Week 7: Merfolk

Merfolk was a really good theme for this week as water was so very prevalent. Now it is true that water plays a part in all our outings because we are usually near a small stream or creek, but this was different. It all started for me on Sunday. My family and I joined some others to "go tubing down the Delaware River.". I hadn't been tubing in about 12 years so this was a real treat. 7 adults and 3children had their inner tubes lashed together as we lazily floated down the river on a really really hot day. I think it was close to 100F! The heat wave continued through the week. Curtis was with me through the whole week, but the regular participants were not. R and A were both on vacations to cooler climates and Curtis got to play with H again (3yr old girl), her sitter K(6 yr old girl), and C (4 yr old boy). These are all children Curtis knows and has missed a bit this Summer, so it was good to have them Monday through Wednesday.

I have to admit, having arrived home late from tubing Sunday at an unheard of 11pm Curtis and I were a bit off our game.

I took the children out to Carpenter's Woods as usual. We had a good hike in through the Greene Street Entrance all the way to the foot bridge. The big boys ran all the way up ahead and had so much fun running on the path with abandon. We had our snack on the bench as usual. I was tidying up the snack containers and the children were playing on the fallen logs across the trickle of a stream. C had a bit of a fall and his head went back and landed hard on a pointy rock. Well after getting him to the bench and putting an icepack on his head, I dared to look more closely. There was a small perfectly round hole that looked a bit deeper than a normal cut. I would actually describe it as a gouge. It was like a small pool filled with blood and the word "stitches" popped into my mind. After informing the parents and telling Mom that she really needed to assess the wound herself, we agreed that I would hike back out with the children and meet her at the entrance. I suppose I was running on adrenaline, as I was able to carry C and my back pack all the way out. Thankfully Curtis carried out the food bag and H and K followed along. Mom had to take C to get stitches, three I believe. My first major accident this Summer. I am really glad I had my first aid kit with me and the disposable ice pak. That thing was ice cold for a good twenty minutes. I ordered a bunch of replacements on line. They are pretty inexpensive. I got a bunch for $0.99 a piece.

C was able to return the next afternoon and again on Wednesday morning, brave child. Since we go to the woods in the mornings and C was back with us, I decided not to revisit the accident scene and by 9 30 am I was all packed and ready to take the children on their nature excursion to Kitchen's Lane. Once in the woods and hiking down the trail, worries were cast aside. We take the trail re-route which is a circuitous one with some switchbacks. The main trail is being fortified against erosion. I never cared much for that trail anyway as it is a wide straight line fraught with many jagged rocks. I much prefer the re-route...it is narrow and cozy..canopied with many trees and it winds it's way to just before the foot bridge. The children call it "the way through the underground cavern.". It can get pretty shady in there due to the tree cover..it is lovely to go from the darker coolness into the bright light of the foot bridge. Once across the footbridge, we, nimble as Billy goats, scramble down the mill to "the beach.". There are many dogs and dog owners having a splash. We immediately go to the right several yards, and make base camp on one of the larger rock outcroppings. That's where I set up snack and towels, and the children change into their bathing suits.

H was content to play at the water's edge and splash, pick up rocks and collect the little fresh water clam shells that are strangely everywhere.


But K and Curtis had adventure on their minds. They fashioned walking sticks and made their way across the shallow part of the river to the other side. There they climbed the large boulders until they came to a flatter outcropping. There they found some old cloth and fashioned a teepee. The weather was so very hot, and the water so cool, they were quite comfortable and said they wanted to live there on that rock in that teepee all summer!





Now C, who was supposed to keep his head dry because of his stitches, started across the river in the shallow spot like K and Curtis. He got about halfway when he yelled out that he was stuck. He wasn't moving back and he wasn't moving forward.




When children get stuck in a physical predicament, I usually try to verbally coach them through it or even help them physically but in a way that they can coax themselves out of their position. This allows them the opportunity to gain confidence in their physical movements and become accustomed to the feeling of extending a little beyond their reach. This is the method used at most Steiner schools, I believe. It is definitely the method employed by Helle Heckmann in her Danish preschool, Nokken. Google Heckmann Nokken and you will find a plethora of references describing her program and philosophy. If you want more directly from Helle, check out her video, Das Smal...the Young Ones..Children Ages 1 to 2. I personally find her work fascinating. Here is a link to one of her many papers: http://www.waldorflibrary.org/Journal_Articles/GW3706.pdf


I thought it best to help him back to the shore. When I reached him, he insisted that he could go farther, but that he was just stuck. Then he said something that really touched me, "Ms. Rocksand, I am brave, really!". This really struck a chord with me. Little C really does just get stuck sometimes...he has had some stiffness issues from an infant..so why not help him across. So I said that I would help him if he indeed was feeling brave. He did protest a bit when we got into slightly stronger current, but I felt we really should both be committed at that point. I got him to the other side and he was sooooooooo happy and pleased with himself. K met him at the base of the rock and with such sweetness, consoled him and welcomed him to the rock. He then was able to join in the play in making a teepee with Curtis and K. Then after a while I ferried all three of them, one at a time, back across the river as they were getting tired.




