“O, the kind, loving Frost Fairies!”

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“They flew to the trees and decked every bough with leaves of lace.  They covered every plant in the garden, even the weeds and grasses, with their wonderful feathery blossoms.”

-Alice J. Patterson; “The Outlook”

photo courtesy of Asheville Citizen Times

It has been a very warm and cozy week here at home….and I am hopeful that it has been in your homes as well!   We are looking very forward to being back in class next week…..but what a delight to us all to have been treated with such generosity by these Frost Fairies! 

With much ❤ to you and yours,

Michelle

New Year, Familiar Light

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Jack Frost is very small

I am sure he’s out today.

And he’s busy pinching me

When I go out to play.

Jack Frost, he pinched my fingers,

Jack Frost, he pinched my toes.

So I ran into the house and I shut the door,

And that little Jack Frost couldn’t pinch me anymore.

-M.T.  Schunemann

 

It is official.  The Second Semester of the School Year is underway.  Things had been very quiet around Grow with Me for a few weeks (3 weeks, 4 days to be exact) since dimissing on December 9th for Holiday Break.  I had been longing to get back to the classroom with all of the children as there are just so many things to do!  We have begun a new year—2011—but a lot of familiarity is still held in our classroom for our Kindergarten children.

This Semester started on January 4th and was ushered in with a lot of sun and warmth (it was balmy compared the all of the snow and frigid weather that we had during the Holidays).  We had three new faces join us on the first day back and I am amazed at how quickly everyone has fallen into rhythm.  We revisted the verses and songs that we left off with during the last week of school in December and I was so excited that everyone had remembered the words and movement over the break! 

This week our theme was Jack Frost and the older children focused on the letter “J”…we spent our days building snowmen with our beeswax, cutting out snowflakes for our windows, watercoloring with blue (which is the color of the Jack Frost clouds I have been told), making cranberry orange muffins, rolling Flax Whole Wheat Bread  Dough into snowmen, Jack Frost clouds, and the letter “J” and then baking it all for a nice yummy snack!  I told and illustrated the old folktale of “Why the Evergreen Trees Keep Their Leaves” on the chalkboard with the children retelling it to each other on Thursday.

There are many, many things to come this Semester…it’s a new, yet familiar, start.  So many things remain the same…but, just as the outside world has been renewed with gaining light and life…we have been as well.  Here’s to a wonderful start to the New Year…may you and yours find growth within your own life light!   

Cheers,

Michelle

P.S.  For those that might be curious, here is the recipe that we used in class this week…

Cranberry Orange Muffins (family recipe)

preheat oven to 400 degrees (you will bake for 15-20 minutes)

2c            flour

3/4c       sugar

1t             baking powder

1/2t        baking soda

1/2t       salt

1c           cranberries

1             egg

3/4c     orange juice

1/4c     oil

1t           orange rind

 

 

 

It’s almost Winter!

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Brrr……..

The little winds they whisper,
They whisper as they pass.
They tell their tiny secrets to the flowers and the grass.
The big winds go a buffeting and blustering about.
The little winds they whisper,
But the BIG WINDS SHOUT!
~M T Schunemann

The children in class have thoroughly enjoyed this verse during circle time over the past couple of weeks. It’s amazing to me that a few months have already passed since the start of the school year. It seems like the first day of school was just here!

Our Kindergarten class has been very busy with everything from baking pies, muffins, breads to making gnomes, shields, wands, clove oranges to visiting Sky Top Orchards, Hickory Nut Gap Farm, Looking Glass Creamery to attending the local Michaelmas festival to having our own potlucks, lantern walks, etc. PHEW!

It’s been busy in our classroom…the settling in to our classroom rhythms during the first month or so, rekindling and creating new friendships, free play, watercoloring, coloring, seasonal crafts, festivals, & field trips.

It’s been a busy season in our classroom just as it has in the outside world with birds migrating, squirrels and chipmunks scurrying about to gather their winters meals, leaves tumbling, skies darkening.

But just as the outside world has started to get a bit quieter…just as the outside world has started to slow down and retreat inwards for the pending winter…the children in class have as well.

During this season of retreating inward I would like to remind you of the light that which will carry us
through the darker days ahead. There are many things—large and small that
will hold the light for our class through the next few months and I am looking forward to it with delight….

Here’s to cherishing and celebrating every moment of light in the upcoming season!

Warmly,
Michelle
(Kindergarten Teacher at GWM)

My

Hickory Nut Gap Farm

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Today our Kindergarten class visited Hickory Nut Gap Farm for apple tasting, crafts, animal visiting and a corn maze. We also celebrated one of our students sixth birthday! Then we headed to Looking Glass Creamery for a short tour and visit with Tess and Vivi, the mascot goats, and the faithful guard dogs, Moses and Bella. After a run through the field with the chickens, we walked down the road to our of our families homes to have a picnic and play time. Perfect autumn weather and so much fun it was hard to leave!

Michaelmas 

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We ushered in autumn at Luther Ridge with fellow Waldorf community members.  There were crafts available (wet felted comets and fairy looms), apple cider pressing, a puppet show and a circle dance to tame the dragon.  And Mother Nature’s concert of thunder and rain to play in harmony with the battle.  When the rain passed, the children enjoyed the puddles to the fullest.  Thanks to the friends who gave so much to bring a beautiful, magical celebration to us.  Blessings to all!

