Hoppy Holidays

Our BLOG post this week is a holiday wish from our bunny, Sweetie Pie and also a big thank you from all of us here! Thank you to everyone who has supported us this year by purchasing items from our store (http://stores.ebay.com/herbnhome), downloading items from http://www.thewaldorfchannel.com/ , enrolling in our program (http://www.earthschooling.com/), joining our group at http://www.herbnhome.com/ and buying unicorns (http://www.buyaunicorn.com/) and photos at http://www.imagenations.com/ .

Seriously - and I am not embarrassed to say this - without your support and purchases we would not have had a holiday season at all this year! We are very thankful for all of our clients and customers! When you own your own business you appreciate everyone so much and each purchase makes a difference in our lives. A download is a carton of milk, a unicorn purchase paid for our Christmas tree, an enrollment in our program purchased Sunii's winter snowgear and he has been able to be outdoors sledding every day now that he has a snowsuit and boots! it is really cool to see how direct it all is! We love you all!

Our rabbit Sweetie Pie also wants to wish everyone a hoppy holiday - Eid, Hanukkah, Christmas, Solstice, Kwanza - everything! She especially wants to thank the person who bought something that helped paid for "her" tree.

Here are some tips she would like to share for a better holiday season:

Sweetie Pie Holiday Tip #1: Buy your rabbit a tree to eat for the holidays so she does not eat your gifts.

Sweetie Pie Holiday Tip #2: Cats look better in boxes wrapped up with bows.

Sweetie Pie Holiday Tip #3: Don't even TRY to put a bow on me for this photo.

Sweetie Pie Holiday Tip #4: Humans don't always appreciate the way rabbits trim trees.

Sweetie Pie Holiday Tip #5: Bows don't taste as good as carrots.

Sweetie Pie Holiday Tip #6: Humans don't seem to appreciate the little "gifts" that I leave under the tree. Perhaps if I wrapped them?

Sweetie Pie Holiday Tip #7: If you are cute and fluffy people can forgive a lot.

Sweetie Pie Holiday Tip #8: Turkey is really good for holiday season. Rabbits don't taste very good at all.

Sweetie Pie Holiday Tip #9: Did I mention how good a cat would look in a box with a bow on top?Sweetie Pie Holiday

Tip #10: Carrots - the gift for the person who "has everything" - and eco-friendly too!

Spiritual Letter from Santa Claus

Letter from Santa
By Kristie Burns
http://www.thewaldorfchannel.com/
http://www.herbnhome.com/
Note: If you repost this to other lists please include the above header as this is original copyrighted work :) Thanks!

Update from last year:

Sofi has been talking about this letter all year and refers to it often when the tooth fairy comes and the Easter Bunny, etc...she treasures the letter and keeps it on her desk and has already brought it out again this year and said to me, "Mama, remember when Santa made you put presents under the tree last year?" As if she enjoyed the fact that Santa was playing a little "joke" on me:). The response to this letter has been more overwhelming than I imagined...so I am reposting this year. She talks about so many aspects of the letter. It really fits her world-view and has been a real blessing to her!

Intro from last year:

Truly I was inspired to write this letter. I didn't even think about it. I sat down this morning and it seemed to fly off the page directly from the depths of my mind to the keyboard without any thought inbetween. Perhaps it came because it is needed at this time when my children are questioning who Santa is. I have known for a long time who Santa is, but I have been unable to put it into words until today...

Dear Sofi,

This is from Santa. Not the Santa of the chimneys and reindeer, but the real Santa. I have enjoyed the stories that people have created about me over the years but I think you are old enough now to know the real story. Did you know that in some countries I don't come on Christmas day? I come on St. Nicolas Day and I fill their boots with treats. In America they changed the story to Christmas day and I fill their socks instead of boots. Some people thought it was sort of icky to fill their socks so they created really pretty socks for me to fill.

