Summer Stills

 

Ocean breezes blowing, feet kick and splash..

Ocean waves are breaking on the shore with a crash!

Boys finds seashells, girls sifting sand...

Friends build castles as high as they can..

I stretch my arms up as high as they reach,

Oh, what fun at this day at the beach!

~One of our rest time songs by M.T Schunemann

 

 At the end of Summer on hot August nights,

 Michael sends falling stars, 

Bringing strength and Light..

In the late night hours you fall..

Showering your starlight on all...

Falling stars, falling stars,

shoot across the sky..

Bring to earth your light!

Bring to earth your might!

~another rest time songs by M.T Schunemann

 

The most lovely help...

The Summer here at Playgarden in slowly coming to a close. 

We just finished the final touches on our final puppet play for the month...

We typically experience the same story for a month, so this will be last show of the Summer.

It will also be the last puppet play for 3 of our playgarden children who will be attending kindergarten and 1st grade in the Fall.

Here is the eldest child, G, helping me prepare for the puppet play during rest time.

This was the first time I asked for her help and she was so excited to be a part of the show!

Her role was that of a crafter as well as playing the glockenspiel during the play.

We told the story for the first time today, and she did a lovely job.

Her hands are strong enough to create with modeling beeswax!

I will detail the story later this week.

It is entitled "The Green Button" and can be found in the Wynstones Summer book (my favorite collection of the 4 seasons)

 

Thank you for all of W's birthday wishes. It was a lovely celebration with our family this past Tuesday, and of course, candles in his Wednesday honey cornbread at snack during Playgarden. 

I typically do not make such a huge deal over birthdays during playgarden; a simple gift (for Summer birthdays, it has been a seashell necklace wrapped in the correct layers of tissue paper according to the child's age) and candles during snack time.

The verse I use before lighting the candles..

"Peas porridge hot,

Peas porridge cold,

our little (name) is (age) years old!"

It is such a joy to have the children participate in all aspects of caring for the home and all of the activities that come with it. There is something for every child, even the tiniest:)

A good day.

 

It's been awhile since I have posted some snapshots from a playgarden day..

Since finding out about the nursery job, I am in the mindset of breezing through the Summer and enjoying every single moment in all of its beauty. I had been thinking of the prospect of preparing for a school year, transitioning W (including fully weaning him by his 3rd birthday in August. It would have been hard. I think he picked up on this and he's been asking for it more frequently in the past 2 weeks or so. It is not the time yet.), among other things. It feels great to know that we have the Summer and another full year to be at home, wake up late, and not be in the car!

Speaking of beautiful moments...

 

These children are amazing and I love them as if they were my own. 

They continue to teach me so much about what it is to be a human being, in all of its beauty and flaws.

 

I purchased a new enamel wash basin and it is...well, pretty fantastic!

It is a deep bowl, perfect for handwashing and washing dishes outside.

 

Best of all, perhaps, they are on sale at Nova Naturals for $22.00!!

 

If all of this seems just too idyllic for you, here is a shot of some "unwashed" reality in my home:)

 

Isn't it great?

W is in love with construction vehicles...and while they aren't so "pleasing to my eye," I see that they are a part of the world he knows. He sees them outside in our neighborhood, while we are traveling in the car, he hears them roll down the street and frantically runs to the window to catch a glimpse. The cars and trucks only come out when the playgarden children aren't here...No, not because they aren't "waldorf toys"....but because I feel that W needs a few playthings that are truly his own. He shares everything, all day long, and usually does very well with this complicated concept (to a 2-year old). But these playthings are truly his favorite. He'll play with them for 30 minutes at a time on his own. They come down to the park with us for some quality digging time. We don't have a huge amount of them, about 15 or so, which is just right for us.

.....Vrrrrrooooommmmmmm!

The Carrot...and other nourishing thoughts

 I've been meaning to post about the story I told for my nursery interview, but for some reason it has been escaping me for almost 3 weeks now! I have yet to hear anything about the position either way, but I have heard that there is still talk about program logistics. I'll keep waiting... (**update at end of post)
 It was very difficult for me to chose a story for this huge day. I sifted over so many books and read through some really beautiful tales. But the one I was looking for had to be just right..and it had to mean something to me. (just as every story does!)
  I finally settled on the Chinese folktale, The Carrot. I ended up adapting a lot of the story to fit the season, age group, and several other factors. This was the very first story I told at playgarden; back when it was a brother, sister, W and I. I was nervous and didn't know how they'd react. It was a learning experience for me, and I felt like maybe things had come "full" circle as I took the last deep breath before sharing it with the children during the interview. It was helpful to think about these things.
  During my reflections about the adaptions for the story, I became stuck a few times. I recalled advice from Suzanne Down about taking a walk outside in nature to find inspiration. Surely enough, it did come to me. The whistling bird in the story was inspired by a bird that sits outside our bedroom window and sings at sunrise and sundown. Every Spring, he makes his appearance and I know that the change of seasons is surely in the air. Sometimes I love the singing, other mornings, I wish he'd quiet down a bit!!!

