Fall Projects

We have enjoyed our simple crafts this fall and the results have been quite beautiful. Since starting in September, we have sewn simple wool-stuffed gnomes using recycled felted sweaters, created leaf banners found in Carol Petrash's book Earthways), and made Martinmas lanterns.
In November, to preserve the last of the sun's rays while the days grow shorter, we dyed silk a golden shade. The silks can be worn as a scarf, used on the nature table or as a runner on a dining table.
We dyted the silk with onion skins which are best found at a grocery store where they happily give them away since they are usually discarded when the produce area is cleaned. It takes a lot of onion skins to make a pot of dye and so it's hard to save up enough on your own, but everyone's contribution of onion skins went into our dying pot.
Before dying the silks, we "mordanted" them by putting them in a large pot of water with 4 oz. of alum (available at the grocery story in the spice section) and an ounce of cream of tartar (also available in the grocery store spices). We brought the water to a boil and then simmered the silks in the pot for about an hour. Then the silks were hung to dry so they would be ready for the next step. (Some directions say to rinse the silks before drying (and before dying) but I didn't although I am curious to try it again and with rinsing after mordanting).
We wrapped onion skins in a cheescloth about the size of a volleyball and then put the ball of skins in a pot of plain water (having discarded the mordanting water)and let them simmer for as long as it took to achieve the golden shade we were looking for (between 20 minutes about 50 minutes). When you stir the dye, the color will be more even, but if you want a variegated effect, you can tie the silk before dying or let it fold onto itself in the pot.
After you remove your silk from the pot, rinse it in cool water, let it dry and then iron it to set the color and reveal its beauty.
It's amazing to see the golden sunshine color that emerges from onions grown that grew underground. I imagine that the earth has been inhaling the sunshine all summer long and is storing it now during these dark days. As we celebrate the winter festivals, it's interesting to ponder that the greatest light is born at the time of the deepest darkness.
Now we are making pomanders in class and they are clove-covered oranges, so easy to see as spicy sunglobes that we use to decorate our house during the darkest month of the year. This craft can also be found in the Earthways book by Carol Petrash.
Enjoy these beautiful days and the anticipation of the return of the light!

The Lantern Walk

Last week was a spectacular one overall. Indian summer temperatures, golden leaves and blue, blue, blue skies. On Thursday, after our parent-toddler class closed outside in the gazebo, a parent looked up and commented on the beauty of the golden leaves against the blue sky. To take it in better, she reclined in a pile of leaves, her son next to her. Before I knew it, there were six of us lying in the leaves gazing at the autumn sky.
Later that evening we gathered at 6:00 p.m. for the Martinmas festival. We lit the candles in our lanterns, practiced our songs and then processed onto the land behind the church where we could notice the effect of our lanterns on the dark night. We then gathered in a circle in the gazebo so we could see and even better, hear each other singing: "I go with my little lantern", "The sunlight fast is dwindling", "Glimmer, lantern, glimmer" and "Lanterne, lanterne". In the middle of the gazebo was a log with a carved pumpkin and a few other votive lights to create a center piece of light, but what shone the most (for me) were the faces around the circle.
When we went inside, we had snacks of pumpkin cookies and cider with the children seated at the table. Then we heard the story of "Where No Light Shines" and sang a little more before leaving. Someone did a headcount and stopped when she reached sixty. It felt full, festive and peaceful.
Now that we have kindled the sparks in our hearts and in our community, we are ready to face the short days and long evenings that are ahead leading up to the solstice. Although the little ones do not know the significance of the festivals, it becomes a part of them and a happy memory from their childhood. The more warm and happy memories we can store up in childhood, the more we can impart the same for others when we are adults.

Where No Light Shines

Once upon a time there was a man, a very bad man. He was lazy, miserable, he used ugly language, he was unkind even to his wife and children, he was cross, in fact he was very, very bad.
Now one day St. Michael decided that something must really be done about all this, so he called one of his angels to him and said "Dear Angel, there is a bad man down on the earth. Will you go and live in his house for one year and try and make him better? You must leave your wings behind, but there is alittle red cap and as long as you have this, you will be able to come back to heaven. Do not take it off, and do not lose it."
So the angel, whose name was Christina, took off her wings and put on the little red cap and went down to earth. When she reached the man's house, she knocked on the door. The man's wife came to see who was there. Said Christina: "Good woman, will hyou take me as your serving maid? I do not want any money, only give me some food and a corner to sleep in, and I will serve you well for a year." "This is alright," thought the man's wife: so she bad Christina come in and, fastening a big apron over her white garment, she set her to work.
It was marvellous to see the change that was wrought in that house in less than no time. When the man came home from his work, everythihng was in such good order and such a fine meal awaited him that there was nothing to scold and grumbled about. When he used ugly words, Christina sang with such a sweet and gentle voice that he was put to shame. In short, her beauty and goodness, her kind and gentl deeds, soon blew all his ugliness away.
Well, presently, the devil began to notice this state of affairs. He was accustomed to a very plentiful harvest of bad and ugly deeds from the man's house, and when these stopped coming down he decided to look into the matter.
"So - ho," said he, "St. Michael has sent one of his angels! Well, I will send one of my devils, and we will see what we will see."
So he sent up one of his devils to the man's house and the first thing the little devil did was to put his foot into a baseket of eggs and smash them, so that they ran all over the floor. But Chrstina simply cleaned up the mess with never a cross word. Then the devil set to work to upset more things and to cause as much confusion and disturbance as he could. He teaed the children and made them cry: he started quarrels and fights among the. But, whatever he did, Christina set it to rights again with such patience and sweetness that the devil at last grew tired of his work and fell to watching Christina. She was so beautiful, and everything around her was so beautiful, that he began to dislike the idea of leaving all this and returning to the darkness and ugliness of his own world.
At last Christina's year was up. Said she: "Now I am going back to heaven. Goodbye little devil!" "Goodbye," said he forlornly, "I wish I were going with you."
Christina started off but she had not taken many steps when the spirit of mercy touched her, and made her return. "I am sorry for you, devil," said she, "here, take my little cap and go to heaven instead of me." And she took the little red cap off her own golden head, and placed it on the devil's black one. No sooner was it there than the devil began to chane. The horrid black hair that covered him fell off and a heart began to beat in his breast - for you must know, children, devils do not have a heart."
He looked at Christina standing there, so good and so beautiful. Then he took the red cap off his head: "Where you are, Christina, there is heaven. I will stay with you."
So they both stayed on earth, helping other people so that one day all might make heaven on earth together. And St. Michael looked down from heaven and was very, very happy.
- K. Schubert (slightly adapted)

