School for all Seasons

Seasonal Homeschooling

2011-10-21T15:43:00.005-04:00

Article: Seasonal Homeschooling

This time of year in North America is brilliance

of color and the crisp autumn breezes blow in

a longing for coming together and celebrating family.

Homeschooling in nature can be a teachers dream and

a child's playground. There is so much for the senses to

behold!

The smell of fires burning and apple, pumpkins and hay.

Feeling crunchy leaves, nuts, pinecones to collect for play.

Tasting apple cider, pumpkin pie and other tasty treats inspired

by the outdoors harvest.

Allowing children time to explore and commune with nature can be

the best “teacher” around. For, what could be better than a child

learning animal behaviors, finding birds nests and eggs by actually

experiencing life outdoors.

Here's a few tips for seasonal homeschooling.

*Use what is around you- learning counting or simple math? Use acorns, rocks, shells
or whatever is locally available. Collecting is part of the fun. Besides being economical,
it teaches what bounty is right in your backyard.

*Nature Journals can be a great way to document what is happening for an older child.
They can write and draw what they see while they are outside in their favorite tree.

*Use the festivals. Fall has many great festivals to celebrate and this is a great time to make a bonfire, roast some marshmallows and explore your nature area. Invite some other homeschooling families to make it really special.

*Create a Nature Table. A seasonal or monthly table to display current findings is a wonderful way to bring a hint of nature inside. Make sure to make safe for very young hands.

*Carve out Nature Time. Give your child “free play” time to roam, explore and just “be”. It is amazing what they will learn during this unstructured moments. Sometimes learning happens in the best more organic ways. ;)

Perfect Bread

2011-08-19T10:46:00.005-04:00

I have tried for years to make a good bread by hand and each time have failed in one way or another. The bread doesn't rise has been my main challenge or it is all mushy inside (undercooked).

But, I was determined to find a recipe that would really help me step-by-step with wonderful ingredients to sink my hands into.

I found it! The blog Farm Fare had the perfect one for me.

It worked the first time, but just to make sure it wasn't a fluke, I made 3 more loaves and to my delight (and my family's stomachs) we now have homemade bread in the pantry and freezer.

I plan to make the recipe (which makes 3 loaves) each Sunday so we may have our organic bread at a fraction of the price and honestly- I love the fact that I made it with my own hands. :)

Summer Review

2011-07-11T13:28:00.004-04:00

As we are passing the summer days, I spend time listening to the endless chatter of my
2 almost 9-yr olds. I notice a few holes in the learning and where a bit more help
might be needed.

They are both reading daily as they love it! So, this is helping them progress on.
I had planned on continuing the multiplication tables and will start this in the next week
or so.

We did a time review, as one of my girls was not quite getting how to tell the time
on an analog clock. I found a pretend clock with moveable hands I had purchased years ago and after a few minutes and lessons, she gets it!
It is amazing how when they are ready or just need a small review, the learning
happens magically!

I also got them each a spiral notebook where they can write messages to me. This is a great way to keep the writing going. I gave one of my girls 4 words (just picked any!) and she had to create a short story (3-4 sentences) using those words. Really fun! And she came back for more ;)

I have sifted through my stack of books for planning grade 3 and discovered a LARGE pile
of guides and stories I never got to during 2nd grade. I perused through and saw some things
I know would be beneficial. My solution? Use them as a review this summer or during those first weeks of the new school year.

I probably will do some of it this summer in a very casual way. Not "Here is our lesson". I may just start reading a story or draw a few words on a black board.

It is so nice to just know their skills so well, I can tweak or add as needed. More benefits
of homeschooling!

Would love to hear how your summer planning is going...leave a comment if you have a minute

July 4th Activities

2011-07-07T13:37:00.004-04:00

We started sewing this lovely bunting with out friends from Atlanta.
Here are the steps we followed if you are interested in making one. It was very
basic if you have some sewing skills. I have always wanted to make one and now I plan
to do more for other festivals and seasons!

Here is the tutorial I used to sew these

Enjoy! Would love your comments and ideas for other colors or uses

Riding down a southern country road

2011-06-26T12:11:00.004-04:00

We started biking each morning before the heat sets in.

Today, we went a new way to our local grocery. Amazingly,
we discovered an unpaved road. There are still some around
here.

So, here are the girls biking happily down a sandy, gravel street.

I love that we have many places that we can get to by bike. Though we
do have a busy street, Highway 17, we go the back roads or the bike trail.
We can get to 2 grocery stores, bank, my favorite coffee shop, several
restaurants, post office, the beach, a great consignment shop and the library!

A lovely beach town we live in. Wanna come visit? ;)

Spelling & Reading Review

2011-06-23T08:00:00.001-04:00

We have started reading again after a few weeks "down time" and I am noticing the holes
and places that need a little work. Having twins does not mean they are in the same place!

I got them new books to read and we have started playing games while walking or riding our bikes. I say a word and they spell, or we work on vowel sounds and how they fit into the words.

Today, I decided to get them each a notebook for writing back and forth with me. They are both in very different places with reading and writing, so this will not hold one back or make the other feel "behind". For my beginner reader we just wrote sentence back and forth, I did not correct the spelling, but if there was a word I didn't understand, she had to fix it. For my upper level reader, I gave her 4 random words and asked her to write a "story" using those words. What fun she had and a very cute story ;)

I plan to do some of this as well as after lunch reading in our hammock, to keep things fresh, but in a very relaxed state this summer.

Summer Solstice

2011-06-21T12:37:00.006-04:00

Summer sun, summer sun we watch as you set Sending your long arms of light to the west Summer sun, summer sun you shine so bright As you begin your return to the night
-from Circle Round

We began the day with a sunrise on the beach. It was so magical and we saw 2 loggerhead turtle nests!

When we came back home we baked sun cupcakes with a sprinkle of darkness (chocolate chips) I got a great idea from the Circle Round book. The girls made time capsules with items like a letter to themselves, the top 10 things they love, pictures etc. to be opened next summer solstice. They loved this! They spent all afternoon working on it and even decorated the shoe boxes with suns. We also planted sunflower seeds saved from our sunflowers from last year.

Our day ended with a bonfire using our winter solstice Christmas tree. We did the turning dance around the fire and let go of any things we wanted to release (for hubby and me).
Magical day.

Fathers Day

2011-06-20T15:52:00.004-04:00

The girls spent hours designing and creating a wonderful beeswax
"dad" in a fishing boat. Modeling our latest fishing boat adventures,
they added every detail down to actual fishing line for the pole!

We prepared a nice breakfast for daddy followed by a relaxing day, a bike ride to his favorite coffee shop for frapps, then my mom and dad came over and I cooked dinner! We even had homemade peach cobbler from local peaches.. it was a wonderful to treat him like a king for the day! (but I am glad he is back to cooking today!)

Spring Celebrations

2011-03-27T21:14:00.000-04:00

We had a wonderful 1st Day of Spring. The weather was wonderful and we were able to
enjoy the day. We started with a Spring Poem.

Last year we saved pepper seeds from our garden, so we planted them today in our eco-pots. Still a bit cold here, we can bring them in if the nights get below 40.

Then, we picked our young lettuce from the garden for a spring salad. The girls went searching throughout the yard for other 'edibles' they could add... dandelions, mint, herbs, and viola flowers were selected.
Lily even went a step further and made her own salad dressing from water and herbs!

Lovely Day :)

Planting the early garden

2011-03-04T08:20:00.000-05:00

A few warm days and my hands are back into the earth tilling, weeding, digging and removing debris.

We had some winter veggies that didn't make it through our unseasonable cold winter. The broccoli made it and if we can keep the rabbits from munching the leaves, it should grow quickly.

New plants that went in include cabbage, lettuces, more broccoli, parsley. Seeds we sowed were snow peas, beets, spinach, swiss chard, and lettuces.

What fun to keep an eye on small shoots coming up just in time for spring! more gardening coming soon...

Candlemas

2011-02-03T20:54:00.000-05:00

We had a lovely time making our own candles this year. As we had just finished talking about time, seasons and calendars, it was perfect for discussing Ground Hog day, coming of spring and how people in pasttimes used candles in their lives.

A few notes on candlemaking* get all supplies ahead of time and read instructions carefully. I found a nice library book called "Basic Candle Making" that was very helpful and had a lot of pictures. This is a long process that cannot be rushed and you can't stop in the middle. Give 3 hours or more.

Here we heated the beeswax until it melted in our make-shift double boiler.

I stared the candle by dipping each wick for 1 minute in the hot wax. It made the wick stiff when it cooled. Then it was an "assembly-line" production. The girls each dipped and I would get the kinks out by running my finger down each candle to straighten it.

After about 10 dips they began to look a bit like candles. We made our own drying rack out of 2 chairs, a broom handle and a garden stake! The tiny ones on the garden stake became our birthday candles. So cute!

We ended up really needing more wax, because when they got to this point the wax was too low in our dipping can, that it made fat candles on the bottom and thin on top. But, we love them! We finished by rubbing them slightly on some waxed paper and trimming the bottoms.

We are wrapping and giving them as Valentine's Day presents..
*note* we used a large Bushs Baked bean can to melt our wax in and it worked great. The only expense was for the beeswax blocks (much cheaper than the pellets and can be cut with a sharp knife) and the wicks.

Seasons, Calendar & Time Block

2011-01-31T13:56:00.000-05:00

When I planned out my blocks for this 2nd grade year, I purposely set this block for January. The New Year celebration seemed to lend itself to this as perfect timing.
We started talking about the new year (think whole to parts)... then we went into Seasons. Of course, we have been talking seasons for years, but we started with Winter and then went around the year.

