The Carriage House students met with Brenda LaForme. Brenda is a member of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy. She spoke to the children about her culture, and shared artifacts. She focused on ways that Haudenosaunee culture relies on the natural environment and how she continues that tradition today. 

This week we turned our attention to the trees, specifically our sugar maples. The leaves are gone and the trees are preparing for a period of dormancy. The children took on turns tucking the trees in with a cozy blanket of wood chips to nourish and protect them through their winter's rest.

We spent some time as a community playing card games. Card games are a great way to practice a variety of math and numeracy skills. It is also a lot of fun!

We had a special guest Jenny, mom to Avi and Neta, join us on Friday to prepare and fry latkes. Jenny brought in some special books and items that her family uses to celebrate Hanukkah. We all enjoyed grating and mixing the latke dough. Fried to perfection on the campfire, it was a truly a treat!

Tisha, mom to Riley, shared some of their families Kwanzaa traditions and special objects. We had an opportunity to watch some videos together and read books and articles that helped teach us more about the holiday of Kwanzaa.