Intro to Human & Animal 4th Grade Lesson Block

In the fourth grade of Waldorf education there is a lesson block that looks at the relationship between humans and the rest of animal creation. I had a hard time making sense of it.  Having been taught something very different in my grade school days (ideas that have not served well, by the way) it was a whole new perspective to explore, and the full-on Anthroposophic Steiner model didn't work for me. The more I got into it, tho', I could see the core parts were good, and they integrate well with our Eastern Christian understandings.

For further reading to understand better the Waldorf/Steiner mode of seeing this topic, the book  "The Human Being and the Animal World" by Charles Kovacs is especially good at delving into it. This blog post from Five of Us does a decent job of summarizing.
Of course, this is a natural opportunity to include the idea of humanity as the truest icons of the Divine, and that may lead into a further lesson about what icons are and how we use them. I particularly like this blog post on the topic.

This intro to the difference between human and animals helps support and make some important underlying foundational concepts that are needed in Eastern Christianity:
-- understand the nature of the flow of the spirit through our bodies will be useful later on when breathing & spiritual practice are taught
--  the beauty of the head, trunk, limbs metaphor is not lost later on when we learn about the purpose of humanity in God's creation
-- no judgement is placed on the rest of God's creation as lesser or lacking, just functionally and different in purpose
-- it also does not overemphasize intellect as tho' that is our most important tool; this sets up the importance of thinking and listening from the heart, and not accidentally giving the intellect and "monkey mind" too much significance

 

Here are the beginning pages to our block (the following pages are physical animal studies and observations).

The Schedule of the Festive Christmas Season; Nov-Feb

Recently I was asked in a Waldorf homeschooling group about the Christmastime observance and practice of those in our Eastern traditions, how long and when Christmas is celebrated, and the times around them and how we celebrate (there are variations depending on cultural heritage and which branch/church one follows -- some follow a different calendar of dates).  Such a big question! Below is a very brief summary of how we do things in our family's Slavic based traditions, with a bit of not-Slav thrown in. We also have some family personal patron saints to add in during this time, too.

Preparation for Christmas/Nativity/Incarnation starts on Nov 14th and celebrating big parts of the pre-Nativity narrative, and related story, occur during this time. It is our Advent. It's a fasting period (children, sick, elderly, and nursing and pregnant mothers do not fast), and every night there is a special reading or reflection to do along with a candle lighting ceremony and special candle holder that has a place for each of the six weeks and one special place in the middle for Christmas Eve & Christmas day. Depending on the household this evening candle lighting prayer/reading service might have an Old Testament story focus or a New Testament focus. It is called the Phillipian Fast, or Philopovka (because it starts on the feast day of St Phillip), and it goes for 40 days (weekends do not count amoung the fasting/preparation days). 

Traditionally, these special candle holders are made of wood in the shape of a six pointed star to sit in the center of the table. I made this one to hang vertically on the wall to save space and keep flames away from curious little hands. (click on the pic for instructions)

Our children get their presents on St Nicholas day which starts with discovering their boots that were left outside overnight have a candy cane left in them. Later that day each child gets one big gift wrapped in paper and ribbons that is specific to them. This is about when we start putting Christmas decor up.
 
On Christmas Eve we have Holy Supper: a long meal/prayer service that takes basically from the afternoon till the evening. It is loaded with symbolism in the set up and the amount of vegetarian food (it is still within the fasting period), and is meant as a blessing to family unity, history, and for the year ahead of the family. The day includes preparation and songs, and the meal starts when the children see the first star outside. It includes prayers blessings toasts and rituals interspersed with the meal. Our animals get the first food & first treats of the evening since animals were also witness to the Christ child's birth, and kept Him warm. If the children are old enough to do so, it might also include a play. At the end, our daddy does "fortune telling" for each member of the family from the smoke of a candle they blow out.

 
Christmas is December 25th and holy day full of church attendance and singing and joy. The leftovers from the night before are added to a few new dishes to eat during the day so that momma does not have to do a lot of work. Jolly times with family! and gratitude during this lazy day.
Christmas starts on the 25th and we celebrate Nativity until January 6th.


Jan 6th is Theophany, when we celebrate the Baptism of Christ (in the Western tradition they celebrate this day as Epiphany with a focus on the Three Kings). In preparation we decorating bottles for the kids to take to church. Water is blessed then (churches that are located near a body of water like a river or lake might process there to bless it), and each kiddo gets their own bottle to fill with Theophany holy water, and we also fill big bottles for our home use. We talk about how the whole world is washed clean in blessing.

