On Monday:
Some children have taken the habit upon arrival to set up their "kingdoms" and acting out stories. It is always so nice to observe what they come up with and I always feel sorry when it is time to clean up to see them taken apart.
We started the week celebrating Grounhog day: If a grounhog is spotted that day and if we see it's shadow, winter will stay for another 6 weeks...Luckily the grounhogs are still asleep and so all the hopes are permitted.
However , we played with shadows: drawing the shadows from our" grounhog box" and drawing our own shadows and coloring them. Some of the children really loved that activity and kept wanting to repeat it on the other days.
On Tuesday:
We baked some bread in honour of St Brigid. We made some beautiful braids, at least , those who were interested to do so. For some it was more fun to explore doing a pumpkin bread. Why not?
We also did some exploration with red watercolors in preparation for our valentine post office.
"Rouge, rouge, rouge,
C'est la couleur que j'aime!
Rouge, rouge, rouge,
Mon pull et mon bonnet.
Oui, c'est le rouge , ma couleur preferee
Car mon meilleur ami est un pompier..."
We shared rice galettes for lunch along with some vegetables and dip. (Recipe to come)
In the afternoon we drew more body shadows and finished other ongoing projects.
Aniela brought in two of her eight puppies. The puppies had a hard time to stand on their feet on the concrete floor. But they are so cute. Anybody interested in puppies?
On Wednesday:
We honoured St Brigid again. She is known to always been followed by her white cow. So we made butter from whipping cream in a glass jar with four marbles. The children took turn shaking the jar while singing:
Come , butter, come
Come, butter, come
Charlie is waitng for a buttered bread
Come, butter, come.
We did painting again for the children who didn't yet and Marina and Louve did some for the children who missed coming this week.
In the afternoon, I got my sewing machine out and we completed Frederic's pillows. The children were thrilled.
Our circle time , instead of being of a whole "journey" was more a compilation of different games and role playing.
In a winter garden
All covered with snow
Little seeds are sleeping deep below (some children are sleeping seeds)
Here come the children one by one.
Walking in the garden quietly (some children walk in the garden)
Look out!
Look out!
Jack Frost is about! (Jacky Frost runs around trying to tag the children and freezes them)
Look out!
Look Out!
Look Out!
Jack frost is about! (repeat until all the children are frozen
Father Sun come warm us with your gentle rays (Father sun comes out , chases Jacky Frost away and melts the ice from the children)
Father Sun come warm us with your gentle rays (Father sun comes out , chases Jacky Frost away and melts the ice from the children)
Make sure that Jacky Frost won't come out to play!
Who was wearing an old hat, an old hat, an old hat?
Who was wearing an old hat?
The snowman in the yard!
(The snowman is getting dressed while we repeat with other clothing items: warm mittens, long scarf, holding an old broom, wearing a carrot nose!) 
Did you recognize Charlie?
Did you recognize Charlie?A tisket, a tasket
A little round basket!
I sent a letter to my love
And on the way I lost it, I lost it...
A little puppy picked it up
And put it in his pocket.
And you won't catch me, and you wont't catch me....
Brother come and dance with me
Both my hands I offer thee
Right foot first
Left foot then (I changed it to have them going with:
One foot first
The other then...We will work on right and left maybe later...)
Round and round, and back again.
With your foot you tap, tap, tap
With your foot you tap, tap, tap
With your hand you clap, clap, clap
Round and round,...
With your head you nick, nick, nick
With your finger you tick, tick, tick
Round and round...
And for storytime we told a story which ended up being told as a shadow puppet play. Next week, if the sun is cooperating, I will have the children play it out with the shadow puppets.Here is the version I got inspired from:
All Stories are Anansi's
In the beginning, all tales and stories belonged to Nyame, the Sky God. But Kwaku Anansi, the spider, yearned to be the owner of all the stories known in the world, and he went to Nyame and offered to buy them.
The Sky God said: "I am willing to sell the stories, but the price is high. Many people have come to me offering to buy, but the price was too high for them. Rich and powerful families have not been able to pay. Do you think you can do it?"
Anansi replied to the Sky God: "I can do it. What is the price?"
"My price is three things," the Sky God said. "I must first have Mmoboro, the hornets. I must then have Onini, the great python. I must then have Osebo, the leopard. For these thing I will sell you the right to tell all the stories."
Anansi said: "I will bring them."
He went home and made his plans. He first cut a gourd from a vine and made a small hole in it. He took a large bowl and filled it with water. He went to the tree where the hornets lived. He poured some of the water over himself, so that he was dripping. He threw some water over the hornets, so that they too were dripping. Then he put the bowl on his head, as thought to protect himself from a storm, and called out to the hornets: "Are you foolish people? Why do you stay in the rain that is falling?"
The hornets answered: "Where shall we go?"
"Go here, in this dry gourd," Anansi told them.
The hornets thanked him and flew into the gourd through the small hole. When the last of them had entered, Anansi plugged the hole with a ball of grass, saying: "Oh, yes, but you are really foolish people!"
He took his gourd full of hornets to Nyame, the Sky God. The Sky God accepted them. He said: "There are two more things."
