Nov
21
2011
21
2011
Exploration & Community: Raccoon Clan Fall 2011
Filed under: Community, Exploring Nature, Unschooling
Another season of Raccoon Clan has flown by! Bella loved her time spent exploring and learning last spring and she was SO excited to get “back to the land” after the summer break.
Every Thursday we dressed her in layers & warm boots, and sent her off with hot soup, bread, and treats.
Lucy loved playing with the other kids, but of course had to say goodbye as they prepared for a fun day spent entirely outdoors.
Last week was this season’s closing celebration, where we were able to see everything they have been working on and learning. One of Bella’s favorite activities was carving her own arrow and learning about archery.
It’s always fun to connect with my beautiful mama friends…we enjoyed hanging out each week and would stand and talk about unschooling, our kiddos, and the weather 
To kick off the ceremony, we gathered around the fire and sang a blessing together. It’s so lovely to get all of the families together in one place for a common purpose.
The kids created this awesome centerpiece from pods, berries, and leaves. So fun!
Potlucks are the BEST! I should have taken the foil off of these front two dishes because they were amazing…but as you can see, it was a cornucopia of whole food goodness. Lots of squash, quinoa, black beans, bread, meats, and cheeses. Mmmmmm…
Everything tastes better when eaten from a hand carved wooden bowl! This was Lorene’s (the Raccoon Clan leader) bowl and it was so beautiful…I had to stop her before she ate it. She carved the spoon herself too!
Bella was so excited to show us everywhere they had been exploring…and this red rock wall was nothing short of stunning.
This was the flag that the kids had worked on and all of their arrows, throwing sticks, and fire making supplies. It was neat to see all of their hard work laid out on display.
As the evening continued on, there was lively conversation, children at play, and drying of socks over the fire.
Lemonade berry tea was brewed over the fire during our time there…it was quite tasty, kind of like a sour hibiscus tea.
It started to get dark and it was time for goodbyes. The next session starts up again in late February and Bella is already asking “how long?!” I’m thinking the same thing! We’ve loved getting to know all of these families and I’m thankful that we’ll see many of them at unschooling group events over the next couple of months.
Click HERE to view the entire Fall 2011 album on Flickr.
If you would like to find out more about Raccoon Clan and other programs, check out Her Feet On The Earth.
Posted by Sara @ 10:52 am | Leave a Comment
21
2011
This sounds like a wonderful experience. Outdoors, fire, crafts and food. What more could a child want? I hope your family has a wonderful Thanksgiving. Bless you all.
21
2011
Odd, this isn’t heather, this info was already populated in my computer!
Anyways, we all want to see pics of your new house! Also, Bella looks so happy at Raccoon Clan. Wish I could be a kid again.
21
2011
That looks like so much fun! I wish we had something like that around here.
21
2011
LOVE IT!
21
2011
What a great program !
I enjoy your blogs so much you have beautiful family
Many Blessings
21
2011
wow–how very cool! you are so blessed to be surrounded by these amazing people!
21
2011
These are great! Thanks for sharing your photos and your beautiful family with all of us. I look forward to having the kids back on the land with us in February. I miss them already! Thursdays will be quieter and probably much less fun (more computer time) for the next couple of months.
Many blessings,
Lorene
21
2011
Wow!!!! This is so great! I wish we had that kind of super activities/ group where I live. Thank you for sharing such a beautiful moment.
21
2011
What an absolutely amazing experience for a child. I wish they had something like that here!
21
2011
Yeah!! Great pics Mama:) Thanks much for sharing. Can’t wait until the fun starts up again….hope to see you all soon….
22
2011
Hi! I have been reading your blog for awhile now but never commented… Firstly, my family and i recently gave up everything we owned and moved into a travel trailer full time. We got off to a super rough start, but we love it now! We are also slowly going vegan and are an unschooling family, too – so i LOVE your blog. It makes me feel a little more sane as people around here tend to think we are a little crazy.
Anyways, I just have to know where I can look for outings like the raccoon clan closer to my area? I live in Texas right now and really want to find something for my oldest child to do outdoors with other children.
22
2011
oh and one more thing – i seriously want a hand carved bowl and spoon set! I need to learn how to do that.
28
2011
I’m first gonna eco taylor k and say I really want to carve my own bowl and spoon…ha I want to carve one for each of my children and my husband!!!!!!
I also want to learn more about unschooling…we are definately homeschooling, but I’m not sure which ‘form’ I want to use, I was homeschooled using a modified Charlot Mason approach and I loved school but my son is so different then me I don’t think that form will work well for him…I’ve heard of unschooling but I’m not sure where to go to find out good information. Any help would be great! Thanks!
28
2011
BTW I love your blog and this looked like such a fun day!!