Seasonal - The BEarth Institute

Top Ten Fun Ways to Prepare for Homeschooling Next Year

Posted on June 27, 2015 by thebearthinstitute in Organization, Organization, Parenting, Planning, Planning, Summer, Teachers

Whew! We made it through another year! All that preparing, planning, teaching and purchasing of supplies and all those adventures have me worn out! Not to mention the challenges we overcame this year and all the new things we learned. I feel full, satisfied, amazed and slightly worn out and...

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How to Make a Maypole

Posted on May 6, 2015 by thebearthinstitute in May, Summer

You have all seen the lovely Maypoles made from metal or wood with long flowing ribbons that reach 12 feet tall! Those are lovely but did you know you can also create different kinds Maypoles that work indoors, can be adjusted to the size of your students, and/or easy enough to...

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Clothing Unit for Third Grade and Under

Posted on May 6, 2015 by thebearthinstitute in Animals, Farming, Field Trips, Knitting, May, Natural Dying, Spring, Third Grade

I love to visit local farms as part of the kids’ education. It is a wonderful way to introduce them to the area they live in, their neighbors, another kind of life, and much more. It is also a way to teach them skills I may not have or to...

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Seasonal Rhythms: The Choleric Summer

Posted on April 26, 2015 by thebearthinstitute in July, June, Summer, The Temperaments

Although I’ve been studying and working with the temperaments for more than 16 years it was not until my lovely choleric daughter, Safia, was born that I truly was able to understand the fire that burns inside each choleric. When she writes she does not just put pen to paper,...

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Seasonal Rhythms: The Melancholic Autumn

Posted on April 26, 2015 by thebearthinstitute in August, Autumn, September, The Temperaments, The Waldorf Year

Autumn has always been my favorite time of year. During the months of Autumn I feel more easily grounded, balanced and at peace than I do all year. I never really thought about why that was until I learned about the temperaments. Now it makes a lot of sense. Autumn...

Celebrate Earth Day with Worms!

Posted on April 22, 2015 by thebearthinstitute in April, Earth Day, Spring, Storytelling, Techniques

What better way to celebrate Earth Day than to honor the creatures who move the earth under us and are the caretakers of all things that grow in the earth? I have a tradition that we always have a difficult book that we read together as a family. The last...

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Cabin Fever Cures

Posted on January 19, 2015 by thebearthinstitute in Carschooling, Field Trips, Fifth Grade, Nature Walks, Winter

The kids and I have been getting a bit of “Cabin Fever” with all this miserable weather we’ve had in Iowa.** Nature walks have become shorter and we miss the sunshine and greenery and we needed a change! Sofi came up with the perfect solution! She decided that now was the...

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Winter Snack for Wildlife Guests

Posted on December 31, 2014 by thebearthinstitute in Arts, Crafts & Handwork, Cooking, Wildlife Education, Winter

While the kids were out sledding yesterday I thought I would prepare them a surprise. I popped popcorn, sliced up some oranges and some apples, put some dried cranberries in a bowl and cut up bread into squares and put out a knife with a big jar of peanut butter....

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Free Waldorf Verse for December

Posted on December 24, 2014 by thebearthinstitute in December, Verses, Winter

This is from a Public Domain collection of classic poetry. It is such a beautiful Waldorf verse for December! I Heard a Bird Sing By Oliver Herford I heard a bird sing In the dark of December A magical thing And sweet to remember: “We are nearer to Spring Than...

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A Winter Nature Story for Everyone

Posted on December 10, 2014 by thebearthinstitute in Advent, Christmas, December, February, Holidays, January, Santa, Solstice, Storytelling, Winter

This is a wonderful secular seasonal story because it teaches the values of giving and kindness without talking about any particular holiday. Additonally, it can be told in countries where there are not fir trees because other kinds of trees are mentioned in the story as well and all children...

