Sienna Ranch

Tee pee is back

2011-09-11T16:11:00.000-07:00

Everyone, I know you've all been anxiously waiting for the teepee to get pitched again! Well, here it is. We just spent the afternoon today and it looks great. And thanks everyone who helped out today! Here they are!

Kevin, you're such a poser

2011-04-07T11:06:00.000-07:00

Been a while since I posted photos of the ranch. Here's some photos of Kevin. Our peacock. Kevin, by the way got his name because of my daughter. She was about 3 when she first saw Kevin(he had a different name back then). And this was right after she watched Up, the Pixar movie with the colorful bird named Kevin. She says, "Look daddy, there goes Kevin!" Since then, that name stuck. So here he is showing off his beautiful feathers.

Spring Arrivals

2011-03-01T12:13:00.000-08:00

Here at Sienna Ranch we are all getting ready for spring! The newest arrivals are 6 chicks, who hatched from our incubator. They are so fluffy!

One of our goats, Rosie, is due to have her kids in the first week of April. While checking on her last night I felt one of the babies kick. So exciting!

Explorers

2011-01-25T15:37:00.000-08:00

We started our day with an animal track matching game and the kids did remember most of them.

In the chicken coop we compared chicken feet with duck feet and collected some eggs.

Off we went for a hike to see what tracks we can find out in nature. Some very clear horse tracks, a dog, deer and cow tracks, and some tire tracks also got the kids attention.

We left the trail to get up to the lookout post, Lafayette was still covered in fog. By the time we finished snack, the sun came thru and we continued our hike. Each kid got to hike solo thru the new mustard plants. Once we arrived by the big oak everyone was ready to climb the tree. We watched the cows across the fence, one mother cow and three calves, baby boys we figured.

Time to get back down to the Ranch, we met with the other group and cracked some black walnuts, they do taste good.

The last few minutes we got to play the cat and mouse game in the yurt and it seemed everyone had fun and took part in it.

A great day for our explorers.

clouds in the sky

2010-10-06T09:23:00.000-07:00

Today we finished our gourd rattels, some paint and feathers from the chicken coop made a great decoration. Now it might be time for a rain dance.
While the paint has to dry, we went to feed the baby goats. The kids prepared the milk bottles and were amazed how fast these goats can drink, and what cute lips they have. Time for our snack by the buckeye tree, and a turn on the new swing.
We watched the clouds and tried to see shapes and figures.
On our hike, we saw a red tail hawk in the sky, standing still, almost like a kite in the wind.

Old photo of the area where the Hometini is now

2010-10-04T02:12:00.000-07:00

This one is fun. Really shows the before and after of the Hometini area. Cows use to live here.

Old photos of the ranch before we started 4

2010-10-04T01:55:00.000-07:00

Various shots. This one is looking towards where the chicken area is now

The two above is where the current RompingZone is. This area use to house sheeps and a couple of sheep dogs

Goats are here now.

Old photos of the ranch before we started 3

2010-10-04T01:42:00.000-07:00

The old barn.

This area is where the round pen is now. Before, it was used as a holding area for horses.

Old photos of the ranch before we started2

2010-10-04T01:36:00.000-07:00

Some more photos. The first three are of the area where Beeper is now. Not that much different except for slightly newer fencing, and different horse. Bottom photos is next to the old barn.

Old photo of the ranch before we started

2010-10-04T01:00:00.000-07:00

Got a little nostalgic about when we got started at the ranch. These photos are from about three years ago while we were just getting started. Here's an old photos of the area by where the yurts are now. The only thing we kept looks to be the Eggstand. Before, I think it was used as a ticket booth.

pumpchini or zumpkin?

2010-09-16T22:28:00.000-07:00

last year we grew pumpkins and zucchinis at opposite ends of the garden. this year i didn't think a thing of what looked like a volunteer zucchini growing in the corn patch. but the plants must have crossed last year...i present to you....the pumpcchini! Or perhaps, the zumpkin? i am yet to try and crack it open, i still can't get over the appearance!

Baby duck

2010-08-30T11:14:00.000-07:00

This is Barnaby. My coworker wanted a duck, so she took a couple of eggs with her from our ranch, and she bought an incubator, and successfully hatched one baby duck! He is already grown up. Here a link to her post. He's really cute, and getting lots of attention from friends!

adventure hike

2010-06-10T12:59:00.001-07:00

First let's check what is growing in the garden, we find young tomato, pepper, squash and corn plants.

We feed the chickens and goats, after everyone wanted to visit the young chicks and hold one, we can tell they are growing.

Snack time was under our favorite buckeye tree. From there we took off on an adventure hike.

We all did some climbing over fallen trees and thru the dry creek bed, till we got to a good spot to rest, listened to a story and have some mint tea. After the hike went on, each explorer got to go on a short solo hike.

It was a great day to be out and enjoy nature. Back at the ranch there was enough time to visit with the rabbits.

I wish everyone a happy summer time and hope to see you again.

New Residents at our ranch

2010-06-03T00:29:00.000-07:00

Here's our new baby goats!! Aren't they cute!

hard boiled eggs

2010-06-02T15:19:00.000-07:00

We started our day in the garden, we picked chard for the chickens and goats to feast on.

Of course we had to pay a visit to the new baby chicks, each kid got to hold one and we came up with some creative names for them.

Later in the chicken coop we collected some feathers and eggs. Today we boiled the eggs on the fire , everyone enjoyed these very fresh eggs.

We used mortars to crushed some charcoal to make charcoal paint, with this paste , each explorer made a design on a piece of paper.

There was a little time left to climb our buckeye tree and observe some turkey vultures gliding by.

Random photos from the ranch

2010-05-26T14:58:00.000-07:00

Some recent photos from the ranch.

Some new projects at the ranch

2010-05-24T20:33:00.000-07:00

Just finished up this new fence. This was very fun to build, even though it took way too long to build due to my work schedule and the fact that I had to cut each piece one at a time. Ugggghhh. But still, the result turned out pretty fun.

Set of the film shoot

2010-05-24T16:49:00.000-07:00

Here's a little up date to the film that is being shot on our ranch. The shoot is going very well and despite the unexpected rain, the necessary sets got built! There was a tremendous delay because of the rain, and the inability to bring up supplies and equipment up the hill when the ground was wet. But somehow, it was managed. Also, the actual filming days have seen some good luck, as most of the bad weather has been, for some crazy unknown reason, isolated to weekdays. So the last two or three weekends, they were able to shoot the film with the ground being dry. Very important for consistency. Anyways, here are some photos of the set, and some of the kids who are taking the film class learning directly from the film makers!

A write up about Sienna Ranch in the local paper

2010-05-24T13:35:00.000-07:00

http://www.lamorindaweekly.com/archive/issue0403/Sienna-Ranch-Continues-a-Natural-Tradition.html

Some videos about the ranch on YouTube!

2010-05-24T13:26:00.000-07:00

Here's some fun videos that people have posted on youTube about our ranch. Enjoy.

story of the day may 17th, 2010

2010-05-17T21:53:00.000-07:00

Today we spent most of our time with compasses practicing orienteering. Alison set up a course for us to follow. We gave everyone a chance to lead who wanted to. Once we made our way through the ranch and became more familiar with our compasses we decided it was time to run out into the woods to play a game of sardines, a.k.a. backwards hide'n'seek. It was difficult for the group to learn the rules. It was hard for the group to stay quiet when they found the hiding person. Everyone's homework for the next class is to play sardines at least once. The way the game works: One person hides and everyone else counts with their eyes closed. Then everyone tries to find the one hiding person. When one of the "seekers" finds the "hider" they sneak into the hiding place with them and stays quiet. The last person to find the group becomes the next hider. It is helpful for the solitary hider to hide in a place that has room for everyone that is playing. We will try again next week.

story of the day may 17th, 2010

2010-05-17T20:59:00.000-07:00

The morning class today was really great. We started by heading up into the woods in search for some dried mugwort to start a friction fire near where we had started a shelter the week before. We hiked along the steep slope of the hills above the dry creek bed. On our way we found 16 yes 16 California slender salamanders (Batrachoseps attenuatus). Two large millipedes (Narceus americanus) and a giant owl pellet. We then got out the bowdrill kits and practiced our fire making skills. Robbie showed some real promise. Holden was our expert on the owl pellet dissection, Mahmood carried the fire song, and Yakov helped me tend fire. Once the fire was lit we heard a story about how coyote lost his eyes. Then the younger kids came walking down the trail to hear the last part of the story and help us with the shelter we were working on. Then it was time to head back to the ranch.

Story of the Day May 14th, 2010

2010-05-17T20:27:00.000-07:00

We harvested stinging nettle to make a wonderful tea. We collected lots of dry fire wood to build a fire to cook the nettles (Urtica dioica). Harvesting them is no easy task, one must be careful not to get stung. Most people had a chance tending the fire and watching over the boiling water. Then it was time for us to make some cups out of clay. We weren't intending to use them with the tea, but it was nice to have the motivation. We used the fire for the tea to fire the clay. It was a great day to spend around the fire telling stories and making things out of clay. The tea was quite tasty and believe it or not it has some strong beneficial and medicinal qualities.

story of the Day May 10th, 2010

2010-05-14T08:43:00.000-07:00

Today we had scattered showers at the ranch, with a rainbow to boot. We started with a game of who's leading? Then played hot and cold to find the new animals on the ranch. We just recently acquired two new peahens and a peacock. We also were lucky enough to find a pygmy milking goat and two young does that needed a new home. We then went into the yurt for some sand painting. Everyone should have gone home with a painting in hand. Then we headed up the hill to work on a little tree identification, by using one of my favorite identification practices, climbing the tree. The particular tree was growing mostly sideways and has large oval shaped leaves that grow in bunches of 5 that look like a hand. Each students was encouraged to take a leaf home to try to identify this tree at home. So ask your little ones about their leaf and you can help them to find out what it is. I'll give you the latin name and you can decide if you want to tell them the common name. (Aesculus californica) Good luck and happy hunting. We ended the day with a few races around the new track by the horse arena. Sierra and I tied for first place.

