every year we look forward to our holiday open house. we open up our doors the same evenings that the Athens Holiday Market is held in our courtyard and it is always so magical. we offer a few fun seasonal crafts for families to make together and hot cider. We also always have a nice selection of our "made by arrow" items available to purchase. they make great gifts all year round, and can be found online here.
This year our Seedling Class made lots of special winter snowflakes and a special snowman to display in our large window to the delight of passersby. and if you looked closely, you may have even spotted the pocket lady for a special surprise!
festivals
4th annual apple festival!
we recently had our annual apple festival...our fourth one!
it was a gorgeous fall day and lots of folks came out...we saw lots of old friends and new ones too!
earlier that week, we took a trip up to ellijay to gather the apples for everyone who had purchased them through our fundraiser- thank you to those of you who bought apples this year!
we also want to thank everyone who gave something for our raffle- this, too, is another way for arrow to raise funds for our special projects, and we thank all of those who participated! so many special, handmade items...
we want to thank susan hable and her daughter bird for carving another block for us this year! bird was on hand to help with printing and she helped so many of you print your block...we are so proud of you, bird!
we also had an apple tasting and apple cider too...and this year, we had a record number of pies in our pie contest! the branded butcher took home the blue ribbon, and we love that an arrow dad won second place- it was his first time making a pie, too! many thanks to our guest judge, gena knox, and an arrow dad, don young, for helping judge the pies this year!
and we also want to thank amanda and jeremy for the music again this year- it wouldn't be the same without your fiddle tunes!
and a big thanks to Melissa & Hip Pops for coming out to celebrate with us...
and thanks to Mimi & her Home.made crew for providing us with the most delicious apple butter to try!
and last, but certainly not least, thank you to the arrow community for supporting this fun event...happy fall, everyone!
community egg hunt
thanks to everyone who came out to our 5th annual community egg hunt! what a fun day! it was grey and chilly, but that did not stop the littles from having fun looking for colorful eggs. held in the beautiful garden behind the cobb house across the street from arrow, it was fun to watch the children navigate the tiny paths and find little treasures: blueberries and strawberries, shells and acorns filled their eggs. even the tiniest of arrow friends was able to find something special, and we were extra happy to see some of our older arrow friends return for this special day...thanks, everyone!
lantern walk
we had our annual lantern walk on november 11, martinmas. all the children had made lanters at arrow the week before, or at home with their families...we started a little later than last year and it was pretty dark!
but, luckily, we had our lanterns. this was the second year that we had walked around our neighborhood by candelight and even some of our neighbors put out little candles to welcome the children- thank you, cobbham neighbors!
Arrow first learned about the Lantern Walk from Madrona Weinges and her family. Madrona used to lead our Waldorf Morning Garden program, and through her we learned how special these festivals and events can be for our little children.
here are some words from madrona, about the origins of the lantern walk:
The roots of Lantern Walks stretch to a tale related to the festival of Martinmas, celebrated in Northern Europe. In many European cities the children gather in the streets and parks with lanterns aglow in early November, just as the days are growing darker, to celebrate. St. Martin was a great warrior whom, as it is told, rode out one dark night with his lantern and along his path encountered a beggar on the side of the road. The beggar was near death and freezing; St. Martin lifted his sword and his men thought surely he would kill the beggar. Instead, he used his sword to cut his own cloak in half, sharing it with the beggar and saving his life.
The Lantern Walk goes beyond this tale to encompass even larger themes. As the light of the sun dwindles and winter draws near, the lighting of our lanterns symbolizes both the change in seasons from a more outward to a more inward mood as well as the need to carry light "within"; not just within our lanterns, but within our hearts. The mood of sharing and benevolence as expressed in the Martin stories still lives in the festival, yet the mood of the season dominates.
Above all else, these festivals re-connect our children to their communities and to their world. As our children grow in a life full of reverence, connection, and meaning, we know that they will mature into the kind of adults who will tend and care for, and heal, the planet and all of its communities.
The Sunlight fast is dwindling
My little lamp needs kindling
Its spark shines bright in darkest night...
Dear lantern guide me with your light.
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if you would like to make a lantern at home with your children, here are directions:
gather together:
- a mason jar
- colorful tissue paper (in shades of red, orange, and gold)
- kraft or elmer's glue
- a brush(for painting on the glue)
- some twine or yarn
- and, you may want some sort of disposable glove (it will be sticky...)
assemble:
- tear the tissue paper into strips
- put some glue on your brush and begin to lay the strips of tissue over on the sides of your jar and paint the glue on top. you will be layering different strips on top of each other. you will eventually cover the entire jar with strips so that it sort-of looks like stained glass.
- sit the jar aside to dry overnight
- make a handle for carrying your jar by tying twine or a ribbon handle to the top of the jar, under the rim. make the handle long enough to keep the hand away from the top of the jar, but still easy for a little one to carry.
and,
if you are feeling more adventurous, here are directions for a more advanced lantern:
http://gardenmama.typepad.com/my_weblog/2010/11/my-entry-1.html
a few of us made these the sunday before the walk:
our third annual apple festival!
we had a great turnout for out 3rd anual apple festival a few weeks ago...the sky was grey, but inside, arrow was glowing!
thanks to everyone who came out and to all the folks who donated apple pies for our apple pie contest, as well as to all the folks who donated items for our raffle!
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bird smith and her mom, susan, carved an apple-themed block for our craft project...for the third year in a row- thanks, y'all!
and, thanks to hope for helping with the craft, too!
arrow friends amanda & jeremy played music again this year- thanks, y'all!
we raised some funds with our raffle again this year- thank you!
then, the pies! oh my!
thanks to mimi maumus who, along with helpers bea & bird, judged the pies, and thank you to everyone who donated a pie: big city bread, five & ten, heirloom cafe, home.made, ike & jane, independent baking co., the national, and the arrow parents who made pies!
all in all it was a fun day! thank you for supporting arrow!
