Raven and River Adventure Circle

Finally! The long-awaited details on our Raven and River Adventure Circle, which we are in our third week of using. It is based (very tightly)on the text from the absolutely marvelous book "Raven and River" by Nancy White Carlstrom. (Which is inexplicably out of print -- how can that be??? It's THE best early spring children's book ever written!! Fortunately there are still good copies available used from private sellers, and our library has a copy of it as well.)

Anyway, the premise of the book is that Raven circles and sees various animals in their habitats preparing for Spring, and all working in it's own way to "wake the sleeping river". The text is a WONDERFUL work of poetry that captivated my kids from the first telling. And the way the book is broken down into segments about the various animals, then wraps them all together in the end, made it an absolute natural choice to use as a base for our early spring Adventure Circle!

Initially we start in the living room, circling, and I recite the first part of the text. We move into an Enki Kindergarten Movement Activity entitled "Spring is Coming" (an opening activity), and then sing our repeating verse -- a modified (by me) version of the "Kookaburra" song to jive with the section of the books we are discussing, and which we sing 3 times through while participating in an intensive sensory integration therapy activity. For the first section, about Raven, we swoop around the living room like a bird flying, singing:

Raven swoops in a circling quiver,
Gurgling and burbling like a flowing river.
R-r-rawk, r-r-awk, Raven, r-r-rawk, r-r-rawk, Raven,
Wake the sleeping River.

The next section of the book is about a red squirrel. I read the text, then we do the Enki activity "Squirrel Bounds" (a proprioceptive activity). We then sing our repeating verse as the kids scramble up and down the stairs:

Red Squirrel skitters up the spruce with a shimmer,
Bright eyes sparkle like a shining river.
Chit-chit, Red Squirrel, chit-chit, Red Squirrel,
Wake the sleeping River.


This is followed by a Ruffed Grouse, we do the Enki activity "Recorder Song -- Spring" (a mid-line activity which also practices recorder position and fingering), then our Ruffed Grouse verse is sung while the kids duck walk up and down the hall like a bird (see first photo):

Ruffed Grouse struts along here and thither,
Beating his wings like a humming river.
Thum thum, Ruffed Grouse, thum thum, Ruffed Grouse
Wake the sleeping River.

The next verse is about a wolf, who climbs a cliff, howls, then takes off running. We do the Enki activity "Foxes" (another mid-line activity), but modify the words to be about Wolves instead. During our repeating verse, the kids climb a cliff (J's loft), then crash (jump off) on Zoo Boy's bed below, then run down the hall and back (see second photo):

Wolf climbs the cliff with a shake and a shiver,
Howls and takes off like a running river.
Yowl-yowl, Wolf, yowl-yowl, Wolf,
Wake the sleeping River.


Next is the Snowshoe Hare -- we do the Enki activity "Rabbits" (a tactile finger-play), followed by bed jumping (see third photo) during our repeating verse:

Snowshoe Hare leaps fro and hither
Bounding o'er her path like a dancing river
Run-run, Snowshoe Hare, run-run, Snowshoe Hare
Wake the sleeping River.

This is followed by the Bear, after which we do "Bear Cubs" (a vestibular activity), and roll down the hall while singing our repeating verse (see fourth photo):

Bear wakes up in a yawning dither
Entering the light like a turning river.
Slap-flap, Bear, slap-flap, Bear,
Wake the sleeping River.

Next comes Beaver, followed by the Enki activity "Beaver" (a proprioceptive finger-play). For our repeating verse, the kids crawl back and forth through a tunnel (entering and exiting the beaver lodge) (as in the final photo):

Beaver waits inside when he senses the sliver
Ice beings to shift like a moving river.
Crack crack, Beaver, crack crack, Beaver,
Wake the sleeping River.

We then come full-circle back to Raven again, who circles (as we circle). A review of each of the sensory integration therapy activities follows (with one quick repetition of each activity). River then awakens and we do the Enki activity "Waters" (a tactile finger-play), followed by another quick review of each of the sensory activities, following the text as "River shimmers for red squirrel, hums with ruffed grouse, runs after wolf...", etc.

Finally, Raven and River together "gurgle and burble and roll their r's", and we join hands and circle for our last repeating verse, and the end of our Adventure Circle:

Raven and River gurgle and quiver,
Rolling their r's for Spring and the Giver.
R-r-rawk, r-r-rawk, Raven, r-r-rip, r-r-rip, River,
Flying, flowing, free.