Muddy May 10th

2010-05-10T14:15:00.000-07:00

Two new peahens and a peacock greeted us in the chicken coup this morning. Sky led a song about a bullfrog before we took up a game of Jays and Chickadees. The Sienna Ranch chickadees played their own version (similar to ours) in the trees above. In our game the coopers hawk (black bandana) looked for birds to eat, the jay (blue bandana) looked for chickadees eggs to rob and avoided the hawk. The chickadees looked for food while trying to keep their nest location from the jays and avoid the coopers hawk. After each round we discussed the strategies involved and counted our eggs. The rain was very light until the end of class. We headed for the snack tree. There we built a fire with a magnizium stick. We sang the fire song, ate, played a game, made play bows, worked on the shelter and listened to a couple stories. We left just as the rain started to turn from drizzle to real rain. All in all another great day at the ranch.
-Sky

story of the day may 7th, 2010

2010-05-09T18:27:00.000-07:00

We started the day with a big group game of jays vs. chickadees. Alex and I did quite well as a pair, and we hid our nest in a great spot so that Janah, the "hawk" didn't find it. Then we split off into our separate groups and started our day. We first went to the dog's pen to take Stretch and Sidecar for a walk. We heading west towards the beehives. On our way stopped for snack and a story. The story was the second installment of how Coyote lost his eyes. Ask your kids for a retelling of it, cause it's a good one. I heard it from a wonderful Cree storyteller and tell it with her permission. Then it was off towards the bees to see how they are doing. They are in full swing now and they were very kind in their way of telling me that I was a bit too close. Fortunately we were able to see the action from a safe distance. We headed back to the ranch after our close encounter. There were a few requests fot egg collecting and petting the rabbits, so we had to do that for a few minutes. And Melinda's group had the hose going so we took a moment to cool off with them. Then we headed up the hill to our sit spot to do some drawing. Lots of nice pictures came out. Then everyone wanted to play a few rounds of "ninja training" and then it was time to go meet our parents to go home. Overall a great day.

story of the day may 3rd, 2010

2010-05-09T17:54:00.000-07:00

Today was the first day of the new session and we had a good discussion of what to expect for the rest of the year. We made sure that everyone understands what the dangerous parts of the ranch are. Horses, poison oak and drinking enough water being the biggest hazards. We took a lengthy tour of the animals, making sure that everyone knows how to behave around them. Then is was time for a snack and a story that was left hanging. The ending was supposed to be a cliff hanger and the ending will come when we meet again next week. The day was full of excitement and the energy was only dampened slightly by our hike that took us up into the overgrown milk thistle in the valley above the ranch. We ended the day with a great game that helps improve one's sense of hearing. It is also a game that improves one's sense of sneaking.

story of the day april 30th, 2010

2010-05-09T16:42:00.000-07:00

A beautiful Friday at sienna ranch with some strong winds and story-book clouds. Since today was the first day of the session we decided to take an in depth tour of the ranch. We spent a good deal of time with all the different animals at the ranch with clear explanations of the guidelines of how to act when in with the animals. The chickens, as always, were a big hit. It was some people's first day holding a chicken. After that it was snack time where we sat under the shade of the walnut trees. We then took some time to do quiet writing in the hill next to the archery range. The assignment was designed to get a sense of the individuals connection to nature at the beginning of the session. It was then time for a game that we called "ninja training" that focuses on strengthening the sense of hearing. A great first day to the last season of the year.

Egg project

2010-05-08T18:14:00.000-07:00

Friday afternoon was all about birds! After our gratitude circle, we played a game with everyone called Jays and Chickadees. This game shows students how birds steal from one another to survive. Everyone had a great time playing, and came up with some creative ways to "survive". We split into groups then and the raccoons got to do a special project using chicken eggs. We went and collected eggs from the chicken coop. Then we carefully poked holes in each end and blew the insides of the egg out into a bowl. All of the students were so careful that no one broke their eggs which was very impressive! They then got to use water color paints to decorate their eggs. We then hung the eggs on strings and left them to dry. After the eggs were finished the students decided we should have a mini Olympics. We made up our own sports, and spent some time competing for the world record. It was really entertaining to see how well everyone did at the events they made up. We also got a chance to play our ninja training game that challenges students to quietly sneak up on one another. At that point we were out of time and everyone headed home.

Egg Art

2010-05-08T18:08:00.000-07:00

Friday morning was all about birds! After our gratitude circle, we played a game with everyone called Jays and Chickadees. This game shows students how birds steal from one another to survive. Everyone had a great time playing, and came up with some creative ways to "survive". We split into groups then and the quails got to do a special project using chicken eggs. We went and collected eggs from the chicken coop. Then we carefully poked holes in each end and blew the insides of the egg out into a bowl. All of the students were so careful that no one broke their eggs which was very impressive! They then got to use water color paints to decorate their eggs. We then hung the eggs on strings and left them to dry. It was time for our hike at that point, and we decided our destination should be the climbing tree. We hiked up there and had snack, and had a great time exploring a little and climbing. It was then time to head back down to the ranch, with just enough time to visit the dogs. It was a wonderful morning at the ranch.

a birdbath

2010-05-06T13:24:00.000-07:00

The day started with a game called 'fire in the forest' , after our group went to the garden. We checked out some plants and picked chard to feed to the animals.
We got to hold a birds nest and looked closer at the material the birds collected to build it. The kids added some soft pony hair to it.
We set up a birdbath under a tree, washed some rocks and rolled a tree stump to use for the base.
Hopefully we will attract some birds and get a chance to see them taking a bath. There was time for a short hike and back, before everyone got picked up.

Compasses

2010-05-05T18:02:00.000-07:00

Wednesday morning, the kindergarten kids were very excited to be at the ranch. We all played a few games together, like everyone is it tag, and fire in the forest, and then we split into our two groups. My groups activity was to learn the basics of compass use. Each student got to use one of the ranch compasses, and we started with the basics. Everyone knew the four directions North, South , East, and West, and then they learned how to combine those directions to describe the directions in between, like southwest and southeast. We then set off on a hike, stopping to figure out which way we were going every so often. Some of the students caught on really quickly and were really good at seeing which way we were headed. We stopped for snack and everyone shared a story about a time when they were lost. Most students described how scared they were, so we talked about what they should do if they are ever lost again. Everyone had good ideas, and they also learned S.T.O.P, which stands for Sit, Think, Observe and Plan. This is the things they should do when they first learn they are lost. After snack it was time to find our way back to the ranch and we used the compasses to guide us.

Gardening

2010-05-04T17:57:00.000-07:00

This week the Monday after school group was lucky enough to have a chance to plant some new vegetables in the garden. We first had to prepare the garden bed where we would be planting so everyone worked together to clear out all the old plants and weeds. Then we used hand shovels to turn the dirt and loosen the soil. Then we screened some compost from our compost pile, which was just filled with worms! The students had a wonderful time collecting and looking at the worms before adding them to the garden bed. We mixed the compost in with the dirt in the garden bed, and then it was time to plant our seed starts. We planted two tomato plants, and three golden pepper plants. After watering the new additions, we spent some time watering the rest of the garden, which everyone seemed to enjoy. After snack we had time to take a quick hike up the hill and then it was time to go home.

getting the birdbath ready

2010-05-04T17:38:00.000-07:00

It was a beautiful day at the Ranch, we started in the garden, everything is growing so well.

The Fava beans are tasty, we all got to try some. Yes, there are aphids on the plants, but we discovered the ladybugs are taking care of them.

A visit in the chicken coop, was followed by checking out the two dogs that live in the next coop. They were happy to see us fill up their empty water dish.

The kids got to look at a birds nest that I brought in today, with one egg left in it. We talked about how the bird parents are taking care of their young.

After snack and some socializing, we got to work. The birdbath needed some scrubbing and new water and we also planted some Morning Glories.

Good team work, I was impressed.

The last part of the day was a short story time and we played some chasing games on the field.

Next week, we will meet at the reservoir.

Animals and Hike to school

2010-05-03T17:53:00.000-07:00

Monday the kindergartens were all very excited to be at the ranch. We started out visiting the chickens, to see if there were any eggs to collect. We found quite a few, and everyone had a chance to put some in the cartons. We then visited with sidecar and stretch, the resident dogs. The students had fun brushing them and watching them play. After the dogs we went over to the rabbit hutch, and spent some time holding frosty the rabbit. It was then time for snack, so we found a nice shady spot under a tree and enjoyed whatever snacks we had. At this point it was time to start the hike to school, so we set out on that adventure. We got to school with some time to spare and the group showed me how to play a game that they played on the playground. It was a lot of fun and a very nice morning at the ranch!

Sand Art

2010-05-01T17:46:00.000-07:00

Friday afternoon was sunny and pleasant. We started out with our gratitude circle and then the raccoons went to do a fun project with sand. We talked about how sand painting has been used by different cultures throughout history, and how most sand paintings were laid out on the ground and swept away when they were finished. The students got to glue their sand paintings down so they could take them home! Everyone seemed to enjoy this project, and there was much creativity with their work. After the sand painting it was time for our hike. We climbed up to the climbing tree and went around the hill to check out the bee hives. The bees were very busy collecting from all the spring flowers! After that, we had time to play a game that involves listening to your surroundings and being as quiet as possible. All of the students enjoyed themselves, and the afternoon went by quickly.

