June 2018

Newsletter

Sibyl, Mabel, Lucio, Maeve, Violet, Rosie, Liam;

Recent Wednesday Adventures 

Greetings playschool friends and families,

Blessed Full Moon to all of y'all!

Here we have arrived, at the edges of another season.

The plants and creatures of the land are in full process, moving the tides along. In my daily silent sit, I rest my bones in the garden chair and my bare feet in the foilage. I open my skin to the sun,  close my eyes, and listen to the songs and stories of the hundreds of bees that float and dance about the garden. The other day as I sat in my bliss I brought back to memory how it felt to sit in the same spot not all that long ago on a day when I needed the reassurance that yes, Winter will end, transforming the landscapes of heart and land.  It was soggy and cold, quiet except for the caw of the Crows, and all my creature and plants friends were still in their winter repose. 

And I say...

What a thing; to feel in yer skin, and hear with yer heart the turning of the seasons.

To know the season by scent. To keep rhythm with the turnings and be able to greet, sit with, and bid farewell to each one as they come and go. 

To broaden yer notion of relationship and what qualifies as a friend. 

The Lonesomes've got nuthin' on me. 

We've been walking the gardens, watching as our plant friends push up through the soil and crown their selves with leaves, flowers, and fruits. We observed the glorious beauty of our early season Peonies as they burst into the world, and thanked them every day they were with us fer sharing their magic. And then, just like that, the time of being welcomed at the front gates by Peony was over. I came home one late evening this week to find the last of their lush pink petals had fallen to the ground. There was little more to do than hop off my bike and just sit there with them for a bit, honor their contribution to the tide, feel and then release my sadness that our time was so brief, and look forward to seeing them again next year. And anyhow, their neighbor the Lillies will need the space for their crowning here in just a few. ​​​​​​​Such gentle teachers, these plant friends are.  

 As we move away from the time of the Peony and towards the time of berries, thoughts of Summer time luvin', gathering, sunbathing, and adventuring are on my mind foremost these days. In our playschool friend circles we have talked a lot this year about how we can feel more than one feeling at a time, and how sometimes we can can have what feels like opposing feelings, simultaneously. Like feeling both happy and sad at the same time. As we get closer to the end of our playschool year, I am definitly having some of them feelings. I'm downright giddy thinkin' on all my grown up friends I'll soon be sharing time with, the adventures we'll be having, and the shenanigans we'll get up to. And, I'm also feeling some sadness 'bout missing the little hands that have held mine through the days, all the silly play, along with the sacred and simple flow we've shared since Autumn.

I cannot give enough Thanks for all the ways in which I have been blessed and supported this year through this work and practice with our playschool. Two years ago, it was an absolute uncertainty as to whether or not the seeds I was sowing in honor of the vision I had would germinate. It felt like a great big risk, to step off the track to a PhD and out of the halls of academia. And it was has been one of the most rewarding risks I've ever taken. This last year with all of you has been most special, and I know that the best is yet to come. ​​​​​​​Thanks a bunch fer showing up fer yer kiddos in all the ways that you do. Thank you fer yer believing and trusting in me. Thank you fer collaborating with me in this shared effort to create pockets of subversive magic, resistence, and resiliance. And fer truely centering and honoring our decendents and the role they play in any potential we may have in shifting the patterns of exploitation and harm in motion in our world today. 

​​​​​​​May our work continue to be blessed. May our work be perinnial. And may we come to know a way of life in which whatever adventure we might find ourselves on, the moment we set out, our journey back home begins. 

By mid June we will both be saying goodbye for an extended period of time, as well as begining our circle back to each other. We will have our summer camps to look forward to, and I will still send out a (very brief) monthly newsletter on the Moonvine during those months that we'll be off. 