We celebrate the Wise Men on Jan 7th, and the story of the Magi's journey captures young imaginations in so many ways! There is always something to focus on each year and related crafts to make that help plant the seeds for understanding this important part of the story later on.
We leave the Nativity things up for a little while longer for the children to explore the story a bit more, and then Nativity items get packed away and the tree comes down. The rest of the Christmas decor and lights stay up.

On the Sunday closest to Feb 2nd, the Presentation in the Temple, we bless the candles for our homes for the coming year. We spend the preceding weeks taking inventory of what we need, and making candles. Then we arrange them neatly in a basket to take to church where everyone places their baskets up front to be blessed.

The festive season continues until February altho' within that Christmas season we might no longer be focusing on the Nativity story part of it as strongly after the 6th, there is a lot more story & fun stuff in there. We leave up all our decorations and garlands until Feb when we take most of them down. I still leave up greenery which we can decorate with other fun things until Spring. 

February also begins the season of house blessings! The priest comes to your house and blesses it all, and then you follow to the next house of the person in your area, and end up at one last person's house for a party all together. These prayers are not spoken but sung, so it's a day full of singing, holy water, candles, and then feasting with friends. The priest walks around with holy water, and blesses every bit of it while we sing. I make sure to have all our cupboards and closets open to also get the nooks & crannys blessed. Sometimes there is a toast and some goodies to eat before going to the next house. It can be a lovely community building event. It also encourage not being too dormant during the cold months -- we don't have "Spring Cleaning", we have hurry-and-rush-Winter-house-blessing-cleaning.


When the Christmas season is done, and we pack away the decor, we get a small breather before preparing for the next festal season: Pascha/Easter! 

Drawing the Quality of Numbers 1-10 in First Grade

In 1st grade of Waldorf education, the quality of numbers of explored before the math of it all. Numbers are so real and fun to children -- they're not just a means to count or tally something.  That's why we draw the numbers with concrete associations.  Not only will it help to remember the number, but it also sets philosophical foundations (for example, presenting the idea of "one" as "wholeness"). Whatever thing we use as an example has other applications as a story, a movement game, a real-life object we can observe and learn from.


Here are my examples of what I presented in chalk for the numbers one through ten. With all the different ways to represent a number, I have tailored it to the kids I am presenting it to (the below are what I did for my third child).  Note: I am not a grand artist, I do not make amazing chalkboard drawings nor crayon works of art. Still, I'm posting this picture to give others some ideas & inspiration. Be encouraged! "Even I can do that!" or "I can do better that that!".  Someday my chalk art skills might improve, but in the meantime this still works, and my kids are still learning just fine. 

St Elizabeth the Wonderworker and the Dragon; Waldorf Ideas

If you are not familiar with Elizabeth the Wonderworker, taker a moment to look her up. She is a fascinating and influential character -- she is both a gentle healer, and a wielder of powerful presence.  In the Eastern Christian tradition, her feast day and the feast day of St George are in the Springtime.


In the Waldorf calendar of seasonal celebrations, the story of Saint Elizabeth fits in nicely in the Fall/Autumn since she was a dragon slayer, and that is the story soul-quality for the Waldorf seasonal celebration of Michaelmas. People who wish to show more examples of female saints will find that her story fits in perfectly. This story may appeal to some for it's lack of violence: she used no weapons in her interactions with the dragon. While in the original story the dragon does die in the end, it can be varied variation for more sensitive minded/hearted children who have a hard time with the dragon dying. Saying the she "subdued the dragon" will not change the soul-quality of the story, nor change the seeds planted for personal growth later in life.

In this icon you can see the cave of the dragon on the background and Elizabeth's bare foot on the dragon's head.

Below are some ideas about how to make a festival with her as the focus, as well as a version of the dragon story. You will find that many Michaelmas dragon type crafts also fit in well here, and you can find many other dragon themed crafts on the web that might be appropriate. 


Ideas for celebrating:

-- This story lends itself very well to a puppet show. 
-- Make dragon bread.
-- Make a dragon out of clay.
-- Dress up as Saint Elizabeth and walk around barefoot inside and outside. Walk around and explore different terrains and textures.
-- Perform a play of the story.
-- Make a painting, chalk, or crayon drawing of Elizabeth and the dragon.
-- Consider eating a meal of foods from Greece or Turkey, the regions in which she lived (Thrace).



