Fun Fall Must-Haves for the Block Area

Keep the Block Area fresh by changing out the accessories periodically!  Here's what we've added recently:

• Real logs or branches
• Silk leaves

• Pinecones
• Wicker plates

• Forest animals
• Rocks 

Finding Fall?

The forest animals are going to start getting ready for winter soon!  One of the best ways to spot forest animals is by going camping.  We made a cool tent in the Book Area, stocked up on flashlights, and made animal dens.  So cool!

We hid animals around the room and used binoculars or flashlights to find them.  Bears make sure to eat lots of food during the summer and fall to prepare for winter.

Deer are busy eating too.  Food is hard to find in the winter.

Friend "Sandwich" asked, "Which pinecone is the spikiest?"  Great question!  He and Toddler "Koala" tested them out and then used them to make some animal dens.

Flashlights are also great for helping you find your belly button... in case yours is missing.  ;)

Ready for Fall

It all started with the bat.  We were making a forest scene for the animal figures and soft toys when Friend "K" noticed the bat and initiated a plan where it could be Halloween in the forest!  The animals were invited to a Halloween party after they all went Trick or Treating.

This plan required elaborate preparations: putting animals in carriers, building homes, finding Trick or Treat baskets for the animals, decorating "the whole universe" (Friend "K), and cooking up star cookies and Halloween juice (Friend "H").  The children demonstrated terrific attention spans to carry out all of these plans, never wavering from the initial plan.

Friend "H" plans to be a white dog for Halloween, and Friend "K" would like to be Batman!  Although it's in the 90s outside, I think these friends are more than ready for Fall and all the fun holidays that come with the season!

To say goodbye at the end of Summer, we celebrated with another water play day!  Thank you to C. Tweedy for taking these pictures because Ms. Harmony forgot to bring her camera.

Totally Awesome Tie-Dye!

One of our last camping activity was to tie-dye t-shirts!  It was super fun.  Each child decided whether they wanted to do a swirl, bulls eye, or stripes.  Ms. Harmony helped put the rubber bands on.  Friend "K" wanted vertical stripes; Friend "H" wanted horizontal stripes.  Ms. Harmony chose polka dots for Baby "K's" shirt.  Then the children had four colors of dye to choose from and applied it to their shirts where they wanted it: green, blue, purple, and pink.  Friend "K" dyed Baby "K's" shirt for her.  Today we all came back wearing our fabulous creations!  Tie-Dye AWESOME-NESS!!!

P.S.  Ms. Harmony loves how Baby "K" and Friend "K" matched today with the tie-dye colors on top and pink on bottom.  That was totally unplanned.

Camping is Just TOO Much Fun!

The last two weeks have been full of "camping" adventures at Harmony's House!  One of Friend "H's" top plans has been to go camping with his bunny.  He usually tells me about his plans for his rabbit as soon as he comes in the door.  He can't wait to get to the House Area, find the rabbit, pack him up in the carrier and get going into the tent!  He takes such good care of his rabbit, making sure the bunny has food, water, bandages when he needs them, and a soft bed for naps. 

Friend "K's" favorite plan for the tent is to read.  Her top stories include Acorns Everywhere!, Green, and Count to Ten with a Mouse.  She most frequently chooses the baby deer to work with.  Her deer listens to stories, takes naps, and eats in the tent.  She uses fabric squares to make fluffy beds for her deer.

Today, the school friends elaborated in their camping plans to include packing for, and preparing food, for an outdoor picnic.  We had everything including sunglasses, food and silverware, forest pets, and a ring toss game!  It was awesome!

Outside of the House Area, we have worked with forest animals in the Toy and Puzzle Area.  Today we built a forest "small world" with trees, Native Americans, animals, acorns, and pine cones.  In addition to naming different animals that live in the forest, we had interesting discussions about the usefulness of acorns and pinecones to both flora and fauna of the woods.

During Small Group, we used counting bears to think about forest animals and math.  Friend "H" worked on sorting into "family groups."  He put all the yellow bears together into one family, all the red bears together, etc.  He also worked on making A-B patterns and used the cards as a guide to build a pattern.

Friend "K" has practiced A-B patterns a lot.  She was challenged to make more difficult patterns based on bear size and color.  She used her bears to make A-A-B and A-B-B types of patterns.  She really focused and enjoyed making patterns, "something that happens over and over."








Bears, bunnies, and deer aren't the only animals you find in the forest while camping.  Bugs are a big part of the natural world!  Both children enjoyed working at the Alone Table where they matched insect x-rays to the picture cards.

For snack, we also really got a kick out of eating "worms" and "dirt!"  You can't go camping without getting a bit dirty!  But thankfully this dirt was totally edible and super yummy: chocolate pudding, crushed oreo cookies, and gummy worms.

Camping, however, usually includes eating fun snacks and meals!  Although we didn't have a real fire to make foil dinners, roast hot dogs, or fire up a s'more, we did do s'mores in the microwave for snack one day, and they were super yummy!

We also worked some literacy and math into making trail mix.  Sometimes you hike when you are camping, and taking trail mix with you on the trail is a good idea.  We used a pretty fancy recipe to mix up our trail mix!  ;)  Stir it up!  Fill your bag!  And now we are ready to hit the trails!

Let's Go Camping!

Family trips are done and it's time for Harmony's House to resume the summer session!  Yes!  We are starting a new theme: Camping!  (Ms. Harmony is obviously very excited.  She has spent quite a bit of time changing out each area with new things.)

Ms. Harmony built this awesome "tent" in the Book Area, so school friends can grab a book about forest animals or insects, roll out a sleeping bag, and get reading!

We've got forest animals, awesome tree blocks, rocks, fabric squares, and more in the Block Area.  School friends typically love using the tree blocks to build forest homes or tree houses for the animals and people.

We've got soft forest animals, a ranger, and pet carriers in the House Area in case any animals need to go see the veterinarian.  The doctor's kits, notepads, and phones are still in the house area so any doctoring can continue to happen. 

When you go camping, there're going to be bugs!  Check out the bug world we've got in the Explore Table.  Bugs are hiding out all over in the sand, under logs, and in the plants!  Use those tweezers and carefully find and collect all those bugs!

Even the Toy and Puzzle Area has forest animals, trees, and Native Americans to make a small world forest, not to mention the Lincoln Logs to build cabins and a silly "Skunk in the Campground" game!

Now we just need the school friends!  Welcome back!  :D