A Peek Inside Our Playroom: Late Summer Nature Table

Ah, August. For some, it's the end of the summer. Others are already headed back to school. Here, we are savoring these last drops of the sweet slower pace, but with an eye toward the events to come--beginning kindergarten for S, part-time preschool for Y, some undivided attention for C, and some new adventures and undertakings in my nature based playgroup.

Teachers are busy setting up classrooms. Homeschool teachers are busy setting up learning spaces. And if you're still at home with your crew, you're likely setting up, cleaning up, and repeating daily, multiple times! I had noticed our Nature Table, although holding a collection of several summertime treasures, was still set up from late spring! And here we are, late into the summer, busily investigating the remains of our mammoth sunflowers, reaping this season's fruitful harvest and splashing in the muddy creek in the area where our local chapter of Free Forest School meets up. Yes, we are in full summer swing here!

Part of me is so ready for the season to come. I love Autumn. And part of me is not yet ready to let go of Summer--or all of us being here at home together (even though it is also quite challenging at times).And that part of me likes to plan and set stuff up!  So I've been planning my playgroup's Fall events and today, I decided to spruce up our Nature Table. But let's veer off course just for a minute and touch upon the hows and whys of a Nature Table in your home or classroom...

The Third Teacher: There is a concept in Reggio Emilia based education that talks about the classroom or a child's surrounding environment being the "third teacher" in the room. As early childhood educators set up their spaces right now, many classrooms or learning spaces are set up with a calendar, a space for science, a space for math, a space for literacy... Many teachers will spend time in each of their days talking, singing or chanting about the days of the week, the seasons of the year, the weather outside. And for many this is a struggle. A struggle of maintaining the interest (not to mention the classroom management) of a group of young people not designed for sitting still for long periods of time. Many will wonder why some children "get" it with those pesky concepts of before and after, today, tomorrow and yesterday or why little Billy says it's snowing every single day he is the Class Meteorologist. There is current support and evidence to show that these rituals, while common in classrooms, are not as effective and beneficial to learning as we had previously thought. For most children, the best way to learn about time is to experience it and connect to events in their life. For most children, the best way to learn about the weather is to go outside and be in it. And for most children, the best way to learn to sit still is to move around. Math, science and literacy are all around us, and while having a space and a place for everything is valuable (and necessary) it is also possible for children to develop these skills in all spaces and places quite naturally. A Nature Table, commonly found in most Waldorf inspired classrooms and homes, is a space that can hold it all (albeit on a scale of how much space you actually have). You can experience the season, your geographical location or places you have traveled, local flora and fauna (science), measurement, counting and other mathematical concepts, literacy, vocabulary and more. It is also a space to inspire play and wonder.
Inspiring Play and Wonder in your Nature Table is an act of balance. As with many areas and spaces that adults set up for children, there is the propensity to claim ownership of it, whether intentionally or inadvertently. Oftentimes I set up the Nature Table when the children are asleep. Even once it is set up, I will every so often go over to it in the evening, and arrange something with our loose parts, peg people or fairies. It is a little way in which I communicate a silent message of play and wonder to my kids. And often, when I return a few nights later, I will notice that someone has responded to my playful message and made a change of his own. These little love letters to one another are expressed purely through small world play and it is a whimsical and magical way to connect. That said, I also am aware that my "setting up" this space can also give the impression that it is my space rather than our space. Initially when I first started keeping our top toy shelf as a Nature Table, S didn't even realize he could play with it (and Y couldn't reach it yet). Bit by bit, I've learned to let go of the need to solely control playroom design here. It's not easy because I like a certain aspect of tidiness. But I also have a sincere appreciation for the aesthetics of childhood wonder and play residue. I actually find a child's sense of intention in design to be truly beautiful and artistic.
To encourage engagement with our Nature Table as well as play and movement of materials, I invite the children to choose what we put out, to assist with initial design and set up, to bring things from outside indoors, or from inside to our table. It can be items found from nature or items that are man-made. It can be items that are fragile and require gentle touch. It can be items intended for carrying off the shelf to use (like our mortar and pestle, currently filled with parts of a sunflower). It can be baskets, tins, trays or bowls for filling, holding, observing. Small world play props do not have to be on scale--a bumblebee puppet can be giant compared to a tiny garden gnome. A friendly green caterpillar can be just as big as a Mother Earth pegdoll. Some sunflowers can be artificial; some can be real!


