Good Night Fieldtrip (feat. the Moon)

Click any of the images for more information. Find the blog post below. 🙂

Above: Night Visitor – at Kurbatoff Gallery  Below: Moon carving at Douglas Reynolds Gallery	Above: Family Lake – at Heffel Art Auction House  Below: Moon pendant at Douglas Reynolds Gallery

Good Nights Begin with the Moon

I want to start my year, and my post, by saying how inspired and grateful I am to be sharing the art and stories of the native people of the Pacific Northwest with the Big Kids Club this season.

I feel blessed to live in such beautiful country, and to be able to see and experience such a rich, living culture that is right here at home. In fact, I’m in their home. And I am thankful for that.

I’ve never felt more connected to a worldview, and that might be because the “native” worldview is one of connection, where the animals, the winds, the land and the moon are brethren, and where man’s place is among the families, not above them. It feels nice to have a place, and it’s fun to bring the preschoolers into this world.

In the beginning, the world was all in darkness, and there was no moon in the sky

The sharing of oral traditions is part of the responsibility to pass knowledge, and these days, the internet spreads that knowledge far and wide! Many of the “oral” traditions are on Youtube!

To get things started, we watched the story of how, when the world was all dark, Raven stole the light from Eagle (Sky Chief) and in the chase, as he fled, a piece broke off and became the Moon, before at last he dropped the light into the sea, and it became the Sun.

The short video starts with a pair of sisters at a camp fire arguing about who would hold the flashlight. The girls’ grandmother takes it away, and tells them to be quiet so she can begin the story. That sounds familiar…

I guess all children sometimes need reminders about listening. 😉

The characters of Raven, Eagle, and Moon will come up again and again this season, and at the very beginning, we establish Raven’s tricky, curious, nature. He steals the light so he can steal food, and play tricks. Any preschooler can relate to that!

In Search of the Moon…

To better get to know the Moon, we took a bus (!!), and searching for images and stories brought us to four beautiful galleries in South Granville’s Art District, and brings me to the second reason that I am so excited to be presenting this class: Art!

As adults, we may feel confused by art, or overwhelmed, or underwhelmed, or that art is just decoration, or even just nonsense, but children see the paintings on the page. Just ask them! Taking kids to art galleries is an amazing way to expand their minds, and your own.

The staff at each of the galleries were friendly, and each one had at least one example of Moon art to show us. The kids were so well-behaved, we got compliments wherever we went, and after stopping for a snack, we also had time to play at the bus loop playground at Granville and 6th.

There are some pictures on Instagram, and I made a private photo collection for the parents. Join us next time to see more… Fridays until the end of March.

The world at night is dark, and sometimes it can be scary, but by learning through art, stories, adventures, and friendships, the night becomes a friend, too. That’s what Big Kids Club is all about!