Archive for September, 2009

I had a ton of fun gardening this year. My early spring garden was beautiful.

With each new planting we had strong healthy plants; we survived the attack of the tomato horn worms.

Most important though: it was fun and I enjoyed sharing one of my big loves with my family.

The children helped me a lot, they laid down all the straw between the rows (mulch). And gathered the vegetables joyfully.

It’s so fun to watch children eat tomatoes or green beans or lettuce right out of the garden.

I start to miss gardening even before the garden is really closed down for the year. Fall brings a healthy time to put the gardening season to bed, so the next year is a big success. Fall is a great time to do a few things to the garden that will keep your soil healthy and your garden hoppin’ in the future.

• Get manure (horse, cow, sheep- whatever is available). Cover the soil with a nice layer of this nutritious goodness- let it sit.
• Gather mulch- leaves are great, straw works, cover your manure layer with mulch.
• Folks near the ocean- collect seaweed and use it as a mulch. The benefits of seaweed are off the charts. If you can’t do anything else- get some seaweed.
• A green manure works too- winter wheat, oats, rye- check with the local feed store about what grows well in your region.

I think of it as tucking a child in on a cool night- children need blankets for protection. The soil will get cold and freeze, but it’s nice for it to have a protective blanket during the cold winter months.

I love to plant and this is a way to “plant seeds” for the future. So gardeners, let’s get preparing for 2010 success! Bring the children outside with you! My son LOVES to collect seaweed for the garden.

What do your children love to do in the garden? What do you do to “close” the gardening season and prepare for the next? Please share tips and ideas.

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Fall is the season of the Harvest! September brings the Harvest Moon; a time to celebrate abundance. I enjoy recognizing the abundance around me: it fills me with gratitude, appreciate and contentment.

Here are a few ways to share this season with the children we love.

1) Make Pumpkin Muffins; here’s a healthy recipe from The Waldorf Kindergarten Snack Book:

Dry Ingredients:
2 c. unbleached white flour
1 1/2 c. whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 tsp. sea salt
2 Tbs. baking powder
Wet Ingredients:
1/2 c. corn oil
1 c. maple syrup
1/2 c. soymilk
1 c. apple juice
1 c. pumpkin or butternut squash (cooked)

• Cut pumpkin or squash and dice into medium sized pieces. Cook in a small amount of water.
• Using a food processor, puree the pumpkin or squash (make sure it’s not too wet) set aside.
• Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
• Oil the muffin pans with corn oil or set paper muffin cups in the pan.
• In alarge bowl, combine all the dry ingredients and mix well with a whisk. Set aside.
• In a separate bowl, combine all the wet ingredients and mix well with a whisk.
• Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture. Using a whisk, stir them until just mixed. Do not over mix.
• Fill the muffin cups and bake for 50 minute to 1 hour, or until the edges of the muffins are golden brown.

(Shared by Diane Prusha Great Barrington Rudolf Steiner School, Mass.)

2) Make Leaf Prints

• Collect a variety of colorful leaves.
• Cut two pieces of wax paper.
• Place leaves artistically between the two pieces of wax paper.
• Gently place the “wax paper leaf sandwich” into a folded towel.
• Iron the towel (with the leaf print inside) to melt the wax paper.
• These make wonderful window decorations!

3) Go on a scavenger hunt for:

• Maple leaves
• Oak leaves
• Acorns
• Pinecones
• wildflower seeds
• Deer Tracks
• Kindling (for an autumn bonfire!)
• Puddles
• Any thing else you are excited to look for!

4) Take a walk early evening of the full moon (October 4th this year) watch the moon rise!

5) Feed the birds.

• Make a backyard feeding station by covering pinecones with suet and birdseed, hang with strings or light weight wire from a tree.
• Use a pie pan (or bottom from a flower pot) and place on a stump or rock, fill with bird seed and watch the birds enjoy!
• Take a square(ish) piece of wood (1 foot by 1 foot piece of plywood is perfect) drill holes at each corner; using sturdy twine hang the board from a tree limb. Sprinkle bird seed on the “bird plate” each day.
• Buy a window bird feeder and attach to the outside of a window.

6) Find an orchard near to home, go apple picking. Come home and make apple sauce, apple butter or just slice ‘em and enjoy.

7) Outside Circle time (for young kids) sing this song to the tune of “Here we go around the mulberry bush” – at the end fall down like leaves from the trees!

“The leaves are green and the nuts are brown.
They hang so high, and will not come down.
Leave them alone till the frosty weather
Then they will all come down together.” (Author unknown)

Rake leaves together; save ‘em up as mulch for the garden. Be playful- have a leaf “fight” or play hide and seek. (remember there might be ticks in the leaves- so do a tick check when you’re done!)