The Calendar we decided to make is more of a Wheel of the Year.. see my pic below. This is a beautiful way to illustrate the seasons with pictures and mark birthdays and other holidays and festivals.

They quickly learned the Months verse."Thirty days has September, April, June and November...."

Then we drew in our Main Lesson Books pictures of the months and a verse about each one. This was an extended lesson on writing for them. But, they loved drawing the monthly pictures. In most, they drew the same tree, but with different leaves and scenery depending on the month. Even though they knew the seasons, they seemed to really "feel" this by drawing it out.

We drew out a full calendar page for February in which we will document the weather and phases of the moon each day.

Time was a lot of fun to discuss. We talked about the ancient clocks: shadow sticks, sundials, hourglasses and candle clocks and why people need to know what time it is.

Due to rainy weather, we made our own tree (tall candlestick) and used a flash light to demonstrate the sun rising in the east and setting in the west and how the shadows looked. The girls loved this! I think it turned out better because they could control the sun!

We then made a clock. (This was so easy and fun!) We painted our paper plates, drew on the numbers talking about minutes and hours and where they are on the clock. I brought in a lovely clock we have on the wall and showed them.

Catching a Hummingbird

2011-01-23T09:03:00.000-05:00

Saturday morning was cold with a chance of snow flurries, but that didn't deter us or Hummingbird expert, Doreen Cubie from setting our sights on catching a hummingbird.

We live in a temperate climate and about 4 years ago I noticed a little hummer still coming to our feeder well after Thanksgiving. I checked it online and that led me to Doreen's site. She lives about 30 miles south of me and was interested in coming and trying to tag our bird. It was magical! She caught our young male Ruby throat and my then 4 year olds were mesmerized! She returned the following December and almost caught another, but he outsmarted us!

Right after New Years Day, I noticed a male Ruby-throat at our feeder! We have had one of the coldest winters on record here, yet there he was. I changed out the frozen water and cleaned up the feeder. Then I saw him again last Tuesday and emailed her. It was perfect timing for her as she is traveling all over the south catching birds and she happened to be here this week.

She arrived at 7:30am and it was about 32 degrees. She said they usually come quicker when it is cold, because they need the sugar water to get going. She set up her bird-cage trap around our feeder.

It only took about 10 minutes before we spied the hummer form my office window. He went to the cage and tried to get in, he went around to the door opening and flew in to get his morning "coffee". She has the door on a long piece of fishing line. When he flew in she pulled the line and the door shut. She carefully took him our and put in a mesh bag. Brooke got to hold him. See him at the bottom? His beak was sticking through and it felt like a sharp needle.

Then Doreen takes him to her "lab" (back of her truck) and looked for any tags. We thought he may be our bird from a few years ago, as she had re-tagged many birds that return to the same place each winter. But he has no tag. He is a full male that weighs about 3.2 oz about the weight of a dime!

She tagged his foot and then wrapped him in the toe of a stocking and fed him from my feeder. he drank and you could see his throat moving and his tongue!

Here he is. His throat looked quite orange and she said that was an older male.

Then we were done and ready to set him free. As before, the girls put their hands together and Doreen laid him gently in and removed the stocking. It takes him a minute to realize he isn't bound anymore. This one was really ready to fly away- he stayed only long enough for me to click this one picture, then flew off!

What magical fun!

Three Kings Day

2011-01-12T23:07:00.000-05:00

We had such a wonderful day last week, I wanted to share.

I started by reading the story of Babushka from Family, Food & Friends. Then we made our Three Kings cake (gingerbread this year!) I strung up the 12 stars to represent the 12 Days of Christmas, as this is the 12th Day. We sang the song of Babushka (Sing a Song of the Seasons) and I cut the cake into 4 yummy slices. Each of us chose a slice and Lily got the coin!

She is King for the Day.

On Saturday, we celebrated a Family Day by going to a quaint cafe and having a hot chocolate with roasted marshmallows (toasted in front of us!) and then we went bowling!

Winter Crafts

2011-01-01T10:03:00.001-05:00

A very good friend of mine, Illya, gave me a beautiful knitted/felted bowl yesterday. I wanted to share this with you because I really love it AND it is an easy project to make.

It seems this time of year lends itself to snuggling up on the couch and pulling the knitting basket close. I am comforted every time I feel the wooden needles and the wool yarn wrapping around my fingers. Maybe it is that inward breath we feel during the dark, cold days. We don't feel compelled to "do" things, especially outdoors. It is a time for reflection on the year past and planning for a new season of in and out breaths.

Here is the link to pattern she sent to me.

I would love to know if you decide to make one, send me a picture! I am going to start one next week as soon as I get some double pointed needles :)

Holiday Memories

2010-12-31T10:08:00.000-05:00

I have been so busy this holiday season with normal busy stuff and also planning our my business for 2011, so I thought I would just put up 1 post that will "catch up" the past month!
I am dedicated to more frequent posts next year ;)

Hope you all had a wonderful season and are looking to the new year for joy and inspiration for all your dreams!

Thanksgiving at grandmas

Celebrating Advent

The Tree

Making homespun gifts, the girls really did well sewing on my machine.

Lily snapped this one of me knitting a cowl (while working at my desk)

Here was the finished product. My first attempt at circular needle knitting. I am making more!

The Family Holiday card

Night of a Thousand Candles at Brookgreen Gardens

Brooke lighting a candle at our Winter Solstice Festival

Baking Day with Grandma

Winter Solstice Table

Snow!!

Winter Festivals

2010-11-23T11:13:00.000-05:00

Did you know that Advent starts this Sunday? The winter festival season will be in full swing in just days. Are you prepared? Thinking back over the past few years, I have learned so much about the true meaning of this "season". This is what I love about Waldorf, it has turned out 1-day big-bang into 6 weeks of gentle, thoughtful giving, celebrating and creating.

We start by making our Advent wreath. I use the same grapevine wreath each yr and we add greenery from around the yard. I found a 5-candle holder in black iron that we will slip into the center and add candles. Each week we add the corresponding mineral, plant, animal, etc.. and lit the 1st, 2nd, third candle counting down to Christmas Eve.

My favorite part of this breathing in season, is the Winter Solstice. We do our spiral on that night complete with greenery, apples and candles. We have dinner by candlelight and the kids adore it! They talk about it all year..
To hear more about these wonderful festivals and to get stories, ideas, verses and more check out my newly released workshop & guide- "Winter Festivals Made Easy"
It includes history and ideas about: Advent, St. Nicholas, St. Lucia, Hanukkah, Winter Solstice and Christmas. Waldorf teacher Anne Cleveland from the Santa Cruz Waldorf School is gracious enough to share her wonderful experiences with us! If you are unsure of what to do or how to do it, she will ease your mind and give you the best tip- creating an inner experience for you and your family.

Blessings to all!

Geometric Math

2010-11-21T16:58:00.000-05:00

We spent the last 2 weeks following part of Eric Fairman's Path of Discovery 2nd grade guide. I loved the concept of Geometric Math and since this was our first Math block this year, it was a gentle interactive way to re-introduce.

Here are some of the pictures and drawing we did. The girls really enjoyed this and I did too. It was amazing the "feel" they got from walking and drawing these designs.

The last part was to tell the story of the Circle & the Square and then free hand draw a square within a circle. However, there was no story given in the guide. So, I made one up I thought you may enjoy it and feel free to adapt it for your lessons.

The Circle and The Square:

Once there was a circle laying flat on the ground. He didn't mind looking up at the clouds going by during the day and the twinkling stars at night. But, one day he heard a lot of noise and fun coming from down the street. The more he listened, the more he wished he could go see what was happening that seemed like so much fun! If only he could life himself up, maybe he could see. He struggled, and struggled and then- he was up! Wow, he looked around by turning himself this way and that. He could see all around and he heard the commotion coming from the next block. The circle started rolling down the hill! When he got to top of the next hill, he spied a square, laying around as he used to be. He told the square his tale of lifting himself up and heading toward the fun sounds. the square wanted to join him. He lifted himself up and looked around. But when he tried to "roll" he just kept falling down. The circle got an idea and asked the square to jump up into him and hang on. Then away they went!
They found a carnival at the end of street and what fun they had rolling around checking out all the sites.
(I used a lid from a jelly jar as the circle and a square post-it note to demonstrate while I told the story)

Enjoy!

The Spiritual Side of my Life

2010-11-15T11:02:00.000-05:00

With my interview with Neale Donald Walsch, author of "Conversations with God" today, I have been looking at the spiritual side of my life. I have also taken a look over the past year of my business and seen the way source has weaved its energy into my success. This amazing little book has introduced me to a new concept which I have just implemented called, tithing. It is something I heard about years ago but didn't understand until I read the chapter in this book. It is: giving back to a place or person of inspiration. This is much different from my visions of donating weekly at a place of worship.

If I hear a piece of music that inspires me, read a book that uplifts me or just get some advice from a friend that offers me hope. That all counts! She calls it "spiritual food" and it is what makes you remember who you are, feel joy, get inspiration or know everything is going to be alright.

I am in my second week of tithing 10% of what I earn through The Waldorf Connection. At first, I felt hesitant, but after sending someone that first check, I felt great! And now I am on the "look out" for more inspirations. This is how it works. You will start to see the good out there. And the universe always gives back to you what you are giving to others. Check out the book, it could change your whole perceptions around money & abundance and giving.

Toothless!

2010-11-01T09:27:00.002-04:00

My "baby" finally lost that big front tooth this weekend. I say "baby", but as you know I have twins, so that is impossible. But, she is my smaller less-tooth-loosing sweetie. In fact, her sister lost her front tooth almost 1 1/2 yrs ago!
But, here we are and it was nice to have that time in between, so this seemed like a big deal again.

