"I am a pumpkin big and round, I once grew upon the ground,
Now I have two eyes, a mouth and a nose, where did they come from do you suppose?
With a candle inside shining bright,
I'll be a Jack-o-lantern on Halloween night!"
Curtis was asking and asking when We could carve his pumpkin. I kept telling him that we could once the dishes were cleared and the table ready. Well, whilst I was puttering around, he stealthily acquired the small pumpkin carving tools from the sharps drawer. He had a big square mouth cut out and a smaller square nose which took up the whole "face"area. Then he must have scooped and scooped. He was so excited to show me his progress. I cheered him On. How surprised i was as he is only 5years old. Then he went to work on the eyes. We'll where could they go? Well on top of course...on either side of the stem. So the thing looks like it is screaming and looking up at this thing growing out from in between its eyes.
Quite hysterical...my funny little bug.
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Monday, October 18, 2010
The need for refreshment and renewal
As I delve into my studies, I feel I am becoming more self-aware. At the end of last week, I noticed I was losing my joy again. I thought to myself...self,you must be tired and need a break. When I stand back and look at the little people I work with and my own little person at home....and just observe them...notice their behaviors, smiles, ear shapes, etc...I suddenly think, my gosh, they are so adorable....so lovely. When I am tired...and just going through the paces to get my chores finished....I lose my joy in working with them...i don't see their cuteness....they might, I dare say even get on my nerves. I am really trying hard to make enough rejuvenation time each day to stay fresh with these little people. It is hard for me because I am a single mother to a great extent....Big Curtis was never around much when we were together. He is a step up guy in a lot of ways, and really takes good care of curt when he can...but he is often gone for work...and really just takes his downtime or friend time whenever. I, on the other hand, am home-base for little curt and. I love it...but I must be careful to pace myself always. Last weekend I was just overwhelmed with catching up with chores after a long week at work.....it was a beautiful autumn day. My son went on a hayride with the neighbor and other children...what a shame i made that choice. Housework and catchup can wait until the evenings during the weekends...curt and i will enjoy these autumn days together from now on, you can be sure. This past Sunday we did catch up with friends at a farm on a beautiful fall day...I feel so refreshed from this weekend...today at work the children are sweet in their cuteness, I am making full eye contact with them all...and they are joyful in my presence as I am able to bring them joy.
I am grateful for this awareness.
Blessings to you
I am grateful for this awareness.
Blessings to you
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Autumn Cleaning
Two weeks ago, I had had it. The apartment was dusty and the air felt stagnant. Most was tidy, but could definitely be cleaner. I t was the weekend before my sons 5th birthday and the autumn equinox. He is my equinox child. So little curt was writhe his father a bunch that weekend, so I cleaned with full on vigor. I cleaned the bathtub drain, I washed the linens, I moved furniture around. Well I always move furniture around, but I era
Ly changed a lot this time. I moved my sewing table to the dining room, perhaps i will use it more, and I moved cur's arts and crafts table to the living room. We gave definitely been using that more.
I started to strip the paint from my bay window...what I call the faery window...as we can sit in there and tell stories. I washed down all the cabinets..emptied the cupboards and rearranged the pantry.
It took most of the weekend, but oh what a feeling. Here are the pictures to prove it!
Here is a picture of my entryway. I received this furniture from my family home and could never find the right location for them. I like the chairs here. It is nice to have a place to sit down and put your boots on in the morning.
Here is a picture of the hearth. Unfortunately the chimney was closed up ages ago...so I use it as a nature " table"/display. I love the lighting here as it really has an ethereal glow to it!
Here are some closeups of the autumnal display.
And here is how I set up the main play area in the living room:
Here is the dining room:
Here is the large sit-in bay window. I call it the faery window. I usually have it adorned with silks and use it as a cozy knock for play or reading. Itbis currently undergoing some renovation...so it's a bit bare.
I moved my sewing table from my bedroom to the living room. Perhaps I will get to those sewing projects now.
In the kitchen, on the work counter sits a garden gnome, next to the garden tool caddy.
