Sometimes I think I'm the luckiest woman in the world. I've had many struggles with motherhood, but bedtime has never really been one of them. Well, at least not after the age of one. When Luke was a baby, I was staunch that he would not sleep in bed with us. I know that some swear by co-sleeping and that's great...for you. I felt however that this was my only time to not be a mother. A classic case of the reality not really settling in with my perception of things. I mean really once a mother, all bets are off. You are a mother at noon and at 4 a.m. You are a mother while you are making lunch or taking a shower. There is no point when you stop being a mother. Luke was my first and I had a lot to learn. So I would get up every two hours and nurse him in our comfy glider for an hour. Then I would carefully, gently set him down in his crib which was at the foot of our bed and I would lay down. Two minutes later he would start crying. I'd move my head to the foot of the bed and reach my hand in through the bars of the crib and gently soothes him back to sleep. There were many mornings that I woke up with my arm cramping up only to find my arm literally stuck in his crib. Sergio and I sometimes took turn and by the time Luke was six months we would just sleep with our heads at the foot of the bed, so we could comfort him.
When he turned a year old, he moved into he own room and Isabela was well on her way. We always had a routine with Luke. After dinner, we'd bathe him and put him in warm jammies. We would sit in the glider together and read a story. Some nights I would do this, some nights Sergio would do it.
Isabela came and I was much more lenient. She slept in a bassinet at the foot of our bed. I would nurse her every two hours for about a half hour. The girl was all business. Sometimes I would put her back in the bassinet, sometimes I would just leave her in bed with us. Whatever, I was tired! When she started sleeping through the night she was moved into the room she and Luke shared. We kept the same ritual with her.
I know that there were times when many of our friends thought we were strange. We would decline week night invitations to do things, because we didn't want to disrupt the kids schedules. "You guys are so strict!" That was invariably the comment that we would hear. When we did go to birthday parties, we'd leave a couple of hours before the kids bedtime. When we had birthday parties for them I would put a starting time and an ending time in the invites. I know this is common practice for most, but among our many Cuban friends, the party ends when the last person leaves. We weren't trying to be difficult or anti-social, but we did want our outings to be enjoyable and peaceful. Sometimes even with our best efforts the kids would melt down, but mostly we succeeded.
Today at 5 and 6, the kids have their routine down. After we have dinner, they help clean up and then head off tho brush their teeth. Sometimes they do it on their own, sometimes they need a gentle reminder and on rare days they need assistance. They then pick out their pajamas and head for the bathroom. They each have their bath and head off to bed with a book. At 8:00 p.m. Sergio and I go in and chat for a little while or read them a story. We tuck them in and lights out. It's smooth, it's easy and most of all it's peaceful. Some night we all stay up late. We watch a movie or tomorrow we'll stay up for fireworks. They may be cranky or may even fall asleep through them. That's o.k. as long as THAT is not our usual routine.
Friday, July 3, 2009
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Get Ready
So I've been reading blogs from Waldorf home schooling moms. I even joined a Waldorf Group out of Portland, Oregon. The first step to getting ready for next year has been to clean out pretty much everything. We shall start fresh.
Step 1. Clean and get rid of clutter. Waldorf is huge on kids having natural toys. Toys made from wood or other natural fibers and not too many of them either.
Here, we did what we could for now. We got rid of so many toys! We told the kids that they should set aside toys they felt they had outgrown. This worked better than saying, toys you don't want or don't play with, because then of course at that very moment they want to play with that very toy. Approaching it as toys they had outgrown made them feel very grown up indeed. I was surprised by how many toys they actually were ready to give up. Then we told them to go play outside and we would finish cleaning up. We kept Isabela's Barbies (definitely not Waldorf)but we are taking some baby steps here. We kept Luke's Lego's (not Waldorf either, but this we are not budging on.)