Did you know that my story started in 280 A.D. When St. Nicholas was a saint? My spirit has existed since before then, but that was when people first started calling me St. Nick. The real Saint Nicholas was greatly inspired by the spirit of giving. He wandered the countryside giving away all his wealth to poorer people. He especially treated children with kindness and helped children who needed money or gifts. After that, many people in Europe, inspired by his name St. Nick, continued to give money and gifts to people in need and to children even after the real Saint Nick was gone. I didn't officially come to America until 1861 when the Dutch brought my celebrations to New York and distributed pictures of what I "looked like". Their name for me was Sinter Klass...which Americans made into Santa Claus.

However, as I mentioned before, just because my name did not come to America before 1861, does not mean that I have not always been here. For I am the spirit and angel of giving and charity. This concept is hard for some people to understand. People have a hard time understanding ideas or spirits or angels because they cannot see them. So to make it easier they sometimes make stories or draw pictures so it is easier to understand. That is the short story of how I, the angel of giving and charity, became known with a name and a face. And that is how you probably know me. I don't really mind.

I am known by so many different names and faces that are not the "real" me, but who doesn't like a story? I find the stories very creative and wonderful and since they are each accurate in their own way I don't mind! My favorite is the one about my riding a sleigh and delivering presents all night. That is accurate in a way, for I never sleep or run out of energy so I could, in theory do that, but I do not need a sleigh to ride. There are so many angels on the earth that watch over you and protect you and we each have our own job - some protect from accidents, some teach wisdom, some are keepers of history, and we each have done our jobs since the beginning of time and will continue forever to do our jobs for angels never tire and never sleep. We don't really have names but in some books we have given ourselves names to make our stories easier to read.

It is hard for humans to understand something that they cannot see and that does not have a name! You may also be familiar with the angel of awakening childhood (the tooth fairy who guides you across the bridge from childhood to being a young lady or young man as you loose your teeth along the way), or the angel of eternal life who teaches us about the endurance of spirit and the rebirth of the soul during Easter. And what about your guardian angel? Everyone has one of those. Some of the angels don't even have names. They are eagerly awaiting the day when humankind gives THEM names too.

It is an honor to be recognized by those we serve and to be given names and stories. You mom is writing this letter for me and she may or may not remember writing it. That is how it works. I inspire people to do my work through their spirit. Sometimes this may awaken them in the middle of the night to fill a stocking and they may think they were dreaming. Sometimes they are aware of what they are doing and remember doing it. But in both cases I have been able to motivate millions of parents around the world to share my vision. And at some point everyone understands that I am the angel of giving and they also know that they must continue to work for my vision in the ways that children will understand.

I don't know what story your parents shared with you. They are all different - even in little ways. However, I do know, that whatever story your parents told you was one that they thought would touch your heart and prepare you to understand more about giving and charity and joy so that you would be able to carry on my traditions during your life as well. My vision is that all children feel a sense of wonder and awe at the power of giving.

I want people to always feel this spirit within them and to look for ways all year to give and to help others. I am honored that a day was chosen to do this, but I don't want people to forget that we should do this every day. But since humans have created a day to honor my spirit, I want all children to wake up Christmas morning and to feel so wonderful and filled with joy that they are inspired to share this joy with others. This is my gift to the world. It is simple and yet is so powerful as you can see from what is happening around you this Christmas season. Please continue to tell my stories. I enjoy them.

I sometimes come by and sit by your guardian angel and listen to them. They are beautiful stories that make who I am into pictures instead of spirit. It is almost like when a painter has a dream and then he paints it. He is not really painting the dream, because nobody can really do that, but he has made his dream into a picture. That is what it is like with my stories. Nobody can ever really understand me completely - for you are humans and I am an angel spirit. However, the more stories you create, the closer you come to understanding who and what I am. So please continue creating stories and pictures and please continue my tradition and pass it on to your children.

Please know that as your mother was inspired to write this letter one day, you will also be inspired to write a similar letter one day. You may also keep this one and pass it on. Merry Christmas! Please enjoy the gifts I have sent you through others and please pass these gifts on to the people you love. - Santa

Stocking Stuffer - Affordable Needle Felted Dolls

This post can now be found on our new blog at www.BEarthBLOG.com

Free Shipping on Unicorn Christmas Cards!

