Spring Fever at Lake Padden with the Alevin Explorers

The term “Spring fever” lost all of its enigmatic properties this past Saturday.  The sun was warm and high, the birds in frenzy of nesting, the plants popping out of their slumber at alarming rates.  The boys, too, seemed to be caught up in the mania of the season, inebriated by our fast approach to our brightly burning star.  Yes, it was a great outing to the effect that we learned more about one another, our natural communities, and ourselves.  Yes, we played great games, worked on carving, and explored, learned, and rose to challenges.  And, yes, Spring Fever is a force to be reckoned with.

The boys were crazy!  Crazy!  But, Explorers’ Club is about the fullness of Life: meeting all situations as they are and artfully and skillfully improvising with the living world.  We did our best to direct all that energy into exploration, service, and connection.   This started with a bunch of games in the field.  Running and laughing is a great way to move those wiggles through the body.  We then had our morning meeting; talked about safety and about Lake Padden itself; gave out the Explorers jobs for the day; and packed up our stuff.

At the first cross-roads the Explorers wondered where to go.  Drew and Matt shrugged.  “That’s a good question.  Where should we go?”  The Explorers talked and came to a decision, and away we went.  We discovered a few interesting things as we played Hide along the way.  A little “brain” coming out of the earth!  Any Explorers remember what that was?  Some trillium.  Devil’s Club.  Nettles.  A great little stream.  Fungus galore.  Almond-smelling millipedes.  Lots of good hiding spots.

Explorers were eager to start using their knives, but we decided that at this point they’ll need to develop more skill and safety before they can use them whenever they want.  For now, with our Alevin Explorers, knife time will be when we are sitting down as a group… especially on a Spring mania day!  And, lo and behold, we did find a great spot to stop.  In fact, there was a split alder right there.  So we considered the ethics of harvesting and gathered a few splinters for carving chopsticks.  Explorers began to learn how different woods handle, and we revisited those carving and safety basics.

Then a game!  Jays and Juncos with a twist.  We played for a while and learned a bit about hiding our nests.  The most prominent lesson was not to hide your nest so well that you can’t find it!  All part of the learning process.  We finished with some open exploration, had a discussion about erosion, and then meandered back toward the lake.  What a wonderful day to be out and about.  We finished by the lake with our closing meeting and snack, and then herded our band of attentionally deficient cats over to the parking lot.  Much thanks to all the Explorers for your energy and spirit!  Much thanks to all the parents for your enduring support!

Be sure to check out our pics from the day in our photo gallery.