Sand Painting

2010-05-01T17:42:00.000-07:00

Friday was sunny and beautiful at the ranch and we started the morning with our gratitude circle. We split into groups and the quails geared up to do some sand painting. They learned a little about how and why sand paintings were made through out history, and then got a chance to make their own. The students were very into their artwork and they all made some wonderful pieces to take home with them. After we were done with the sand painting, we went and visited with the animals. The chickens got a lot of attention, and we found many eggs to collect. We then had time to hike up to the climbing tree, where we spent the remainder of the morning climbing and listening to stories.

Getting to know the ranch

2010-04-29T19:00:00.000-07:00

Monday was the first day of the session for the after school explorers. After our gratitude circle, we discussed all of the different ways for the students to keep themselves safe and healthy at the ranch. We also discussed guidelines for good behavior. After that, we took a walk around the ranch and met all of the wonderful animals at the ranch. We spent time with the chickens, dogs, goats and rabbits. After that we had enough time to eat snack and play a great game that Rafe taught them. It involved using their senses to figure out when other people were trying to tag them. When the game was over it was time to head home. Great first day at the ranch!

Adventure Hike

2010-04-29T18:55:00.000-07:00

Wednesday morning was beautiful, but a bit rainy. Luckily the rain cleared up before to long, so after a story and a little time to play in the hay shed, we got to go on a fun adventure hike. The students got to choose which way to go. Everyone was really excited because we got to go further than we usually do. I encouraged the students to keep their eyes open for animal signs and we got really lucky! We saw a gopher, lots of lady bugs, a few different types of lizards and we even got to pet a baby cow! Everyone was really excited by the end of the hike. When we got back to the ranch we had enough time to wash our hands and it was time to head home.

Climbing Tree and hike

2010-04-29T18:49:00.001-07:00

Monday was a fun day for the kindergarten group. After our gratitude circle we got to check out some gopher teeth that Alison had brought, which were very interesting. After that the students decided they wanted to go to the climbing tree on the hill. We got up to the tree, and everyone had a wonderful time climbing around. We then had snack, and got to hear the story The Lorax. The story got the kids thinking and we heard some great stories from them afterwards. It was then time to hike over to school. We had fun picking different edible flowers along the way, like wild radish and mustard. We made it to school on time, after an all around fun morning.

Story of the Day 4-26 Mountain Deer

2010-04-28T09:49:00.000-07:00

The mountain deer had a small class Monday. We decided to join the Rafe group for a good part of the day. After the morning (read Rafe's blog) we found ourselves in a steep bay-buckeye forest. We took a break to sit on a fallen bay and hear a story originally told by Tom Brown. Continuing on we found a snake. Initially we gave it quite a bit of room thinking it may be a rattle snake. It was covered in tan and brown squares (not diamonds). It had a small oval head (not triangular) and a smooth (not rattled) tail it seemed to flick like a rattler. We took some guesses but did not come to a conclusion of the species (besides not rattle snake). This would be a good extra credit question if anyone feels like looking it up. On the way back we found that the mustard is starting to seed and tastes like wasabi. Tracks in the mud have hardened and provide great opportunities for study. All in al another awesome day at the ranch.

story of the day april 26th, 2010

2010-04-27T12:55:00.001-07:00

The first day of the new session with lots of new faces was very exciting. We started with a thanksgiving circle and our names. We then took a few minutes explaining the hazards of the ranch. Most importantly being the horses, poison oak and drinking enough water. We then took the time to meet all of the animals in the farm yard. I think the chickens were a favorite for most. For a few children it was their first time holding or petting a chicken. We had some snack and talked about animals and the earth and then headed up to the riding ring for a game that is designed to stretch one's awareness. It's called jedi training, and it works like this. One person is in the middle of the ring with a pool noodle and a blindfold on, everyone else is out on the edges. The object is to tag the person in the middle without getting hit by the pool noodle. You learn pretty quickly that if you aren't focusing on how much noise you are making that you won't do very well. We will be creating sensory experiences throughout the season. There were a few kids without water bottles this time. Please have your children bring water bottles and sun protection for these classes, especially as the weather gets warmer. I'm looking forward to the next six weeks.

Story of the Day April 26th, 2010

2010-04-27T11:30:00.000-07:00

Thanksgiving circle in the morning sun with lizards coming to visit. The ranch is in full bloom and plants are growing rapidly on all the edges around the property. We took a hike up to the top of the hill and cleared a nice path through the overgrown thistles. There is a wonderful valley to the northeast that is perfect for sneaking and hiding games. It was pretty much unaccessible until yesterday, but now there is a nice walkway for groups. It was definitely enjoyable for us to do it not just for the pleasure of the activity but we also left something for others. Once at the top of the hill we met up with Sky and his students. We were planning to play a game but were waylaid by a snake in Oslo's path. We all circled around it at a good distance and debated what type of snake it was. The initial thought was that it could be a rattle snake, but after looking closely there was no rattle. We decided it was a gopher snake. Then it was time for a survival story and a game of jedi training that sharpened our hearing and our skills in fox walking. We then wanted to find a fort that we heard was down the the steep hill to the north in the bay forest. It was a nice to find this new place to explore but we didn't find the fort. While under the canopy of buckeye and bay we explored the difference between the two trees and what there different uses are. As we started to head back to the ranch we found an enormous dead yucca plant. As the temperature rises we need to make sure that everyone has water, so please make sure that your kids bring water bottles.

Friday Adventure Hike

2010-04-26T18:12:00.000-07:00

Friday was our wonderful adventure hike from Springhill road to the ranch. Both the morning and the afternoon groups went on the hike and they all had a wonderful time. Some of the students had to push themselves a little harder than usual, but everyone was very proud of themselves. We saw many exciting things along the way, including giant beetles, bones, possible signs of mountain lions and a dead mouse. Sky told some great stories and we played some fun hiding games as well. It was all around a great way to spend the day.

mint tea

2010-04-26T10:18:00.001-07:00

Our group cut some fresh mint from the garden. We learned some facts about mint, smelled and chewed some leaves.

To preserve the leaves to make tea in the winter, we stringed up the mint and hanged it in the tipi to dry.

The kids helped piling wood and sticks to make a fire and boil some fresh tea.

After snack we went on a hike. We found a birds nest with young birds in it, the mother bird was perching on the electric wire keeping an eye on her young.

Back at the ranch we feed the chickens and collected some eggs.

Sand Painting

2010-04-25T18:52:00.000-07:00

Wednesday morning was a bit rainy for the kindergarten group. We decided that it would be fun to make some sand paintings in the yurt. Each student got a piece of paper and they used glue to draw a design. Then they sprinkled colored sand over the glue, to create their sand art. All of the students really enjoyed this project. They made some very beautiful work! After sand painting the rain had cleared up a bit and we had time to go on a short hike. It was a very fun morning at the ranch!

Beneficial Insects

2010-04-21T23:43:00.000-07:00

Today started with a visit to the animals, and a bit of extra responsibility giving the goats their dinner and putting them in their pen for the night. We began our science lesson in the garden, finding aphids on the fava bean plants and some ladybugs eating them. Back in the yurt, we discussed how the ladybugs we saw fall into the category of "beneficial insects", which are basically insects that help out gardeners greatly! Some beneficial insects came to our minds easily: bees that pollinate, and ladybugs that eat pests. Then we learned about a few others that we didn't know about yet, like the assassin bug, green lacewing, and even flies! Our art project was to depict one of these beneficial insects in a construction paper stained glass picture. For the project we first sketched our design onto the construction paper, and then cut out sections of the paper. We then filled in these sections with tissue paper, making a nice stained glass effect.

horse cookies and hiking

2010-04-19T23:51:00.000-07:00

How exciting to arrive this morning to dry weather and sun! The kids arrived to me reading a very cool book about the water cycle that Elika had brought. Then we sat down to share what we were grateful for. We then split into groups, and my group went straight to the horses to feed them horse cookies that we had previously made. Next, we went to the garden where we had snack and planted some sunflower seeds. Then we visited the chickens, and everyone got a chance to collect chicken eggs and hold and pet a chicken. Afterward, we all washed our hands and then joined the other group for our hike over. Thankfully, we had plenty of time to get to school so there was no rush. We stopped and picked flowers, sampled wild mustard and wild radish, discovered ladybugs, and looked closely at mysterious holes and tunnels in the ground. Midway there, we set down our back packs for a break to drink water, rest, and play. Everyone had fun climbing up a steep slope to the grass above and hanging on the low branches of a tree. When we arrived to school we had a few minutes on the playground and then it was time to go inside.

coyotes story of the day

2010-04-18T23:04:00.001-07:00

Today we began by sharing our animal encounters for the week, and then headed to the garden to take a look at what needed to be done. And boy did the Coyotes get a lot done in very little time! We split into two groups and took turns wheelbarrowing dirt to add to the herb spiral, and weeding what will soon be the bed for corn. With the teamwork of everyone, these tasks went very quickly and everyone seemed to enjoy the visible difference the group had made. We celebrated by feeding our weeds to the chickens and gathering eggs. We then got out materials to make plant presses, and everyone gathered different plants to press. These plant samples will later be identified and preserved in a hand made field guide. We finished up the day with a really fun game of "capture the king" using marshmallow blow-guns. Thanks for a great day everyone!

Herb Spiral Complete!

