waldorf early childhood Archives

Homeschooling :: Playing Teacher

October 27, 2016 | Leave a Comment

I once read that the best way to learn something is to teach it.

As Chilli is getting a little bit older, it’s wonderful to be able to encourage her to take the lead with some gentle Early Childhood activities and lead the lesson for Marlin. She really enjoys to be the ‘teacher’ or the ‘teacher’s helper’ and of course it helps me to be able to leave them together at the lounge room table doing a simple activity together, led by Chilli, while I tend to a home task close by. Often I include this rhythm first thing in the morning if I’m still organising the day either in school or the home.

A good friend also speaks highly of allowing her Grade 6 son to lead the younger aged 4 and 6 children in their family, for some nature studies each week.

I think this is not only really empowering for the older child, but a great balance for the younger child as well and allows a wonderful time of connection between siblings in a different and beneficial dynamic.

Earlier this week, Chilli and Marlin had been out for a morning nature walk and outdoor run. Tending to a few morning farm chores, I then asked Chilli to lead Marlin in looking at some new springtime leaves that were growing on our orchard trees. They collected 2 grape vine leaves each and came inside to settle into an early morning activity while I continued to ready for the day.

I was giving the children some free time of a morning for larger outdoor movement time – running, jumping, hopping, skipping, bike riding and the like. Years ago I remember in a conference call, hearing Beth Sutton of Enki Education talk about how this first thing morning activity of something that gets the heart rate up – primes the brain for learning in morning lesson. I love the idea of this, however it’s been really hard for Marlin to transition from this freer morning time into ‘school’ time. It started to really be quite unkind to him as he’d start every day unhappy, crying and resisting school time for Chilli. I really find I need to ‘hold that space’ quite tightly of a morning and bring the children very mindfully – before they ‘expand out’ for the day – into our rhythm of school.

Therefore I’ve been ‘reining in’ that space with some morning prayer work. After breakfast and getting ready, we tend to a few simple chores amongst ourselves (at which time I have to really mindfully make sure they don’t ‘break off’ in any free play type way!) and then come to our lounge room table to start our day in an informal way. From here I spend some time with Marlin for his nursery school morning circle while Chilli either continues on with her prayer work independently or another small task that I have set her up with. I use this time for things like her writing out times tables, drawing monthly calendar pages or working on bookwork that we need to finalise. We’ve just started our cursive journey, so it will also be a good time for her to practise some of her writing.

Following on from Chilli and Marlin’s early morning Spring walk this week, I had set up the lounge room table with pads, white crayons and green watercolour paint. Chilli led Marlin in some ‘invisible’ leaf rubbings and then some ‘magic’ painting. It’s lovely for Chilli to be able to share these early childhood activities she enjoyed, with her brother. When I ask her to be the ‘teacher’s helper’ she’ll help the ‘younger student’ to either take off or put on shoes/slippers, get his outdoor gear on or off or hung back up, make a small snack for them or help him to lay out his lesson supplies. She really relishes in this sense of purpose and responsibility and takes great enjoyment from saying “Come on Ma, let me help you with that”.

The ‘magic painting’ idea this week was inspired by a member on the Earthschooling forum who was working with the Autumn Earthschooling | pre-school program. These ‘magic leaf paintings’ are an activity to accompany the ‘Anxious Leaf‘ story in Week 4 of the November monthly plan. We’d done this activity in a slightly different way back in April which is our Autumn, but I thought this was a great activity to accompany our budding spring as well.

Do you encourage your older child to take the lead with directing some of your younger children’s lessons through their Early Childhood program?

Toddlers :: Meaningful Tasks

December 15, 2015 | 2 Comments

Any parent will be able to tell you that toddlers love to work alongside them, helping with whatever task is at hand. Their imitation is such a strong force within and they love to be by our side participating in daily tasks, however they can. Often a small play kitchen of their own somewhere close by the home’s own kitchen is a wonderful way for them to imitate the work that is done in the home. Early start kitchen tools such as the KiddiKutter range are also fantastic for opening the opportunity for children, from a young age, to participate in appropriate, simple, home kitchen duties.

