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
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 […]
Be a Citizen Scientist
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 loved helping with many of […]
Advent Ribbon Craft & Cookie Tradition
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 Yule. We created a special […]
My Favorite Cold Remedies
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 medicine for colds and flus […]
The Wintergarten Spiral Walk
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 Spiral Walk every year and really […]
Ten Things to Do with a Rosemary Tree
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 branches off to use to […]
Sir Winter: The Phlegmatic Temperament
“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 mother earth in the same […]
The Four Temperaments in Rhythm of the Home
I wrote these four articles for Rhythm of the Home Magazine. They are nice little vignettes about the temperaments that we wrote that explore in a unique and seasonal manner. Note that the original links to the online magazine are broken and we have not been provided with new links to our articles so we […]
My Favorite Detox Diet for Adults and Kids
Every change of season I do a detox. Sometimes I do a juice fast, sometimes I use a lot of herbs, sometimes I do other kinds of detoxes. However, for the next ten days I am doing my favorite detox diet. I almost feel guilty doing it because it is so easy. When someone says […]