Here is a longer view of the kitchen
Here is curt and greg's bedroom. The linens were being laundered.
Some closeups of their room are as follows.
Here is the mamas an chair, which we call the womb chair. We snuggle up in here after bath and read our bedtime tale here. This was another orphan piece of furniture which could just not find it's rightful home in the apartment. This seems like a good place.
Here is another meditative place...the bathroom. Candles and incense are lit every night at bath time...lights are closed...it looks beautiful.
Well, that's the entire clean as can be apartment. I feel so refreshed and organized.
Happy autumn to you.
Ly changed a lot this time. I moved my sewing table to the dining room, perhaps i will use it more, and I moved cur's arts and crafts table to the living room. We gave definitely been using that more.
I started to strip the paint from my bay window...what I call the faery window...as we can sit in there and tell stories. I washed down all the cabinets..emptied the cupboards and rearranged the pantry.
It took most of the weekend, but oh what a feeling. Here are the pictures to prove it!
Here is a picture of my entryway. I received this furniture from my family home and could never find the right location for them. I like the chairs here. It is nice to have a place to sit down and put your boots on in the morning.
Here is a picture of the hearth. Unfortunately the chimney was closed up ages ago...so I use it as a nature " table"/display. I love the lighting here as it really has an ethereal glow to it!
Here are some closeups of the autumnal display.
And here is how I set up the main play area in the living room:
Here is the dining room:
Here is the large sit-in bay window. I call it the faery window. I usually have it adorned with silks and use it as a cozy knock for play or reading. Itbis currently undergoing some renovation...so it's a bit bare.
I moved my sewing table from my bedroom to the living room. Perhaps I will get to those sewing projects now.
In the kitchen, on the work counter sits a garden gnome, next to the garden tool caddy.
Here is a longer view of the kitchen
Here is curt and greg's bedroom. The linens were being laundered.
Some closeups of their room are as follows.
Here is the mamas an chair, which we call the womb chair. We snuggle up in here after bath and read our bedtime tale here. This was another orphan piece of furniture which could just not find it's rightful home in the apartment. This seems like a good place.
Here is another meditative place...the bathroom. Candles and incense are lit every night at bath time...lights are closed...it looks beautiful.
Well, that's the entire clean as can be apartment. I feel so refreshed and organized.
Happy autumn to you.
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Steiner's Theosphy
I am grateful to be able to attend the first half of my school's Faculty Meetings on Thursday afternoons. This year's meeting is devoted partially to study. Part of the first half is used to read sections of Theosopjy. Steiner's works can be really hard reads for me, but this one seems a bit different. It seems that since this is the third or fourth book of his that I have stumbled through, that it is becoming dare I say easier to read. For one thing there is repetition of ideas. For example the four-fold human being is being discussed. The ether, astral, ego, and physical portions of the human being. I have been exposed to Steiner's explanations of these bodies in Education of the Child, Cosmic Memory, Study of Man. each time I am exposed to these difficult to grasp concepts, it seems I am meeting an old friend. I feel less uncomfortable. yes that's it...at first I felt uncomfortable because I was so clueless as to what was being discussed.
in Theosophy I took the time to read the preface. The writer discusses exactly how one must read Steiner's works and why Steiner wrote in such a difficult to understand manner. he says,"It (reading Steiner) demands the careful and exacting training of faculties that are for the most part dormant in the human soul today....It's readers will have to work their way through each page and even each single sentence the hard way. This was done deliberately;it is the only way this book can become what it is intended to be for the reader. Simply reading it through is as good as not reading it at all. ...This book is consciously written in a manner that requires enhanced activity by the reader....To become inwardly active to an extent far beyond that required by most reading is the challenge of Rudolph Steiner's books. "
It almost feels like exercising. I am developing muscles to understand better. If I go a few days having not read anything "Anthroposophic" I feel my muscles weakeningg...I start to fall of course in my thinking and being. it reminds me of the meditation work I had done for a while with a type of Yoga. the more works and teachings I read of the spiritual masters , the more I stayed on track...but that work was way too ascetic and rigorous. I felt I could not live in the real world and study that degree of yoga meditation. Anthroposophy seems to allow. Even enhance my everyday life, especially, most especially my work with young children.