Anansi returned to the forest and cut a long bamboo pole and some strong vines. Then he walked toward the house of Onini, the python, talking to himself. He seemed to be talking about an argument with his wife. He said: "My wife is wrong. I say he is longer and stronger. My wife says he is shorter and weaker. I give him more respect. She gives him less respect. Is she right or am I right? I am right, he is longer. I am right, he is stronger."
When Onini, the python, heard Anansi talking to himself, he said: "Why are you arguing this way with yourself?"
The spider replied: "Ah, I have had a dispute with my wife. She says you are shorter and weaker than this bamboo pole. I say you are longer and stronger."
Onini said: "It's useless and silly to argue when you can find out the truth. Bring the pole and we will measure."
So Anansi laid the pole on the ground, and the python came and stretched himself out beside it.
"You seem a little short," Anansi said.
The python stretched further.
"A little more," Anansi said.
"I can stretch no more," Onini said.
"When you stretch at one end, you get shorter at the other end," Anansi said. "Let me tie you at the front so you don't slip."
He tied Onini's head to the pole. Then he went to the other end and tied the tail to the pole. He wrapped the vine all around Onini, until the python couldn't move.
"Onini," Anansi said, "it turns out that my wife was right and I was wrong. You are shorter than the pole and weaker. My opinion wasn't as good as my wife's. But you were even more foolish than I, and you are now my prisoner."
Anansi carried the python to Nyame, the Sky God, who said: "There is one thing more."
Osebo, the leopard, was next. Anansi went into the forest and dug a deep pit where the leopard liked to walk. He covered it with small branches and leaves and put dust on it, so that it was impossible to tell where the pit was. Anansi went away and hid. When Osebo came prowling in the black of night, he stepped into the trap Anansi had prepared and fell to the bottom. Anansi heard the sound of the leopard falling and he said: "Ah, Osebo, you are half-foolish!"
When morning came, Anansi went to the pit and saw the leopard there.
"Osebo," he asked, "what are you doing in this hole?"
"I have fallen into a trap," Osebo said. "Help me out."
"I would gladly help you," Anansi said. "But I'm sure that if I bring you out, I will have no thanks for it. You will get hungry, and later on you will be wanting to eat me and my children."
"I promise it won't happen!" Osebo said.
"Very well. Since you promise it, I will take you out," Anansi said.
He bent a tall green tree toward the ground, so that it's top was over the pit, and he tied it that way. Then he tied a rope to the top of the tree and dropped the other end of it into the pit.
"Tie this to your tail," he said.
Osebo tied the rope to his tail.
"Is it well tied?" Anansi asked.
"Yes, it is well tied," the leopard said.
"In that case," Anansi said, "you are not merely half-foolish, you are all-foolish."
And he took his knife and cut the other rope, the one that held the tree bowed to the ground. The tree straightened up with a snap, pulling Osebo out of the hole. He hung in the air head downward, twisting and turning. As he twisted and turned, he got so dizzy that Anansi had no trouble tying the leopard's feet with vines.
Anansi took the dizzy leopard, all tied up, to Nyame, the Sky God, saying: "Here is the third thing. Now I have paid the price."
Nyame said to him: "Kwaku Anansi, great warriors and chiefs have tried, but they have been unable to do it. You have done it. Therefore, I will give you the stories. From this day onward, all stories belong to you. Whenever a man tells a story, he must acknowledge that it is Anansi's tale."
And that is why, in parts of Africa, the people love to tell, and love to hear, the stories they call "spider stories." And now, you have heard one too.
In the beginning, all tales and stories belonged to Nyame, the Sky God. But Kwaku Anansi, the spider, yearned to be the owner of all the stories known in the world, and he went to Nyame and offered to buy them.
The Sky God said: "I am willing to sell the stories, but the price is high. Many people have come to me offering to buy, but the price was too high for them. Rich and powerful families have not been able to pay. Do you think you can do it?"
Anansi replied to the Sky God: "I can do it. What is the price?"
"My price is three things," the Sky God said. "I must first have Mmoboro, the hornets. I must then have Onini, the great python. I must then have Osebo, the leopard. For these thing I will sell you the right to tell all the stories."
Anansi said: "I will bring them."
He went home and made his plans. He first cut a gourd from a vine and made a small hole in it. He took a large bowl and filled it with water. He went to the tree where the hornets lived. He poured some of the water over himself, so that he was dripping. He threw some water over the hornets, so that they too were dripping. Then he put the bowl on his head, as thought to protect himself from a storm, and called out to the hornets: "Are you foolish people? Why do you stay in the rain that is falling?"
The hornets answered: "Where shall we go?"
"Go here, in this dry gourd," Anansi told them.
The hornets thanked him and flew into the gourd through the small hole. When the last of them had entered, Anansi plugged the hole with a ball of grass, saying: "Oh, yes, but you are really foolish people!"
He took his gourd full of hornets to Nyame, the Sky God. The Sky God accepted them. He said: "There are two more things."