Michaelmas time

Since our Michaelmas festival at the end of September, autumn has come bringing shorter days, falling leaves in shades of red, yellow and brown, winds and chilly air and pumpkins everywhere. When we celebrated Michaelmas, we rekindled our inner lights and now with pumpkins and Martinmas lanterns, we are making a home for that little spark of light. It's a home that we will take into the dark and no matter how small our light is, it will vanquish the dark all around it.

Reflections on the first weeks of school

All four groups have started meeting, with over thirty families coming to our parent-toddler programs. So far, we have been drying apples, stitching gnomes, meeting new and old friends, and adjusting to our rhythm together.
One of the songs we have been singing is:
"It's golden in the treetops, it's golden in the sky,
it's golden, golden, golden September passing by."
Seeing so many shining faces around our snack table is indeed a golden moment and I want to savor each one so while they pass, they leave an imprint that will provide soul warmth in the coming months.

What happens in parent-toddler groups?

We have had our first week of school and it was wonderful! I am so happy to have seen old friends and met many new ones. The wonder of child development is so apparent after not seeing children for a few months. I am always interested in the questions and comments that come up in parents when they encounter this education. I have been involved in Waldorf education for many years and I understand the need to ask questions because I have had many. Often the journey to finding the answers to my questions brought me to new questions but it is the questions that defined my path and therefore, the information I found along the way.

Why do we use glass cups with such young children? All the choices we make are carefully considered, so you can trust there is a reason. We chose glass because we wanted a natural material that is also affordable (if I could find a good deal on those ceramic-lined metal cups often used for camping, I'd buy them). Natural materials change. A plastic flower never decays and a plastic cup never breaks. The benefit of using a glass cup instead of plastic outweighs the risk associated with breaking glass. In about 40 weeks of parent-toddler programs, we have broken three cups. When glass breaks, there is a good lesson there for children as well. The adults calmly clean it up. At all times while children are handling glass, adults are near by. No child has ever been hurt by broken glass!

Therefore, we have decided that the benefits of trusting the child to hold a beautiful glass cup elevates the experience of snack and they deserve it. It is not just an ordinary snack, it is a school snack when we are gathered with our friends. The children (unconsciously, of course) appreciate the festive mood and quite quickly learn to meet the challenge of holding a glass cup. Besides, how else could they see the beautiful red liquid? We eat with our eyes, my husband always says. Especially for the young child, we consider the full sensory experience of everything we do. Imagine for a moment the tactile experience of holding a plastic cup versus a glass one. Then add the other senses and consider that children soak in their environment deeply and it actually becomes a part of them, then choose which experience you would want for your child.

Next, I will respond to a comment about how calm and centered a parent felt all day after the parent-toddler program. She wondered how that could be since she felt we had not done anything. First of all, to gather eight families with babies, toddlers and some preschoolers together to play, socialize, make a snack, clean the room, have integrative movement, share a snack, clean dishes, hear a puppet play and then go outside joyfully and peacefully all within two hours time is doing something!

I am guessing that the parent's comment has to do with cognitive activity. We were not busy thinking about what to do when, the program is planned out for us so that we can honor the children by being in the present moment with them, breathing in and out from group activities to more individual ones, from active to more restful moments. When we participate in the parent-toddler programs, we enter the world of the young child. It is a world of safety, innocence, warmth, timelessness and goodness. Think back on your own childhood and those years from birth to seven. There is a universal quality of early childhood that has not changed (although the rest of the world has) and we strive to provide an environment that respects the needs of the young child...and in that environment, adults receive benefits, too.

First week in September

Summer's going, fall is coming. The air is getting cooler and I'm getting ready for school. In looking for new verses, I came across this one which sums up the mood:

"In misty, moisty autumn air,
Summer lingers still through mellow days,
And light which glimmers gold and fair
Is dimmed and dulled by gentle veils of haze.

I myself can clearly see
How autumn, soft and slow, is creeping.
Summer gave herself to me
And now departs for winter-sleeping.

Welcome

Our new school year will soon be underway -