A day in the life: San Mateo Infant Community

I am spreading jam on bread. 

Moon Festival Preparation - Emeryville, Infant Community

We learned the name of each special food for the Moon Festival.

我們學習中秋節特別的食物名稱

Chestnuts, peanuts,dates...Those foods mean intelligence,long life and happiness.

栗子, 花生（長寿果）, 紅棗, 這些食物是指智力，長壽，幸福

  

A day in the life: San Mateo Children's House

 I'm dusting this plant very carefully.

きょうは、わたしたちがかいたレシピをみながら、ばななブレッドをつくりました。

 We are all working on activities that help build strength and coordination in our hands!

 This table was dirty. I washed it, and after I finished washing it, I wanted to wash another!

 These are 'rainbow letters.' We can fill an entire page writing beautiful cursive letters in lots of different colors!

 Here, would you like this orange juice? I made some for both of us.

Hmmm... which one is heavier?

Moon Festival Preparation - San Mateo

みんなでお月見団子を作るよ。
Let's make otukimi dumplings.

お団子まるめたよ。上手にふくらむかな？

We have prepared the dumplings. When they cook, are they going to get bigger? 

お団子１５個を使って、どうやってピラミッドに積めるかな。

I wonder how we can create a pyramid with 15 dumplings? 

A day in the life: Erdkinder

From 9/10-9/13/2013, the ErdKinder students spent four days working out at Green Oaks Creek Farm, located just south of Pescadero out on the coast. The farm feels like a little slice of paradise, and going to the farm is a foundational aspect of the Erdkinder program. Montessori specified in her work "From Childhood to Adolescence" that the perfect place to run an adolescent program is on a piece of farmland situated between the mountains and the ocean. Green Oaks Creek is as close to the authentic in interpreting Montessori's vision as we could wish to find within striking distance of San Mateo.

Here are some photos from our week on the farm...

The van is loaded before we leave!

Setting up the big tent - it took a LONG time...

Preparing chicken for the grilling over the fire pit ...

Our table set for dinner in the outdoor kitchen

Cleaning up from dinner!

Amending flower beds in the ornamental garden. The dirt was hard and dry and it was extremely demanding work. We learned about NPK and used bone meal, oyster shells and rabbit droppings to fertilize the soil.

The garden (where weddings are held) is starting to look better.

Adding the ground oyster shells and enriching the soil with calcium.

The next day, back to weeding in the fields.

Beautiful produce ready for market.

Resting at the end of a long, hot day.

Picking strawberries as usual...

Some much-needed downtime on the beach!

We found a shrimp!

Dinner over the fire - pork chops!

 It's the big clean-up the morning we leave. Sweeping the outdoor bathroom...

 Scrubbing stove

 Organizing all the toiletries by the tub

 Spider webs - be gone!

 Oops - we broke the counter :( But it's OK. It turns out it was already broken and the farm folks re-glued the crack! Phew!

 Cleaning up "Ralph" the composting toilet

Scrubbing the outdoor vanity

And lastly - feeding all of our compostable/organic food waste to the pigs .. who will soon be....PORK CHOPS!

A day in the life: Emeryville Infant Community

We are ready for work!

お昼ごはんに食べるお野菜を切っているのよ。

 

I'm placing the plates to fit in the lines on the table cloth.

A day in the life: Practical Life Activities in the Emeryville Children's House

Here are some of the Practical Life activities we have been practicing this week in the Children's House...

I am cleaning the leaves of this plant. They were so dusty! I am handling each one carefully and cleaning it as gently as if I were petting a kitten.

I am learning how to wash a table.

I am watering the nasturtiums. I want to be sure that I get every last drop of water out of my watering can for the flowers!

We harvested this yellow carrot from our vegetable garden here at school. I am peeling and slicing it to prepare it for snack.

I am ironing napkins for tomorrow's lunch.