Finally the ice has thawed a little, so I got to spend all of today at the barn.

A little midmorning cuddle


After riding we opened up playgroup in the small arena. Who’s afraid of the big red ball?

Solution: Johnny and Heyn, the other four were just really disappointed it didn’t turn out to be edible.

Monday, December 21, 2009, was our big playgroup Christmas party. Each kid brought a wrapped ornament for the gift exchange. We had 3 fun crafts for the kids to work on while they waited for Santa to make his appearance. They made there really pretty bell ornaments out of cups and tinsel garland, they made a sleigh, and a jingle bell stick/bracelet to use while caroling in the neighborhood. I had made these really cute reindeers out of gold spoons and attached suckers to them and handed them out to all the kids at the party. We had a ton of food there because everyone brought a dish to share. We sang Christmas carols and Santa showed up while we were singing “Here Comes Santa Claus”. It was so perfect! Santa brought each kid a gift and they were so excited to have their named called by Santa. That meant they were on the good list for the year After Santa left, we all went caroling around the neighborhood. Everyone seemed to enjoy the kids’ singing. It was a super fun party! Thanks M for hosting!

I made 28 of these things.

Making a jingle bell stick.

Z just made the sleigh.

Ornament exchange.

Z and I passed out the reindeer spoons that I made.

Singing Christmas carols.

Asking Santa 1000 questions!

Santa handing Z his gift.

Santa sure knew what the boy wanted.

When Z saw this picture, he said that Santa wants peace on earth.

Caroling in the neighborhood.

More caroling.

Ok, so Thursday, December 17, 2009, was a busy day for us! After all the school fun, we joined up with some friends and went downtown to see the Trail of Lights. We parked in a parking garage and took a bus to the lights. The kids had a blast on the bus! At the trail of lights, we got to see Santa and pick out a cool toy, buy light swords, see a dance show, see all the lights, mail a letter to santa, check out an old post office, and spin under the big lighted tree. Afterwards, we all went to Whataburger for some food before heading home. It truly was a fun night with friends and family!

Ho Ho Ho!

Mom's turn.

All the kids got the same toy.

Light Sword Gang.

Boys being boys!

Letter to Santa.

Under the big tree!

The Church Hall recently destroyed by fire also was the venue for “Come & Play” playgroup. As well as losing their home, they also lost all the donated and purchased toys and games that were in a store-room at the hall.

The 20 year old playgroup has since managed to secure an alternative venue from January (the Baptist Church in Hampton Wick) but are desperately trying to replenish their stocks of toys and games with donations from the community.

As Christmas is a time when new toys are bought and old are thrown out, local parents are being asked if they can instead donate these or other items to the playgroup so that it can rise from the ashes.

Here are some examples of the items that are needed:

• Baby bouncer chairs
• Books
• CD’s and CD player
• Cars/Garages
• Dolls
• Dolls house and accessories
• Dressing up clothes
• Kitchen and accessories
• Lego
• Musical instruments
• Outside toys – slides, trampoline, sand-pit, tents, tunnels, see-saw
• Painting easels/mats and accessories
• Playdough and accessories
• Puzzles
• Ride-ons – trikes, scooters, cars, bikes
• Step-up stools
• Tools/DIY bench
• Trainsets
• Wooden bricks

Any donations no matter how small are welcome and will be accepted. The address for toy/games donations is:

Jo Massie
Absolute Concepts Ltd
8 The Causeway
Teddington
TW11 0HE
joandcolin@hotmail.co.uk

Pick-ups can  also be arranged and items can also be left at the new venue itself but ensure to mark any bags with “Come & Play” along with your contact details (especially if left in the side passage after hours).

Author : WIBOWO, MARIANA

Gagasan perencanaan proyek tersebut adalah untuk menyediakan sebuah fasilitas pendidikan nasional anak yang bertaraf internasional serta membentuk iman mereka kepada Tuhan pada masa prasekolah. Melalui pengalaman bersama anak usia dini itu sendiri, kita dapat memahami tentang playgroup dan TK secara umum, dengan tujuan : konsep desainnya mengambil langsung dari karakter anak supaya dapat menemukan solusi yang terbaik untuk mengatasi permasalahan playgroup dan TK yang ada diSurabaya yang kurang dalam bidang moral dan afektif, pola penataan ruang, pola sirkulasi yang baik serta fasilitas yang lengkap.

