Creation and the Nine-Year-Old Change

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The child grows, yearns, waxes strong and approaches the age of nine.

The year is tough. The child folds in like a rollie pollie - but cannot hide from awaking to a new view on life.

Parents fret and wonder....what has happened to my sweet innocent child?

The child bites her lip, he squirms.....they ask about life and death. They are unfolding to self.....

"In the ninth year the child really experiences a complete transformation of its being, which indicates an important transformation of its soul-life and its bodily-physical experiences."

- Rudolph Steiner

The child begins to separate from the oneness he experienced with the world. She peels away like the skin from a banana - and for the first time the once dreaming little-one, who never felt alone in the vastness of creation - feels absence as they experience, for the first time.....their individual shelf.

The child scrambles in this new sense of shift and loss. What is stable?   Where is her authority? Who can he trust? If life ends, who will always be with her? Who will comfort him? Where can he find oneness again?

Mom and Dad hold tightly to their changeling......wondering how they can comfort him in this trail, what can they say to her as she awakens for the third time, crying for no reason?

God is here...

We may not always be here little-one but there is someone who holds you, there is someone who will never leave you, there is someone whose unfailing authority you will always lovingly guide you....

God is beyond the limits of our earth and our human existence. 

God created everything, God is everything...glorified....

This is the gift a parent can give their child.....the grace and peace of God in all His glory.

Turning to the stories of creation, to the Old Testament the Waldorf family knows God's word is so soothing and so healing...

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The child tucks in, comfortable, blankets piled high and hears Mom's voice read the melodic prose of scripture. 

Life IS connected....

Life HAS a purpose...

.....the child breaths easier.... dreams lighter as vision of angels sweep through her mind. His life, his fate - it all has meaning. It can all be goodness - sweet and light tasting through the glory of the most high God.

The real world is beautiful, not frightening....she can let go, he can loosen his grip....

For the nine-year-old the paradise of their younger years is lost....

....but a firm foundation in a relationship with Creation, aides and comforts along the path to whole self.

Will you wait for them to catch up?

 

Recently my family and I went on a short trip to visit a lighthouse museum about an hour away from where we live. Once you park you must walk a half mile out, through a nature preserve to get to the light house. It's an easy and pleasant walk but with three boys wandering around it felt like herding cats!

I was in typical "mom" mode. We had an agenda. We were walking from point A to point B. I wanted to see the lighthouse and I knew where I was going.

The boys had other plans.....they wanted to wander around, pick flowers and grass, read ALL of the plaques alongside the path......

I was walking straight - I had a destination.

They piddled here and there and the baby, who refused to be carried wanted to stop and pick up every rock he saw. He kept "holding me up." I would have to stop and wait for him.

I would have to stop and wait for him.....

That's when I realized that this is good practice.

I may know where I'm going. I may be 32 and have a few things figured out and I may know that today I want to go to the lighthouse.

But they don't....nor will they anytime soon.

They don't have direction yet, they don't have a plan.

They just ARE.

As they walk their paths through life will I wait for them?

Will I always remember that they are smaller than I? Younger than I--

that they may not have a path chosen and that's OK (because neither did I when I was their age).

Will I stop.....be patient....and wait.

Will I let them pick flowers, wonder around, start down one way then turn around and chose another?

Heavenly Father, please, grant me the patience. Please give me the ability to....

stop....

turn around...

and wait.....

until they catch up. 

Amen.

Gearing Up for Homeschool

 

Here is our beeswax candle for lighting and saying our morning verse.....

After that we will be reading and acting out some of the Christian Mother Goose Nursery Rhymes for our circle time.

Then on to main lesson for my kindergartener and my third grader...angels watching over

 

 

 Creating a warm...

 

...and inviting space...

 

...where hearts can open to learning...

 

....and thoughts can soar and bloom...

 

...taking this journey together...

 

...for the glory of God.

Here's a list of some of the resources we'll be using this year

Grammar and Punctuation

Brain Quest Workbook

Children's Illustrated Bible: The Old Testament: The classic stories retold for the young reader, with context facts and special features, and ... beautiful watercolours, maps and photographs

 Children's German Picture Dictionary

Tudor 1 Piece Soprano Recorder

 Sevi Instrument Eco-Friendly Toy Set

 Imagining Faith With Kids 

but let's not forget...

our garden

our chickens

our yard

our scriptures

many field trips

the library

grass

dirt

the beach

sea shells and sand

cooking

cleaning

changing diapers

walks through town

the park 

the Farmer's Market

our dog

Nana and Uncle Colin

sticks, rocks and water

berry bushes

snow

rain

sunshine

sidewalks

snails and butterflys

apple trees

ponds with fish and new fishing poles

Happy homeschooling!

 

An Ode to Play

 

Papa and Sprite go down the slide at our local park.

Before internet, before TV, before movie theaters, before radio, before record players, before plays, before books -- people played.

Really, after gathering food and making sure the cave was in order, there wasn't really much else to do.

Imagine the grown ups, playing. 

When was the last time you saw a grown adult playing? Not just a sports games but using their imagination, swinging for the fun of swinging, running for the fun of running?

Playing seems to be a lost art not only among adults but our children as well.

I invite you, if you don't already, to play more!

Run

Free...

Waldorf on a Dime

I'm always on the prowl for Waldorf toys and imagination ideas on the cheap. Here are some of my latest finds and/or ideas!

 

This basket chicken was 35 cents at my local Senior Center Thrift Shop. It opens up in the middle to hide treasures. I found the hand painted silk at the same shop for $1!

 

 Since I have boys they don't really use a play kitchen. 

This is an alternative. A simple stand that becomes a table, a market stand, a horse, etc. I found this foot stole at Goodwill for $5. 

It's draped in a faux leather I found at the Senior Center Thrift Shop (SCTS)  for pennies. 

On top we have a set of wood play dishes bought on Etsy for $12, a stack of wooden coasters used as dishes that I found at the SCTS for $1.50 along with a wooden salt shaker which was 10 cents at the SCTS! 

The orange I knitted from yarn purchased at the SCTS, so that cost maybe a penny total. 

 

 Okay so in this picture we have the wooden, old fashion phone I found at Goodwill for $8. The kids LOVE this one! The metal bucket came from my oldest son's Waldorf homeschool charter school so it was free, the animals inside were knitted using free patterns from Living Crafts Magazine. 

The shelf liner and the shelves the toys are on were a total of $5 at my SCTS!

 

Another SCTS find. One whole dollar! Makes an awesome addition to the play room!

 

This set of Eco friendly kids mucial instruments was $30 on Amazon plus free shipping. The basket was 50 cents at the SCTS :)

 

This is our current dining table center piece. The wooden plate was 50 cents, the wooden duck candle holder was 35 cents (both at the SCTS), and the beeswax candle was $3 at my local co-op.

The walnut shell turtles were a recent late summer craft activity. The green beeswax was $2 at Three Sisters of Ukiah, CA and the walnut shells were from our local co-op and cost pennies (plus we got to eat the nuts!) They are so cute!

What are your favorite ways to save money on natural toys?