May 11, 2026
Important Dates…
Monday, May 11-Friday, May 15: Week-long residency with The Guitar Man, Jim McCutcheon.
Thursday, May 14: OFP Picnic, 5:30 p.m. on the Overfield Playground. Concert with visiting artist, Jim McCutcheon, 6:30 p.m. on the Overfield Playground.
Thursday, May 21: Primary Class End of Year Celebration, 6 p.m. in the Gathering Place.
Friday, May 22: Last Day of School for the 2025-2026 school year.
Monday, June 8-Friday, June 12: Summer Camp Week One: Fee, Fi, Fo–Fantasy Fun, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Monday, June 15-Friday, June 19: Summer Camp Week Two: Games and Adventures, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Monday, June 22-Friday, June 26: Summer Camp Week Three: Splish, Splash, Splosh–Water Week, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Insights from the Outdoors
Overfield is situated by a small forest, open field, and the Hobart Preserve, and because of this the children develop a deep empathy and understanding of the circle of life. This circle can bring joy, like a tiny grumpy faced baby turtle or a curious young kit with disproportionately large ears. However, they see the other side of the circle as well. This school year has brought a fair share of encounters with deceased animals.
These moments could be an unsettling experience with children, but can also be a time for respect, compassion, curiosity, and grief.
For example, we were exploring the fox’s deserted den area and found the skull of an animal. Some of the children quickly decided the foxes had eaten it for breakfast and continued exploring. However, one child stopped and really looked at the skull. He then looked at me and said, “It’s really sad.” The two of us moved it to a quiet little space away from the other children and foot traffic. Later he found a beautiful rock and placed it with the skull: a treasure of compassion and empathy.
Children often respond to death in nature in these two ways. They are either deeply curious, becoming detectives and wanting to understand what happened, or they see that the animal’s life is lost and they are deeply saddened and emotional and wish to honor it with a ceremony.
Nearly every time we find a deceased animal at Overfield the children wish to bury it and say farewells. It is important to honor these moments, and typically this involves placing the animal in a special spot outside of the children’s play areas. They gather and surround the body with flowers and beautiful things and wish it goodbye with words of love. These experiences help the children grow emotionally, physically, and socially, and build understanding and empathy with the natural world around them.
Robin Ramsey – Naturalist
The Overfield organic veggie garden is coming along nicely, and we know it’s going to grow like crazy this summer! The children have been busy amending soil, planting, weeding, and tasting the goodies that have popped up so far! By August, it will be a beautiful space in which children can learn and snack when they return to school.
We are looking for families to sign up for a Sunday-Saturday shift to help keep our garden thriving and producing throughout the summer. Below you’ll find a link to sign up to help keep our garden amazing all summer long.
Expectations are to weed, search for insects on plants, groundhog openings in the fence, and make sure the garden is getting watered. Volunteers usually stop in a few times during their scheduled week.
Overfield Garden Summer Volunteer Signup
Thank you, Robin Ramsey
We had such a fun first day with the Guitar Man, Jim McCutcheon! We are thrilled to have him with us as a visiting artist this week. Many thanks to the Ohio Arts Council for helping to provide this opportunity, where the children will get to learn all about the guitar, as well as about stringed instruments from all over the world.
There will be an outdoor concert with Jim on the main playground this Thursday, May 14th, at 6:30 p.m., following the OFP End of Year Picnic. We hope to see you all there!
