Palo Alto Tender Tracks Thursday April 18, 2013

Day 58
Waxing Moon
Huddart Park

A beautiful, sunny, warm peaceful day.   We went here today because it seemed like it would be nice for them to stay in one place, as they so often like to do, and unfold with ease.  This was also the day to clean the soap root husks for preperation in making their paint brushes next week and for pounding the rocks that I gathered the week before for paint.  And, this is what we did, along with playing, tracking, observing, resting, running, laughing, sometimes crying and being just plain, ALIVE!
Paul was filled with a kind of new self that has been emerging: extreme focus and intensity upon particular tasks.  His once “Kill, kill, kill ( with great exuberance and joy,good kind of joy mind you) is coming into alignment towards development of skills.  I introduced him to an old native game where you roll a hoop and aim at throwing a “spear” through the hoop.  This is a game that develops focus of thought, mind and body.
Rolling the hoop between the two of us was challenging so I tied the hoop up on a tree. This made it a spinning target that he had to really focus on and get that stick/spear through.  He was having such a good time with this and having great successes.  As he played this game with wonderful vigor others came by such as Giselle, Alice and Miu.  They all had a great time with it too!
Evan really liked pounding the stones for paint and got really into being painted as well as painting me. He wanted to have pictures of Bats and Snakes all over him.  Emme was delighted by all this painting as well.  She, Evan, Alice, Giselle and Aoife spent time cleaning the soap root brush husks at the beginning of our day after story and songs.  They took the husks and went over to the water spicket with Audrey.  It took many, many, many rinses to get so much dirt out of these husks that grew and lived deep in the Earth.
There was a lot of creative play going on in the sand pit too. Taz and Kaden were there most of the day bringing other children in and out of their play.
This was an easy going, creative, skill based, project oriented day with children being able to move in and out at will with their interests, impulses and drives.