This is a topic near and dear to my heart: making your home work for you. This whole Homemaking, and this notion of “What makes a home a home?” is profoundly interesting to me!
A house feeling like a home probably has more to do with the “intangibles” than the tangibles. Many places have certain feel to them when you walk in. Is there warmth, joy, laughter, playfulness – or is it all tense, anger, bitterness, misery? Continue reading
When you know about realistic expectations, what do you do with it all?
Every child is different, every family culture is unique and onto itself in many ways.
There is this guidepost -realistic expectations – they are much like finding a trail marker in the forest. However, then there is the trail in between the trail posts and only you and your child can blaze that together. This path is called loving guidance.
Guidance and connection are both very important, and the ability to guide our children wonderfully requires a balanced approach that includes aspects of thinking, feeling, and willing. Continue reading
This is the third and final installment of “Day Number 10” of our series “Twenty Days Toward Being A More Mindful Mother”. I just wanted to briefly cover the seven and eight year olds. These are ages that are often seen as “older” in our society, and I am here to tell you these ages still need protection and also require appropriate developmental expectations that may be a bit different than the earlier years.
Here is a prior post to ponder: https://theparentingpassageway.com/2009/04/08/the-seven-and-eight-year-old-still-a-need-for-protection/
Realistic Expectations for the Seven-Year-Old: Continue reading
Kara over at Rockin’ Granola is dreaming up some change: http://www.rockingranola.com/2012/10/dreaming-new-dreams.html#disqus_thread
I will miss Kara’s blogging whilst she is gone; I have always loved Rockin’ Granola
I see Annette has a Martinmas book out here: http://ourseasonsofjoy.com/seasons-of-joy/martinmas-round-up/ and don’t forget Waldorf Wednesdays! http://ourseasonsofjoy.com/seasons-of-joy/waldorf-wednesday-11/ Continue reading
AGE FIVE: Often referred to as a “Golden Age” in development with five-and-a-Continuing on with our look at realistic expectations for the ages three through eight, we are up to age five. Age five and a half is a traditional time of developmental disequilibrium according to most childhood development texts.
REALISTIC EXPECTATIONS FOR THE FIVE-YEAR-OLD: Continue reading
(So, this is the kick in the fanny post that is a continuation of the post I just did about showing warmth and being a light for others this season, but from the polar opposite side of the issue. If you are not in the mood for this, feel free to return for the next post, which will be lighter! 
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Part of parenting, and a huge part of Waldorf homeschooling, is the spiritual journey we should all be on to develop our spiritual lives. What we are is what we teach our children and what we show the world and how we interact with the world.
Fear and anger cannot drive a family life or a community without ripping it apart, even if you try to cover it up with other happier things. Continue reading
This is one of my favorite days of the whole year: All Saints Sunday! I love celebrating this day, which this year was this past Thursday, the day after Halloween and I love attending church to deepen the meaning of this day, the beginning of a whole season of Light.
I have Roman Catholic friends who remember All Saints Day being a major festival in their year – they got off from school, first of all, LOL, but I do think it is an important day that is now being lost and dwarfed by Halloween. All Saints Day, to me, is a very special day to recognize the light that the Saints carried inside of them, that spark of God and the angels, and that we too, carry that light within us. We have within us the light, the spark of the Divine and when we act with love in full social community, we show not only our higher selves but the thinning of the material and spiritual worlds.
One way we share this light with others is through our warmth. Emotional warmth is so important. How do we relate to others? With judgment, with cynicism? Do we isolate ourselves instead of trying to be part of a community? Do we answer our children with love when they speak to us or do we yell at them? Are we so overwhelmed we find it difficult to share our light and warmth with anyone? Continue reading
I talked a little about my experience with doing biographical work at my Foundation Studies course in this post: https://theparentingpassageway.com/2012/09/01/the-work-of-the-biography/ . If you have not done the preliminary work outlined in that post, you may want to start that first and then return here to deepen your work.
Based upon some of the ideas in my course regarding each seven year cycle, I have formulated some open-ended questions for you to answer in order to take a closer look at your own journey. Continue reading
The winters of 2012-2013 and the 2013-2014 could be particularly frigid, according to some reports. (Here is one I was looking at: http://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/combination-of-factors-could-m/36990).
This is also the time of year when many mothers, especially homeschooling mothers, find themselves in the throws of trying to homeschool, bake, cook, craft, make gifts, visit family and travel…and essentially overextend themselves and get sick on top of all the holiday bustle! Many homeschooling mothers I know seem to have long-term health issues that affect their immune systems, which really doesn’t help as well!
One of the first things that I find helpful is to make sure warmth becomes a priority. I love Green Mountain Organics, and I notice they are having a 10 percent off sale on all their warm woolens. http://www.facebook.com/notes/green-mountain-organics/winter-woolen-sale/166623896683512. If you are unfamiliar with the importance of warmth, this back post may be helpful to you: https://theparentingpassageway.com/2009/12/06/warmth-strength-and-freedom-by-mary-kelly-sutton/
Rest is another huge priority; and I think rest extends even past going to bed every night at a decent hour. I think it also requires Continue reading
I absolutely love the book, “Connecting With Young Children: Educating The Will”, by Master Waldorf Kindergarten teacher Stephen Spitalny. (If you have not read this book, I really think you should. Here is the link for it: http://www.amazon.com/Connecting-With-Young-Children-Educating/dp/1105320820/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1351371198&sr=8-1&keywords=connecting+with+young+children+educating+the+will. It is chock full of wonderful thoughts for the self development of the adult, how to guide small children, and yes, how to work with and shape the will forces of the young child.)
Mr. Spitalny begins his book with this paragraph: Continue reading
The Parenting Passageway 