We had a very busy weekend with visits from the ToothFairy and the Sugar Sprites (did you leave out your candy??) As well as Halloween activities and it is also mu husbands Birthday! Yikes!

A Fortune Teller and a Fairy set out on the candy hunt.

"Mrs. Applebee" made an appearance and went trick-or-treating last night at the girls requests. She brought her pencil and ruler and used her "school marm" charm to keep the kids in line. LOL

Happy Birthday sweetie!

First Weeks of Fables

2010-10-17T21:20:00.000-04:00

Our fables are going well. I chose to do wolf & dog fables first, as my twin girls are really into wolves at the moment. We did The Shepherd Boy & the Wolf (the boy who cried wolf). This was important as one of them is going through this phase right now.
During writing our sentences, I highlighted the nouns in "orange" but without explanation, as recommended by Eric Fairman in his Grade 3 Path of Discovery.
Then we did The Wolf and The House Dog. I decided to mix things up a bit and create a moving picture in our main lesson books. See the picture, it was so easy and the girls loved it! They re-created the story several times while "acting it out"

I also introduced punctuation, as Lily is reading so well, she needed to have this so her reading out loud would be easier. I created a fun punctuation game! First, I wrote a sentence on the blackboard 4 times.

I am hungry.
I am hungry!
I am hungry?
I am hungry, thirsty, and tired.

I explained each ending punctuation and comma. Then they had to walk across the room and when I siad the punctuation, they had to act it out. Example- they walked while I said "I am hungry" period. (stop) then they had to stop.

When I used the exclamation mark they jumped! Question mark was a shoulder shrug and holding arms up like "I don't know" and a comma meant a -pause- and then continue walking.. What fun! And it really was exciting to bring movement into the lesson. They got it!

We also made these orange bird feeders from Rhythm of the Home summer edition. The girls hng them in their nature house (a thicket of bushes they play in)

Tall Tales Block

2010-10-03T08:11:00.000-04:00

We began our 2nd grade school year with an alphabet & number review. The girls wrote all the letters in their main lesson books and this let me know what still needed more work.

Tall Tales was a fun way to begin this quirky 2nd grade curriculum. I wasn't sure how the stories would be received, but they really seemed to enjoy them!

Our first tale was not a popular one, but it is a "girl legend" called Dona Flor. Set in New Mexico, this giant woman helps the village with their "big mountain lion" by discovering he is only a baby roaring into a hollow log from atop a mountain.

Next, we did John Henry and Paul Bunyon.

We were also reviewing vowel sounds by bouncing a ball, bean bag tossing and just reading some basic readers. Brooke was needing a bit more practice and someone recommended "Reading--literature: the primer" by Harriet Treadwell. It has been amazing!

Here was a fun blackboard drawing of Johnny Appleseed sleeping under the stars with his fire smoking. I really like using the chalk!

A Painting day gave us a chance to paint covers to our main lesson books. This helps us know our own (yes, I include myself as I have one that I work in). I ended up buying thick drawing pads from the craft store with a odd picture on the cover, so these wet-on-wet's are lovely to hide that.

The girls write the sentences and decorate around the page with form drawings.

We spent time learning "camp fire" songs like "I've been working on the railroad", "Dinah won't you blow your horn" and the girls favorite, "Clementine".
I think at this point they have a good foundation of reading. Lily is reading almost any book she finds around the house and Brooke has grasped the basics enough to move forward.
Next up, Fables.

Michaelmas

2010-10-02T20:10:00.001-04:00

Our festival this year was extended due to 5 days of rain. We spent a rainy day telling a lovely story by Christine Natale from her "Fairy Tales" book called "The Strong Boy".

While I told the story, we warmed our beeswax. Then we each made part of the dragon and fastened him to the candle (by using a hair dryer on low). He came out amazing and honestly,they did most of it.

See the fire coming out of his mouth? We did add his 4th leg before he went on the candle.

The next day, I told the story of St.George and the Dragon and we made the dragon bread.

Here he is before we baked...

The girls enjoyed decorating his body using raisins for scales and sunflower seeds for teeth and spines. Last night we had a bonfire, lit our candle and slayed our dragon. He was tasty!

I found a Form Drawing that looked like an eye and we drew our "Dragon Eye" in our main lesson books. What fun!

The winner is...

2010-09-17T18:36:00.000-04:00

The winner of the Little Acorn AfterSchool Guides is: mommystinch
Please email me at donnaashton@thewaldorfconnection for info on claiming your prize!

Thank you to all who entered! And Thanks to Eileen at Little Acorn Learning

More blogging coming soon...

Donna

Little Acorn Learning contest!

2010-09-09T16:22:00.000-04:00

Win a FREE Autumn After-School Guide and After-School Menu from Little Acorn Learning

For those of you with younger children or who are supplementing Waldorf into after-school time, Eileen has created the After-School Guide & Menu. The ideas can also be used with older children as weekend activities.

After-School Guides include Book ideas, Weekend crafts, Handwork, Verses & Songs, Stories, Recipes and more!
The After-School Menu (Autumn) has recipes, ideas, & schedules for Snacks, Dinner, Dessert, Weekend breakfasts, morning & afternoon snacks, lunch, dinner, & desserts. whew!

These afterschool guides were created to help parents and caregivers of all
types create a healthy, rhythmic and peaceful home for their school aged
children. These guides may be used with children attending traditional
schools, Waldorf schools, private schools, childcare centers or with
homeschooled children as an after-school and weekend tool to extend their
Little Acorn ‘Learning’. The afterschool guides were born as a result of Eileen’s blog post entitled Waldorf Afterschooling which you can read here:
http://eileensplace.blogspot.com/2010/01/waldorf-afterschooling.html

You can read more about Eileen Straiton and her Little Acorn Learning offerings at Little Acorn Learning

A special thank you goes to Marianne Frost who has contributed greatly to this project. Marianne has brought extensive experience and life to this project. She is a mother to five children, grandmother to four and seasoned Waldorf and public charter school kindergarten teacher of 20 years. Marianne later opened her own Waldorf inspired, nature-based Playgarden in Sonoma, California. She now lives in Chicago, IL, working as a professional nanny, bringing Waldorf inspiration into private homes while expanding her experience through writing. Among her consulting advice and seasonal ideas, Marianne’s beautiful color stories, monthly handwork project and insightful extended learning tips are included in these guides for you to enjoy.

It is our hope that our journey and experiences as two women on different points of very similar paths will help guide you in your most very sacred work as mothers, fathers, teachers and caregivers by humbly offering you the following guide.

**To be entered in our drawing, sign-up for Little Acorn's mailing list and come back and comment here!

Summer of the Dragonflies & Butterflies

2010-08-30T09:00:00.013-04:00

My girls have spent this hot, humid summer catching dragon, damselflies & butterflies. Did you know that dragonflies bite? I sure didn't! But, L & B have explored every aspect of these quirky creatures in the most natural way- by observing, by looking, and touching and holding.

Ginger Lemonade

2010-08-29T12:06:00.000-04:00

What could be more refreshing than ice cold lemonade during this last hot days of summer?

Here is a wonderful recipe that is also healthy. It really perks you up!

* 2inches fresh ginger root
* 2-3 lemons
* stevia to taste
*2 quarts of water

Wash & peel ginger. Grate is finely over a bowl. Squeeze the grated ginger mash with your fingers to extract the juice (I covered mine with a lemon net) Discard the dry mash. Bring water to a boil. Remove from heat and add ginger juice ans juice from 2-3 lemons (I used 2). Add Stevia and stir well. *Note, I used fresh stevia leaves from my garden that I crushed with a mortar & pestle. I used about 5 leaves-wow! first time trying this and it is sweet :)
Drink hot or chill. Add ice and slices of lemon.

Kosher Pickles

2010-08-28T15:48:00.000-04:00

Our second attempt at canning this summer ended up being a wonderful, easy jar of dill pickles!

After making the bread & butter batch, I was prepared for a 2-day process, but was pleasantly surprised how easy it was.

Per Jar:
5 pickles sliced into spears
9 oz. water
5 oz. white vinegar
1/4 tsp sugar
2 dill heads
1 large garlic clove
1 onion, chopped
1 tbsp kosher salt
handful of mustard seeds

Chop onion & garlic and add to clean jar. Add mustard seeds. Pack pickles in vertically. Boil water & vinegar just to a boil. Pour vinegar mixture into jar and refrigerate.

Bountiful Harvest

2010-08-09T09:07:00.000-04:00

Our garden had an explosion around the end of July. We had so much to harvest every day!

Our cantaloupes did really well. We ended up yielding about 10, but some were small.

Here is a fabulous recipe that DH made with our sweet bell peppers.

The Dog Days Parade

2010-08-08T10:00:00.000-04:00

Our neighborhood held is "Dog Days of Summer" Parade and it was HOT! The theme was "dog" days, so some floats were decorated with animals and there were dogs walking. L & B dressed up as cats and decorated their bikes with things and even put the cards on the spokes so they "flapped".

It was a lot of fun. The local fire dept was there with their trucks and tours for the kids. A face painter was on site to decorate.

The girls won "best bike"

They won a free rental for a bicycle built for 2- so that will be fun for us when it cools down a bit.

Sun-dried Tomatoes

2010-08-07T09:00:00.001-04:00

We made our own sun dried tomatoes out of the small cherry ones and a few bigger that I cut.

It was very easy! Just cut in half or quarter and gently remove seeds (this is optional)

Then place on a baking sheet and cover with cheese cloth or I used a clean, cotton burp cloth.

