Freya 30.11.11

Freya arrived ready to start her day.

Freya was especially delighted with all the new flowers which have bloomed over the past week.

Freya and Ahliah enjoyed each other's company out in the garden. Together they explored all the new flowers, sat in
the penny royal and inhaled its perfume, and collected flowers in their wheel-barrows.

 We came inside to bake honey biscuits, Freya helped me to carry all the ingredients to
the table and both the girls did lots of very careful mixing. Later when we
were eating the honey biscuits – Freya recalled all the ingredients we put into
the yummy baking.

 During inside play Freya showed Ahliah how to put a bridal on the rocking horse and carefully
'led' Ahliah along. Next it was Ferya's turn on the horse and Ahliah led Freya
along. I have seen how Freya's communication skills have been improving; during
the game I observed how she was able to tell Ahliah what to do in a way Ahliah
could follow – this made both Freya and Ahliah happy.

For our midday activity we wrapped some butterfly mobile craft kits to donate to
the wishing tree (salvation army), Freya asked 'who is that present for?' I
explained it would go under the wishing tree and wait for a special child who
needs a special gift. Freya then said 'I could have that present.' I assured
her she would receive a special gift, but this one was to give away. All this
week we will be focussing on the giving aspect of Christmas.

01.12.11

 Freya arrived
with a smile. Freya is always happy to hear that Denzil and Jasmine will be
coming to play. Today Jamine brought a baby bird with her. All the children
were very curios and watched as I fed it throughout the day.

Freya enjoyed the outdoors, it lovely to have so many flowers in the garden for the children
to pick. Freya and Jasmine used some for decorating the basil plants and the
vegetable garden. The Freya wanted Jasmine to chase her saying 'You have to
chase me Jasmine!' This is one of Freya's favourite outside games to play with
the older children.

For our midday activity the children heard a story about a girl with very little, who
didn't get  Christmas presents, until one
special year when someone noticed Mirrianna with her kind heart and helping
hands. They wrapped a special gift and secretly left it at her front door with
a little anonymous note. From that day onwards Mirrianna enjoyed Christmas and
today she carefully makes gifts for the children who need a special surprise
and secretly leaves it on their door steps. The children eagerly started their
work and we felted coloured balls to give away. Everyone worked diligently.

 Freya became more withdrawn during the afternoon, when I approached her to try help, she
couldn't tell me what was wrong. Later I realised she needed to poo, there is a
lot of anxiety around using the toilet for poos. I tried using her success with
peeing on the toilet as a motivation – explaining once it was hard to wee on
the toilet but now she can do it so well.

02.12.11

Freya arrived happy and well. But seemed to go up and down with her emotions; sometimes
withdrawn or upset over minor misunderstanding with the other children and
other times really extroverted as she joked and laughed. I tried to support
Freya by being calm and reassuring and not allowing her to get too over excited
and being sympathetic when needed.

 It has become quite a routine on arrival to greet the garden and look at all the new flowers,
shoots and any other surprises. Today we found some millipedes; Jasmine's very
good at handling little garden friends and quickly befriended one on her hand.
The other children soon followed and all the millipedes were introduced to each
other and made 'good friends'.

 In the past couple of weeks our morning circle has been filled with songs and verses about the
garden and little helping insects. Freya now knows all the songs and delights
in singing along, it seems many of the songs have inspired more interest in the
garden, which is wonderful.

Our midday activity was drawing; We carefully drew cards to go with our felt ball gifts to
go under the wishing tree.

Freya took lots of time with her card; she filled
the card with colours of the rainbow, we tied the cards to the roly-poly balls
with a gold ribbon and put them into our basket. A gift to make a special child
happy on Christmas day!

 In general the day was filled with excitement and lots of energy – after lunch we went out
for a run and found that Roxy and Sammy our little dogs had come out to play.
The children had lots of fun throwing the stick for Roxy. Freya gave Sammy lots
of gentle pats – his favourite thing in the world, by the end Roxy was
exhausted and we put her back in her yard to rest; just as we too went inside
for our rest.

Freya 16.11.11

Freya arrived with a beautiful sunny flower. We quickly readied ourselves and went out into
the garden to pick flowers, Freya has learnt many of the flower names and has
her favourites which she likes to pick.

