Thanksgiving is here in 6 days… can you believe it? Comedian Michael McIntyre has a great bit where he describes November as the month where everyone wanders around exclaiming “I can’t believe it’s November! Can you?” It’s so true!

As we approach Thanksgiving, it’s always a natural time to think about what we’re grateful for. For me, I’m grateful for so much. I’d like to share specifically about what fills me with gratitude at BFA & LDBB!

1. Going Native

   If you’ve read any of my prior blog posts, you may have discovered my love for native plants… er, well, you could even say my total and complete passion for native plants! Planting plants that are supposed to grow here that help all our animals is just such a concrete, measurable way to make the world a better place! Yes!

   This past year, we have successfully grown pocket prairies at all our centers, helping bring and feed hummingbirds, bumblebees, native sweat bees, sparrows, monarch butterflies, and so many more animal brothers and sisters! Our raised bed gardens at BFA Dublin’s Perimeter location were bursting with Evening Primrose and Partridge Pea and were totally buzzing all Summer long!

   I won a native plant giveaway from Lynd’s Native Nursery out near Johnstown and installed hundreds of native plants at BFA Reed Rd, LDBB Harrison West, and BFA Clintonville! Also at BFA Clintonville, we planted 3 separate pocket prairies which burst to life all Summer, bringing birds, butterflies and bees close for kiddos to meet and enjoy! We also recently had Peter Harrington of Native Landscaping & Consulting, LLC come out and begin installation of an edible native garden for BFA Clintonville’s kitchen to utilize! Woo-hoo!

   If you want to get started planting natives around your house, see my graphics below and send me a message to Jared@ldbb.care or on instagram @jaredthenatureguy

2. Our Staff

At BFA & LDBB, we are so blessed to have so many of Central Ohio’s awesome educators and administrators under our roof! I only work with the older half of classrooms, but I know we’ve got greatness throughout!

A few specific shout-outs: Ehryah & Travis at LDBB 5th Ave are great! They’ve created a positive and improvement-focused atmosphere at their location that you can feel when you walk in the door! Also, Margie, our chef at 5th Ave, is wonderful… affectionately known as “Grandma Sweetcheeks” she is beloved by kiddos and teachers alike… and her thumb is pretty green too!

Miss Amber works with the babies in the Happy Honeydew room at our LDBB Harrison West Location. She’s been with LDBB for years and always brings so much positivity and overall calmness to the center!

Miss Emily & Miss B in Bright Beetles make a great team at LDBB GVS. They’re always laughing with their kiddos and their class is a joy!

In the GVS Kitchen, our kitchen manager Carly makes sure our delicious and nutritious meals get where they need to go, and she has made sure I’ve gotten all the milkjugs I need for the upcoming Nature Class Christmas Present… oh snap! Shout-out to Chef Matt at BFA Reed and Chef Ben at BFA Dublin too!

At BFA Reed, Mr.Ben in Clubhouse Monkeys incorporates music, his love for the outdoors, and his dry humor to create a well-rounded and expressive classroom culture. I had the privilege of teaching alongside him for years in Bright Beetles and he’s one of our best!

Haley Beroske, a wearer of many hats at BFA Reed, runs our social media, creates materials, and pretty much everything else. Her many contributions are appreciated by many, including me!

Miss Kim at BFA Dublin Perimeter and Miss Wolfe at BFA Dublin Innovation are running fun, orderly, and loving kindergarten classes that are highlights of my week!

Miss Jasmine at BFA Clintonville keeps it upbeat, fun, and the show moving on in her Kangaroo class… and has learned so much about nature this year!

And of course, I’m very grateful for our owners: Sarah, Katie, and Becca at BFA Reed & LDBB, Kenny & Erin at BFA Dublin, and Courtney & Rob at BFA Clintonville. All of them have been so invested and helpful to the nature program and have made so many of mine and others’ dreams come true. Having involved and caring owners is such a blessing!

This is all I’ll write in this section to avoid this becoming a 100-page essay, but believe me, I could go on and on about all of our teachers… what an amazing crew we have!

3. YOU!

Lastly, I want to say how grateful I am for you and your kiddos! It's an absolute joy to share nature stories, treasures, and silly games with your kids every week! I get to hear about the deer they saw in the yard, about the trip they took to the beach, about the bee they said hi to… and I love it!

I get told often how the kiddos talk about me and nature class at home, and I’ve seen more than a few videos of little musicians jamming to the nature time now song at home! This job is truly a daily dream come true for me.

Speaking of dreams, back to those native plants I was talking about, I live on 6 acres of land and have been working on turning this used and abused woods, wetland, and field into a rich and diverse habitat for wildlife. This has cost lots of time, brainpower, and money… and you’ve supported my efforts in so many ways! Me, my family, and the wildlife around us appreciate this support more than I can say! Thanks to your support, I was able to purchase many seeds, a greenhouse, and even a plow to convert my land to prairie with minimal chemicals!

If you wish to support this continuing effort, let me know at my email/instagram above!

Oh, and one more thing:

This Thanksgiving… try this: go outside and look at something natural on the ground like a blade of grass, a clover, a bug… what are you grateful for about that? Let your eyes move up… what do you see? A bush? A Tree? A dog? What are you grateful for about them? Let your eyes continue to move upward and let your heart be grateful for each plant, animal, or feature you see. Work your way up to the sky? What specific memories with the sky are you grateful for? The stars? A meaningful sunrise or sunset? Cloud-watching with your kiddos? Your parents?

Try it out and enjoy your family time! Gobble gobble!