One of the biggest changes that the Sprouts noticed this month was the leaves changing from orange, red, and yellow to brown and falling off the trees. Several Sprouts noticed that once the leaves were brown and on the ground, they were crunchy. Kids found all sorts of ways to play with the fallen leaves. One group of friends enjoyed seeing how big of a pile they could make, another liked to toss them in the air to see how they would fall, and others used leaves as money.
We also got our first big rain day this month. The Sprouts had so much fun in the rain. They noticed how quickly puddles formed and how slippery the dirt got. They took advantage of both of those and would slide down the little hills and jump in the puddles to see who could make the biggest splash. One of the favorite activities was digging up the mud and forming mud balls with it. The Sprouts noticed that after the rain, the weather got really cold for a few days, and with the cold weather came ice. They explored the field and the schoolyard, seeing where water was gathered and would collect the ice. Some noticed that pots in the shady spots held the most ice. They used the ice to build things with, and some Sprouts even tried seeing how long they could hold it before their hands got too cold or the ice melted. 
Our baby chickens have been busy growing and are now teenage chickens, so they’ve moved to a little coup by the schoolhouse. The Sprouts have been having fun watching them grow. Some observations about the chickens are that they have different size mohawks (combs) and they are different sizes and colors. The Afternoon Sprouts were able to help catch and put the chickens up for the night. It was so fun watching the kids, and the chickens run around.
I hope that everyone has a good winter and look forward to seeing what the Sprouts observe next month.