How we celebrate
Parents and children enjoy the school picnic at the Oakhurst Community Garden
At APP, we celebrate seasons. One of our goals is to be welcoming to all; cultural and religious holidays are celebrated at home. Birthdays are celebrated with a song and a special tea party. Parents are welcome to come to the tea party and read or donate a special book to the class. We do not offer sweets and treats and focus more on the celebration with friends and family.
In the fall, we carve pumpkins, make cider, gingerbread and homemade applesauce. In the winter, we hang art made out of ice, light lanterns and feed the birds. In the spring, we dance around a May pole.
We have two community festivals. We have a large craft and fair trade festival in December and an Earth Day celebration consisting of a Volkswagen car show and auction in April.
A Year of Celebrations at APP
- August — School begins
- September–Harvest the summer garden; All-school picnic at a local park
- October–Fall Festival – Children make cider, have their faces painted, carve pumpkins, make nature mobiles and potions
- November–Thankful Feasts – A potluck meal made by parents on beautiful nature-filled tables designed by the children
- December–Alternative Craft Fair and Bazaar (community-wide festival); Winter week – 2 days of wearing pajamas to school and sheet forts, 2 days of a winter festival – drumming, making food for wildlife, decorating pine cones and lighting lanterns that each child makes and fire truck Friday
- January–A birthday tea party in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr.
- February–Art show
- March–Plant seeds for summer garden
- April–Harvest the Winter garden and transplant seeds; Earth Day Festival: Auction and VW car show (community-wide festival); Earth week – a celebration of all things natural
- May–Spring Festival – Dancing around the May Pole, making May baskets and flower crowns; All-school picnic at a local park; Graduation
