Apple Picking

We spent the day apple-picking in Oak Glen, two hours east.

This is the general store where stood in line to pay for our bags and admission to the orchard. (My husband, who spent his childhood as a migrant farmworker, had no interest in joining us to pay someone to pick produce; this is an act one is paid for, not vice versa.) A small bag was $10, a large bag was $18, and admission to the orchards was $1 per person.

The employees of the farm wear costumes to give tourists the feeling of having stepped back into the 1800s. Latex gloves and a $22 price tag on a gallon of apple cider gives away the fact that one is indeed still in the 21st century.

We visited 3 farms: Riley's Farm, Riley's Apple Farm, and Willowbrook Farm. We were supposed to pick apples at Riley's Apple Farm, but we accidentally parked at Riley's Farm and paid for our bags before we'd realized our mistake. The farms are next to each other, and were originally the same business, so one can see how that might confuse a tourist, right?

Sheep at Riley's Farm

According to a bonnet-donning employee, the farmland was all purchased by Mr. Riley in the late 1800s from Joe Wilshire, for whom Wilshire Peak is named, for the tidy sum of two chickens, $50, and a jug of whiskey.

 These wildflowers line the main road on the walk from Riley's Farm to Riley's Apple Farm.

While my daughter played with her friends in this playhouse, I sat and ate a deluxe caramel apple for lunch. It was topped with ice cream, whipped cream, and chopped nuts, and lived up to its name.

For $3, one can learn to make a corn husk doll.

After Riley's Apple Farm closed at a surprising 2:46 p.m. (surprising because the website says it's open until 4 p.m.), we walked back to Riley's Farm to fill our already-paid-for bags.

The trees were really picked over. I finally found a tree with some apples on it in the "colonial arbor," and had to climb the parking lot fence to get high enough to reach the apples. I then climbed into the tree, facing off against a swarm of bees, and hoping not to get caught by farm employees. I hadn't even considered that I might have competition. A tourist with a fruit picker was reaching his pole up into the tree from the parking lot, aiming for the same fruit I was trying to get, and - with the fruit picker - was knocking loose apples, which were conking me on the head. I wanted to yell down, "This tree is mine! I saw it first!" but I thought that I should use my energy to make sure I didn't fall out of the tree or that bees didn't fly into my t-shirt.

The best part is that my picky eater actually liked the apples enough to eat three of them before we'd made it back to Santa Monica.

How to Plan a Preschool Field Day

How do you plan a field day for preschoolers?

Well, here's how my husband and I did it...

1. Start with a story.

What better story to read than The Hare and the Tortoise? It's probably the most well-known tale about a race, and it has an important message for preschoolers: Be a good sport. It's not nice to brag and try to make other people feel bad. We're also supposed to feel happy for our friends when they're happy. Lastly, sports are supposed to be fun, plain and simple.

2. Discuss good sportsmanship.

• You can talk about how being a good sport translates to playing board games like Candyland.
• Explain what it means to cheer on your team.
• Give each other high-fives.
• Practice shaking hands and saying, "Good game."

3. Award medals before the events.

You can purchase a dozen award medals at a party supply store for anywhere from $3.99 to $6.99. Pass these out as a reminder to be a good sport.

4. Three events preschoolers love:

• In and Out: Set 6 upside-down pails in a straight line, and time each child as they run "in and out" between the pails. After everyone has had a turn, let each child have a second turn to improve their time. (You can use the stopwatch feature on your phone, and don't forget your clipboard!)
• Standing Long Jump: Put down a tape measure and see how far each child can jump. Let each child have a practice turn and a "real" turn.
• The Throw: Again using the tape measure, give each child a plastic baseball (like the ones from Little Tikes t-ball) and let them see how far they can throw it. (Set up the upside-down pails to create boundaries, three on one side and three on the other, and show children how to aim down the middle.) Let each child have two balls and record their best distance.

5. Have fun - and snacks! 

Preschoolers won't care at all about their scores, but they will love the math lesson of looking at the tape measure and identifying the number their ball is near. Most importantly, have fruit, pretzels, string cheese, and juice boxes. Your little ones will have worked up a big appetite.

Have you ever planned a field day for preschoolers? What events did you do?

Nature Study: Campfire at Temescal Canyon

Mmmm, s'mores.

Tonight we went to Temescal Gateway Park for their Thursday night campfire.

Here's how it works:

• Campfire starts at 7:00 pm, so get there at 6:30 pm to picnic.
• Park on the street for free, or park in the park for $7.
• Bring a picnic dinner and beverages, a blanket, sweaters, graham crackers, and a king-size Hershey's chocolate bar. (Marshmallows & marshmallow-roasting-forks are provided.) (Some people even brought hot dogs for roasting.)
• A naturalist will do a lesson. (Tonight's lesson was on water; this summer, there have been lessons on predators/prey, ground squirrels, etc.)
• Silly campfire songs are sung.
• The marshmallow-roasting forks come out. Everyone lines up and gets a fork and a couple of marshmallows and circles up around the fire. (You can bring your own sticks and marshmallows and skip the line, but the line moves so fast so it's not necessary.)

Campfire lasts about an hour. After, you can go down and listen to the frogs, and look for bats. Don't forget that you can use your phone as a flashlight. ;)

Playing Henry the Heron in the campfire skit about the water cycle

Sing along time

Yum.

Hoop-a-thon

Saturday morning, there was a "hoop-a-thon" at the park. We walking by, on our way to buy a birthday gift for a friend, when we saw this.

How could we not stop?

T-Ball at the Beach

Beach Fairy

"They must be kept in a joyous temper all the time, or they will miss some of the strengthening and refreshing held in charge for them by the blessed air."

-Charlotte Mason, Vol. 1 pg. 44

Out-of-Door Life

My daughter filling her watering can from Mommy's big watering can

Watering the roses, lavender, and rosemary

"All the time, too, the children are storing up memories of a happy childhood. Fifty years hence they will see the shadows of the boughs making patterns on the white tablecloth; and sunshine, children's laughter, hum of bees, and scent of flowers are being bottled up for after refreshment." 

- Charlotte Mason, Home Education (Volume 1) page 43