kindergarten.


Dear Yellow Rose Families,

Master teacher and mentor, Barbara Klocek offered me a wealth of tips, tricks and wonderful ideas. Some of her suggestions have been put into place as early as today and some will bear fruit in the future. She mentored our whole early childhood faculty sharing gems and wisdom from her 30 year career at the Sacramento Waldorf School. New impulses based on real wisdom and experience filled our lead teachers meeting today. I feel so blessed to work in a school that values and invests in mentoring it's faculty no matter where they are in their careers. Muchas gracias Summerfield. Te quiero!

(Our unique bilingual kindergarten was appreciated, by the way.)

Valentines day is approaching. We will have a class celebration on February 14th. Please provide materials for your child to make a paper VALENTINE to put in our special mailbox. Each child needs only to bring ONE beautiful valentine. We will all take turns reaching into the box to choose our surprise card. Include YOUR CHILD'S name on the valentine she/he makes. ONLY YOUR CHILD'S name and all the other decorations or drawn on doodads and glittering adornments. The valentine should be no larger than an 8x11 sheet of printing paper. Please don't include candy or glued on toys. Materials for this art project could include: construction paper, origami paper, sequins, glitter, cloth, ribbon, lace, pictures cut out from seed and flower catalogs or gardening magazines, paintings or other artwork your child has made, wax paper, kite paper, tissue paper, card stock, crayons, pastels.... etc. Avoid mega-media images like those generated by: Disney etc.

Valentine's day is a special celebration of love and friendship in kindergarten. We talk about our deep and lasting friendships and how we've known each other for soooo long. Children sometimes pick up on the grown up romantic stream of valentines day and that's fine. We might say, "Yes mommies and daddies love each other." Then we steer the conversation and mood back to friendship. Our culture has romanticized, sexualized and materialized this little festival. We can elevate it by bringing a mood of loving care and appreciation for others. A past kindergarten father took this challenge up and started the tradition of bringing home a found (not purchased) flower for each family member and a special dessert for after the family meal. To remember how sweet and beautiful his family was to him.

Blessings on your families,

Love, Ms. Sarah

p.s. For some children, ONE valentine is not enough. Children may make cards for Ms. Fawn and Ms. Sarah too, only if they wish. If your child wants to make many cards for friends, wonderful. JUST MAIL THEM TO THE HOME ADDRESS OF THE FRIENDS please. Love and thanks.

Letter from Calen's teacher

This is the latest letter from Calen's Teacher.  I am going to start including them with this account so that Calen and Bryce can read with was happening with their school.

Dear Families,

 

A very warm thank you to all who participated in our parent evening on Thursday.  Ms. Pothof shared how we can support the children as they grow into themselves and “bump” into each other in the process.  A major theme was the importance of questions – both those we ask our children, and those that our children are asking through their behavior. We also worked with our experience as a class community when issues have come up for our children or the class as a whole.  Very good questions were raised, and I appreciated the way the variety of answers created a broader understanding of what it means to be on our journey as a Waldorf class.  It was such a valuable conversation and I am thankful for your continued trust and willingness to communicate with respect and openness.

 

I am looking for someone who has notes from the meeting and would be willing to send them to me so we can make them available to those who were not there.  Please let me know if you have notes you can share.

 

In the classroom, the children have been delighted by the ways the letters “hold hands” in cursive writing, and are working hard to master those loops and dance along with the letters.  The artistry of cursive speaks to them in a way that printing does not, and mastering it calls upon the children to bring greater awareness to the direction, form and flow of their writing.  We will continue to learn more letters this week and practice what we have learned, as well as singing and writing our times tables and hearing more of the story of Jumping Mouse.

 

A reminder: This week is our Winter Conference week, and Monday through Thursday will be early dismissal at 12:35. Aftercare is available, and if your child will only be there during your conference time, it is free.  Just write “conference” when you sign-out your child at Aftercare.

 

This Thursday the class will have the pleasure of having Main Lesson with Mr. Topham.  I will be observing at Mulberry Farm, as part of the training program that I have begun there.  I am pleased to be able to delve more deeply into the work they do, and look forward to deepening my work with our class through this study.

 

If it has not been clear before, I would like to make sure you know that the updates and previews I give in these newsletters are intended for parents only, and are not meant to be shared with the children. They learn each day’s schedule when we go over it together in the morning, but they know that I will tell them what they need to know when they need to know it.  This way they have a sense of the day, but can relax into the awareness that they are held by a grown-up who knows what is coming, so they don’t have to.  This is reassuring, and is a part of how we let them be children, leaving the grown-up worries to the grown-ups.  Thank you for being aware of this in your conversations with them.

 

Warmly,

~Annemarie

 

Upcoming Dates to Remember:

 

Fri. Feb. 15^th, 1:30 pm - All-school Assembly in Sophia Hall, Parents and siblings invited

Feb. 18^th-22^nd - Teacher’s Conference Week – No school, but aftercare available.

2013 Parent Evenings - Weds. March 13^th, 6-8pm

                                      Weds. May 15^th, 6-8pm

Jenner, CA drift wood beach and seal rookery

Our neighbor Alyson told us about this beach being magical and she was right. On one side of the Russian River is a seal birthing area with seals everywhere and baby seals sun bathing and sleeping. In the Russian River seals are hunting salmon. We saw at least one with a fish in his mouth and we saw lots of them swimming by us.
On the North side of the River mouth was a beach filled with drift wood. We built a fort with it and climbed on it and had a blast.
Afterwards we stopped at a restaurant and had some smoked salmon and french fries to complete the experience.

Calen reading.

Calen is getting "in to" reading. He just got some books that he is reading non stop.

FAIRY TABLE near home in Sebastopol

We went on a short bike ride today and bryce wanted to stop by the fairy table on the side of the road.

Not sure if this is the spot someone died or something else but we seen it driving by a bunch and bryce finally got to see it close up.

Kennedy space center rocks!

We had a blast at Kennedy Space Center learning about the trips to the moon and the space shuttle and the hubble space telescope.

Early morning art

Early wake up this morning because of the time difference. Calen drew a motorcycle and bryce a remote control car.