Category — waldorf

“The caterpillar trusts his maker that all is well. He does not cling to his old garment and thus is transformed into a magnificent butterfly. There is no pain, it is a natural transmutation. So it is with us. As the chrysalis is the bridge between caterpillar and butterfly, so is True perception the bridge between separation and Oneness. We are transmuting into a new state of being. Clinging to our caterpillar stage, our old ways of judgement, we shall never learn to fly into the dawn of a new day.” – Peter Erbe

While planting today, a truly majestic butterfly joined Ethan and I to steal a quick drink from my soaker hose on a warm sunny day. I was grateful for the moment to awe over his company.

We planted tomatoes (black prince, persimmon, green zebra, yellow pear, and whopper) and peppers ( red bell, yellow bell, and aneheim) surrounded by seedlings of carrots and lettuces. The small raised bed was then lined with marigolds and chives. Companion planting, yeah baby! Many of the starts I got from a local farm at the farmer’s market; a very sweet and helpful farmer who I was proud to support just a bit with my Mother’s Day moolah

Over on the other side of the front yard, a pumpkin patch is underway. We’ve seeded carving pumpkins, white pumpkins, and sugar pumpkins (for pie), along with a few varieties of ornamental gourds. Can’t wait for Fall!!!

This week’s homeschooling has been about beans We’ve read Jack and the Beanstalk and planted pole beans, dragon tongue beans, sugar peas, and some melon varieties. These will go in the backyard raised bed, a long 20′ x 4′ which will feature more stuff I’ve learned about companion planting. From what I’ve heard, growing your own food in the Ozarks is a lot different from the “plant it, it will grow” Oregon climate and soil I have only ever gardened in. I’ve had to learn about rocky, clay soil and nasty bug infestations and dry, hot summers – so companion planting helps with some of that, along with a proper composting system and lots of soaker hoses – which will eventually be hooked up to rain barrles. For more info on companion planting, check out the classic on the subject: Carrots Love Tomatoes. As for my backyard bed, I’ll be trying out the three-sisters method: the beans will be trained up corn stalks while the ground is kept moist by a covering vines — squash/melons/cucumbers. On the other end of the bed will be a large patch of strawberries (to collect fruit from next year) and kale. Little natural insect repellents will be distributed around the main veggies – mainly marigolds and some herbs.

The chicken coop is coming along, but I’ll show pics when we get the roof and the painting fine tuned. The three musketeers (Chris and his two new boyfriends : Trevor and Cheyne) were working on it last night while the women and kids enjoyed each others company amongst the backdrop of an Ortecho-style Cinco de Mayo celebration (make your own tacos and fried ice cream with Mariachi in the air).

May the music move you…

Things were a little busy last week – we spent a lot of time with new friends, helped build a really cool barn style chicken coop (ours is going up next!), had a lovely day in the country (Ethan skinny dipped for the first time!), had my first Arkansas tick experience (ew!), then went immediately into prep for Chris’ big spanish style birthday shindig. We made 20 pounds of pulled pork, slow cooked for 2 days in a crock pot with lots and lots of garlic, limes and adobo. We had about 4 gallons of slow cooked black beans and rice, along with a big beautiful salad, fresh bread, lots of plaintains and even mofongo! The event was a great excuse to spend time with family and food!

Here’s some pictures of the event and other happenings this week (along with some fun pics of my dreads, now 3 months old )
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So speaking of family, festivals, and food: This is the title of one of my very favorite books. I picked it up when Ethan was about 2 years old and began to gravitate right away to what I learned about Waldorf celebrations. Lately I’ve been reading more and more books and listening to training workshops, all in preparation for something I have yet to tell you guys about but when I do I’ll be so happy to share with you all!

So, today was a rough day. I am fighting a cold, Chris and I are both very tired, Ethan and Verity are both incredibly high needs and the noise level is constant! Not to mention that I have lots and lots of work to make up and I highly doubt I will finish it all. With sore throat and ears ringing, I felt impatient and unnerved today – two things I really don’t like about myself, I must admit. I remember seeing this video recently of a Waldorf home-based educator who said that when she notices the energy of the children getting really rowdy, she first checks her own breathing. That came to mind today, as I strove to check myself as a potential contributor to the wild pent-up rainy day boredom energy of the kids.

So instead of raising my voice for the umpteenth time (working on it!), I told Ethan to be still and silent as much as he could while Chris took Verity off on a drive to fall asleep. While this was happening I made a pot of “Quiet Child” tea from Mountain Rose Herbs and the “Best Oatmeal Cookies” from that well-loved go-to book: Family, Festivals, and Food!