As Marlin is approaching three years of age, I am noticing in him a bigger desire to have tasks set for him that are ‘his’. I don’t remember this being the case so much with Chilli at this age, however I guess being a second child and seeing that each person in the home has their own ‘tasks’ – chores, home duties, school work etc – and that certain things are just for each person, then Marlin would like some things that are ‘his’ to do around the home. For Chilli, with no other children in the home, the division was a lot simpler – “This is for Mummy and Daddy to do, this is for Chilli to do”. While Marlin still enjoys to work alongside us with tasks and participate in joint activities, he also wants tasks that are ‘just his’ to do – “Ma do, Ma do that by self, Ma big boy now” he says. Therefore, even though it takes a little more time, set up and attention, it is lovely for him, his emerging sense of independence and his own sense of achievement that we can find tasks that he can do on his own.

One of these things is washing of vegetables such as potatoes that need left on soil removed, before we can cook them – as well as eggs we’ve collected from the chickens, that might need a little wash off before they can be put away in the carton. Sure, setting up the array of materials he needs to do this task takes more time, organisation and fanfare – but the sense of achievement he has at the end of the task as well as the sense of worth he has in doing the task are worth all that extra arranging.

I especially like the task of washing eggs, because for a 3 year old boy who is quite the boy it allows for a great practise of ‘gentle hands’. There is also a ‘process’ that needs to be followed – a flow of steps, and he takes great pride in doing the job just as he is supposed to. Of course it’s not too complicated nor detailed, but a simple, few step rhythm that he delights in following. It’s great for developing his concentration and attention to the work he is doing. The focus on his little face and his immersion in the task while he is at work, is beautiful to watch.

For the egg washing, I set up a hand towel underneath. A deep sided bowl with a little cool water in it, in the middle of the space and a dry, clean hand towel beside the dish to the right. The egg basket is to the left and the carton is just over the back of the bowl. In the bowl is a soft but slightly abrasive coconut fibre washing pad which has broken in half through it’s use and is the perfect size for his little hand. The process he follows is;

Place an egg from the basket into the bowl to soak
Take the egg that has been soaking in the bowl and rub over with the coconut pad, removing any dirt or grime
Dry the egg on the hand towel
Place the dry egg, point down into the egg carton
Repeat the above steps until all eggs are clean, dry and in the carton

He thoroughly enjoyed this task yesterday when I set him up with it. We hadn’t been collecting our eggs for a few days while we were trying to get the chickens to start nesting (so we can get some fertilised eggs for babies! Yay!) so there was quite a collection of eggs. He patiently and with great focus, stood on his ‘moose‘ and tended to his task with great attention. When the carton was full, he climbed down and said “Ma have to get ‘nudda carton – that one full up”. It took him a good 20 minutes or so to complete his task and when he was done, he proudly told me “Eggs finished now Mumma”.

What are the meaningful tasks that your toddler enjoys to help with or take ownership of?

Summer :: Arriving

December 8, 2015 | Leave a Comment

When Chilli was Marlin’s age, I would have the seasons ‘arrive’ by setting up an enchanting scene with the toys of the season that were ‘coming to play’. Marlin is now at a lovely age to enjoy similar ‘invitation to play’ creations and so I’ve been making a mindful effort to create these special little scenes for him. On the first of December, I set up a little ‘Summer Cave’ for the children to discover. I used the two play stands either side of their ‘Pumpkin House’ table and covered across the ‘roof’ with silkscapes. The centre table had a sea scene on it and around on the ledges of the play stands were various little ‘Summer scenes’ with some of their Summer books.

I covered the front in another silkscape and invited the children into the space. They sat in front of the ‘cave’ and Marlin’s marionette doll came to tell him about the turning of the seasons. The silkscape then came down and the children could go in to explore. The thing that captivated them most? A pile of native cherries placed in front of the Strawberry Lady! My food loving children – always ‘starving’ apparently!

Along with Summer arriving, so did our December crystal – Pearl. These little pearls that we are using for our focus this month are quite special. They are the few left over pearl beads from the strings my Aunt hand stitched onto the bodice of my wedding dress. They are so beautiful in their appearance and their meaning, as well as the properties they hold. Pearls are omens of happy relationships and love. Quite nice to have worn them on my wedding day, especially when each one was loving hand stitched on by my dear Aunt.