Reflecting the Season is somewhat about what is happening outdoors and in nature where we live, but it is also about what we find interesting and inspiring at the moment.
Last month, the boys were intrigued by sharks. We added a magnifying box with two collected shark teeth to our Nature Table, even though we do not live so near the ocean. And we also added some shells we did find at the ocean while visiting Virginia Beach. And yesterday, while the Sprout Scouts were on first Forest School hike, S found a yellow leaf on the ground. He wanted to know which type of tree it came from. We pulled out our copy of Into the Field Guide: A Walk in the Woods to look up types of leaves and trees. He wanted to know even more about this leaf along with another one we found and an acorn, and so we grabbed another field guide all about trees off our bookshelf at home and set it out at our Nature Table along with our collection of discovered treasures.

Reflecting the People in your room or home is perhaps the most important aspect of a Nature Table. There's no right or wrong. To some, it is important that everything be natural or to some it might be important that small world props be true to scale or made from only natural materials or that this space contain only generic loose parts and not toys with a single function or purpose. To me, it is most meaningful that the space be one for sharing. And with props and materials contributed by all of us from a variety of sources, we can easily accomplish that. It is not a sedentary spot--just like us, it is constantly in motion. Y wanted to bring a wooden prism looking glass and a wooden window block with a sunflower inside. S wanted the field guide about trees to be there and our thrifted tin with pictures of each season is filled with his favorite collection of flocked bears. I added quite a lot of sunflowers! And at the very end, I nestled a couple of books about sunflowers off to the side to inspire some literacy and shared reading. Our Nature Table is very full. Most of the time, I'm a less is more kinda gal. But I'm also OK when more is more. And shifts and tweaks can happen (and will happen) as play and time go on.
Elements of texture, color and curiosity are fun to play with as you design a space for a Nature Table. This time, I added some silk scarves to the bottom. They give a burst of color and a softer feel than just the wood plank of the shelf. A round mirror creates a flat surface that reflects the props on top of it. It will encourage a different way of viewing objects the children use on top of it. Wood, wicker and the earth tones of sticks, stones, seed pods, cones, leaves and acorns all found outdoors set against the more vibrant hues of some of our toys and props creates a pleasing balance. I know we are "ready" with a Nature Table when we all feel drawn to go see what's different. What has moved? What story is being told? What little love letter is being conveyed?
Movement is a key element in our Nature Table. Although it definitely has an element of stillness to it and even a lure to slow down, it's OK--even encouraged--to take things from it elsewhere for play, to bring things to it as they are discovered and collected. It is a picture in motion of life here as we experience it through each day. It is a celebration of each season, of each person and of our most valuable teacher, the world around us.

Happy Playing!

Sunflower Investigation

There is something so incredible about giants of the garden and even a small space is the perfect size for a few mammoth sunflowers to tower over you, attract pollinators and spread joy (not to mention pollen and seeds...). Last year was the first time I ever planted these jolly giants. When they had finished their glorious reign in our front garden, we brought the heads in to dissect and explore. We saved hundreds of seeds. Seeds to share. Seeds to save. Seeds to plant again this spring and sunflower season has officially hit. Our blooms are gracing our garden in various shades and sizes. Some blooms were prime for cutting and gracing our Shabbos table last week. As those began to fade, I decided they should make a final stop before the compost heap--to two curious horticulturalists in training!





We've explored sunflowers here before and S in particular remembers dissecting the large flower heads last year. Both of the boys love to look outside each morning and note which buds have blossomed and how many bees are on the centers of our opened flowers. (We counted 4 bees on one today after a rainfall!)

Even a goldfinch blessed us with a well camouflaged visit to one of our sunflowers last week!

And when it comes to learning about plants and garden life, there are so many books and directed activities. My favorite way, however, is to get hands on and dig right in.

There is something so wondrous about standing below a giant flower and looking up at a leaf that is bigger than my head. There is something so amazing about a flower opening up after months of waiting and watching. It lasts comparatively as long as the blink of an eye. The center of the sunflower houses hundreds of tiny little flowers and behind those, hundreds of tiny little seeds--that given the best of circumstances and luck will perhaps one day bloom into another jolly giant of the garden. But until then, we have these early days of August. A wistful and whimsical time. The garden is in harvest. The sun is still hot and it's the peak of summer. But mornings and nights begin to cool a bit. School supply lists are arriving and Fall is around the corner. So we savor the sunlight just a little bit longer and play just a little bit harder to squeeze every last drop out of these summer days at home. And the garden follows us wherever we go. In the front yard, out the back door to the back yard. In the kitchen, in the playroom, in the mud caked on to our garden clogs. This is summer! And admittedly, the play residue is all around us. Cleaning up is maybe not the first priority with all three Sprout Scouts at home with me each day. But it starts to look almost like a work of art after a while, reminding me that we were here. We played until we were carried in like footballs, screaming and kicking and covered in mud and sand and who knows what else, because no matter how many nights we've done it, bedtime is always a surprise...

