Joy of the Earth

I have had such a great time the last few weeks hosting Annalise and her Joy School friends. Joy of the Earth is probably my favorite Joy School unit. During the first week, we explored nature and went on a nature walk field trip (see post from September 20). The next week we learned about seeds and animals.           

We planted these radish seeds and watched them grow. Now two weeks later, they are pretty hearty and Annalise is thrilled.

We used bird seed to make bird feeders with pine cones covered in peanut butter. Believe it or not, this little feeder once had twice as many seeds as it does now. The little birdies in this neighborhood are definitely packing it on for the winter. 

We also did a little section on seasons, and we made leaf rubbings. 

Play dough is always fun. We used cookie cutters that you could find in nature, like animals and flowers. Emily seems pleased.

As does Ariah.

Preston can always be found sitting on the table or counter top no matter how many times I ask him to sit on a chair. :)

It was fun to talk to the kids about what we get from animals: meat, dairy, leather, wool, etc. and to pretend like we were animals for a day. This wasn't anything out of the ordinary for Annalise though. Her favorite game is "The Animal Game" and her animal imitations are quite impressive.

During the final week, we talked about being good stewards to the earth. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle! I took the kids on a walk where we cleaned up trash around the neighborhood. I've never seen kids so excited to find garbage.

Then we played at the playground as a reward for our hard work.

On the final day, we went on a field trip to my neighbor's large garden. She has a half-acre yard complete with nearly every plant and tree you can imagine: berry bushes, nut trees, fruit trees, carrots, onions, tomatoes, pumpkins, lettuce, squash....

She let the kids pick and eat all the raspberries they could find. They also got to take home their very own organic apple for snack time.

We have a letter of the week and the kids have fun making the letter out of different things. This time it was macaroni. Preston drew a Fire truck, a Flower, and a Flag on his paper, so Annalise did the same on hers. She is quite the little artist for just barely turning three! (And she has also apparently taught herself to spell her name: AiFEtio.)