Steiner's Words...

A Teacher’s Thoughts for their Children

from Rudolph Steiner...

(a passage we read each morning at Sunbridge..)

You who out of heaven’s brightness

Now descend to earthly darkness

Thus through life’s resisting forces;

Spirit radiance to unfold

Spirit warmness to enkindle

Spirit forces to call forth —

Be you warmed through by my love...

 

Radiant thinking

Tranquil feeling

Healing willing —

That in Spirit’s heights well rooted

And in earth’s foundations working

You may servants of the Word become

 

Spirit illuming

Love evoking

Being strengthening.

The Day of Pentecost: Whitsunday

'Spirit in rushing wind and air,

In sunlight, cloud and rainbow fair,

Spirit in flame and snow white flower,

 Oh, come to us with mighty power'

    ~Wynstones Summer

...a special message for the children...

...May the beauty and grace of the Holy Spirit fill you today and always!

There Was a Child Went Forth...

There Was a Child Went Forth

a poem from Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman

There was a child went forth every day,

And the first object he look'd upon,

that object he became,

And that object became part of him

for the day or a certain part of the day...

Or for many years or stretching cycles of years...

 (Our playschool week in photos...and words...)

Welcoming the Easter Season!

While Easter Day is now behind us (as well as my broken camera card which was replaced this morning!), we joyfully look ahead to celebrating the next 40 days of the Easter season!

Creating a Maypole for May Day...Mayfaire festivals at our local Waldorf schools.....Ascension...Whitsun....to name a few!

It was a whirlwind of a weekend, and I feel a bit melancholic that it is over.

Browsing through the photographs of the past 4 days brings a smile to my face... 

 We used beeswax crayons to decorate wooden eggs during Playschool

 

We painted hardboiled eggs with watercolors, too...

With instruments in hand, we pranced down to the public rose garden down the street from our house for an egg hunt...

hmmm...

which unfortunately turned quickly into an "I have more eggs than you" competition.

There were some sad faces..

In fact, we had to coax the girls into smiling for the next photo!

  

I suppose a lot of this comes with the age group, but I will keep aiming to focus on collaboration rather than competition with the children.

 

A Puppet Story based on "Peter Cottontail"..

 

...My little fuzzy-haired boy on Easter Morning

...An egg hunt at Great-Grandma's house 

..And a warm memory of a radiant spirit.

Our Baptism at The Great Vigil of Easter

This past weekend has been a whirlwind of happiness, redemption, sunshine, family, and pure joy...

Words escape me at moments like these, so I leave you instead with photos and the lyrics to a beautiful hymn we sang at a family service during Lent. 

Our Baptism at The Great Vigil of Easter

Trinity Episcopal Church

Bethlehem, Pennyslvania

                                                 Wesley, myself, and his Godmother, Amanda

In the bulb there is a flower; in the seed, an apple tree;
In cocoons, a hidden promise: butterflies will soon be free!
In the cold and snow of winter there’s a spring that waits to be,
Unrevealed until its season, something God alone can see.

                          There’s a song in every silence, seeking word and melody;
                      There’s a dawn in every darkness, bringing hope to you and me.
                        From the past will come the future; what it holds, a mystery,
                           Unrevealed until its season, something God alone can see.

                         In our end is our beginning; in our time, infinity;
                  In our doubt there is believing; in our life, eternity,
                   In our death, a resurrection; at the last, a victory,
          Unrevealed until its season, something God alone can see.

....Hoping you had a beautiful Easter full of promise and joy!

*I'll be back soon to share some belated Easter and playschool photos; my camera is giving me trouble!

Special thanks to my Uncle Henry for photographing this special day:)

Very Early Spring

"..Now the sun walks in the forest,
He touches the bows and stems with his golden fingers;
They shiver, and wake from slumber.

Over the barren branches he shakes his yellow curls.
Yet is the forest full of the sound of tears....
A wind dances over the fields.

Shrill and clear the sound of her waking laughter,
Yet the little blue lakes tremble
And the flags of tenderest green bend and quiver."

-Karen Mansfield, Very Early Spring

Early Spring Nature Table

'March is an old man,

old and cold..

grey beard and weary....

soon he'll be going,

the grass will turn green..

soon the warm sun will melt him,

and he will be gone..'

Needlefelting inspired by Elsa Beskow's

'Around the Year'

We have soaked and lightly covered hard wheatberries with a thin layer of soil..

and up sprouted the grass in less than 3 days!

We plan on using it for W's Easter basket, too.

The earth is damp and squishy after a full day of rain yesterday..

the crocus is more lovely and purple than ever...