Things that I have read just seem to come up for me in the moment of my interactions with them. For example, in Kingdom of Childhood, I read that we are so far off if we become annoyed with a child's behavior. We need to look at ourselves and see where our own headspace is...or rather look at the energy of the room and see what is amiss. Also, if a child's behavior is particularly off we ate wrong to feel anger or annoyance, but rather compassion for this being of light who is trying to manage reinsertion into the physical realm.I am paraphrasing of course and shedding my own insight on those words..but that is what comes out for me...and I often hear these words when a child is really struggling against me over something. In the past I felt I was being wishy-washy by not using my will to sternly guide them where it was they needed to go...but I am finding my way now without the"stern.". There is such joy and compassion in my work now, yet the children still feel the will that is speaking to them respectfully. I was trying to imitate other teachers ways of working with the children in those challenging moments, but was missing the mark. I still have a lot to learn..It is like learning how to float at first. I can do it for a little then I start to sink again. there is a constant remembering I need to enforce in my practice.
Deep stuff my friends.
in Theosophy I took the time to read the preface. The writer discusses exactly how one must read Steiner's works and why Steiner wrote in such a difficult to understand manner. he says,"It (reading Steiner) demands the careful and exacting training of faculties that are for the most part dormant in the human soul today....It's readers will have to work their way through each page and even each single sentence the hard way. This was done deliberately;it is the only way this book can become what it is intended to be for the reader. Simply reading it through is as good as not reading it at all. ...This book is consciously written in a manner that requires enhanced activity by the reader....To become inwardly active to an extent far beyond that required by most reading is the challenge of Rudolph Steiner's books. "
It almost feels like exercising. I am developing muscles to understand better. If I go a few days having not read anything "Anthroposophic" I feel my muscles weakeningg...I start to fall of course in my thinking and being. it reminds me of the meditation work I had done for a while with a type of Yoga. the more works and teachings I read of the spiritual masters , the more I stayed on track...but that work was way too ascetic and rigorous. I felt I could not live in the real world and study that degree of yoga meditation. Anthroposophy seems to allow. Even enhance my everyday life, especially, most especially my work with young children.
Things that I have read just seem to come up for me in the moment of my interactions with them. For example, in Kingdom of Childhood, I read that we are so far off if we become annoyed with a child's behavior. We need to look at ourselves and see where our own headspace is...or rather look at the energy of the room and see what is amiss. Also, if a child's behavior is particularly off we ate wrong to feel anger or annoyance, but rather compassion for this being of light who is trying to manage reinsertion into the physical realm.I am paraphrasing of course and shedding my own insight on those words..but that is what comes out for me...and I often hear these words when a child is really struggling against me over something. In the past I felt I was being wishy-washy by not using my will to sternly guide them where it was they needed to go...but I am finding my way now without the"stern.". There is such joy and compassion in my work now, yet the children still feel the will that is speaking to them respectfully. I was trying to imitate other teachers ways of working with the children in those challenging moments, but was missing the mark. I still have a lot to learn..It is like learning how to float at first. I can do it for a little then I start to sink again. there is a constant remembering I need to enforce in my practice.
Deep stuff my friends.
emmi pikler
I recently finished reading my group s assignment. this particular reading is a journal of the sensory awareness organization containing a rare english translation of some of piklers writings. alot of her writings have been translated into french and some others but not english. this particular review took several of her writings across the span of her life and used the excerpts to create an article or synopsis of piklers work.
she was atruly remarkable woman. what i found impressed me most was her courage. she held a belief in proper development of children in the early years which she tested for validity on her own child. then she advised parents in her pediatric practice to use her methods on their children. Finally she was able to have her methods strictly adhered to on a large scale in the loczy facility. i say i admire her courage because at the time the general public scoffed at her. even regarding her private patients others believed the parents did not truly follow piklers advice in the privacy of their own homes. and therefore they found piklers claims unfounded. once loczy was in place pikler was able to publish her findings with more scientific proof because the environment the children were in was strictly managed.
