The Villager... a newsletter of Acorn Village Forest School |
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Now that spring break is over and we have not returned to school, we want to give you a sense of the rhythm we attempt to create at Village. Hopefully, this will assist you in planning your days with your children. Remember this is a suggestion to aid you, not a requirement to fulfill. For me with my children, that first week being home with two children meant lots of fighting, late nights to sleep, and the kitchen always open. I was already operating on low emotional energy and I wanted to take advantage of this time with my children, not being completely drained. We needed to establish a home rhythm that the children could count on and where things could get done. It is something we do at Acorn Village everyday and my hope is it will help you during this time at home with your children and beyond. Rhythm
by Lia Grippo There are 3 important considerations to keep in mind that can bring greater ease to our days immediately and to our lives and those of our children long term. 1. Be flexible 2. Set and hold limits 3. Observe the same routine every day (as much as possible, i.e. see #1) When we talk about "rhythm" for the young child we can look to our own bodies for guidance. We live with a constant rhythm of breathing in and breathing out. We take in and we exhale. Every inhale must be followed by and exhale, which in turn is followed by another inhale and on it goes, seamlessly flowing back and forth. Our breathing does not follow a schedule so much as it follows a pattern and that is what we need to cultivate. This rhythm is something that you can bring into your home.
Breathing in refers to meals, story time, and times when we are together and acting together in a familiar and predictable pattern. When the children are in the breathing-in period, you have to make sure you are present, so the child feels a sense of "ah, here I feel my parents, they are there for me."
After you've been present for a little while, your child can have a breath out and you can do what you have to do. At this point it's ok to tell your child "please wait because I need to do this." And this will be alright because you know you have been present with the child.
Now, think through your day. Where does the rhythm already exist?
Do your children wake at the same time each morning and do you all eat a meal together? The waking is an out breath, the morning ritual of dressing, grooming, and sharing the first meal is an in breath. Is there a midmorning time where you are able to come together for a short time for some drawing, crafting, games and then a snack? This is an in breath. Then your children are free to play- out breath.
Is it possible to have a story time before your midday meal? Can this be followed by rest? And so on throughout the day, breaking the day into patterns of coming close together and gathering our focus, and then allowing bigger exhaling periods to flow. This is simple, yes, but requires that we be present to these touchstones in our day in a way that becomes familiar and reliable. To strengthen the rhythm, think of how you will begin a meal and end it. Will you say what each is grateful for to begin? Or sing a song, or a blessing? Will you end the meal with a rhyme, another song, the same song? Keep this very simple and as much as possible at the same time each day(likely your children will contribute to this). To Begin: it might be helpful to mark a piece of paper into thirds and label the sections Morning, Afternoon, and Evening. Think of things that you need/want to include in your daily rhythm and write them in the appropriate area. Order them in a way that makes sense to you and post it where you will see it every day. Include some daily traditions that will be meaningful to your family, like special songs or verses that can be repeated each day. Or maybe the lighting and extinguishing of a candle.
At school, we hold our rhythm dear and it goes like this:
Arrival: Free play- out breath
Gather through song: Circle time/Tea time- in breath -End in song/verse
Free Play, free choice: -out breath
Gather through song: Storytime/Lunch time- in breath -End in song/verse
Departure: Pack up and go home- out breath
School starts each day with the acknowledgement that most children have been restrained in a vehicle and will need an out breath upon arrival.