We kept the blocks, the hot wheels, the play stove and ironing board with the iron. We kept the Raggedy Ann and Fancy Nancy dolls plus their clothes. We kept the marble tower, even though it's plastic. We kept all the Star Wars stuff, but technically that's Sergio's stuff not the kids. We organized our baskets and jars of buttons, ribbons, scissors, glue, crayons, paints, rocks and gems. We cleared the bookcases and left half a dozen books for each of them on their shelves. We put all the family board games in a hall cabinet with all our different card games.
This all rubbed off on me and I cleared some of the pictures on the hall table. It looks much more streamlined now. I cleared the living room for summer. I put away the heavy winter rug and brought out our lighter summer one. I put the throw I keep on the couch away and cleared the mantle of our big candles.
Every room in the house looks bigger, fresher. I love it. The kids have been playing way more with there toys than they did when they had more of them. I love the look and feel our home has, it like it's just welcoming summer.
Step 2: I cleaned out all my teaching materials. I got rid of the math and language workbooks. No more worksheets. I did keep a word search book that Luke loves and an activity book that Isabela likes to work on by herself.
Step 3: I looked through our bookshelf and was happy to find books I'll be using next year. Among them Aesop's Fables and Grimm's fairy tales.
We've been working diligently on our daily rhythms. Waldorf education advocates daily rhythms. It really makes life so much easier when the kids know what comes next, what is expected of them. Arguing and bargaining become almost a non-issue. There is nothing to argue about. No you cannot take out your toys, it's time for breakfast. After breakfast, we wash up, brush our teeth and straighten our rooms. I've noticed the kids really love the sense of accomplishment. We've had to do some adjusting, because our summer schedule differs a bit from our "school" schedule. We spend most days outside. We are slowly doing more and more work around the house that the kids are involved in. Among the things that we have been doing or need to do this summer are:
1. Chop wood for fire wood. We actually started this this week and the kids have had a blast. We have the perfect size hand saw and they've helped me cut logs from a couple of pine trees we chopped down.
2. Paint entry way. Our entry way has been primed for a year now and we just had not found a color that Sergio and I both liked. Well, finally we agree on Gold Fringe. It's beautiful, not too yellow, not too brown. It's the perfect shade of gold.
3. Paint the brick on our fireplace. The fireplace downstairs was built in 1964. You can tell just by looking at it. It's getting a fresh primer coat of white and then a really nice white sand color over the bricks. It's totally going to change the look and the kids are thrilled, because they'll be doing this on their own. Of course, I'll be in the room, but I'll be tackling another project. I can't foresee that you can make a mistake while priming bricks.
4. Care for our vegetable garden. The kids are thrilled that the tomatoes plants are blooming and they were able to eat strawberries from our plants.
This summer our rhythm so far goes like this.
7:30 to 8:00 - get up and have breakfast. The kids set the table while I make breakfast.
8:30 to 9:00 - Clean up table and kitchen, brush teeth, comb hair and get dressed and make beds.
9:00 to 10:00 - Tell or read stories.
10:00 to noon - Outside, water the garden, chop wood, play, play, play.
noon to 1:30 - wash up, make lunch, set table, eat and clean up when we are done.
1:30 to 2:30 - bake or start preparing stuff for dinner.
2:30 to 4:00 - outside. The kids play outside while I get some paperwork done.
4:00 to 5:00 - rest time. My kids don't generally nap. They have to lay in their bed. They are allowed to read if they like. Sometimes the just lay there talking to themselves or daydream.
5:00 to 6:00 - bath and they play inside.
6:00 to 7:30 - set table for dinner, eat and then clean up.
7:30 to 8:00 - wind down, brush teeth, get in bed, read bedtime stories.
8:15 - lights out, even though it's still light out.
There are some variations to our day. Sometimes we go to the water park, sometimes we catch a free movie at our library. We visit with friends and have bar-b-ques. Some nights we stay up to see the stars and the moon. Mostly though our schedule is as listed above and it make life so easy.
