December 2018

Newsletter

 Lorax, Maeve, Sibyl; recent Portland Town Field Study @ Lone Fir Cemetery

Hey there playschool folks!

Welcome to the time of

rest and repose

fire and frost 

friends and food. 

 I pray that the fall season has brought with it an abundance of blessings.

As we move towards Winter,

I pray that yer hands and heart have had more time

to turn towards making, baking, watching, walking, listening, and luving.

My own year's work of planting, gathering, and tending the land has slowed and I am thankful fer more time to sit in quiet stillness with her. More time to offer her nuthin' but my pure awe and adoration for the magnificence of her beauty and the abundance of her gifts. More time to share in this abundance with all my friends and family who have landed near and dear to my heart. 

Samhain brought us the Witches new year, and the invitation to put the busy work of the previous seasons to bed. As our days get darker, I'm digging deeper into the work of reflecting, processing, and integrating all that this past year brought to my life. There were sharp edges fer sure, but at the year's end, the sharpness of those edges were mitigated by a heavy harvest of blessings, a heart full of gratitude, and a life full of luv.

And I give thanks, every day, at every opportunity.

In my daily gratitude practice, our playschool family and my werk with these kiddos is a focus point of my gratitude. The relationships we share, the lives we are weaving, the paradigms we are shifting, and  the norms we are defying. I am immensely grateful fer the gift of all of you. 

May we find flow on this late fall tide. 

May we walk into the dark days of winter with hearts

flung wide open to the work of harvesting the lessons of the heart.  

xo, Miz Flow   ​​

Sibyl, Ember, Mabel: Recent afternoon Autumn walk. 

 Drop~in Play at the Moon's Nest 

Sibyl, Lorax, Lila, Violet; mushroom investigations in our playschool learning garden

Through the year the Moon's Nest will be offering drop in play for our beloved friends who need less of a commitment and more flexibility than enrollment into our program requires.

Unlike our Monday ~ Friday programming, families are not required to officially enroll in our playschool, pay a monthly tuition, or forfeit tuition during your travel times. You decide when you want to drop your kiddo in for free play time, and for how long.

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This is a great option for the unschooley parents in our extended community who may just need an occasional day to their self, parents who find themselves in a time crunch and just need some extra support to make life happen, or families who travel often and just want some familiar friends to connect and play with when in town. It's also a great option fer families who follow the Portland Public School schedule and need supplemental play days during school closures. And, all of our enrolled families are welcome to use this option for the occasional weeks when your kiddo could benefit from some additional playschool time. 

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All the details and FAQ's about our handy~dandy new drop~in play option

can now be found over on our updated website. 

So go check it! 

Creature tracking at a recent Portland Town Field Study @ Leach Botanical Garden

About our Portland Town Field Studies Program

Our Portland Town Field Studies Program program meets on Tuesdays & Saturdays from 11 am-3 pm, on alternating weeks. Our rendezvous location fer our Tuesday meetings is the 13th & Clinton st. Max station, and our Tuesday field study location will alternate between OMSI & the Portland Children's museum, Our Saturday meetings will take place  at rotating rendezvous locations around the city. Locations will vary depending on the city's seasonal offerings and will include destinations such as children's museums, child focused play spaces, libraries, natural areas, art studios, children's theaters, etc.

Families can choose to add this program to their kiddos playschool enrollment, or choose to enroll in the field study program only as a stand alone option. Families can also choose whether their kiddo joins us fer just our Tuesday meetings, just our Saturday meetings, or both.  Maintaining the unschooley nature of this program is of great value to me, and still, enrollment into our Portland Town Field Studies Program is required for participation. This ensures that I can be prepared fer each of our field studies and be in good communications with parents about any adaptations in our schedule or itinerary fer the day.

All kiddos must be toilet proficient, have weather appropriate rain gear, and be able to manage an adventurous day of hopping across town on buses, trains, and feet er exploring forests while carrying their own child sized backpack.

