Little Garden Patch Farm

Craft idea.... make your own 2020 keepsake ornament. LOL! Here's just one we made this week. (Sadly we didn't get them all photographed before they went home!) We thought our little spiky glitter pom poms looked just like the covid virus we see in PSA diagrams.

Last week's "gingerbread" houses turned out so cute! Teachers helped with assembly of the wooden houses and then the children painted them a nice gingerbread brown and decorated them with white "icing" paint, glitter, and lots of colorful embellishments.

Meanwhile, back at the farm....

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Kids so often hear the refrain at school about animals hibernating in the winter. But Santa Cruz has a mild climate that doesn't require true hibernation. And snow is very rarely a factor for our wildlife. Instead animals here have to deal with drought and wild fires followed by rain -- and the occasional frost. So what are our local animals up to right now? We set up a trail cam to get a first hand look. (See photos below.) So far we've only seen a couple of species, not including curious children. But we'll keep checking in and see if we can catch a glimpse of some of the other herbivores that live around Little Garden Patch, as well as a few of the apex predators that roam our woods as well.

Our costume fashion show...

Enjoy one of our favorite Halloween stories -- Pumpkin Jack. https://youtu.be/d_su7wbfapE

Halloween art projects, witch's slime potion making, nocturnal animal science with stories and bingo, pumpkin carving, and trick-or-treat -- this week was a sweet end to one of our favorite months here on the farm.

It's October which means it's Halloween all month long here at Little Garden Patch. And so, in addition to learning a bit about nocturnal animals, we're also learning about mythical and cryptid ones as well. Why? Because our ancestors developed an instinctual fear of things that go bump in the night. So they became really creative with building sturdier shelters, weapons, and other defenses. BUT they also became great storytellers as they tried to make sense of all the ...various signs left behind by nocturnal animals visiting their camps and villages. Noises, eye shine, scat, strange smells, claw and tooth marks and other clues helped them identify just what had been prowling in the dark. But sometimes, people were just plain mystified. And wherever there is an enigma... there is the beginnings of a great creative tale! Werewolves, vampires, the headless horseman -- all of these were tales of things that people thought had crossed their paths in the dark. Of course, not all cryptids are scary. For example... the jackalope! This one was drawn out by teacher Michelle and painted in by one of the children. Great job!

Sometimes it can be hard to convince kids that science facts about something that's millions of miles away -- like the moon -- are worth giving your full attention. Oh sure, lunar landings are pretty exciting. And the fact that you can use a high power telescope to see footprints and equipment left behind by the lunar landings, also very cool! But discussing phases of the moon? Wait, why are your eyes glazing over?! Yeah. So instead of just talking about how knowledg...e of the moon's phases can help us navigate, mark the passage of time and about how it ties into understanding ocean tides -- which is useful to surfers, tide pool enthusiasts, and city planners (think storm surge, climate change, and Capitola Esplanade) -- we um...cheated. Yep, we got out the Oreos. The challenge: if you can successfully recreate the phases of the moon using Oreo cookies... you can eat them. This proved to be highly motivating. ;-) I don't know if they remember anything we talked about, but I'm sure they'll remember this lesson. LOL! Here's a sampling:

SPACE has been the theme for September here at the farm. So last week we talked about constellations and learned about Galileo's early discoveries with the telescope as we made our own model constellations with pretzel sticks and marshmallows. And of course we also had to talk about the autumnal equinox last week and the changes of Fall as we sampled some apples grown, picked, and canned into apple pie filling right here at the farm. ... What an experience to eat the warm yummy cinnamon apples while looking up at the very trees they came from! It really got them thinking about what the book we were reading meant by "fall harvest" and we got some wonderful and well thought out questions! Plus, the kids were very impressed that we had harvested a GIANT box full of apples to make the big jars of apple pie filling and yet, because the tree has been so exuberantly abundant this year, you could hardly tell that ANY had been picked! There's a lot of extra thought -- and sanitizing -- that goes into being able to have a bit of the food based sensory experiences that we once took so much for granted while still complying with all the new regulations from the state and county. But it's was totally worth it to see their faces light up. And it's a fun way to take a topic that is fairly abstract for children and make it immediate and sensory based! Up next... lunar phases with oreos.

Making light up fairy houses at the art table.

UPDATE: We are currently full. Little Garden Patch Farm will be offering something different for fall! Children may join us MWF each week for 4-6 hours in the afternoon for *outdoor* play and imagination, plus stories, games, gardening, outdoor play kitchen, farm animal encounters, fairy gardens, puppet theater, and arts & crafts in the covered outdoor art studio. Openings are limited and priority is given to returning families.... Please note that as a licensed program we will be following social distancing protocols and all children must bring their own mask to use as necessary. Please message us for more details.

We know our families are wondering if school will start as planned or if all local schools will start with distance learning. Here is the latest from county health officer Gail Newel: '"There is a significant increase in our case rate, Newel said at a Thursday morning press conference. The trend is definitely a steeply rising curve. So we believe that the county is joining the rest of the state of California in entering a surge. Newel says Santa Cruz County is now teeter...ing close to the thresholds that would require many more industries to shut down. At this rate, she expects that to happen within about two weeks, based on the metrics she’s watching.' (Click the link below for more details.) Our take away from this: distance learning only sounds like it is very likely given that the start of school is a month away. However please note that the decision about distance learning will be ultimately determined by a task force from the state of California which will be monitoring our surge and giving recommendations to the school districts. https://goodtimes.sc//santa-cruz-county-covid-19-surge-g/

Cookie going for a RUN!

Yum! Meadow grass!