I felt C and I really bonded that morning.

Week 6: Rainbows

I am still catching up on posts.  This post is for week  of July 25th.  In my earlier post I went into detail about Udo  de Haes work.  I had read the section on families and storytelling after this week had passed, but I started to tell less stories to the children while we are in the woods.  They seem to have become addicted to them.  Ironic, isn't it?  The Waldorf School children who are exposed to little if any media, becoming addicted to storytelling.  The actually were physically playing less in the woods while I told stories.  At first, the stories could be background to their play there, but somehow that changed.   Honestly, I love to tell stories, but never realized how much they take out of me.   When telling a tale with a plot I have to start seeing the pictures in my mind as if I were reading a story to myself, then the words just flow.  But until I reach that point, I am almost forcing the story from my lips by actively remembering what comes next.   When the pictures come and I get lost in it, the story flows effortlessly...but I am still a bit depleted nonetheless.   SO after the 5th story of the day...and telling Mulan counts for 3 stories...I was burnt out.    So I whittled it down to one story in the morning...a story book before rest and one story in the afternoon.   This seems to be a nice balance for me as a storyteller and for the children's play.   I am curious for other readers to chime in with their experiences of telling faery tale stories and whether they feel somewhat spent after a good long telling.  Please comment!

Anyway, I found when I denied their requests for stories in the woods, the play took on a new dimension.   I encourage Curt to have R help him more in his work.  we found a plastic bottle and all the children loved using this simple implement.  They dug out "catchment"  basins and filled them from the little stream.  Curtis taught R how to do this and she loved filling them up.   Everyone had to take extra care not to step on them.  H (3 year old girl) joined us on Wednesday.  It was great for R to not have to "play up" to keep up with the older children.  She and H fell right back into their school play.  H is a bot more dreamy than R (3 years)  and still relishes the physicality of the existing space:  the splash of the water, the squish of the mud, the frogs.   R did try to draw her into more story play, but then fell in with H, into the nature of the place.    It is nice to see R's versatility.  

A joined us again on Thursday and Friday.  (A is a four year old girl).  It was interesting to see the different dynamic with A and R than with H and R.    A and R spent almost the entire woods time running back and forth on the little foot bridge, role playing Sleeping Beauty.  "Ok, now you be the price, I'll be sweet Faery Nutmeg."  "Ok, now I'm the Princess."    A didn't climb so much with Curtis this time, much to his dismay.  I think the small thron she got in her toe last week put her off.  But I was able to climb with him while watching the girls on the bridge.  That seemed to satisfy him a little.  But I have to say after watching play so intently this Summer especially, it is so poignant to me that adult/ child play just pales in comparison to child/child play.

As an adult parent, I am not a good playmate anyway.  Some parents just are better at playing with their children than others.  I won't win a prize for that.  But I remember how I was with my Gregory, now 15 years.  I really played with him.  Matter of fact, I played with him mostly.  The children and families on our block were not great families...they didn't share my values with their language, media use, corporeal punishment, etc, so since I had Gregory every weekend, I would set up wonderful adventure weekends for us.   It would all be magical and wonderful.  And as Gregory was into sport from a young age...full of soccer, baseball and lacrosse play at the local playground.  Gosh I was fit then.   In the New York Times on Father's Day this year, 2011, there was an article on the need for play with adults and children, such as horseplay and/or rough housing. This is a fun activity for boys and girls to get physical in a safe way with adults. The book is called In Praise of Rough Housing. Check out the article http://parenting.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/06/14/in-praise-of-roughhousing/
One of my neighbors purchased it on Amazon and she praised it..actually gifted it to her husband for Father 's Day.

Things changed during my 2nd trimester with Curtis.  Since then, I have not been "that" Mom.  not the playing type.  I am more the observer type.   I miss the play a bit it's true, but I am able to see such depth and layering of play that Curtis engages in.  Wow, that child can really play.   Now, I just try to stay out of the way, facilitate, and provide damage control when necessary.   Oh and I'm the art director.  

