A good winter recipe to use dried or canned fruit when local fresh is not available.

Children begin to develop a sense of cooking and use their hand coordination for cracking eggs, tearing bread, mixing pineapples and eggs.

Wash hands well before and after since it involves raw eggs.

Ingredients:
4 slices of left-over bread broken into cubes (this is how to use the day old or slightly hardened bread leftovers)
1 can of pineapple tidbits or chunks in its own juice (organic preferred)
½ stick of butter or margarine melted (or oil substitute for non-dairy)
3 eggs (free-range organic of course)
Optional: other fruits can also be added such as dried sweetened cranberries, raisins or dried cherries.

1. Melt butter in casserole dish.
2. Fluff bread pieces around in butter until lightly coated.
3. Add can of pineapple tidbits and juice.
4. Add three beaten eggs.
5. Mix around until all bread is well soaked.
6. Optional: sprinkle cinnamon sugar on top before baking
7. Bake in 350 Degree oven for 45 minutes or until top is beginning to turn golden.

Serve warm.  Can top with milk (or almond or soy milk), whipped cream, or ice cream if you want to go all out!

Wow! Today has been an eventful day! This morning we welcomed two former
tadpoles into our frog class! We are excited for them in this new step of their
journey at Frog Pond. We welcomed them with music and with frog crowns
to replace their tadpole tails.

For small group time some of the children made surprises to send home in
the mail! They will be delivering it to the mailbox on Thursday. The other
small group read a story called The Giant Hug and acted it out. In this
story, a boy wants to send his grandma a hug through the mail, and each
successive mail carrier passes along his hug, until the last mail carrier
gives the boy’s grandma a hug. The children really enjoyed it, and learned
what happens to mail at the same time!

We also had a special visit from a doctor today! One student’s mother
volunteered to talk about what she does as a pediatrician. She showed many
of the tools she uses in her work, and even let the children try them out
on themselves and each other! It was great fun, and very informative!

Toad Mountain was a busy place this morning as many frogs ran and played!
With increasing enrollment and tadpoles becoming frogs, we had many more
frogs than usual, and it was exciting! It was interesting to watch the
social dynamics as the newer frogs tried to find their place. There
were tag games going on, and pretend play. Children were swinging and
digging, jumping on stumps, playing football, and building with PVC pipes
and joints. The children had a grand time on this beautiful day!

This mornings centers were letter-making, ice with arctic animals, party
dress-up, and building with natural materials. The children also enjoyed
dancing and making music in the back room (as they always do.)!

In short, there was a lot of busy-ness happening, and everyone loved it!

Sincerely,
Diana

Join us for an open house on Saturday, February 25th at 9 a.m.

Prospective families, curious community members, one and all … please plan to join us on Saturday, February 25th for an open house at Frog Pond.

Frog Pond is a year-round, full-day, inclusive early learning center for children from 18 months to pre-kindergarten that is dedicated to working families.

Come and learn about  our …

• Curriculum rich in science and nature study — and dedicated science teacher!
• Natural environment on two acres of land adjoining Huntley Meadows Wildlife Refuge.
• Mini-farm with goats, chickens and native creatures.
• Healthy and nutritious foods, including fresh-made meals; fresh fruits and vegetables; whole grain snacks; organic milk and cheese; and more.

We are currently enrolling through the fall.Full-time and part-time options (based on whole day, up to 10 hours per day. No part-day options available).

Hope to see you there!

The landscapes and living things in natural communities near Frog Pond are important parts of our community and heritage.

We missed taking our usual nature hikes in November and December, so when we resumed the walks in January it felt like coming home after a long trip. The children looked for familiar landmarks and we noticed lots of changes. There are colored flags marking off plants in the forest, and dead trees and invasive vines have been cut as the park staff go about their “community helper” work to preserve the park and keep it safe.

When we reached the boardwalk we noticed immediately that the beavers have been gnawing on trees in a new area, close to the beginning of the Heron Trail. The wetland was transformed by ice in early January. The frogs and turtles, and even water birds were out of sight. There is a new beaver dam too, at this end of the boardwalk. When we checked out the big beaver lodge it seemed deserted, until Nikhil spotted 2 muskrats swimming under the ice, into the lodge. We will all hold the image of those slender, furry bodies wriggling under the rigid ice for years to come.

Have the beavers built a new house, we wondered?  Beavers move up and downstream as the food supply (young trees) dwindles.  Muskrats eat grasses, not trees, so perhaps they have opportunistically taken over the old lodge, since their renewable food source is still plentiful.

A week later the ice had all melted and many Canada geese had moved into the area. They seemed so peaceful, gabbling quietly and poking their beaks deep into the mud in search of green shoots. A small flock rose suddenly from the water and flew over us, so graceful and surprising—another breathtaking memory.

