March 8, 2019
Today was my fourth time at Crow’s Path, and it blew my mind away once again. The staff, the children, the creativity that lingers in the air, the knowledge being shared. Everything about this place is magical. I feel so grateful for the experiences I am able to have while interning at Crow’s Path.
Today’s morning game was called “Wizard Tag.” I have always loved tag games, but this one in particular was extraordinary, spellbinding even. Everybody had two hands to tag someone with, and if you got tagged then one of the hands or wands was unusable. Once someone lost both arms by being tagged, they had to pretend to make funny dying noises and fall onto the snowy ground. If someone with two hands still standing were to tag someone who had fallen to the ground, the “dead” person would be brought back to life! What I really liked about this game is that it encouraged teamwork, creativity, balance, and coordination.
After Wizard Tag came one of my favorite parts of the day: Entering through The Portal. Not only is the portal visually inspiring while being decorated with peace signs and clearly made with love, but the portal acts as a way to enter an “aware state of mind.” I have picked up on many awareness ideas that the mentors, interns, and even students give to those passing through: use 360 degree hearing, become acquainted with a new tree, find shapes that resemble faces, smell different trees, look for woodpecker holes, be aware of different colors. The list could go on and on, but the point I am trying to make is Holy Cow! The exposure these kiddos are getting to developing a sense of self among nature is AMAZING!Â
Nature Nugget:
Maple syrup was the theme for today. Juniper started out by asking if any of the kids liked maple syrup, and instantaneously many kids shot their hand up in excitement. Their eyes lit up, and it was clear that many of the kids loved maple syrup. She explained why sap only flows from the maple trees at certain times of the year rather than all the time. This all has to do with a buildup of pressure from the thawing/freezing that occurs at this time of year. I found this nature nugget to be really important because the kids were able to learn about the “life cycle” that the maple syrup they consume actually has. This is so impactful because maybe then the kids will start tracking the “life cycles” of other food that they consume!
Song of the Day:
I loved the song of day because it was really encouraging child participation. Not only were the lyrics beautiful, but the kids (and myself!) were able to gain a sense of rhythm and hear a beautiful melody. One thing that I have noticed is that nobody is forced to sing anything or have solos. The kids seem to be more inclined to join in this way, and I think it is a really effective teaching tool.
Let the sun shine down and warm my bones
Let the birds and bees come and take my clothes
Cause I’m a wild now made of wind and rain
I’m wild and I ain’t going back again.
Free Play:
The time for free play consisted of going down ice slides, revisiting the “resort”, and watching “open heart surgery” happen on Larry, the sock puppet.
The kids were able to get some pretty awesome air on one of the slides, and the lines to go down it were long! One of the sub mentors of the day, Lizzie, even went down the slide!
 
Here is a picture of Kai as he approaches the big jump. Both mentor and child are patiently waiting to see how the big jump treats Kai!
I asked one of the other interns, Quinn, to take action shots of me as I went down The Bone Rattler (which we ironically named after I went down). I think they’re pretty funny. Check em out!
You can really see how much the slide rattled my bones! It even reopened a rip on my snowpants!
I really liked how Brette gave me a wonderfully detailed and updated tour of the “resort” for the different ice slides, now including The Bone Rattler. She was so creative in how she described the different slides! After she went down one of them, she stood up and goes, “Jeez.” Ouch!
Larry, the sock puppet. Did he survive? Did he regain sight in his red eye? These are the questions of the day. Here, he is in the midst of open heart surgery being completed by Jonah and Asa:
Sit Spot:
While in my sit spot today, I could hear the songs of nature. I could hear the branches talking to one another, crows were telling stories as the wind listened, the wind would occasionally reply with a gentle gust. Everything was still. The unknown was awakening my senses. I felt so grateful for the beautiful melodies that nature was singing to me. I heard once that if you listen close enough, an orchestra would begin, and boy, is that right!
Guild:
The guild choices today were superb. The mentors always have such fun, inspiring, and exciting ideas for their guild of the day. Today, there was spear carving to hunt (now extinct) mastodons with Juniper, ice climbing with Colin, and more.
This. Was. The. Best. Part. Of. The. Day. Hands. Down.
The final thoughts I had while driving back to campus at Saint Michael’s College was about how this day was truly magical in so many different ways, and I feel so grateful for this opportunity. Thank you Crow’s Path!
Happy exploring,
Annabelle
