Palo Alto Tender Tracks Thursday March 21, 2013

Waxing Moon
Day 50
Dennis Martins Creek

Today was the day we were to wash our hair with the Ceanothous plant and make a bow and arrow from the Redwood trees for, at least, Taz. Please go to this website to find out more about this plant: www.laspilitas.com/groups/ceanothus/california_ceanothus.html

When everyone arrived in the morning we went to the garden area and set up circle right in the midst of the beautiful plants and flowers in the Master Garden free area.  There we had our circle with songs and a snack to represent the Equinox: Equal half day and  Night.  They had bagels with white cream cheese and very dark Blueberry jam.  Gobbled up it was and then off to find the tree.  I gave them land marks to find and some were able to follow and some went off running in different directions until the rest of the group called them back.  Then they gathered and right after, they found the big dirt mound that we used to fill up our little plastic containers to plant Wheat berries.  After filling their cups and taking the berries to plant and put a thin blanket of soil upon, they then took a spray bottle and watered the little baby wheat berry seeds and then put a wax paper blanket over them.  They all got very into this and then gathered a bucket filled with the flowers.
Off to the bus we went after this and straight away to Martins Creek where they knew just where to go.  The walk over there was fun, familiar and explorative what with mud to navigate around, water creeks to cross over and flowers, and Banana slugs to engage with.
When there instant joy and play began.  Throughout the day I worked with making bows and walking with the ones that wanted to  look for just the right bow and just the right arrow.  I taught Audrey how to work with a knife a bit and the children got to observe a grown up learning and practicing with safety.  They played on and with the incredible vine swings there and there was a grand adventure of finding Audrey by way of using their grand ears to hear her calls. She had them running all over the woods and then, POP out she would come. How did THAT happen? And then do it all over again.
But alas, by days end there was “Trouble in the Village” and they were ALL called together to work this out together.  There is still more “work” to be done with this and we are on our way, as is typically the case.
There have been longings of marriage between Emme, Alice and Evan.  I don’t think Evan is the one seeking the marriage so much though. However, this IS a very typical thing that happens with 5 year olds.
After our big Village gathering we made our way back to the bus and all the guidelines of where to go and when to stop occured.  Yeah for that!