A Rich and Mellow Autumn!

We are truly blessed this year with a beautiful mellow Autumn! Never before has the garden given such  a bounty of fruit. The damson trees were laden with delicious damsons until the first storm last week and the branches on the pear trees were breaking with the weight of fruit.What a wonderful way to introduce the children to the miracles  of nature. They can taste and enjoy the fruit and marvel at how it is growing on the trees in our garden. They can even  pick raspberries as they pass  on the way into school!. Earlier in the month we went blackberry picking and made blackberry slices!To day, we brought the old tomato plants to the compost heap so that the little worms and bugs can make nice new compost for spring planting.Every little creature has a job to do in order to keep our planet healthy!The children love gardening jobs . Maria Montessori noted over 100 years ago in her Casa dei Bambini how children” work” for the joy of it whilst we adults work to achieve the end result.!!How very true!.We rake up  the leaves on a daily basis and put them in the special leaf compost area. On our walks, we observe the changes happening to the trees as the leaves are falling from the trees and talk about the trees going to sleep for the winter.We wonder if we ll see a little hedgehog under a leaf pile as he gets ready for his long Winter sleep..  We listen to the birds singing their Autumnal songs but I haven t put up the feeders yet as the birds can still find plenty to eat.I introduced the owl matching cards and once again each child has “adopted” an owl . Mum, Dads and the children have been producing the most beautiful projects and we are all learning and having fun.To day we put up the Halloween decorations and made bats.Tomorrow we will make witches and prepare a Halloween brack.