ECOLECLAIREFONTAINE FEBRUARY 2017
LO V E
352 Westminster Ave. Venice 90291 clairefontainela@aol.com (310) 314-9976 laclairefontaine.org
CONTENTS
p3 Calendar p4 Bir thdays p5 L adybug p6-17 L ove p18-19 I n the Gar den - Planting Avocados p20-21 Avocado - Cucumber Salad p22-23 Wildlife Habitat p24-25 L a Galette p26-27 Baking p28-29 Flavor s p30-31 M ixed M ater ials in Embroider y p32-35 Ar tists at Wor k p37 Pep'I n p38-39 Community News
FEBRUARY CALENDAR Th u 2 Feb
CHILDREN ONLY Chandleur / Groundhog Day
Wed 8 Feb
AK Calligraphy Class Begins with Claudine Gauthier
Th u 9 Feb
12:30pm Camper Campus Birthdays Celebration 1:00pm Abbot Kinney Campus Birthdays Celebration
Fr i 10 Feb
1:00pm VCC Education Committee
Tu e 14 Feb
All day
Mon 20 Feb
SCHOOL CLOSED
Fr i 3 M ar
5:00pm AK Calligraphy Exhibition
Valentine's Day
CELEBRATING FEBRUARY BIRTHDAYS Antonia Benjamin Chloe Ella Eliel Nico Sophia Ace Vishaan
We will celebrate February birthdays on Thursday the 9th at 12:30 on the Camper Campus, and 1pm at Abbot Kinney. Please remember to go light on the sugar and icing, and to spread the love. 4 ECF
Coccinelle, demoiselle BĂŞte Ă Bon Dieu Coccinelle, demoiselle Vole jusqu?aux cieux Petit point rouge Rien ne bouge Petit point blanc Elle attend Petit point noir Coccinelle, au revoir. 5 ECF
FOR THE LOVE OF... For the Love of Art, Culture, Language, Music, Poems & Stories As Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award recipient Philip Pullman so wisely said: ?Children need art and stories and poems and music as much as they need love and food and fresh air and play.? At Ecole Claire Fontaine, we live in art, music, love, laughter, language and culture. Children are able to discover what they have not yet imagined. They hear or see something that is at once beautiful and puzzling, and that brings with it layers of feelings. Art makes us feel depths we did not know we had ? children are able to have this experience as they branch out and unearth what they never knew existed. 6 ECF
WE ARE LOVE We are an international community of artists, activists, linguists, scientists and students who live next to the sea, relishing its restorative benefits to body, mind and soul, while treating it with care. Our school is a safe space for all.
LOREM IPSUM DOLOR SIT Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consetetur sadipscing elitr, sed diam nonumy eirmod tempor invidunt ut labore et dolore magna aliquyam erat, sed diam voluptua. At vero eos et accusam et justo duo dolores et ea rebum. Stet clita kasd gubergren, no sea takimata sanctus est. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consetetur sadipscing elitr, sed diam nonumy eirmod tempor invidunt ut labore et dolore magna aliquyam erat, sed diam voluptua. At vero eos et accusam et justo duo dolores et ea rebum. Stet clita kasd gubergren, no sea takimata sanctus est Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consetetur sadipscing elitr, sed diam nonumy eirmod tempor invidunt ut labore et dolore magna aliquyam erat.
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WHAT DO YOU LOVE ?
Children are bold in their expressions of love and would LOVE for everyone to know what they love, how much, and how far?
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I love painting
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I love digging dirt. I love the tree. I love building. I love painting. I love playing the piano. I love my violin! I love soccer.
I love to see the fish swimming in the ocean. I love riding my bike! I love lunch. I love my mom. I love my sister.
I love my brother. I love you! I love hugs. I love my dad. I love my grandmother. I love my grandpa. I love everybody! 11 ECF
Play
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Oceanography and Art
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FOR THE LOVE OF ART
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& FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
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YOUR CHILD LOVES YOU
Children are fragile and want nothing more than to understand what they should do to please you; let them help you put a little candle or flower on the table at dinner to enhance their sense of belonging.
A child whispers, ?Do you know what? Do you know that I love you more than anything? I love you past the sun and through the universe.?
The flower of the month of L ove is the Pr imrose, representing modesty, distinction and vir tue.
