Sunflower Homeschool Collaborative

01/29/2026

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What to Look for on a February Nature Walk 🌿

On your next walk, you might look for:

• buds forming on trees and hedgerows
• the colours of winter: soft browns, silvers, moss-greens
• last year’s leaves breaking down, feeding what comes next
• early flowers such as snowdrops and winter aconite
• birds becoming more visible and vocal as days lengthen
• tree bark patterns, scars, and growth marks revealed without leaves
• lichens and mosses thriving on walls, branches, and stones
• seed heads and dried stems still standing from last year
• signs of human and animal activity in softer ground or snow: footprints, paths, nibbled shoots

This is a useful time of year to slow the pace of a walk and spend longer in one small area. Choose a hedge, a patch of verge, or a single tree and give it your attention.

Ask simple questions:
What’s changed since January?
What looks different from last week?
What is clearly alive, even if it’s not growing yet?

You don’t need specialist knowledge to do this well. Careful looking is the skill February helps us practise, and it’s one that carries us right through the year.

Happy exploring!
💚🌱💚🌈💚✨💚🍄💚🌎💚

12/28/2025

In the no man's land that is time between holidays, it can feel ungrounded for children. The urge might be to get them right back on their routines, but this time of breaking from the regular is so powerful!

Mother Nature can help give them a reference point for integration and slowing down this experience.

During this liminal time, invite children to:

- Find a pine tree to connect to, showing them that life persists
- Pick a rosehip, modeling how to find beauty when it doesn't seem like there is any
- Show them that when all the leaves fall, it can help them see through to places they might not have seen before
- Explain that in the Northern Hemisphere the light is lengthening every day, and that sometimes it still seems incredibly dark, but that we have to TRUST, without proof, that the hard times will pass.

There's so many more, but this is a great start.

Remember, Mother Nature is here to help us process and grow and to return that wisdom back into ourselves and ultimately the collective.

So much love to you in the in-between.

Yours,

Nicolette Sowder
Art by Mary Bea
https://marybea-art.com/

11/14/2025

St. Martin’s Light
(A Waldorf Poem on Giving)
By Kay Khal

When autumn winds begin to blow,
And leaves like golden embers glow,
We walk with lanterns through the night,
Each child a bearer of warm light.

St. Martin rode through evening’s chill,
He met a beggar, cold and still.
He took his cloak of crimson hue,
And shared it, half for me, half for you.

He did not boast, he did not shout,
But quietly his heart reached out.
And in that giving, pure and small,
He found the greatest gift of all.

So we too light our lanterns bright,
To chase away the dark of night.
Each flame a sign that love can grow,
When hands are kind and hearts still glow.

For every spark of warmth we share,
Becomes a light that fills the air.
And through the dark we learn to see
The gift of giving sets us free.

10/16/2025

And a beautiful autumn 🍂 day was had by all! Looking forward to continuing our adventures next week!

09/04/2025

We can’t wait to greet our first day of fall classes tomorrow morning! ☀️
Welcome September! 🍂

07/27/2025

It’s hard to believe, but it’s almost that time again…back to school sales are in full swing and we only have one summer ☀️ social left on the calendar before our annual community meeting and registraion day.
Fall 🍂 classes begin Thursday, September 4 and limited spots are still available in most age groups.
Classes for the 2025/2026 school year will offer an engaging combination of forest walks, nature journaling, herbalism, foraging, myths, stories, yoga, mindfullness, handcrafts, art, science, carpentry and more.
Reach out to us through Facebook messenger or email at [email protected] for registration details 🍁 🍄 ✏️

07/04/2025

Wishing all our friends and family a safe and happy 4th! 🇺🇸 ♥️💙🤍

06/27/2025

July ☀️ socials! Pack a lunch and come join us!
July 3 - Creek 💦 Day
July 17 - Park Day/Friendship Bracelets
July 24 - River 💦 Day
July 31 - Park Day/Tie Dye
Message ✉️ for details 💗

06/14/2025

Another beautiful year has come to a close; so grateful 🥰 Let the summer adventures begin☀️

05/12/2025

Spring 🌷 classes are wrapping up, but warm weather ☀️ socials are just beginning!
Pack a lunch and come join us!
May 13 - Park & Handcraft Day
May 20 - Family Hike
June 12 - Creek Day
June 26 - Summer Plant Walk
Message ✉️ for details 💗

04/27/2025

This coming Thursday, we’ll begin our final month of spring 🌷 semester classes; it’s hard to believe summer ☀️ is just around the corner!
Though classes are wrapping up, our warm weather socials are just beginning, and we’re looking forward to a summer filled with new adventures; hikes, handcrafts, creek days and more!
Watch for more details to be posted soon, or reach out to be added to our interest list!