Place in the sun for about 2 days (90 degrees and above) and voila!

You can freeze in a baggie or put in herbed olive oil for refrigerator storage. Yummy in pasta or on pizza or in a salad.

Nature Table

2010-08-03T08:14:00.000-04:00

My summer nature table was looking tired and I didn't have anything *special* going on.

Check out my Waldorf Connection blog for the nature table transformation (with a little help from a friend)

You can join me over there! :)

Donna

Summer Sunrise

2010-07-21T11:07:00.023-04:00

A few summer's ago we started this beautiful tradition of a summer sunrise on the beach.

We take a light breakfast (and hot tea for mom) and a blanket and go across the street to the beach.

It is always the best part of day, cool breeze and not too many people. We lay down our blanket and watch as the sky evolves from grey, to light pink to orange.

It is so serene and energizing. I always say ,"We'll do this again." But, we never do, until the next year.

Down in the Meadow

2010-07-17T08:44:00.000-04:00

I came across this sweet little blog and thought I would send the info along to you. She has beautiful items & a wonderful blog. Check out her blog and market

down in the meadow market

I have created this meadow market swap shop for all those who love to browse through markets and find treasures...Down in the meadow market you will find knitted, felted and fabric toys that are Waldorf inspired . I hope to add goodies for Mama's too. I also spin so I will have natural handspun wool to swap. I am open to trade with other things. Tea's, edibles, cards, fabric, knitting needles etc.... We can exchange names and addresses and wait eagerly for our parcels to arrive.

A weekend away

2010-07-11T11:11:00.001-04:00

My sweet girls went for a weekend away with Grandma. She took them a few hours away to see their cousin. These are the bags they decorated to hold their lunches for the road!

It was a quiet few days, but a much needed break for me. And, it was almost a get-a-way weekend for my and my hubby. Thought we stayed right here! We went out to dinner, went to a movie and walked on the beach...no babysitter needed *wink*

Homemade Pickles

2010-07-01T10:00:00.000-04:00

This year in our garden I decided to add a few pickling cucumbers so we could make sweet bread & butter pickles. We have had quite a crop coming in, so it was time to get to it. I have never canned anything before, so I checked out Youtube and watched it step-by-step.

Here is what we did.

Chop pickling cucumbers about 1/4" thick. Then put in a large bowl and cover with ice
and Kosher salt. Let stand about 3 hrs.

When the 3hrs is up, rinse and drain cukes. Pour 4-5 cups white vinegar into large pot. Add 2 1/4 cups sugar, 1 Tbsp mustard seed, 1/2 tsp celery seed, 1 tsp turmeric. Bring to a boil and add the cut cukes.

Get your canning jars ready!

Boil water in another large pot and carefully drop in jars and lids. Boil a few minutes then very carefully remove. There are special canning tools, but I don't have any- yet.

When your cucumbers start boiling again & looking like green pickles (about 15 min) they are ready!

Fill jars with a slotted spoon within 1 inch of the top. Then, add liquid brine to the top, add cover & screw on lid tightly. You are done! If you are planning on canning a lot and not refrigerating the cans, then do one more step. Put filled & lidded jars back in the boiling water and boil 10 min more. Water should cover jars by 1/2". Yum!

Simple Living Giveaway

2010-06-30T11:38:00.000-04:00

The Waldorf Connection is participating in the Block Party on Simple Homeschool so check it out! There are some great prizes

Waldorf- Celebrating Summer Solstice

2010-06-21T22:26:00.000-04:00

Summer Sunset- from Circle Round

Summer sun, summer sun we watch as you set
Sending your long arms of light from the west
Summer sun, summer sun you shine so bright
As you begin your return to the night

Celebrating the Summer Solstice is always bittersweet for me. I know the summer has just begun, yet I know it is the beginning of the end. It helps us remember not to get so attached to the way things are, as everything changes.
We always save the top of our Christmas tree to burn in our Summer Solstice bonfire. We planted sunflowers, and did our circle dance around the fire (well, close to the fire anyway- it was about 90 degrees outside)
Then, we offered our gifts to the fairies, who always leave little trinkets..

We came back in and had a yummy summer treat- ice cream followed by a story, To Be Like the Sun about sunflowers.

Garden Bounty

2010-06-15T13:03:00.001-04:00

Our organic garden is really producing after 2 weeks of hot, steamy weather. We have collected a handful of pickling cucumbers (which we will be making into pickles & relish) and few red tomatoes, a few cucumbers and a pepper. And there is a lot more on the way.
Our poor zucchini has been infested with zucchini borers (big white worms with black heads that eat the fruit from the inside) so, we may not be able to save them... I guess that is how it goes when you don;t spray.

We also have these tomato bugs (?) that we are handpicking to stay ahead of them this year. The girls actually love to go out and find bugs on the leaves and knock them off (or worse, put them in hot soapy water!) So I leave that job to them!
I have 1 more round of lavender blooming and I will cut it tomorrow before it gets too hot.(Did I mention it was 83 degrees when we got up this morning?)

Fields of Lavender

2010-06-08T11:31:00.000-04:00

A favorite springtime joy in my garden is when the lavender blooms. As a Master Gardner, I enjoy many flowers and have quite a variety around my home. Still, none compare to my love for lavender. Though they are not showy, spectacular blooms, their delicate fragrance and sweet purple buds promote mindfulness. You must bend down and brush them to release the aroma. The call me over for a smile quite often.

I have included a tutorial on Lavender Wands. I made 2 of these for my girls when they were babies and tucked them away in their baby boxes. I found them last year, still in tact and fragrant.
Click here for instructions.

Waldorf Education- 1st grade completed

2010-06-03T23:23:00.000-04:00

We are officially finished with our school year, though I have plans to do a few lessons and reviews during the heat of summer. It gets really steamy here July & August, so it will be refreshing to stay in the cool indoors and read.

It has been a magical year! My girls have been going through their main lesson books and reading what they wrote way back in the fall, when it was all foreign to them! So much development has happened and teeth have been lost. I thoroughly enjoyed the fairy tales and stories with colorful pictures and the way we felt into the letters. The Math Gnomes are so playful and they help my girls so much remember what is what (they especially like minus and his ragged, holey clothes!)

What a journey this has been so far and I feel it is just the first few steps along a path to unfolding. Thank you for all that are following along with our homeschooling days.

Catching Back up

2010-06-01T10:54:00.000-04:00

It has been a whirlwind around here with the Waldorf Expo and family coming in for the Memorial Weekend. But, I actually took a few days "off". At least, partly. If is hard with so much going on and so many people emailing and purchasing to step away from my computer.
Here are some photo's I took. Though I just realized we spent 2 days at the beach and not a picture was taken! Oh well.. the memories are there. :)

Kids picking the snow peas from our garden

We made homemade chocolate chip ice cream- yummy treat!

Everyone enjoyed a game of disc golf (in our backyard)

Did I mention the Banana Splits?!

Introducing- The New Logo

2010-05-18T16:47:00.000-04:00

After, recent changes to my website, my web guy made a new logo for me. I liked the color and style, but as one of my members stated "I miss the old Waldorf watercolor logo. This looks a bit cold." She summed up exactly what I was feeling! So, Saturday morning, I got all the paint supplies out and decided to paint my new background. The girls and I went in the backyard with our art boards, watercolors, brushes and paper. It was meditation for my soul! I have been so busy working on my computer, sending emails to get ready for my workshops I didn't realize how much I missed the creative tasks. It was pure bliss. I hope you can feel the energy and love in that stunning blue painting!

Here is what it ended up looking like..

Add Some Music to your day

2010-05-17T20:59:00.001-04:00

Today was the cello & violin recital. The girls were excited and not nervous which was very nice. It was a relaxing, fun afternoon. They played 2 songs with the group (about 20 other kids) and each did their own solo. After, were refreshments and socializing with friends. Their teacher Miss Cathy is so wonderful!

First Garden Harvest

2010-05-16T08:28:00.000-04:00

The Snow Peas are going wild and things are really sprouting in our newly planted garden. We had a small late winter garden with Swiss chard and spinach. The Snow peas are early spring vegetable due to the wilt and burn up in the heat.

New comers popping up their heads are radishes, carrots, cucumbers, zucchini, cantaloupe, lots of peppers!, tomatoes (heirloom and cherry) and planted this morning yellow wax beans, Lima beans, green bush.

Hanging 'em on the Line to Dry!

2010-05-15T09:53:00.000-04:00

After my talk with Hip Mountain Mama's, Suzy the other night about Eco-Friendly Kids, I was inspired to bring some small changes to our family. For some reason, the idea of a clothesline really resonated with me. So, I picked up some wooden clothes pins and a line from the local store and hung it up!

It took a but of rigging up to be tight enough to hold my sheets! (Can you see I have had no experience with this at all?) Anyway..I washed the girls sheets in hot water and added Eucalyptus oil (as recommended by Jennifer Tan from her Aromatherapy talk!) and then I hung them. It was wonderful!

A Pancake Breakfast- twin style

2010-05-13T22:46:00.000-04:00

Yesterday. my girls decided to make pancakes by themselves.

I re-wrote the recipe so they could read it. They did pretty well and only came to ask me once "Is this the baking powder?" They stirred, and flipped and served them up.

It was a nice treat and they ended up tasting great!

Math Processes

2010-05-11T15:26:00.001-04:00

We are continuing the four Math Processes this week with a cute story inspired by Oak Meadow 1st Grade Syllabus. The Gnome King has received a desperate letter from the Elf King. He needs some Gnomes to come and help his elves count out nuts for the animals for the winter. Of course, The Gnome King send his 4 favorite's Plus, Minus, Times & Divide to assist!
The girls are so much enjoying the way the Gnome's interact and they love the "jewels".

