Marin Tender Tracks Tues. Sept. 11, 2014 Day 2

Roy’s Redwoods
Waning Crescent Moon

Question of the day: What was the first natural sound you heard when you woke up today?

Indian Summer is here this week,  it seems. Hot by afternoon yet cool in the morning.  All the children were ready to go with the weather, the day, the adventure.  There was no trouble getting in the bus and traveling off together after having spent the first day with Mom’s and Dad’s.  Nico’s Mom was beautiful with how she came yet aided him so beautifully with feeling safe and loved all the while giving him such space to connect to the program. Yeah and thank you!!
We started our circle in a different place then the first day and it was fun with songs, a new song to aid learning each others names, story, snack with their new bowls made by their parents and them, and then…..Off to explore.  We didn’t need to go far as there was a dry creek right behind us. Here was where  we wound up building a great and beautiful home.
All of them worked together to build this beautiful home away from home.  It was deeply delightful to see how they solicitied each others help as they pulled, tugged, dragged, carried and placed all the building materials. Some of them made a very cozy bed inside with debrie/leaves and forest floor materials.   In the midst of all of that happening there was a grand and strongly invitational run up and down the sides of the creek from one side to the next that most took part in.  We ran up and down and up and down and up and down and up and down and……  in the midst of that Nico and Thea thought that if we ran hard and pushed hard we could push and then bring over this VERY LARGE LOG!!!! But alas, even with all the help from most everyone that just wasn’t able to happen. Amazing effort though!!!
At about 11 o’clock there were many children saying, “I’m hungry. Can we eat?”  And,” Of course we can eat” was the reply.  We circled up together, said our new gratitude verse and ate up we did.
Another adventure was ready to be had after putting all food stuff away so off we went in a different direction then Tuesday in order to find where that place might be?  We were looking for clues of horses, as we saw a horse being ridden earlier and Velia REALLY wanted to find the horse.  Hana was VERY upset that she couldn’t have Ariel’s zoo key and insisted that it was hers. She was willing, after a time, to see if we could find another key out in the woods, and the rest were looking for the house that Julian, Jai and Theron had made on Tuesday.
Down the trail we went until we came across a wonderful and inticing circle of Redwood trees with burnt out insides that said, “Check me out!”  I checked them out first for Yellow Jackets nest that a few years ago I found. All clear and then down all went but Julian, Velia and I.  The rest painted themselves like before and came back “Black as night.”
As we explored they started to get scared and thought that we might be lost. I led them into a great deal of “mapping” though they would not know that, which is perfect.  We noticed where the sounds of the cars were, pointed often to where we thought the bus was. They knew that the bus was on the road so if we heard cars and if we got lost we could go in that direction.  We looked to see what on the ground really looks like a trail and what makes a trail look like a trail.  We found great logs with wonderful Polypores/fungus/ shelf mushrooms on our adventure and then finally, finally, finally, WE FOUND THE HOUSE THAT WAS BUILT ON TUESDAY!!!!  We weren’t lost!
After a while I could tell that they were really getting tired from such a full day of being completely outside.  Some of them layed on the ground with me to view the sky world and the trees above while others played, made fairy houses and struggled over whose stick belonged to whom.
Earlier I told a story about the little Ginger Bread Man and then showed them how the Fox walks so quietly. This was  an intro to the many days of learning we will have on how to walk as quietly as a fox  upon the Earth.
We found our way back and they were able to rest in the comfort of a kind chair and a stuffed animal to caress.
And Theron, whose name has not yet been mentioned,  showed no signs ,like on Tuesday, of being too tired to walk back and joyfully did so!
However, though they all were getting tired at the end of the day, they remembered the swinging trees and REALLY wanted to go back on them.  We made it back with the promise that we will come back again and again…….