Once in our back garden we sorted all our treasures and had a look at all the plants
and seedlings. Today Freya needed her own space and didn't want Ahliah too near
– soon the girls settled themselves in different parts of the garden and
occasionally crossed paths. It is good to see Freya communicate her needs.

          Freya was
picked up early.

17.11.11

 Freya arrived very happy and chose to play inside; building lots of things with all kinds of
materials. First small coloured cardboard was used to build a rainbow, then
blocks were used to build and soon the fairies moved in. Freya very much wanted
her own space away from Ahliah, who wanted only to be right next to Freya. I
decided to move outdoors where we could all get some space.

Freya was very excited when Jasmine arrived – she really enjoys the company of the other
children. We soon went to pick some herbs for our baking – there are so many
things to see in the garden that by the time we came indoors and settled at the
table it was morning tea time. Baking was pushed back to midday and all the
children were very happy to fill their hungry tummies.

At inside play the children were drawn straight to the large cardboard box and soon there
was a family of birds nesting and 'tweeting', cushions and blankets were piled
into the box. Denzil is great at organising and likes to know what everyone's
role is in the game, if someone can't choose what they want to be he gives a
couple of suggestions and if still a decision is not made Denzil will nominate
their role; Freya was nominated the Hen, Denzil was a rooster and Jasmine chose
to be the chick (first in the egg). Today Freya was happy to follow and be near
the older children, she makes lots of eye contact and funny sounds to try make
them laugh, sometimes they all end up in fits of laughter, but today the other
children were in serious play mode. Freya then started to build a nest and play
alongside the other children.

We spent the lunch play outside, all geared up for the rain. Flower cooking continued as
usual and the garden decoration were relocated. Freya took a more onlooking
position and took in all that the other children did. She was very excited when
I brought out the scraps and we took a walk to the chicken pen and ate plums
straight off the tree! Yum!

We spent the afternoon inside drawing and looking through our portfolio folders – the
children love to look over the photos and recall all the things they have done.

 18.11.11

   Freya arrived in good spirits. We spent the morning outside; seedlings, buds and Flowers were
checked, we went and picked plums from the tree. Soon the other children
arrived, the garden decorations were rearranged and then we went for a walk. We
wondered underneath the macadamia tree and then on up the hill a little way to
the wisteria vine, where the children pushed there way into a wonderful green
cubby. It was very cool, Freya looked up at the twisted vines.

 We then came in for morning tea. Afterwards Freya was immediately drawn to the box, the
other children joined and birds appeared. Denzil then brought out wool worms,
but soon the wool was transformed into string and used to tie each other up;
Freya became the person, the other children a horse or dog. Today I saw Freya
take on a leading role with the older children and she gave them some great obedience
training and had so so much fun leading them along; if knots untied or her
animals got tangled she was very quick to adjust things. It was lovely to see
Freya shine.

 Freya and Ahliah's relationship is shifting; Ahliah is beginning to push boundaries and
assert her will, Freya doesn't quite know how to react. Ahliah swings between
being very affectionate towards Freya to hitting or pulling Freya's hair – all for a great reaction.

When Ahliah goes to Freya her immediate reaction is to flinch away and tell Ahliah 'stop!' even if Ahliah comes with a smile – It seems Freya has difficulty reading Ahliah's body language/intentions.

Usually when I give an explanation of Ahliah's intent, Freya is quite happy to let Ahliah hug her or touch her beautiful hair. We are all encouraging Ahliah to do the things we like, such as give hugs rather than hit, or help in games.

It would be interesting to have your feedback on how your kids respond to other children coming into their personal space uninvited.

Freya 09.11.11

Freya arrived and settled quickly into our morning walk – it has become a Wednesday routine
to pick a bunch of flower for our table. Today we found pink, purple and golden
flowers to dress our table.

The old roses Freya used for outdoor baking, 'I'm making rose petal jam' Freya said. The process took much of the morning and continued into our other outdoor play times throughout the day. My main tool
(both educational and disciplinary) when working with the children is the power
of imitation. Freya has settled into this environment, listened to stories and
been involved with practical and purposeful activities, she has had the
opportunity to absorb and digest concepts and skill which are later reproduced
and practised in her play – making rose petal jam is a direct link, but I also
see Freya imitate and practice skills witnessed in all aspects of her life.