What you can’t experience over this screen is just how tasty and warm these simple little things are. Things are feeling cozier and quieter already…

Well, if you’d like to try them, leave a comment about something you use to help ground yourself or the kids on an everything-is-going-wrong kinda day. Next week, I’ll pick a winner randomly and mail you my extra copy of this book! In it you will find seasonal activities, recipes, verses and songs, and stories for your family to celebrate the year.

I recently decided that the idea of spinning my own yarn was just too tempting to ignore. I swoon over yummy handspun yarn at the knit shop; I have dreams of sitting on my window bench, deep in relaxation, spinning my own yarn.

Handwork is an important part of the Waldorf method of homeschooling, and includes natural clay modeling, beeswax crayons, wet-on-wet watercolor, wood work, knitting and finger knitting, embroidery, and of course – cleaning wool and spinning yarn. So armed with an EXTRA excuse to learn this ancient skill, I embarked on a woolly adventure…

My first step is to experiment with the simplest, most timeless design – a drop spindle. From what I have read, this is not only a great beginner’s tool that is super affordable and versatile, it can also be used as you advance and is great practice for if you do decide to purchase a more costly spinning wheel.

First, here’s a book I would recommend: Respect the Spindle!

Now, you can purchase wool roving ready to spin or you can go a step or two back and buy some wool that you need to clean, card and dye yourself. I’ll be doing this soon too, but for now let’s just assume you have your wool ready.

Making your own spindle is super easy and cheap (I added the parts I needed to a purchase of wooden eggs from Casey’s Wood – which cost me $1.55! I’ve included links to these parts in the instructions but you can also find them at your local craft store, most likely). Purchase a wooden toy wheel ($.60) and a dowel ($.80) to fit. Stick the dowel into the wheel with about an inch or so sticking out the other side (this is called the low “whorl”). Then cut the dowel on the other side down to about a foot long (hint – you can use the rest for another spindle or you can even make your own knitting needles with it!)

Next, drill a tiny hole into the end of the short side of the dowel, straight into the shaft to guide a 1/4″ cup hook ($.15) to the end of the short side to act as a catch for your yarn. Sharpen the the longer end of the dowel to a dull point so it can spin easily on a surface if you want to do it that way.

You will need about 18″ of “leader” yarn to get started (which can be a piece of your store bought yarn or hand spin a little to get you started), which you tie to the shaft right above the wheel (or as we’ll now call it, the “whorl”.) Then take that yarn around the whorl and loop it around the lower whorl (the small end of the dowel sticking out the other side) to act as a stabilizer. Then bring it back down around the whorl and draw it through your hook.

Now you’re ready to spin!

I found the following video the most helpful to me for this part, so I’ll leave it to her to show you. There are other YouTube videos by this gal and they are great as well!

Happy Spinning!

P.S. Tip: If you don’t want to make your own, there are some really beautiful handmade top whorl drop spindles on Etsy!

Using all natural fibers is an important part of the Waldorf inspired playroom, and one of the key elements of the Waldorf play materials is the silks. The main brand that puts these out will cost you roughly $10-13 dollars for a colored square silk, and it goes up from there for skirts, robes, banners and flags, etc. Expect to see prices of nearly 100 dollars on the larger play canopies!

In my opinion, there are far more important things to spend money on when it comes to your home school program. Books, for example. Oh, lovely books! There are too many to recount – but I would start with anything from Elsa Beskow or Gerda Muller or Sibylle von Olfers, to name a few. Sweet stories and imagery to capture the imagination – to me, that’s worth every penny!

For many other things, you can learn to make yourself. Knitting playthings, wooden blocks, beeswax candles, etc: all of these one can learn to make to create a unique, handmade, inspiring setting for the young child’s mind to become unleashed. Not to mention making your own Play Silks!

It’s very affordable and very easy. Simply order some undyed silk scarves (prices range from .99 to $5), buy a big jug of distilled vinegar and a whole lotta Kool-Aid. Yes, kool-aid. Hey, there’s a reason we call is Waldorf- INSPIRED.

We spent an hour in the front yard today making our beautiful new play silks. I did two sets of rainbow colors, one in a 6″x24″ and one in a small square 21.5″. Then we did some tie-died mix-n-matches with a few larger squares. Lastly, 2 long playsilks were dyed in colors of either “warm” hues or “cool” hues. These look so awesome and I can’t believe how easy it was (totally a kid-friendly project). This fantastic assortment of playsilks would have costs hundreds of dollars from the-you-know-who company (which are oddly enough made in China- not a superior company it seems to me), but the whole sha-bang ran me a total bill of about $50. Yay for saving money! Big fan.