So head out to your own garden. Deadhead your flowers without fear or remorse, because before those wilting blooms head to the composter and return to the earth, there are young horticulturalists at play. Ready to dissect. Ready to observe. Ready to grind and pour and mix into fairy tea and sunflower soup. Come take a peek in our own little whimsical world of wonder as we carry our sunflowers on one final journey, perhaps in a football hold, screaming and kicking and covered in pollen, because no matter how many years they have bloomed and wilted, the compost heap is always a surprise!

Sunflower Investigation

Gather some trays, bowls, mortars and pestles, tweezers, magnifying glasses, scissors and sunflowers...it's time to investigate and explore!

If you're feeling especially ambitious and brave, I encourage you to add water, mix some sunflower paint, try pounding the petals into paper or fabric...

Or take it outside and open up your own Sunflower Garden Tea House...

Sunflowers, coneflowers and even cut herbs made their way to the picnic table, ready for action...

...and here's some action now! Y is busy measuring and pouring water and plants parts into the perfect pot of tea...

Just add water! The sensory table was filled and some dishes and flowers were ready for tea time...

S wanted to clip some oregano to add to his soup

C had such a blast watching the excitement. She is so happy to be in the garden with us!

S is busy washing and collecting herbs for his grill and his soup stock...

Y is helping to wash herbs and flowers as well. 

S cuts some freshly harvested oregano...

We finally made it inside (I bribed them with a smoothie) and Tatty is home, so I headed out to tidy up a bit before the pending storm. And that's when I find the most beautiful bits of play residue. A bowl with just a bit of water Y poured in, a silver spoon, a measuring cup and a 1/2 teaspoon along with some fresh cut mint and lemon thyme and lemon balm...

...and just a few remnants of those jolly golden garden giants, mid-grind in our mortar and pestle... 

Happy summer, happy gardening, happy harvesting and, as always....

Happy Playing!

Beyond the Book: "The Story of the Root Children" by Sibylle von Olfers

The change of seasons is always a time of excitement. The transition from Spring to Summer is often a more subtle one--especially if summer vacation has already begun. Sprout Scouts Playcamp had already been "in session" for three weeks by the time the longest day of the year rolled around. We've already enjoyed some of the earliest tastes of our garden harvest and seen fireflies at night and heard the cicadas chirping and smelled the honeysuckles in the woods nearby. Our fingernails have been nice and dirty here from digging in the dirt and when it came to welcoming Summer in its own right, I wanted a book that truly celebrates this all. 

The Story of the Root Children by iconic author, Sibylle von Olfers is a favorite of mine! It is truly a tale of wonder and magic woven out of the colorful threads of a child's vast imagination. In fact, all of von Olfers' works capture this quality. Her works are commonly used in early childhood classrooms, particularly in Waldorf education and they naturally lend to storytelling. You can do this in many ways! You can use small loose parts and toys to create your own small story world or you can use props to act out the story with children. Both are fantastic ways to bring literature to life indoors and outside. There is a great Root Children Circle Play written up on Lavender's Blue Homeschool that includes audio clips of some songs to accompany your storytelling. I've found storytelling with young children to be a great way not only to take children's literature beyond the book but also to encourage expansion of play themes.

One afternoon while S and Y were napping, I decided to create our own set of wooden Root Children peg dolls and their Mother Earth. Who knew I could needle-felt a tiny sheitel? Everything else I left up to the hot glue gun! We had been enjoying repeated readings of The Story of the Root Children and it was time to expand on that through play. We also put together a tiny Root Children Playgarden using a few succulents and a metal tub with potting soil. I added in some interesting loose parts (mosaic tiles in a variety of shapes and colors, stones, sea glass, miniature garden animals and toy furniture, even some tiny toy food...) and both indoors and outside, this has been a favorite play area for S to expand on the story and create his own adventures of, Mother Earth, the Root Children and their garden friends!

The smaller loose parts are a bit beyond Y's developmental level right now (although he tries his hardest to keep up with S), but it's a great activity for when he is having his morning nap--a time that S is particularly cherishing these summer days as special time just between the two of us. Both of the boys absolutely loved play acting our own version of The Story of the Root Children this week. Prior to beginning, I gathered a basket of colorful scarves and play silks and homemade ribbon kites, my favorite wooden chime, a candle, and some handmade crowns I updated with silk flowers and (yes, more hot glue!). I collected our own mini version of the book and a larger copy S picked to check out of the library at our botanical gardens a couple of weeks ago to "see if the pictures were the same" (they are, but he still gets a kick out of it!). I had some printed story line and songs at the ready, including a recording of Vivaldi's "Four Seasons" to play in the background for merry scarf and ribbon dancing at the end.