9) Find a special place in nature. Take some time each week to sit and observe the sounds, what you see, hear, the temperature, which animals visit the spot too. Take a picture of your special place each time you visit. Make a nature journal and place the pictures in it with the dates visited. Keep this record as a special way to remember this season.

10) Hike to the top of the highest mountain in your area. From this birds-eye-view, look out and enjoy all the colors of the leaves.

Please share your ideas! Maybe we can get to 100 things to do in the fall.

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This week I will start a new chapter in my life: a children’s yoga training. I am so excited. Fact is, this is one of the first children’s yoga 200 hour trainings in the country and I am ecstatic to be at the forefront of something to do with yoga.

Yoga means union of the body, mind and spirit. Part of me feels that yoga is unneccessary for kids but right now our society is so busy, fast, over-booked, and plugged in, that even babies, playing with electronic noise makers, can probably use a little “down time”

Why’d we do this to ourselves? How’d we get so disconnected as a society that our children need to learn how to breath deeply and relax? These rhetorical questions can be totally ignored by my lurking readers, but reality has hit me hard as I raise a little child: we all need time to bring union to our body, mind, and spirit. I am glad I will spend at least some of my time doing that with children- because they are so close to that perfect source they do it quickly!

Children’s yoga has become a “thing” now too. Just another way to make a buck or maybe a way to save the world? People have been doing yoga for thousands of years as a private personal spiritual (but NOT religious) practice (side note: I love that we “practice” yoga- it means we always have the space to grow more magnificent!) it’s great that it has leaked into some of our schools, community centers, libraries, kitchens, backyards, barnyards and now it’s leaking into my heart and mind.

I am excited and rearing to go- off to Boston this weekend to look deep into myself.

What new journeys are you, my lurking, non-commenting readers, doing in your lives to dig deeper into the dream you had for yourself before you were born?

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To celebrate the equinox, my daycare went on an afternoon nature walk looking for green oak leaves and comparing them to white pine needles. It was so fun to watch as the children ran along the path looking for oak trees and the excitement in their eyes as they recognized the leaf shape. After we master remembering the shape of the oak leaf, we also looked at maple leaves. Then we looked up at the grey sky through the tall pine trees and skipped rocks on our little pond. Across the pond we could see red, orange, yellow and green leaves. I look forward to this transformation of the leaves. I dread the grey winter that follows. We’re kind of lucky to live in a pine forest- the needles stay green all winter!

We made pictures of the bark of the oak and the pine trees by rubbing beeswax block crayons on paper held up to the trunk. It was exciting to notice how each tree made a different pattern on the paper.

May the leaves fall to fertilize the earth and restore the balance in the soil for a new year. May the harmony and balance and the equanimity of the equinox radiate within us and through us for eternity.

What did you do to share the change of season with your children, family, or just mark this time for yourself?

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Last Friday, we returned home from a busy day of Waldorf Playgroup, Sweet Cakes, a trip to the consignment store for wedding clothes, a quick “in the car” nap and visit to my bachelor Dad and his bachelorette bride, to find our chrysalis had turned black!

The chrysalis itself is actually transparent but the colors of the almost-ready-to-emerge-butterfly are black and orange and can be seen. So, we added another fun activity to our busy day- butterfly waiting!

In the picture below, notice the difference in the colors of the crysalis’- top left is dark and hidden in the leaf is a vibrant green chrysalis. (Such transformation!)

Up close we can see the orange colors of the butterfly wings!

We waited and waited and forgot what we were waiting for and then remembered and low and behold- a butterfly!

I brought the butterfly outside so that when it was ready it could fly away to the flowers to get nectar and loved the color contrast between the green and orange and the blue and orange.

As we left to attend my father’s wedding on Saturday, I walked outside to show Charlie the butterflies and just as we went out the door they took to flight- their first flight. This will be how I always remember my Dad’s wedding day: a butterfly toast to Dad and Megan- hurray!

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Today I had a wonderful experience of watching a mother doing her best to console both of her children in a parent-child playgroup at the local Waldorf School. Her older child wanted attention while her younger child needed it too.  I have no idea how I would have handled her same situation, what I do know, is that I could reference the books How to Talk so Kids will Listen and How to Listen so Kids will Talk or Siblings without Rivalry both by Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish.

I’ll admit, I haven’t read Siblings without Rivalry, I lent it to a very good friend a few weeks back and she hasn’t returned it.  The few times she has talked about the book she has said, “just knowing that book is on my desk leads me to approach situations between my children differently.”

