A Fall Family Feast

Little b really does go to the sweetest little preschool in all the land.

On Friday, he and his five classmates and their parents gathered for a fall family feast. Each family brought a dish and a craft to share.

(Our craft: each child made a sycamore leaf crown, inspired by Chasing Fireflies.)

When crafting and singing and playing were through, we went into the sweet school for our feast. It was all, every dish, DELICIOUS.

Much ado was made about fancy manners and best behavior, and for the most part, the little ones lived up to the task beautifully. It was quite heartwarming to see them all together, breaking bread, sharing this space of growing and being so proud to show their big siblings and parents their special place.

Thankful is as thankful does.

Blessing the Mother of the Village

Our dear friend and midwife returned from her Swedish home the last time she was growing a baby, and true to form has done so again, in perfect timing for a mother blessing. Our circle of New Moon mamas would not even be a circle without the birthing home this wise woman created. We owe the congregation of our little village, now with over twenty new children being consciously raised, in large part to her. Naturally, it was an honor place our hands and blessings upon her, full of love enough to carry her back overseas and welcome her third little one.

This blessing incorporated a sweet new element: the Big Sister circle, where the children were wrapped with the same red yarn that ties us all together in birth, in blood, and in love.

Blessings for another sweet birth to our friend,

and gratitude for the village she leaves stateside.

On Gardening with Children

I have the joy of being one of the 'room moms' for Big B's first grade eco-gardening project. On the south face of the first grade building, they have been given a 10'x50' plot of land to learn one of the oldest, most forgotten, yet most important lessons of life: how to grow their own food. Through the generosity of several local business partners (a landscape supply company, a landscape architect, a native plant nursery and an organic farm), our garden has two plots for each of the eight first grade classrooms, with one herb or vegetables for every two kids. There are tomatoes, crookneck squash, cucumbers, collard greens, kale, spinach, lettuces, basil, lemon balm, parsley and more.

The children have been involved with every step of the process, from learning about the soil that was put down to planting and watering and now to weeding and caring for the little seedlings.
Big B and his garden-mate have a little collard plant to care for. They are so proud of it, and every morning when we walk by on our way to class, Big B checks diligently on his plant.
A few of us parents are taking turns watering the garden twice a day, and once every week or so, we step into the classroom and take out the children in their pairs, to check on the progress of their little seedlings. My friend and fellow garden mama made charts for the kids to measure the height, number of leaves, fruit and flowers, and presence of bugs on their plants at each visit.

"Teaching children about the natural world

should be seen as one of the most

important events in their lives."

-Thomas Berry

Magnetic Poetry for Kids

A couple of weeks ago, I found a ziploc bag of cut-out easy reading words in Big B's school folder. I have wanted to make him a child's version of a magnetic poetry kit for some time, and just haven't gotten to it--this was the perfect excuse. I scrounged up my magnetic tape, leftover from our annual Photocard Magnet project, and snipped away. Now our dishwasher has a whole new purpose!

Birds of a Feather

A few weeks before Halloween, I was making a regular stop at my favorite Goodwill when I happened upon nine absolutely gorgeous feather masks for a dollar apiece. I couldn't resist. For several days before the 31st, Big B and little b took turns wearing each, as well as a number of other accessories, and "scaring" each other throughout the house. It was a treat to have two tricksters who really felt the magic of the masquerade this year!

For complete photo documentation of our Halloween bash, please visit Noni's photo album.

On Camping, and the Regeneration of Cells

For two weekends in a row, our family has camped near bonfires with old friends. How lucky I am to have typed that sentence! Last weekend it was back to The Dome for sweet music and celebration...

...and last night, back to The Ranch, this time for a seventh birthday party.

There was a collective spirit in the air, accented by pumpkins and ghosts...

...and sweet party games that just don't happen enough anymore. Like apple bobbing. Oh, the triumph!

The children, all dirt and grins, communed with nature on every level, ending with a sweet cow-feeding frenzy this morning. Gentle giants, my boys and those beasts, so beautiful.

What really struck a chord with me was the sheer villagery of it all. The eldest of our blessed tribe of babes is now seven. SEVEN. You've likely heard that all of our human cells regenerate every seven years--these incredible little people (over twenty of them!) have been together since zygotehood and are now completely reinvented, regenerated, and renewed, but have imprinted upon them the spirit of community, and always will.

The things that make up our physical bodies morph, change, die and are reborn. But upon strong foundations, new beauty emerges. We are constantly witnessing a steady stream of birth and rebirth with these entities we've been chosen to guide, and it is a mighty force of love, light, and pure, sweet laughter.

On the Sunday Morning Sidewalks

This morning was glorious. A morning to be praised, to be worshiped, to be revered. Big B asked if we could take a nature walk, and we headed out the door before Papa was even out of bed. We talked about how paying attention to the little bits of beauty we whiz past on most days is sort of like going to church, in a way. We are mindfully giving thanks for the beauty of our existence, and internally vowing to be good shepherds of that beauty. My kind of church.

We started our nature walk by looking for patterns:

And discovered many little treasures, shining in the morning sun:

We found new beauty in things we pass every single day,

and reminders of the spirit of the village in which we live.

We brought a bag along for the walk and Big B and little b collected treasures. We spent the rest of the morning outside, admiring them, enjoying each other, and giving thanks and praises.