Here is a lesson we did with Plus.

Plus took 10 elves with him to gather nuts and acorns. They needed 100 nuts total. There were 10 elves.

Each elf carried 10 nuts in their wagon. I gave each of my girls 100 "nuts" to work with. It is interesting how they separated their piles so differently.

Here is another blogsite that has some Fun with Math Gnomes...

Preparing for Summer

2010-05-07T08:41:00.000-04:00

Spring is coming to a quick close around here in Coastal, South Carolina. The warm days start to turn humid and reach the high 80's by May. My girls are already asking "When does the pool open?"
After a summer-like weekend, I started to prepare for our longest season- Beach Time!
I fold up the throws that are scattered around the sofas and chairs. Beach towels are washed and our beach bag is re-packed with new sunscreen, lip balm, shell bags, a dog water bowl and miscellaneous items. Bathroom rugs are rolled up to reveal cool tile (much easier for vacuuming sand) The Pawleys Island Hammock is re-hung between our trees in the backyard. Beach chairs are taken down from the attic and dusted off.

Though the ocean waters are still a bit chilly, the sun and breeze is warm. A perfect time to enjoy the empty beach.

Aromatherapy for your Home- open your senses!

2010-05-06T10:03:00.000-04:00

Tonight...5pm pac/8pm eastern

"Aromatherapy for the Home- Open your senses!

Special Power Point Slide Presentation*****

I highly recommend you listen over the webcast, so you may view the slides as Jennifer treats us to a sensual aromatherapy session

http://themindfulconnection.com Register Here for tonight's workshop

Jennifer Tan is a certified aromatherapist, and was previous editor for The Aromatherapy Journal. She provides holistic consultations & workshops in the areas of Feng Shui, aromatherapy, flower essence, infant massage, birthing meditation and more! Some may know her as the talented fiber artist of Syrendell . She will bring her many talents to us tonight as she unearths the mysteries of aromatherapy.

Homeschool- Catching Up

2010-05-02T14:53:00.000-04:00

What do you do when your children are sick for a week? This is what I had to deal with, as my girls were diagnosed with strep throat last week.
Just when I was going to use that week to really dig in to our Math Processes. Just when I really needed to get this done before my workshops began. Sometimes, things just happen.
You can plan till the cows come home, yet life will through those curve balls to you when you least need them! Oh, you can go through your curriculum planner and see how to double-up on lessons or schedule some Saturdays or forget that big project. Or- you can just go with it.
I was worried that no school was getting done the entire week. But, looking back, much got done. When L, wasn't talking for 3 days, I decided to have her write to me. At first it was out of frustration of trying to figure out what she wanted. Then, it became a wonderful educational game! I heard Rudolf Steiner saying in my head, "Children learn to read by writing." I gave her paper and pencil and she had so much fun trying to write out a funny sentence. The game continued when I wrote back to her and she had to figure out what I wrote. Of course, it wasn't perfect, but I could read what she wrote. She even added a bit of comedy to her sentences in attempts to make me laugh!
Violins and cello's were played. Reader books were read and re-read. Even a game of bakery store was played. My twins used real food and some they colored into cookies and sold them at their shop, which I was told, they each owned "half of". Money (colored stones) was exchanged, change made. We also attended a local yard sale where they had a few coins to spend. Deciding which item they could choose, and spending wisely is a great life lesson.
Maybe the new skills I had planned were not introduced, but this down time was a great opportunity to reinforce what had already been taught.

Rembering Dreams

2010-04-27T17:35:00.000-04:00

My girls are just getting to the age where they can actually recall their dreams. Years before, I would tell them my quite bizarre dreams and they would look at me with wide eyes. They seemed in awe of how I could have this amazing nightlife of "movies", which is how vivid my dreams sometimes are. I knew at the time, they would make up a dream, while they looked around the room for something to add to the "dream".

Now, they are telling me details of the funky, misshapen stories, finally sticking in their consciousness.

Music Practice

2010-04-22T08:10:00.000-04:00

My girls play cello & violin. We have a very loose Suzuki teacher who understands Waldorf methods and she is really fantastic. I have never wanted to be one of those mom's insisting my kids practice every night and possibly ruin their love for music. But, we started having issues where they would not take out their instruments for days.

I tried to nudge a bit with, "Why don't you play a song for me?" or "Daddy has not heard your new song." Not much luck.
By accident one week, the girls left their instruments in the Living Room, out of the cases and ready to play. I was amazed how many time they just walked over and played a few notes! Usually, they were kept packed up in the school room. Out of sight, out of mind!
The music teacher said it was a great idea and not to worry about leaving them out (ok this time of year now that it is warm to keep them in tune)

I had each girl pick a safe new home for their instruments and they have played 2 or 3 times a day ever since!

Beautiful Blogger Award

2010-04-20T22:41:00.001-04:00

Thank you so much to my amazing friend, Jen of Ancient Hearth blog for passing this award to me!

I must now pass it to 15 blog I enjoy AND share 7 things about myself..Hmmm...
1) I am an organic Master Gardener and used to be a garden designer.
2) I love to read and have been found secretly "sneaking" a chapter or 2!
3) I cannot cook (and don't like to!) but I really enjoy baking
4) I actually enjoy diddling on my computer and I am discovering I might be a computer geek.
5) Being outdoors is my way of getting centered. All is well when it is sunny and birds are singing in the garden.
6) I am writing a children's spiritual book.
7) I am very happy being me.

Math Block- The 4 Processes

2010-04-19T12:07:00.001-04:00

I have been secretly waiting for this fun math block since the fall! I LOVE the stories of the gnomes and how they embody the temperaments and help explain the processes with the cute stories.

We have had a few gnomes around and my girls haven't really played with them much, so I wasn't sure how the gnome thing would go over.No worries! They are playing with them and the jewels right now. I finally made the 4 process gnomes (during my drive to Fla and back last week!) and they came out so cute (and easy) Here is a link to Ancient Hearth with instructions

I have several math books I am using to combine info and stories. Barbara Dewey's 1-3 grade math guide, Oak Meadow 1st grade syllabus, and Melisa Nielsen's (A Little Garden Flower) Math Book.

Here are the gnomes drawn on the blackboard with their sign above and how many "jewels" they brought to the king.

We drew in our main lesson books the four gnomes and added some manipulative jewels.

Tomorrow, more stories about each individual gnome and how they go about their jewel collecting!

The Trees are Letters

2010-04-10T17:59:00.000-04:00

Something happened yesterday that made me jump for joy, as a homeschooling mom! You know that thing that let's you say-This method works! Here is mine.

My little artist L, was in the school room for about 30 minutes drawing intensely. She came and asked for a stapler to put her pages together. She, then, presented me with a booklet of her "Letrs" (letters)

The first page had a tree drawn and a big "L" beside it. Then she wrote out the word "chreey" (I found out later that was her phonic spelling of "tree"- try it!) The next page had a tree with 2 branches extending up, like antennae and a "Y" beside it, this continued on for "V" (all with Chreey beside it) Then some pages with our cat, Olive drawn. One had her tail curved around in a "u" and "U" written beside it, "C" followed..
The last was Olive climbing steps with her hands out-stretched into a "K" and she wrote "Steps"

I smiled from ear to ear when I knew that she really internalized the letters..She told me she looked outside in the yard and these were the tree forms she saw (she showed me the V tree, 2 trees hooked at the bottom shaped in a V!)
I took a deep breath and let this success reach my soul.

Aromatherapy Bedtime

2010-04-08T19:18:00.003-04:00

I noticed it was taking longer, and longer to get my girls calmed down and "ready" for bed. Especially, L. Though they were in jammies and teeth brushed, they were still in that rowdy mode that seems to happen after dinner. My hubby suggested we move the bedtime up later. I pondered, they are 7 1/2 now, but I felt 8pm was plenty late enough already. (we start the undressing, etc.. around 7:30)

I decided to try another route first and so far it is working like a charm!

I announced one night if they were all ready and quietly lying in bed, they would get a lavender back rub and 2 books read to them. They scrambled quickly!

I dimmed the lights, lit a beeswax candle and rubbed some lavender back-rub oil onto their backs. While I rubbed, I started talking about the day and asking them to visualize what they enjoyed and what they were grateful for.

They were so quiet when I read I couldn't believe it! I kissed them good night, closed the door and they were sailing sweetly off to dreamland.

Homeschool Perspective

2010-04-07T22:28:00.000-04:00

One morning this week while taking our nature walk, I started thinking about homeschooling and the freedoms it brings.

This is an odd subject because most people see the opposite. My friends who send their children to school say the usual, "I don't know how you do it. You don't have anytime to do anything." Usually, I say, "Oh, I don't mind. I enjoy being with the girls, etc.."

This day, however, I looked at it from a new perspective. As we walked down our street, it was a picture perfect spring morning. Birds singing, squirrels chattering around, daffodils and cherry blossoms blooming. I thought how lovely it is to take our time and not be rushed in the mornings with a "hurry up out the door" schedule. We can take an hour walk if we want. We can go to the local Botanical Gardens for a "field trip". There are so many options and opportunities as homeschoolers!

Spring is such a wondrous time to explore life! I used to stare out the window of my classroom, wishing I could be out there instead of behind a hard desk or worksheets.. The school bus for elementary schooled children comes to our corner at 6:50am.. hmmm.. I am still snuggling in the covers dreaming of beautiful spring mornings at that time...