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Be a Citizen Scientist

Posted on December 1, 2014 by thebearthinstitute in Animals, December, February, January, Nature Walks, Science, Winter

There are so many ways to be a citizen scientist in our area. As an adult I love participating as a way to be outdoors, give back to the community, further my education in the sciences, and meet other people who are interested in nature. When my children were younger they...

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Advent Ribbon Craft & Cookie Tradition

Posted on November 26, 2014 by thebearthinstitute in Advent, Arts, Crafts & Handwork, Christmas, December, Winter

This year Pagan Advent (the four Sundays before Winter Solstice on December 21st) and Christian Advent (the four Sundays before Christmas) coincide with both beginning on November 30. So, starting November 30, there are 4 Sundays until the winter solstice, or the end of advent, this makes 22 days until...

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My Favorite Cold Remedies

Posted on November 15, 2014 by thebearthinstitute in Herbal Healing, Kids Can Heal, Nutritional Healing, Winter

One of the students at The Avicenna Institute posted an article from the New York Times about the dangers of cold medicines for young children and asked if there were any remedies we use for colds. I could not agree more about the dangers – we have been using alternative...

The Wintergarten Spiral Walk

Posted on November 13, 2014 by thebearthinstitute in Advent, December, Holidays, Inner Work, November, Winter

As children place their lanterns on the spiral the spiral is lit Everyone sings When the child arrives at the end of the spiral I light their lantern Planning an event for the community can seem daunting but with a little creativity it can be easy and simple. We hold our Wintergarten...

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Ten Things to Do with a Rosemary Tree

Posted on October 11, 2014 by thebearthinstitute in Aromatherapy, Christmas, Farming, Herbal Healing, Science, Winter

I was walking out of the grocery store today and I could not resist this adorable little rosemary tree! I have never taken the time to shape my rosemary plants and I thought this was such a wonderful way to display this herb! To keep the shape I will trim...

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Michaelmas Inspirations

Posted on September 20, 2014 by thebearthinstitute in Autumn, Knitted Stories, Knitting, Michaelmas, September, Sewing, Toys, Watercolor

If you are celebrating Michaelmas with children you may enjoy some of these inspirations from our classroom albums. The following ideas are from our classrooms and Earthschooling member classrooms. Michaelmas is celebrated on September 29. Our featured picture this week is of two puppets. One is a dragon and one...

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Three Apple Harvest Activities

Posted on September 15, 2014 by thebearthinstitute in Arts, Crafts & Handwork, Autumn, Farming, Science, September, Stories

Today* for our EarthSchooling Enrichment class we made apple-pickers, told the apple star story and made apple crisp! All the fruit on the lower branches has been snacked away by Sofi and her friends so we had to reach a little farther into the tree 🙂 Making the apple pickers...

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Sanguine of the Spring

Posted on July 29, 2014 by thebearthinstitute in Spring, The Temperaments

Sanguine of the Spring By Kristie Karima Burns, MH, ND, Ph.D. This article was originally published in the ROTH online magazine. Since their link has been removed many members have asked us to re-print these articles here. We will have these posted until their link is functional again. The sanguine...

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Sir Winter: The Phlegmatic Temperament

Posted on July 29, 2014 by thebearthinstitute in Christmas, The Temperaments, Winter

“Sir Winter”, The Phlegmatic Temperament By Kristie Karima Burns, MH, ND, Ph.D. This was originally published in the ROTH Online Magazine. However, since the link is no longer available online we are re-publishing here until the link becomes available again. Like a down comforter the winter snow covers and protects...

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Spring & Summer Protection-ade

Posted on May 21, 2014 by thebearthinstitute in Detoxification, Healthy Meals, Herbal Healing, Kids Can Heal, Naturopathic Healing, Spring, Summer, Wildcrafting

Does the thought of a refreshing day by the lake or at the local swimming pool have you jumping up and down for joy or does it have you running to hide? If you or someone you love suffers from allergies, environmental and/or chemical sensitivities it will be the word “pollen” that...

Category Archives: Seasonal