Marin Tender Tracks Tues./Thurs. Sept. 17, 2015 Day 2

Waxing Crescent Moon
Lake Lagunitas

Question of the Day:  Are the birds still singing their vibrant songs in the Morning at your house??

Our very first day was absolutely wonder filled and fun.  Each one of your children brought their own special gifts and Michelle and I got to see how they are beginning to blend one with the other in the group.  We were so delighted to see the change in both Ariel and Velia from just 3/4 months ago.  Ariel is so happy as well as showing signs of pride in being able to share how things work at Tender Tracks and Velia is just happy and alive!   Rhett makes friends instantly and really enjoyed playing with Ione a lot throughout the day.  Alara and Layton have been good friends for a very long time so they had comfort with each other yet they also played with others very easily. Talay carries such a mindfulness style  of being and it showed when she stayed so very still ALL lunch to allow a Banana Slug to crawl all the way up her arm and then begin the journey down her shoulder!!  Aaron is quiet yet very, very observational and filled with GREAT, I mean really GREAT game suggestions!!  The one that was the most playful and fun was the one called “Diaper Tag.”  Unfortunately we did not have a diaper BUT Michelle suggested that maybe we use Moss as that is what people used to use in days gone by for diapers!  He had earlier gathered some and we created a variety of different things with it.
Ione liked playing with Rhett as well and she was just plain filled with happy exuberance for everything during the day.
When they entered the bus they got right in with ease, got stuffed animals and were quite content. When we got to Lake Lagunitas we immediately went into explorations of this place before circle time.  Stretching and exploring is a most needed thing to do after being in the bus and coming from home.
Our circle time was so easeful and beautiful as well and the story shared with us how we were to oil our new hand made bowls.
After circle they scattered to play and a few at a time would come in to oil their bowls.  Some went on grand adventures with Michelle while others stayed with me closer to the bowls et al.  They found some newts and we all went to play with those friends for awhile.  Aaron chose the lunch site and we all sat around our little table cloth eating, talking and sharing with such grace and togetherness. Some of the children shared blessings that they know for the food and we sang those.  The yellow jackets werent too bad yet they did need a small offering to keep them from our lunches!
After lunch we were going to go and gather Madron berries but, too much fun and games was had at the small creek. This is where Alara and Layton BECAME mud piggies. It’s true!! 🙂  And the rest of us found the best tetter totter. There was a very large branch that was stuck in the elbow of a tree and there Michelle and I took one side and many would climb on, and off, while we leveraged them up and down.  What fun was this??!!!!  There was exploring up and down a hill behind us and slidding up and down. There was figuring out all day how to make it across creeks and water via stones, logs, and fallen down branches as well as helping each other do so.  At the end of the day while Michelle was washing off Talay, Alara and Layton,  Aaron, Velia, Rhett and I lay upon our backs and took in the end of our day by viewing the sky, clouds, trees and listening to the birds we hadn’t heard before.  We made a list of all the creatures and wonders we saw during the day and then shared that with the rest of the group on the way back home in the bus.
Such a fine first full day!!!

Quote for the day:
Teaching children about the natural world should be seen as one of the most important events of their lives.        Thomas Berry, Dream of the Earth.

🙂