Tender Tracks Tues. Day 49

March 28, 2017
Waxing Moon
Roy’s Redwoods

Edie was absent today.

The day was SUNNY, yes it is true!  We had a great deal of sun and warmth and, we found a new place today and took a long walk straight away to get there.   We actually thought the trail was much shorter yet, this turned out to be just what was perfect for the day.  The walk through the woods was truly lovely.  Archer and I were in the rear, Isabella and Ruby in front of us, then Michelle, Jesse, Kuba and Jake in the complete front.

When Archer and I reached everyone else Michelle let me know that she really did not know where Kuba, Jake and Jesse were!!!! ( wink, and she DID have me fooled at first. Thank goodness for the wink!)  Well the children couldn’t find them. We set up circle and knew that we would miss them so very much if we did not find them.  We looked toward the sun, no children. We looked down hill, no children. And then….AND THEN….Isabella looked up the hill again and said “Ruby, come with me, ( and in a whisper) I see them!!!  The two of them, hand in hand, went up the hill and who was hiding QUIETLY FOR AT LEAST 20 MINUTES behind the bush? Jake, Jesse and Kuba!!!!!!!!  They truly sat there as still as mice until they were found.  As a Nature Awareness school working towards assisting children with how to be still and immersed in nature THIS WAS GREAT!!!!

Circle was a bit of an improve with songs and stories that ended up peaceful. And what did they have for snack?  Little bird rolls. Yes, little home made rolls in the shape of birds!  They loved them and they were very cute.  And, I LOVED MAKING THEM!!! 🙂

After snack and circle there was some play up the hill.  I found some spittle bugs with Jesse, Jake and Kuba. Below is how they look. You can find them on plants. It really does look like spit. When you pull the “spit” apart you begin to see the little bug. And that is what the children did. They pulled apart the spit and saw this little critter living it’s life, right before our eyes!!!

But ,they soon got interested in something else and ran down the hill. I then discovered a hole that looked like a vole hole and told a little story about Coyote, Owl and Vole.  Archer came over to and when we began to investigate it seemed that we disturbed an ant nest with lots of ant eggs.  We all left this after a time yet Archer did not. And, he decided to explore these ant people more but, there was not figuring out how it was for them.  He came down the hill and began to be very uncomfortable. The children tried to help him but….ANTS IN HIS PANTS!!!!!!!!!!  Disturbing ant nests is a very tricky  call to make. Yes?!

We then began to play with the perfectly round gourds that I brought to make some planting bowls.  We tossed them all around and played throw the ball games until it was time to cut them open. With little hack saws we worked together to cut them open and then, they all sat so intently scraping them out.  They used tools of different kinds to scrape them yet Isabella LOVED scraping them out with her hands instead. And, was quite successful with this method!!!  Jake and Ruby sat next to one another so contentedly aiding one another.

After awhile Archer, Kuba and Isabella stayed with Michelle continuing with the scraping and I went down with Jesse, Jake and Ruby as they played in the rivulets playing with the mud.  I showed them how to make mud balls and the fun began. Jesse didn’t want to get all muddy yet he was great at helping them find the best mud.  Then he and I found the most beautiful sparkling rainbow colored spider webs and invited the other two over.

They learned how to wash their hands with the small amount of water there and clean them with the trees and grasses.  Kuba then came over then Isabella then Archer and much fun took place.

Lunch time was to be had, then a performance and then… They were incredible!  We then  played an old nature game where one person stands facing away from the others and the others, one by one try to sneek up REALLY QUIETLY like a fox and touch the standing away person without being heard.  Michelle moderated as I was the one sitting facing away.  They really were incredible. They held silence, walked one by one, went back when I pointed at them when I heard them and began all over again for about 15 min.   Jesse got the closest and later on Jake spoke with awe and respect over his skill.
Jesse and Jake  wanted to take my place and have a try at it and had much fun doing so.

We then took our long and beautiful walk back to the bus, drew the pictures of the day of what they saw and went home happy.