Anyway, back to camp.   This was the second block of Rainbow. I continued with the painting of rainbows in the morning. An actual story did not come to me, but I think the subtle influence was there. When the children would draw with crayons later in the afternoon, I was shown many rainbows that they created. All in all it was a good week.

Week 5: Rainbows

I am a little out of synch with updating. The two week hiatus which was supposed to be when I went up to Sophia's Hearth in Keene, NH to complete my training, turned out to be six days spent in the hospital and one week convalescing. Seems I conveniently contracted viral meningitis two days before I was set to travel. Well the mail was already being held, Curtis was set to be with his Daddy full time and the gardens were set to be watered by volunteers. A very convenient time to get sick like that..so that was the up side. Thankfully after 8 hours in the ER and three days in the I.C.U. And three days in a step down unit, I was sent home. I have been back to work with the children for two weeks now and am able to complete training next summer.

So let me catch up then on last week, week five. Since this was my first week back after said incident, I tried to take it a little easy. The theme was Rainbows, but I just didn't have the extra oomph for researching and creating a rainbow story. Every morning, however, I placed watercolor paints out on the large table, and I would paint rainbows...R and Curtis followed suit. I placed many of the rainbow results in the nature hearth. yes, lame-o but the children didn't seem to mind.

Instead I used the plain old vanilla verbal stories I have been telling. Curt seems to have graduated from Robin Hood and has been asking about Mulan. We have a book with many of the Disney stories that believe it or not Dad found in the trash of a local gift shop. I was trying to hide it for years...he found it a little too soon. But then he has transitioned to the world of good versus evil, princes, princesses, evil sorcerers, and Jedi knights a lot earlier. He will be six years old in late September so this is his final upcoming Kindergarten year....the Grimms tales are not set to be introduced in the Steiner curriculum until grade one. But as I mentioned in previous posts, it seems the children are coming to the good vs evil tales younger and younger.

I am currently reading a great book by Daniel Udo de Haes called The Young Child: creative Living with Two to Four year olds. This gem of a book is currently out of print..it was first published in 1979.. but at Sophia's Hearth they sell photocopies of it. I highly recommend it. Udo de Haes was born in Bali and studied in Holland. He was a student of anthroposophy and a teacher. He talks of the child coming to us from the spiritual world and that in certain objects in our mundane physical world, the young child/toddler recognizes archetypes from the spirit lands. Some archetypes that are recognized: the perfect roundness of a ball, the toy cupboard with it's quietly guarded secrets, the forming of bread dough into form and then sustenance. The toddler immerses themselves in for example the experience of the ball, they are not by nature compelled to do something with it...like kick it toward a goal..unless they are prematurely taught to do so.

I just have to include this quote because I love it. "Thus the toddler observes with an utterly open soul not only the ball but all other objects and also all that happens and is done around him; and when we see how completely he is absorbed in this, we are bound to feel how important these early sense -impressions - and his deep inner experiences- must be for him. This quiet activity, which takes place behind his dreaming, wondering or delighted eyes, remains hidden to us. Our adult consciousness has lost the connection with what goes on in the dreamy depths of the child's soul. But we may be able to sense how the little child, who is still so close to the spirit-land from whence he came, can still see something of the cosmic, and sometimes also the moral, source of the things in his surroundings;and that he can still experience something of that region which we can only grope towards with our thoughts."(Udo de Haes 12)

Udo de Heas goes on to explain the gap between the toddler's rebelling in the beingness of things and of sounds and of sensations as opposed to the kindergarten age child or first grade child who has already developed the ability to separate themselves and form concepts. Ironic isn't it that as we grow up..we learn more in this life, but it requires our separation from the spiritual.

"Then we realize that the toddler cannot be receptive to fairy-tales, for instance, and that this is not only because certain capacities, such as vocabulary and ability to follow the thread of the story, are insufficiently developed, but because he has a faculty which is still very much alive: he can listen to those even deeper messages, to the language of the things and actions themselves and also to the sound of human words, an ability which we have already lost. It is these archetypal revelations from his surroundings which the toddler still understands and from which he will not allow himself to be distracted by the even more complex language of fairy tales, or even our normal conceptual language."(Udo de Haes 14)

But what does one do when they are taking care of children of mixed ages? I have Curtis who is almost 6 and drinking up the fairy tale realm..and R who is 3 but already quite aware of princes and princesses, evil sorceresses, etc...and then some in between.