​​​​​​​

But fer the next couple of weeks, we still got a few thangs y'all need to know...so read on!

xo, Miz Flow   ​​

Liam, Maeve, myself, Lucio, Lila, Sibyl, Liam: Friday friend circle plant walk

Upcoming Scheduled Playschool Breaks

**Reminder that these dates, along with all the upcoming dates to note, were sent out in the full

2018 Spring & Summer Playschool Schedule.

Please take a moment to get the dates plugged into yer calender!**

**May 26 - June 3rd**

During these dates Miz Flow will be traveling to Northeastern Washington to work, learn, and gather alongside dear friends at the Between the Rivers annual gathering. 

Playschool will be on the following adapted schedule:

Monday 5/28 : No playschool

Tuesday 5/29 : Moon Beams Friend Circle 11am-5pm w/ Miz Ora

Wednesday 5/30 : No Playschool

Friday 6/1 : No Playschool 

Upcoming Adventures & Playschool Socials

Welcome Summer Playschool Social

On Friday June 15th we will gather to celebrate the following special things:

~our last day of regularly scheduled playschool for the year

~ the end of our second year of birthing and bringing  into life our playschool community

~the turn of the tide and the coming Summer Solstice 

From 4-7pm we'll be family friendly, after 7 we'll be less so I guess. 

We'll be providing some main dishes, and vino. 
Please bring a side dish to share in our abundance, yer instruments, and feel free to byob. Y'all are welcome to invite folks who are near and dear to yer kiddos to celebrate and socialize with us too.

And really, anyone who wants to celebrate all of the above is most welcome. 
And of course yer waelcome to come go as needed. 

We'll have an assortment of trinkets, whose its, and whats its galore available on donation and a fed note jar out to collect contributions towards next year's scholarship fund. If you got thangs that you'd like to be rid of and think other folks might want them, let me know and we can arrange fer you to donate them thangs to the scholarship fundraiser. 

The kid focused No Talent Show will commence at 5pm. 
The adult focused No Talent Show will commence at 9pm and be lovingly emceed by myself. Can you only imagine all the things?! 

If you want to get on the list fer the grown up portion of our No Talent show, send me an email at elmirodrig@gmail.com with a blurb bout yer (no) talent. Poems, stories, songs, instrumental tunes, readings of special thangs, performance art...really, whateva ya got to share be welcome. 

Campout in the meadow fer the late nighters available.

Breakfast not included, unless provided by campers of course. 

So, playschool families and friend folk alike, come out and help me celebrate the passing of all these very special occurances. We'll have a lovely time and offer some proper last rites to Spring while welcoming in the Summer season. 
 

Playschool Summer Camps

Lila & Sibyl Summer 2017, Sellwood Riverfront Park

This summer the Moon's Nest will offer two, week long day camps over our summer break. One in July and one in August. Each camp session will include an overnight campout in the playschool meadow (ages 4+; optional; parents welcome)!

 In camp session 1 we'll be working with and deepening our relationships with the Elements of Magic (water, fire, air, earth) through summer time play, stories, craft, and adventure. In camp session 2 we'll be tending, cultivating, and nourishing our wild hearts through activities and play. 

**Last chance to register!**

The deadline to register for these camps is June 1st. If either of these camps don't get a minimum of 6 registered campers by June 1st, we will cancel the camps. There is so very little Summer and so many places to be. I need to make sure that we will have the budget to run these camps well and that my time will be well spent in planning and coordinating them. I know we roll pretty loose in these parts, but simply saying "We're in", won't keep these camps a sure thang. So register if you really do want them to happen yo! On June 2nd, if these camps haven't reached the registration goals, I'll be committing these weeks to other projects and adventures **

Camp Tuition

We are offering a sliding scale tuition model for these camps, as well as three partial scholarship awards for single (non-partnered) parents who identify as survivors of Interpersonal Violence (IPV). One of these scholarships will be reserved for single parent survivors of color exclusively, and another for folks who identify as descendants of the indigenous peoples of this land.

Sliding Scale Tuition

(per kiddo, per session)

 $200-$400

*All meals, snacks, and field trip admission fees included in camp tuition

Playschool summer camp session 1 : July 16-20, 10am-4pm

 Elements of Magical Play, ages 0-12

Register for camp session 1 here! 