Young squirrels chasing and wrestling on the tree trunks, the downy woodpecker Jeremy spotted on a dead tree near “Goat Alley”, chickadees and titmice taking turns flitting to our feeder, red cardinals bright against the sky and wriggling worms blending invisibly in the dirt—all of these images belong to Frog Pond’s children. And because they have had these experiences they will remember and know that, while all things change, wild creatures and wild places are important and need to be protected.

Science Sarah

Today was a beautiful day for enjoying the outdoors, and that is exactly what we did! Half the class went to Huntley Meadows this morning, while the other group had small group time and played on Toad Mountain. From what I understand, the Huntley Meadows group saw a lot of Canadian Geese, as well as two ducks, possibly mallards. They enjoyed the walk and came back worn out.

For small group at Frog Pond, we read a book called The Keeping Quilt. It talked about a quilt that was special to an immigrant family from Russia. Then we cut out squares for our own quilt… to be decorated at home. We then enjoyed the great outdoors at Toad Mountain! The children dug in the muddy digging pit, played on swings and; monkey bars, etc. We also took a little time to watch the bird feeder that was placed in the meadow, just on the other side of the fence from Toad Mountain. We saw and heard some chicadees! We used my bird field guide to identify them. The children played their own running games, and then of couse, we all played Turtle Flop.

It was such a glorious day today that we decided to have a picnic outside! So the children all ate together outside and played some afterwards, before coming in for table toys. During table toys time, we played a variation of the animal habitats game. This was a “race to the finish” type of board game that required drawing a card from the pile and identifying whether an animal was a mammal, fish, bird, amphibian, reptile, insect, or arachnid. Once that was determined, The child would move his/her marker to the next space depicting that type of animal. We talked about the different coverings those animals had, such as scales, fur, feathers, wet skin, etc. Some of the children really caught on to identifying what types the animals were!

This morning’s centers were stringing beads, rice with cooking utensils, occupational dress-up, and building things with junk. One child built a very creative garbage machine. Others really enjoyed cooking things with rice, using muffin tins, egg beaters, funnels, bowls, etc. Some of them also had a great time playing doctor, using doctor toys and helping a “sick” child. We also enjoyed music time, singing and dancing to silly songs.

Diana Lead Frog Teacher

During small group time today, one group learned about their hearts by doing exercises and using a stethoscope, the same activity a different group did yesterday. They had a great time! Another group learned about how their noses spread germs! They mixed white, yellow, and green paint to make “mucous.” Then they went around the room, touching things and playing with toys, while their hands were covered in “mucous.” What a mess they made! They cleaned it all up with warm water and soap and sponges in the media table.

Outdoors today some children expressed an interest in drawing on the tunnel walls. So we got out the chalk and let them have at it! Some children extended their artwork to some wood panels and other playground equipment. They were decorating for a pretend bubblegum festival. They are pretty resourceful people! The rule for chalk was that each child could have only one piece at a time. So, several children each got one piece of a different color, and pooled their resources so several colors were available, and they didn’t have to go running back and forth!

Other frogs rediscovered the joy of sliding down the slides on Toad Mountain. They tried going down many different ways, including sideways, backwards, upside-down, on their tummies, etc. Then they made it a dirt slide by sliding down with rocks and dirt! Other frogs challenged themselves on the hand-over-hand bars. They loved the challenge of height and skill, with the safety of a teacher there to catch them if they fell. Some frogs finally roped me into playing turtle and chipmunk flop–again! Others wrote stories which we then acted out on Story Mountain. One was about Skooby-Doo, and the other about a girl and her adventures.

We danced to silly songs after breakfast again this morning. They enjoy getting out their wiggles in this way! Centers this morning were glue with craft sticks and scraps, sand with animals, woodland stuffed animals, and colored blocks. It was another fabulous and beautiful day!

This month as we talk about heritage and honoring our ancestors, I highlight the Four Directions in order to draw us to the heritage of our school’s founder, Pam Tinker ~ Mother Duck. Her unconventional ways and commitment to a nature-based, family-focused, inclusive early learning center is partially based in Cherokee teachings. It is from those teachings that we incorporate a “pre-school version” of the Four Directions. There are many variations of Medicine Wheels and sacred colors of the Four Directions that we have not integrated so bear in mind that this is the Four Directions: “Pre-school style!”

The Four Directions are so important to our culture at Frog Pond that we have decided this year to root our Job Descriptions in this philosophy. Personally, every time I step foot on the property, I recognize the energy of each of the Four Directions, which are East, South, West and North. To summarize the energy of the Four Directions, we equate East with Inspiration, South with Focus, West with Celebration and North with Wisdom. No matter what time of day, what the weather is doing or what is happening on the property, when I think of Frog Pond, I ask myself, are we balanced in each of the Four Directions?

