On the morning of our adventure, it was starting to get very smokey here in the Sunset, so we needed to figure out a place to go to escape the smoke. We looked on the map and saw that San Rafael had green air, so we packed up and off we went in the bus to China Camp State Park! We are so grateful to have the bus now to get to explore so much more of our beautiful world!

The drive over the golden gate bridge was foggy but exciting, and then of course the rainbow tunnel. Once we got closer to San Rafael, the smoke disappeared and it was all blue skies. We passed by lots of sailboats and fishing boats along the water that sparked many conversations until finally making it to the parking lot at China Camp. Once we unloaded, we had to check out the map, and were very curious about where the different places were and just how big the park is! We will definitely need to make some more trips here, because there is still so much we want to explore. We then made our plan to hike for a bit, find some climbing trees, and then meet teacher Charity down at the beach for music class.

Off We Go!

We always let the kids direct our hikes, stopping for discussion and encouraging healthy debate over which way to go, when to stop ,and what to see. Whenever we reach a fork in the road, it is fun to hear the conversations and ideas they try to convince each other to agree to.

Our first stop was not far down the trail- we discovered some amazing trees that just HAD to be climbed! Climbing trees are always on our list of “must-do’s” when we go on adventures. Often at circle time before we leave, and during snack, we have a discussion about what everyone would like to do and accomplish that day. Sometimes these discussions will lead to the ultimate decision of where we will go, especially now with the bus allowing us so much more freedom, and less need to plan ahead. I don’t think climbing trees have ever been left off the list, and we often think we could spend the full day just at some of our favorites. They are pretty much the ultimate open-ended play environment!

After doing some climbing, we discovered that the ground was covered in so many leaves! We decided we should make a big pile to jump in, but then discovered that throwing them up into the air is the most fun! This prompted a discussion about the seasons, and how it must be getting close to fall. One friend told me “Hey, maybe it’s already fall here because it’s a different part of the world and you said different places have different seasons!” We had a discussion earlier in the week about the equator and climates, and specifically the rain forests around the world. And you know, the school bus is pretty magical, so maybe it did take us further than I thought ;)

Heading Down!

Once we had our fill in the leaves, it was time to head to the beach to find Teacher Charity and do some Jammin’! Some of us chose to explore a pretty adventurous way down to the beach, and others took an easier route along the road. But, we all made it back together at the bottom!

It was quite the beautifully, picturesque day down at the beach, with almost no breeze, clear skies, calm water, and it felt like we had the beach all to ourselves! Music class was so fun, and the location of course prompting us to sing some of our favorites, “We love the Beach”, “Ice Cream” and “Rocket Ship.” We finished class as always with some mindfulness, this time doing some pebble meditation with little beach pebbles we found all around us.

After music, we set up for a lunch picnic by the water. After lunch we took off our shoes (and some even our pants!) so we could explore the water! It was cold, but refreshing, and we all decided that it was definitely a little warmer than ocean beach. We found sticks, some climbing rocks, and two different types of seaweed! Some friends continued collecting pebbles and enjoyed throwing them into the water. We wanted to try skipping them, but most of the pebbles were too round for that. We also found lots of little shells. A few brave friends went deeper into the water (maybe not all on purpose!) and enjoyed running through the little waves and splashing. We wished we could stay there all day! But, it was time to get back on the bus and head back across the bridge to school to take a nap- dreaming of all the fun we had and the many adventures to come.