Rhythms of the Week — May

What’s Emerging:
We Are the Power in Everyone • Playnotes • This Week's Rhythm and Upcoming

Hello friends!
Late April carried us into May on falling petals and warm wind. The magnolias dropped their last blooms, dogwoods opened pink and white, and the garden stopped being a promise and became something alive, asking to be tended!!

We’ve spent these weeks learning what it means to listen to each other, to the plants, to what the soil is asking for. The children showed us that sometimes listening looks like carrying a heavy stick together, noticing when a friend’s pea plant needs more room to grow, or watching a dandelion stem curl into spirals in water and wondering why.

We are the power in everyone
We are the vision of what can be done
We are the hope that will not hide
We are the turning of the tide.

Let it begin with each step we take
And let it begin with each change we make
And let it begin with each chain we break
And let it begin each time we awake.1

In the last weeks of April and first of May, both Sunday and Tuesday friends painted collaboratively across the days.

We planted (more!) peas, lettuce, kale, carrots, and parsley from Hein Farm donations, then worried together about whether the pea babies needed more space. We made collages showing what's above and below the soil, danced with organza silks in the wind, and looked at the Brave Nature consent book to talk about body boundaries and how to notice when someone isn't thriving!

Ongoing at Edgerton Park

Each of our Summer Pop-Up days focus on children's relationships with themselves, each other, and the natural world. Hosted in partnership with community organizations, these full day drop-off experiences explore their vital role in the web of life, discovering that we are all connected, we all belong, and we can solve problems together!

For those who could not make the other dates, there is one more Unlearning Circle Call-In scheduled on June 3rd @ 8:30 PM.

This gathering is for anyone who wants to explore learning outside inherited scripts, who is curious about child-led frameworks, or who wants to build community with others committed to resisting adultism.

Hear the vision, connect with the guides, ask questions, and decide if this circle is for you! Join our interest list to receive the Zoom link.

Join the Interest List

If you’ve been curious about a child-led, consent-centered after-school space that’s growing with intention, we’re building it! We’re working toward a full week of programming. Each day carrying its own theme through guided exploration and self-directed learning. Think: storytelling and histories, gardening and science, music and movement, art and culture.

Kids Only! is open to children in all educational settings—public school, private school, and homeschool. Want to learn more or invest in building this circle for your kids?

Kids Only! Interest List

Sign up for our interest list to receive updates and our original vision overview if you haven’t seen it yet. As we grow, our vision is to expand toward full-day options for families seeking alternatives to conventional schooling.

These weeks have been so full with our peas pushing through soil, children learning to hold boundaries with the same care they hold pill bugs. We’ve transplanted seedlings, curled dandelion stems, and danced the rainbow together. We’ve asked what is nature? and decided: nature grows.

Brave Nature Collaborative is a 501(c)(3) outdoor learning commons rooted in Greater New Haven, Connecticut.

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