The day flowed really well. Ahliah is understanding more which means she can engage
better with Freya. Freya communicates really positively with Ahliah the
majority of the time – in the afternoon Freya invited Ahliah to her house and
offered her a ride on her rocking horse. This shows their close friendship and
Freya's love for Ahliah. As children build positive relationships with those
around them they also establish a healthy self esteem, a wonderful spring board
into life.

11.11.11

 Freya arrived with a smile and started playing immediately with Ahliah in the cardboard box.
They were having so much fun that Freya didn't want to go out for our usual morning walk.

We made up for it later in the day with Denzil – who found some great climbing trees and inspired Freya to persevere with all her strength to pull herself up to join him in the branches.

 Freya loves to laugh and giggle with Denzil and had fun playing with words – it started
with Ahliah-moo (a nickname I sometimes use), then Denzil said 'Ahliah-cow' and
Freya chimed in 'Ahliah-leaf' and so the game went to and fro, with lots of
laughs in between. It is wonderful to see Ferya's use of words. Denzil often
likes to find rhyming words, Freya is soaking it all up.

There was lots of 'flower baking' in the back garden. The children carefully mixed all
kinds of things together. Once Denzil went home I was invited into the cubby,
Freya sang Happy Birthday to Ahliah, instructed her to blow out the candles and
served a beautiful flower cake to all. We then went to sleep and waited for
Father Rooster to wake us in the morning. Freya called out in her loudest voice
'Cock-a-doodle-doo Good morning to you!' It's wonderful to see how comfortable
Freya is with Ahliah and myself. Later I was even asked for a cuddle – which
made me feel extra special. So I can positively say, Freya and all had a
wonderful day together.

 Freya 02.11.11

Freya arrived and fell straight into a game with Ahliah. Freya seems to really thrive on a
good routine and has developed a great transition routine in the mornings. We
picked a bunch of flowers for the table. Freya wanted some for herself as well
and used them in the playground to cook with. Freya made the most beautiful
food with all the coloured flowers and added herbs to make it smell extra good.

Freya shows a beautiful caring, protective nature towards Ahliah – this has only really
consistently taken place in the past couple of months. During our morning walks
Ahliah will at times stop following or take a new course all together. Freya is
very aware of Ahliah and will tell me when Ahliah moves too far away. Freya
will often go galloping after Ahliah and encourage her in the right direction.

 We went to the mulberry tree and filled our tummies with sweet mulberries. Freya was doing
her best to keep her clothing clean, but they are ever so juicy and ended up
all around the her mouth.

The day was spent in close proximity with each other – the girls enjoyed the spiral
garden, where Freya was leading the game as birds nesting. Ahliah is beginning
to imitate and follow simple directions which makes Freya happy. We sailed the
boat with the guinea pig, read books and went for strolls around the garden.

03.11.11

When Freya arrived Denzil and Jasmine were very keen to say hello and beckoned her over to
the table; they wanted to show Freya the three silkworms all spun their
cocoons! Children are wonderful observers, not a beat gets missed.

During morning tea play the children picnicked from their cardboard box, Freya brought
the horses along with her and Jasmine the bunnies.

 For our midday activity we built an obstacle course, using cushions, string to climb
over, a long belt to balance along on the floor, the tunnel, balls, a wooden
spoon and lemon for balancing. Freya followed over the string and through the
stand, but stopped at the belt and watched as the other children placed one
foot in front of the other to balance across it. Freya than sat herself nearby
and watched. I offered her to do which ever part she liked, Freya didn't
respond and stayed put. When Freya is met with a new challenge she will often
watch and only join when she is sure she will succeed.

 Outside Freya and Denzil began to dig over the new garden, Jasmine asked if we could plant
some seeds. We found a flower seed medley which needed a sunny position, so we
chose a sunny patch along the fence and the children began to dig and pull out
grass and roots. It was a lot of work, but with great determination we
succeeded. We found a garden spider with an egg, which the children watched for
a long time.  Freya helped squash all the
lumps in the soil and pick out the roots. Freya then went off to play.... All
the focus and rewards in this activity were definitely in the process and not
the outcome, which shows how much the children really live in the moment.

Freya introduced the other children to flower cooking and soon we had a trio of cooks
and flower collectors – it is lovely to have such an abundance of flowers which
the children can explore and play with.