2010-04-18T23:04:00.000-07:00

Today the Quails began with the idea of a team project. Such a project would only be possible if we all worked together as one, communicating well and sharing tasks. We prepared for this team project with a couple of team games, which the group participated very well in. We paused for snack and the story of how frog asked the cloud lady for rain. Then we headed to the garden for our team project: making an herb spiral! With the help of the morning Coyotes, all of our soil was nicely mounded, the Quails were charged with gathering rocks and forming the actual spiral in the mound, and then planting it with yummy herbs and strawberry plants. The herb spiral was really fun for the group to create, as you can see by the ecstatic picture above, and they worked very well on it as a team. We celebrated the completion of our spiral with a visit to the animals. We still had time for exploration and when we arrived at the buckeye tree, the group agreed that this was the perfect place to be. Many of the Quails managed to immediately find the one muddy spot under the buckeye tree, and to their delight, sink shoes into it. We also played a fun sneaking and hiding game at the buckeyee tree. The day ended with everyone sharing their favorite part of the day and then returning to the playground for pick-up.

Felted Soap Bars

2010-04-18T16:39:00.001-07:00

Friday afternoon at the ranch was very beautiful. The afternoon started with our gratitude circle where all the raccoons shared something they were thankful for in their life. After that we started our project which was wet felting soap bars to make bath scrubbies. The students each got a soap bar and a piece of colored wool roving. They wrapped the soap in the roving and dipped it into warm water, and then started the felting process by scrubbing the bar with their hands. Everyone had a lot of fun working on this project in the sunshine. After everyone had learned about the felting process and successfully finished their soap bar, it was time to go on our adventure hike. We hiked up to an open area, where we played some games that are based on being quiet and sneaky. Everyone had a lot of fun. After that we hiked back down to the ranch, and had enough time for everyone to make an additional felted soap bar. The raccoons really enjoyed this project! Most of them wanted to know where they could buy wool roving so they could make them at home too! After we were done with our second round of felting it was time to head home. It was a very enjoyable afternoon at the ranch.

Felting Soap

2010-04-18T16:33:00.001-07:00

This morning the explorers started the day with our gratitude circle where everyone told something they were thankful for. We then learned a great song from rafe, and split into our groups. The quails went to do our project for the day, which was learning how to make felted soap bars. They each got a little bar of soap and a piece of wool roving. They learned that the roving came from sheep. They wrapped the roving around the soap bar and dipped them in water, and then rubbed the bar until the wool started to felt. This process is called wet felting and the students enjoyed themselves in the sunshine felting their soap bars. After our felting project was done we took a nice hike up to the climbing tree, where the students climbed around and then had some snack. After that we took a visit to the bee hives, where one student accidentally got a little too close to the bees and got stung! Luckily she was very brave and after getting some ice on the sting she felt all better. We then had some time to visit with the rabbits and then it was time to head home. It was a very enjoyable morning at the ranch.

signs of spring everywhere

2010-04-15T13:21:00.000-07:00

We started our day by a visit to the chicken coop, where we collected some eggs . We fed the chicken some chard, they do like their greens.

In the garden we checked on the Fava beans, we can see the small beans are growing now.

The boys also found some worms under pots, stones and planters.

We payed a visit to the rabbits and Sugar the pony. After this little tour we went to our new hideout to enjoy our snacks and the story of "the black chicken".

Before we started our hike to the big oak tree, we stopped at the tipi and buckeye tree, now the new explorers know our favorite places on the ranch.

On our hike we found ladybugs, tiny pink flowers, empty acorns, big mushrooms, heard the woodpecker and we also enjoyed the view from the top of the world.

Climbing the big oak and bouncing the low branches is always an inviting activity. Now the tree has new lush leaves, a great umbrella for summer time.

We saw the first mom arrive in the parking lot, time to head down.

Compasses

2010-04-14T22:06:00.000-07:00

Today was our first day of class and it was great to meet such a great group of kids! We began by visiting all of the animals: goats, horses, chickens, ducks, dogs, and bunnies. Then we sat down to learn about the theme of the day: compasses! We went over the fundamental aspects of how a compass works, and then we each got to use a compass to follow a few points on an orienteering course so that everyone could really experience how to navigate. We also took note of how the entrance to the teepee faces East, which was the perfect segway into how the four directions carry a greater significance for various native cultures. We looked at a picture of a Tibetan Buddhist sand mandala and observed how the design, which is intended to represent the universe, appears very symmetrical and similar to a compass rose. Our art project was to create our own version of a sand mandala, however we used glue so that we wouldn't have to brush all of the sand away at the end! Everyone came up with some very neat designs, and seemed very engaged in the artistic process.

Rainy Day Fun

2010-04-13T20:47:00.000-07:00

This week when the students walked into our teepee they were greeted by a wonderful warm fire! One of our first activities was finding a nice stick on which we roasted carrots. Then we listened to a story about fire and got our first introduction to how fire can be made using a bowdrill. Next, we grabbed our raincoats and headed outside to see the changes that the rain had brought. We quickly noticed a small stream of water running down the hill, and decided to follow it up to its source. Though we did not make it all the way to the source of the water, we did discover a very cool spot where we could build dams to effect the stream. This was very exciting, and we organized into two dam building groups and set to work. Some of us also felt called to begin constructing a shelter as well. We finished up our day in the green yurt where we drew pictures of the story we had heard, and then it was time to go to school.

Outdoor Challenge: Nature and Adventure

2010-04-13T20:38:00.001-07:00

What a great week! Regardless of age or experience, it seemed that everyone got to learn something new this week, whether it was learning how to make a rope from grass, or simply learning to work together as a team! Among the highlights of the week were deciphering treasure hunt clues, following an orienteering course with a compass, making a fire, and our epic destination hike on the final day.

Afternoon Quails story of the Day

2010-04-13T20:27:00.000-07:00

We started our day with a fun game called "The Big Wind Blows" and then settled in for a snack and story. Today's story was a book called "Big Tracks, Little Tracks" about how to be a nature detective by following tracks and other animal sign. After the story we played a game of Animal Track Memory, in which we had to flip over cards and match the front track of an animal with the hind track--very fun! After the game, we went outside to look for real animal tracks, and ended up at the tracking box where we spotted deer prints. We talked about how real trackers pour plaster into tracks so that they can have an image of it forever, and then we decided to make track casts of our own. We each picked out which animal's track we wanted to make a cast of, from an array of track molds that the ranch has for this activity. Then we mixed up plaster and poured it into the molds. We went back outside to explore the ranch for a little while, and visit the fire in the teepee, and then, just before pick-up, we popped the dried plaster casts out of the mold. They all turned out great!

Morning Raccoons Story Of The Day

2010-04-13T19:39:00.000-07:00

This week I subbed for Rafe's group of Raccoons. Despite the muddy conditions, we went for a nice hike, finally arriving near the climbing tree where we sadly found a dead baby gopher. After getting a good look, we respectfully buried it. Then we dug up soaproot and headed down to the teepee with it. Once in the teepee, everyone was excited to get a fire going and we all put energy into bowdrill kits as well as a flint and steel set. Once we had the fire going, I showed everyone how to make a brush out of the soaproot. We also cooked some eggs on the fire, but once they were done we decided we would prefer to feed them to the dogs. The dogs seemed very pleased with the meal we cooked them. We finished off at the hanging tires, where we all got plenty muddy before heading home.

Film class flyer

2010-04-13T19:03:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone, here's the flyer for the Film Class For Kids that we are offering. The class will start on May 15th, for kids 11 and up.

It is an exciting opportunity to be able to observe a small film crew shoot some scenes, and get to meet the crew and director, and experience what it's like to put together a special effects film. The teacher, Grace Thompson, will be on hand to explain what it takes to put together a film shooting schedule. She'll also cover the design process in making of a film, including, in this case, props, sets, and costumes. I can't reveal too much about the film, but basically it's about an apocalyptic future, so everyone is in cool costumes, and live in shanty shacks. The set is being built on the ranch, so that is also another exciting element of this classes' experience. The kids will get to see a small set built on site, then see how the set will get a treatment like an actual special effects film, where they then take it into the studio and paint a matte background, to make the set look bigger than it really is. So check out our website and sign up. Space is limited so please sign up early!!

If you have any questions, please email me at gk@siennaranch.net.

Glenn.

Story of the Day April 12th, 2010

2010-04-13T10:30:00.000-07:00

A glorious and rainy day. As we first gathered for our Thanksgiving circle we had a small group that was very excited about how water moves on the ranch. There was a small stream that had found its way through the gravel right next to where we were standing. Our first mission was to find where the water was coming from. This took us towards the big horse pasture and up over the hill towards Briones. As we hiked we noticed little water falls and dips in the ground caused by flowing water. At one point where the stream became the path we decided we should build a dam to divert the water of of the walking path. After a mostly successful attempt we continued up to where the valley in front of us began to get steeper. As it go steeper, the water became stronger. As the water became stronger we got wetter. And then the wind picked up, and we got cold. Luckily for us, the kindergarten group had started a fire in the tipi. So we hiked back to the ranch noticing and identifying less plants than usual. Stopping by the chicken coop to take 5 eggs with us. Once inside we started to gather sticks and re'kindly the fire. Once a fire was established we put our pot under the edge of the tipi to collect water to boil our eggs. With the rain from the tipi we boiled our eggs and then dried them and drew faces on them. After we finished our egg characters it was time to meet the parents.
In the afternoon, it was less rainy and we spent the first part of class collecting eggs for the eggstand. We then investigated a recently discovered collection of small eggs by one of the horse's pen. We talked extensively about whose eggs they might be and why they were there. We speculated about what would happen to them in the future since there had been no mother to sit on them for that whole chilly morning and afternoon. Two of our more compassionate students decided that it would be a good idea to try and keep them warm in the slight chance that these little babies were still alive. I was quite clear in my belief that their chance for survival was extremely limited. But nontheless they were determined to try. So we headed for the tipi to build a fire and little nests for the eggs. There were some creative ideas about how to protect these eggs and what would make a good nest. Interestingly enough, someones discarded socks became quite useful. Once all of our make shift nests were in place it was time for a quite harvest of water from the stream by the archery area and a hike to the Buckeye tree. We discovered lots of new growth and some interesting new plants to learn about. Logans favorite was the Cleavers which ended p covering him from head to waist. A great day for exploring and discovering.