IN THE GARDEN Garden well and eat what you grow The children are happily experiencing the ups and downs of winter gardening, including rain boots, flooding planters and drowned sprouts ! W INTER PESTS & COLD DAYS
In the Garden it is a flourishing New Year, green and growing save for a bare fig tree and a few plants that have become fodder for foraging critters. We have grubs, les vers, gnawing on our tomato roots and la peste spotting orange powder on a pot of clover. The children are happily experiencing the ups and downs of gardening, and are watching their seeds sprout despite the cold days. The rainy season is here ? and the children continue to sing, ?When we water the plants it?s like the rain!?
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The children love to eat from the garden, whether munching away next to a mint plant, or harvesting their beans, tomatoes and lettuce for a small addition to lunch. SEEDS FROM TABLE
An advancing gardener has been tracking the progress of a potato borrowed from the kitchen and planted at the Camper Campus, however as a group the children decided to keep their avocado pits out of the ground for now. INDOOR PLANTING
Instead, the children are undertaking a process to grow an avocado tree,
beginning indoors, that could take as many as eight weeks before the sprouting tree will be ready to be gently placed in the ground. HOW TO PLANT AN AVOCADO: THE PIT'STHE THING!
Step 1: Enjoy an avocado and clean all of the green off the pit Step 2: Locate which end is up and which is down (the top will be a little pointy, the bottom a bit flatter and rounder) Step 3: Pierce the lower quarter with four toothpicks all the way around to act as pillars to hold the pit in place Step 4: Place the avocado seed half
submerged in a glass of water ? Remember the bottom is the flatter end, which needs to always be kept wet ? the top is a little pointier and needs to be kept dry. The toothpicks will hold it up so only the bottom is submerged ? put it on a windowsill in the sunlight, and wait between 2-8 weeks? The top part of the pit will dry and crack, while the bottom (which must always be submerged in water) will grow roots. Let your new tree grow until it is about 6? tall when it will be ready to be placed, oh so gently, directly from the water glass into the ground.
Seeing shadows in the Garden, we welcome an early spring
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AVOCADO CUCUMBER SALAD
This rich and creamy fruit provides almost 20 essential nutrients, including fiber, potassium, vitamins E, K and C, folic acid and B vitamins.
Avocados are full of vitamins, boost the effectiveness Avocados also boost the of nutrients in other foods, and contain more body?s ability to absorb more fat-soluble nutrients, such as potassium than bananas. This is wonderful recipe to try ? remember to save the pits for planting!
1 organic cucumber (chopped into small chunks) 2 organic avocados (chopped into small chunks) ž cups organic cilantro (remove stems and save for soup making or add to your compost bin - chop the leaves coarsely to release flavor) 1 tablespoon lemon juice 1 tablespoon lime juice
½ teaspoon of sea salt or try grinding Himalayan Pink Salt Start with the chunked avocado in a glass or metal salad bowl. Add the cucumber, cilantro and lemon-lime dressing. Toss lightly and let the flavors mingle for 5-15 minutes.
alpha and beta-carotene and lutein, in foods that are eaten with them. The high fat content comes from the monounsaturated oleic acid, a healthy fatty acid. In our kitchens and classes we experiment with ways to prepare fruits and vegetables that the children will love, and find that the discovery of the pit of the avocado is particularly interesting. Bon appĂŠtit!
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Avocado tasting and planting at the Camper Campus
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Mutuality With the Life Around Us The children spend much of their school day surrounded by life in the garden, not only being among one another, but also experiencing mutuality with the world around them. The environment is a basic tenet of study at Ecole Claire Fontaine. Some of the curriculum is directed through classes like Botany, Cosmology, Gardening, Oceanography and Water Cycle Ecology, but for the most part living with nature becomes part of the children's daily routine. A sacred bond is created between a child and the trees that grow to be so familiar; which ones are for climbing or playing underneath, the best branches for lying on, the spot where the tire swings round and round... The children are learning to treat plants and animals gently and with love while developing ethics that include a graceful cohabitation. They are steadily discovering new and sustainable ways to share with the critters in the garden, while leaving a few red berries and tomatoes, green lettuce and beans, to enjoy for their own lunch. In this age of climate change and environmental degradation, Ecole Claire Fontaine takes seriously its distinction as both a Green Business and a Certified Wildlife Habitat: Our certification reads: ?This habitat is certified in the National Wildlife Federation?s worldwide network of mini-refuges. Because of the owner?s conscientious planning, landscaping and sustainable gardening, wildlife may find quality habitat ? food, water, cover, and places to raise their young.? On the Abbot Kinney Campus, our master gardener, Ade Onaolapo, is teaching the children to make soil. Dirt becomes rich with nutrients to sustain life when it is well fed. We compost fallen leaves and leftover food scraps from our organic kitchens. The children crush eggshells under their feet and we sprinkle coffee grounds into the mix. Ade explains that it will take another month for the mix to steep before the soil is ready for the garden. We reap what we sow. Our children are the monkeys in the trees and the angels walking hand in hand with flowers behind their ears. 22 ECF
J'aime la galette Savez-vous comment? Quand elle est bien faite Avec du beurre dedans Tralalala lalala lalère Tralalala lalala lala
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J'aime la galette Savez vous comment? Quand elle est bien faite Avec du sucre dedans Tralalala lalala lalère Tralalala lalala lala
Puis avec de la pâte Puis avec des oeufs Puis avec des amandes et la fève évidemment !