How to Talk so Kids will Listen and How to Listen so Kids will Talk has many wonderful, insightful question, comics, and assignments. Is easy to read and follow, is gentle, but clear in how to address the challenges we face as parents. I have started working through each chapter; a couple (yeah, just a couple) times when  met with my 2.5 year olds strong will, I have been able to draw inner strength from my work in the book to address the issues with wisdom and patience.

To order the books, or learn more about the work of Adele and Elaine check out their webpage.

Click here for summary of the key points from their books and workshops.

Happy Parenting!

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I would love a tipi; it’s one of my long term dreams to live in the mountains in a tipi, as my hunter and gatherer ancestors did and live simply off the land. Modern life has me distracted by the lure of computers and running water, but deep inside, I long for this simplicity.

Tuesday of this week, my daycare clan and I cut down a few pine trees as we began clearing a small nature path through the forest. Today we used these trees to build us a tipi- of sorts.

Five small pine trees are tied together at the top and the rope is woven under and over the pine trees and all the way around the circle about 5 times- just so it’s secure. We then took the rope and wrapped it around the middle of the trees (looping around each trunk) till we had an almost complete circle, but left space for a door.

Then, we got our biggest “outside” blankets, hung them from the rope and tucked them around the tree trunks.

I took the left-over branches and hung them from the top of the tipi- which the kids loved.

Here’s a picture of our fort! They played in and out of it for a while this morning. (Now they are all tuckered out and sleeping!)

Just another way to get children excited to play outside. It’s also possible to take sticks and branches and weave them in and out around the base to make a tipi stick fort (a very involved project and probably more appropriate for ages 4/5 and up)!

Check back later to see the changes to our playroom!

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On Monday, the Little Bear Daycare took a field trip to The Farmer’s Daughter’s Butterfly Pavilion.

The pavilion entrance was decorated beautifully with flowers and this cut-out caterpillar.

Inside were tons of flowers and milkweed.

We noticed this caterpillar shaking out of its caterpillar skin to become a chrysalis.

Butterflies, caterpillars and crysalis’ were everywhere.

One chrysalis had turned black (transparent) and the butterfly was about to emerge.

While we were there it did! Here’s the butterfly drying its new wings ready to take flight.

The children had a blast.

Jeremiah had so much fun, he needed a break!

So, we took a wagon ride.

To the raspberry patch!

And picked an afternoon snack.

The butterfly pavilion is open from 10 am to 4 pm daily.  The last butterfly release will be on October 4th during the harvest festival.  Call 401-792-1340 or check out their webpage for more information.

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We collected caterpillars which have all become chrysalis’ and so we wait as they transform into butterflies. The oldest chrysalis (and the one that was feature in my previous post) is in the upper right corner; the middle one is, yup, in the middle and the youngest is in the lower left corner. Just for the heck of it I’ve named ‘em Chris (short for Christine or Christopher), Kyle(e) and Jordan- we won’t know the gender till they emerge. Chris is due this week- probably Wednesdayish (the 16th). Kyle(e) is due next weekend around the 21st and Jordan the 26th or so.

Within each chrysalis an amazing transformation is occurring. Their mouths are transforming from chewers to suckers, and their limbs from crawling feet to magnificent flying wings.

I spent a little time this weekend transforming, and I am convinced that having these creatures perched in my kitchen is a significant inspiration. I reorganized our playroom and moved my office into the corner of the living room. From where I am sitting typing I can see seven windows and two doors, I used to look straight into the wall. My aim is for the new perspective to filter into all I do- kind of like turning from a crawler into a flier.

What are you doing to help “spread your wings?”

Stay tuned for the births of Chris, Kyle(e) and Jordan!

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9/11/ 2009

Eight years ago, I was living in Socorro, NM. Early one autumn morning, as my boyfriend and I lay in bed awaiting the motivation to get to school, a strange sound came over the airwaves of NPR. The emergency signal sound I usually associated with tests of some sort. This time, a news announcement followed with information regarding airplanes running into the world trade towers.

Shocked, I listened closely.

Later, the halls of the geology building of New Mexico Tech were buzzing with hypotheses of whether or not the buildings would calapse… and then they did.

I watched on the TV in the student union as they fell- over and over and over again and waited to hear from my relatives who worked in or near the towers.

I had a test- which I did terribly on (in fact as I think about it, that was last day I had any fun in graduate school).

After hearing from my parents and relatives, I settled in, knowing that my world would be a little different FOREVER. I had felt the same fear for my family as people all over the world feel daily. It was a foreign concept before then. Here we fear the stockmarket, gas prices, taxes, other corners of the world there is fear of life (or death).

My heart felt compassion goes out to everyone who suffered that day. May we work together for peace, freedom and an end to war, suffering, and fear.

God Bless the Whole World Wide.

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