A Story of St Elizabeth The Wonderworker and the Dragon


Elizabeth was a talented and holy woman who knew from early on that she had a special mission in life to be a nun and to help people.  Elizabeth worked and studied all her life to make her abilities strong and focused. She was extra gentle and kind to everyone, and very tender-hearted towards those who were sick or hurt. She knew healing arts, and helped many people become well again.  She healed both their hearts and their bodies.  The group of holy women she lived with looked to her for guidance, and people from all over traveled to seek her wisdom.  

The emperor of the land was so grateful for all the good things this group of women did that he gave them a piece of land to make their home where they could live and people could come to for help. Before they moved there, they learned that there was a terrible dragon that lived there in a cave. The dragon made people scared & afraid, and filled their hearts with despair.  But Elizabeth did not feel despair nor any fear.  She confidently walked in her bare feet right up to the cave with nothing else; no tools and no weapons -- just the surety of God and knowledge of what is rightful. Elizabeth boldly called "Dragon! COME OUT!" and the dragon obeyed her! The fierce-some and surly dragon slithered out and in stood front of her. Elizabeth made the sign of the cross over the dragons head and the dragon immediately became calm. She placed her bare foot on the dragons head and subdued it.  



In second grade the story of St Elizabeth the Wonderworker might be added as one of the main lesson block stories. You can find out more of her story by searching online as well as other pictorial depictions of her and her life. Here is the main lesson book entry and picture of my second grader:  

(In this case, the different colored words do not have a purpose -- my young student just "wanted it to be pretty")

                                                   

Our Musical Instrument for First & Second Grade

In the curriculum we've been loosely following, the beginning instrument for the early grades is a flute or recorder. Many people opt for the expensive tho' beautifully sounding wooden choroi flutes, some in the pentatonic scale, others a recorder, and some even get a penny whistle instead. There are many articles and videos out there to assist in making an educated choice. We first tried with a recorder, but the kids had a lot of difficulty with it, and we also gave a flutophone a try.   

We finally settled on this one. Yes, really: the durable, cheap molded plastic, $3.99 song flute that sounds amazingly mediocre.  No one would recommend it as a part of a curriculum, no one says it's a quality instrument (you get what you pay for), and everyone agrees the notes it plays are "just okay". But I would recommend it. 

It is really just right for small hands! The finger holes are not straight but in a curved line that fits a more natural hand hold, and the size is just right for small hands. On the other instruments we tried, the kids had a hard time handling them and we spent all our time on motor skills and no actual time on music. Already one has gotten thrown around and dirtied by a younger sibling. No problem: just threw it in a sink of soapy water, rinsed it, and voila, ready to go again. I also have zero stress worrying about a instrument getting lost or ruined. If one of these really tough ones actually does somehow get trashed (that would take a lot of work), then I won't feel like I'm breaking the bank to replace it. 

The four kiddos have picked up on it so quickly!  Even though it is still odd for them to hold their fingers in that way, pressing over the instrument holes, they are no longer struggling. In only four classes with it we found our "musical breath", good posture, how to place it to our mouth, and have learned our first two-note song.  I'd say that's success.

Also, it's so easy to learn!  The notes are directly in scale order one right after another. I taught myself with a few YouTube videos and took it from there teaching myself "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star", "We Thank You God Most High", a late medieval tune I can't remember the name of, and the St Martin Lantern walk song "Glimmer, Lantern, Glimmer". I think I'm coming right along (and staying nicely ahead of my students). 

A Fair-ing We Will Go!

This weekend we are going to our local little Renaissance Faire.  It will be a welcome break from unpacking and trying to get settled into our new home.  Unlike our box filled garage, dust, and helter-skelter living arrangement (although we do have beds now - yay!), it will be colorful and lively, have whimsy and fantasy, and full of music and costumes/garb, and fun things to participate in.  Since the kiddos are still in that young age when H/history is more of a set of stories and fairy tales, this is a nice kind of introductory experience.  It may plant the seeds for al kinds of further explorations and pursuits for them. 


photo courtesy of SEG

photo courtesy of SEG

I contacted the faire organizers ahead of time, and they assured me that they keep everything purposefully very family friendly. I am  glad, since we went to one earlier in the year that was really awful, and constantly full of bawdy jokes.  We are looking for a better time this weekend to make up for the not-so-awesome one.


