This week was spooky season–themed! We kicked the morning off with a mini-lesson about Samhain (pronounced Saa-win), the Celtic holiday that became our Halloween. Samhain was a new year celebration that represented the end of the harvest season and beginning of winter. Every Samhain, everyone put out their home hearths and lit a new community fire, from which they relit their own hearths. In honor of Samhain, we lit a ceremonial hand drill fire in the unrelenting morning drizzle and tossed cedar sprigs into the flames, along with a wish. Students wished for everything from candy and snow to warmth and health.
At the end of our circle, we lit chaga (a type of fungus) and carried it up to our sites. We used this smouldering fungus to light our group fires. After they lit their fire, the Fishers jumped into a village scene that included shelter building, grinding colorful stones for face paint pigment, pumpkin carving, and crafting of cleverly designed tools for trade in their “market.”
The River Otters told their best spooky stories over snack, then jumped into pumpkin carving and grinding stones for pigment. We were so into the spooky stories that tales of ghosts, skeletons, scarecrows, and yellow ribbons sprinkled through our crafting. As we carved pumpkins, we collected the pumpkin seeds to roast over the fire. Once all pumpkins were carved to satisfaction, we settled down for lunch and a couple more spooky stories while our pumpkin seeds roasted.
After lunch, we used our rock pigments and charcoal to camouflage and discovered the art of the Fox Walk. We practiced some awareness skills, some stillness, and played a stalking game called Bobcat and Deer. With all that practice under our belts, we hiked over to the Fishers’ site to test our stalking skills. As we slid across our bellies on wet leaves, we heard them circle up and prepare for a big game of Moose and Wolves. Just as they were getting ready to play, we got spotted and leaped to our feet with a big roar.
To celebrate our stalk, we returned to camp for some roasted pumpkin seeds, then hiked down to the field for a game of skink tag.
—Bobcat, Barred Owl, Hickory, and River Otter (Alana, Josh, Emma, and Chris), October 28, 2020