Chef Josette prepared our celebratory cake www.chefjosette.com
Sharing the kings' cake in equal parts sows seeds of geometry and friendship.
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Children love baking: Stirring batter for breads and fruit cakes
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Fruit Cake * Includes nuts so we don't make this one at school
1 1/8 c almond meal 1/4 c chopped walnuts 2 1/2 c dried fruit 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/2 tsp allspice 1/4 tsp ground ginger 1/4 tsp nutmeg 1 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp baking soda 1 tsp vanilla extract pinch sea salt 1 tbs lemon zest grated 3 tbs lemon juice 4 tbs coconut milk 3 tbs walnut oil (or almond or light olive oil) 3 eggs lightly beaten 1/2 cup blanched almonds for decorating Preheat your oven to 350. Line a cake tin with baking paper. In a mixing bowl combine spices, baking powder, baking soda, vanilla, sea salt and lemon zest. In a separate bowl place lemon juice, coconut milk, oil and eggs and whisk together. Add the dry ingredients to wet and fold through with a wooden spoon. Spoon the mixture into prepared tin then press the mixture down into the tin using your hands so that it is compact and tightly packed. Bake for 1 hour on the middle shelf of the oven. Open oven and placed blanched almonds on top and return to oven for 30 min. Check cake with a skewer and remove the cake from the oven when the skewer comes out clean. 27 ECF
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Experimenting with Flavors: blood oranges, tangerines, red and yellow onions
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Mixed MaterialsSupport Inventiveness Embroidery Class Ecole Claire Fontaine studio teacher Georgina Reskala guides her students in Embroidery and other types of sewing using a variety of supplies including burlap, cotton, canvas and paper.
The objective of the class, says Georgina, includes aiding in language development, teaching words for actions, colors and shapes. Arts education also strengthens problem solving and critical thinking skills, while supporting visual learning and encouraging inventiveness. By being shown how to hold a needle and use it in order to create and design with different color yarns, children are able to work confidently and improve their fine motor skills. Georgina explains that introducing young children to a creative skill such as embroidery helps them to improve academic performance over time, and exercises their visual-spatial skills. The use of different materials aids in communication and the sense that there are endless possibilities in art and learning. By emphasizing hands-on discovery, the children are able to use all of their senses and reasoning: all of their languages to learn. 30 ECF
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Artists at work February collection
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On the tip of our imagination, where stories never end and friends come in all sizes and sorts
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Creating , crafting, practicing, preparing
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Working together
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PEP' IN PROGRAM AT THE CAMPER CAMPUS We have added another day of Music with Frederic to our Pep?In program ? he will now join our teachers to be with the children on both Wednesdays and Thursdays at 3:30 Sign up here: http://laclairefontaine.org/pep-in/
This wonderful program is for both toddlers and their caregiver to come to school. Accompanied by the older children from the Camper Campus as role-models, Pep'Ins learn French songs, make art and play while establishing friendships that last throughout their time at ECF and beyond. 37 ECF
COMMUNITY NEWS Join the choir! Atelier Musical Enchantes lead by our choir teacher, you will be learning medieval and Renaissance French songs.
The 2017 VENICE WAVE AWARDS will take place in May, please contribute to this community event encouraging and supporting local teachers.
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SOUP Hand crafted, organic soups and healing tonics or three-day soup cleanse on the Westside. Contact Francie at cleanse@theheartspacecafe.com http://www.theheartspacecafe.com/ DOG TREATS
Handmade Healthy & Organic www.HungryDawgz.com 10% discount code ECF2017 .10% of proceeds will benefit ECF.
WESTMINSTER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL Fri 2/3 Prospective Parent School Tour 9am Library Sat 2/4 Join us to repaint the school, 9-3pm Sat 2/11 WE GARDEN session 10-1pm VENICE HIGH SCHOOL 2/27 Realtor Day 9-11am Network and learn about school plans - RSVP to Oryla omw9986@lausd.net
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