This morning we continued our practice of Qi Gong, learning some new slow movements as well as a new fast movement: the Chickadee Dance! This shaking dance mimics the way birds stay warm in the winter by ruffling their feathers, and it helps us stay warm, too.
Our campsite activities today consisted of some construction at our treehouse. A group sawed cedar logs and hauled them over to the structure and then screwed on planks of wood to create a new ramp. The platform did not have a very good ladder or way to get up and down and we are excited to see how this new feature will add fun and function.
During all this hard work, more magic appeared in the form of gems! Many little crystals appeared all around for us to find and trade with friends. If you didn’t get one today, pay attention in your upcoming nature adventures as fairies like to place them in places children play in the forest!
The rest of the group decide to follow some deer trails into the barberry jungle behind our campsite. We decided that we should sneak up on the Cobblers (the older kids) to see what they were up to and maybe give them a friendly scare. After trudging through lots of snow and bushes, we came upon an empty site. This didn’t mean our fun was over though! We left them a note that we were there on their tarp and a helpful pile of dry wood for them to start their next fire should they return later on that day. Using charcoal to complete our decorations and shaking the snow off of the tarp, we left the site much better than we found it. Paying it forward and finding ways to connect with everyone in our community is an important social skill that we try to model through our programs.
Some more highlights of our day were: drinking hot apple cider, observing real life sized tracks from a book and comparing an elephant foot to Chris’s head, sledding down the trail back to the parking lot and sharing honoring and kind words with all of our friends.
Here are fun things to do at home in the snow:
- Find snow fleas and other winter bugs. These little creatures pop up on top of the snow when temperatures start to warm up. They tell us that spring is actually not too far away!
- Identify and flag sugar maple trees to tap for sap. The sap should be flowing in the next days/weeks as temperatures stay above freezing during the day and drop at night.
And here’s a song to sing learned a new song called “Put Your Roots Down,” by Lydia Violet, an amazing singer, songwriter, and advocate. Here are the lyrics:
Put your roots down, put your feet on the ground
You can hear what she say if you listen
Put your roots down, put your feet on the ground
You can hear what she say if you listen
Cause the sound of the river as it moves across the stones
Is the same sound as the blood in your body as it moves across your bones
Are you listening? (x3)
—Julie, Chris, Michael, and the counselors
February 19, 2021