piklers findings basically discuss treating children with respect having them learn through self initiated movement bringing them joy. her findings prove that if these methods or philosophies are followed children will move i
at a higher level. what i mean by that is when those children learn to walk through self initiated movement they really learn to walk very very well. these children have grace and balance which rivals their peers who have been taught to move. according to piklers findings children innately know what they need to do to eventually walk upright. if achild is born with a weak back the child will naturally spend more time on the floor on their bellie
y strengthening the back. where as other children with a stronger back will spend more time in another position.
she was atruly remarkable woman. what i found impressed me most was her courage. she held a belief in proper development of children in the early years which she tested for validity on her own child. then she advised parents in her pediatric practice to use her methods on their children. Finally she was able to have her methods strictly adhered to on a large scale in the loczy facility. i say i admire her courage because at the time the general public scoffed at her. even regarding her private patients others believed the parents did not truly follow piklers advice in the privacy of their own homes. and therefore they found piklers claims unfounded. once loczy was in place pikler was able to publish her findings with more scientific proof because the environment the children were in was strictly managed.
piklers findings basically discuss treating children with respect having them learn through self initiated movement bringing them joy. her findings prove that if these methods or philosophies are followed children will move i
at a higher level. what i mean by that is when those children learn to walk through self initiated movement they really learn to walk very very well. these children have grace and balance which rivals their peers who have been taught to move. according to piklers findings children innately know what they need to do to eventually walk upright. if achild is born with a weak back the child will naturally spend more time on the floor on their bellie
y strengthening the back. where as other children with a stronger back will spend more time in another position.
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Starting the year off right
Well tomorrow is the end of the first full week back to school. My time at Sophia's Hearth was so well-spent. I felt I was foundering all year last school year. I just couldn't find my groove. The Sophia's Hearth program really seems to have set my feet in the right direction. The Lead Nursery Teacher, Kerry has taken last year's experience and made a bunch of changes, that dare I say at the end of the first week seem to have made a monumental difference.
1. There are no special needs children in the class
2. There are no more than 12 total children per day (2 assistants on those days)
3. The three-day children come Mon, Tues, Wed...Therefore the beginning of the week has more children instead of the end of the week when the teachers are tired.
4. Thursday and Friday have only 9 children (1 assistant)
5. Bathroom time: about 2 to 3 children only per assistant in the bathroom...instead of 5 per assistant
6. a love-seat sofa is in the classroom and some extra tables are no longer there
7. the snacks follow the grain of the day
These changes in addition to the work I did this summer seem to have really centered me. I feel so much calmer, centered and plain...upright with good head space! We have a large percentage of brand new to school young ones and I have to say there really wasn't a whole lot of crying. This is my third year in the nursery and this year boasts the least crying in the first few weeks. Last year I felt the crying (really loud, crying jags) went on for a month. Actually I think it almost did.
Here is the picture of the class last year...doesn't it look like ALOT of children and adults (and some of the children are missing)?
What resonates for me from training is the concept of checking in with yourself. It is so important to know where I am on the inside because I am working with children. I have set a regimen for myself..Up at six..read verse of the day and meditation for the day from Spiritual Insights. Then 30 minutes of Yoga. I am particularly fond of Sharon Gannon and David Life's Jivamukti Yoga and have studied with them via DVD for 6 years now. I use their Class for Busy People (audio on my Ipod) on school mornings. Curt usually gets himself up between 630 am and 7 am..He will hang out on the couch while I finish stretching. We'll talk and cuddle. Then I make us breakfast and we get dressed for the day and then are out the door. (Dirty breakfast dishes wait in the sink until I come home>) Lunches are packed the night before.
Then I get us to school between 8 am and 8 15 am. School ends at 315pm. After school, we have snack at 3 30 pm and outside play in the garden at home. Dinner happens at 5pm... then bath time, book-time and bedtime at 7 pm. This spiritual work in the morning is really getting me in the right frame of mind for the work and for my time with Curt.
