Marin Tender Tracks Tues. Dec.9, 2014 Day 25

Waning Gibbous Moon
Bon Tempe Lake

This was a beautiful gray, misty, overcast, calming day.  We have never gone to this part of the Lakes before and they jumped out and began their explorations with jubilant preschool energy.
After stretching their legs, acclimating/orienting to the environment circle time commenced.  We had a grand story that is our theme story for the month and that will, unbeknownst to them, be their guide for the last day before Winter Break + we sang our songs that too will be our guide for them and to share with you.
Todays focus was hammering out our lanterns for,again, our last day party.   I had tin cans that had water frozen in them in order to hammer holes in them for the light to shine out when we make our bees wax candles.   They had so much fun hammering, helping each other, trying and having a hard time or just loving it, getting the ice out once they had finished hammering and then, the great fun began.  There were old rotting logs just waiting for them to take hammer and nail to and have at it at the logs and, they did!  What fun.  I do believe each and everyone of them made their way over to the logs and pounded some nails in.
After all of this we ate lunch and while we were doing that, the often now moment of silence came.  Then we spotted a Great White Egret that we watched a lot throughout the day as it was able to be so very, very, very still and then……IT FLEW with such grace, silence and majesty to another spot!!
We were surrounded by the music of the frogs, the curiosity of what might be in the pond as some of the floating logs looked like unknown creatures.
After a time we began to explore the big rock to the North of us.  They climbed up and down and up and down it and then discovered Sheep sorrel:http://livingafield.com/Plants_SheepSorrel.htm You can find great pictures and info about it at this web address.Part of the family and a plant you may know is: (common name) Sour grass.  They are both part of the buckwheat family which also include Curly Dock, if you are familiar with that plant. 

Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Eudicots
(unranked):	Rosids
Order:	Oxalidales
Family:	Oxalidaceae
Genus:	Oxalis
Species:	O. pes-caprae
Binomial name
Oxalis pes-caprae L.

Open and closed bunch of Oxalis pes-caprae

Details of open and closed flowers, in the background: leaves

Oxalis pes-caprae (Bermuda buttercup, African wood-sorrel, Bermuda sorrel, Buttercup 

The children had a grand, grand time eating all of these plants and spent quite a bit of time scouring the area looking in many different places to find them.   Then Jai, Velia, Theron, Enzo, Thea,Nico, and I went down a path looking for wonderful gifts that Nature had for them today.  We found a path and then off the path we found incredible mushrooms!!!  There was a very large yellowy orange one that was turned over and rotting.  Velia and Thea discovered the little maggot looking “worms” and decided to play with them and the mushroom.  We found other interesting things and then made our way back to see what the other group with Linsey had found.  They were starring at something ont he ground and then offered us to smell what they found. They found PENNY ROYAL, the plant that always grows at the bottom and around lakes and ponds.  Here is a webaddress to see beautiful pictures, description and usage of it: http://www.arkive.org/pennyroyal/mentha-pulegium/

It was a very sweet and held day. Held by the containing sky world, beautiful White Egret, frogs, water, stone and mist.