Keyword : playgroup, preschool, christian, international level, interior design, decoration

Sumber : http://repository.petra.ac.id/3284/

Sunday, December 6, 2009 was our first visit with Santa this year. We met up with some playgroup friends at the neighborhood community center for some playtime and a chance to talk to Santa. We first waited in line for out time with Santa and while we were waiting, Z picked out a free hat and wrote a letter to Santa. After pictures and telling Santa all the things he wants for Christmas, Z couldn’t wait to go ride the train. Then it was on to the bounce house. Man these kids just love those things! We stayed the entire time Santa was there. Once he left, we all went to lunch at Chuy’s. I just love that place!!!!

The letter Z wrote to Santa. He didn't mail it while we were there. He had our Elf on the Shelf take it directly to Santa.

Super cute!

Making sure Santa has all the toy request information.

Z saw a lot of friends from school while we were there. This is Z and L.

Riding the train with buddy J.

Riding the train with P.

Z amd Miss. M take a quick ride together.

Easiest way to entertain a bunch of kids and keep them QUIET at the same time!

I love this meal at Chuy's!

Today, December 3, 2009 D and I threw a baby shower for our friend M. We had 4 super fun games for everyone, a cute little duck cake, and good conversation. Congratulations M and family on baby boy A!

Mom to be is in the middle. My friend D is on the left and I am on the right.

Time flies. Can’t believe that it is already December. Today’s craft is a Christmas tree. The kids will decorate the Christmas tree with marker and the using a crunched up piece of aluminium foil as the background, the picture is pasted on a colored construction paper photo frame. The kids will use stickers, pre-cut stars and markers to decorate the photo frame. Also using origami paper, stars are made and if you stick 3 of the stars together, you will get a three dimensional star. One of the kid turned 5 so we celebrated her birthday today too. There will be a pot luck Christmas party on 18th of December at 11:00 a.m at room 403 with Japanese class members. All POTATO members are invited. Also the next POTATO gathering will be on 14th of January. See you then and till then here’s wishing everyone a HAPPY NEW YEAR.

Japanese Class

今日は雨で寒い日になりました、もうそろそろ一年が終わると思うとあっという間で驚きます。今日はクリスマスの飾りを作りました、クリアファイルとホイルを使って壁に飾れるようにしました。緑や赤を使うだけでクリスマスっぽくなるので色々試してみてください。子ども達が書く絵は各々、個性があるので飾ってみるだけで立派なアートになります、子どもの絵でお家を飾りつけるのも素敵だと思いますよ。今日はお誕生日だったお友達がいたのでバースデイカードをプレゼントしました、喜んでくれるといいのですが。来週からポテトは少し長いお休みに入ります。次回は年明けの１月１４日木曜日になります、紙を切って雪の結晶を作りたいと思います、寒いのでみんな一緒にダンスもして暖まりましょう。みなさんよいクリスマスとお正月をお過ごしください。後、１２月１８日金曜日11:00から日本語教室のクリスマスパーティがあります、一品何か料理をお持ちください。いつもポテトに来ていただいている皆さんも参加歓迎いたしますとの事なのでぜひ参加してみてください、楽しいですよ。

ボランティア日本語教室

Just a reminder that registration for Winter Programs for the Chicago Park District begins online Monday at 9 am.  Check out the great programs to keep your kids active this winter.  There’s floor hockey and indoor soccer for the older kids and bitty basketball and tot tumbling for the little ones.  Of course another session of playgroup will begin again.  The playgroup begins at age 6 months. All tumbling and playgroup spots are online registration only. Walk-in registration will be Saturday at 9 am.  Call the park with questions.

Weather is getting colder and colder. However, we are blessed with fine autumn weather today. For crafts today, using origami paper, we made a snowman. The snowman is pasted on to a black sheet of construction paper and using colored origami paper, we decorated the snowman by putting on scarf, hat, buttons, eyes, mouth, etc. Then using crayons, snow is drawn on. As usual, we have story telling in English. Next week, we will be making Christmas decorations. Do come and join us.