Step 1. Clean and get rid of clutter. Waldorf is huge on kids having natural toys. Toys made from wood or other natural fibers and not too many of them either.
Here, we did what we could for now. We got rid of so many toys! We told the kids that they should set aside toys they felt they had outgrown. This worked better than saying, toys you don't want or don't play with, because then of course at that very moment they want to play with that very toy. Approaching it as toys they had outgrown made them feel very grown up indeed. I was surprised by how many toys they actually were ready to give up. Then we told them to go play outside and we would finish cleaning up. We kept Isabela's Barbies (definitely not Waldorf)but we are taking some baby steps here. We kept Luke's Lego's (not Waldorf either, but this we are not budging on.)
We kept the blocks, the hot wheels, the play stove and ironing board with the iron. We kept the Raggedy Ann and Fancy Nancy dolls plus their clothes. We kept the marble tower, even though it's plastic. We kept all the Star Wars stuff, but technically that's Sergio's stuff not the kids. We organized our baskets and jars of buttons, ribbons, scissors, glue, crayons, paints, rocks and gems. We cleared the bookcases and left half a dozen books for each of them on their shelves. We put all the family board games in a hall cabinet with all our different card games.
This all rubbed off on me and I cleared some of the pictures on the hall table. It looks much more streamlined now. I cleared the living room for summer. I put away the heavy winter rug and brought out our lighter summer one. I put the throw I keep on the couch away and cleared the mantle of our big candles.
Every room in the house looks bigger, fresher. I love it. The kids have been playing way more with there toys than they did when they had more of them. I love the look and feel our home has, it like it's just welcoming summer.
Step 2: I cleaned out all my teaching materials. I got rid of the math and language workbooks. No more worksheets. I did keep a word search book that Luke loves and an activity book that Isabela likes to work on by herself.
Step 3: I looked through our bookshelf and was happy to find books I'll be using next year. Among them Aesop's Fables and Grimm's fairy tales.
We've been working diligently on our daily rhythms. Waldorf education advocates daily rhythms. It really makes life so much easier when the kids know what comes next, what is expected of them. Arguing and bargaining become almost a non-issue. There is nothing to argue about. No you cannot take out your toys, it's time for breakfast. After breakfast, we wash up, brush our teeth and straighten our rooms. I've noticed the kids really love the sense of accomplishment. We've had to do some adjusting, because our summer schedule differs a bit from our "school" schedule. We spend most days outside. We are slowly doing more and more work around the house that the kids are involved in. Among the things that we have been doing or need to do this summer are:
1. Chop wood for fire wood. We actually started this this week and the kids have had a blast. We have the perfect size hand saw and they've helped me cut logs from a couple of pine trees we chopped down.
2. Paint entry way. Our entry way has been primed for a year now and we just had not found a color that Sergio and I both liked. Well, finally we agree on Gold Fringe. It's beautiful, not too yellow, not too brown. It's the perfect shade of gold.
3. Paint the brick on our fireplace. The fireplace downstairs was built in 1964. You can tell just by looking at it. It's getting a fresh primer coat of white and then a really nice white sand color over the bricks. It's totally going to change the look and the kids are thrilled, because they'll be doing this on their own. Of course, I'll be in the room, but I'll be tackling another project. I can't foresee that you can make a mistake while priming bricks.
4. Care for our vegetable garden. The kids are thrilled that the tomatoes plants are blooming and they were able to eat strawberries from our plants.
This summer our rhythm so far goes like this.
7:30 to 8:00 - get up and have breakfast. The kids set the table while I make breakfast.
8:30 to 9:00 - Clean up table and kitchen, brush teeth, comb hair and get dressed and make beds.
9:00 to 10:00 - Tell or read stories.
10:00 to noon - Outside, water the garden, chop wood, play, play, play.
noon to 1:30 - wash up, make lunch, set table, eat and clean up when we are done.
1:30 to 2:30 - bake or start preparing stuff for dinner.