The angel of pearl is Archangel Gabrielle – so for us here in our Summer Christmas it is quite lovely to be able to weave in the story of this angel, through this way to bring our seasons and the season of Christmas together.

I started out by giving the children a small shell filled with about 1/2t of golden sand we have from a recent holiday to where beaches have real sand! We spread out a little sprinkle on the table and then I asked them to pick up just one grain of sand on the tip of their finger. They both marvelled at how tiny it was and how many grains were in that little pile they’d sprinkled across the table. We then spoke about how that one tiny grain would feel in the big wide ocean and how many grains of sand they think are on a beach and on the ocean floor. They were in awe – and so was I as we spoke together about it. It’s also a really nice way to creatively talk about that Nine Year Change that is starting to stir within Chilli – the awareness of one tiny being which she is, in such a vast, wide world.

Here is a simple, short story I wrote to bring this month’s crystal to the children.

:: A Cosy Home for Sand Friend ::
Written by Elke at Another Day

The ocean can be a wild and busy place. Beautiful fish, seals, whales and seahorses – corals, seaweeds, algae and moss – molluscs, oysters, muscles and prawns – selkies and mermaids .. They all dance around – and hence the world of the underwaters can be quite frantic.

All of the little sand children gather together to keep each other safe and protected from all this hustle and bustle.

Well once upon a time, there was a tiny grain of sand who was altogether a very shy little friend. Right from the beginning of her days she’d snuggled waaaaayyyy down, deep under all her other sand brothers and sisters. But then one day, it was quite busy on the shores of the ocean. Father sun was shining closer to Sand Friend’s side of the world and there was so much activity around the ocean. Things were being splashed about, stirred up and swam through. Sand Friend smelt a sweet scent coming into the ocean from above on the shore – mmmmm “strawberries” she thought – she always liked how sweet they smelt in the Summer when the children ate them in their picnics at the beach. She always thought how happy the children sounded as they ate those strawberries. She knew they must have been a healthy snack for the children. One day she’d even heard the sounds of two people being married up on the beach. They had strawberries dipped in chocolate at the party on the beach that day. Her friend the mermaid had told her all about those when she came back down into the ocean from swimming around amongst the rocks, watching all the marvellous dancing at the party.

Well, somehow in a big hustle and bustle that happened this particular day, on the eve of the full moon – in a whirlwind of passing sea traffic – the current swirled up our little shy Sand Friend. Well, she was quite frazzled, all a-fuss trying to find somewhere to hide – all on her own she floated, turned, twirled and spun being danced all around in the current of the ocean. Sand Friend didn’t like this at all! She was quite unsure… She looked here, there and everywhere. Tears began to well in her eyes and just as she was about to call out ‘heeeelllpppp please – someone’ …. she landed; floating – softly, gently, down to rest in a beautiful, dimly lit little cave….

How calm and peaceful it was here. It was warm and cosy as well. “Hello” whispered a kind voice. “h…h-elllll…o” managed a rather dazed but bright eyed Sand Friend. “Welcome to my home” said the kind voice. “Thank you” said Sand Friend, somewhat recovering as she looked around the cosy little chamber. “You look weary” said the kind voice. “I am” said Sand Friend. “Why don’t you stay a while” said the kind voice. “Thank you” said Sand Friend again, and she snuggled herself down into the cosy bed she’d landed in. “Here” said the kind voice, let me wrap you a little to keep you nice and safe. And with that, the kind voice laid a fine veil of silky softness around Sand Friend. How shimmery and soft it felt. “Thank you” Sand Friend said again, so polite she was. (yawnnnn) “I think I might… just… close … my……. “ Sand Friend didn’t even finish her sentence, she was so tired and exhausted after her wild little ride. Down she nestled, for a long, long sleep.