Women are a competitive bunch. We’re born that way. In elementary school, we play a delightful game of “shut-out” in which one girl in the “clique” is shut-out for a week. It rotates continually. During this week, we call you fat, tell your crush that you smell bad, and whisper to the other kids that you pee the bed. This continues into adulthood with new tactics inserted. The overall strategy remains the same. All women know this, just as they know that women dress for other women – if it helps them steal your boyfriend all the better. Some women are so low that they give what I refer to as “Upside Down Smile” compliments, i.e. “You look pretty today!”, means, “That shirt is so effing hideous. I hope you wear it again so I can continue to look better than you”.  Since all women know these truths, we build a pretty thick skin over the years. That is, until we have children. When we have children, we believe everything that Susie from across the street says about how perfect her little angel boy/girl is and how perfect she/he has been since the day they popped out. I’ve learned something though. Here it is:

Bitches, you lie.

Susie is just as terrified of her child as you are of your’s. Trust.

I recently had a convo with a gal pal about this very epidemic affecting mothers everywhere. We agreed that these lies only serve to make other mothers feel like shit. What we couldn’t figure out is…why?

It starts even before you have the child. You’re judged throughout pregnancy. What you’re eating, how much you’re working, the weight you’re gaining. I was guilty of it too. Then comes the actual birth event. I was convinced that I would do irreparable damage to my child if I veered at all from a natural birth. Due to this feeling, I actually worked it out drug-free for about six hours. I feel better knowing that my child was saved from the evil epidural for at least this long as I’m sure it was much more organic for me to have been crawling all over the dirty hospital floor praying to the tile Gods. By the time hour six came up and I still hadn’t “progressed” (don’t worry, I’ll spare you the gory details), I swear I would have grabbed the first street drug available if the epidural hadn’t been there. Not to mention my poor husband was begging me to take drugs like he was a pusher-going-through- hard-times recruiting on the school yard.

The real fun starts when we begin to judge how each other chooses to feed our babies. Nothing puts you off breastfeeding like the wrath of another woman if you have the audacity to try it and have limited-to-no success. Sometimes I swear a holier-than-thou breastfeeding mom would be more concerned about the formula sticking out of your diaper bag than the fact you are driving with your baby on your lap a la Miss Spears.

Source

Breastfeeding is ridiculously hard for many women. Our generation didn’t grow up seeing breastfeeding as the natural option for feeding babies. That’s why the recent breastfeeding campaign in Nova Scotia makes so much sense (disclaimer: the agency I work for worked on this campaign…still doesn’t change the fact that it rocks).

It takes away some of the pressure that we put on ourselves. If it happens naturally for you, and your baby crawls toward you and latches right on, that’s incredible. Just don’t rub it in for the rest of us.

My experience has been mixed. The early days were torture. The pain of breastfeeding rivaled labour. For real. I remember one night getting BabyG latched on and my husband was saying something to me. When I didn’t answer, he asked if I had heard him. My response?

“Sorry, I think I just blacked out for a minute.”

I wasn’t lying. The pain was so severe and shocking that I often saw stars. I’ll never, ever forget the nights when the husband would bring the baby towards me after changing him…eyes wide with hunger. I’ve never been more frightened in my life. Swears it, I could have used one of BabyG’s diapers for these terror-fests.

Now that we’ve settled into it, it’s fantastic and great, but I know from many other women that their experience was very difficult, and they faced challenges that were totally out of their control. Looking at their children, it’s obvious to see they are loving mothers whose children are thriving and ridiculously happy.

Apparently, there is also some judging that happens over rice cereal (the drama on those community boards thrills me. I have yet to join in, but I totally lurk). I haven’t heard of this yet, but I would wager a bet that it’s the same self-important arseholes who are leading the debate.

I’m lucky to be part of a playgroup (I totally judged playgroups before I became part of one…for the record, they are totally awesome) full of women who are unabashedly honest about motherhood. These women tell it like it is, unlike the “Penelope” I ran into at the Dr.’s office last month. Do you know Penelope? From Saturday Night Live? Here’s a clip that you have to watch before you read any further (sorry I can’t embed, I’m not skilled in the IT department…see? Honest!):

http://video.aol.ca/video-detail/saturday-night-live-skit-penelope-at-driving-school/2862013837

Anyway, back at the doctor’s office, I vaguely knew this woman from a past place of employment. She was there with her daughter who was having a major meltdown. Similar to the meltdowns experienced by Lindsay Lohan whenever she doesn’t get what she wants. Let me be very clear here, it was obvious to anyone with eyes that this little girl was practiced in the art form of throwing a tantrum. She had it down, chicklets. DOWN. Instead of sharing a moment (as my son was throwing a fit as well), she kept repeating that  her daughter was “Such a happy little girl!” and “Never like this!”. To quote from Laineygossip.com who quotes True Blood’s Lafayette…

“Hooker, please!”