2:30 to 4:00 - outside. The kids play outside while I get some paperwork done.
4:00 to 5:00 - rest time. My kids don't generally nap. They have to lay in their bed. They are allowed to read if they like. Sometimes the just lay there talking to themselves or daydream.
5:00 to 6:00 - bath and they play inside.
6:00 to 7:30 - set table for dinner, eat and then clean up.
7:30 to 8:00 - wind down, brush teeth, get in bed, read bedtime stories.
8:15 - lights out, even though it's still light out.
There are some variations to our day. Sometimes we go to the water park, sometimes we catch a free movie at our library. We visit with friends and have bar-b-ques. Some nights we stay up to see the stars and the moon. Mostly though our schedule is as listed above and it make life so easy.
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
The Prep Work
Have you noticed that nothing is ever really effective or productive if the prep work is not done. This is such a challenge for me. I love to dive right into what I'm going to do. In fact, I've often skipped the prep work only to regret it later. For instance, I painted a bathroom cabinet but I was pressed for time so I didn't primer it first. Alas the paint is now peeling off and it looks so tacky. Now I have to go back and redo it, starting with prepping the darn thing first and I'll have worked twice as hard, spent twice as much to get the result I wanted in the first place.
I've been working on this slowly, taking baby steps. I won't start a project unless I commit to the prep work. I've found that after the prep work is done, I get stalled or bored and often don't complete the project for some time. I'm o.k. with that, because I know once completed it'll be done for good.
Which brings me to home schooling. Damn, there is a lot of prep work to do! For about the past year, I've been researching some different educational theories or philosophies. I like Charlotte Mason, but I'm finding that I love Waldorf. I've been slowly reading The Child's Changing Consciousness. It's a series of eight lectures Rudolf Steiner, who founded Waldorf schools, gave in April, 1923 in Switzerland, to a group of Waldorf teachers. There is a lot of information to digest, but I've found so many gems throughout his lectures. He speaks in detail about the seven year cycles. (birth to seven, seven to fourteen, fourteen to twenty-one) When I was growing up, my mom often referred to children in seven year cycles. Her theories were far from anything Waldorf, being that she thought children were really obnoxious at age seven, doubly so at fourteen and completely crazy at twenty-one...or maybe she just meant me. Even so, I find comfort and familiarity in the concept of seven year cycles. He speaks in detail about where children are developmentally, not just cognitively, but spiritually as well. I love this as I feel that spirituality has been practically erased from education in a public arena. I love this example he gives in Lecture Four:
"Give the child a handkerchief or piece of cloth, knot it so that the head appears above and two legs below, and you have made a doll or a kind of clown. With a few ink stains you can give it eyes, nose and mouth, even better, allow the child to do it, and with such a doll, you will see a healthy child have great joy. Now the child can add many other features belonging to a doll, through imagination and imitation within the soul. It is far better if you make a doll out of a linen rag than if you give the child one of those perfect dolls, possibly with highly colored cheeks and smartly dressed, a doll that even closes its eyes when put down horizontally, and so on. What are you doing if you give a child such a doll? You are preventing the unfolding of the child's own soul activity."
Later in Lecture Five he is addressing how at about the ninth or tenth year, a child begins to question or test the teacher in their soul. He suggest that the teacher must be attuned to the world and should embody truth, beauty and goodness without mentioning it or alluding to it at all. He goes on to say:
"It is unnecessary to prove what is experienced powerfully in the soul. Proof is always demanded in cases of uncertainty, but not for what the facts of life tell us directly. This is why it is so ludicrous whenever people try to find the inner connection between formal logic and reality. This is somewhat like looking for the inner connection between a path leading to a mountain, and the mountain itself; the path is there to allow the wanderer to reach the mountain, and then the mountain itself begins. Logic is there only for the sake of reaching reality, and reality begins where logic ends."
