November 19th

 Hi All!

First off, just a reminder, there will be NO co-op NEXT Friday, November 26th because of Thanksgiving... and while I'm at it, there will be no co-op on December 10th because I will be at a class.)

I had a lot of fun last Friday...despite having puppy brain fog!  

Speaking of puppy brain fog...

For those of you who are interested, this is how the puppies are spending their days: 

As of today, they are 11 days old. Their eyes and ears are still closed, and they still aren't crawling (though some of them are getting super close!).  I try to weigh them every morning and night, though some days I only get one weighing in. All of them are gaining well!  By 4 weeks of age, all of them should be between 5 and 10 pounds!

(Red girl here started at 1 pound 2.5 ounces.  Now she weighs 2 pounds 6.5 ounces)

The rest of the day for the puppies is spent sleeping and eating (and sometimes eating while sleeping). Angel gets up periodically and goes potty, drinks goat milk, and eats food. As soon as she lies back down, the puppies smell her, wake up from their sleep, and start crawling towards her. Once they reach her, she smells them to make sure they don't need to go potty and she cleans them if they do. Occasionally they get lost on their way and they bark to let me know I need to help them. Between that and Angel thinking she needs to run the property to keep coyotes away, my peaceful dreams are interrupted multiple times a night ;-).  

Here's a video for you if any of you want to watch cute puppies waking up to eat...

And now on to the "important" things!

Here is what is on the agenda for Friday:

Schedule for Friday, November 19, 2021

From 10-Noon(ish) we will break into group activities:

Group A-- Ages 5-8

You will be working with the horses this week!!! We will be going over the basics of Roundpenning, how horses communicate, grooming, and then we will play Chutes and Ladders (or some other board game) with the miniature horses. Should be fun!

Though I am looking forward to showing everyone the horses, I need to ask that if you have children who are unable to follow directions, you will either need to plan to stay with them the entire time or not bring them to this particular project. Although my horses are gentle and are used to children, they have their own minds. The children will be asked to stand and listen quietly so as not to spook the horses. I will ask children that are disruptive to leave the arena for the safety of the other children. 

Materials Needed:

None

Group B-- Ages 9-12

You will be doing PE this week. (Unspecified game at this time ;-) )

Sunscreen and water bottles are recommended. 

Materials Needed:

Tennis shoes and comfortable clothes

Water

Group C-- Ages 13-18

You will be doing Gardening this week. Please be prepared to get dirty. Don't wear your favorite shoes to the farm (probably not ever, but definitely not on garden days ;-) ). If you want to wear gardening gloves, please bring your own.  

Materials Needed: A willingness to get dirty and a smile!

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Movement Therapy/Stretching with Ms. Paula

After the group activities, Ms. Paula will host a Movement Therapy/Stretching class in the front yard area. Please let Ms. Paula know if you are wanting to do this class. She doesn't want to interfere with anyone's fun by announcing it is happening, but she would love to come get you if you are wanting to stretch with her. All body types/ strength levels are encouraged to attend. Ms. Paula is absolutely AMAZING. She designs her stretches based on the needs of the class, which she can see simply by how you normally move. 

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Picnic Lunch

Everyone is welcome to stay and have a picnic lunch in the backyard area. You are responsible for bringing your own lunch. Please do not feed any animals with that lunch and please make sure all garbage is disposed of in the dumpster or garbage can.