In between dodging toy trains that her “Happy Little Girl” was whipping around the waiting room, I smiled politely and agreed that the precious princess was certainly experiencing her first shit-fit ever. I decided then and there that I would never paint a rosy pic of our experiences. To me, you’re hiding the best part. Sometimes the ugly makes for the funniest stories (like how BabyG crapped and peed like a fire hydrant all over the doctor’s examination table…Ironically, “Happy Little Girl” was next in line to appear on that very same table).

We’re not perfect, we’re just raising our kids to be. If you pretend anything else, you’re never invited to our playgroup. And that sucks, cause Jane makes the best peanut butter cookies.

Hello Baby Playgroup 的宗旨是要把握幼兒在最能夠吸收新知識及新資訊的階段, 透過我們的學前預備班,推動幼兒積極參與,建立他們在群體中的適應能力,讓他們在良好的學習氣氛中茁壯成長.馬上瀏覽我們的學前預備證書班課程及其他學前預備班課程 

客戶名稱 : Hello Baby Playgroup
網址: http://www.hellobaby.com.hk
網站完成日期 : 2009年4月
網站制作 : Asiaissue 網頁設計
制作項目 : flash animation design | 動畫設計 , web design consultant 網頁設計技術顧問 ,content management system(CMS) |  內容管理系統 , web hosting | 網站寄存 , web design | 網頁設計

The other day I attended a Swiss School information night for expat parents. There are many options for schooling here and Switzerland is known to have some of the finest International (i.e. English-speaking) schools in the world.  But unless you’re willing to fork out up to CHF 30,000 per child every year, the public system (“State School”) is a pretty attractive option from the get-go.

With over 50 parents jammed into a small meeting room, we heard a presentation from a School Superintendent on all the options and processes for entering your child into Swiss State school.  At the onset of the presentation, a middle-aged woman dressed in a grey pants suit with an…um…functional…blonde bob shot up her hand and blurted out a question for the speaker.

“Why does the Swiss school system start at 6 years old compared to 3 years of age in most other countries?” she said in a confrontational tone made even more aggressive by her strong American accent.

The speaker averted the question by saying it was a lengthy answer and perhaps they could speak after the presentation.  Thirty minutes later, as the presentation came to a close and the crowd applauded in thanks, Ms. Blonde Bob raised her voice once more.

“So you didn’t answer my question yet. Why is it that Swiss school starts at 6 years old and not 3?”

The speaker, having already avoided the question once, was cornered. She spent the next two minutes uncomfortably trying to explain to a crowd of foreigners that Swiss culture is a bit “traditional” and “some would believe that a woman should be home with her child until at least the age of six for the good of the family”.  As she carefully and politely gave us all a crash course in Swiss values, the Suits in the front row were heckling in disgust.

After a bit of banter and the speaker trying her best to be politically correct (for their sakes I’m sure) Ms. Blonde Bob finally pushed me over the edge with the comment of “Oh, and I guess these are the same ’some’ that think women shouldn’t vote!”. That was it for me and without even knowing what I was about to say, blurted out from the back row:

“Actually, I have to say that the prominent Swiss ‘traditional values’ was one of the things that attracted me to Switzerland the most. To get away from the Westernized culture of having babies just to have someone else raise them in their most formative years.”

You think you know dagger-eyes but you don’t. Not until you could see the blazing dragon eyeballs that were shooting them at me from the grey blazer in the front row. No love lost. I ruled out her friendship the moment I saw the boring pearl earrings underneath the bad aforementioned bob.

For those of you who know me, you might be calling the pot a little bit black considering I had a nanny from the time the boys were 1.5 – 3 years old. But what got me so infuriated in this instance wasn’t the fact that these were working mothers but rather, the fact that they had made the choice to come to a foreign country and then proceeded to tell the residents of said country that they are doing things wrong. The audacity!  Regardless of what my opinion is on whether a mom should stay home, the point is that this woman can easily give up her high-paying Swiss job and take her ass back to America where they apparently do all things “right” (ahem).

