Tender Tracks Tues. Week 5 Day 9

October 9, 2018
Waning Crescent Moon
Sorich Open Space Park

Gentle sky and air moving towards hot and summery. Figs ready to eat hanging from two trees, children playful, alive, and ready for the day.

Today our story led us into noticing colors for “Once Upon a Time….” the world was completely black, white and gray and the Blue, Red and Yellow truly thought that that would never do for our dear and wonderful Earth. This story led us, eventually, to going on a big and mighty hike to find the Soap Root plant people. We game them gifts of cornmeal and gratitude and all worked together to dig them/pull them up out of the earth. By days end we got to wash her hands with this sudsy grand root, a gift from the Earth.

Mean while Luna played with the boys in the morning. She told them that she was going to feed them to a ferocious Witch that would eat them, and they said: ” We don’t mind.” 🙂
Josie and Ellie didn’t want to play witch games and Uma and Ellie washed the dishes after snack. Theo wanted to wash dishes but was too pulled to play with the boys and off he went.

Much gathering of figs and finding the second Fig tree happened along with figuring out how to safely play with a bouncy branch. The desire to use it as a catapult was deeply enticing yet, it seems, so I was told, that Theo received a small portion of his desired game via a bit of a swat from the branch as he let it go. Oh dear, and oh yes, to these gentle cause and effect learnings.

We made our way up a bright and sunny path and found little tufts of brown scruffy plants sticking out of the ground. We showed them how to dig and dig it on all sides to coax it out and then they all took turns with the shovels. And then, Ruby took hold of the root and the children held on first to her, then one behind the other as they pulled, and they pulled and they pulled and they pulled until WHOOOSH! out came the bulb and tumble bumble they all happily fell on top of each other laughing with delight.
When we were walking back at the end of the day, Holden, Eamon and Uma acted out this fun adventure, again with more laughs and delight.

After digging we climbing up the big hill. They learned how to walk like lizards, on all fours, to get up the big hill and then, they found our spot. A big rock, swings, inside the magical rock place with paintings on the wall. Theo declared that these were ancient cave drawings!!

The girls were in Seventh Heaven playing on the swings and taking turns, learning more skills and patience with taking turns and creating new ways to play on this swing. After lunch they all came together inside where the “Cave Drawings” were. The boys had found wood charcoal and began painting themselves. Others joined. And, there was incredibly wonderful rock climbing and physical capabilities discovered! Particularly with Eamon. Ruby was assisting him in climbing up the rocks that he felt like he couldn’t. He saw others scampering and really wanted to do the same and, by days end HE WAS TOO!! With the biggest smile ever. 🙂

Earlier Ellie told me that she scratched her head so much the night before that there was a hole in her head. I asked her if anything came out and she said no. I thought she might want to plug the hole up 🙂 and that maybe she should hold her finger in it. She laughed and said No! another 🙂 Oh well, you had to be there for this conversation as it was the most precious!

Down the hill we went at the end of the day, washing our hands with the soap root, Ruby drawing a beautiful picture of the things the children saw during the day and back to the park we went.