Well, as I asked this question, I was flipping through the book and there in chapter eight was the answer. The chapter, entitled, "the toddler in a large family" explained it all. The trick is to not tell the fairy-tale directly to the toddler, expecting them to follow the story line or comprehend the imagery. The idea is to tell the story to the 5 or6 year old and let the toddler live on the fringes of the circle and maintain their dreamy state. the kindergarten age child will be deeply moved by the imagery of a dark forest and an escape to the light. He will recognize this imagery on a soul level. The light is a return to what Udo de Haes calls the Father-Land or spiritual home of the soul. The dark, earthy forest is the Mother -land. The toddler has newly arrived here in the Mother-land and will be intrigued enough by that..they have little care for the imagery of an escape from it...and we as adults can let them just be. If left to their own devices, the toddler will naturally develop toward the kindergarten phAse..he will slowly begin to follow the story characters and the story line. The toddler needs to become so comfortable with the sense world...has to let it lose it's novelty, then he will be less focused on the dark forest and will be interested in finding or rather rediscovering the light.

I was so glad to have found this chapter. It really made a lot of concepts a lot clearer for me and also allows me to focus my storytelling without feeling a need to shield the younger children so much.

Anyway, I took this digression because I want to describe a moment of storytelling of the fairy tale Mulan. O.K. As far as I know, this was a pure Disney creation..but it is a fairy tale nonetheless. Soon after R arrived, I was sitting on the living room floor with she and Curtis, and I started telling the story. Curtis began using the toys around us to build"sets" for the tale. He built a lotus flower tree which Mulan and her father sat under to talk. He used a piece of drift wood and wrapped it in red yarn. He then used some silks and Tinkertoy to build a house. R found the people to fill these sets...little acorn people in the dollhouse, Felted folk, barn animals. It was really something to sit in the middle of the living room while the two of them surrounded me with creations depicting the story as I was telling it. When I realized what was happening, I truly felt I would make it through the week even with my lower than usual energy.

On Thursday, A finally joined us. A is a four year old girl. A and Curtis attend Kindergarten together. Curtis as mentioned in previous posts, has modified his play for R using the Princess Kitty character, but he has been longing for more rambunctious play/playmates. A fit the bill. She climbed with him alot and he was very happy. A was able to go between rambunctious play with Curtis and the slower play with R.

From downllded 08.01.2011

A found a tree branch across the stream that sticks up a bit and is a little bouncy. She turned this into a horse and all three children enjoyed riding upon it.

Week four: Lightening Bugs

Week four started off pretty much the same as the previous three. When we got to the woods however, we found that they were being sprayed with herbicide. The Fairmount Park Group are attempting to remove invasive species like Japanese Knotwood and English Ivy. Then they will plant a lot of new indigenous ones in autumn. I understand their desire to have a space with only native plants, but at what expense? So we didn't stay very long and we took a nice long walk back through the neighborhood to the car.

On Tuesday, I decided to take them to a part of the Wissahickon Valley system. We entered at Kitchens Lane and took the path to the stables. The children loved petting the horses and feeding them some leftovers from our snack: carrots, pear, apple. After visiting the horses, we walked to another trail that led us to a little beach. I had been there many times before with Curtis who immediately started to look for materials to build a fishing pole. R couldn't wait to get in the water and wanted her bathing suit right away. It rained that first day we visited the river, but R and Curtis didn't seem to notice. The rain is so natural in the woods. The tree canopy, sand and water just absorb it and a rainfall doesn't seem as intrusive as it does outside of the woods. It's just part of everything. The children continued their play in the water..walking barefoot on the rocky river bed with water up to their ankles.

On Wednesday, we repeated Tuesdays pattern with horses first, river second. This time we went down to the water on the opposite side of the bridge. This part had slower water and more beach. Curtis and R really enjoyed this side. There were flat, large rocks a few feet from the beach, and R enjoyed wading out to them , sitting on them and kicking up the water. Curt helped us spot two large river fish with his eagle eyes and lots of little "bait" fish. Curt also got to use his"guard" stick or hacking stick to hack a path through the "brush" on certain parts of the beach. It was a truly beautiful sight to see: young boy body..great arm strength, beautiful yet powerful arcing motions with the hacking arm. And lo and behold, he hacked out a clearing in the brush and R and I had the job of removing the hacked away brush.

The children were having so much fun exploring the possibilities in this place, that they told me they wanted to skip the horses next time and go right to the water. So that is what we did on Thursday . More water play happened. I held their hands and walked them out a little farther into the river and back to the beach. So much fun. I feel blessed to be have the opportunity to bring children to nature for such chunks of time. I feel blessed to really see how nature can truly"hold" the children, just like it can hold the rain. Nature is a soft mattress that absorbs and redirects their energies, their play, their moods. I am merely a facilitator.