Playschool summer camp session 2 : August 20-24, 10am-4pm

Cultivating the Wild Heart, ages 0-12

Register for camp session 2 here !

Catch Up With Me on the Summer Road

Just a reminder that I sent out open invitations to join me at a select few gatherings and camps this year that lean more towards being family friendly and family supportive. You can find these invitations in the 2018 Spring & Summer Playschool Schedule.

 I've heard I'll be seein' a few of you here and there, which makes me happy! 

You can find the list of the open invitation campouts along with all the links and information you'll need to to git yerself there in the schedule.

Be sure to let me know if you plan to join us in any of these adventures! 

If you can do one and one only, I'd suggest Echoes in Time. It's a great camp located in Monmouth, Oregon. Plenty of tree canopy, good folk, lotsa learnin', late nights, and a sweet swimming spot. Truly, this be Lorax's favorite camp of the year, and we have so many dear friends to share. Checkit! 

Lorax; Echoes in Time 2017

It's Tuition Time! 

**Please be sure to send in your tuition payments by the 5th day of the month. Remember that you have the option of prorating yer tuition to account fer time off and breaks in our regular playschool schedule. 

Easy link to tuition payment:

paypal.me/JessicaElmira

Enrollment For 2018-2019 Playschool Year

 Miz Flow, Liam, Violet, Liam, Sibyl, Lucio, Lila; recent session of  an afternoon

 spanish immersion activity 

We are opening up registration and waiting lists for our 2018-2019 playschool year! 

If you are a returning family please use this form to confirm that you'll be returning for our next year together. We'd sure love to have ya back! 

Please do be mindful that I need all folks intending to join us for 2018-2019 to fill out this form, even if yer a returning family. This will help me know what i'm getting myself into for this next year and how to plan for it all. 

If yer family is new to the Moon's Nest and is looking to join us for yer first year, this is also the form to use to let us know. Once I receive yer intent to enroll notification, I'll follow up with an email and an invite to join me for tea so we can meet and greet. At that point, if it's a good fit, I'll send you the registration forms. Once i get those back, yer spot for 2018-2019 will be confirmed.

We have limited spaces available but I do expect that a few will be opening up for the start of our year in September. Priority will be given to returning families. If there are more folks who intend to enroll than we have space for, I'll open up a waiting list. If that waiting list is long enough and the budget works out, we'll bring on a 2nd teacher to be able to enroll all interested parties and maintain a low ratio. 

Again, please do fill out the 2018- 2019 Enrollment Form just as soon as you are able. 
Okay dears, thanks so much fer yer help with planning our next playschool year! 

Contribute to our 2018-2019 Scholarship Fund

Our 2018-2019 playschool year begins in September and I already have more requests for scholarship than imma gunna be able to offer, and still be able to float the overhead. I'd sure like to be able to get closer to our scholarship funding goals before then and be able to offer more scholarships and compensate one or two more queer teaching partners. I'm wearing a whole lotta hats and would love to be able to give more time to admin work, developing curriculum, and building our programming.

So, if you got a few bucks to tithe monthly, please do consider supporting this work and access to a varitety of folks and families who really do benefit from it. And, if ya ain't got a few bucks, sharing this platform with yer network is just as helpful. Please do help me spread the werd with the folks of yers who would be happy to contibute to the work of raising gaggles of gender bending, gentle hearted, land tending, empire resisiting witches. 

Thanks a bunch! 

That's it for this month friends! 

May our days together be full

of play, adventure, and connection. 

One last reminder:

It's Tuition Time! 

**Please be sure to send in your tuition payments by the 5th day of the month.

Remember that you have the option of prorating yer tuition to account fer time off and breaks in our regular playschool schedule. 

Easy link to tuition payment:

paypal.me/JessicaElmira

Lorax & Liam; recent neighborhood ramble 

Thanks again friends! I hope you all know how much I appreciate every one of you and the role that you all have played in supporting me in moving through a whole bunch of yuck and into a this last year of abundance and bliss. May it circle back to you.

All my love.