With the rain slowing down and the weather cooling down, autumn is a beautiful time to be spending in the garden. And so thats just what we have been doing...
First we planted some lovely new eucalypts. The children had a great time throwing in scoopfuls of gypsum and compost
before carefully placing in our trees and shovelling and scooping in the soil,
then give it a good stomp, and wait for the afternoon storm to come and water it all in.
Nice job everyone!
Autumn is also a great time for TREE PASTING. I took inspiration from Sandra Frain at a workshop last year, and again in the latest issue of Star Weavings, and wove a lovely little story about healing our gum trees using tree paste. Tree pasting protects trees from disease after damage (eg animal scratches, pruning), and also from the cold of winter (although that is not really an issue here). Through this the children are engaging in meaningful healing work and develop a positive relationship with the plant kingdom, and it is a positive way to approach any issues with children treating trees harshly eg peeling off bark, hitting with sticks.
Autumn is also a great time for TREE PASTING. I took inspiration from Sandra Frain at a workshop last year, and again in the latest issue of Star Weavings, and wove a lovely little story about healing our gum trees using tree paste. Tree pasting protects trees from disease after damage (eg animal scratches, pruning), and also from the cold of winter (although that is not really an issue here). Through this the children are engaging in meaningful healing work and develop a positive relationship with the plant kingdom, and it is a positive way to approach any issues with children treating trees harshly eg peeling off bark, hitting with sticks.
All you need is
a bucket of clay...
a bucket of sand...
and a bucket of cow poo!
Tip them on the ground, mix them all together...
then back into the bucket with a bit of water (the children got a bit carried away with the water), and give it a good stir.
Dip your brush in,
and away you go!
The kids even got resourceful and started using bark and sticks to paint with while they were waiting for a turn with the brush.
Ewh, cow poo on my hands...
But what a fantastic time they had!
