The day after Election Day, and we had a few no-shows (out too late partying??) at ALG. Daisy summed up yesterday's results at Circle Time: "Barack Obama beat John McCain, and now George Bush has to pack his bags and move out of the White House." Whatever your political bent, you can't argue with that reality.

We expected rain in the afternoon, so much of the morning was spent outdoors, riding bikes, playing monsters, telling stories, and collecting leaves. The weather was pleasant and most kids took jackets off. Inside we played with sand and gravel, read books, jumped off the back table and did somersaults on the mat - don't forget to protect your necks, everyone!

A lovely day, as always.

Storming back after Halloween

Monday, third of November:

A chill was in the air. Wisps of fog draped the bell tower of the Church like Spanish moss on an old oak tree...

Now that I have lost your attention, I am happy to report that today was another resounding success at ALG. First of all, at circle time, we all sang happy birthday to Ellie. Her mom, Carolyn, brought in pumpkin-raisin muffins for everyone (that her dad baked, setting the performance standard fairly high)--and we sang Happy Birthday again. There was a lot of play in the court yard. We moved the plastic houses, drove a 5 chair ambulance, a long ladder firetruck, re-enacted the Three Little Pigs, and took a rocket ship to Planet X.

The usual indoor activities (drawing, tumbling, reading, doing puzzles, building with blocks, playing with cars, trains, clothes, cooking stations.


Bill, Clayton's dad

Tuesday was another good culinary day for ALGers. In the back room we learned about the "good" germ (wheat germ), and ground our own wheat. In the front room Pickett led us in making applesauce -- washing the apples, slicing and then, after they cooked, mashing them. In between, we had a lot of fun playing with Oran and imaginative play as sick boys and girls, ambulance drivers, nurses, doctors, and bouncing kangaroos (come on, think like a four year old!). It was good fun!

Paige (Stella's mom)

Medical education month continued with a visit from Mehul, Sophia's dad, who is the co-directr of the Pain Center at GW Hospital. He brought disposable medical hats, booties, masks, syringes, x-ray images of spinal columns, and his very own skeleton.

All groups spent a lot of time outdoors in the side yard. Much running, hiding, galloping and skipping ensued. A few monsters, unicorns and dragons were also spotted. Deborah and Cara performed head/hair checks on all the kids, looking for pesky lice... Great news... all clear!

Bill Green (Clayton's dad)

A very busy day at ALG! We got messy....hands in dough, hands in pretend germs. We baked spanikopita from scratch. Everyone kneaded the dough. The whole neighborhood experienced a blackout but that did not stop our bakers. The children kept baking by the light of the sun. Molly (Daisy's mom) talked to everyone about her work as a nurse practioner at Children's Hospital. She had everyone cover their hands with vaseline and then they rubbed their hands in oats (pretend germs). Those "germs" are very difficult to wash off unless you scrub. Molly suggested we keep washing our hands until we have finished singing the ABC song. She also told us about really gross things you should not put in your nose or ears. After everyone worked up a healthy appeitite playing outside we ate the spanikopita in the courtyard. It was great and everyone tried this new dish. Many children had seconds and thirds. A great way to get spinach into little tummies!
D'Layne and Sue

A great day at ALG. We played lots with the x-ray machine and also the new ambulances in the block corner (and we made our own ambulances out of cardboard boxes to make sure there were plenty to share). Luckily there were lots of doctors on hand so everybody who felt a bit sick were checked out and fixed up. Lots of fun outside, with taxi rides being offered to the farm.
Chris and Lainie

Today was an outdoor kind of day. The crisp, cool Fall weather had everyone running around as dragons (both good and bad), monsters, and even one coconut. The cool was no match for everyone's shucking of coats, sweatshirts and sweaters in favor of red cheeks and cold hands. Dr Chris (Sage's pop) started us all off with some really cool doctor's tools - and most got an opportunity to have their reflexes, blood pressure, and heartbeat checked out. One doctor-phobe was even won over by Dr. Chris's wonderful bedside manner.

Happy Autumn!

Todd (Henry's dad)

Friday 10/17

Today was Jamie's birthday. Hurray! And to top it off we got to eat delicious muffins. Thanks Jamie and fam.

We played, played, played today! We had a doctor play circle where we introduced the waiting room and clipboard. We also were weighed on a scale. We are learning lots about the components of a doctor's office.

Have a great weekend.

October 16, 2008

Plenty of outside time for everyone today as we raced to beat the rain! Lions and tigers and bears....oh my....were all chased around the side yard. Ducks chased the goose and leaf soup was served in leaves. Back inside we climbed the ladder to see the view from the top. The children built houses, thrones and palaces with big wood blocks. And they jumped and jumped and jumped. Back to the courtyard for riding tricycles and painting with water. The highlight was watching Pickett climb over the fence to return long lost treasures.
A fun time was had by all.
D'Layne

A perfect day to be outside

Today the yellow group took a walk out to Rock Creek Park. The crew climbed over logs and walked down the wooded trail to a clearing to look for deer. Although the deer were nowhere to be found, we saw a daddy-long-leg spider and noticed different types of mushrooms. Along the trail, the group explored the 'fairy house' made by a lean-to structure against the roots of a fallen tree and a moss-carpeted pit.

The red, blue and purple group played outdoors in the side-yard. Writing letters and words in the sandbox and chasing monsters through out he yard.

After all the outdoor play, the children all ate a hearty lunch listened to stories by Jose and Natasha and played legos and blocks.