I would suggest, however, taking the “wear gloves” part seriously, lest people begin to wonder if you are an axe-murderer by night

Here’s a tutorial with exact vinegar/hot water/kool-aid ratios. Enjoy!!!

First – Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Second – I’ve stolen a few minutes break in my day to share some photos with you:

Let’s go through the front door:

You may notice the rad (IMHO) antique forest green couches Chris found for me on Craigslist (for next to no $$$!). Don’t ya just wanna curl up? I love that our living room has no TV, too – its a great area to just hang, play board games, knit, read, whatever. I really love it here. (Good job, babe!):

Babies love it here too:

Ethan spends the bulk of his time in one of three places:
1. the “school room” area of our main room (the dining and living room):

2. his avocado colored, “enchanted forest” themed room, where Verity often joins him:

3. or his kitchen, inside my kitchen:

If you don’t find me in that cozy living room, you might find me in the office/media room/ guest room. Which is almost unpacked – or can’t you tell? HA! At least the mustard yellow paint is drying…

Here (the office), I dream of one day watching copius amounts of Gilmore Girls. For now it acts as a sauna for brooding baby chicks and sprouting seeds:

In current news, today is St. Patrick’s Day, and we are celebrating! We had green eggs for breakfast:

Made green raisin cinnamon bread, properly adorned with butter and raw honey:

Wore green, of course – but took it a step further by making “Hulk” neck vein impersonations, because he is also green…

We also sprouted clover, which was a gift in Ethan’s hidden “pot of gold”. And read stories about St. Patrick. And listened to Celtic music all day. And watched “Riverdance”. And we are going to go see the Irish dancers at the library this evening. And returning home to a dinner of corned beef brisket, cabbage, and potatoes. (When the kids go to bed, we are gladly sipping some whiskey sours.)

What else have we been up to? As if that’s not enough?

Well, we have been spending time in the backyard finally! We’ve hung some linens, marked off the coop/run area and dug out two vegetable beds. We scoped out the prime fort location near a butterfly bush and began a fairy home nearby. This isn’t the best picture, but it is fairly big and brown and daunting…

AND LASTLY, I discovered to my amusement that I really enjoy needle felting. Not the bloody fingers part so much but the wool figurines made in way less time than knitting part. This new craft has helped me quickly fill up our nature table as we prepare for Spring.

Here you can see some of it – the felted Mother Earth in the back there with a little wooden “St. Patrick”, and their woodland friends – a white rabbit, green turtle, and large whimsical mushroom – all needle felted. In the tree hangs a butterfly and an angel. Spring “flower children” are coming to join Mother Earth SOON – this weekend marks the Spring Solstice! Awake, flowers, awake!

With St. Patrick’s Day approaching (March 17th!), and our family finally feeling like things in the home are falling into place, we are eager to celebrate. We missed a few festivals due to our move (Lent festivities, a real bummer since I’m of Cajun decent and Mardi Gras would have been fun here at the house!) so with our new little wooden table we are starting to build a Waldorf nature table in the living room. We’re sprouting a bed of clover and chia seeds this week, which will be decorated with blown and painted eggs shells and other Springtime crafts to come over the next few weeks.

There are two new chicks sleeping quietly in the brooder in the craft room right now. They are both Sex-Links, one Gold and one Black. I’ve named them “Daffodil” and “Velvet”. Two more are coming, hopefully arriving on Tuesday – a Rhode Island Red and an Americauna. I can’t wait!

This week’s milestones include: Verity took 5 steps in a row on her own! Also, we opened accounts at the local credit union and we all got library cards. The library here is actually quite impressive!

It was at the library that I picked up a copy of “Shamrocks, Harps, and Shillelaghs; The Story of the St. Patrick’s Day Symbols”, and a variety of Celtic/Irish kids CD’s.

St. Patrick was an interesting guy. He wasn’t actually Irish – he was British- and was captured and taken slave in Ireland as a young man. After 6 years there, he ran away, but later after he became a priest, he believed he was being told by God to return to the land of his former master’s to bring them the story of Jesus/ Christianity. He was brave and driven, and his life spent among the Celts was considered a success by the Church. Many village chieftains and druids (celtic pagan priests) were baptized and he left monks and church plans in ever village he left. It is said that his influence contributed to Ireland’s ability to keep alive the arts and education during the “Dark Ages” in Europe.

Aside: I like the name Patrick (I have both a paternal uncle AND a maternal uncle named Patrick – and I lived on Kilpatrick Street in Portland for the last year- a variation the St. Patrick name).

