Tender Tracks Thurs. Day 62

May 17, 2018
Waxing Moon
Sorich Ranch

Another beauty filled day with your children!  We went to Sorich and there they did there usual play and then, at circle time, we heard a story called One Fine Day. This is a story about a lovely well-meaning fox that took something he should not have and then had to find a way to return it in order to get his “tail sewn back in place.” This led the children, later on in the day, to go and search for the many items in the story that the Fox had to get and all the beings he had to encounter to help him out.  The farm had some of these items so, again, later in the day, that is where we went.

Before that, however, I had brought the charcoal that they ground one cold and cloudy day at Lake Lagunitas, to make into paint.  Two weeks ago I said that we could make paint. First they had to grind the coal from a wood burning fire that they found as finely as they could. Then we had to soak it in water. Then, I had to take this home, put it in plates and trays and let the sun drink up the water. Then, we were to take the dried substance that was left, grind it up again and then….we would have paint.  And so, that is what we did. We brought out the grinding stones that live in the bus and they ground and ground. Then they had to sift the ground up parts and get rid of the still bigger pieces of flotsam until we had as fine a powder as we were able to make. Then, here is where the fun part as well as challenging part came in, they had to open these little tins, carefully, carefully scoop the powder in and close them up.

The tins were not as easy to open as you would think. These particular little ones had a special way that Ruby finally figured out how to make it easier for the children.  They were all very proud of themselves when they could do it.  And, in the end, Puma was ELATED with himself because, as he said, the original idea of pounding the coal was his idea.  He beamed!!

After all of this and other kinds of play, though this took a while, we gathered some Elderberry flowers that were near us for something we will do the following week and then, we made our way to the farm.  There they delighted with the chickens, playing Find Me in the greenhouse and eating together in our usual spot.  I told them a great story that was inspired by the wind coming upon us in the morning.  It is called Gluscabi and the Wind Eagle.   Another theme about someone who did wrong and needed to make it right, all the while learning a great deal about why we have and need wind.

Our day was very full and alive with their 5 and one close to 5, selves.