Tender Tracks Tues. Day 5

September 25, 2018
Waning Crescent Moon
Deer Park and a walk to pick apples from a local person’s tree.

There was another Fire Alert, which means certain places we cannot go due to a concern of possible fire and people being caught in that area. Therefore, we could not go to Lake Lagunitas. This turned out to be just grand as we went to Deer Park and LOVED IT!!!

I have not been there in quite a while. Tender Tracks used to drop off and pick up there and we enjoyed it a great deal. So now, I got to go back to a place I love and the children took to it so very, very well. They instantly found white Mushrooms growing on the Oak Trees, other white powder, a dry creek bed to explore, and a snail that got to have a home made for it by Theo, Luna, Elli and Josie.

This place was so beautiful and very cool under the trees. Outside of the trees, however, that was not the case.

We finally came into circle and there sang our songs, said goodbye to Summer and Hello to Fall. They met our new friends Trilly Truly and Trippy Troopy, two little green dolls that live inside a box and come out to tell and/or hear tales. Today the story was about How Seasons Came to Be. There 12 sticks were laid out, a stone, an introduction to Winter Spring, Summer and Fall. And, North, East, South, West, and, Grandpa North/Old Man Winter and Grandma South/Grandmother Summer.
There was a song that went along with this story as well.
Before story they each used the apple peeler tool to crank their own apple, with or without the skin. Each one of then took their turn and loved, loved using this tool to make their apple peel.

After circle Ellie and Uma really wanted to play the game that came from the story. A stone in one hand, put behind their back, switched back and forth back and forth while the song was sung. They then put their hands out for all to see, closed of course, and the other children guessed what hand the pebble was in. Well, Ellie and Uma were evenly matched! They kept guessing the right hand that the other had the little stone in!!! Then Luna played with Ellie. At first Ellie was winning and then Luna got on a role and wound up guessing correctly every time. They chose who they were going to be, Grandpa North or Grandmother South. If they guessed right they got one stick on their side and the weather would get colder or warmer, depending on who they were. The main point of this is that these three girls just played and played and played this game and loved it! Josie sat on the sidelines and listened and watched. The boys were up the hill with Ruby scattering all the left over apple peels and cores.

After this Uma found a little snail and from their the above mentioned happened as they all spent time building a fine little house for this treasure. Ruby gathered more Redwood Cones and Luna joined her now and again. Holden and Eamon just had fun with their guns that became all manner of different things. Theo joined them on and off and they all not only were playing Good guys Bad guys but it turned out that they were such created such unity with each/ a good team, working together protecting the animals plants and each other from these “invisible” Bad Guys!

Eamon got hungry early and we told him that we can eat after he set the circle up with the back packs. He went right for that only, he, and then Holden only knew how to make a straight line. They didn’t really understand what a circle was with regards to how to make these backpacks into one. In the dust I drew them one and put four packs in the four directions. I then instructed Eamon to fill the spaces in between the other packs. He finally figured out the spacial aspect of all of this. It was a very big process for him and, from our stand point, and incredible one rich with so much experience and learning. And, by the time he was done he seemed to feel quite good about it all, which he should have! Ruby and I then took all the lunches out and we sat down to eat all together.

After lunch we put our packs in the bus and made a little journey down the road to get to a local house that we were given permission to pick apples. The walk was so very beautiful. We found Berries to eat and Figs, saw large Bamboo and trees with beautiful flowers. We spelled many bushes such as Rosemary and Sage, got very hot and then found the house. There was a little puppy and kitten there which took presidence over the fun of picking the apples. However, most of them did love to eat some of those apples all the while petting and adoring these little creatures. We then walked back, had story of the day, drank water and off we went back to the park for pick up.