S really took the lead, which I loved! He decided to begin by setting up "their beds" where they would sleep. He wanted to sleep under the rug. I suggested perhaps some blankets on the rug. He gathered a few and his favorite baby doll to join in the story.

"Under the ground, deep in the earth among the roots of the trees, the little root-children were fast asleep all winter long."

"When at last winter came to an end and sun began to melt the snow, Mother Earth came along with her candle to wake them up again."

"Wake up, children... Time to get up now!"

"The children yawned and stretched. Then they jumped up merrily. Hurray, spring is coming!"

S had the idea to use a toy magic wand as the "needle" as we sang "The thread follows the needle, the thread follows the needle, in and out the needle goes while the Root Children sew their clothes!"

"But there was still more work to be done. The ladybirds, the beetles, the grubs and the bumblebees...had to be washed and brushed, painted colorfully and made to shine..." 

So we gathered the yellow blossoms of some two week old cut flowers that were wilting and filled ground them up with a mortar and pestle to make our own flower petal paints. S used a pipette to squeeze in some water to make the ground petals into a pasty yellow paint. I helped both boys to smash, grind and mix our colorful concoctions. I helped Y add some ladybug stamps to his paper (I'd recommend a permanent ink since the paint is quite watery!) and S decided to forego the stamps altogether. He really enjoyed the process of mixing and experimenting with creating the paint itself. This activity was more process focused than goal oriented, though if you did want to create your own natural plant dyes and paints, the internet and local library are great resources! Both boys had a great time with this extension activity before we completed our story drama with festive dancing and singing.

Since S is quite fascinated by the idea that the Root Children "had to make their own clothes!" I have set out some handcrafting activities for him to practice sewing with me. He still loves using our embroidery looms with burlap and colorful embroidery thread. The same thread and large blunt needles work well with plastic canvas, too, and really encourage that practice of the thread following the needle over and under, over and under...

Good books encourage a story to be told once. Great books encourage a story to be told again and again. And AMAZING books encourage a story to be retold and recreated through imaginative play. The Story of the Root Children is an AMAZING book to welcome Summer or any season and can be read and enjoyed all year round.

Happy Summer and Happy Playing!

Some [Last Minute] Lag B'Omer Fun!

Friendship, caves, camping, bonfires, Jewish unity, community and fun! These are just some of the fabulous themes that emerge on the 33rd day of counting the Omer, Lag B'Omer, which we celebrate today. S, who feels a special connection to this day being that he is partially named after one of its most important celebrated and honored historical figures, Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, has already had a bonfire celebration at school today. He was "a little nervous" about the bonfire and quite honestly, I am OK with fire being something that makes him feel "a little nervous." We will all join together this evening with our community for a bonfire and BBQ party but S really wanted to have a "pretend" bonfire in our backyard this afternoon. So while he has been napping (yay) and Y has been repeatedly emerging from his bed and escaping his nap (I have 5391 steps on my pedometer right now from going up and down to put him back in), I have been eagerly setting up some play activities both indoors and outside for our afternoon pre-party!

Out back, we pitched one of our play tents An invitation to build a bonfire with loose parts is set up with fire colored silk scarves, sticks (who knew I'd have a use for the S's growing collection of sticks he must bring home from every place we go), tree blocks and drift wood and other collected natural loose parts. I set our child sized camping chair nearby with a couple of simple DIY "marshmallow" roasting sticks I whipped up this afternoon from cotton balls hot glued to sticks.

Our sensory bin is set out on the ground so both boys can easily reach and it's set up as a Fish, Frog & Flower Pond for the boys to "go fishing." I had some cut flowers in our house that are on the move list after decorating our table for a couple of weeks, and they made such a bright and cheery natural addition to this water table set up. Y in particular has been loving water play lately and with our toasty 90 degree temperatures today, I think both boys will have fun splashing around a bit.

In the theme and spirit of friendship and community, the nature based playgroup I run had a Butterfly Garden Seed Exchange earlier this week. All of our friends went home with a pack of assorted flower seeds to grow and attract butterflies (and other pollinators) at home. I set up a small planting station to sow our seeds this afternoon if we have time, but we may end up getting to this one next week...