A few days later, a disturbing thing happened at a kids activity centre and I couldn’t help but draw a line in my “if you don’t like it, go home” theory.  The boys were in a playroom while the parents were sitting at cafe tables just outside. I heard Jack doing his boisterous “RAAWWWRR!” noise where he pretends to be a scary monster and instantly looked to see who he was terrorizing. Before I could piece it all together, I heard the blood-curdling screams of a little girl. Running into the room, I saw the little girl in the corner wailing away.  The mother came marching in and bee-lined it for the boy who Jack was pointing at saying “No mommy, it was him! He did it first!”  As I tried to get the truth out of Jack, I couldn’t help but notice the mom grab her son’s shoulder while screaming in his face. Wow, she was really givin’ it to him…all the while his little sister is still screaming in the fetal position.  Then it happened. She slapped him across the face.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m all for a good spanking when the kid needs it, but if there is one law we have when it comes to discipline, it is that we do NOT slap J&L across the face. There is just something so degrading about it and in all honesty, it does more for the angry parent than it ever does for the disobedient child. In my opinion (and drat, here you are reading my blog so I guess you have to hear it!), physical discipline should be an after-the-fact thing where the parent is in control of their emotions. Not in the heat of the moment but a contrived “event” where the lesson is clearly drawn for the child that their actions have resulted in this consequence.

But I digress. Back to the screaming disobedient children.

As I was contemplating whether I should cover my ears to shut out the still-wailing girl in the corner and now her older brother’s deafening screams, another mother came marching in. Like a final puzzle piece just clicked into place, I realized that this boy wasn’t her son at all! This woman just fully assaulted a complete stranger’s child and now the real mom was trying to piece together why her son was screaming and cradling his cheek.  The very thought of it boiled my blood and I nearly slapped her across the face. In fact, in telling Tim the story later that night, I asked him if our Swiss Personal Accident Insurance covers me for kicking another mom’s ass (it doesn’t) because I just know that things would have got ugly if Jack had been the one to take the fall for their boy behaviour.

I quickly did some charades to explain to the real mom why her child was screaming (funny that the abusive woman disappeared as soon as the mother responded to her son’s screams) and then I marched up to the offending woman. I don’t know if she spoke any English but I think my angry tone and “you are the scum of the earth” visage probably sufficed.

As we left to go home and I sat in disbelief at what I just saw, I was reminded of an expat forum post I read once that described how Swiss people think it’s socially acceptable to correct another person’s child. I know the post author was referring to verbal correction but it got me to thinking…was that just a normal Swiss occurrence?

Thankfully, I was able to reflect on the absolute shock of all the other mothers present (Swiss and English speaking alike) and deduce that it most likely isn’t a typical Swiss thing. Everyone was outraged by the whole ordeal.  So in this case, I can tell this woman to shove it, English accent and all. And of course, I can still go home if I don’t like it.

November 12, 2009 was a great day for us! We went to A’s house and packed boxes for the troops in Iraq. Each mom supplied 24 items of things to put in boxes. The kids drew pictures and made cards for the soldiers over there. Even the moms made some cards. It was a great giving moment! After we packed the boxes, the kids played on A’s stairs. They had a blast jumping from the steps to the floor. I know….not very safe…. but they did have fun!

On our way home, Z asked why the troops were in Iraq. I explained to him we were at war and that the really bad guys attacked our country on Sept. 11, 2001. He continued to ask questions, so I explained it all to him. I told him that we even had old newspapers from that time. When we got home, I pulled up everything I could find from the attacks on the computer and showed him everything. He saw all the terrorists and Osama Bin Laden and understands that he is a bad man. After checking out the computer, we looked through all my old newspapers. He just loves to learn about new things.

Turns out the next day at school, Z drew some pictures of the attacks during free draw time in class. He is so proud of what he has learned and says we will find Osama Bin Laden and kill him. I hope so honey!

Read to make cards for the soldiers.

Z made a very sweet card to the men. He even wrote "USA ROCKS" on his card.

Proudly displaying his work.

Packing boxes.

They turned out very nice! I know the men and women will love them!

Yeah...it isn't safe, but look at the fun they are having!

Look Mom! I can fly!

This picture shows the twin towers and the airplanes going through them and the fire above the towers. Those are emergency vehicles at the bottom of the page.

This was the title of the picture above. On another drawing, he said over 100 died.