Limited space available

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As we approach our class start date, Sept. 7, we are happy to welcome new families into our community. We do have some limited availability for enrollment. The Preschool class is still accepting girls 3 & 4 years old, and the Kindergarten class has only two spaces for either a boy or girl 5-6 yo. If you would like more information or would like to visit our space and meet some of the parents and teachers, leave us a comment and we’ll get in touch!

Enrolling for fall-Waldorf inspired Kindergarten

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Welcome!  We have enjoyed the Grow with Me Learning Co-op and are so happy to share it!  The Kindergarten program is quite special…we have created a beautiful space to nurture our 4 1/2-6yos in a magical way.  We are the only cooperative that has a strong Waldorf influence and we follow the Oak Meadow K curriculum, which does lend itself to preparation for schooling in many methods.  I think this class is the perfect solution for someone who is looking for a gentle transition to group schooling, who is homeschooling but would love to have support and community (especially with multiple children), who is interested in the Waldorf model and who wants this at a reasonable cost, who turns 5 after Aug. & misses the new age “cut off” for kindergarten, or who really wants to be present with their children in their learning environment without all the responsibility of planning & executing. 
GWM is a community of young children and parents, seeking to create a cooperative learning program that facilitates social, spiritual, emotional, physical, and intellectual growth in a loving, supportive atmosphere. We nurture a respect for self, others, and nature while providing a safe environment for our children to stretch their imaginations and to explore their interests.

We offer a unique program with trained teachers leading the classes and parents rotating as assistants.  Quality programming, natural materials, invested caregivers, affordable tuition, and exceptional classroom and outdoor play space conveniently located in East Asheville.  We draw inspiration from the Waldorf model of education, following the values of Reverence, Repetition, and Rhythm.
 
Tuesdays, Wednesdays, & Thursdays……9:00-1:00
Tuition: $175/month
Application fee: $25, One time materials fee, $50
Parent commitment:  working 3-4 mornings/month and serving on a committee
Email us at growwithmecooperative@yahoo.com or leave us a message in the comments for more info!
Sonya

May Faire on the horizon

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Join us for May Faire, Sunday, May 23 2-5 p.m. at The Unity Center in Fletcher
•Live Music, Food, & Fun! •Crafting Activities for Children•Shop the handmade Toy & Craft Market•Join in May Pole Dancing•Silent Auction Benefit•Activities for the Whole Family…only $3/family

If you have something to donate to our silent auction, the proceeds will directly benefit our sweet co-op school, Grow With Me, and you will have an opportunity to market to a large group. Please get in touch with us by May 16 if you are willing to donate and we will happily pick up the item and any marketing materials you may want to accompany the display. Feel free to think outside the box…a few hours of childcare, handmade toys, & gift certificates would be big hits! And most of all, we hope that you will join us for the May Faire event!

If you’re interested in selling items in the craft market and would like to rent a table please contact Kate Reese,moonhawk38@yahoo. com.

Preschool Open House

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Hello all Mamas, Papas, and little children!

We wanted to let you know that our Spring Open House at Grow With Me (Preschool Classroom) will be occuring on Monday, April 12th from 9:30AM until 11:30AM. Everyone is invited to stop by and get a feel for what Grow With Me has to offer!

The classroom will be open for free play and will also have some special play centers set up to give the little ones a taste of what part of our day is like. Our teacher, Sarah Justice, will also be on hand along with some of our currently enrolled families to assist you with any questions you have about our program (there will also be a Kindergarten representative on hand to show you the K classroom and answer any questions)!

 For those of you who don’t know about our program, Grow With Me is waldorf-inspired learning cooperative located in East Asheville. We operate on a Tuesday, Wednesday Thursday schedule from 9am-12:30pm and require that parents are scheduled to work in the classroom 2 days per month minimum. While at school, the children flow in and out of the daily rhythms which may include free play, circle time, centers, baking, bread making, snack, outdoor play/exploration, creative movement, music, story times, and lunch.

Grow With Me Pre-K has a ratio of 1:4 (one teacher, 2 parents) and caps it’s enrollment at 12 students per classroom. If we sound like a good fit for your family or you have additional questions or curiousities, stop by during the Open House or email (we are always open to having prospective families schedule visits during our regular school days)! We would love to meet you and get you acquainted with OUR family at GWM!

 Until then, Michelle Gullage Membership Coordinator, Grow With Me growwithmecooperative@yahoo.com 828-713-5261

Growing with my children

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What a blessing this co-op has been to my family.  I have had the opportunity for almost 3 years to have two different children attend Grow with Me.  I have seen my girls grow in sweet and lovely ways…ways that could have only come about by joining a community of like minded families.  I was able to gently transition from our experience at home where I was with them pretty much 24/7, to a setting where there are loving families who became like our extended family.  All the while, I was able to be in the classroom to support my kids and to be a part of their learning process.  This was an extension of our home life, which gave my children a chance to ease into an experience with new caregiviers. 

The best part of this model is being in the classroom with my children, seeing the wonder through their eyes.  Giving them opportunities to nurture their imaginations, to learn about relationships and communication, to play and have fun and explore with beautiful, natural materials.  And one of the best parts is that we have professional teachers who are planning activities and leading the class with great care.  So I don’t have to be the best teacher to provide the best environment for my child.  And I don’t have to completely remove myself from my child’s school experience.  I can have both!  And now, I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Sonya