Tender Tracks Wed. Day 25

March 27, 2019
Waning Half Moon
Lake Lagunitas

Everyone was here today! And such a lovely day it was!!
The rain was coming down when they got to the bus but not long after we arrived at the Lakes it became less and less. We never needed to put up our canopy. We only took the buckets, the fire wood out and all our cooking gear to the fire pit.  We needed the cooking gear because today they sliced potatoes and cooked them over the fire!

Before that though, the usual joy of playing with their buckets in ALL the MANY large puddles all around and the creek.  Beau and Nathan loved running up to the sunny spot and the tree there where the Fairy houses are often built and play a bit.  Addie loved helping bring things over as well as Sienna. For Nelly, every week gets more and more open and more and more delighted about everything that is happening.  Rohin continuous to be his most precious and delighted self. Gideon was his wonderful playful, full of energy, self that loves to be chased and caught. Sienna was her consistent quiet, yet very happy and involved self.  And Ellery, was playful and content.  They were all alive and unified.

As I made the fire Ruby instructed and aided them with cutting the potatoes ( small little creamy potatoes).  As always, and even with such great instructions, three got small cuts. However, they made no big peeps about it but rather just said, “I got cut.”  I brought out the first aid kit, cleaned them up, put bandaids on and they were back in business.  All the potatoes got cut, we put them on the fire with fresh butter that was made by the Tues/Thurs class in a real butter churn, and off the potatoes went to cooking.

It was going to take some time so those that wanted to go off and play did. Sienna, Nelly and Ellery wanted to stay and help the potatoes cook while the rest went off to the water with buckets in hand.

Finally they all went over with Ruby and the others and I set the table. In they came and all ate them accept for Ellery. She did take a little bite but was not going any further than that.  Sienna and Beau ate all what was left or that any one else didn’t want to eat. Nathan ate his whole bowl as well as Addie. Gideon said he didn’t like potatoes yet when encouraged to try it he happily said “I like potatoes!”  Nelly ate all of hers and Rohin ate half of his.  Ruby and I thought that this was a great success actually because, by the end , they were ALL eaten and the children were the ones who cut them up!

After that they went back to play. Gideon, Nelly and I had a lot of fun with me chasing them.  Ellery and Sienna became “Bad Princesses.”  They shot me, Gideon and Nelly down dead. But then I asked, after we were killed and laying on the ground “Then what happened?” Every time they would say something until finally I said, “I am the tickle monster!” I then jumped up and chased them around until, we found a Ca. Newt.

That turned into all the children coming over. I went to get something, Ruby came over, when I came back they were all sitting their quietly together watching two newts find little homes in the tree.

Nathan and Beau became Explores or was it Excavators, with Goggles. Beau had flung a dear little newt upon the ground.  I said that we could play gently with our little friend here, who was, by the way, eating a worm.  We laid on the ground on our bellies a little ways away and began watching, with our goggles on,( hands made into goggles) to see the worm. The Newt was not moving as it was afraid/instinctually cautious. We talked a bit about things WE are afraid of. Beau was very, very interested in what I might be afraid of. From there it was even easier to get them to be a little more gentle with this friend who was clearly not going to move until we stepped back a bit. So, we kept taking two scooches back and watching, two more schooches back and watching.  All the while Ruby was playing Little Tommy Tittle Mouse with some of the other children. Side by side we were all playing our two different games.  Eventually we all moved away.  Ruby stayed with them all and I went to set up lunch.

During lunch it got a little colder and at the end of the day Gideon really wondered how that happened, why we got cold and the sky got dark. 🙂

During lunch I read them a little Mouskin tale. We then packed up and eventually all made it back into the bus. We retold the story of the day to them, sang and had our thank you’s.

Ruby played them the Kalimba and told a very grand and quieting tale all the way home.