Brown bag lunch required

Fall season Schedule

(*Winter schedule coming in January Newsletter!*)

Saturday October 6th @ Elk Rock Island

Saturday, October 20th @ Dawson Park

Saturday November 3rd @

Lone Fir Cemetery Special Day of Samhain traditions 

Tuesday November 6th @ OMSI

Saturday November 17th

@ Leach Botanical Garden~Forest bathing & Fall mushroom exploring

Tuesday November 20th @ Portland Children's Museum 

Saturday December 1st @ Ariel Tram ride to OHSU & Marquam Nature Park

Tuesday December 4th @ OMSI 

**Updated Date!!>>Saturday December 29th

@ NW Children's Theater viewing of Marry Poppins!

Tuition fer this program: Sliding Scale of $150-350/month

**And remember, if you are an enrolled playschool family, enrolled in our Monday- Friday program at least one day a week, you get to enroll in our Portland Town Field Study program on a pay~what~you~can basis 💜

Contribute to our 2018-2019 Scholarship Fund

SIbyl, Ember; recent art studio painting session

To support us in our efforts to remain true to our anti-capitalist values, and still be able to pay our operating costs (rent, utilities, meals, payroll, materials ), we have a newly established Patreon platform that allows fer folks to commit to making a monthly tithe in support of our playschool scholarship fund.

The majority of our families are provided access to our playschool community by being able to contribute at the bottom of our payscale, or through scholarship. And, I want to be able to sustain being able to provide and support this kind of tuition model. For our 2018-2019 playschool year, we have expanded our teaching staff to better support our families. Which means, to be able to sustain this tuition model, it is crucial that our budget match our operating costs.

We are asking that all enrolled families and hired teaching staff sign up to contribute a minimum of $5.00/month towards our scholarship fund. This will help ensure that when any member of our community is struggling and needs a bit of a break with tution on any given month, that we can always offer that. Paying into the scholarship fund and helping us meet our scholarship funding goals is a way to know that you’ll never have to worry about your child’s access to playschool, even in hard times. We also ask that all enrolled families and hired teaching partners help us share this platform with their networks as a way to support and sustain us in continuing to offer this experiential tuition model.

The world is excited about our work here, and we offer one of the only queer centered, gender neutral playschool environments with a direct focus on subversive resistance and cultivating magical practices in early childhood.

So, take a moment and head on over to our Patreon platform.  And, please do invite yer network of friends, family, and allies to invest in this work.

Thank you for participating and exploring with us in this experiential tuition model to the best of your ability and in the best interest of The Whole. Because you know,

It Takes a Village.

Upcoming Playschool Socials & Happenings

Playschool Potluck Movie Night

Friday December 28th @ 5pm

Join us at playschool fer our monthly potluck movie night.

This month, we'll be viewing one of our family's very favorite stories,

The Gruffalo's Child.

We'll share some dinner together so please do bring a potluck dish to share if'n ya be able. All playschool friends welcome. And bonus! Our Friday circle playschool friends are welcome to simply extend their day with us. Doors at 5pm fer all other friends.

We'll share our meal around 5pm and start the film at 5:30. Parents are welcome to join us or not, up to you. However, all kiddos must be on their way home by 6:30pm <3 

Upcoming Playschool Breaks

Please do put these dates in yer calendar! 

  Winter Solstice & Yuletide Break  

Playschool will be on our annual Winter Solstice and Yuletide break

December 17~Decemeber 25th.

Regular playschool schedule resumes Wednesday December 26th. 

Follow Our Days on Social Media

Liking and following our social media pages is a great way to keep up on the work, play, and learning of our playschool days. You can find us on Instgram and Facebook, sharing sweet moments and practices, as well as real time playschool updates. Go find us! 

Baby Z; recent Fall afternoon leaf explorations

It's Tuition Time! 

Please do remember to send in December tuition no later than the 3rd day of the month <3 

That's it for this month friends! 

May our days together be full

of play, adventure, and connection.