Whenever Sand Friend would stir – the kind voice would wrap another veil of softness around her. One day when Sand Friend woke up, she found that there was a wonderful new friend all soft and shimmery cuddling her. Such soft, beautiful arms she had wrapped around Sand Friend. “Hello, I am a friend of the Great Mother – she’s sent me to keep you safe.” “The Great Mother?” asked Sand Friend. “Yes, our Great Mother” said the new friend “my name is Pearl and Mother has said we can stay together forever. I am going to wrap around you and protect you, cuddled in my silky arms. For Mother tells me how scared you get out in that big wide seaworld.” “I do” replied Sand Friend “Thank you” she whispered again as she sank back into a cosy sleep.

And so it was that the two little ones – Sand and Pearl, became the very best of friends. From that day onward they were together always and they became so entwined with each other that the Great Mother whose home they lived in, just started to refer to them as one name ‘Nacre’ she would call them, she said it meant “Mother-of-Pearl”, which didn’t really seem to make much sense because she was in fact the Mother of Pearl – but the two friends didn’t complain, they loved their cosy little home so much and the kind voice was forever gentle and loving with them. They just stayed together, cosy as anything – snug as a bug in a rug and anyone who passed by did marvel at how beautiful and shiny the new friends were together.

What are your favourite ways to have the seasons ‘arrive’ in your home?

Happy Summer – or Winter, depending on which side of the world you dwell in….

Homeschooling :: Finger Knitting

July 8, 2015 | Leave a Comment

… Here’s a post from the archives in the days of an old blog I wrote many moons ago – Where Wild Strawberries Grow …

“Was on a rainy afternoon,
As all inside we were,
Rose piped up and said “Today, I’d like to finger knit”
So we knit, knit, knit, knit then we knit some more.
We knit, knit, knit, knit
And Rose could finger knit!”

Rose (A name Chilli insisted she be called for a few years between the ages of 4-6 years old!) has always enjoyed to be by my side whilst I craft, with her own pieces to create and bring together her own unique creations. Recently she has been wanting to knit gifts for people and the other day a friend asked if she could finger knit as yet. I asked if it was appropriate to be teaching Rose this as yet and she said that from this age on it was ok for the children to start to play with finger knitting (Rose was 4.5 years old at the time). This afternoon at midday rest time, Rose asked if I could sit with her and we could do some finger knitting. I drew on my trusty old finger knitting verse inherited from Patricia all those years ago when I learnt to finger knit, and coupled with a bit of inspiration from ‘A Child’s Seasonal Treasury’, we were underway.

I showed Rose first how to do her slip knot, by holding the yarn ‘snake tail’ between Mr Thumbkin and Peter Pointer. She kept using both hands together, so we reached our right hand up to the sky and had ‘twinkle fingers’ away with that hand whilst the left hand was down with the snake tail and Mr Thumbkin and Peter Pointer were holding on tight. Then we brought ‘twinkle fingers’ down to the yarn snake, on his ‘body’ and between Mr Thumbkin and Peter Pointer on our ‘twinkle fingers hand’, we brought our two Mr Thumbkins and Peter Pointers together so they could kiss and then there was ‘surprise’ a little yarn cave above the tail and the body. We held the ‘meeting place’ or ‘bridge’ in our first Mr Thumbkin and Peter Pointer, while our ‘twinkle fingers hand’ went in through the cave and with our little pinchers, took hold of the snake and brought him out of the cave, pulling him up to form the snakes head and then the little slip knot, or the snakes ‘neck’.

Then we used our verse;

Run round the log, (wind yarn around Peter Pointer finger, front to back)
Jump off the tree, (lift the first snake head up and over the new snake head, letting him ‘jump’ off the end of the tree – making sure Mr Thumbkin and Peter Pointer hold tight to the new snake head)
Swing on the vine, (twinkle fingers hand pulls gently on the snakes tail [the yarn tail end]…still making sure the other Mr Thumbkin and Peter Pointer hold tight to the new snake head)
Fly home to me. (Mr Thumbkin and Tall Man High come down to hold the snakes neck [the top knot just created of the finger knitting] while Peter Pointer points nice and straight and Mr Thumbkin and Peter Pointer on twinkle fingers hand gently pull the snakes body down toward the ground)

And such is the way that Rose learnt to finger knit. I was so proud of her as she also was of herself. She has made quite a length of rainbow finger knitting that I am going to combine with my pink/orange tone piece that I did whilst teaching her how to finger knit. We are going to sew the two pieces around into a little mat for Rose’s dressing table to remember always her first finger knitting piece.