There are two parts to the story that impressed me and that I will be able to add as spiritual “findings” as we celebrate the holiday this Wednesday:

First is that St. Patrick was effective in part because he was relevant and engaged the current culture of that time and place. From his time in captivity, “he knew the manners, the customs, and language of the people who lived there. What was more, he had a deep urge to be the savior of a people who had once enslaved him.” Furthermore, he honored the Celtic traditions: “Patrick never tried to stamp out old rites and customs. Instead, he found a way to combine them with Christian customs.”

In addition, Patrick divided the saints into three categories: 1. “A Glory on the Mountaintop”, 2. “A Gleam on the Hillside”, or 3. “A Faint Light in a Valley”.

Those who consider themselves followers of Christ might do well to ask ourselves which one he might have called us.

More St. Patrick’s Day facts and fun to come…

Into week two’s mile markers:

The railing is almost done, along with the window box, courtesy of the Hubster’s handiwork. That Mystery Purple really brightens up the place, no? Since this picture we have added prayer flags and solar colored lights to the top of the front porch, a purple porch swing, and a birdbath right next to the tree in the foreground. Ethan loves the swing we made for him and we do too: it keeps him entertained while we garden

Here’s the house a few days ago – I had to include so you could check out the baby with her mouth planted all over the window on the inside of the house!

The front yard has been our main focus all week. Mainly because the weather was awesome and the backyard is really daunting, lol. We’ve also been discussing Gnomes at length. Yes, gnomes. I know, how Waldorf of us. We found a little book on Gnomes at the flea market and its way cool. Did you know that gnomes are 7 times stronger than humans? Or that they always have twins? Anyhow, in honor of our new found appreciation of gnomes, meet our new garden gnome, whom I have named “Hodgewicket”:

To break things up a bit, here Verity and I steal a “cheese”:

Moving on… I exploded hard boiled eggs this week. If you’ve been on facebook, you know that my kitchen and I are off to a rough start. Here is egg yolk on the ceiling:

Ethan’s paint smeared hands hold a redworm as we put together our first vermiculite compost bin:

(Forgive the mess – we are still in the process of unpacking!)

AND NOW, FOR THE MOMENT YOU HAVE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR…

I present to you a video of my husband and son dancing to “Hey Ya!” by Outkast (I believe they call this the brink of insanity, folks!) (Sorry you don’t hear anything – my camera has no sound card. But I think it adds to the irony, don’t you?)
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“Where is the book in which the teacher can read about what teaching is? The children themselves are this book. We should not learn to teach out of any book other than the one lying open before us and consisting of the children themselves. In order to read in this book, however, we need the widest possible interest in each individual child, and nothing must divert us from this.”
- Rudolf Stiener, Human Values in Education

“Every parent’s question: ‘What are the firm boundaries this situation calls for, and how will my child find freedom within these boundaries?’ …
“It is through our inner attitude that we show our love. It’s not what we do, it’s who we are in the doing of the things, that speaks to our child.”
- Sharifa Oppenheimer, Heaven on Earth; A Handbook for Parents of Young Children

Chewing on this.

Enjoys long walks in the woods… gardens… long wood tables… a fireplace…

I’ve read almost THREE (well, really 4 but one is mostly pictures ) books in the last week or so, (I guess that’s what happens when my knitting is packed away? lol) and they’ve been so wonderful for my soul.

From Heaven on Earth; A Handbook for Parents of Young Children, I continue my journey through homeschooling and parenting my favorite little people in the whole world. Sometimes this book creates in me a feeling of, I don’t know, maybe discouragement. The daily life and home structure described seem so simple and yet so unattainable in a world of media, playdates, financial responsibilities, suburbs, etc. But it also gives me something to aspire to, and in the very least, ideas I can put into practice or tuck in my pocket. You never know when they’ll come in handy.

From Little House on a Small Planet, I have again gained inspiration and ideas. My thoughts have certainly been provoked by the idea of never borrowing on a loan you can’t pay back in 7 years (like a mortgage) or living with less square footage than you might *think* you need. Good stuff!

From Anger: Wisdom for Cooling the Flames, Thich Nhat Hanh has reminded me about vulnerability, being a peace-maker, restoring relationships. All very appropriate right now as I work out some relational tensions that weigh heavy on my heart. He also reiterates the need for practicing mindfulness, a long post I’d best save for another day.

And lastly, and perhaps my most fun read right now, is A Natural Sense of Wonder. I didn’t think I would love reading this book as much as I do, but its memoir-like account of a father who tries to reconnect his children with the natural world through the seasons is really well-written (he is an english teacher, after all) and charming.

