Marin Tender Tracks Thur.Feb. 11, 2016 Day 38

Waxing Moon
Bon Tempe

Today we celebrated Alara’s  5 year old birthday and she was very, very happy with this. She was also quite peaceful through out the day.
There was a lot of spring high energy though for most of the others therefore, a great deal of games took place and bringing more clarity as to how we are in circle and how we are with each other so that all can receive what is needed and wanted.
The focus of the day was:
1. Celebrate Alara
2. Make gifts for the Birds by making peanut butter and bird seed covered Pine cones
3. Receive and give love and gifts to and From Earth and Sky
4. Continue to explore this area and find what unnoticed treasures and wonders are to be found.
Well, this all did happen.
Michelle had snuck off and placed Pine cones in strategic places in the Oak trees for the children to find.  They ran off with her to find these while I set up what was to take place with them.  When they arrived back they were excited from their finds and were ready to make these gifts. What fun it was to smear and spread sticky and gooey peanut butter and then roll the cones in birdseed. But first, a grand tactile experience of feeling the birdseed run through their fingers commenced.   Talay and Ariel got VERY involved and immersed their entire hands in the peanut butter. They then figured out how to wash their hands, and arms, in the lake to clean up.  Talay was not as content with this yet with some slow moving support, she found her way through it all clean!
Afterwards there was the finding  places to hang these bird gifts. Two places came about. Later in the day we revisted them to see if the birds had begun their treats.  We did not notice any peckings but when we left we DID see all the crows crowding around on the ground picking up all the seeds and the sparrows eating seeds that were on the ground from a game we played towards the end of the day.
At lunch Michelle and I took turns reading some beautiful animal stories.
After lunch was when we went to check out the hanging cones and from there I had them all wait while I made a trail of bird seed for them to follow and find me.  When I was ready I gave them the call I shared with them prior to let them know that I was ready.  Michelle and the children followed and followed and followed the bird seed until, THEY FOUND ME!!!!
These seeds were the ones that the Sparrows really enjoyed later on.
We then went on an adventure down the trail that we went on Tuesday.  We didn’t see the turtles at first but then I spied a big one and a little one swimming with each other.  When they all came running over, first the little one and then the big one dove down into the water and disappeared from our site.  We also found more dead Milipedes. Layton is the one that has been finding these and the rest of us have been joining her with our curiosity.
There were many playful games and then, running back down the trail to get on the bus and draw our story of the day.
It is nice the way the Three year old Class and the 4’s/5’s class are sharing these pictures about their days. Each class gets to see what the others ones have noticed on their nature adventures.
Many of them wanted to get snuggled up in blankets today so that happened too.