Wednesday, 10/8/2008

Good times at ALG on this beautiful Fall day. The Purple Group got to take their neighborhood walk today. They took notice of the change of colors in the trees. They even took the time to watch some leaves fall from a tree to the ground. They saw pumpkins, signs and red and purple doors. It was quite an adventure.
In the side yard the children spent lots of time on the run- sometimes even from monsters! Inside the children made biscuits with Pickett. They were delicious. The Red Group noted when they ate the biscuits that there was salt in them. It turns out that some of the Red Group like salt and some do not, but all of the Red Group like the biscuits they made.
The Blue Group read the book "Humble Pie" with Natasha after they ate their "humble biscuits" as one child called them. The Yellow Group enjoyed some down time reading books with Pickett after they filled their bellies with yummy biscuits.
Sarah

Outdoorsy Day

Well - we were outside almost all day......

The blue group started off the morning with a snack and then a hike. Some highlights of the hike include:

- counting the streets / blocks as we walked to Rock Creek Park along with all the pumpkins we saw

- scaling down a hill to a bridge, following signs all the way

- noticed the leaves changing colors and discussed the change of the season

The rest of the groups played in the sideyard together for a long time. We,

- picked radishes and carrots (what was available)

- played soccer

- story time with Jose

- walked through the woods & good old running around aimlessly.

We all then came inside, ate, read books, played blocks, played doctor & cats. Basically, we PLAYED HARD today.

Monday Oct. 8th

We gad a great day at ALG today. It was overcast but we played outside a lot. We rode bikes and put out the cones to use as traffic detours. We also played music, brought out instruments and danced in the courtyard. Inside we did some painting and in the back we played shark attack and built roads and houses with the blocks. It was PJ's birthday so we all sang him happy birthday.

Rita and Stacey

Our great day at ALG on October 3rd

Today was a great day at ALG. The red group went on a field trip to Rock Creek Park and collected some neat acorns, leaves and other fun stuff. The rest of the groups helped Natasha pick the basil leaves off of the branches and put them in the cuisinart to make pesto. We ate it on spiral pasta---YUMMY. We also did some drawing and read lots of books about apples, pumpkins and potatoes. We really liked the tractors in the books. While some of us were eating, we talked about all of the things we might see on the beach. Boy was it a long list. We can't wait to come back to ALG on Monday. Have a nice weekend everyone!

Happy Wednesday everyone! What a lovely day we had at ALG today. It all began with our favorite Firefighter themed circle time. The groups then split and moved into their separate destinations. In the back there was time with the Guinea Pigs, jumping, playing mommy and sick baby, snacking, giving manicures with "food" products, building towers taller than us...

In the front room we had firefighter play. The truck was out, the hospital was busy, the sirens were blaring and our heroes were dressed in bright yellow. There was also sewing, coloring and good old fashioned cuddle-book time on the couch.

On the patio we threw parties in igloos, danced to some favorite tunes, used teamwork to decipher a map created by Sophie, played instruments, sang songs about ice cream and fishies, and much, much more.

On a last note I want to mention that all of the above activities were in some way created by our children. At the beginning of September the firefighter idea was introduced but since then our incredibly imaginative children have taken that theme to a place that I could have never foreseen. Everything they did today was because a child initiated it. The confidence this is building in them is remarkable. Kudos to this wonderful little school for always keeping everything about the child, because in this setting that is`what this co-oper thinks is most important.

Tuesday September 30

Today was another happy day at ALG. Sadly we are winding down the firetruck songs. The kids are really getting it down now. We started the day with some nice water play. Watering the plants, some kids using their tears at first. Great teachers took care of that and fun was had by all.

When we got to the days of the week Jamie announced that his baby sister Meredith turned 1 today. A skeptical circle group clapped.

The kids did some great climbing up the ladder and hanging from the hooks. We are still working on naming the pets. Suggestions are welcome.

The Blue group and some extra kids spent a lot of time running away from monsters and hiding behind the bushes.

It is likely that the diapers were changed a little late today as there were two dad COOPers. But with some strong support from Fiona all the kids were changed.

The big news today was the discovery of a real mop in the back by the bathrooms. Use it with love and you we will have cleaner toys and more time with our children.

Monday, September 29, 2008

Hi everyone,

Today was a great day at ALG! In Morning Meeting, we continued the theme of firefighting and fire safety that's been such a big part of September: we discussed the idea of "stop, drop and roll" and sang a rousing rendition of "Hurry, Hurry, Drive the Firetruck" (which is now, sadly, in its last week of regular rotation).

The teachers also announced that the time has come to name the two guinea pigs who have been living in the back room since school began. Students can suggest possible names any time this week, and then everyone will vote on their favorites. So far, suggestions include: Brownie, Whitey, Mr./Mrs./Ms. Giggles (there seems to be some uncertainty about the gender--and, perhaps, marital status--of the animals), Muffy, Smokey and Fire.

Coming soon to your refrigerators: the kids also created some really beautiful artwork today. Some of them enjoyed trying out a new set of oil pastels, and others created collages with bits of fabric.

All the groups spent time playing outside and enjoying the fall weather. Among the games I personally saw being created were: Gas Station, Voyage to the Strawberry Planet, Don't Eat the Fruit I Need for My Pie, and Let's Make Beep-Beep Noises to Indicate That Our Vehicles are Backing Up.

Besides that, the kids did all the usual fun ALG stuff: playing with play dough, jumping on mattresses, negotiating lunch sharing and curling up on adults' laps to read a book. I enjoyed spending time with all of your kids (and am now in need of a long nap).

Carolyn Parkhurst Rosser
(Ellie's mom, and one of today's co-oppers)

ALG's new blog

Hi Parents!

Kaiea's dad, Jon, had the idea that we post the daily activities as a blog so people can read them even if they're not picking up. So, check it out this afternoon. We're starting small, but soon we'll hopefully have pictures along with text. It will be another way to start conversations with your child about what they're doing in school, and I'd love to hear back from everyone about how you like it. I haven't linked it to the parents' page of the website yet, but that will come soon.

Deborah