I promised Rose that if she was able to finger knit, she could order some wool to keep doing her craft with. Consequently as soon as she realised she could finger knit successfully, she was wondering over which colour yarns she would like to order for herself. She settled on rainbows, mermaids and lollipops in 20 ply (which is the thickness she was using with ease this afternoon) from Indigo Inspirations.

:: An update to this archive posting – we found that the 20 ply was WAY too thick and the 16 ply was more than ample for her to knit with, even at this younger age. Below is the little mat we made for her dressing table which did take me nearly a year to stitch together! (I find the delicate stitching together of the finger knitting quite tedious!) ::

Parenting :: Childhood Magic

July 5, 2015 | Leave a Comment

I think the ages around 2-4 years old are imbued with the most special type of magic. Sure, magic flows through all stages of childhood, but the years around 2-4 hold something just a little bit extra special about them in my experience.

Our daughter is 7.5 years old and while she still lives very beautifully into a lot of the magic surrounding Festivals and other celebrations through our year, the intense ability to dissolve into and be swept away in that magical world of fantasy is starting to slowly fade. Sad? Maybe a tiny bit – our little girl is growing up and leaving those precious, innocent early childhood years behind – but it’s also exciting to see her grow and unfold into the next stage that she will blossom into… Even if that does come with all the challenges of dealing with emerging will, opinions, defiance and sass! (Hence I’ve just invested today in this book a friend recommended many years ago to navigate these times as peacefully as possible in a way that honours who she is becoming.) Amongst this time is naturally the questions that start to come about “Well, how does Saint Nicholas get inside? He can’t come down the chimney – there’s a grate over the top of the flue so that birds can’t nest in there” – “Mummy, is the Michaelmas dragon real or is it you that leaves the crystals out for us – I know it’s you Mummy (…but I’ll still be absolutely wowed when we do find the crystals in the grass and I’ll get totally swept up in the magic of believing that they are actually dragons tears!) Do dragons actually really exist, did they ever exist? Is there still dragons in the world today?” ….

It also comes with a beautiful stage where she helps to weave and create the magic for her younger brother. I think there is something special in being able to help create for another so many of those special moments that have formed wonder within your own early years. However she does still go through waves almost like passing in and out of a veil of belief. In her heart, I think she still wants to believe, it’s her soul I guess that is starting to question the logic behind some of the magic as she awakens just a little more into this Earthly world and life. She still wants ‘The Angels’ to leave her new books inside her pyjamas, ‘The Fairies’ to leave surprises in the garden and ‘The Sugar Sprite’ to come past the window at night and collect any candy for her sugar babies that the children happen to have been given. The stardust and tiny crystal sprinkles they find the next morning in place of the candy still bring that gleam of magic and wonder into her incarnating eyes. It’s an exciting time. I have an image of her spiritually standing on the edge of this place of ‘crossing over’ – part of her wants to step forward, but another part isn’t quite ready yet. I guess it’s the Nine Year Change starting to stir within her. The beginning of her ‘Crossing the Rubicon’. Chilli started with her change of teeth quite early, around 5.5 years old and on reflection, the Six Year Change really started to stir within her around 4.5 years old – so it would make sense that the beginnings of the Nine Year Change are, around 7.5 years old, starting to plant their seeds of change within her. I’ve also heard conversations between Steiner teachers and other Anthroposophically based professionals over the years that many hold the belief that children in today’s world are incarnating at a slightly quicker pace and often pass through the changes a little earlier than the ‘traditionally quoted’ ages.

This little piece of magic I am writing about here in this post was inspired by another of those stories that stays with me so vividly from those ‘Evenings with Ebba’ I’ve spoken about back at the Central Coast Rudolf Steiner School when Chilli was a wee bubba. I think there wasn’t a dry eye in the room when Ebba told in great detail with all the magic that so naturally just lives within her words, the story of a little boy at her playgroup. Ebba had told a Winter story about snow. At the end of the story, she softly, quietly, magically and reverently blew a small wisp of fleece to each child – a snowflake! Well, that evening or early the next day she received a phone call from one of the parents in the group, her child was distraught. Where could the parent go to buy or find another of those ‘snowflakes’? Her son had lost the snowflake and was beside himself…. Ebba then explained what this ‘snowflake’ in fact was and the problem I assume was easily rectified by the mother and a little bit of magic.