FILM CLASS at Sienna Ranch!!

2010-04-01T12:03:00.000-07:00

This image is from the film that is being made

at the ranch. It is a pre production visual development art.

Hi parents and kids. This is so exciting! The film class for kids is now online. You can register now!!

http://siennaranch.net/Sienna_Ranch_Film_Class.html

The class will be formatted to offer the kids an insight into making of a short film, and also make a short film themselves.

They will get hands on experience on putting everything together!

The first day, the class will go over all the components necessary before shooting. It's a little bit like cooking. First you visualize what you will make for dinner that day. Then you make an inventory of what you have and what you need. Next you prepare all the ingredients. Then, you cook everything together! The kids will learn about all the ingredients.
Then on the second day the kids will get to watch a real short film being made on site at the ranch, by professional film makers. There will be a set, costumed actors, and lots of crew in a flurry of activity. They will get to meet, film and interview some of the key players, like the director, the artists, camera crew, actors, etc.
Then, the kids will take their interviews and make a short documentary style film from their own footage.

The class will be structured so that the kids will maximize their time in relatively short span. But they will learn the fundamental basics about what goes into making of a film. Once you understand this, you can make any length film, whether it's a full length, or a short.

The age group will be 12 and older(we may make some exceptions on some younger kids, depending on their maturity).

If you have any questions, please email me at gk@siennaranch.net

Glenn

Soap Root

2010-03-30T21:59:00.000-07:00

Our day began with a fun animal guessing game, each of us had a different animal to guess. Some kids guessed their animal right away, while others were stumped and needed some clues. After the game, we sat down for snack and learned about a very cool plant that grows in the hills surrounding the ranch called soap root. Among its many uses, soap root can be used as a soap and the hairs surrounding the bulb can be made into a course brush. We all looked at a picture of the plant, and set out on a hike to find it so that we could make our own soap root brush. Looking for the soap root plant was a very good opportunity for us to notice and compare the shapes of many other plant leaves, as well. Finally, we came across a whole patch of soap root, and with a bit of effort, each dug up a bulb. With bulbs in hand, we headed to the climbing tree, where we learned how to comb out the bristly hairs of the soap root, and wrap them into a brush. After we made our brushes, we hiked back down to the ranch and took turns crushing the bulb under running water to make a nice soapy lather. We finished with a closing circle, and then it was time to go home.

Nature Books

2010-03-29T17:10:00.000-07:00

This morning the kindergarten explorers started the day by giving thanks for the things they are grateful for in their lives. After that the group split up and the students in my group headed over to the green yurt. There we got all of the supplies we needed to make some nature books. The students decorated the cover, carefully writing and drawing pictures to make them look beautiful. They then punched holes in the binding and we tied the book together. Now for the next few weeks the students will add to their books so they can have a collection of things that they find at the ranch! We started a page about kevin our peacock, and everyone got to tape a feather into their book. After that we had some time for snack and a story. Some of the students wanted to hear the same story they heard last week, because they loved it so much! After story and snack, we went out to visit with the chickens. We found some eggs to collect which is always very exciting. Then we brushed the dogs for a little while. After that it was time to head home. because of the rain in the forecast everyone got picked up by their parents instead of hiking to school, which worked out pretty well.

Horse Cookies

2010-03-29T11:26:00.000-07:00

Today the weather was grey with light drizzle, so we went inside the tipi for our gratitude circle. Then we split into groups, with my group going straight to the purple yurt. In the yurt we played a fun animal game called fire in the forest, and also a team building game with balls. Then it was time for snack, and story. It seemed only appropriate to tell a story about rain. After snack we made horse cookies, which both horses and humans can eat! We all took turns adding and mixing the oats, peanut butter, apple chips, milk, and brown sugar. Then we spooned the dough onto waxed paper. Once our cookies were done and put in the refrigerator to harden, we paid a visit to the chickens, dogs, and goats. Because of the unpredictable weather, our parents came to pick us up today. We look forward to feeding our cookies to the horses in the next class, and even tasting them ourselves!

Seed starts

2010-03-26T17:07:00.000-07:00

Friday afternoon started with our gratitude circle and some stories from Sky. We then all went up to check out a newt that one of the students had found earlier on the archery range. Everyone got to take a look at the newt, which was pretty interesting. Then the raccoons got a chance to plant some seeds in honor of spring. They each got two little peat pots to decorate and then they filled them with dirt. After their pots were filled, they picked out seeds to plant from our many different seeds. Most students picked gourds or melons. They then watered their seeds and set them in the sun while we went on our hike. We hiked up the hill, and found a nice place to play a round of camouflage. The students got really into it. After we were done playing I noticed a few ticks on myself so I showed them to the students to make sure they all know what ticks look like. We then spent some time doing tick checks to make sure no one else found any on themselves. We then hiked down through some crazy milk thistle that was around five feet tall and very pokey! We made it through and down to a 'fort' our group had been working on. The group worked for a little while and then it was time to hike down and head home.

Seeds and Shrubbery

2010-03-26T17:00:00.000-07:00

Friday morning started with our gratitude circle. After that the quails went to do a special spring project. We talked about how spring was the right time to plant most seeds, because it is getting warmer. Then each student got a two little pots to decorate. After that we filled the pots up with dirt and everyone got to pick from our many different seeds for the plants they wanted to grow. Most students choose things like watermelon and pepper plants. After planting our seeds, we watered them carefully and placed them in the sunshine, while we went on our hike. We hiked up towards the climbing tree, but then we turned away from it at the last minuet to discover a new place to hang out. We found an area that was hidden between two hills that had some shurbs to play in. The students spent some time climbing around and designed a 'fort' within the bushes. They thought it was so much fun to create the fort that when it was time to hike back to the ranch they didn't want to! By the time we got back it was exactly time to meet their parents and head home.

Edible Plants

2010-03-25T16:58:00.000-07:00

Wednesday Morning was our last day of the session for our kindergarten explorers. We went on a special plant hike. We first talked about the importance of always knowing what a plant is before they touch it or try it. They understood that if they do the wrong thing with a plant they could get very sick! We then set out on the hike. They got to see plants like miners lettuce, sour grass, bay trees, mugwort, buttercups, soaproot, and we even looked at some poison oak! The students were very careful to look closely at it but not touch it. Everyone had a different favorite. When we got back from our hike everyone wrote in their nature book about the plants we had just learned. Some students even taped samples that they had picked into their books! After that we had a little while to climb in the buckeye tree and then it was time to head home.

Potatoes and other Plants

2010-03-22T23:18:00.000-07:00

After our gratitude circle, we went on an exciting blindfolded walk and then with our blindfolds still on, smelled a few different plants and guessed what they were by the smell. Then we took off our blindfolds and found the plants in the garden. Many of the students were right on, correctly guessing and finding mint and lavender. Everyone learned a new plant today as well, called mugwort. Then, we all ate snack and listened to the story of "Why Chipmunk has Little Feet". Next, we went into the vegetable garden where many of the plants were already familiar to us, including the rainbow chard, which many of us tasted. We visited the potato plants and learned that when the green leaves grow above ground, soil should be mounded around the stems to produce more potatoes. The girls quickly took initiative and began filling buckets with soil and emptying them over the potato plants. After we successfully covered the potato stems, we payed a visit to the chickens to collect eggs, followed by a visit to the bunnies, goats, and horses. We had just enough time to freely explore the buckeye tree before it was time to hike to school. Despite allowing more time for the hike this week, and enjoying a much more dry trail, we still cut it pretty close on time. Next week we will be sure to start our hike even earlier, that way we will have plenty of time for pursuing curiosities and taking water breaks on the hike over.

Herb Spiral Begins

2010-03-22T22:58:00.000-07:00

After our gratitude circle, the Quails went on a blindfolded walk, and then passed around a mysterious object which they had to guess using only their sense of touch as a guide. Once the blindfolds were removed we debriefed the experience and identified the mysterious object (a skunk skull). Then we had a snack and learned the benefits of planting plants in an herb spiral. Many of the kids already had a good understanding of how water percolates down through soil, making an herb spiral a very efficient way to water plants. Next, we went down to the garden to start an herb spiral of our own. We used shovels to fill a wheelbarrow with dirt and then dump the dirt in the garden, the goal being a small hill in which we will eventually plant into in a spiral formation (example diagram pictured above). Many cool invertebrates were discovered during the process of shoveling, including worms and grubs! After making noticeable progress on our herb spiral, we sat down for a water break and also planted some seeds in containers. Then it was time to visit the chickens and collect eggs, followed by a short hike into the nice shady forest. We took a slightly more adventurous route on our way back from the woods, and arrived to the playground just in time for our parents to pick us up.

The Raccoons make Bows

2010-03-20T10:14:00.000-07:00

After our gratitude circle Friday afternoon, the Raccoons set out on a mission to find a Bay tree. The Bay tree has a very distinct smell, and the students had no problem locating them. Once we found a nice grove of these trees, we set to work on our project of making small bow and arrow sets, called bird bows. The students first thanked the tree for sharing its branches, and then learned how to carefully select a branch that we could remove without hurting the tree. Each student got to carefully cut the branch off themselves with a small saw. After each student had found a nice branch we set to work on the bows. The students stripped off the leaves and some of the bark, used sandpaper to smooth them down and then we carved notches into the end of the branch. We then tied some twine to one end using a clove hitch knot. Each student had to learn the knot and then show me that they could tie it, and then they got to tie their twine to the bow. They then carefully bent the branch into a bow shape and tied the other end of the string to the branch. The students then found some straight sticks to be there arrows, and we went on a hike to test out the bows! Everyone had a good time aiming and shooting at things along the hike. By the time we got back to the ranch it was time to head home.

