Over in the meadow where the grasshoppers hop
Updated: Nov 16, 2020
“Over in the meadow where the grasshoppers hop, and the katydids fiddle and the flutter mops flop, down in the meadow where the grass hoppers hop!” As the mornings grow chillier we instinctively turn to the wide sunny meadow, a seeming endless expanse for galloping full tilt, and wiggling our waggles away.
Some of the children begin building a fire pit, imagining what it will be like when we can make a real fire. Soon all the friends are helping collect kindling and firewood. We make sure we have all the necessary ingredients for a safe fire.
We settle for morning circle and snack by a large mound at the edge of the meadow, who lives here? It is covered in burrows, and we are careful not to put anything in the holes, especially our fingers. As we sit for snack a llama approaches with determined curiosity. It is soon joined by a flock of friends. How many llamas can we count? Too many! We shoo them away as kindly as possible. As we make our way to our tipi we sit and observe birds at the pond, then we collect rose hips and Madrone berries to string into garlands with bright yellow leaves...”thank you thank you our hearts sing, thank you Mother Earth for everything.”
What direction to take this morning? We hear the birds singing around us as we walk to the pond. We become quiet coyotes and fox steps slowly to approach the pond, learning how to observe the pond life without disrupting it. There are 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 maybe 6, 7, 8 ducks, floating and feeding on the far end of the pond. A Steller's jay cries a warning of our presence. Soon the ducks scatter in flight. The jays continue to observe us from the trees nearby. In our morning circle we all pretend we are in canoes and grab our flashing paddles to follow the wild geese flight. It’s tricky to stay in synchronization!
Some friends gather rocks from the creek bed to begin building our hearth in the tipi, with great determination and enthusiasm, the task is completed quickly. Today the children would like to have lunch in the tipi. Teacher Sarah and and Teacher Torrey take turns reading a story about the aquatic life of a lake, then we take turns telling a story. We all love the water! We hope that soon it will rain. After lunch we work on our willow bows, made with willow we harvested together on our pond adventure. It takes a straight stick to make a balanced bow. With concentration it’s possible to shoot our arrows!