Easter Celebrations

2010-04-04T22:27:00.000-04:00

After hopping down the bunny trail and finding the hidden baskets, we were awakened by girls clamored into our bed to announce the muddy bunny paw prints they found in the kitchen! And a few pieces of lettuce from our garden!

The rest of morning was spent together baking Hot Cross Buns, a yearly favorite and perusing the goodies in the Easter Baskets.
Later, my parents came over for dinner and we took some lovely photos of the girls in their new Easter dresses in the garden.

My HUGE Birthday Surprise!

2010-04-01T15:45:00.000-04:00

Well, for once I am speechless. My family actually was able to surprise me with quite a gift last night. I rarely do not know what is going on in my house. If you knew me and my personality, you would see what a job this is.
After a nice dinner out, my parents and a few friends came by for cake. Then an envelope from my hubby revealed a CRUISE to the Bahamas!

And- it is for next Sunday! He is sending me and my mom for a much needed R&R trip, while he stays to take care of and school the girls. Could I be anymore lucky? *Smile*

Now, I am desperately trying to get those winter pounds off in 9 days!

Life is Science

2010-03-28T10:22:00.001-04:00

The creek at the end of our street (where I previously posted about our boat sailing) has now become the main attraction when we take our nature walk each morning. My girls run ahead so they can steal a few extra moments of playful bliss. Last week's discovery was tadpoles!
Out came the old fish bowls and they were hard at work with a butterfly net (!) and the tadpoles didn't have a chance. About 45 muddy minutes later, 8 were in the bowls and swimming in their murky new home.

I now know all about the eating habits of tadpoles. They will eat algae and other plants until their back legs come in. Then they turn into carnivores.. for now they are eating fish food and newly added creek water daily.

Isn't it amazing how life becomes our school if we just take the time to notice it?

Simply Sacred Play

2010-03-23T10:57:00.000-04:00

Each morning my girls get up and begin their daily play. Realizing how important creative play is, over the years we have provided open-ended toys and natural items (shells, acorns, tree blocks) to enhance their stories. My twins are 7 1/2 now and the other morning I sat in my office and listened to their play. I was amazed. The ideas and items they used to mold into what was needed for their game were incredible. I hear vocabulary words that far surpass what an average 7 yr old says (I especially love it when I hear a word from a book we just read). Their play is divided into "chapters" with interesting titles like "The magic snake finds the golden key"

I am currently reading a fantastic book called "Simplicity Parenting" by Kim John Payne. He is a waldorf education counselor and has worked extensively with Waldorf school and parents to "use the power of less to raise calmer, happier, and more secure children" (subtitle of book)

I highly recommend this book and I am only halfway through! After reading the first few chapters, epecially the one on a child's environment, I spent an afternoon with a large trash bags and some boxes whittling down my girls room. It ended up a truly calm room. The girls had so many clothes (my niece is one size up so we get many hand-me-downs) They could never keep their closet even remotely organized. I realized they didn't wear about 80% of the items! I cleared all but a few favorites and was able to consolidate into 1 dresser. This left room to make a "reading nook"-an old beanbag chair with a makeshift slipcover, a pillow, a few favorite books, crayons, and paper. They love it and are spending time in their room like never before. I just like to peek in, smile and wish I was 7 for a day.

Springtime Celebrations!

2010-03-21T20:15:00.003-04:00

We celebrate Spring each year planting Wheat Grass. My girls and I love it! We plant, cover and spritz the seeds each day until a tiny shoot pops up. It doesn't take long and is so fun to watch. By Easter, the grass is long and full and what says Spring more than vibrant Easter grass with a few eggs tucked in it?

Here is some we did from last year

It felt invigorating to feel that soil and seeds and plant new life!

We also updated our Spring Nature table. I am so excited to show you the lovely needle-felted Spring Maiden that I received from my friend, Jen at Ancient Hearth. She has just opened her virtual doors at her Etsy shop. Take a peek! Her work is amazing...

You can find all her hand-made creations at her Etsy Store...

St.Paddy's Day

2010-03-17T12:34:00.000-04:00

We always bake the Irish Soda Bread and dress in green. I will include the recipe, it is very easy and tastes delicious! I brought some shamrocks from the garden in to decorate for our holiday table.. Did you know those are edible? Check it out..

Back to more tasty treats.. Here is the bread recipe:

Irish Soda Bread

2 cups white flour, 2 cups wheat (I used 4 whole-whitewheat)
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
4 tbsp. chilled butter, cut in small pieces
1 cup raisins (I used brown & golden)
1 1/2 cups buttermilk or plain yogurt

Combine dry ingredients in large bowl. Cut-in butter until pea-sized.
Stir in raisins and buttermilk. Turn dough onto floured surface and knead
1 minute. Shape into disk and cut an "X" on top. Bake on greased baking sheet
for approx 45-50 minutes at 350 degrees F.

After our bread and tea snack, the girls wanted to go into the garden to visit the daffodils.

Racing Fun

2010-03-15T11:31:00.001-04:00

My girls (and I) ran in their first race on Saturday. It is the yearly St. Patrick's Day Health Run, a 4k race that runs through our neighborhood and right down our street. Each year, we watched from the windows and the runners sped by early in the morning. In more recent years, we went outside and cheered them on (kids idea!)

Last year, they started asking why they couldn't run, so I checked it out and we did the 1 mile Fun Run.

It was a blast! They got to chase the leprechaun down the street and back and mommy found out quickly she needs a bit more cardio work!

Sailing into Science

2010-03-12T14:19:00.000-05:00

My girls received 2 wooden sailboats for Christmas which they have been sailing in our large whirlpool tub. I noticed a creek that formed at the end of our street from all the rain this winter. I suggested we take a test run on a warm day this week. What a blast! We walked down and I sat on the bank and enjoyed an hour of active play, imagination and science exploration! It is what 1st grade science should be!
Of course, L & B were soaked and shoes were black with mud and slime, I smiled and tossed the clothes in the wash.

Patchwork Cat

2010-03-09T16:54:00.000-05:00

My daughter, L loves cats! Each week she check out a new cat book from the library. Not story books, but big books on all types of cats, how to care for them ,etc.. This week's cat book was filled with color photos, and that usually means I draw one for her. She handed me a large piece of heavy white paper and gave me particular instructions on the modifications that were to be made to this picture. I drew it as specified.
Later, she asked for the felt basket. I said she could use the sheets of felt. Here is what she created!

A Touch of Spring...

2010-03-03T13:30:00.000-05:00

Finally, I little bit of spring coming our way.

Even though it is March these daffodils are just peeking out their sweet little heads. I have tried to enjoy the colder, snuggly weather and just go with it.. It has been nice to knit and bake and cuddle under blankets, reading. O.K. Now, I am ready to plant my garden and get my hands dirty and my face in the sun.

Office Upgrade

2010-02-28T20:53:00.000-05:00

My desk/computer has been located in our homeschool room, so I can be near all the action. But, lately The Waldorf Connection has been keeping me very busy and I have needed a quiet space. My amazing DH heard my plea! Today, we made our spare bedroom into my private work space.

I was a little apprehensive about venturing into a different part of the house, where I would be a bit closed off. But when I moved my desk and rearranged furniture (something I love doing this time of year) it just felt right.

So, now I can actually *think* while writing an email and close the door if I need to make a call.

I am grateful for my wonderful husband, family and new office!

Last Workshop Tonight! Temperaments Part 2

2010-02-25T10:03:00.000-05:00

Another fabulous workshop by Kristie Burns! She talked for 75 min about the Sanguine and Choleric temperaments..She really got in-depth about ways to type each one with a long checklist of things to look for.

Did you know that a Sanguine can be overstimulated by their surroundings? and that they learn from action? Choleric can be picky eaters due to their good sense of smell? There were so very important points made about interacting with these children as moms/teachers.. Don't miss this!!

Kristie is offering a Buy One Get One on her curriculums and downloads for members of The Waldorf Connection! After you purchase, email her and ask for the "Donna Buy One Get One" and select your second item. You can even share with a friend to offset costs! Her websites for the discount are:

www.Earthschooling.com, www.HerbnHome.com, www.TheWaldorfChannel.com

Pin the Tail!

2010-02-23T09:42:00.000-05:00

Our word family today was the AW family... We played Pin the Tail on the Donkey!

We made 4 tails each with different AW words written on them. The girls each had 2 turns, but the poor donkey's tail didn't quite get in the correct place! I LOVE when school is FUN!

Word Families

2010-02-19T08:47:00.001-05:00

Since we have completed all the consonants and the vowel *keys*, we started a review of word families.
I have been using the Oak Meadow 1st Grade Syllabus for some great ideas. Did you know there are 38 word families? In this guide, they recommend introducing 3 per week for 10 weeks, then 4 for 2 weeks.
There is a word family reader that come with the OM package. I read the story for a particular family, then we do the activity and write in our main lesson book.

On the pages where we wrote out the word families along, I had them do a form drawing around the edge to make a border and decorate the page.

I am also using "The Wise Enchanter" by Shelley Davidow as an alphabet review. So far, it is a wonderful story about 4 children all around age 7. They have been chosen for their kind hearts and curious minds to help bring light and words back to the world.. **NOTE: It is a continuing story starting with A,B, C..so if you are going in another order to introduce letters, you may have to wait until you are done before reading this book. That is what we did, as we introduced the vowels last.

My girls continue reading the Bob books as easy readers. I hope to transition over to a more Waldorf-y reader as soon as I introduce the consonant blends.

More Waldorf Connection write-ups.. :)

2010-02-18T15:33:00.000-05:00

Check this article about The Waldorf Connection at a wonderful site called Waldorf Reviews.
She regularlry reviews books, curriculum, and waldorf websites... Isn't it amazing the resources that are popping up out there? Love it!

