September used to be one of my favorite months when I lived up north because it felt like fall and school was starting. It felt like so many new beginnings! I have lived in the south for 27 years now, and September here doesn’t quite feel the same to me since school starts at the beginning of August. However, many of you may be starting school tomorrow, and I wish you a wonderful year of learning ahead.
The one thing that does hold true to me no matter where I live is that this is the time of coming up to Michaelmas, which is a major holiday for us both in church and in Waldorf Education. In the book “All Year Round,” the authors write, “It is a time of drawing strength, and the meteor showers and the season of Michaelmas comes upon us to remind us we have the power to slay and subdue dragons.” I can’t wait to delve further into Michaelmas crafting and reading.
Here are the things that we are celebrating this month:
- September 2– Labor Day
- September 8 – The Nativity of St. Mary, the Theotokos
- September 14 – Holy Cross Day
- September 29 – The Feast of St. Michael and All Angels
Ideas for Celebration:
Labor Day – I would love to find a parade for Labor Day, but these seem to be most common in the northeastern part of the United States and not particularly where I live. Perhaps you can seek one out where you live though!
The Nativity of St. Mary and for Holy Cross Day, for us, are days primarily for celebrating in church and through prayer and literature. There are some lovely books about St. Mary and St. Helena for Holy Cross Day as well.
The Feast of St. Michael and All Angels is of course a big feast day in the church and also in Michaelmas in Waldorf Education.
Ideas for the Home:
- The seasonal table is transitioning to yellows with dried flowers, seed pods, bunches of oats or wheat or corn that are dried, cornucopias, nuts, acorns, leaves and little “helicopters.”
- I am going through and taking stock of fall and winter clothes and purging what we do not need.
- Fall menu planning – a time of chili, soup, stew, warming dishes – see below for some of my ideas under Self Care.
- Crafting – I have some autumn crafting ideas on my Pinterest board, but I think I am going to start with Michaelmas crafts and autumn lanterns for our school room.
Ideas for Celebrating this Month with Littles:
- Quick Autumn Ideas for Waldorf Kindergarten
- Favorite Fall Tales for the Waldorf Kindergarten
- Fall Stories for Puppets
- Cook, bake, and preserve with apples
- Crafts with leaves, although down here sometimes we don’t get the best color to our leaves until October
- Sing favorite Autumn songs
Ideas for Celebrating this Month With Older Children:
- A Beautiful Back to School Ceremony
- Start working on homemade holiday gifts
- Celebrate an attitude of kindness and gratitude
- Celebrate apple picking and cooking with apples
- Knit fall projects!
- Long bike rides and walks in the cooler air
Ideas for Celebrating this Month With Teens:
- Find great theater, museum, and festival events to attend
- Longer hiking, camping, and backpacking trips
- Bake and cook fall dishes
- Work on fall organizing and cleaning
- Stargazing
- Find new activities outside the home that your teen will adore
- Find new knitting, crocheting, sewing, woodworking and woodcarving ideas to try
Self-Care:
I am working hard on healthy food that can be made quickly in an Instapot or CrockPot. My main ideas:
- Breakfast- oven baked oatmeal, InstaPot orange cranberry oatmeal, avocado eggs, coconut flour pancakes, lemon chia seed muffins, scrambled eggs with spinach, green smoothies
- Lunches – chicken club wraps, baked potatoes with toppings, taco mac and cheese in the InstaPot, salad bowls, cobb salad, vegetable soup, collard greens and sweet potatoes
- Dinners – orange salmon, pulled pork tacos, herb chicken (whole in the InstaPot), sheet pan dinners, stir fry dinners, breakfast for dinner
Still exercising!
Date nights with my husband – we enjoy being together without our children, and pour a lot into those around us, so it is nice to recharge together. ❤
School Life!
Our senior: We are busy finishing up transcripts so she can apply to college. All of her classes are outside the home this year because I didn’t want to re-learn physics and calculus and she also wanted to take AP English and AP History and I didn’t want to go through getting college board approval for those courses. So, less work for me other than the transcripts and helping. ❤ We are still counted as homeschoolers by our state, but I don’t feel like I am doing much. Senior year is the time of transitions and letting them fly!
Our 9th grader: Wanted to go to high school, so she is attending a hybrid high school that has a modified schedule. Again, we are still counted as homeschoolers by our state, but I am not really doing the main teaching, just homework help.
Our 4th grader: Is off to a great start with a traditional fourth grade Waldorf year. We have spent the last three weeks reviewing math, deepening measurement concepts, doing lots of movement, reading, spelling, and poetry. Our next block up is Local Geography, which is always a fun block.
Me: Still plugging away at my clinical doctorate and physical therapy pelvic floor certification. Also busy studying lactation things since I have been an IBCLC since 2009 but you have to retake the boards every ten years, so that is coming up!
Tell me what you are looking forward to in September!
Blessings,
Carrie
The Parenting Passageway 
I really like the Michaelmas celebration at our Waldorf school and I always try to go. I love the colors of golden rod and purple asters around here. Our new college semester starts today, so that means German 101 for me. Two children are at college, one is a Junior and one a Freshman. We won’t be starting our homeschool yet. Our start day is a week from today. I will teach grade 4, 8, and 11. That will keep us busy. All the best for all your certifications and for your daughter in her last year of school. Time does fly!
HI Eva! Grades 4,8, 11 – you will be busy! Amazing that two are at college already. Seems like just yesterday they were so little. Thank you for your good wishes – much love and many blessings! Carrie
So many changes for you, Carrie. I like your including self care and menu planning on your goals. How does the hybrid high school work?
We start homeschool on Wednesday! I am anxious about it because my son is 14, a ninth grader, and not very motivated! That’s all me, though.
In addition to what we are soing at home, he is in dual enrollment at the local community college, will be doing epic poetry and the US Constitution in co-op, and I hope have aome internships, apprenticeships, etc.
Anyone have advice on how to get those?
HI MaryLynn – Hybrid schools down here are mainly because homeschoolers cannot take anything at the public schools. So a hybrid school can be just classes one day a week or a full accredited non traditional high school. The one my middle daughter is at is a modified day and week (four days a week, 8:25-2:30) and covers essentially the core subjects. The classes my older daughter takes is also a non traditional fully accredited high school but she started out taking one class freshmen year, two classes sophomore year. Neither of mine were interested in jumping into community college, although we have that here as well. That is great about your son! I am sure he will get motivated because it will be work that is due to someone else! 14 can be such a sluggish age. Internships and apprenticeships is what you talked about? I had plans to set up ones for my middle daughter through people we knew but she doesn’t have time through people we know. Would the community college be able to help with that?
Blessings and can’t wait to hear how your year goes! Carrie
Hello Carrie,
I tried to leave a comment twice, but somehow it is not showing up.
Eva
HI Eva! I see one comment and this one – I have to approve comments, so sometimes there is a delay with my schedule ❤
Thank you Carrie for always being a source of motivation and warmth. So grateful to read every post you share.
Thank you Gerri! Hope you have a wonderful September!
Blessings, Carrie
What a wonderful and comprehensive post! I love reading what you are up to, Carrie. I am interested to hear more about your college exploration adventures as well as your 9th grader’s hybrid schooling. My 9th grader is taking a couple classes at a small school. She is still technically homeschooling, I am in charge of her transcript, but she’s been welcomed into their community. It is already an adventure!