Bird Bows

2010-03-20T10:07:00.000-07:00

After our gratitude circle Friday morning, the quails set out on a mission to find a Bay tree. We used our senses to try and find this type of tree. The Bay tree has a very distinct smell, and the students had no problem locating them. Once we found a nice grove of these trees, we set to work on our project of making small bow and arrow sets, called bird bows. The students first thanked the tree for sharing its branches, and then learned how to carefully select a branch that we could remove without hurting the tree. We carefully found a nice branch for each student and then set to work on the bows. The students stripped off the leaves and some of the bark, and then we carved notches into the end of the branch. We then tied some twine to one end using a clove hitch knot. Then we carefully bent the branch into a bow shape and tied the other end of the string to the branch. The students then found some straight sticks to be there arrows, and we went on a hike to test out the bows! Everyone had a good time aiming and shooting at things along the hike. By the time we got back to the ranch it was time to head home.

story of the day march 19th 2010

2010-03-19T23:25:00.000-07:00

Today was a warm and sunny day at the ranch. We started off today with an activity that is designed to get people familiar with a "secret spot" or a "sit spot" Each students has a piece of paper with the words I see, I hear, I smell, I taste, I feel and I am. Each person finds their own spot to sit somewhere within shouting distance of the instructor and finishes all of the I statements. This can be quite a powerful exercise and sometimes results in great poems, but the idea is to get students familiar with their senses while sitting quietly. It can be lots of fun and is really great if they can work on it at home as well. It may be helpful for them to know that their teacher has a sit spot that he goes to every morning. After that we played a lengthy stalking game in the valley past the tire swings. Then we continued up the hill to a great spot for hide and seek. And then we got into find some amazing insects. Crickets on the top of mugwort, mating wasps on cow pies and we even witnessed a spider catching its prey. It was pretty exciting and to see, especially with all the ooohs and ahhs, you could almost hear the dramatic theme music for so many nature shows. Lots of thirsty kids today. Please remember to send them with water bottles as the days are getting warmer.

mud cakes

2010-03-19T15:52:00.001-07:00

We started the day in the chicken coop, feeding the chickens and collecting eggs. We also had some celery for the goats and horses. Who liked it better?

On the way to the buckeye tree we played a round of green light red light on the field. Once we got to the tree, the boys were climbing the branches and started playing some Star wars game.

Soon the commanders got hungry and had their snack in the shade.

We took a look at the leaves of the buckeye and counted leaflets of five in all sizes.

On our hike to the big oak, we collected some soil from the fresh gopher mounds we found.

After a short story we hiked back down to get busy with our soil, we used it to make and decorate some mud cakes. Art from pure nature.

Animated Knot tying website.

2010-03-17T16:23:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone. Found this fun website on how to tie various knots, and
the best thing is that the images are animated! Easy step by step way
to learn to tie knots eh?

http://www.animatedknots.com/

Welcome to the Ranch

2010-03-16T18:03:00.001-07:00

Monday morning started with all of the students meeting up at the tipi. We opened with our gratitude circle, where all the students shared their names and something they are thankful for in their life. We then discussed the ranch rules, like staying together and respecting each other. Then we split into two groups, the girls going with Alison and the boys with myself. Our group headed down to the chicken coop so we could start our tour of the ranch and get to know all the animals. The chicken coop was a bit muddy but we decided to go in and look for eggs. Everyone found one egg to put in the carton. I caught a chicken then, and the group got to learn about all the different parts of the chicken. Their favorite part was the waddle under the chickens chin, which they liked to call the gobbler. We then went into the garden to check out all of the things that were growing. They were excited to try a little bit of cilantro and some broccoli. Next was the rabbit hutch, where everyone got a turn to hold one of our friendly rabbits. It was fun to see how gentle and caring all of the boys were with the rabbits when they were holding them. After that we saw the goats, and we picked some grass to feed them, which was a big hit. We then got out sidecar, who is one of our dogs, and took him with us on our hike. We hiked up to the climbing tree, where we discussed how high they could climb and still be safe. We had snack up at the climbing tree and then it was time to hike back down to the ranch to get to school. We left the ranch and hiked over the hill towards the school, and boy was it muddy! It took us a little longer than expected, but we got there safe and sound.

Hard Boiled Eggs

2010-03-16T17:56:00.000-07:00

Friday afternoon was a rainy start for the spring session of explorers. We started off with our gratitude circle and shared some animal encounter stories. At this point it was so rainy that we headed straight for the tipi. There we got the fire stoked up, and decided to try hard-boiling some chicken eggs. We ran down to the coop to collect some eggs. We found seven eggs which was the perfect number, one for each person in our group. We took them back to the tipi and put them in a pan of water over the fire. While we waited for our eggs to boil we told stories about our week. There are some very talented story tellers in our group! When we thought the eggs were done we pulled them off the fire and let them cool. We decided to try to go for a hike while our eggs cooled down, so we headed up to the climbing tree. It was very chilly on the hike, and raining pretty hard. By the time we got to the top of the hill we were all soaked. We stopped at the tree and decided that even though we were cold and wet, everyone was still having fun so we decided to hike a bit further. We splashed in puddles along the way and had a pretty good time of it. After getting back from the hike we had a nice snack of hard boiled eggs. We had just enough time while eating them to share our favorite parts of the afternoon and then it was time to head home.

Story of the Day march 15th 2010

2010-03-16T13:08:00.000-07:00

The day started with lots of interest in making fire by friction. First we had to gather all of our materials. The sun was shining and we had lots of dry grass to use, and lots of sticks to gather for the beginning of the fire. We had just enough bowdrill sets for each person to try their own fire. This is one of the best lessons in patience that I know of. Every time I work with a bowdrill I make sure to make this point. Eventually we tried to use a magnifying glass that Robbie had with him, and it worked. We had a nice fire, and decided to set out on the land to see what we could find. We headed for an area that we have never really explored too closely. We found lots of new plant species (curly doc, cleavers, juncus grass) We explored a large cement pipe that lead us to another time where we heard battle drums in the distance and we had to camouflage to stay hidden. It was quite a morning.

In the PM we had a small group that had some interesting approaches to fire making. It was fun to try new methods but we found out why the hand drill and bow drill have lasted for so many decades. As we set out to the top of the hill we rediscovered the joy of wild barley also know as "the sticky dart plant"

Story of the Day march 12th, 2010

2010-03-16T11:56:00.000-07:00

The first day for the spring session. Started out beautiful and then turned into a steady drizzle. We were out on the land when it came down, so we had to cut our wander short and head towards the smell of fire from the teepee to dry out a bit. The class started out with a circle that outlined the guidelines for the season. The 4 Rs of Respect. Respect each other, Nature, Elders, and yourself. Then everyone found a different spot in the circle and was given a specific task for the day. There were eight of us, so we applied the eight directions to our jobs for the day. It started with Jannah in the East.

East - She found dangerous and hazards things
Southeast - Intisar found good climbing trees
South - Aiden's task was to find evidence of mammals
Southwest - Justin found edible plants
West - Indicators. Such as Horsetail indicates water
Northwest - Logan found what looked just like an ancient grinding stone(Heritage)
North - Trees and how they help us to survive
Northeast - Bird Language

We tried to make our tasks into a movie. But once it started to rain we tried to keep the camera inside Aiden's pocket. We got through most of our task but by the end became more focused on getting dry and telling stories. We may try it again, but everyone will get a different task.

Getting to know Ranch

2010-03-15T19:52:00.000-07:00

Today began with all of our new students gathering together at the teepee for a gratitude circle, followed by learning the rules of the ranch. Afterwards, we broke into our two groups and my group immediately asked to visit the horses. After a nice visit with the horses, we set off for a short hike up the hill to the climbing tree. As we hiked, we stopped to compare the various leaves on trees, admire the view, and speculate which animals had made various holes. When we arrived we climbed around on the tree and then settled in to hear the story of Chipmunk and Badger. After the story we hiked back to the ranch to meet all the animals. Gathering eggs was very exciting and everyone agreed that the bunnies were very soft and cute, and of course the goats were fun to feed. We also enjoyed feeding the horses carrots! After visiting the animals we washed hands and ate snack by the teepee. Melinda's group met us there and we set off for Springhill together. We sure were not prepared for how much mud was on the trail to school. Even though we tried to avoid the puddles and walk in the grass, mud seemed inevitable and it was slow going on such a tricky trail. Next time we will be sure to take the road instead of the trail when conditions are that muddy.

Theatrical Quails

2010-03-14T14:49:00.000-07:00

This afternoon the Quails began the day in the purple yurt where we played a few introduction games so we could get to know each other. Then we sat down for snack and listened to a story called "Mikku and the Trees". After the story we imagined ourselves living in a traditional village and performing such a story for the entertainment of our elders. We decided to create a play of "Mikku and the Trees" and perform it for the other Outdoor Explorer groups at the end of the day. We warmed up with an acting game, and then dived right into creating a play of "Mikku and the Trees". After rehearsing a couple of times, we took a break and settled in to a cirlce where we learned how to finger knit with yarn. Though it was confusing at first, with a little one-on-one instruction we all got it, and a few of us made bracelets or necklaces using this technique. Finally, the rain had let up a bit, so we put our coats and boots on and went outside to explore and to invite the other groups to come see our play. Our explorations took us to various puddles and trees, and eventually to the teepee where Sky showed us how to cook an egg over the fire in an orange rind. Before we knew it, everyone was gathered at the teepee to see our play. We cleared a space for the stage and performed the story of "Mikku and the Trees" for the other two groups. Everyone seemed very engaged in the performance. We all took our bows at the end and walked down together for pick up.

