Dog Days

It's getting hot up here on Poppy Mountain. It happens every summer. I get through July thinking what a mild season we're having. Then August hits and we start baking. See, here in the Santa Cruz mountains, people don't have air conditioning. In fact, most people in the SF Bay Area don't. And up here where we are, on top of the world, and above the trees, it can get very hot. One year, it was 100 F upstairs in our house. So, yes, the dog days of summer are setting in. The fans are whirling and the windows are open all night.

I'm a little amazed to find that it's August already, and soon summer will be winding down. Poppy Mountain is in its final summer session, and I will be transitioning to a school-year emphasis, supporting home school families come September. I'm going to be holding an open house soon for Waldorf home schoolers, hosting sample classes in the arts/handwork realm for parents and children. If you're reading this and are interested in my offerings, stay tuned to Poppy Mountain's evolution.

As the story of Sage and Luna unfolds, we find Sage puzzled by the disappearance of his new friend, Luna. None of Sage's other friends recall ever seeing her, and they tease him about having a rich imagination. Sullen, Sage finishes his day's work and heads off to bed. In his dreams, the moon is full and so very bright. But then clouds roll in and cover the moon completely, making the earth pitch black. Slowly, the clouds clear and the moon is smiling down on Sage, a familiar face. He woke up. She is out there, he told himself. He felt sure of it. As sure as he could envision that smile. The next day, Sage made a magical dream catcher. One that would catch Luna in his dreams and bring her back to Poppy Mountain. But would it work?

...

Today we made dream catchers, much like the kind that Sage was making. Using wisteria vines from our garden, and embroidery floss, the children created beautiful webs to catch their dreams. We collected blue jay feathers to adorn the dream catchers and hung beads on them as well.

We also painted with watercolors in a wet method, and used small sponges to move the paint on the paper. The children painted Sage and Luna as they imagined them.