Friday was our stay and play day. We spent most of the morning in the backyard using the poll and sandbox. The sprinkler was going and running through that was a lot of fun. For about an hour though, the children were content to sit in the shade with me and hear me tell the story of Mulan. This one is so long that I had to tell it in three parts. I have mixed emotions in telling the children these faery tale type stories at such a young age as Steiner finds Grimms Faery Tales developmentally appropriate at age seven, but the world is inundated with Disney and two year olds can pick out Cinderella in a line-up. And I do not offer these stories, they ask for them.

At rest time, I read to them an Elsa Beskow book called Emily and Daisy. I wish the whole world for children under seven were like an Elsa Beskow book. If you want to read more about her check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elsa_Beskow. Her artwork is beautiful, seasonal and magical. Her stories do not involve the play between good and evil forces as faery tales do, but describe the goings on of children and the magical forest folk on their journey through life and the seasons. Sometimes there is rascally behavior that children can identify with as well. I highly recommend adding these treasures to your home library. You can find some used copies online ..retired library books and such..or splurge and take a trip to the American Swedish Museum, at FDR Park in South Philadelphia, Broad st and Pattison Ave. there is no admission fee to visit their fabulous gift shop which carries many many Beskow books as well as the Pippi Longstocking series and other delightful tales for older children.

Well that's all for now. I will see you all in two weeks after my break. Be well.

Week Three: Lightening Bugs

Week three was yet another great week. The honeymoon period is over for sure and R and Curtis have settled into the routine. Both children know what to expect and R is very keyed in to what comes next. She anticipates the next phase and often asks, "when are we going to have story?". She asks this just before I get the puppets out.

This week was all about lightening bugs. The story by Phillip Rhoades and the accompanying puppets I needle felted were well-received. You can read a PDF of the story at this link http://www.ungab.com/files/The_First_Lightning_Bug.pdf

I made a lightening bug with a removable brown bottom that hides it's light, a lady lightening, and a cloud that represents Brother Wind. I was so thrilled to find a story that had Brother Wind in it by name because we often use the term Brother Wind at school....mother moon father sun, etc. R really loved this one and enjoyed playing with lady lightening afterwards. Curtis must have liked it too because he was very quiet all week during story time. I also delivered this one to them as a lap story...where I lay the silks on my lap and tuck them into my collar and use my own self as a stage...this seemed to work very well.

On Tuesday we had midsummer's day. A beautiful warm day it was. We sing songs as we walk out of the woods which correspond to the season. (when we walk in I don't speak much as I want them to hear the birds). Anyway, starting on Monday we sang two new songs

"Oh welcome to you , oh beautiful sun, when grass is so high and children will run.". This is in three parts and I go through all three.

The other is a nursery class favorite:
"Dandelion, yellow and gold. what do you do all day? I sit and I wait in the tall green grass til the children come and play
Dandelion, yellow and gold, what do you do all night? I sit and I wait in the tall green grass til my hair turns long and white.
Dandelion yellow and gold, what do you do when your hair turns white and the children come and play?
They pick me up with their dimpled hands and blow my hair away."

They hardly even know they are walking up a hill! These songs go well with summertime. On Tuesday I also read a midsummer theme story to the children at rest time. We always read one short book before rest. This one was from A Donsy of Gnomes..and it was called Mossy. This story is about an actual gnome midsummer party in Limindor Woods.

On Monday in our own Carpenters Woods, Curtis and R were able to play with some children from Summit Day Care who visit the same spot we do every Monday during the summer. So this is a nice added rhythm to our week...meeting up with the Summit children at the bridge.

On Wednesday, we got into my car to head down to the woods And lo and behold..the battery was dead. So we walked instead. The children loved the walk down . It was wonderful to see all the beautiful flowers planted along the way...and to see various trucks and worker vehicles. The children didn't even complain that day on the way back. I was surprised as it is about seven long blocks...half of them uphill. They ate very very well when we got back and slept very soundly.

Well, AAA came out and replaced the old battery, but I wanted to try the walking experiment again. This time I took the wagon with me. There was a lot of complaining even though I pulled them on all the downhills. Well I got great exercise, but upon asking them if they enjoyed their walk that day, they answered in unison, "it was too long! When will your car be fixed?" So now we drive down to Weavers Way and walk from there. That seems to be just the right length of walk for them. Two and half blocks. I point out all the beautiful flowers and plants along the way..purple cone flowers, black eyed susans ferns, hosta, lilies..and we get to see many bees busy at work.

