Lakeside School at Black Kettle Farm offers birth –3rd grade education and Farm and Forest Summer Camp based on the Waldorf philosophy on a working farm in Essex, NY.

Out and About With the Sprouts!

By Gina Minessale, Sprouts Teacher

As the days get shorter, nights get longer and shooting stars zoom across the sky, I think about the inevitable freezing temperatures and feel a sense of expansion. While the plants and animals are laying low for winter, there is a sense of growth in the Sprouts children that can be described as magical! Their capacities have grown tremendously since the start of school just two short months ago. When the young child feels loved, warm, full, comfortable, and acknowledged, the door to becoming a confident incarnated spirit opens. The sprouts program is designed to nourish these life senses.

Our day begins with the children entering the warm and welcoming farmhouse.  The smell of fresh bread permeates throughout our classroom, which has been altered into an obstacle course. Small tree stumps are placed in an array that require the children to leap and stretch to reach the other. The youngest sprouts use both hands and legs to navigate across, where a large rocker board is flipped over and transformed into a “ladder bridge.” Following the descent down, a big jump onto carpet where a large blue play silk lay like the ocean floor finishes up the route. The children light up with joy, having completed the course, and happily scurry along to the beginning to start again!

While offering a hand for assistance across a “tippy” stump, I see two older children who have moved onto cooking breakfast for both myself and their fellow classmates. I thank them for their kindness and delicious treats and watch as the others naturally follow suit. At this time, I softly whisper the familiar phrase, “knicker-knacker time,” and the children gather at our teeny table almost instantaneously. I pass out a handful of sesame sticks and a clump of raisins to each of them. They begin to munch and crunch

and patiently wait for their turn to pour water from the tiny teacup size pitcher. I take a big breath in and admire their fine motor skills in action. Once bellies are full and palettes are wet, we work together to put our things away. I softly sing, “Tick tock goes the clock, what does it say? Now it’s time, time for us, to put our things away.” The older children begin putting away whatever toys they may be holding, while the younger ones require an object to be placed in their hand to get them moving. I continue to sing until everything in the room is put away. This familiarity allows the young child to breathe into the predictability of the next moment.

We gather on the round carpet for circle time, which consists of the same three songs each day. Even our wee little one is able to join in on the fun by using simple hand gestures! I look in his eyes to acknowledge my recognition of his accomplishment and smile. At that moment, an older child shouts out excitedly “Look! Finn is doing it!”

Immediately following our circle songs we head into the mudroom to get our roasty toasty layers on. During this time, I take the hand of each child and walk them to the bathroom. Pride and a sense of achievement   are common themes that shine throughout our kitchen. We wash up and head out for a great adventure! Up until this point in the year, we’ve traveled out to the orchard, which is just beyond the play yard fence. On exceptionally warm mornings their endurance was tested as we made the trek across the road, past the pole barns and the otter slide to the tumbling hill. Surrounded by milkweed pods and golden rod skeletons, the Sprouts bask in the sunshine, while happily running up and down the hill again and again. I marvel in their sturdiness and decide to venture a little further. On an unseasonably warm autumn morning I decide that today is the day. We take the familiar route past the pole barns, taking a slight right turn rather than continuing straight along the mowed path. The children follow along, trusting the moment. We cross the stream, jumping from stone to stone. I happily extend my hand to each little duckling as they cross and watch their confidence increase. As we enter the forest, I hear the children breathe in deeply and see them looking up at the nearly bare trees that must look like they are hundreds of feet tall to the wee bitty ones. Pine needles cover the forest floor, creating a soft cushion under each step. The children stay close by, but explore all on their own. They rub their hands across the smooth birch tree, pick up pinecones, and toss them about, climb on fallen limbs, and rustle through the crunchy leaves. This is a pure sensory experience. Construction of a small fairy house for the woodland creatures ends our session in the woods for today. It is time to head back to our warm, inviting schoolhouse for lunch.

The children work on taking their layers off while I gather our lunch. When this great feat is complete, they happily enter our classroom to find a hand-washing bowl full of warm, soapy, lavender scented water. One by one they roll their sleeves up high to keep them nice and dry and submerse their fingers, while happily splish- splashing about at their own pace. This experience sets the tone for lunch; calm and peaceful. The children show me how they are ready for their yummy lunch by sitting tall on their stumps. I light our candle as we join hands and sing our blessing. Each child is given a sprouts size bowl that is usually yummed up in no time flat! We stay together at the table until everyone is finished.

Our lunch ends with a trip to the bathroom for some and a diaper change for others. I can feel the need for rest in the air and the children welcome it. One by one they grab their blankets and pillows from the basket and lay down on their sheepskin mats. Within minutes, three of them are off to dream world. As I lay there, I feel a sense of inner peace. All is well in the world.