Anansi returned to the forest and cut a long bamboo pole and some strong vines. Then he walked toward the house of Onini, the python, talking to himself. He seemed to be talking about an argument with his wife. He said: "My wife is wrong. I say he is longer and stronger. My wife says he is shorter and weaker. I give him more respect. She gives him less respect. Is she right or am I right? I am right, he is longer. I am right, he is stronger."
When Onini, the python, heard Anansi talking to himself, he said: "Why are you arguing this way with yourself?"
The spider replied: "Ah, I have had a dispute with my wife. She says you are shorter and weaker than this bamboo pole. I say you are longer and stronger."
Onini said: "It's useless and silly to argue when you can find out the truth. Bring the pole and we will measure."
So Anansi laid the pole on the ground, and the python came and stretched himself out beside it.
"You seem a little short," Anansi said.
The python stretched further.
"A little more," Anansi said.
"I can stretch no more," Onini said.
"When you stretch at one end, you get shorter at the other end," Anansi said. "Let me tie you at the front so you don't slip."
He tied Onini's head to the pole. Then he went to the other end and tied the tail to the pole. He wrapped the vine all around Onini, until the python couldn't move.
"Onini," Anansi said, "it turns out that my wife was right and I was wrong. You are shorter than the pole and weaker. My opinion wasn't as good as my wife's. But you were even more foolish than I, and you are now my prisoner."
Anansi carried the python to Nyame, the Sky God, who said: "There is one thing more."
Osebo, the leopard, was next. Anansi went into the forest and dug a deep pit where the leopard liked to walk. He covered it with small branches and leaves and put dust on it, so that it was impossible to tell where the pit was. Anansi went away and hid. When Osebo came prowling in the black of night, he stepped into the trap Anansi had prepared and fell to the bottom. Anansi heard the sound of the leopard falling and he said: "Ah, Osebo, you are half-foolish!"
When morning came, Anansi went to the pit and saw the leopard there.
"Osebo," he asked, "what are you doing in this hole?"
"I have fallen into a trap," Osebo said. "Help me out."
"I would gladly help you," Anansi said. "But I'm sure that if I bring you out, I will have no thanks for it. You will get hungry, and later on you will be wanting to eat me and my children."
"I promise it won't happen!" Osebo said.
"Very well. Since you promise it, I will take you out," Anansi said.
He bent a tall green tree toward the ground, so that it's top was over the pit, and he tied it that way. Then he tied a rope to the top of the tree and dropped the other end of it into the pit.
"Tie this to your tail," he said.
Osebo tied the rope to his tail.
"Is it well tied?" Anansi asked.
"Yes, it is well tied," the leopard said.
"In that case," Anansi said, "you are not merely half-foolish, you are all-foolish."
And he took his knife and cut the other rope, the one that held the tree bowed to the ground. The tree straightened up with a snap, pulling Osebo out of the hole. He hung in the air head downward, twisting and turning. As he twisted and turned, he got so dizzy that Anansi had no trouble tying the leopard's feet with vines.
Anansi took the dizzy leopard, all tied up, to Nyame, the Sky God, saying: "Here is the third thing. Now I have paid the price."
Nyame said to him: "Kwaku Anansi, great warriors and chiefs have tried, but they have been unable to do it. You have done it. Therefore, I will give you the stories. From this day onward, all stories belong to you. Whenever a man tells a story, he must acknowledge that it is Anansi's tale."
And that is why, in parts of Africa, the people love to tell, and love to hear, the stories they call "spider stories." And now, you have heard one too.
(pasta sheets drying a bit befor we make noodles)
and I constructed some giant chopsticks to tell a story about how the gods gave a lesson to the greedy people by serving them the best food with giant chopsticks. The poor folk, could not eat a morsel...while in another room some compassionate people were given the same food with the same chopsticks and managed very well, by feeding each others...Not sure they understood, but they will remember the giant chopsticks...
To the organic herbs I purchased, we added:
while I was preparing a quick fix of Pita Pizzas which we were discussing the topping at snack time. We aggreed on : tomato sauce, pineapple, ham for the non vegetarian,and white cheese which would taste like orange cheese, or soy cheese for the vegetarian. Those were served with sunflower sprouts ( Hey, Laker loved them!) and carrot sticks.
and finished the afternoon sewing Frederick's dream pillow. It was so funny as Marina kept asking me: Are you working? (repeating a sequence from the book). Then some of the children went eagerly drawing. They decided to draw the squirrel in the yard and went back and forth observing the squirrel in the yard and then drawing what they saw. The next morning I showed one of the drawing to Fabienne, who said right away: it is a squirrel!
Then we pretended being little mice and with some baskets we raided the kitchen counter. We were looking for some fats and some food which would give us some quick energy and some slow energy and some food which may make us grow. So in a playful way I introduced the children to the different food categories.
and organic granulated garlic. 
We ended the day reading the book "Frederick" by Leo Lioni about a little mouse who is doing an unusual harvest while her brother and sisters are gathering substantial food for the winter monthes to come... Inspired by the little mouse , we had the little mouse with a colorful tail and a poky nose run through our fabic and started making a dream pillow...The children were enthrilled and hard working...