Starting in the Direction East, we have Inspiration. This addresses whether or not our School Family is connecting with original ideas, child-passions and using the natural environment to inform our experiences both collectively and individually.

An example that often matters most to families is the notion of the Energy of South, which is Focus. This energy includes basic safety, “grounding” and a sense of ritual, routine, and certainty. Each staff member is reminded through this energy to be watchful of the children, mindful of individual child development and accountable for even the simple things like clocking in and out on time and preparing food to regulation standards. Focus energy also answers questions like, “Are we safe?” and “Are we true to ourselves?”

The Direction West addresses our ability to include aspects of Celebration which is reflected in our Winter Solstice, Grandmother Oak Tree and Graduation gatherings on an annual basis but is also present in the daily life such as how we celebrate signs of a new season in nature.

Finally, the Direction North is how we integrate it all into Wisdom. While this comes with age and experience, Wisdom also comes with setting intentions and allowing ourselves to apply all experience to the greater good. Conscious Discipline is present in the North Energy as we address the “whole child.” Even this newsletter and this article represent the Energy of the North, as it is through sharing and ritual that we connect our ideas into the “big picture.”

On a larger scale, I sometimes have conversations with families and afterwards think, “That was an East experience” or the other day, when I saw that our van was being serviced by a member of the Frog Pond Family I thought, “That is support for Southward energy right there!” Even while preparing this article, I was visiting with a mother whose passion for Frog Pond is almost always representative of the East energy. We are all responsible for the balance that we find here at Frog Pond and this could not be possible without honoring the heritage of our founder who initiated this teaching 14 years ago.

Here in 2012, we are all a part of the Frog Pond ancestry: the staff, your children, our animals, and the land. What is happening at Frog Pond is becoming increasingly balanced and truly magical. We know that the goal is not to complete the vision of Mother Duck or any one person. The goal is to embrace a community perspective of nature-based learning, School Family and connecting with the Earth. So, this month and every month, we remember where we came from and how it shapes our direction… may we always be extending and investing in all Four Directions, equally and passionately.

Gail
Director of School Family/Center Operations

Today was another fun day at the Pond! In small group some of the children helped Science Sarah make pine cone bird feeders to hang on the trees outside. Hopefully we’ll  be able to attract and start identifying many different birds! They also boiled a type of animal fat called suet and made mini-muffin-size cakes of suet and birdseed.

The other group acted out a firefighter scenario, in which some children were residents at the loft house in the back room. Their house caught on fire and they had to call 911. The rest of us in the group were firefighters and drove there in our truck to rescue the people and put out the fire. It was great fun! The children learned the procedure for calling 911 as well. Now would be a great time to help your child memorize his/her address and phone numbers.

Outdoors we found all kinds of ice and icicles! I took down a ton of them from the outdoor classroom roof and barn roof for safety reasons. The children loved handling, observing, and even tasting the ice! They also finished the suet cakes outdoors. They played chasing games and other exciting things.

Diana,
Lead Frog Teacher

Today the Tadpoles watched a video of firefighters putting out a small fire. They also played with musical toys, farm animals, and barns. They danced around to music and popped bubble wrap. At different times throughout the day 4 different Tadpoles were singing and dancing to their own tune. It made me smile every time.

Outside, the Tadpoles played follow the leader, pushed each other in a small wagon, and played in the houses. At one point, a few Tadpole had moved the castle/slide next to the window of a house and climbed through the window to slide down the castle.

Inside, the Tadpoles played with babydolls and animals. They also talked about what they were thankful for with each other.

Heather,
Lead Tadpole Teacher

A favorite from Easy Vegan Cooking: Over 350 Delicious Recipes for Every Occasion by Leah Leneman.

This is great for children who cannot have eggs or dairy.  With a gluten free flour substitution it could be gluten free also.

Apple Coffee Cake
Topping:
½ cup raw cane sugar
I tsp cinnamon
2 tbs. vegan margarine
3 tbs. whole wheat flour

Cake:
2 cups whole wheat flour
Pinch sea salt
4 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
⅓ cup raw cane sugar
1 ⅓ cups soya milk
4 tbs. vegetable oil
¾ lb. apples

1)     Mix the topping ingredients in a small bowl until crumbly and set aside.
2)     Mix the flour, salt, baking powder, soda, and sugar in a bowl.  Stir in the milk and oil.  Spoon into a greased pan.
3)     Peel, core and slice the apples. Press them on top of the batter.  Sprinkle with the topping.
4)     Bake at 350 F for about half an hour.

Have a great kid-friendly recipe to share. Please tell us about it in the comments.