Tender Tracks Friday Day 8

November 2, 2018
Waning Moon
Lake Lagunitas

Lake Lagunitas was lovely and warm, even under the shade of the trees as we explored the Redwood Fairy Circle. Blake was absent today and we missed his smiling presence. Wendolyn joined us in Ruby’s absence and it was a special treat to hear her stories and play with her throughout the day.

There was much happening in our morning, with all the children coming in and out of each other’s play. Rohan and Miles worked together to deconstruct and reconstruct a log bridge to walk across the small creek while Charlie found two sticks to rub together like a cricket. Siena, Violet, Margot and Wendolyn played a game like ‘duck, duck, goose’ called Butterfly, Fly!

At our circle gathering, Wendolyn shared a pourquoi (por-kwa) tale. Pourquoi is French for “Why” and these tales are old legends told to explain why certain events happened. The tale is about How Stories Came to Be, and if you would like to listen to it also, you can follow this link to a recording of Wendolyn sharing this magical tale, as well as ideas for playing with the story.

The children stepped right into their new Jobs that were introduced to them from last week. Snack Helpers, Weather Watcher and Guardians of Safety for the group. At one point Violet got a small scratch and Rohan RANNNNN as quick as could be to get his Guardian of Safety bag.  He was like LIGHTNING and so happy to be able to help Violet out!  She received it well. And then, he and Miles took the paper from the bandaid and made sure they found the Garbage can to throw it in.  Our Guardian of the Earth was not here to day with the Earth bag.

We adventured up the steps to the lake and looked for turtles and frogs in the warmth of Grandfather Sun. Later, we returned to the creek for lunch and made a small offering to our wasp friends, encouraging them to have a separate lunch from our own.

All the children played at our favorite spot by the creek and the big bridge. Miles and Margot were especially enjoying sprinkling fairy dust sand into the water and watching it sit on top of the surface. Then, they dropped rocks to see how the sand floated away from the splash and then came back to cover the surface of the water. Charlie ventured out across the shallow creek in her waterproof boots and asked me to come with her, though I had to stay on the rocks as my shoes were not waterproof. In her creek adventure, she found that the water was a bit deeper where she was and her boots filled up! It was a cool, wet surprise on a warm day! Charlie smiled and giggled at the refreshing experience and the limits of the yellow boots.

Wendolyn had another special treat up her sleeve and brought out some of the beautiful natural-dyed capes. The children were excited to paint them with rich pigments and experimented with mixing colors. They added multicolor spots, handprints, and designs to the capes and then hung them in a tree to dry. We played with different ways to wear our capes: as an apron, a dress, a headcover and, of course, a cape flowing behind as we run!

Back at Juniper Rose, we shared our gratitude for the day, which included seeing horses and having Wendolyn along on our adventures. Wendolyn shared a mysterious musical instrument with the children and they each got a chance to play it before we sang our goodbyes and were on our way!