What a beautiful day in October. The sun was shining leaves and needles rained down from the trees and mushrooms filled the forest floor. We sang a morning circle song:
Let the sun shine down and warm my bones,
Let the birds and the bees come and take my clothes,
I’m a wild one now, made of wind and rain,
I’m wild and I ain’t coming back again!
After morning circle, we made our way up to the forest, we gathered in our new campsites and ate snack as we talked about the 3 Respects, safety, our calls (crow, katydid and wolf howl). We settled into our site by exploring the forest, making a fire and playing some games—”Meet a Tree” being one and “Camouflage” being another. In “Meet a Tree,” explorers are led by one another blindfolded to a tree. After trying to identify the tree with senses other than sight, the blindfolded Explorer is led back to the starting place. They remove their blindfold and try to retrace their steps to find the tree that they were led to.
“Camouflage” is yelled into the air and all the explorers scatter from the eagle trying to sight its prey concealed in the forest. If the explorers are spotted they join the eagle, if they can’t be seen, they hide closer than before as the eagle yells camouflage again and counts down from a lower number. It’s a game of stealth and agility and the kids were quite hard to find.
The real magic happens in the moments between activities, when kids find mushrooms, discover new places, spend hours swinging on the swing, or sit around talking to new friends.
—River Otter, Hawk Moth, Painted Trillium, and Chickadee (Chris, Quinn, Lauren, and Mary), October 16, 2021