Some food for thought for me there. I've been trying to not "talk" as much, but be mindful that when I do speak, I do it meaningfully and lovingly, even if I'm expressing my displeasure. This has been a challenging task, but like everything else, if I do it often enough it'll become a nice habit.
I've also been regularly visiting Carrie over at The Parenting Passageway. I love her insight on parenting and have found it a really blessing to read her posts. They are like gentle reminders keeping me on the path I've chosen. Her posts have encouraged me to incorporate some of the big general themes of Waldorf into our lives. The changes here at home have not been subtle. In fact I'd say they've been huge. I'm blessed to have such a supporting and actively involved husband who is totally on board with all these ideas and changes.
Throughout the summer I'll been writing about what the big themes are and how we've incorporated them into our daily lives and what changes I've been able to perceive as a result. I admit I don't know much about the subject I'm writing about, but I'm eager to keep learning and I'm excited to share.
I've been working on this slowly, taking baby steps. I won't start a project unless I commit to the prep work. I've found that after the prep work is done, I get stalled or bored and often don't complete the project for some time. I'm o.k. with that, because I know once completed it'll be done for good.
Which brings me to home schooling. Damn, there is a lot of prep work to do! For about the past year, I've been researching some different educational theories or philosophies. I like Charlotte Mason, but I'm finding that I love Waldorf. I've been slowly reading The Child's Changing Consciousness. It's a series of eight lectures Rudolf Steiner, who founded Waldorf schools, gave in April, 1923 in Switzerland, to a group of Waldorf teachers. There is a lot of information to digest, but I've found so many gems throughout his lectures. He speaks in detail about the seven year cycles. (birth to seven, seven to fourteen, fourteen to twenty-one) When I was growing up, my mom often referred to children in seven year cycles. Her theories were far from anything Waldorf, being that she thought children were really obnoxious at age seven, doubly so at fourteen and completely crazy at twenty-one...or maybe she just meant me. Even so, I find comfort and familiarity in the concept of seven year cycles. He speaks in detail about where children are developmentally, not just cognitively, but spiritually as well. I love this as I feel that spirituality has been practically erased from education in a public arena. I love this example he gives in Lecture Four:
"Give the child a handkerchief or piece of cloth, knot it so that the head appears above and two legs below, and you have made a doll or a kind of clown. With a few ink stains you can give it eyes, nose and mouth, even better, allow the child to do it, and with such a doll, you will see a healthy child have great joy. Now the child can add many other features belonging to a doll, through imagination and imitation within the soul. It is far better if you make a doll out of a linen rag than if you give the child one of those perfect dolls, possibly with highly colored cheeks and smartly dressed, a doll that even closes its eyes when put down horizontally, and so on. What are you doing if you give a child such a doll? You are preventing the unfolding of the child's own soul activity."
Later in Lecture Five he is addressing how at about the ninth or tenth year, a child begins to question or test the teacher in their soul. He suggest that the teacher must be attuned to the world and should embody truth, beauty and goodness without mentioning it or alluding to it at all. He goes on to say:
"It is unnecessary to prove what is experienced powerfully in the soul. Proof is always demanded in cases of uncertainty, but not for what the facts of life tell us directly. This is why it is so ludicrous whenever people try to find the inner connection between formal logic and reality. This is somewhat like looking for the inner connection between a path leading to a mountain, and the mountain itself; the path is there to allow the wanderer to reach the mountain, and then the mountain itself begins. Logic is there only for the sake of reaching reality, and reality begins where logic ends."
Some food for thought for me there. I've been trying to not "talk" as much, but be mindful that when I do speak, I do it meaningfully and lovingly, even if I'm expressing my displeasure. This has been a challenging task, but like everything else, if I do it often enough it'll become a nice habit.
I've also been regularly visiting Carrie over at The Parenting Passageway. I love her insight on parenting and have found it a really blessing to read her posts. They are like gentle reminders keeping me on the path I've chosen. Her posts have encouraged me to incorporate some of the big general themes of Waldorf into our lives. The changes here at home have not been subtle. In fact I'd say they've been huge. I'm blessed to have such a supporting and actively involved husband who is totally on board with all these ideas and changes.
