Here’s to another great week, Blackberries! We had fun in the rain and sun this week. Here are some of the highlights.
We had an awesome time hammering real nails into wood on Tuesday and Wednesday. The kids absolutely loved this activity, even more than hammering golf tees into pumpkins. A hill I will die on - kids need tools, real ones. The weight of the hammer, nail, and wood feel heavy and good, and their bodies respond to that in positive ways. They were instinctively calm and careful. Yes, we had to direct a few wide swings, but for the most part, every single child took the weight of the responsibility seriously, unprompted.
Tuesday was a very special day here. First, one of our parents, who is a certified music therapist and a wildly talented teacher of young children, volunteered to lead the group in some Halloween inspired rhythm activities and interactive songs. It was SO fun! We sang. We laughed. But my favorite was an absolutely hilarious version of “We’re Going on a Bear Hunt”. She had us searching for Dracula in Transylvania, mucking through bogs, canoeing through lakes, jumping over pumpkins, and creeping through a haunted house all to a spooky beat on her piano. The great news? She’s coming back for Thanksgiving and Christmas too!
The second reason Tuesday was so great is that we had some siblings join us for all that fun! They visited our animals, played together in the mud kitchen, and created 3-D bugs with our Chomp Saw.
Wednesday found us enjoying the best lunch with friends. One Blackberry had made keychains for the others. The giving and receiving felt so special for all involved. My nephew carried his around all evening because he didn’t have his backpack that day to place it on. We also painted “eggs”, hole punched the edges, and wove string around the outside. It was a perfect project for older, more deft hands, and we discussed the many ways we can do more sewing and weaving in the future. We also did a lot of chick maintenance on this day. We cleaned out all the food and water containers and generally admired our growing brood.
Thursday was a beautiful day all around. We started the day making a “Chicken Salad”. In reality, we identified different vegetables and herbs from the garden and cut them with kid friendly knives. This hands-on kitchen work just delighted the Blackberries! They put all of their hard work inside of a big bowl and we gave it to our feathered friends.
Later on in the Play Yard, a couple of the boys were dribbling balls and I said, we should put a basketball goal up on the railing of the porch soon. Then I told them, “Nah, let’s just make one now!” I grabbed a huge plastic pot and began cutting out the bottom. As I had a knife, the boys gathered around immediately, watching me . I recited one of my favorite sayings, “Use it up, wear it out, make do, do without.” and explained to them that it is responsible, earth-loving, and frugal to repurpose things to meet your needs and wants. Once the bottom dropped out, they got the picture quick (as children are naturally apt to do) and repurposed the round disc into a Frisbee. Then I screwed our “new” hoop into place and they had a blast shooting shots, grabbing rebounds, and practicing what free ball looks like. Yes, you get the ball when you rebound it, but you also pay attention to the needs and wants of those you are playing with. There were so many shared balls, encouraging words, and pride at shots made.
What a wonderful week overall. As unbelievable as it sounds, it looks like next week (the second week of November!) is going to be beautiful once again. It’s been really great for the chicks to have extra outside time while they are still small. Come to think of it, the extra outside time is good for us all, wouldn’t you agree, Blackberries?