" Hello all.
I’m taking a little break from this lovely stay-home day to let you all know about some great workshops that are happening at The Waldorf Connection.
All of the wonderful people whose blogs you read regularly are offering workshops here on a variety of Waldorf subjects. Just take a gander at the topics being offered...."

Here is the rest of the article...

Thursday..Spring Celebrations with Eileen Straiton

2010-02-17T09:35:00.000-05:00

Join Eileen and I as we talk SPRING!!!!!

Preparing Yourself and Your Home for Spring

Spring Crafts and Activities

Creating a Spring Indoor Nature Space or Table

Planning Your Garden and Starting Indoor Seeds

Spring Cooking and Baking

http://thewaldorfconnection.com Register-free!

Sweet Moments

2010-02-17T09:02:00.000-05:00

Valentine's Day is such a fun holiday for all us ladies in the house. Daddy has become the giver of gifts (giving mommy a break).

He gets yummy chocolate hearts and candies from a local candy shoppe right near our home. For me, nothing can compare to the amazing dark chocolate truffles! Filled with rich, amazing smooth fillings..I try not to gobble them all the first day! *wink*

I did bake some homemade Heart-Shaped biscuits to go with our breakfast frittata.

YUM!

Tomorrow..Carrie from The Parenting Passageway

2010-02-15T12:13:00.000-05:00

The Waldorf Connection workshop: February 16 8pm est

The First Seven Year Cycle – Come and discuss why we do what we do in the Early Years, and the practicalities of mothering and living with small children under the age of 7.

Can't wait to talk to Carrie.. and psss..*there may be a giveway at her blog so check it out!

www.theparentingpassageway.com

A Winter Wonderland..Beach Style!

2010-02-14T17:49:00.000-05:00

It has been 11 years since our last snow here in Coastal SC, so you can imagine the excitement.. I have been perusing all the wonderful blogs this winter with their tranquil winter scenes. Now, I have my own outside my door, even if it is already melting away...

The Immense Snowman.. I thought he was a bit creepy, but hubby and girls loved him!

Balloons & Magnets

2010-02-12T11:18:00.000-05:00

I couldn't resist posting about the educational play my twins girls were creating the other day.

They received these great big magnets with heavy clips for Christmas. They hang their pictures and artwork on our fridge with them and they are industrial strength! For some reason, they began playing with them and noticed how they "stick together" and also "repel". A entire story was made up about the magnets going to school and some wanted to go in to class and others went away.. I was half listening, but it sounded so cute I perked up and went to watch where they couldn't see me!

Later, they began a new adventure with some balloons from a library Valentine's party.. They blew them up and let the air out, but this time they pulled the opening apart so it made that screeching noise.. Lovely.. but then they tied paper parrots (they love to draw animals, color them and cut them out and then they are their "pets") to the balloons and let them go for a ride! Why do they always fly around and land on the ground? they asked... I just smiled and knew that some Science was going on in my house today.

Handwork tonight!

2010-02-11T10:00:00.000-05:00

Join me as I chat with Heather Fontenot of Shivaya Naturals and Rhythm of the Home.. we are talking handwork! Tonight discussion will explore...

*The reasons behind handwork in Waldorf education

*The benefits of handwork

*Handwork and learning (how it incorporates into their education; science, storytelling, etc.)

*Building a creative foundation through handwork

*Boys and handwork

*The theraputic nature of handwork

*The ways that handwork can create sustainability

Should be an incredible show filled with great ideas....join us!

http://thewaldorfconnection.com

Crafty Valentine Ideas

2010-02-08T20:19:00.000-05:00

We are working on Valentine's crafts this week at The School for all Seasons..one of my favorite seasons is Valentine's! I love all the pink hearts and everything looks so joyous and sweet..and I also love chocolate :)

Here are a few things we will be crafting...
from Living Crafts magazine Spring 2009..Felting Heart Flowers

And from Better Homes & Gardens February issue..
The Paper Bouquet Handmade Cards: Start with card stock, then add leaves and stems cut from green paper.Create blooming frames using paper muffin liner and a photo.

Some additional Valentine's inspiration...

Cleaning house

2010-02-06T21:23:00.000-05:00

Well, the cleaning mood doesn't strike me often (LOL) but the last few days I have had this urge to really clean and re-organize my kitchen. This rainy Saturday was just the perfect atmosphere, so I decided to tackle it.

I took everything out of the cabinets and drawers. The shop-vac came in from the garage, I sorted and scrubbed, wiped and washed... It was very therapeutic! Then, I even set the oven to clean..something I had been meaning to do since that Thanksgiving turkey..

Anyway.. when it was all sparkly and my back was sore, I looked around and smiled.
The kitchen is clean.

Waldorf Connection contest on Waldorf mama...

2010-02-03T10:18:00.000-05:00

Here is my interview on WaldorfMama.typepad.com.

"...in additon to welcoming my new february sponsor today, i want to announce a special giveaway here on waldorfmama! this giveaway, sponsored by donna ashton of the waldorf connection, is for a full series of her brand new teleseminar workshops which are in progress right now. this series of teleseminars will conclude at the end of february and the winner will be given access to the entire set of MP3 seminar downloads. ..

Read the rest and enter to win!

Knitted Scarf- finished!

2010-01-31T21:15:00.000-05:00

Just in time for our winter weekend in N. Charlotte! We spent the weekend with family and to our great delight we got over 4 inches of snow! Some of you may be rolling your eyes reading this, but where we live it only snows every 10 years..so my girls had a real sledding experience!

And, while all that winter fun was happening, I made some hot chocolate and finished this lovely scarf. It is made using hot pink Baby Alpaca, so soft... Here is the pattern and I am so happy to tell you I am a real novice knitter and this was quite an easy pattern and looks impressive. ;)

Check out my Interview on Hip Mountain Mama!

2010-01-27T10:48:00.004-05:00

I was interviewed on Suzy's great "Hip Mountain Mama" blog! Also, we are doing 2 giveaway's for the Waldorf Connection's upcoming series!

..."The Waldorf philosophy has always intrigued me and is something we incorporate into our daily life. When I first heard about Waldorf Education I decided to do some research to learn more. I read books, read information on line, and asked friends about it. It was a bit overwhelming at first, but over time we have learned a lot about it and find it to be a very natural way of life for us.

Donna, from the Waldorf Connection, had a similar situation and decided to make the process of learning much easier for other parents. She has created FREE Tele Seminar Workshops where anyone can learn and ask questions about Waldorf Education...." read the rest HERE

Suzy has some great eco-friendly ideas and even a contest leading up to Earth Day. Check her out!

Paper Snowflakes

2010-01-26T13:48:00.007-05:00

I saw a post recently about making these wonderful 3-D paper snowflakes.

Here is the tutorial. It was very easy (just read the initial cutting directions ;)
We made 2 huge flakes that are hanging in our school room. We may do a few smaller ones to compliment them. Have fun!

Winter Books

2010-01-24T21:12:00.005-05:00

I pulled out our winter books from our storage box. I keep the seasonal and special holidays ones in their and rotate throughout the year. We have our favorites.. This one is mine.

Check out my review at Amazon...

Homemade Butter

2010-01-22T14:49:00.000-05:00

I saw a lovely recipe in Organic Gardening magazine and today seemed like a good day to make some home-made creamy butter.

I was surprised how simple this is! Start to finish it took about 35 minutes, and would be less the next time since I know what to do. The only ingredients are organic whipping cream. I used 1 pint, but 1 quart will make 1 lb of butter.

Pour cream into mixing bowl and turn on hand-mixer. You will need to mix for 10-15 minutes so get your kids help!

Mixture goes through several stages. First, like whipped cream then like stiff peaks.

Finally it breaks down into cottage-cheese looking
blobs. The butter will stiffen and you will see it getting wet. When it clumps and watery milk pools form in the bottom, turn off mixer.

Using a rubber spatula, press butter to squeeze out "butter milk". Carefully pour out as much as possible. It will not be thick like the kind you buy, but can be used to bake or drink. Now "wash" the butter with ice water. Pour 1/2 cup ice water over the butter and keep pressing it against the side of the bowl. Repeat this several times until the water runs fairly clear. This will stop the butter from spoiling and it firms it up .Make sure water is ice cold.

Continue kneading butter and squeezing liquid out. I used my hands in the end and patted it and squeezed.

Hey Mommy! I'm reading!

2010-01-21T14:07:00.002-05:00

This week we started our Introduction to Vowels block. King Equals handed the girls each 5 keys that will open the doors to learning. Monday we opened the first door with the Key marked "I"..a special light being appeared with the angelic sound "Ahhh" -A. I told the story of the Magic Spindle. (OM fairy tales book)

The girls drew A and a and we discovered several sounds for A (long & short).

Later that morning, on our nature walk I introduced some word families for the short sound A. 3 letters- Map, Car, Cat, Sat, etc.. They spelled each one correctly with no problems! I was running out of words to think of :)
Tuesday we reviewed our story, drew a picture and added the summary sentence.

At the library that afternoon, I talked to our wonderful children's librarian about "word families". She suggested the Bob Books! Of course..I have heard many Waldorf moms talk about these. She gave me two sets, one for each of my girls. They are very small books on a silver ring. Book 1 was perfect for them. Mat. Mat sat. Mat sat on Cat...

This morning, King Equals awarded the second key and the being of light emerged with "Eeeeeh" I told the story of The Golden Key. We practiced long and short sounds for E. Then I brought out the Bob Books, not knowing what to expect.... It was truly amazing to watch them figure the words out and READ! They did so well, they wanted to go on to book 2..I let them and they were smiling from ear to ear. "I'm reading!" Brooke said.. yes, my dear, you are. ;)

I am a very proud mommy today.

