All is safely gathered in

Today has been much cooler and misty at times. I went for a walk into the trees at the bottom of the field with some of our KS1 children and encouraged them to kick up leaves and catch them as they fell - the leaves, that is, not the children. I love this time of year.
I love this poster from Julie Paschkis too.



I'm sad that so many of our children, even on an estate on the edge of a rural area, have little understanding of the importance of harvest in a pre-supermarket life. Many of our children have little insight into where food comes from. I remember an afternoon, a couple of years ago, where a colleague and I revealed the mysteries of bread to our class of eleven year olds. Bread is made from flour?- awesome enough... flour is made from wheat?...mindblowing...making our own bread?...well, what an afternoon. We mixed it, kneaded it, watched it rise, baked it and ate most of it hot with butter. I think the sight of them parading around the building, full of pride, offering pieces of their own, home-baked bread to staff and children will stay with me forever. Who needs the National Curriculum?

We don't acknowledge Halloween at school. Uncomfortably pagan, maybe even Satanic... I'm actually rather fond of the whole pumpkin business. I love pumpkin soup, adore roasted pumpkin seeds and enjoy the carving.
I found this super website full of pumpkin inspiration.

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Have you seen the latest Stitch Diva pattern for lovely, cosy felted clogs? I'm off to download it now.