We will definitely need to cool off inside before too long, so I have a Squeeze Your Own Lemonade Station set up in our kitchen (that's KID BAIT to get us inside when I get too hot). Then the boys will get to try their hands at marshmallow stamping "fire" onto the letter F. I have some separate marshmallows set aside for snacking so they won't be tempted by the painty ones. If you want to do this activity and not use food, you could make your marshmallow prints using cotton balls glued to a stick rather than actual marshmallows. Alternatively, if you want your entire activity to be edible, use vanilla pudding dyed yellow and orange as paint!

Lag B'Omer is such a fun and festive day. It is a little taste of celebration during the long seven week period between Pesach and Shavuot. Although my activity posting is a bit last minute this year, you can save these in the vault for next year or add them to your summer or camping themed play in the months to come. If you're looking for more ideas about Lag b'Omer activities, check out this post. Don't forget to check out our other Sefiras Ha'Omer posts and, while you're at it, it's not too early to get ready for Shavuot! 

In the late spring and summer, when Shabbos gets a bit long here, we try to incorporate some play and fun into the day. Everyone is very excited to extend the theme of camping into Shabbos this week for a family Living Room Shabbos Camp-In. Stay tuned to see what we're up to! Here's some more camping themed fun to tide you over until then...

Happy Playing!

Shavuot Theme: Ice Cream Shop Sensory Bin

 I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream! Sweet dairy delicacies like ice cream are a big part of the holiday of Shavuot. As a little girl, I had no idea what Shavuot celebrated, but I did know it as "the cheesecake holiday." Here's a sweet treat of a sensory bin that will be a great addition to you Shavuot or Summer themed play this year. I call it our "Ice Cream Shop," and it is a favorite activity for S each time we use it! As a bonus, your little ones will not just be "playing," but will likely also develop fine motor skills in transferring, scooping, pinching and manipulating the pompoms as well as mathematical skills like sorting by color and size. Who said learning can't be fun? The sweetest part of this sensory bin is that it is also easy to create on a low budget with many of the materials being ones you may already have on hand.

You can use:

• a large batch of cotton balls or pompoms--enough to fill your bin of choice. We found value packs of pompoms at a craft store and I keep them on hand for sensory play and crafts. I like the element of color and size variety in the pompoms. You can also buy a few bags of cotton balls at the dollar store and use them as is, or dye them/color them to look like your favorite flavors of ice cream.
• plastic ice cream scoops (available at dollar stores and discount stores or maybe even your kitchen...)
• recycled plastic cups from applesauce/fruit for ice cream bowls
• baby spoons (we have a set in our play kitchen that I bought at the Dollar Tree)
• cardboard tubes for ice cream cones: I cut each toilet paper tube vertically and then cut a triangle off each corner of the bottom before stapling a cone shape. If you have an eager artist in your house, you may want to enlist him/her to draw details of an ice cream cone as well.
• recycled ice cream containers if you have on hand
• you can add a scent (like vanilla or peppermint extract) to your cotton balls/pompoms if you'd like for an added sensory element
• anything else you'd like! Perhaps you would like to color code your cups or cones for color sorting or provide a variety of sized containers for sorting by size...

When he was smaller, S liked to get right in the bin with these pompoms. Now he prefers to play from the outside and although both methods can lead to pompoms outside of the bin, they are a material that is easy enough to enlist his help in cleaning up! (He even managed to sneak a few of them into the bathtub the other night, so now they are really clean...)

Want to do more? This ice cream craft looks good enough to eat and is a great sensory experience for little hands. It's gooey and sticky and pleasantly messy! You can prepare it at home using materials you likely already have on hand. Here's a simple homemade puffy paint recipe to create your own ice cream art.

You will need: 

• shaving cream
• white school glue
• food coloring
• brown construction paper and construction paper in your background color of choice
• markers, glue stick
• rainbow sprinkles (optional)

To prepare your puffy paint, mix a blob of shaving cream and school glue to get a thick consistency. I never measure and the results are always slightly different, but lean toward a thicker consistency for a puffier result. Little hands love to help with this! They can even choose their colors of food coloring to create their "flavor" of choice. I used a little bit of red to create pink when mixed in with the white glue and shaving cream. You can pre-cut and detail your construction paper cones and use a glue stick to affix it to the background paper. This is best done ahead of time so that your little artists can dig right into the painting experience. Many kids like to do this part with their hands, however craft sticks or paint brushes can be used as well. If you are using sprinkles for detail, they can be sprinkled on top of their paint before allowing it to dry. I have noticed that in our humid southern summers, we often need an extra day or two to allow these creations to fully dry. Once dry, however, the puffy paint should be smooth and hard to the touch and look quite delightful to display in your home just in time for Shavuot or Summer!

One more bonus for you--a fun little ice cream song to sing as you play!

Sweet & Happy Playing!