Then I am attending the first half of Faculty Meeting once a week and the Book Study is on Theosophy by Rudolph Steiner. I am also reading Cosmic Memory by Steiner....and a bunch of other books that were required reading for the summer course. I hope to finish them up soon and blog about them so I can start the required reading for the November Session at Sophia's Hearth. I feel so immersed in study and I actually like it. Steiner is a crazy read. I was delving into the prologue to Theosophy during my break today and the author was discussing how there is an actual way to read Steiner's writing. How it reaches you on many levels. The metaphor he used was that of a cookbook...One can read ...add a cup of sugar and stir in melted butter then add cinnamon and one is just getting the ingredients list in their head. This is akin to..the body is composed of the etheric, the physical, the astral..and just making a mental note of the names. But one can go beyond the cookbook knowledge and feel a metamorphosis on a larger scale. Steiner ..the author continued, wrote in a way difficult to browse through so that the reader would be forced to higher levels of concentration. Well I am paraphrasing..it was all much more articulate in the prologue. I think I am feeling a change stirring.
Namaste
1. There are no special needs children in the class
2. There are no more than 12 total children per day (2 assistants on those days)
3. The three-day children come Mon, Tues, Wed...Therefore the beginning of the week has more children instead of the end of the week when the teachers are tired.
4. Thursday and Friday have only 9 children (1 assistant)
5. Bathroom time: about 2 to 3 children only per assistant in the bathroom...instead of 5 per assistant
6. a love-seat sofa is in the classroom and some extra tables are no longer there
7. the snacks follow the grain of the day
These changes in addition to the work I did this summer seem to have really centered me. I feel so much calmer, centered and plain...upright with good head space! We have a large percentage of brand new to school young ones and I have to say there really wasn't a whole lot of crying. This is my third year in the nursery and this year boasts the least crying in the first few weeks. Last year I felt the crying (really loud, crying jags) went on for a month. Actually I think it almost did.
Here is the picture of the class last year...doesn't it look like ALOT of children and adults (and some of the children are missing)?
What resonates for me from training is the concept of checking in with yourself. It is so important to know where I am on the inside because I am working with children. I have set a regimen for myself..Up at six..read verse of the day and meditation for the day from Spiritual Insights. Then 30 minutes of Yoga. I am particularly fond of Sharon Gannon and David Life's Jivamukti Yoga and have studied with them via DVD for 6 years now. I use their Class for Busy People (audio on my Ipod) on school mornings. Curt usually gets himself up between 630 am and 7 am..He will hang out on the couch while I finish stretching. We'll talk and cuddle. Then I make us breakfast and we get dressed for the day and then are out the door. (Dirty breakfast dishes wait in the sink until I come home>) Lunches are packed the night before.
Then I get us to school between 8 am and 8 15 am. School ends at 315pm. After school, we have snack at 3 30 pm and outside play in the garden at home. Dinner happens at 5pm... then bath time, book-time and bedtime at 7 pm. This spiritual work in the morning is really getting me in the right frame of mind for the work and for my time with Curt.
Then I am attending the first half of Faculty Meeting once a week and the Book Study is on Theosophy by Rudolph Steiner. I am also reading Cosmic Memory by Steiner....and a bunch of other books that were required reading for the summer course. I hope to finish them up soon and blog about them so I can start the required reading for the November Session at Sophia's Hearth. I feel so immersed in study and I actually like it. Steiner is a crazy read. I was delving into the prologue to Theosophy during my break today and the author was discussing how there is an actual way to read Steiner's writing. How it reaches you on many levels. The metaphor he used was that of a cookbook...One can read ...add a cup of sugar and stir in melted butter then add cinnamon and one is just getting the ingredients list in their head. This is akin to..the body is composed of the etheric, the physical, the astral..and just making a mental note of the names. But one can go beyond the cookbook knowledge and feel a metamorphosis on a larger scale. Steiner ..the author continued, wrote in a way difficult to browse through so that the reader would be forced to higher levels of concentration. Well I am paraphrasing..it was all much more articulate in the prologue. I think I am feeling a change stirring.