When we transition between our out and in breath, we begin with the same songs and end with the same songs, this way the children know where the beginnings and endings are. After the pattern is learned, the children know what to do and no one needs to be reminded to do things like tidy up after tea. In this way, repetition allows everyone greater ease and conservation of energy, which we all need! |
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Did you know? Woodpeckers have tongues as long as their bodies which they roll up in the back of their heads when not in use to cushion their brains while pecking at the trees? Acorn Woodpeckers eat acorns, but also the worms they find inside. It is this woodpecker that our class is named after. |
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Children live in their right brains and because of that, learn through pictures and to them everything is alive. Because of this we speak to the children as such. Sister Spring visited them this week to bring them grass baskets. Grandmother oak offers them Acorns for our pancakes in the Autumn, and Sister Pine offers her pine nuts and her needles for tea in the winter. Your children know a lot of plants. Make some time to forage for your salad with all these spring greens. Taking a walk in most of our "classrooms" right now will give you an abundance. Click on the buttons below to help you identify each plant. |
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Crafternoons- contributed by Teacher Tracy |
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How to make the gnome from our story from last week: You will need: (Tracy will deliver these items to you if you do not have them) Felt Some kind of stuffing, can really be anything needle thread, usually embroidery floss scissors Trace the pattern on a folded edge of felt and cut out, sew up the cut sides except for the space under the hat and stuff. |
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STORY CORNER- a poem for handwashing |
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10 Little Fishies -A Hand Washing Poem/Song for Little Children Susan Perrow - March 2020 I have 10 little fishies, That love the washing rule. They have so many swims each day, In water clean and cool. Each little fishy finger, Gets a soapy bubbly rub. From its head down to its tail, |
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Then I rinse them in the tub. My fishies need to have Many swims and rubs each day - Before I eat my food, And after every play. Each little fishy finger, When I have used the loo, Enjoys two soapy rubs, Such important work to do! Each time the fun is over, I shake the water free, T hen dry the fishy fingers, That all belong to me! |
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decelerate - contributed by Teacher Sarah verb de·cel·er·ate | \ (ˌ)dē-ˈse-lə-ˌrāt \ Definition of decelerate transitive verb : to reduce the speed of : SLOW DOWN I have a love/hate relationship with social media and I have spent more time than I would like to admit logged in, trying to stay connected. It pales in comparison to actual, in-person connection but it’s keeping me afloat in the lives of people I love dearly. Checking in with my friends who suddenly find themselves home full time with their family and realizing that this is not an easy life to live. We are all adjusting to this new current and trying to establish some kind of rhythm that makes sense, one that feels good and that also fosters peace in our homes because let’s face it, these are strange times and I’m sure a tornado of chaos has whirled itself through your living rooms by now. Logging in this morning I noticed that the colorful paintings and pieces of preschool art I’m so used to seeing have been replaced with color coded schedules and lists of things-to-do. Some of these schedules include playtimes and mealtimes but I’m noticing that a lot of parents are choosing to use this newfound time together to introduce more traditional educational ideas such as reading, writing etc. I became exhausted reading these schedules and can’t even begin to imagine what the children must be feeling. When reaching out to express my concern, I was met with comments like, “Well he thrives on schedules” or “It’s a reward system” or “I just don’t know what else to do!” This last response spoke a loud and clear message to me: SLOW DOWN. Bring it back to basics and connect with your children through cuddling, storytelling, baking and gardening not worksheets and timetables. Get outside and chase crickets, eat sour grass and listen to Brother Wind. Stay inside and paint, dance and sing and learn more about EACH OTHER, not what number comes after 10. That’s not important to a preschooler. They are already trying to process so much change and in these uncertain times, what’s most important is loving and peaceful connection by way of conscious attention, participation, and actively listening to our children. Giving our children the time and space to process and accept this period of isolation for what it is will initiate healing for all of us. Slow down… decelerate and just be present, compassionate, patient and honest. Just BE |
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NATURAL REMEDIES- Flower Fairy Spray- contributed by Teachers Brenda and Tracy |
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At school we have fairy spray that we make and put into little spray bottles. The children use this to disinfect hands before eating lunch. Fairy spray comes from the flower fairies and Bluebell, the fairy graces our bottles with his image. Recipe: Equal parts water and witch hazel 2 or 3 drops of lemon and peppermint essential oil (we sometimes change these up, you can experiment) | | |
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Your moment of Zen- An invitation to go within contributed by Teacher Juliette This week, a card from the Earth Warriors Deck (Alana Fairchild) I have been using most recently in intuitive readings. This card was drawn holding the Acorn Village community in gratitude and in heart and asking what is it we, each of us and as a whole, need to hear right now. |
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