One thing that many Waldorf teachers do at night is to meditate on the children in their
class. I think this practice is absolutely vital as a parent, and certainly as a homeschooling parent!
In the discussion /write-up following Dr. Helmut von Kugelgen’s article “How Can We Find A Connection to The World of the Angels?” in the blue paperback book, “A Deeper Understanding of the Waldorf Kindergarten,” the question arises: Continue reading
The second week of Advent is upon us; perhaps we are fasting and praying in accordance with our religious traditions of Advent being a small Lent. Perhaps we are feeling weary from having a holiday season that is moving rather fast; the fatigue that comes from trying to create perfect holiday memories for the children or the fatigue of spending.
I invite you this week to go back to the true meaning of Advent. Perhaps this is the week you really think heartily about that question that truly seems to afflict first-world citizens more than others: how much do we really need to “get”? What are we giving? How much do our children really “need”? Is that what they are going to associate this season with – getting?
Staring new traditions can be difficult. I was reading the post on gratitude the other day on the blog A Holy Experience and how they exchange no gifts at all and instead choose gifts from catalogues designed to help others – giving the gifts of animals, trees, seeds, bees. If you are thinking about new traditions, I don’t think it is ever too late to start. I saw this post on Simple Mom regarding supporting mothers in need for the holidays here: http://simplemom.net/csp/ Perhaps a tradition along these lines will be of interest to your family.
Here are some nourishing ideas for this second week of Advent. Continue reading
Saint Nicholas Day is fast approaching, and I wanted to highlight some of my very favorite Saint Nicholas books!
First of all, here is a series of stories you can tell starting on December 1st written by Christine Natale, esteemed Waldorf teacher and available for free at the St. Nicholas Center. Here is Day One: http://www.stnicholascenter.org/pages/waldorf-1/. You can enjoy more of Christine’s seasonal tales in her fairy tale collection here: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0557591317/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=stnicholcente-20&link_code=as3&camp=211189&creative=373489&creativeASIN=0557591317
And, as a special treat, Christine left a comment below with a special offer. She writes:
“As a special gift, I would like to share with your readers a Winter story that I wrote last year. It is not in the collection mentioned above, but will be in any future editions. Here is a link to the story in PDF format to download. The illustration is by Josephine Wall and I do not have permission to use it, but I think it is ok to share among friends.”
She also makes great points below about the more common legends of Saint Nicholas and the Waldorf curriculum. See the comment box below!
Here are a few other tales and some comments:
This is one of the best St. Nicholas books for children Early Years through about first or second grade, and then just as an enjoyable read-aloud for the whole family: Continue reading
What lovely timing to have the first day of Advent beginning tomorrow, and to have our topic for Day Twelve be that of “warmth.” I recently wrote about warmth on All Saints Day, one of my favorite days of the whole year, but today I really want to expand upon this concept of warmth as an inner quality that we hold for children.
I see many adults who do not seem to be convinced that the world is a good place, or that the people around them are good. This can be particularly difficult to hold sometimes in this season of holidays and in gathering with relatives and perhaps even friends whom we might feel hold judgment against us or the way we are raising our own family.
Yet we must hold this warm and caring space for our children. Our beliefs and our moods penetrate our children, and giving a child a “Christmas mood” year round is a fundamental foundation for the small child. Our ability to cultivate and hold this mood should come back to the work we do in our religious and spiritual path. Continue reading
Quick: what makes the difference between a “bad” homeschooling day and a “good” one (bar catastrophic events?) The answer, is, of course YOU.
I was thinking about this today. This Monday was not a good day for us; many Mondays are generally not a great-flowing school day for us. ( I think this happens in a lot of homeschooling families, don’t you?). And then this Tuesday came along and was beautiful- circle and singing, two main lessons done by noon, tea and read alouds about Saint Nicholas by the fire, productive, everyone getting along…and I was thinking, what made the difference between those two days? Was it really the behavior of the children or was it me?
I think it was me. If I can start the day Continue reading
I know everyone is focused on the holiday season right now, but it really is a wonderful time of year to take stock as to what has gone on in homeschooling…Really look at your child, look at what you have done so far, and look at what is essential to finish up this year.
Child Observation is such a strong key. This is a good article by Stephen Spitalny regarding the polarities of childhood development and starting points for balance: http://www.waldorflibrary.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=444:springsummer-2002-issue-42-characterizing-the-balancing-polarities&catid=15:gateways&Itemid=10 Continue reading
The first light of Advent is the light of stone–.
Stones that live in crystals, seashells, and bones.
The second light of Advent is the light of plants–
Plants that reach up to the sun and in the breezes dance.
The third light of Advent is the light of beasts–
All await the birth, from the greatest and in least.
The fourth light of Advent is the light of humankind–
The light of hope that we may learn to love and understand. – attributed to R. Steiner or to an anonymous author
That beautiful season of waiting and anticipation is here, and I love the slowing down and stillness that occurs during Advent. In a season full of often materialistic bigger and over the top, we have a chance to wait the coming of Christ with a realization of our own frailness, and the time to search for own epiphany of what God can do everyday with the ordinary, with the small, with the weak, with the impossible. It is a season which demands our attention, our watchfulness, and our slowing down to really be present with our children and families.
Celebrating festivals often starts simply, and traditions deepen over time as the children and the family unit and family culture grows. Each year layers upon the next, and it is never too late to begin. Continue reading
So, I have no research studies on this at all…this is from my own experience and observations in working with families who have had extremely shy and almost fearful children. I am not really talking about children who are more inward; all of us are on the continuum of extrovert to introvert if we look at personality. I am thinking hear of children who are rather socially anxious, fearful a bit… Many of these children whom I have observed were only truly comfortable with their mothers and no one else. Many of these children were first-born children, but not all of them, and many of them were girls, but again, not all of them. This is my special small population sample.
This is how I have personally observed this type of child’s progress into the world outside of his or her mother: Continue reading
The reality of homeschooling is that it is not always easy. Many of us have days where we think, “Hey! Our children would probably be fine in school!”. But that feeling passes quickly, because we remember that homeschooling is first and foremost about our relationships with each other. That is always the lesson.
The reality of homeschooling is that it can be financially challenging due to loss of income, but we have chosen this path and we are happy in it. The reality is that some families would be financially better off if they were not homeschooling, but they would not be happier.
The reality of homeschooling is that it is often not until our oldest child goes through the nine-year change that we finally realize that we must do a better job Continue reading
This is the last chapter of our book study, “The Seven Principles For Making Marriage Work”, by John Gottman, PhD. Today we are looking at “Afterword: What Now?” and how to put some of things Dr. Gottman talks about in his book into play in our relationships.
He talks about “The Magic Five Hours”, Continue reading
The Parenting Passageway 