By Allison Reznik, MS The young child is in a natural state of joy and movement. How can you as a parent support that joy through the days of summer? The young child is busy – walking, running, climbing, stacking, collecting. They are natural explorers! Summer is ripe with opportunities for play. Children thrive […]
Seasonal
Ava’s Gift – An Easter/Eostre Story
Last week a friend who helps rehab injured or abandoned wildlife posted a beautiful story on her Facebook page about some small rabbits she found and how she helped them find a new mama when their mother was killed. It was a story filled with the kindness of humans, the magic of serendipity, and the […]
Top Ten Fun Ways to Prepare for Homeschooling Next Year
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 stunned. So…. If you are […]
How to Make a Maypole
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 make yourself for your own […]
Clothing Unit for Third Grade and Under
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 teach them skills I have, […]
Seasonal Rhythms: The Choleric Summer
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, she writes 80-page novels. When […]
Seasonal Rhythms: The Melancholic Autumn
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 is the time when the […]
Celebrate Earth Day with Worms!
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 two books we read were […]
Cabin Fever Cures
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 perfect time to study Botany […]
Winter Snack for Wildlife Guests
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. Then I started to string […]
Free Waldorf Verse for December
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 we were in September,” I […]
A Winter Nature Story for Everyone
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 would be familiar with those […]