Early One spring morning, a robin woke in his nest high in a tree. He opened his eye and gazed upon the fresh green grass, the small white flowers growing in the field…the  warm sun in the morning sky…yes, this was surely spring! And this made the robin feel like singing…and his voice was most loud and clear in the early morning…

(whistling)

His song was heard throughout the meadow and all of the forest. The robin decided to set out for his breakfast..and found 2 juicy carrots sitting under a tree. “They must have been left by the children who were having a lovely picnic here!” He ate one up and  wondered what to do with the other…

“My belly is full from that juicy carrot…I wonder what I shall do with the other…oh! I shall give it to my friend, white wooly lamb! It is so early in the morning and surely he has not eaten his breakfast yet!”

So robin dropped the carrot in the grassy spot where the white wooly lamb loved to graze. But he was not home. A few moments later, he returned . “Why, what a fine carrot! But my belly is so full from the delicious spring cabbages I found in farmer’s garden. .  I set out to find my breakfast early after waking to the most beautiful song..(whistling )Hmmm…I will give the carrot to my friend, rabbit. It is so early in the morning and surely he has not eaten his breakfast yet!”

So white wooly lamb dropped the carrot close to rabbit’s hole in the ground.  But he was not home.  A few moments later he returned home..“Why, what a fine carrot! But my belly is so full from the delicious spring lettuce I found in farmer’s garden.  I set out to find my breakfast early after waking to the most beautiful song..(whistling)  Hmmm…I will give the carrot to my friend, squirrel. It is so early in the morning and surely he has not eaten his breakfast yet!”

So rabbit left the carrot close to squirells hole in the tree.A few moments later he emerged from the hole in the tree...“Why, what a fine carrot! But my belly is so full from the delicious nuts I found this morning. .  I set out to find my breakfast early after waking to the most beautiful song..(whistling.  Hmmm…I will give the carrot to my friend, robin. It is so early in the morning and surely he has not eaten his breakfast yet!”

So squirrell scampered up the tree to robin’s nest. He was sleeping. Robin awoke and felt so very surprised to see the carrot again. He thought it may have been a dream. He ate it up. And it tasted good.

I had a wonderful time creating the pieces for this story....the felted "tree house" took the most time and innovation. I wet felted a large piece of wool and seemed it to create a tube like figure. It looked like a big top hat at the beginning stages and I started to become unsure if my vision was going to work out as I had originally thought....after cutting a hole in the center and adding some greenery and flowers at the base, I was very pleased.

*I did find out this weekend that the nursery position has gone to another candidate; someone with extensive training and years of experience. I'm slightly disappointed, but I do think that it is perhaps for the best. I'll get another year at home with W (who turns 3 in August), which is invaluable. Home really is the best place for us at this time, after all. Our commute to the school will be a good 35 minutes each way, so I am somewhat glad to put that off for another year. I'll also be able to keep our playgarden group, which is such a joy. I so value fostering this long term relationship. Here's to another wonderful year!!!
  My "plan" is to become a nursery or kindergarten assistant in fall 2013, pending an open position. Thus W will be in the nursery at age 4 (about the right age, I think...) and I'll gain the classroom experience which I'll be needing. I'll assist until another lead teacher position opens, and apply again. My training will be complete in Summer 2014....wow!
   I did receive very positive feedback regarding my interview and sample teaching, which means a lot to me. It was a great experience and I am excited to continue on this journey that is laid out in front of me. There is so much to read, learn, experience, and take from everything I am exposed to. I'll have another full school year of observations in various Waldorf schools, the trainings, a Waldorf Early Childhood conference, and hopefully more Eurythmy intensive courses, all while continuing to grow with my wonderful group of playgarden children. What could be better? :)

  

Early Spring Nature Table

 In Spring, In Spring,

The robins do sing...

The breezes are blowing,

the flowers are growing...

Keeping a nature table is one of my most favorite bits of homemaking and preparing our space for young children...

I believe that nature table suits our group best when the items are handmade or found in nature. 

The Lenten Garden...

The pinecone garland was decorated for Spring..

I hung this garland in the fall....added evergreen sprigs for Christmas...and figured I would take it down after Epiphany. That never happened. I either forgot or subconsciously made a choice to keep it up. I bought some artificial forsythia branches at a local craft store and placed them in between the pine cones. On a whim, I purchased some baby's breath and tucked it in between everything else. I added some pussy willows, as well, because I just love them:)

I hit my head on it daily and my hair gets stuck in it all the time. Guests to our home almost always become tangled in it, as well. 

It's part of our home, and I think it will just continue to change with the seasons until  I am no longer inspired to do so.

 

I found these little glass eggs for .70 at a local craft store and figured I'd find something to do with it. I am loving glass terrariums lately, so it became a mossy home to a butterfly...

...I'm thinking ahead to Easter and all of the anticipation it brings.

Our Playgarden egg hunt is on Good Friday and this house is about to become packed with over 100 eggs to decorate.

This Sunday marks the beginning of Holy Week which is filled with beautiful services and much time for reflection...

Best wishes for a wonderful week!

 Links to our Spring Nature Table last year here and here.