By Thursday, the children had such good color and energy from all their excursions that week...when we got to the woods and our special place, they asked to hike some more...so I took them through the loop and made our way back to the meadow. We stopped along the way on a downhill run that had a lot of large flat rocks .. r and Curtis enjoyed lying across them on their backs and looking up at the trees. I did this too...so lovely...until a fellow hiker started coming uphill..then I got up...I had a dress on.

On Friday we stayed and played as is our usual rhythm instead of trekking to the woods. It was overcast...so we went to the back yard. ( R and I got a little too much sun though...more sunscreen is called for even on overcast days..I'll make sure of that!) I filled up our pool and R and C loved it. The sandbox was in full use and Curt even made one of the smaller slides into a pirate ship...complete with a plank to walk...he weighted it down with a grill and many many bricks..it actually supports him and allows him to jump off it to the ground. In the meantime...our silk squares were basking in the sun inside their warm mason jars complete with hot water and turmeric. Curt left before lunch with his father to go camping at Cape Henlopen...I was to join them later... R and I got to rinse out the silks after rest time and hang them to dry. They are very beautiful. We will do this again next week with purple beet juice. I read somewhere that turmeric is used by the monks to dye their yellow sashes..cheaper than saffron I suppose..and the added bonus is that it doesn't require a mordant...perfect for dyeing with children.

R and I went to the trolley car for ice cream as usual on Friday after rest time..she had vanilla this week..no sprinkles.

But where are the pictures she promised? After many phone calls to Cricket my cell carrier..seems I need to upgrade to a web service plan and email myself the photos...this can be accomplished after July 2nd. So look for added pictures in these blogs after then. There are so many..I can't wait to add them.

Next week...week four..is still lightening bugs...if the children catch any with you at night...they can whisper a wish to them and release them...just like it says in the story...and though they are wee bugs..they will still try their hardest to make those wishes come true. Curt keeps wishing for a new kitten.. And then wonders why it hasn't shown up yet. Hmmm mm. I wonder.

Week Two Ladybugs

Hi all. Week two was even better than week one...The magic crockpot figured out the exact measurements for the ingredients and likes to start its work promptly at 6 am. This past week the group was small with only R and Curtis...3 year old girl and 5 year old boy respectively. Curt continues to learn to adapt his play to suit R. This week they practiced a made up language together. This is a fun thing for Curt..last Autumn an Israeli family started at his school and Curt got to hear a fair bit of Hebrew being spoken by the parents to their children. He started to mimic the sounds and pretend to speak. I was concerned that some adults would think he was making fun at the little boy..but I knew he was just trying out "speaking another language.". Curt also proudly says he CAN speak Hebrew or Swedish or even Arabic as these are languages he has been exposed to.

Anyway, R and Curt talked a blue streak of their own made up language complete with inflection and exclamation. Later in the week Curt started to play dress up with R much to her delight..He would don a princess dress and crown and be a princess kitty while R with her tiara is the kitty owner who feeds and helps the kitty who often seems in distress. Funny how princess kitty is often mewing for something or other...and R in such a sweet soft voice pats the kitty's back and says, "yes,yes kitty...it's alright. What would you like?". When children play with others and use this kind of vocab...i know they have brought some of this with their very nature to ths world..but I also like to think they pick up a bit in their strong urge to imitate ... their parents. So kudos to r's parents, i am sure these soft spoken words of comfort were spoken to her at some point.

Of course, curt still likes to worry R with loud play at times..but I have been giving her tools to deal..like come to me and stand behind me..i will sort out curt. She seems to like this and has been trusting me to make things ok again.

Curt gets frustrated when he tries to teach her something in his almost six year old way...for example...this is the way the puzzle works or something.....and R who knows her own mind does not care for such instruction. He has much more patience than he did at four years that's for sure...he doesn't strike out...but has on occasion removed the prized tiara and hidden it under the bed. rascal! But we work to sort it out and move on.

Enough psychology....the woods...the blessed woods. The big eyed frog family likes to make an appearance every day. They have taken up residence slightly north of the bridge and are resisting curt's valiant efforts to place them in his net. It is beautiful to see them hop and swim and it makes R laugh to see them. R is so much more confident of her footing in the stream and on the land near the bridge. She strips off her shoes straight away. She likes getting in the stream and is mastering the art of descending the bank to reach the water. She has learned to use a log as a hand rail and she can climb up on this low log and sit upon it. She asks me to sit beside her and tell her the story of the velveteen rabbit. Curt likes to stay nearby and try for the frogs while listening..but R is content to sit and listen.

R also has learned to walk along one of the other logs. And find a spot nearer the ground for her so that she can straddle the log and "ride a horse.". It is fulfilling to see her confidence in doing this and sometimes she has a little running dialogue going with herself.."i'm looking for the lower spot..here it is...leg over...ride the horse."

