5/10 - Repetition and Risk, Felt and Blossoms

The trees are now bursting with bright green leaves. Even the conifers are growing bright new needles at the ends of their branches. We all met in the garden under a cloudy sky to make felt together. We took dyed wool roving and pulled it into thin wispy pieces. Then we covered small rocks with the wool and dunked them into soapy water. We gently scrubbed the wool to form tiny knots and by doing this, we made felt! Next week we will cut open the felt in such a way that the rock will slide out and we will have a felt blossom left behind.

After we worked on the felting together, we met at the blanket where we learned that there was a surprise in the garden—something new that was not in the garden plot the last time we checked. We gathered up our tools and headed out.

When we got to the plot, we found pea blossoms! Flowers began to sprout from our pea plants as they climb up to the sky. Some of the plants in the garden have changed a lot since we made a home for them in the ground. The garlic is reaching up in bright green shoots. The pea plants that we planted from seedlings are climbing up poles, and the peas that we planted from seed are dark green and growing fast! There are other plants in the garden, and we are waiting to see if they will thrive with the limited time we have to tend to them.

Some of the caregivers asked if they could come by on days when we do not have Nests and tend to the garden. This is so appreciated because the garden belongs to all of us. We are growing together with the garden, and the more support we have, the more successful we will be! We are all hoping that our efforts will yield happy plants and food we can share.

Friends dug into the earth to help move some seedlings and give them more room to grow. We found another group of pill bugs, and Lu held them gently. G found a worm that he thought he would squish, but then he remembered that the worm was part of our garden and gently placed it back in the dirt.

When we were ready to leave the garden, T suggested that we go for another hike in the woods, so we climbed into the wagons and traveled out of the garden. Walks in the woods are quickly becoming our spring tradition on Sundays. First we visited the large branch and worked together to pick it up. We headed down to the field and ran around together.

We encourage repetition and predictability in our play. Repetition, like a story read many times, gives us a steady base for when we are ready to take risks.

n the field, T showed us her favorite jumping stump and demonstrated her biggest jump. S was not ready to climb the stump, but he let one of the sticks he found on our hike take the leap off the stump for him.

Then it was time to meet up with our friends at the fountain, so we headed back in wagons or on shoulders.

In the wagon, we came into some trouble. Cutie Pie, our sweet chick puppet, was in high demand. Multiple friends wanted a turn to hold this fuzzy friend, and some friends were not ready to let go. We took a pause together and came to an agreement that Cutie Pie could ride in the wagon until we reached the circle, and then it would be someone else’s turn. Then after the story was read, it could be the next friend’s turn. Everyone agreed, and we kept moving.

At the blanket, we read Over in the Meadow by Jane Cabrera and sang along. When we got to each new animal, we paused to think about how many animals there would be. We used the rhyming words and number sequence to help us remember as we counted all of the baby animals up to ten! Then it was time to sing “Love Is a Circle” before saying goodbye.

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