Throughout the summer I'll been writing about what the big themes are and how we've incorporated them into our daily lives and what changes I've been able to perceive as a result. I admit I don't know much about the subject I'm writing about, but I'm eager to keep learning and I'm excited to share.
Monday, June 15, 2009
No Rest For The Weary
So it's our first official day of summer vacation...for the kids anyway. I told them today they can spend the day in their pajamas if they wish and can choose their own activities. Tomorrow we will get into our summer rhythms. It'll include gardening, cleaning, organizing, painting, cooking and doing a lot of outdoor activities.
I will also be spending the summer months researching, learning and getting ready for next year. To be continued...
I will also be spending the summer months researching, learning and getting ready for next year. To be continued...
Monday, June 8, 2009
Secret Hide Aways
Really what is summer without one?
It's a great place to read, relax and be without mom or dad hovering (not that I do that!)
Also you can go there to escape from slimey!
Yes, summer is definitely in the air.
It's a great place to read, relax and be without mom or dad hovering (not that I do that!)
Also you can go there to escape from slimey!
Yes, summer is definitely in the air.
Sunday, June 7, 2009
The Creation of Language
I seem to be on some sort of creation kick this week. I love language and even more specifically dialects. To be even more specific, I love that each family has it's unique sayings or words that only have meaning to them. A mere outsider would not have a clue as to what meaning these words are conveying. In our family, anyone can yell out ROVER and we all know what we are talking about. (and much laughter ensues)
Sometimes these words and meanings are handed down from generation to generation. Sometimes, as parents we take the lead in inventing little sayings. For instance we always have a safety word. We've never needed to use our safety word because we are in danger, but we have used it to convey the following thoughts: I hear the kids coming down the stairs or I want to go home and you continue in this boring conversation with someone you've just run in to at Home depot. The term safety word is not really accurate, as it's usually an absurd phrase, such as this one used a few months ago: "My bats are hungry!" See? It doesn't even make sense to you, but to me, coming from one of my children at the library, around noon, says, "Let's get going, I'm starving." Oh sure they could just say that, but that's not much fun.
Sometimes the kids come up with new words or saying themselves. Isabela especially loves to invent words. There's bennis, which apparently is a form of tennis played without rackets or nets, but by hitting a tennis ball against the garage door and then hoping it hits your opponent in the butt. That's what I could gather, the rules kept changing. Yesterday, Luke came up this this gem in a conversation with his father.
Sergio: You want to go with me?
Luke: Nah.
Sergio: C,mon!
Luke: Where are you going?
Sergio: To Borders.
Luke: Nah, I'll stay home.
Sergio: C'mon, come with me.
Luke: Dad, you know I'm a stay at homer!
Sometimes these words and meanings are handed down from generation to generation. Sometimes, as parents we take the lead in inventing little sayings. For instance we always have a safety word. We've never needed to use our safety word because we are in danger, but we have used it to convey the following thoughts: I hear the kids coming down the stairs or I want to go home and you continue in this boring conversation with someone you've just run in to at Home depot. The term safety word is not really accurate, as it's usually an absurd phrase, such as this one used a few months ago: "My bats are hungry!" See? It doesn't even make sense to you, but to me, coming from one of my children at the library, around noon, says, "Let's get going, I'm starving." Oh sure they could just say that, but that's not much fun.
Sometimes the kids come up with new words or saying themselves. Isabela especially loves to invent words. There's bennis, which apparently is a form of tennis played without rackets or nets, but by hitting a tennis ball against the garage door and then hoping it hits your opponent in the butt. That's what I could gather, the rules kept changing. Yesterday, Luke came up this this gem in a conversation with his father.
Sergio: You want to go with me?
Luke: Nah.
Sergio: C,mon!
