The focus topic for the month of September 2011 is Storytelling.
We'll look at:
The riches Waldorf education brings through storytelling
Age appropriate stories and why, what story best supports the child at what age?
Tutorial on making table puppets
How to set up the space for puppet story
Ideas for creating a puppetry group in your community
Friday, August 26, 2011
{this moment}
A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.
I am so very excited to share with you the news of the return of the Celebrating the Rhythm of Life in Caring for Children through the Year materials. I have read all of your very kind, honest and thorough comments in the feedback and taken them to heart. The new format retains all of the elements you love with some expansion in a few areas. I've been striving to keep it all very simple, easy for you to read and digest. I have also made it more process and community oriented this time around.
The material will be available in a packet (pdf) and online along with the rest of the program. Participants may sign up for the month or for the school year, from September to July
Each month the material for The Celebrating the Rhythm of Life in Caring for Children Program includes:
Materials packet with verse, song, circle, finger play, story, activities
Daily and Weekly rhythm plan (if you want it sketched out ~ it's here)
Menus with recipes based on Steiner's grains (breakfast, morning tea, lunch, afternoon tea)
Handwork for each month with hands on tutorial
Artistic Activity for each month
Festival life ~ background and celebration ideas
Seasonal foods to plant, harvest and prepare with children
My favorite book suggestions
In the Morning Garden ( a tip each month for group programs)
After school (Activities, Recipes, Stories for the grade school child)
Focus topic for each month
Pedagogy behind the topic
Practical activity with monthly topic
Exercise to do with the topic ~ practice
Reflection ~ questions for nurturing the inner life
Partners to support each other
Private online discussion group
Occasional blog posts throughout the month
Ideas for creating community where you live
Come join in, create community, find support, receive encouragement!
Often the artistic, handwork and practical activity with overlap with each other so you will not have a huge number of projects each month.
After many years of giving freely to help others along the Waldorf Way, I have made the decision to charge a fee for this material to help me continue to do this work and support my family. The Wonder of Childhood will continue to be free of a subscription charge.
Cost:
By the month $45 per month
From September until July (with July as bonus) $45
A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.
I'm trying so hard to get here.
I am supposed to be working this week: writing, editing, washing, ironing, cooking, painting and planning.
Big brother is off on a Kroka expedition and little brother and his dad are off having adventures together. This is my time to work through the "to do" list.
The first articles of August are up on the Magazine and looking good. I love bringing together the work that expresses the passion of so many gifted people. I have more ideas and visions than I have time to put together in a day or a week, maybe in a lifetime. So I keep at it, "inch by inch and step by step," as my dear friend Aaiyn says. But after a while my thoughts get frazzled.
And you know how it goes when your brain is so scrambled from trying to think too much, in too many directions at the same moment? I usually try to step out of my life without going too far away, a walk in the woods helps, so does a movie. So the other night I watched a movie, a really good movie, one of those movies with beautiful lingering images and the reminder that even though life is hard, life is beautiful.
Have you seen it? It's A Sunshine of Rainbows? It takes place on the rugged coast of Ireland. It's a timeless movie with simple, natural, beauty. So much beauty, the rugged coast, the simple life, the kindness and goodness of people. The clothing of the characters is so lovely, all of it, handmade and surely full of love, knit sweaters, crochet scarves and wraps, hand made socks, woven fabrics, all gorgeous and beautiful in their simplicity and connection to the land and animals. Chickens, sheep and the garden supply food and wool. So simple. Such beauty and loss and grief. It's not all happy happy you know.
Back to work for me. Have you seen the movie? Did you like it? Any not- to- miss movies you might recommend? I need more movies.
A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.
:: Excited to go the the Vermont Cheese makers Festival
:: Grateful to live by the lake and have cool water for respite from the sweltering heat
:: Savoring summer reads with my feet in the lake
:: Contemplating fresh green peas, fresh ricotta and pasta
:: Noticing the shift from humid hot to brisk cool air that takes place each morning
:: Listening to Ella
:: Writing a piece on a topic that is dear to my heart
:: Grateful for boys, mud fights and lakes to have them in
:: Struggling to find the words to express my understanding for the above mentioned piece
:: Wanting to make ice cream everyday, maybe this one today!
:: Striving to spend more time here
A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.
The days of summer are upon us, long, warm and sticky. The school children are out and the neighborhood is alive with children's voices during the week. The hose comes out and drenches everyone and it's all okay because it's summer. The evenings are so long and pleasant that we often find ourselves astonished by how late it is yet how high the sun is.
The strawberries are here, sweet and ripe for eating, the raspberries are coming. Blueberries are not too far off. The Farmer's Market is gorgeous with greens, lettuce, spinach, kale, spring onions with red bulbs. The garden is finally dry and beckoning, "plant me now before it's too late!"
Musing now, over the days and weeks to come, full of summer's warmth, light and goodness, on what I want to accomplish, notice, savor, support, nourish, release. Right now I am:
:: wanting to return to blogging here yet finding my energy directed here
:: savoring the flavor, texture and relationship with the ingredients of homemade ice cream
;; amused by the simple happiness our chicks seem to have in pecking and scratching and eating slugs :: working hard to get the July Issue of the The Wonder of Childhood Magazine up :: grateful to have a new fully functioning computer to work on! :: waiting for blueberries to ripen so I can bake this :: bemused by little boys' fascination with fireworks and smoke bombs :: wondering what it must be like to be a large wooly dog in this heat :: enjoying meals outdoors as often as possible :: discovering the yumminess and simplicity of cedar plank grilling :: loving summer walks on a nearby farm :: remembering how pleasant it is to stretch out and have a restful read in the heat of the afternoon :: looking forward to some lazy days of catching up with old friends :: exploring plans to build a movable chicken run this summer :: baking strawberry muffins today :: heading out to the garden before the rain to plant some potatoes :: considering a commitment to blogging here daily, to get into the swing of it :: hoping you'll have patience and bear with me on that
:: thankful for the inspiration!
:: grateful for this most amazing online community!
:: giving up the search for my camera to add photos to this post!
A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember, inspired by Amanda Soule
Joining in with Ginny's Yarn Along over at Small Things.
It's done, finally, with a great big ta da! The four part series on Knitting and the First Grader for the Magazine begins here, if you are interested. It includes a piece on Introducing Children to Knitting with a Visit to the Farm, Make Your Own Knitting Needles, an article by Angela Mobley on How to Teach Children Knitting, handwork verses and instructions for how to make the simple spring chick, above.
The book on my night stand remains Anita Shreve's, The Last Time They Met. I am still greatly enjoying it and slowly plodding through it.
Spring cheer to all! and Autumn cheer to you down under!