Love is in the air

2010-01-19T11:08:00.000-05:00

I am sharing this wonderful blog post from Sew Mama Sew for any crafty moms out there. I love this site, but usually only frequent it at the holidays where I get all my handmade ideas. I saw this Valentine's contest and thought some of you might be interested.

Valentine

Waldorf Math- King Equals

2010-01-18T10:55:00.000-05:00

Introducing- King Equals!

I finished embroidering him last night. I think he is really sweet. Brooke wanted an extra long cloak for him :)

I liked the look of this king here at this wonderful Etsy shop

so I sorted modeled ours after him with supplies we had. Here is the tutorial I used to create him, though I had to adjust his cape much longer and give him that rolled collar. The other four process gnomes, I will follow the tutorial exactly, all the pieces are the correct size and it is really easy. I just viewed youtube to remind me how to do a blanket stitch.

Whittling the Day away

2010-01-17T21:13:00.000-05:00

DH got involved with some homeschooling today as he and the girls did some whittleing. After a backyard bonfire yesterday, they found an old piece of wood which Lily saud could be a fox den. Next thing I know, they have some knives and a drill and are making one! It was such fun for them! After, they took a large stick and whittled them down into pencils.

A glass completely empty

2010-01-15T19:12:00.000-05:00

I hope I am not the only one who is enjoying a lovely glass of wine with DH, on a Friday early evening. The homemade lasagne is baking in the oven (made by DH) I am taking a deserved rest after a busy week.

Slowing down and having fun is something I have to make a conscious effort with. My crazy mind always has another task for me to accomplish.

It was a seasonably warm afternoon, so I took the girls to the park to meet some friends. It feels so good to be back outdoors after such a cold spell.

Anyway, to everyone else- Have a good weekend and CHEERS!

Waldorf Math- more fun with number qualities...

2010-01-13T20:03:00.000-05:00

We have progressed on to the nummber 8/ VIII. Each day they are so excited to do the riddle and get closer to getting the 5 keys (the vowels).

I made up my own riddle for 8 today after DH and I pondered "What is 8?" last night! It was a fun way to get him involved.

I have 8 legs to carry me around
I live in corners and close to the ground
To eat, I must spin and I can jump
Don't mistake me for a small bump- spider!

Then they drew the 8, VIII and EIGHT in the MLB with a nice picture of a spider.
I read a story from "Among the Meadow People" which I found on the Baldwin Project website and printed out for free! It was all about a little spider family and how the mother spider taught the babies (all 170 of them!) to spin webs.

I also want to share a heartwarming from Jen at Ancient Hearth, since we are doing the same Math Block!

Jen says...Thus began our first Maths Block: Quality of Numbers. I pulled from some amazing sources and slept on it for a time before we started maths:

~ Eric Fairman's "Path of Discovery"

~Kristie Burns' Earthschooling "Sixth Sense & Holistic Math: Using the Six Senses & Whole Body to Learn Math" ebook

~Marsha Johnson's "The Quality of Numbers" file in her Yahoo Group

~Barbara Dewey's "Mathematics for Waldorf Homeschoolers Grades 1-3"

~A Little Garden Flower's "A Journey Through Waldorf Math"

The night before we started, I took some paper and some glitter glues that we had in our crafting basket and I drew out the Arabic and Roman numerals from 1 - 10 (see picture above). The glitter goes beautifully with the story we are working with and we have gold, silver, rubies, and emeralds alternating in our numbers...

Then, I created a story inspired by Eric Fairman and Marsha Johnson with some tweaking to make it our own. I set up the scene on our table and covered sections with a blue silk that I would pull back as the characters moved further and further along.

It began with a young boy and girl who were romping through the lush evergreen forest one day when they spotted a frisky little hare. They decided to follow him. Every few feet the little hare stopped and turned to them, as if he was waiting for the children to follow.....click here for the rest of this amazing post!

Waldorf- next stage- tooth finally lost!

2010-01-12T11:56:00.000-05:00

For those who don't know me, I have twin girls that turned 7 in October. They do not look anything alike, and in fact have worn different size clothes since they were 6mos old. One of my girls is very petite and physically looks younger by maybe a year. Her sister lost her first tooth about 17mos ago and has since lost 5 more.

Finally, I noticed a few weeks ago her bottom teeth shifting apart and the two middle ones loosening up. Then last week, it happened! To her great satisfaction, her first tooth came out while biting into an apple.

Now, there is more for me to say here than just about the tooth fairy and the differences in twins.
It has to do with First grade readiness.. I have been amazed at the readiness of my veteran tooth-loser verses the one who had not lost any! We started doing consonants in Fall, but I have been taking slowly, for this reason..over the last month things have sped up and she is really "getting it"!

Check out "Rhythms of Learning" for an excellent explanation from Rudolf Steiner about this and the Early Grades...It is an excellent reference for how to bring the curriculum to your child.

Waldorf Number Qualities- Day 4

2010-01-08T20:57:00.002-05:00

e started our number qualities/Roman numerals block this week. It has been such a joy! I am following A Little Garden Flower's 1st grade curriculum. She has a container story that started back in the Fall with the introduction of the consonants. Now, it has progressed to finding the keys to unlock the gift of reading! There are 10 riddles (for 1-10) and each day they must solve the riddle to get the keys from Gnome King Equals.

Here is number 4. Fire, water, earth and air

All these things we have to share.

The 4 elements. We talk about others things that are 4 (seasons!) and then we write the number 4 and also in Roman Numeral. They are having so much fun with this..I actually thought they might be bored..no way!
Then the get to draw in their MLB. I divided the paper into 4 sections and they could draw the elements anyway they wanted.

While they were drawing a read a verse about the 4 elements from

A Journey Through Time in Verse and Rhyme.

Waldorf Festival- Three Kings

2010-01-05T22:23:00.001-05:00

We made our traditional Three Kings cake (maple buttermilk cake) I hid a thick round slice of carrot in the cake to be "found". (years passed we did coins, but I always felt odd about cooking a coin in my cake!)
We sang some songs about Babushka and Three Kings (The Christmas Star by Mary T-) and we read the story of Babushka from Food, Festivals and Fun!
As it runs out, Mommy found the carrot! So, I get to chose a "fun" day for us all.

Pictures and links coming soon..sorry, still recovering from a wicked head cold and I am a bit behind :)

Waldorf Math Block

2010-01-04T20:31:00.000-05:00

So, our next school session is beginning and on to Math! I was hesitant, really quite unsure how to go about this "Math" thing..but after listening to Barbara Dewey's talk on Waldorf Math (The Waldorf Connection) in Nov. I feel like I get it! We are beginning Number Qualities and the stories of the math gnomes.. I am using Barbara's guide as well as, Melisa Nielsen's- "A little Garden Flower's" First Grade book/math book.

Math Gnomes here we come! I will keep you updated.. We will be making some math gnomes to help us "see" the whole-to-parts way numbers are taught in Waldorf Education.

Baking Bread

2010-01-03T16:32:00.001-05:00

We found a real homestyle recipe in The Gooseberry Patch Farmhouse Christmas
It is Oatmeal Molasses Bread... yummy! Sweet and even better brushed with melted butter hot out of the oven!

The recipe makes 2 loaves..

1 1/2 c. boiling water    1/2 t. sugar
1 c. long cooking oats           1/4 c. brown sugar, packed
2 T butter                             1/4 c. molasses
2 t. salt                                 approx 5 cups all purpose flour
1/4 oz yeast pack (I used 2 small ones)
3/4 c. warm water                1 T. melter butter

In a bowl, combine first 4 ingredients; cool. In a mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Sprinkle with regular sugar. Add oat mixture, brown sugar, molasses, and 3 cups flour; mix well. Add enough of the remaining flour to form a soft dough. Turn onto floured surface and knead for 6 to 8 minutes or until smooth and elastic. Place into greased bowl; tunr once to grease top (I used olive oil) Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about an hour. Punch down dough. Divide in half; shape into loaves and place in greased loaf pans (9x5). Cover and let rise until doubled (30-45 min) Bake at 375 for 30 to 35 min or until golden brown. Remove from pans and cool on wire racks. Brush with melted butter. Makes 2 loaves. YUM!

Mid-School Year Clean -up

2009-12-29T15:00:00.000-05:00

O.k. So this is the time where I check my lesson plan and see what is next. Do I need to make modifications? Spend more time on something we didn't complete? Review?
It is a good half-way point and a natural "goal-setting" time for me. I reflect on the past year and put out my intentions for 2010.
I also give my homeschool room/office a good de-cluttering and cleaning! We did so many handmade gifts it looked like a craft store had exploded in here! LOL And my desk was covered in "stuff". This is my time to shred, label, (yes, I have one of those cute p-touch label makers..I know.. Type-A me!) file and organize and then when it is all clean- I lay my new calender on my clean surface all ready to go.
Feels good.

Waldorf Connection- new yahoo group

2009-12-27T11:18:00.000-05:00

For those of you who are following my Teleseminar Series at http://www.thewaldorfconnection.com/,
I have created a yahoo group community for us all to gather to discuss the workshops, curriculums, whatever relating to Waldorf Education/homeschooling! I will be posting updates as it get closer to the next classes (start end of January!) Feel free to join and start posting asap! I appreciate ALL your feedback and suggestions.

Here is the link http://groups.yahoo.com/group/awaldorfconnection/

I would love for any of you to re-post, retweet and pass this info along! The more, the merrier.

Thanks and Blessings,

Donna