As if we didn’t have enough carnival excitement, on Tuesday morning two baby goats came to the Seed. They arrived with their twin human brother and sister to liven up the toddler playground for the day. As the goats familiarized themselves with the toddlers’ play area, teachers scurried around with the broom and dustpan, scooping up droppings that I’m pretty sure didn’t meet the health department code. The goats explored the toddler playground with the same enthusiasm as their human counterparts. Toddlers were curious about their new friends who quickly discovered the space under the slide as a secure hiding place. It was hard to tell who was more excited, the toddlers or the goats. Once everyone became familiar with each other, things returned to normal. Goats on the playground seemed like an everyday occurrence. I’m really sorry I missed seeing two of the teachers applying their wrangling skills to round up the goats at one point during the day.
Had it not been Halloween week, I’m sure goats would have become part of the curriculum. That’s how it works at the Seed. Whatever life brings our way is what we study, explore and investigate. This week, instead of goats, we are immersed in pumpkins with golf tees pounded into them, painted pumpkins, and pumpkins that have been baked. Children feel the mushy pulp and taste toasted seeds. In addition to pumpkins, cone-shaped witches on handmade broomsticks prepare to be dangled from wires as carnival decorations. Plastic milk bottles are wrapped with toilet paper and transformed into tiny mummies. Baked apples wither into heads of miniature people that grow bodies made of recycled materials. Shaving cream and glue team up as soft, puffy skulls with glitter. Sugar skulls come forth in honor of Día de los Muertos, which follows Halloween.
As the week comes to a close, our carnival is just one day away. Lines and choreography for the Mystery Theater are mostly memorized. Costumes are lying in waiting and cupcakes are starting to arrive. Tomorrow night the hard work of many people will come to fruition to provide a wonderful event for our community. Current and former Seed families, along with friends and neighbors, will arrive for the festivities. It takes a village to raise a child, and a village to produce a carnival as extraordinary as the Seed’s. The excitement level will surpass even the day baby goats came to school.