Volcanoes

2010-03-12T17:49:00.000-08:00

Friday morning the explorers started their spring session at the ranch. We started with our gratitude circle, and by that time it had started to rain! It was only a light sprinkle at that point so we grabbed some shovels from the garden and went out to make a volcano. We talked a bit about real volcanoes and how they worked. Many of the students knew a surprising amount about lava, and magma. We used a metal bucket that we found, and heaped dirt all around it. While digging around in the dirt we found many worms that we collected to look at. When we finished our volcano, it was time to see if we could make it erupt. We put some baking soda into the bucket, and then poured in vinegar that we colored with food dye. The eruption was very exciting and the volcano was a success! At this point it was starting to rain pretty hard, so we headed for the tipi and started a fire. Once we got the fire started we had a special treat of making some s'mores, which was a big hit! After that we decided to make some miners lettuce stew over the fire. We boiled some water and threw in some miners lettuce. When it was done it didn't look so appetizing so no one ate it. Once our stew was done we had enough time to hike up to the climbing tree and play around in the rain a bit. It was pretty chilly, so we came back down to the ranch, where we splashed around in the mud for a while and then it was time to head home.

Nature Books Continued

2010-03-10T17:45:00.000-08:00

Wednesday was a wonderful morning at the ranch. All of the students were excited when they got there so we started off the morning with a game of fire in the forest. After getting some of our energy out with this running game we got in our circle to tell what we were thankful for that morning. After that we got out our nature books and carried them with us as we explored the ranch for things to put in them. We found many nice flowers and leaves to add to the pages and also got some feathers from kevin, the peacock! Everyone drew a picture of kevin and then got to tape a feather into their book. After that we had some time to climb up to the tree, where we explored in the branches and had a snack. At that point it was time to get back to the ranch and head home.

hug a tree / explore the Res.

2010-03-10T10:27:00.001-08:00

We started the day by hugging a tree.

We also wondered how the landscape would look like, without the dam that holds the water of the reservoir.

Listening to Crinkleroot's book, gave us some hints what to look/ listen for out in nature. So off we hiked, to find some tracks and identify a few trees.

We stomped our feet and watched our steps, just in case there is a snake.

Everyone had fun following the deer trails thru the hillside, it did get steep at some points.

Back at the picnic area we had our snack in the sunshine.

Time to head down to the water, we spotted a Cormorant on one of the docks. The kids tried to sneak up on it as close as possible, before it flew away.

By the Ranger station we got to color our cardboard fish and tied them to a string with a special fisherman's knot. All the boys enjoyed some pretend fishing, till it was time to march back to the parking lot.

But before we met our moms, we had to hug a tree one more time.

story of the day march 8th 2010

2010-03-08T23:43:00.000-08:00

what a great start to the new season. A beautiful day with sunshine, drizzles and rainbows. We practiced the ancient art of songlining today. The idea behind songlining is that you make a personal relationship with the things you encounter on a wander so that you can more easily find your way back without getting lost. So we started today by heading towards the "climbing tree" then to "mugwort valley" and up to "red wing blackbird bend" then to "stinging nettle stretch" from there went to a shady spot under a tree where we took a break, this was called "bobcat sitspot." We continued through "soaproot hill" and the on to the "the gates of the bobcat territory" and finally the "rolling hill." Each of these locations was named and created by group collaboration. As we walked back towards the ranch we easily remembered each of the named spots and we they were significant and nobody had to ask the way home. It is truly a wonderful way to learn your path and environment. I'm thankful that my group this morning was so willing to go on such an adventure. We found some interesting mushroom specimens aswell. The book that we had for identification called then dung domes, which we found quick entertaining to say in a deep slow voice. In the afternoon we had a good talk about how to behave while at the ranch. We talked about the 4 types of respect (each other, nature, elders and yourself.) This may come in handy if we need to talk about these later. We brought the dogs with us on our hike today, and they served as loyal companions. We learned about the sticky dart plant and the difference between thistles. We also spent a valued few minutes in the chicken coop where everyone pointed out the differences in the male and females. We had a few games that got a bit competitive, but we finished on a good note with a team building exercise. As we walked up the hill to get a better view a double rainbow appeared over the ranch, it was quite an ending to full day.

Traps and pony rides

2010-03-07T16:02:00.000-08:00

Friday afternoon was cool, but pleasant. We started the day off with our gratitude circle, and then moved on to our animal encounter stories. Then the explorers got to learn a little bit about dead-fall traps. We had three different style traps, that use a series of sticks and bait to catch small animals. We tried to set them up, and were moderately successful. The students understood the idea behind them though, and used that premise to construct traps of their own. Using things they found around the ranch, each student spent some time designing their own trap. We then had everyone demonstrate how their trap worked and explain what they might be able to catch with it. We had some very interesting ideas! After that, the students got a special treat. We saddled up Sugar, our resident pony, and everyone had the opportunity to have a ride. Most of the students were very excited by this, but a couple didn't want to have a turn. After that we took a vote and everyone wanted to go visit the chickens and collect eggs. The coop was pretty muddy, but everyone had fun looking at all of the different eggs we found. We then had time to go on a short hike to the climbing tree, where we met up with Sky's group. We played a short game of capture the flag all together, and then it was time to get back to the ranch and head home

Fire Safety

2010-03-07T15:51:00.000-08:00

Friday morning at the ranch was wonderful. The morning started out with our gratitude circle. We then moved into our groups. The quails were full of energy so we went up and played a running game to focus their energy onto something specific. After we got all of the wiggles out, we had a group meeting to discuss the options for the day. It was our last class of the session so the students got to vote on what they wanted to do. We settled on trying to build a fire pit and fire by the buckeye tree. We started by going over all of the safety expectations. Then the students chose a good area, away from any potentially flammable materials to create a fire ring. They learned about choosing good stones for the fire ring, and then they found them and made one. We then reviewed the different types of fuel we needed for a fire. We started by finding good tinder, tiny twigs and dried grass. We then found the kindling, the tiniest twigs we could find. Then each student got a chance to help set up the kindling tipi. The most exciting part for everyone was getting a chance to try to light the fire. It took a long time for everyone to get a chance, and learn the proper safe techniques, but everyone was very patient and learned a lot about being careful with the fire. When we finally got a fire going everyone was very excited. We then had enough time to go on a short hike, and then it was time to get back to the ranch and go home.

Story of the Day March 5th 2010

2010-03-06T11:29:00.000-08:00

This morning started out chilly, before the kids arrived Melinda and I were setting up some demonstrations and traps and both noticed it. But luckily it warmed up quite quickly. There were three different animal traps that we were playing with. First of all we made sure that he young people know that this is not legal way to catch anything. This was simply a way to show people used to attempt to hunt. None of the trap that we set we dangerous for animals or people, but they were useful in understanding how they might work in a survival situation. There is the figure four trap and the Paiute, and the the most basic, the deadfall. It was fun to spring with everyone watching and then giving the chance to the group to try to set them back up. Intisar and Jenna went right for the figure four with Eric's help from the coyote group. Isa and Ben wanted to conquer the Paiute. They started by working together and then Ben finished the job in the end. It was lots of fun to sprend a little time with the coyotes. The group then wanted to take the dogs for a walk. A great idea indeed. So we set off into the woods with Sidecar and Stretch. They sort of lead our way, but we wanted to go a direction we've never gone before. So we found a new route to Mugwort Valley where we ran into the coyotes again. We continued to the top of the hill and saw four wild turkeys. Intisar scouted back to try to get behind them and flush them our way, but they took off in the opposite direction, so we had to follow. It was quite an adventure to follow those birds. We got deeper into the forest and found a wild and uninfluenced stretch of grass and trees. We took a rest and observed the beauty around us. Doves taking off and fluttering skyward circling. We didn't realize at the time but there was bobcat sign all over the place. And vole homes with highways of paths and trails through the short grass. We dug up some soap root to bring back to the ranch to share with the rest of the groups. We nick-named the spot soaproot hill. A great ending adventure to a great season.

Nature Books

2010-03-04T16:09:00.000-08:00

Wednesday morning was pretty rainy at the ranch. We started off in the purple yurt, with our gratitude circle. We then had to take some time to play a running game to get all of the wiggles out, so we played a tag game that we have made up over the past few classes. Its a great game because every time anyone comes up with a new idea we add it in and see how it works. After our game, the students designed nature books for themselves. They used paper bound together by leather strips to create the book. They then used crayons and magazine cutouts to decorate the cover. I was very impressed by the creativity and thought that everyone put into their books. For the next few weeks we will be adding to these books and then everyone will have a special token to take home with them at the end of the session. After we were done working on that, we had enough time for an exploration hike. We only got as far as the field, because there were so many interesting puddles to stop and splash in. Overall it was a wonderful morning at the ranch.