R is trying her hand at the nets also..she tries to catch those spindly legged walk-on-water bugs with them...and also pick up a bit of sand.

Now that R has grown confident with the woodsy location, i can follow Curt up into the blown down tree slightly east of the bridge and climb along like a bear. Curt can do most of it standing up like a tightrope walker. He likes to pretend he has a machete and is hacking away at thick grasses in the jungle...as there is still quite a bit of vegetation on and around the blown down trees. I can see R clearly from the log...she sometimes walks on the cleared path to the log..but prefers to hang near the bridge at this time. She knows where I am and I call to her occasionally and wave...she has just enough distance from me so that she does not feel the urge to include me in her play...which R often likes to do with me when I am in proximity.

One of her favorite games is to walk in the water next to the bridge and select rocks from the stream bed. She takes them in her small hands and lifts them almost over her head to place them on the bridge. When she has amassed enough of them..she makes her way on top of the bridge to throw them into the stream below. She delights in the large Kerplunk they make when they hit only water. She also engages in her personal dialogue here as well...more of a singing to herself as she goes about her important work. I just delight in watching this full immersion of the young child in play.

We start the day with our beloved puppets as you know, and this is the last week for ladybugs. Curt and R are great helper puppeteers. R likes the bird who gives ladybug a ride on her back and sings, "Tra lee la lu, Tra lee la lu, this is what little birds do.". Curt has a hard time not getting silly and loud during puppet play..which can "spoil the mood a bit." but bless R she just stays engaged..she can even sleep through Curt's sometime outburts during rest time. Wow.

Anyway, back to puppets. R sems to have the story living in her and often will often reenact the play right afterwawrds as I leave the puppets out for the children to play with. Curt, even with his outbursts, has started singing Tra lee la lu out of the blue during the day. Aaah it reached him too. Funny thing...I never quite got the cricket's fiddle song right...hey diddle hey diddle hey diddle dee...Hey diddle hey diddle hey diddle dee hey diddle hey diddle hey diddle dee...Hey diddle hey diddle hey diddle dee, hey diddle hey diddle hey diddle, Ho hey! Hey diddle hey diddle hey diddle dee...Hey diddle hey diddle hey diddle dee hey diddle hey diddle hey diddle...ho hey! he always says..."that's not right". Seems he knows it doesn't sit with me either. And that's the part when he will start to jump about and bust the mood. Amazing testament to how in bringing the play or the song or the circle...there must be the assuredness of the teacher deep within. Much for me to work on here.

Poison ivy alert...young curt has contracted a seemingly mild case on his ankles...i am treating with jewelweed soap. I will start putting the ivy block on him before entering the woods. I still put the Buzz Away on the children as well unless they already reek of citronella.

This upcoming week is Fireflies..I am going to use their other name, lightening bugs. Our story will deal with Sister Lightening and her good work in giving the bug its light on its "tushi.". I think they will delight in this one...here's a shout out to Phillip Rhoades for this tale..you can check it out on YouTube. I know..i'm lame...i just couldn't come up with one myself and was researching...but I really like his...we'll see how it's received. And on cue, this past friday as we were felting our balls again in the courtyard, we saw our first lightening bug of the season..of course his light was out in the sunlight...but still.

Felt balls were beautiful this week..they have spirals in them...Summer Solstice happens on tuesday and spirals and sunshine are the theme for this festival. i hope to have the nature table arrayed properly by then. "A" will be joining us on Thursday and Friday this week coming. She is a four year old girl. The art project on Friday will be dyeing silks the color of the sun..and lightening bug tushis.


Blessings to you, Ms.Rocksand

.

Enrichment class for the four year old...repost from another group

Here is another forward from the yahoo group of Marsha Johnson at Shining Star Waldorf Schhol in Oregon. I have been following her work for about five years and am still bowled over by her succinct wisdom that she doles out honestly and without beating around the bush! If you're interested check out the group called waldorfhomeeducators in the yahoo groups realm. She also has a new website called
http://www.magicofwaldorf.com/. Which has a compilation of her words of wisdom on how to really bring the workings of waldorf education to your family home, called Mrs. m's Words of Wisdom.

The topic below is one I felt very keenly with my oldest boy...who will be 15 next month! He was not "wrapped up in waldorf" and I had him in Kixx summer soccer camps from the age of four years old and karate class from three years until eight years. Of course the pendulum swings so far the other way doesn't it..with my youngest..who is five, he is in no enrichment programs..other than this wonderful school of course. I still sometimes get the twinge that makes me think...maybe i should sign him up for this or that......i'm glad to have read this article...and to live so close to the woods.