Namaste
Hoop Houses
I haven't posted in a couple of weeks. School began on September 9th and that has pretty much trumped everything. Also, the summer gardens have been ending. I am very lucky to live in a cooperative apartment community where we have a fairly large common backyard and courtyard. The backyard is available for garden plots and also has a nice area for the children complete with sandbox and jungle gym. There is also picnic table seating and benches. At the school where I work, last year's 3rd grade teacher had made cold frames for the children's garden plots. They were way out of my league. They were made from wood and old glass windows. Also the frames were cut on an angle. But I really thought it would be great to have some fresh lettuce in November...so I thought I would look it up. God Bless Google..I found this video on YouTUBE: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v6bWeYCV53A. After watching this, I really truly could envision myself creating one of these. I even day dreamed about it. I truly believe that is part of exercising the will...going through the "motions" in your head and seeing yourself doing what you want to accomplish.
Well young Curtis and I made a trip to Home Depot and got all the necessary tools and materials. And I have to say I am pretty pleased with how the hoop house turned out. I purchased the wrong width plastic sheeting, and had to overlap three strips of plastic...but I will tape those seams shut once the really cold winds start to blow.
Here are some shots of the hoop house and the backyard in general. Enjoy:
The finished hoop house (There is actually lettuce sprouting up. I also planted some Zinnias. Wouldn't it be great to have some fresh cut flowers when it is chilly outside.
Here is a picture of the garden plot before the hoop house was placed upon it. The wheelbarrow is full of the old vegetation from the summer garden.
Here is the play area....The sandbox, benches and kinder gym.
Well young Curtis and I made a trip to Home Depot and got all the necessary tools and materials. And I have to say I am pretty pleased with how the hoop house turned out. I purchased the wrong width plastic sheeting, and had to overlap three strips of plastic...but I will tape those seams shut once the really cold winds start to blow.
Here are some shots of the hoop house and the backyard in general. Enjoy:
The finished hoop house (There is actually lettuce sprouting up. I also planted some Zinnias. Wouldn't it be great to have some fresh cut flowers when it is chilly outside.
This is Curt's garden . One of our generous neighbors let him garden on the unused half of her plot. Here are the resident garden gnomes.
The cheap Adirondack knock-off chairs that are oh so comfy after a long day in the Waldorf Nursery. It is great to just kick back in one of those with some knitting and watch the children play in the garden.
I am really proud of this. I had the idea to make these little vine houses for the children in the spring and even purchased the fake bamboo for the project..but it got so hot so quickly...I just didn't get to it. But a neighbor asked me to water her gardens for three weeks this summer. I agreed and one of the gardens was a potted garden that was overrun with morning glories. Then I had a eureka moment. So I set up the little pole house and started to train the already well-established morning-glories ..and lo and behold they took off. The children love this little "hidey-hole."
Here are the remnants from our corn and pumpkin garden. The corn came up..about 14 stalks and we even got some small stunted but delicious corn and two tiny pumpkins. They look very nice on the nature table. I hope we get some real pumpkins for jack-o-lanterns next year.
Here is Curt and the "robot" he made from some bricks we found and dug out in the backyard. There must have been a border a long time ago near the fence...but these bricks were buried and overgrown by the existing plantings there. Curt found them and we spent two hours digging them up the other day...what fun. Now if I could just convince folks here to let me put down a brick patio and place a very safe fire pit on there...we might truly have some autumn ambiance in the garden.
See that octagon picnic table in the background...it is sooooo cool. There is another garden gnome. How did he get up there?
I am so grateful for the green space here. I grew up in the heart of the city and never had enough green space. It's a shame the Curt and I are about the only two residents who regularly come out into the backyard. The rest like to hang out in the court yard. The courtyard has a concrete walkway...grass and trees and benches. It is very nice...but there is a bit of an echo as it is surrounded by three four story buildings...and while the concrete is great for riding bikes...I prefer to have grass under my feet. Oh well. Curt and I do love the backyard...we have been known to spend 4 hours at a time out there.
Blessings.
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