The changing seasons of New Hampshire are not lost on our young Preschoolers at East Andover Village Preschool. They notice the changing colors of the leaves and the cool mornings that requires them to wear coats. More closely they continue to discover changes in our playground garden. They notice that the tall sunflowers are now droopy. The flowers are gone and we watch a bird feasting on a seed head. The perennial plants are dropping their flowers. The children gather the flowers from the ground to use for decorations for their pretend cupcake shop. The leaves of the squash plants are now brown. The last of the squash is lying in the dirt ready to be gathered and made into some delicious snacks.

We enjoyed our fall visit to Highland Lake Apple Farm where we helped pick up apples off the ground to be pressed into cider. We picked an apple for ourselves, and three more besides to bring back to school for more cooking projects.

We are so grateful for our community apple growers, Mary and Peter, at the farm. We especially enjoyed hearing the story of the famous orchard cat named Willy, who has his own book. He made a personal appearance during our visit to remind us who was in charge around the farm. We are also thankful for our family helpers joining us for the field trip.

We have enjoyed watching milkweed seeds fly with their gentle parachutes. This experience reminded us of our Monarch butterflies from September. We have enjoyed revisiting our book about the experience called Rainbow Monarch.

The children have continued their interest in storytelling. They make their own books. They create pictures, stories and some write important words. Our next book project will be to create our own version of Leaf Man by Lois Ehlert. The children will create pictures with collected leaves and other nature items.

Oral storytelling is another way that the children enjoy stories. They especially enjoy when the teachers make up stories starring them. One of their favorites is called Chloe’s Lost Shoe. The children enjoy providing ideas for the story. What did happen to Chloe’s shoe? Did a bird really fly away with it, as one of the children suggested? We may never know.

We are excited to share with the community that East Andover Village Preschool has teamed up with the Andover libraries to bring a storyteller named Michael Caduto to the East Andover Library on Saturday, December 12, at 4:15. The FREE program will be an hour long, interactive and best suited for Preschoolers through grade 3.

Michael will tell a variety of Native American stories about the Earth. Check out his Web site at  p-e-a-c-e.net which stands for Programs in Environmental Awareness and Cultural Exchange. Prior to the program, EAVP children and families will be invited to enjoy a back to school celebration from 3 to 4 PM called “Stories from the Classroom” showcasing the experiences and learning of the children. In the meantime, the teachers and students will prepare to put the garden to bed until spring and consider what the seasons have to share and inspire us with in the colder months ahead.

Emma Watkins, Azalea Morgan, Chloe Miller and Leo Jones create colored leaves to add to our classroom trees.