Palo Alto Tender Tracks Day 63 May 31, 2012

Waxing Moon
Martins Creek

Alexi still gone and Jasper was back.
A glorious and, as usual, fully alive and present day.  It was a bit hot so Martin’s creek seemed like a very good idea.
But first, songs, stories, snack and the circle time choice of becoming a unified circle and staying together for it all or letting go of circle and carrying on with the rest of the day.  Having circle was the choice and then we had a story that kept the characters from Tuesday alive yet with a different dilema to face. The children helped figure out how the story was to end and that was the intention.  Dilema stories are where they have to figure out, like in “real life” how to work trouble out with others.  So they did, circle ended and off they went with their own sets of challenges and hopefully with a little story wisdom to carry in their pockets for just the right moment!

Martin’s creek was simply and to the point, filled with wonder filled adventures, water excursions, climbing escapades and Audrey and I playing very , very sneaky games by  doing our best to heighten their awareness as we hid and would throw little sticks and things out making a bit of noise to see if their ears or eyes were more awake then what was just in front of them.  We all had many good laughs over all of this when they began to notice and wonder “Is something coming from the sky?”  “Where are all these sticks coming from???” And they looked around and looked around and finally found Audrey who was just above them on a ledge yet I was completely hidden behind a tree where some mysterious sticks would appear now and again and a familiar bird call.

There was the wonderful natural swings that the Redwood trees provide there and a target practice area that I created.  We had to gather just the right sticks and find just the right target and figure out how to do it without hurting anyone. This meant being a bit patient while each child took their turn and gathered up their sticks for the next person.

There was making houses for the Water Skeeter bugs and remembering to be gentle care takers of these tiny, tiny treasures.  And then there was running around up and down sides of the bank to get to the water below the waterfall.

It was a wonder filled day drenched in laughter and end of the year relaxing into the full freedom to explore and play and incorportate.