Life long learning occurs when we release perceived limitations and let our Imagination take Flight
Programs for Summer 2008:
~Music Makers Harp, Piano or Voice Lessons~
~ Earth Keepers Mountain Magic Day Camp~
~ Little Mermaid Day Camp~
Sample Workshops
Life at faerie Camp:
Spring 2007
© 2007 Oona McOuat
Photo: Leigh Hilbert
Photo: Leigh Hilbert
School is almost out, summer is almost here… These are the programs I am offering this July.
Summer is the perfect, relaxed time for a child or adult to begin music lessons, to explore a new instrument or to heighten performance and technical skills. Music Makers runs from July 14th through 31st and offers singers, songwriters, harpists, and pianists of all ages and experience levels two 45 minute private lessons a week for 3 weeks.
Instructor Oona McOuat, the music teacher at the Salt Spring Center School, is a conservatory trained pianist and a professional Celtic harpist and singer songwriter who has been helping students develop their musical potential for 12 years. Program cost is $155. Call 653-2088 to reserve a space.
Eagles, hawks, deer, endangered Garry oak meadows, towering ancient rock formations and views of both Fulford Harbour and Samsung Narrows - it's no wonder Mount Maxwell was sacred to the Native peoples of this region. At Earth Keepers Mountain Magic Day Camp, boys and girls ages 6 to 10 are invited to explore the beauty, mystery, biodiversity, and cultural and ecological significance of Mount Maxwell and the Burgoyne Valley as they embark on daily hiking adventures. Activities include outdoor exploration and games, nature journaling, art, crafts and music with nature, storytelling and learning about wild plants and animals.
Mountain
Magic Day Camp runs from 10:00am to 3:00pm on Tuesday, July 1st
through Friday, July 4th. If interested families have other plans for
Canada Day, it may be possible to begin camp on Wednesday, July 2nd. Participants
must have completed grade 1, be in good physical condition, have hiking
boots or sturdy runners and a good quality daypack, preferably with a
waist belt, and be prepared for daily uphill hiking excursions. Program
will be lead by Oona McOuat and a male co-leader and space is limited.
Cost is $140. Please call 653-2088 for information and enrollment.
At Mermaid Camp, girls ages 5 to 10 will explore mermaids, water nymphs, selkies (beings that are half seal, half human), dolphins, and whales. Participants will also examine the affect global warming is having on oceans and sea life. One day of camp will be spent at the beach. Activities will include outdoor games and water play, studying whale song and mermaid lore, arts, crafts, music, cooking and instrument and jewelry making with driftwood and shells.
Mermaid Camp runs from 10:00am to 3:00pm on Monday, July 7th - Friday July 11th. The cost is $150. Space is limited at this popular camp. Please call Oona McOuat at 653-2088 for information and enrollment.
Circle
of Song:
A family-oriented session that teaches basic vocal technique and allows
everyone, regardless of age or skill leve, to share the joy of singing.
Soul Mapping:
Oona shares a toning technique that connects us with our soul essence.
This inner wisdom and magic can be used to solve problems, clarify goals,
increase joy, and heal ourselves, others and the earth.
In Full Bloom:
An exploration of voice and sacred sound for women.
Circle of Story:
Stories teach, enliven, heal and build community. In this session we learn
the basics of good storytelling and then we take a courageous leap and
share our stories with one another.
Photo by Kmax
It comes tentatively; Springtime's yellow, like a fluffy duckling taking its first swim. I see it in the earliest daffodils that bravely open their faces towards the strengthening sun. Softly, Spring whispers, "It is time to wake up."
As Winter turns to Spring, I sit on the grass playing my harp, a circle of little girls singing and dancing around me. Some of them have crowns of daisies on their heads. Others are clutching bouquets of tiny woodland flowers - snowdrops, bluebells, and dandelions. In Hawaii, I took flowers for granted, but here in Canada our outdoors' eyes have been starved for months for colours other than brown, conifer green, grey, and white. Some of the girls spontaneously begin to leap over the dormant fire circle, and I wonder if somewhere deep inside they are remembering the old ways.
It's amazing how one medium sized yard can entertain a group of 16 girls for hours. My lesson plans are good, but their own ways of flowing with the natural world around them are better. Seamlessly, they move from one creation to the next - turning a pile of sticks into a faerie castle, a recess in the ground into a magical hollow where there are unicorns and trolls. As the girls play, they are unaware of time, money, worry, and stress.
Of course, life at
Faerie Camp isn't perfect. There's the spirited and very dear 5-year-old
who needs to be first and sits in front of everyone during story time
blocking their view because she "really needs" to see the pictures.
I let the other girls express their frustration to her and then gently
explain that we are a Faerie Family and that everyone's needs are important.
World peace starts here.
Yesterday we hiked to the Enchanted Forest. This involved walking along a typically quiet segment of the road. It so happened that they were doing roadwork, so when the backed-up drivers were finally allowed to pass they were going way too fast. The girls were frantically waving fir boughs, shouting "Slow down - there are children on the road!" their fervor heightened by the dead doe we saw lying in the ditch.
The heavy machinery the road workers were using had made the sides of the road very mucky. One of the most feminine of the girls slipped in the dirt and into the ditch and got all muddy and wet. As she recovered from her trauma she held on to my left hand and I pulled her along, sloshing gumboots and all (I had two others clutching 2 and a half fingers each on the right) but then she got cold and as I did up her jacket, her lip got caught in the zipper. That definitely merited a fresh river of tears.
A walk that usually takes me a quarter of an hour took 45 minutes each way with the kids. Plus we had to stop and wait for the roadwork, so we ended up getting back to the house 20 minutes late. All of the parents were waiting as I came strolling in like the Pied Piper followed by their muddy, bedraggled, tearstained daughters.
Photo by Kmax
Miraculously, every
single child returned for Day Two!
Day Two's events featured Lyra (a wee elf who is about 2 and a half feet
tall...) getting her hands covered in sap during the "Meet a Tree
Exercise" (done blindfolded), while Molly met the tree with her lip.
She was very brave about it...
Photo by Kmax
The girls - they are the "Moon Princess Superhero Faeries of the
Blue and Green Forest with their Magic Wings, Wands and their Magic Harp"
- have already come up with some very strong points for their Forest Faerie
Manifesto. They want to make sure that the forests, the animals, and the
earth are still here for their children to enjoy.
For so many of us grownups, just getting through our daily commitments is overwhelming, let alone ending the mindless wars and stopping global warming before it is too late. Beyond our world of time, worry and money, these children wait for us in a place that is deep and pure. They stand like saplings, firmly rooted in their clear beliefs, sometimes whispering , sometimes shouting , "It is time to wake up!!" They live in our fear-shrouded world and paint it yellow, one blade of grass and flower at a time. Welcome springtime. Thank you children for laughing and believing and being our hope.
Bright Blessings,
Oona
Photo by Kmax