Marin Tender Tracks Wed. Feb. 10, 2016 Day 19

Waxing Crescent Moon
Lake Lagunitas

WOW!! Spring is showing itself all around here on the Earth with little buds, catkins all around, lizards happily running about and your children sprouting into new developmental growth and maturity.  They are all clearly not only bonding well but maturing and growing towards 4.
Kai came with an on going flow of joy, fun, enthusiasm, delight and completely immersed in the child state of awe, wonder and IMAGINATION!  He was a Tyrannosaurus Rex.   Eli comes on the bus with complete ease now and was in joy all day playing. He too is immersed in the state of beautiful innocence and imagination.  He KNEW that Kai was a Dinosaur and so did Ruby.  Isabella has been talking a lot for awhile now but the quality is more alive, available and everyday more joyous as she plays with her Tender Tracks friend with such grand freedom.  And Kuba, he was truly playing with the children today and they were entranced by his creative and inventive self.
Driving to the Lakes he had two puppets that he was creating a sort of puppet show.  The children had such a fun time with this!!!!   He also is very skilled with things such as tying knots, truly, building and creating something from nothing. He took a cucumber, poked two holes in it, put a leaf on top, threaded the string through the two holes and then figured out, with only a small amount of help, how to attach a pine cone to the bottom.  I suggested he take a stone to use  to smooth out his stick and he did with great focus.  Even older children have a hard time with this but not Kuba.
Right when we got there they went to the big horse trough filled with water and played and then found the fairy house. It was stil there!!  I do not think we have visited here since right before Thanksgiving break so what a joy to still see it there.
Circle time was fun with Heart cookies and hot coconut carob drink.  The story was brining us into making gifts for the mice and birds. After circle Ruby started us all into  long games of Hide and Go seek. This was more fun then ever!  They really hid in the best spots and truly stayed hidden!!!!  The best was when they all huddled together being ever so quiet while Linda and I searched for them.  Kuba was amazing as he would sit with his eyes closed just BEING with the elements of life. Ruby took his lead on that and did the same.  We played this for quite a while and then went on a search for cones.  It didn’t take us long until we found some very near where we found a lot of deer tracks.
We gathered and then made it to the lake that is exposed to the Sun.  It was here that such beauty unfolded. They immediately settled in, relaxed and deeply enjoyed the peaceful state of being there.   Kai, Isabella and I played for awhile with throwing stones into the water. Isabella was in great delight when she exclaimed “They make circles!!!!”  She moved from my side and sat next to Kai and the two of them threw stones in, talked about what they were doing and just chatted with each other quietly and peacefully. They then would sat there in silence just being together.  Can you get any better!!!!????
The rest were with Linda throwing logs in the water and watching and listening to what happened when they did that.  Linda found some long catkins and wondered how they got there.  There were no trees above us that had those. I looked around and saw some trees far away. She and Eli then went to explore this and came back with a lot for everyone to explore. Now, can you guess what tree this came from?  It was found next to the lake to the south, southwest of the Lake Lagunitas Parking lot.

Kuba wanted a long stick so he and I went in search. I found one for him but it needed some sawing so we brought it back to saw. Kai liked that as well as Isabella so then the three of us went in search and came back with more branches to saw. Isabella’s stick was being eaten by what looked like termites and that was really interesting!

They all helped hold the sticks down with their feet while I sawed and taught them a bit about safety circles when someone is using a knife or saw.
Eli then found a great house that they all played in. Ruby was “looking for the children,” Eli was making tea for us and Isabella was making something to eat.  Kuba was working on his stick and Kai was a devout Tyrannosaurus Rex.  He sat down just gazing at the water and began talking to me. He said that Tyrannosaurus Rex’s don’t like the sun.  They like it cold just like where he was sitting.  I asked what happens if they go in the sun and he said “They die.”
As we were getting ready to leave he went in the children’s house with a big roar. The children said that that was too loud. He didn’t want to stop so they left. Isabella said that he could have the house and they would take another one. Then as we were walking back She and Eli said that he can’t make that sound in the bus and he would have to stay here.  Eli was talking with him exactly as if he truly was a dinosaur. When Kai heard them say he would have to stay there he truly believed them and then said, I won’t make big sounds in the bus and then Isabella said, matter a factly, “Well, then you can come in.” He  said “ok.” His body showed signs of relief and then,  that was that.
Ruby found water and because it was the end of the day she just went for it in ABSOLUTE ecstasy. All day she would go by the water as if she were a Selkie wishing she had her skin to just put on and go off forever into the waters.
When we got in the bus they really really wanted us to draw the “Pictures of the day” and so we did. We named the things we saw like the Comorants, and the gifts we made for the birds, the wood peckers and the water.
We were also making guesses about the weather throughout the day and looking at the sky alot and the clouds.