I particularly liked reading about his “affairs” of home searching in his twenties, a tale he accounts as a metaphor for dating relationships. He moved a lot when the kids were young and he and his wife were working and finishing school – all over the country and taking jobs in all kinds of industries it seems. He writes of their desire for some romantic, old-world charm farm with natural land and an abundance of outdoor “wild” play space for his children. I can’t help but find this story incredibly timely for me, as I’ve been dreaming about eventually finding The Place and happily making it Home.

Here the writer retells their house hunt:

My wife and I imagine our kids growing up in some high valley, their spirits fostered by the creases of ragged mountains, their bodies strengthened by exploring spines of nearby ridges, and their thirst slaked by some cascading stream. This reverie calls us away to some land on Sinking Creek with a barn and twenty acres of organic hay, but it’s too pricey for us. Here’s one in the Catawba Valley, on a feeder stream, but it looks a little small, and is that a … confederate flag at the neighbor’s house? We are a little like Goldilocks: this one is too big, this one is too small, still looking for the place that is just right.
Perhaps my desire is stirred by the very writers I’m drawn to: Muir in the Sierras, Abbey in the Arches, Lopez in the Arctic, and Thoreau in the Walden Woods. They’ve each carved out their niche in a place I am seeking mine, but they are a monastic bunch (except for Abbey), eloquent on the need for wild places but silent on the subject of raising children. Besides, we can’t all move there and enjoy it too.

As we are now 1.5 weeks from M-Day, we are doing the usual: cleaning out rooms, packing up, craigslisting furniture, trying to see enough people to say goodbye. We are also doing a “Greatest Hits” of the Portland area and soaking in the Pac NW while we can. We aren’t too overwhelmed with the packing process: We’ve moved *just* twice in the last 6 years, but since one of them was a cross-country move, and the second was just a year ago, it has helped us travel light (well, that and being broke ). Our bought-used items fill up two small bedrooms and a small living room, with very little need for extra storage. IF we had a 3 bedroom plus garage, we’d likely NEED a 3 bedroom plus garage, lol, but we’ve been blessed with “just enough bread for today” – in times like these, we’re grateful we have less sh** to ship.

More soon…

When I give a whistle, here me shout!

Phew, does any one else feel like the compression in their brain is reaching the “red” territory and sirens are going off with weird “Lost” voice WARNING alarms??? Or — is that just me?

For now, I don’t know how to catch up this blog and it’s readers because I am still not at liberty to reveal the details of the journey I am on. In fact, I won’t be “in the clear” to do so for several months! Kinda agonizing for me to not get this out there for processing, actually — but I’m trying to see it as a lessons in keeping some things private

Suffice it to say, we have lots of decisions to make. I am having to learn all kinds of stuff right now, like a crash course in the grown-up-world (which I have in many ways been too stuck on “survive” to take part in for many years!) Arg, again, I would like to say more about that but trust me, the time will come.

I can feel myself being propelled forward by necessity and desire, yet at the same time that Still Small Voice and many wise friends/family remind me to take this slooooowwwwwwww. I can’t even describe what mixture of feelings and thoughts run through me in the course of a single day lately. I am burdened for they heavy, heart-breaking circumstances happening in the lives of people I love right now. I am struggling to stay present in my own life, (work, homeschooling, marriage, cooking, laundry) while at the same time doing the very real and necessary steps of future planning. As a plan unfolds before me, I feel at first relieved that it is there and then quickly that relief is replaced by the uncertainty of still more unanswered details. (You can relate, heh, Maw Maw?!)

Staying present is SUCH a practice in surrender — and I for one SUCK. AT. IT. Choice is at once liberating and a weighty responsibility — which must make me sound like such a preteen, lol, but it’s true.

Will my family flow gracefully into this next chapter? What hiccups will interrupt our song? What fallen trees will litter our road? Can we “let go and let God”? Can we trust that He is holding on to our loved ones during a time when we are helpless to be of any practical service to them?

Oh, I am just not cut out for life on earth!

And now I am going to spout off words to let off mental steam (tip me over and pour me OUT!):

settling, creditors, SEP, liability, CD, HSA, taxes, jobs, unemployment extension, wagon, reliability, mileage, towing, u-haul, Upstate, budget, giving, saving, credit score, lease, waiting, goals, waldorfing, masters degree, FAFSA, 2 hour yoga class from which EVERYTHING HURTS, fermented, bulk buying clubs, homeschool group let downs, postpartum, mental health, new mexico, job loss, unusable ankle, recovery, counseling, identity, homesteading, solar powered, first time homebuyers programs, dreads, new city, new friends, new neighbors, new church, new farms, new home, new yard, new chickens, new beds, new life — old habits?, JESUS!, decisions, liver and egg yolks.