今日はとても寒い日ですね、お友達たちはきませんでしたお家の中でのんびりしてるのでしょう。ところで皆さんは新聞紙で遊んだりしますか？帽子にしたり、服にしたり、チラシでもいろいろ作れるんですよ。大きい紙で作ると子ども達にはちょうどいいサイズになります、親子で一緒に工作してみると楽しいかもしれません。うちの子供は小さい頃、新聞紙で作ったステッキと服で魔法使いに変身してました。ぜひお家でも試してみてください、おすすめですよ。来週は折り紙で雪だるまを作りたいと思います、折り紙を折ったり、切って貼ったりお子様達にも楽しめると思います、お待ちしてます。

During a cold rainy day and you are stuck at home, why not dig out some unwanted newspapers or advertisments and use it to play with your kids. Let the kids tear the newspapers or make balls out of it or throw the newspapers around. For today, we prepared wands made from papers and paper hats made out of newspapers. However sad to say, no one came. Next week, we will be making a snow man using origami paper and decorating it using crayons. Do come and join us.

Come molti genitori di bambini bilingui sanno il bilinguismo non e’ sempre cosi’ facile e scontato come si vorrebbe pensare, soprattutto in una societa’ come quella italiana in cui non c’e’ spazio per le altre lingue. Non e’ raro quindi che crescendo i piccoli bilingui abbandonino sempre di piu’ la lingua minoritaria per parlare solo la lingua piu’ comune, quella che parlano gli altri bambini, e quindi l’Italiano.

l’immagine  è di Mammafelice

Bilingue Per Gioco (aka Bilingual For Fun) e’ un sito creato da una mamma che sta crescendo il proprio bambino bilingue e ha sentito l’esigenza di confrontarsi con altre famiglie, per fare qualcosa oggi invece di lamentarsi un domani perche’ suo figlio non vuole parlare Inglese, e in quest’ottica sta propone i Playgroup, raccomandati da tutti gli esperti di bilinguismo per stimolare lo sviluppo linguistico della lingua minoritaria.

Il Playgroup stimola i bambini a parlare Inglese facendo si’ che non sia solo la lingua di mamma o papa’ ma anche una lingua del gioco, che venga quindi associata ad un contesto a misura di bambino, divertente, nel quale tutti parlano Inglese e c’e’ quindi l’esigenza di conformarsi.

Per i genitori pero’ il playgroup e’ anche l’opportunita’ per confrontarsi e condividere dubbi e successi. La perdita di motivazione e la conseguente incostanza nel metodo utilizzato e’ probabilmente il principale motivo per cui molte famiglie bilingui non raggiungono gli obiettivi prefissati in termini di educazione bilingue dei bambini.

I Playgroup di Bilingue Per Gioco si rivolgono ai bambini in eta’ prescolare, comunque eta’ massima 7 anni, e si tengono il giovedi’ alle 17.30 a S. Saba.

Per maggiori informazioni contattate

Bilingue Per Gioco (Letizia) al 320 1156419 oppure bilinguepergioco@ yahoo.com

www.bilinguepergioco.com

今日は秋の製作をしました、最近は大分紅葉も進み山がいろんな色でとてもきれいですよね。そんなイメージで製作をしてみました。画用紙に木の幹をプリントした紙を貼って葉っぱは紙の葉っぱと、自分達の手を使いました。指にインクを付けてペタペタすれば不思議と木に紅葉した葉があらわれます、私も見本に作りましたが、子どもの手のほうが小さくてきれいに見えます。木の下に落ち葉も飾って素敵な秋のアートが完成しました、壁にかけれるように紐をつけたので家の中で紅葉が楽しめるのではないでしょうか、みなさんもお子様と一緒にぜひ作ってみてください。来週は新聞紙で遊びたいと思います、侮るなかれ新聞紙。大きな紙で帽子なんかも作ろうかなと思います、みなさんぜひ来てくださいねお待ちしてます。

Autumn is here. If you take a walk in the park, you will see fallen leaves and the leaves are all colored. For crafts today, we printed out a tree trunk and prepared different types of autumn leaves. Using a stamp pad, the kids first imprinted their tiny finger prints on the paper and made tiny leaves. Next, they pasted on the autumn leaves on the tree and also on the ground. Lastly, using markers and crayons to decorate it, the craft was completed. We strung a string through the top of the craft so that it can be hung and decorated at home. Next week, we will be playing with newspapers. Do come and join us.