In preparation, I've got the kids a few fun Ren Faire inspired coloring pages.  Also, I'd better find the box labeled "dress up", and soon! since they really want to wear their "princess dresses" (split-front 'Irish' ren kind of garb with under chemises) to the faire, too. 

Easy Embroidery for the Kiddos

The girls have been wanting to do all kinds of needle work lately, but since we're packing to move, we don't have many options to choose from with all our stuff in boxes and basically living out of suitcases at the moment. So, I had an idea that would make a compact, easy, ongoing project: free-style embroidery.  We used monk's cloth because the loose weave is so easy to work with, and perle embroidery thread since it does not try to come apart as it is manipulated. I chose chenille needles because they are larger and easier to manipulate for little fingers but are still very real and pointed. Everything we need fits in a bag or basket, and we can take it wherever we need to.

I only showed them how to push through and pull the thread; I gave them no further instruction. Each kiddo got assigned their own color of thread/floss for sake of ease and identification. 

I had no idea this whole embroidery thing would take off so quickly with the kiddos! Even the two and a half year old is thrilled to be doing it. The olders made designs, the youngers had a blast with the motor skills -- all had feeling of accomplishment.  I expect this will be a craft/skill that we can easily build on in coming years.  It's an excellent Waldorf-y handwork kind of thing. 

It's very inexpensive in materials (having a teacher id makes it even cheaper), and they are liking their handwork. The squares they are doing are getting more prolific, and I might sew them all together into a kind of wall hanging art thing after I put some iron-on fusible interfacing on the back of each square to make it more stable.  

 

Make an Inexpensive Waldorf Birthday Candle Ring

There is a lot to love about Waldorf inspired birthday traditions. No matter how you decide to modify and adjust things to your family needs, the focus is on an important life in your growing family and relationships. Even the focus of the table is not the cake, and certainly not the presents. The below idea & technique could be easily adapted for any kind of count-down celebration, too, like Advent or the Nativity Fast.

I really like the use of a candle ring, a circle or spiral candle holder with places for the age number of candles, and you can decide the fill the rest of the spots or not to your liking and needs.  I have seen beautiful examples of these, and many handcrafted wood ones that are well worth buying, but outside of my budget. So I decided to make one that was within my budget and skill set.


I got this wooden, blank 11.5" clock face from Michael's (also available at Hancock Fabrics), and some wooden candle cups at Hobby Lobby. (Note: those stores give a teacher discount, so don't forget your homeschool teacher id card)

I decided on candle cups that would take a standard size taper, which in the US is 7/8", because it will always be easy for me to find candles in the future. I would have preferred something smaller, but I'm trying to make this easy on myself. I used stain, sealer, and scraps of sandpaper I had left over from other projects, so the cost for the new supplies (wood pieces and wood glue) was about $13.

Many people will drill the candle holes right into the ring, but I opted to just glue wooden handle holders right on. I chose a wood glue that would accept stain just in case it became messy (which it usually does).

I started by marking my circle in quarters, then pencilled a rough idea of the center circle to cut out. I used my rotozip to do the cutting, and I am comfortable with the lines not being perfect -- in fact, I think it adds to the charm.

Then we took the cut pieces in and sanded them. In general, I have found there's always at least one kiddo who wants to help with the sanding, maybe more. It is so important to model and share making things by hand with your children. The center piece got sanded and added to the wood building blocks/toys.

The next part was staining it. I thought about all kinds of color schemes and ideas that would be fun, but in the end I decided to stain and seal it with things I had on hand. Reminder to self: keep it simple & fast & doable.  Note: to save time I just dipped the pieces right into the stain and then wiped off the excess. Although this did work, and was fast, it took way longer to dry than if I had just rubbed the stain on with a cloth. Then, I just glued the candle cups in place and let it dry. 

Ta da! I'm actually quite proud of the finished project, and I expect it will contribute to many celebrations in the coming years. It took less than an hour of my actual time (not counting letting things dry and set in between steps). I love how it can be arranged in many different shapes/configurations.


(It was suggested that this would make a great project as a candle holder for the various feasts and fasts of the year, especially the Nativity/Christmas Fast, or Phillips/Phillipo Fast. Simply put on the number of candle holders you need.)