Ebba told us this story to demonstrate how the reverence and the special quality we apply to our storytelling and in creating a sense of wonder, so magically inspires and permeates the child. How one tiny bit of simple wool roving could be imbued with so much specialness, so much character, magic and life. This all came from how this story had lived within Ebba herself and the reverence with which she had delivered not only the story but also the snowflake itself.

I love that Marlin is living so beautifully in that stage now of really ‘eating up’ and ‘living into’ all this childhood magic. It really is a special time for parent and child as well as older child and younger sibling. As I mentioned above, when the older child is able to be a part of helping to create that magic for their sibling, something very special happens for both children. One day when Marlin was a little unsettled about heading in to lay down for a nappy change, I spontaneously grabbed a little ‘lucky bean’ box off the children’s shelves. I looked around for something ‘special’ to put inside and this tuft of fleece that sits on his dressing table caught my eye. The tuft itself is quite special. It is the little tuft I quietly placed into his wee hand when he was a baby watching sheep shearing for the first time. He sat there ‘exploring’ with touch that piece of fleece for a good few hours. He nursed, layed in the camp chair, oohed and aahed at the sheep – the whole time grasping that wispy piece of fleece until it was placed into his pocket as we packed up to leave for the day. The fleece remained in his pocket for many months following and was rubbed around in that little pocket with those cute little bubba fingers every time his hand bundled in to hide from the cold. When I found the piece 6 or so months later (I’m sure it was possibly ‘later’ – a baby’s pockets are not something one often has to clean out) it was a sweet little soft felted pillow. It was lovely to have such a gorgeous keepsake of the first time he watched sheep shearing.

On the spot, as I brought this story together – I also recalled not only the story from Ebba, but also a sweet little story a friend here in Tasmania once told the Waldorf playgroup at Christmas time. A story of when the baby Jesus was born and the sheep who had come, offered a piece of fleece from over her heart to line the baby’s manger. Over the years, with the countless stories I have read, memorised, told and written myself, my ability to just weave stories out of thin air has somewhat improved. While I’m definitely no David Sewell McCann, I can normally bring together something sweet and magical, then and there if need be. The little box was hidden under a piece of fabric, I told Marlin I had a special story for him and for the duration of his nappy change, I told a simple little impromptu story that kept his undivided attention. The story was about a special piece of fleece that was filled with all the love that a mother has for her child – so much love squeezed into this tiny, special place. Once the nappy change was finished and I picked up an item of clothing to put back on him, there was the magic little box. Chilli chimed in with a special little gasp and said something along the lines of “I wonder what’s in there Marlin? Open it, it must be very special…” He carefully opened it and was delighted. The magic and wonder in his eyes and on his face were priceless. “oooooo” he softly says, while his attention is absolutely immersed in the moment. As he lay there engrossed in the magic of the moment with his fleece, he kept dropping it onto his chest and then frantically rummaging around to find it again – giggling and relieved when he found it. He’d hold it to his heart and place it carefully back into the box for safe keeping. He found a little pouch to carry the box around in and for days wherever he went, the little pouch went too – with the box that held the special fleece tucked safely down inside. If he was changed, the pouch was held tightly in his hand and slung back across him once he was dressed again. At night it hung on the bed post to be picked up again first thing in the morning as he climbed out of bed. He often carries around in this manner some special little pouch with a trinket inside that doesn’t leave his side. Something so simple, yet so very special and magical hides inside that pouch!

It’s so beautiful to see these simple things take on such life, special meaning and magic to the child. It really makes me so grateful knowing that our children’s early years are imbued with such a special sense of wonder that will, I hope, create memories that they will look back on in years to come with great fondness, love and wonder in their hearts.

Tell me – what is the most magical moment you remember from this special time when your children lived in this space of great wonder and awe?