The Winds of Change

by Andy

Our Farm Stay 3 students arrived yesterday around noon. As Donna welcomed them in the entryway, she tried to help them notice exactly what season we are in. This is the time of year when the weather can change on an hourly basis. Donna asked them to try to notice the winds. A warm south wind can come in and radically alter to entire feel of a day. The next day winter will assert itself with a chilling northwest wind. This time of transition is fun to notice.

Later in the day Doug did his first of three land-based science lessons. A part of Doug's curriculum is to notice phenology, which is the change in weather, plants, animals and human activity with the changes in the seasons. The students will keep a phenology journal and record every change that they observe.

We also had our first meeting with our mentor groups. Donna and I each took our groups out for a little hike and had lunch with them. We know that the changes that we will be seeing with the season are not the only changes that will be happening at the Land School during this Farm Stay. We fully expect that during the course of the Farm Stay each student will go through his or her own important changes and when we have our final mentor group meetings we will looking upon changed individuals.

Today we choose Occupation groups and have our first session of Creative and Physical Expression. Lunch is chili and cornbread and supper is build your own tacos. mmmm good.