Rainy Afternoon

2010-02-27T15:43:00.000-08:00

Friday afternoon was really rainy! For the first part of the explorers class, we went to the tipi to start a fire and stay dry. Everyone helped out with the fire, collecting kindling and wood, and setting up the fire to make it go well. After we were warm and toasty, we had our gratitude circle to share something we were thankful for. Most everyone was thankful that we had a nice fire and a tipi to keep us dry. After that we went over to the hay barn to see if the chicken nest was still there. There was a chicken with 12 eggs in the barn and the students had been looking at it for the last few weeks. However the nest was gone this week, so we tried to figure out where it might have gone. At this point it stopped raining so we decided to go on our hike to look for signs of spring. We found many things that reminded us that spring is on its way. We collected flowers, lots of insects, and leaf buds. We looked at all of our finds with a magnifying glass to get a better look. After that we spent some time hiking up to the bee hives to see how busy they were. We then headed back to the ranch and had just enough time to collect the eggs from the chicken coop and then it was time to go home

Signs of Spring

2010-02-27T15:35:00.000-08:00

This morning at the ranch was beautiful, but a bit cloudy. The morning started off with our gratitude circle, with everyone sharing what they are thankful for in their lives. We split into our groups and the quails went on a hunt for things that showed them spring is on its way. The first find were some beautiful flowers, small and orange that we found on the side of a path. We looked at them with our magnifying glass, and saw many details about the flowers. We then turned over some old logs, and found a variety of different insects that we checked out. As we hiked everyone collected samples of things that reminded them of spring to fill up our box. We had quite a collection by snack time! Flowers, leaves, grasses and even a worm! We then went to the buckeye tree to look at all of the items we had collected. The students then had a chance to climb in the tree and we made up a game where everyone had to stay off the ground. We then got asked by Rafe's group to help out with the tire bridge they are working on, so we went up and we all worked together to try and hoist up a tire to add to the bridge. By the time we were finished it was time to get back to the ranch and head home.

Signs of Spring

2010-02-25T09:32:00.000-08:00

This morning at the ranch the explorers were keeping their eyes open for signs of spring. We took our collecting box with us and went on a journey to find things that look like spring. We went up to the climbing tree finding different flowers all along the way. We found white and pink fruit tree blossoms, little purple and yellow grass flowers and flowers from wild mustard. When we got to the climbing tree and found a huge centipede! Everyone was very excited and we talked about how many legs and if it was alive or dead because it wasn't moving at all. We eventually poked it with a stick and it started moving so we solved that mystery. After that we had some snack, and hiked over the hill. The students had a blast running as fast as they could down the hills. We got back down to the ranch and had just enough time to collect the chicken eggs, and then it was time to go come home.

fire making, centipede

2010-02-24T18:53:00.000-08:00

Look, our centipede found a home, see if you can find it next week.

Today we learned some facts about centipedes. We created one big fellow out of wood and sticks we collected.

To stay warm and sheltered we gathered in the tipi, where Melinda showed us how to make fire with the fire bow and board. She is a master at it, some of the boys tried it out, it is harder than it looks.

Everyone enjoyed a snack and the warmth of the fire, while the rain was drizzling on the tipi.

Once we were ready for a hike the rain has stopped and we went all the way up to the big oak tree. We have some good hikers, observers, story tellers, collectors and tree bouncers.

It was a little slippery on the way down, but by now we know which turn to watch out for. Time to gather our bags and meet the parents.

Story of the Day 2/22/10

2010-02-23T10:28:00.000-08:00

Thanks to the Lafayette Reservoir for another great day of adventure! The fog was thick when I arrived and soon burned off exposing the beautiful blue sky. Lots of mud from past rains to give us excellent tracking conditions. We may have seen some deer, raccoon and mice prints. Josiah had a helpful reference book with some great photos of tracks. We played a lively game of capture the flag before splitting the group to build shelters and make fishing rods. We shared animal encounter stories on our initial hike that may have scared some people into thinking that bears are hiding behind every tree in Yosemite. The afternoon started in with an obstacle course out in the woods to get the blood moving and the heart pumping. Then we had to spend a bit of time in the wonderful playground. We did some stalking and listening. We learned how to magnify our hearing like the deer. We learned how to move like the fox and attempted to sneak up on a blindfolded person (sleeping deer.) Then we headed down to the waters edge to observe some water birds. We saw 4 ospreys, 3 pelicans a bunch of cormorants, Canada geese, coots, ducks, turkey vultures and one prehistoric looking great blue heron. A pretty good list for one day.

Trip to the reservoir

2010-02-23T09:17:00.000-08:00

Friday afternoon was our trip to the reservoir. We started out with our gratitude circle and animal stories, and then played a quick awareness game, to help wake up our senses. We started out hiking around the reservoir and there was poison oak everywhere! I made sure that everyone got a really good look at it and made sure we were all paying attention to where it was as we walked. Hopefully no one has it today! We hiked down a special creek area that Emma and Owen showed to us and found something really exciting! A pile of bones that looked like it was almost a full skeleton. The students figured out that it must have been a deer by looking at the skull and finding pieces of the hooves. We spent a long time sorting through the bones and trying to figure out what each piece was for. Some of the students just had to bring a piece home so they each found one bone that they liked to put in their backpack. After that we found a area surrounded by cattails that had some wood rat nests in it. We studied the wood rat nest to try to figure out where the door way in was, but it was hard to tell. At this point we had to get back to meet our parents, so we hiked halfway back, and decided to play one more round of the awareness game. Then we really had to hurry back, but the group is so good at hiking that we made it back with time to spare.

Trip to the reservoir

2010-02-20T08:56:00.000-08:00

Friday morning was our trip to the reservoir. The morning started with our gratitude circle and Sky told a story to the whole group. We then split up and the quails headed for one of the nearest docks. There we found a lot of litter. We talked about why people litter, and someone asked, "what can we do about this?" So we decided as a group to help clean up the area where we were. Everyone found a stick, and used the sticks to pick up any trash they could find, in the water or on land. By the time they were done the place looked beautiful! Also while they were picking up trash they found a dead fish. This was a wonderful find, especially for the boys in the group who spent a long time looking at the fish and trying to figure out where it breathed from and what it might have died from. After everyone had enough time with the fish, we headed back towards the pickup area, had a little while to stop at the play area, and then it was time to go home.

Story of the Day 2/19/10

2010-02-19T18:23:00.000-08:00

A great day at the reservoir filled with games and exploration. Thanks to the oak trees for their wonderful climbability and quiet inspiration. The mushrooms that we named "muffin mushrooms" were perfect specimens in our mushroom anatomy talk, very pronounced gills. And the willows are budding which is always beautiful to witness, I believe everyone got a willow bud to take home. We followed a habitual rabbit run that was hidden from view in one of the islands of the upper parking lot. We learned how to use our "deer ears" with the help of a game called fox stalk deer. The object of the game is to steal a set of keys from a blind-folded person acting as a sleeping deer. Lots of dogs at the res today. We as a group met 5 different golden retrievers. Towards the end of today's experience we further learned about the deer by practicing our camouflage skills. We looked at the different between a flowering dandelion and a dandelion that is about to spread its seed. And to add to the theme we follows some deer tracks that Justin found on our way to the field.

Insects and Spiders

2010-02-18T09:26:00.000-08:00

Today the explorers were excited for a sunny day at the ranch. We started with our gratitude circle, which always leads to really funny things being said. After they had all their giggles out, it was time to start our bug hunt. We started in the garden where we found all sorts of creatures! There were worms, potato beetles, lady bugs and spiders! We caught some of these crawlers in our collecting basket and got to count legs and figure out where the head might be. A few brave students even held one of the wolf spiders we found! After the garden we hiked up to the climbing tree finding more critters along the way. After eating snack at the tree, we hiked over the hill and down the path to check on the bee hives. The bees were busy at work on this beautiful morning! We hiked back to the ranch and had a little while to collect eggs before it was time to go home.

signs of spring

2010-02-17T10:12:00.000-08:00

Our group welcomed two new explorers today, we showed them around the ranch a little bit, before we started our hike to the big oak tree.

We are looking for signs of spring, first bloom, new shoots on our buckeye tree, taller grasses, birds are chirping happily. Everyone enjoyed a snack and the view from top of the hill. The red winged black birds were chatting loudly in the big oak tree, we wondered what they are all talking about.

Our hike went on and we found a good spot to read a story: "the birdwatcher"

Later on we found a centipede, the kids built a grass nest for it to hide in, a cookie was added for a treat.

Melinda showed us where the bees have their hives, we watched them fly in and out. On our hike back we observed ladybugs and green beetles.

It was a beautiful morning to be out in the hills.

New Shelter, Capture the Flag

2010-02-13T09:10:00.000-08:00

Friday afternoon was exciting at the ranch. It was a little bit cloudy but nice enough to be outside in the woods! We started out our day with our gratitude circle and talking about any animal encounters we had. We then discussed what we wanted to do, and after hearing all the options the group decided to build a new shelter, because our last one was so far away. We hiked up into the woods and found a spot we liked. The shelter was fun and easy to build because the students made sure they found a good spot, with lots of sticks and branches. We finished working and had some snack, and then decided to go up to the field for some capture the flag. Everybody loves this game and it was really fun to see the strategies that the teams came up with. By the time the game was over, we had to hurry back to the ranch to meet up with everyones parents. Fun day at the ranch!

Plants and a Hawk

2010-02-13T09:02:00.000-08:00

Friday morning was beautiful at the ranch! We all started off in our gratitude circle, where everyone gave thanks for something. We then joined another group on a hike to learn about all sorts of edible plants! We found Mugwort, Miner's Lettuce, Wild Radish and milk thistle. Rafe also taught the students how to get water in a survival situation by tying a bandana around their legs and walking through wet grass. When we got to the top of a hill we saw a beautiful red tailed hawk sitting up in a tree. We were able to walk right up under the tree and the hawk just sat and watched us. It was a wonderful thing to see it so close. The students got a chance to look at it through binoculars if they wanted as well. After that we played a giant game of capture the flag, and it was time to head back to the ranch!