Tender Tracks Wed. Day 28

April 18, 2018
Waxing Moon
Sorich Open Space

Luna absent.

The Sun was up and there was dew on the grass and we all went joyfully out to play.
The children came in happy and with buoyant spirits.  There was a decided difference today in their temperaments.  This was clearly a developmental “milestone” kind of a day.  What I mean is that they are all getting older, their behaviors, socially and emotionally are right on target and they have or are entering what some have called the” wild and wonderful fours.”  The group play and group dynamics were far more unified. There were ongoing “pods” of children playing together and caring for each other.  They were louder in general as well as more vocal with each other. There still was great need, particularly in the bus, to aid them in unifying, so we continued with singing one of the songs we sing where they put their input in and take turns yet still, there was a decided difference in connection to each other and the group as a whole. So, they are healthy children growing as they were meant to do!!!!!! 🙂

When we got to Sorich Ellie Turtle found a mushroom and with excitement, everyone came in to see. They then went over to the rock and had their grand fun with that. Eamon and Holden went to their glorious hidey spot behind the rock and later we all found them with giggly delight.

We came to circle and noticed what the rain children had done; their gift of water made everything around us, the grass too, grow tall and strong and so, we thanked the waters and drank up what we had.  We sang a new song, a fingerplay song and ate our snack and then, the story.  The story was a shorter version of last weeks which was about learning to be still and allow the animals, bugs, and birds to come to us instead of grabbing for them and then the story carried on into finding so many wild edible plants.  I had gathered some before circle and brought those in and then after circle we began to search for these yummy treasures.

We found Fennel which they all said: “It tastes like licorice!”  And “Yes, it does!”  We ate Mallow which is great in soups to thicken it up.  We ate Miners Lettuce and found Pineapple weed which makes a great tea.  And, there were so many other plants alive and awakening around us.

The children played all around the rock. Eamon got stuck in one spot he was tucked away in and there was great support to help him out. He made it!  And then we all got our packs and walked down the road to the little farm. But first, we got showered upon with little purple flowers by the gorgeous tree we were walking by. It was so beautiful and they all did not even notice it so, I began to make it “rain” and from there we got to see that the little flowers were like little beings opening their mouths to say, Hello. And in this way they saw more closely the fine details of the petals and color as well as the glory and beauty of this new marvelous friend.  Ellie Turtle kindly picked the flowers off of Eamons head and Violet and Uma shook the branches onto others to have more of a “shower.”

Then down the road we went.  Violet and Ashley figured out which way to go to get to the farm. When we went in there were two extreme smells. One was BEAUTIFUL and the other was very NOT beautiful. But where were these smells coming from? So, with our noses, we went on a little search. And there we found the beautiful smell.  Orange tree blossoms.  We did not find the origin of the unpleasant smell though.  They then ran over to the chickens and there were tween age little chicks making their tender little sounds.  “Why can’t we go in and pet them?” most of them asked.  The answer was given and they then went to feed the big chickens with Mallow that was all around us and watch the baby chicks.  Some of us explored the garden and ate fresh Kale.  The rest of the day we explored all over the farm and ate in our nice little spot and then took one last look at the baby chicks.

Ellie Turtle was in GREAT and HAPPY spirits today.
Ellie Acorn was more engaged and talkative than ever. She was asking for what she wanted and happy, happy.
Uma was robust, alive and active.
Ashley was a little less engaging on and off yet still playing, laughing and being goofy with everyone.
Violet came in saying” I missed Tender Tracks” and just had the grandest of days!
Cole came with a cough and runny nose. He was far more sensitive with upsets yet, even with that, he was his warm, kind and happy self.
Eamon was a bit aloof and not his usual happy self. It was nice to see him settling back in though and find his joy. He particularly LOVED eating at the farm which has always been his great joy.
Holden was his happy, engaged, and alive self.

A very fun day to all be back together, accept for Luna, and explore the earth and that next step of being more engaged with the plant world.