Happy Summer, Roxanne



>> I would just add that four year olds do seem to have a habit of asking for
> > many things or activities that can be surprising and provoking to parents
> > who want to 'respond', as well. So the child who is 4 says, I want to play
> > Tennis! Aha thinks mama/papa, perhaps my child will be a tennis prodigy! So
> > out we go to get the $90 racquet and prepare for lessons and in a few
> > months, that raquest is under a pile of stuffed animals acting as a
> > trampoline. : )
> >
> > Same with violin, guitar, ballet, cricket, football, piano, you name it,
> > the 4 year old expresses a wish and a desire, often quite strongly! and when
> > we comply and go out and acquire all these things, well, the 4 year old does
> > not really want to play piano at all! They like to dink around on it, but
> > they do not like to sit still and practice for 30 minutes and listen...
> >
> > Ok some do. A rare few. The vast majority of 4 year olds just want, pure
> > WANT, something right now. Yes, this very moment!
> >
> > I want a lot of things too, but I am a great grown up lady and know I have
> > to prioritze and plan and prepare and save up and so on and even then I
> > don't get what I want, much of the time, haha, which is a good thing or I
> > would eat 12 VooDoo maple bars a day and it would be hard to fit through my
> > front door.
> >
> > Or whatever.
> >
> > We must remember that 4 year old want a lot of things and their need is
> > immediate, Instant Need Which Must Be Met (not!) and we can say, oh yes
> > won't it be great when you are xyz and then you can xyz (take classes, take
> > music lessons, drive my car, get married, whatever)...
> >
> > That will be GREAT!
> >
> > Now let's go outside and water the garden.
> >
> > Just because your child asks, does not mean, they 'get'. They may or may
> > not 'get', depending on your adult judgment and desires and plans and you
> > have that marvelous parenting phrase, we will see! to use as much as you
> > like.
> >
> > All children know that means, maybe but probably not.
> >
> > So be it.
> >
> > We are the parents, after all.
> > Mrs M

--- In waldorfhomeeducators@yahoogroups.com, "Beth" wrote:
>
> Hi,
>
> I have a daughter who turned 4 in March. I also have a nearly 11 year old son whom we homeschool and our daughter is also home with us (I just don't consider children younger than school age to be "homeschooled").
>
> Our son has 2-3 enrichment classes a week during the school year (handwork, lego engineering, hands on geometry-- that kind of thing) which he enjoys.
>
> Other little girls we know who are a similar age as my daughter are taking gymnastics and/or dance class. Our daughter had once been to a gymnastics birthday party and thought she would like to take gymnastics.
>
> So, when my son's classes were finished for the school year, we tried gymnastics for her. She always said that she liked it. But from my perspective, especially from learning more about Waldorf and more about child development, they were introducing too many variations too quickly. My experience with these little ones is that they enjoy and benefit from a lot of sameness with a few new things thrown in gradually. At the place we went to, the music was kind of loud, not really for little children, and was different every week. There was this large screen facing where the parents sit that showed a continually changing array of images/ ads/ info about how beneficial gymnastics is for children...
>
> My daughter looked kind of stressed in the gymnastics class as she tried to figure out what to do next-- again and again. Since the environment was overstimulating for me (with the music and the large screen) and I wasn't really happy with it for her, I took her out.
>
> And then we tried a dance class. This class meets after school and I think a lot of the little girls who have been at school all day are probably kind of tired. It's kind of hectic in the class with 12 little girls, many of whom want a lot of attention from the teacher. My daughter also has that same stressed look on her face as she appears to be trying to precisely replicate what the teacher is doing as much as she can; she seems kind of nervous about it. But again it hasn't been broken down into small enough steps for her to easily figure out what to do. And probably some of the same things would come more easily at a slightly older age-- as she continues to develop naturally. The main time she was smiling and looked happy was when they were doing free-form dancing with scarves and music (and there was nothing to concentrate on learning and copying). She seems excited about the class and wants to attend.
>
> So..this is quite a long way of describing that I am feeling kind of uncomfortable with this path of enrichment classes for 4 year olds. If there was some really cozy, gentle, imaginative class for creative movement I would be open to that. But I haven't really liked what I've seen so far. And I'm sure that, even if you wanted to be a professional dancer, you would not need to start at age 4.
>
> And at the same time, she does want to be "special" and go to a "class" like her brother does and she says she likes the classes she has tried... Any thoughts?
>
> Thanks!
> Beth
>