5 years, 3 months/3 years, 1 month.

Playtime at the fanciest playground in town!  Connor has picked up this silly hand-on-hips (which often migrate to more of a hands-in-armpits position) pose from Luda.  It means something like, "check me out.  I'm doing something amusing/wry."

5 years, 3 months/3 years, 1 month.

The boys were lucky to have a very patient and experienced softball coach at the park today.  I think Graham's swing made some very positive steps forward.  After all that hard work, we stopped for ice cream.  Graham has a very regimented procedure for sharing ice-cream in which sharing is frequent, mandatory, limited to licks (not bites), and generally reciprocal.

Thank you Granddad and Linda for coming out to visit us!  It was a great weekend and we're looking forward to your next visit!

Therese's e-mail of the week, entitled, "Hummus among us":

Dear parents,

Monday we started our week making hummus to go with our broccoli
snacks. We were reminded by one of our books that the part we eat is
the flower.

Lauren came in and told a story of little seeds. Everyone got their
own pretend dirt and seed. We watered them with blue silk fabric and
let the sun shine down upon them until they burst, as one person put
it, into flowers. Lauren left us with a poem.

Our trip to the Coney Island Aquarium went swimmingly. Our guide took
us around the world to visit sea life in Africa, Brazil, New York,
California, and Australia. We ended with a bang at the shark tank. The
children listened intently and asked great questions.

Deanna came in and read Nicky Goes To The Doctor. She brought two
stethoscopes which the children were able to identify as being for
adult and child, based on the sizes. She talked to us about nurses and
eating the colors of the rainbow to ensure good checkups. Everyone got
to make their own rainbow shish-kabab using fruit and vegetables.
Kiera made a delicious nutritional protein-filled turkey meatloaf to
enjoy also.

Music with Alex included some creative dance moves across the room to
a drum beat. Afterwards, we played and lunched in the yard. We have
been able to picnic most days for lunch, with the birds, bees,
butterflies, and ants.

Friday we had two alumni visit the classroom. Gus and Alex are twins
and in third grade. They each read a book about growing and changing
during circle; Alex read a book about a butterfly, and Gus read about
a carrot seed.  We measured everyone on the growth chart and almost
all have grown about two inches. Beanstalks! We measured Gus and Alex
too to see how tall everyone will grow in a few years. We looked at
pictures of when they were at Old First and it was neat to see them
having snacks, climbing the same jungle gym, and playing on the
carpet.

Outside we finished clearing the garden for our seed sprouts, which
are now small plants. Some grew better than others, a couple not at
all, and two grew bugs. We also sent home our experimental chia pets
that never sprouted. Ch-ch-ch-chia! The children were as excited about
them as if they had grown like in the 70's commercials.

This week we begin our study of the ocean.

Enjoy the heat,
Therese

5 years, 3 months/3 years, 1 month.

Coney Island with Granddad and Linda!  We took a quick trip through the aquarium, then splashed in the surf for awhile before bringing to the boys to Luna Park (the amusement park) for the first time.  They liked the rides, though Graham got a little queasy on the giant red swing.  I think they had the most fun playing the games.

5 years, 3 months/3 years, 1 month.

Granddad braved some very hot temperatures to grill on our roughneck and practice Graham's throwing form (he has a ways to go) tonight, before reading the kids their goodnight stories.

5 years, 3 months/3 years, 1 month.

The sprinklers are finally on at NYC parks!  In the evening, Graham, Granddad, Linda, and I went to see Fly by Night, a large scale public art exhibition in which thousands of pigeons fitted with LED lights around their ankles are flown at the waterfront at dusk.

5 years, 3 months/3 years, 1 month.

The boys kept cool in the morning at the beautiful new Norman & Jules water area, and then were very excited to see Granddad and Linda arrive in the evening.  Thanks for coming to visit!  We can't wait for some adventures this week!

5 years, 3 months/3 years, 1 month.

L to R, Connor, Charlotte, Noah, Astronaut Graham, Eric, Ian.  Not pictured: Matilda and Edie.





Reunited with old friends!  Our old playgroup favorites came over today from (in descending order of distance) CA, the Hudson Valley, and Cobble Hill.  Everyone, kids included, settled right back into playing though I think memories have faded for some of the kids.  After our reunion visit, we had time for a little rest before Mikkel's party and a trip to the playground to kill a little time before Will came home--missed you!

5 years, 3 months/3 years, 1 month.

A good day...a morning spent washing elephants with Charlotte, a lazy afternoon with friends at the park, and a good sleep at night.  Not sure how much longer Connor will sleep in the classic baby-butt-in-the-air position.  We met some of his new school friends for the 2016-17 school year at the park today, and it's fun to see Connor start building relationships rather than just being along for the ride on Graham's playdates.

