Palo Alto Tender Tracks Day 45, March 20, 2012

Spring Equinox
Waning Crescent Moon
Foothill Park, The Island

Bodie was absent today.   The rest were here in their beautiful glory and we were so happy to have Alexi back!  He had much to share about his grand trip to Colorado with his family for a week and Lucy came with a Number 5 pinned to her shirt. She had celebrated her birthday early at her other school.  We will celebrate it this coming Thursday.
We have new spring songs about Rabbits, frogs jumping and caterpillars humping and sparrows flying all around.   The story for the day was about How Rabbit got short front legs, long back feet, a puffy tale, a split lip and how come Willow trees have little white puff balls on them in Spring.  Due to this story we went to the Island to see if the Willow Tree that they play under and on indeed had “Rabbit’s puffy tail” left on it.  Also we went to find small pebbles to fill our rattles with.

The entire group played with each other in varying groups all day. On and on and on they went with great creative games and Audrey and I hid behind many bushes listening to their games and stories.   They were all so sweet and creative.   I heard them integrating their day to day worlds into their games in such beautiful ways.  I am remembering right now Anjalie talking about St. Patricks day and who celebrates this day in the group and who does not.   Kashi was IMMERSED in a game of “Restaurant.”  He had a very special restaurant that he wanted everyone to come to and that “you will really like it!!”  Well, it did not initially take off and went in and out of takers that wanted to stay for any length of time but finally there was most of the group that gathered around his restaurant and played his game for quite a while.   But then Giulio, and Jasper were very much into being some kind of war something.  They pushed Paul out initially and then Giulio said that he really wanted Paul with them. Jasper said “I guess we scared him away” and wanted to bring him back in.  Well, they finally did and Paul had no problem playing with them.  Gracey, Lucy, Alexi and Anjalie had a special nest that they made and were guarding it from?  And on and off all of them wound up guarding either this nest or something else of theirs.  In between all of this there was the gathering of pebbles and filling up their rattles which they all did with joy and glee.  Filling their rattles required dumping out the sand that was in them and then making the sound they liked with the pebbles. They would put some in and test the sound and determine what they liked best.
Alexi needed to paint his so he got the paint brush and I put the red dust that they crushed weeks ago into a dent in a rock near the water. Then I put some water in it and he then had Paint.   After this, and for quite some time, they all got into putting all the dust in different dents in the rock and painting themselves, each other and ME!!! They just had the time of their lives on this day, running, exploring, painting, hiding, finding, creating, laughing, noticing and being alive the way four and five year olds do best: Through, Curiosity, Imagination and Play!