Luke: Where are you going?
Sergio: To Borders.
Luke: Nah, I'll stay home.
Sergio: C'mon, come with me.
Luke: Dad, you know I'm a stay at homer!
Thursday, June 4, 2009
The Art of Creation
When you think about creation in the ultimate sense, as in, We are God's creation, does it blow your mind? I'm not a creationist. I don't take many parts of the bible literally. I do however believe that God had his hand in my creation. I don't know how he did it, frankly I don't need to know. Oh sure, I know all about the birds and the bees, but that leaves a lot unexplained, so I choose to believe or choose to have faith, or however you want to word it, that I am a creation of God. So it follows that we are creative beings. Trust me, even if you think you are not, you are. I hear a lot of people say things like, I'm not creative, I'm analytical or what not. Who says that science or math are not creative? What about cures for all kinds of diseases? There has to be creativity in finding penicillin in a piece of moldy bread. We've all heard of creative accounting methods. See! There is creativity in everything. Creation everywhere we look.
I've been trying to add a little more Waldorf when teaching my kids. The other day we cleaned out their closets. The goal being no more than 10 toys. They should NOT be plastic, although we are making a huge exception for Lego's. The kids should have 2 dolls, preferably hand made, 1 stove set, preferably made of wood and so goes the list I found. We still have a long way to go, but we got rid of a lot of toys (and a lot of it was junk!) We didn't ask for the kids opinions. We told them we were cleaning out their rooms and that we had too much stuff. We told them we would be donating toys that they had outgrown or that seemed inappropriate. I was surprised that they brought some stuff and said here I don't play with this anymore. They didn't ask to see what we were getting rid of and we made sure that toys we thought they might object to were way in the bottom of the bag. We packed aways books that belonged to Sarah and Jude, that Luke and Isabela are still too young for. We stored most of the other books, so we could rotate them. We left seven books out for each of them, plus of course that library books.
This is what I've found, they play more! Yes, they play way more with the few toys we left for them. They read every night and during rest time without my direction. They seem calmer...at least most of the time. The greatest thing that has happened has been that it has inspired quite a bit of creativity. Check out their latest creation:
It's an African village complete with a sorcerer. I've been telling them African folktales all week. They found this idea in a book they were flipping through last night. I've had this book for some time, but have never done any of the projects in them because they seemed so involved. This took over two hours to do. I traced and they cut and glued. It was so cool to see how excited they were to play with their villages. There will be much more creativity during our summer months.
I've been trying to add a little more Waldorf when teaching my kids. The other day we cleaned out their closets. The goal being no more than 10 toys. They should NOT be plastic, although we are making a huge exception for Lego's. The kids should have 2 dolls, preferably hand made, 1 stove set, preferably made of wood and so goes the list I found. We still have a long way to go, but we got rid of a lot of toys (and a lot of it was junk!) We didn't ask for the kids opinions. We told them we were cleaning out their rooms and that we had too much stuff. We told them we would be donating toys that they had outgrown or that seemed inappropriate. I was surprised that they brought some stuff and said here I don't play with this anymore. They didn't ask to see what we were getting rid of and we made sure that toys we thought they might object to were way in the bottom of the bag. We packed aways books that belonged to Sarah and Jude, that Luke and Isabela are still too young for. We stored most of the other books, so we could rotate them. We left seven books out for each of them, plus of course that library books.
This is what I've found, they play more! Yes, they play way more with the few toys we left for them. They read every night and during rest time without my direction. They seem calmer...at least most of the time. The greatest thing that has happened has been that it has inspired quite a bit of creativity. Check out their latest creation:
It's an African village complete with a sorcerer. I've been telling them African folktales all week. They found this idea in a book they were flipping through last night. I've had this book for some time, but have never done any of the projects in them because they seemed so involved. This took over two hours to do. I traced and they cut and glued. It was so cool to see how excited they were to play with their villages. There will be much more creativity during our summer months.
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