Therese's e-mail of the week, entitled, "Carrots are good for your eyes":

Hi all,

We started the week with split pea soup and corn muffins. Jaime came
in and helped the children wash, peel, chop, and mix it all up. When
it was finally time to sip the soup a hush fell over the room, so much
so that we wondered what sort of magic was really in the soup. It was
delicious. Even people who said they didn't like split pea soup ate
split pea soup.

We have continued observing our growing sprouts. We re-potted them in
cups of soil and added a tablespoon of water. We also cleared a space
in the yard so they could live out their summer days there. When
clearing the space of leaves and wood chips we discovered, and many
were thrilled by, millipedes, a red spider, a black-as-dirt spider,
ants, worms, roly polies, and the worlds tiniest snails. Someone also
found tiny black insect eggs on a leaf.

After reading The Carrot Seed we made our own carrots. We used paper,
oil pastels, watercolor, and scissors to cut them out. We added yarn
for the stems. We read that carrots are good for our eyes though one
person debated that, giving the competition of radar invention as a
motivation to get people to eat more carrots. We ate carrots for
snacks.

Music with Alex included a parade around the big room. While half the
class marched, the other half read Blueberries For Sal and created a
blueberry bush using pipe cleaners, beads, and green paper. We read
that blueberries are good for our brains among other things.

Friday the children made caterpillar snacks by piercing grapes and
cherry tomatoes. We read What Food Is This?, Put It On The List,
Oranges And Orange Juice, and The Supermarket, during circle.

Next week we will make hummus and eat more healthy snacks while
learning how they're good for us.

Have a calm weekend,
Therese

5 years years, 3 months/3 years.

Washable vandalism at Connor's tinkergarten class.  He is a very intent artist (for short periods of time).

5 years, 3 months/3 years.

Another big day of events!  The early risers got things started with a kiwi crate (the gift that keeps giving...thanks Grammy!), then Connor was off to Zoe's birthday party (complete with bounce house!) while Graham got some good hits at his baseball game (and lost focus a time or two).  We wrapped up the fun at Henry B's birthday party at the Prospect Park carousel.  

Therese's e-mail of the week, entitled, "Here we grow":

Dear mamas and papas,

Monday we ate some tiny black seeds for snacks. People guessed they
were pumpkin seeds, pomegranate seeds, or poppy. We noticed they all
begin with the same letter, although they were none of these.

We decided to use the air dry clay someone donated to the classroom to
make chi-chi-chi-chia pets. We sculpted a snake, a mushroom, a
tortoise, a rocket ship, a pancake, and other things. We carved x
patterns on them, sprinkled chia seeds and water, and set them near
the window. Day one, no growth. We added more water. Day three, no
grow. Hmmmm.

We read Hands Are Not For Hitting again. We have overheard people
using kind words in our classroom, and writing down acts of kindness.
We read the examples of our friends using kind words. We talked about
a boy in Come Out, Shadow Wherever You Are! who used unkind words. We
examined a picture in the book to see how people feel when spoken to
unkindly. Reading the kind acts list helps us to give positive credit
and reminds us to be good friends.

We have been playing freeze tag in the big room after quiet time for
many weeks. The children have begun to take charge of the game
choosing a director, taking turns, calling everyone to a circle,
raising hands, and listening to each other. The director decides who
will be "it", choosing a new person each time. They share the role of
director, choosing a different director after several rounds. Each
director directs differently. Some directors ask the children to hold
hands in a circle, one asked everyone to sit while she talked super
quiet, another had everyone holds hands but her so that she could
better direct. This week they began discussing and adding rules. It
has been going on for several weeks and is quite an amazing display of
cooperation, sharing, listening, and fun!!

This week in our yard we found: many helicopter seeds, lots of tiny
mushrooms, patterned snail shells, a blue robin's egg, a feather, a
big mushroom, patterns on leaves, and a spider's web. He was sitting
right in the middle.

Tuesday we ate pumpkin seeds for snacks. Wednesday we ate pistachios,
also a seed.

We are still having six to eight sleepers often during quiet time. All
that learning wears you out.

Dory and David, Henry's grandparents, came in and helped everyone
re-pot an edible plant. The children wrote their names on clay pots,
added dirt, the plant, and water. All they need to add at home is a
bit of sunshine!

Thursday while half the class made music with Alex, Heather helped us
create self portraits. We talked about shapes in our faces and noticed
we all have different shapes. The portraits will be hanging in the
cubby area.

Friday we walked to the park to meet Glenn. It was an informative, fun
trip. We saw: many seeds, flowers, giant leaves, sticks, two
chipmunks, and three woodpeckers. Two of the woodpeckers played and
danced for us while we observed. It was such a long time and so close
that one child said, "It's like a nature show." It was.

Next week, more growth.

Wheeeeeee,
Therese