Weeks 12, 13, & 14 2025-2026 in Review

Amidst the wind, cold, rain, and snowy days of the final 2.2 weeks of the learning year, we spent much of our time inside together. This is typical for the season. We welcome the slowness and connection that this weather invites. And, this year, we were excited to live into The New Place (TNP) more during this time (potential new name: "The Ladybug House," pending consensus). A peak gathering of our final week was our discussion around how to prioritize purchases for the digital studio, now that we have some funds from our ongoing GoFundMe campaign, and which music-making elements we want to be able to use as soon as possible. The studio will have a few new exciting additions based on that conversation when we return from winter break! 

These last weeks of 2025 together were filled with games, music, crafts, conversation, baking, and more, and baking, if we didn't already mention that. Our first trip to the frozen pond made for an exciting event that becomes a focal point of our winter fun in the forest each season. L and A made sugar cookies and hosted a cookie-decorating offering. H baked a beautiful cake for community - his second in an ongoing series he's personally planned - and pivoted gracefully from his intentions to decorate the cake with fondant (something most folks determined looked very pretty and tasted much less pretty). His change of plans allowed space for a pop-up fondant-decorating experience, which he thoughtfully facilitated and that was received by the group with joy, and also led to his cake decorations to take on a new shape (literally). The lone tree on his cake dovetailed beautifully with the plans from our final day together in the forest. We feasted on this "tree cake," and then gathered under one of our favorite cedars we’ve come to refer to as The Night Tree, in reference to the book by Eve Bunting of the same name. Folks readily made loving demands to add H's Tree Cake to our annual tradition.

We revisited the story, and decorated the tree with offerings, both to honor our connection to the trees we so love, and to the animal kin we know roam among the trees even when we cannot see them. We hung the garlands of popcorn and cranberries as gifts, scattering extra popcorn on the ground beneath the tree. The forest gives us so much, in all seasons, and as we sit in the dark of winter, we mark this season by offering our gifts and our reverence for what this season holds.

We have all also taken cues from the earth during this break and embraced hibernation and rest - the pace of the trees in pause. May we also honor our collective need for slowness. This moment needs us connected, and for us to grow our capacity for struggle. May we rest with the power of seeds. 

With gratitude and care,

Emily, Sarah, and Zoey