The friends are really excited about the upcoming long weekend and were curious about President's Day. It's interesting to see the range of understanding of our government and how it works. From some friends never having heard of the word "president," to friends knowing about who the current president is and that his term will be coming to an end soon and a new president will be elected to help take care of the country. How do you celebrate President's Day?
This week in Gardening, friends continued to beautify the backyard garden, working in the planter boxes, planting lettuce, beets, and carrots, as well as spreading new mulch to retain more moisture in the xeriscape garden.
To continue with our preparation for the New Year's Love Party, we did some research about ballroom dancing, focusing on the Box Step. We researched a few videos of people dancing the waltz, observing how the partnerships moved together, gracefully.
We then watched an instructional video, explaining how to do a simple Box Step pattern.
After reviewing our right foot from our left foot, friends tried doing the Box Step with an imaginary partner, following the 1...2...3... pattern. After a few practice tries, those who felt ready, invited a partner to dance with them. Afterwards, some friends shared what went well and what they could do differently next time. Check out our Discussion Notes Binder for more information!
No party is complete without tasty treats, so the students went to work preparing the scones, finger sandwiches, and Devon Cream for the tea party portion of the festivities. Thank you so much to Brenda, Rakefet, Seng, and Clara for helping to support the friends in their work!
Scones Group #1
Scones Group #2
Devon Cream Group
Finger Sandwiches Group #1
Finger Sandwiches Group #2
And so, the New Year's Love Party was ready to go!
At the Tea Party, friends enjoyed 3 different flavored black teas, and one herbal tea, and were able to create their own recipes of rock sugar, honey, and/or almond milk, to try and see what flavors they enjoyed most. They were also able to sample the strawberry and cucumber finger sandwiches, the scones, and some mini pastries.
In the ballroom, friends were able to select from a variety of hats and ties if they wished to accessorize a bit more, before practicing the box step with friends to waltz music.
In the Lounge, friends challenged and mentored each other in a game of chess, checkers, or "Get to Your Love," a board game created by some of the Hardworking Journalists.
Friends were also supported in the Card Making area to create a special card for a friend or loved one, if they wished.
Happy New Year's Love Party, from the Hardworking Journalists!
After singing our Happy New Year's song, written by the Hardworking Journalists, we clinked glasses of sparkling apple cider to celebrate the success of our party! Thank you to Amanda, Clara, Danielle, Julia, Lauren, Pernille, Nooshin, and Seng for all of their support on this fun-filled morning!
In our afternoon, we were able to celebrate two friend's birthdays that would be happening over the home days. We sang Happy Birthday to them, their favorite poem, October, by Maurice Sendak, and we gave them special birthday high-fives and birthday hugs upon their request.
We played a few rounds of one of their favorite games, "Doggy, Doggy, Where's Your Bone?"
And another game, "Mr. Fox"
We ended our special time together with a tasty birthday treat of fruit, and a goody-bag.
Next week, we will be picking up the different ideas that we had to put a pin in to better prepare for our celebration, and get ourselves ready for our upcoming field trip!
Love, Gaby
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