This post can now be found on our new blog at: www.BEarthBLOG.com

Advent Story Ribbon

This is now located at www.BEarthBLOG.com

Snow Squirrels and Andy Goldsworthy Lesson

One of Sunii's favorite artists is Andy Goldsworthy (see website: Andy Goldsworthy). So when we got our first snow today we were busy thinking of ways we could create art "beyond the snowman". Well, the snow didn't last too long and we didn't have much to work with but we had fun. We can't wait to try again next snow! Sunii's goal was to cover the entire side of the tree in Andy Goldsworthy style. I would then take pictures of the progression to creation and the progression of what happened over a few days as the "art" became part of nature once again (just as Goldsworthy does).

You can check back for more photos...these are just the initial shots. Of course we are nowhere near the masters that Goldsworthy is but the "feel" was still there - the process of working WITH nature to create something, the process of watching the art unfold in harmony with nature, working with what nature offers (in our case the snow was not as clean as we would have liked) and the process of watching nature claim it back.

And the squirrels? Uhh...not very Andy Goldsworthy...my excuse is just that I am a little "nuts"....When I saw the tree Sunii was working on my mind said "squirrels" and I went from there. If we had more snow I wanted to mold a barking dog out of snow and have him chase the squirrels up the tree...but alas...the snow stopped.

Can't wait for the next snow!

'Twas the Night Before Solstice

It is a little early for this but people enjoyed it so much last year I wanted to give everyone time to share it. As I mentioned last year - you are welcome to post this to any list or on any BLOG or do anything you want with it, as long as you keep it intact with my name and website.

Twas the Night Before Solstice
By Kristie Burns
http://www.thedreamangels.com/
http://www.earthschooling.com/

'Twas the night before Solstice
and all through the house
Not a creature was stirring,
not even our pet mouse

Knitted wool stockings
were hung with care
In hopes that St. Nicholas
soon would be there

The children were tucked
in organic cotton sheets,
The air filter blocking
pollution from the streets.

While mama stayed up
to make handmade gifts
I co-slept with the kids
and watched auras shift.

When out in the herb garden
arose such a clatter
I sprung out of our futon
to see what was the matter!

Away to the solar panels
I flew like a flash.
They took me hours to install,
I hoped they hadn't crashed.

The crystals we'd laid out
to absorb the moonlight
Sparkled like fairydust
and blocked my sight.

When, what to my
wondering eyes should appear,
But a miniature sleigh
without any reindeer.

At that moment I knew
that the little old man
Had received my last letter
so bold and so grand

Could you stop using reindeer?
Last year I wrote him,
And enclosed
with the note a PETA pin.

As he neared the house
in his all-wooden sleigh
I noticed it was powered
by wheatgrass and hay.

Ostheimer! Kinderkram!
Stockmar! Fair Trade!
Don't bother landing
if the toys aren't handmade!

"Hey Arriana," I called
to my wife with chagrin,"
With that body mass
do you think he's vegetarian?"

She paused only a moment
from her crafting and said,
"One moment dear!
I'm shaping this gol-darn Waldorf doll's head!"

On our roof I strained
to hear the ole boy
But I'd recently
insulated it with soy.

So I drew in my hand
and was turning around,
When in through the front door
came St. Nick with a bound.

The Advent wreath
had caught in his hair
As I said, "Why in the world
did you enter from THERE?"

The soot in your chimney
contains poisons galore.
You should consider
the environment more.

But he was dressed in fur
from his head to his foot
So I said, "Look whose
talking about my soot!"

A bundle of felt he had
flung on his back.
"I hope you like handiwork,"
he said with a laugh.

His eyes - how they twinkled!
His dimples were treats!
His cheeks reminded me
of when I dye silk with beets.

He must be of the
choleric type I mused.
It's a good thing with
lavender the stockings I infused.

With his fur boots
he slipped on the bamboo wood floor.
I offered him Arnica and
then closed the front door.

After all that I'd paid
to the energy company this year
I didn't want one bit of
that cold air in here.

He had a broad face
and a little round belly
I asked him,
"Have you seen your naturopath lately?"

He was so chubby and plump
I worried for his health
But I laughed when I saw him
in spite of myself.

He spoke not a word,
but went straight to task,
Needle-felting dragons
and weaving a mask.

He knitted a pure cotton sweater
and two pairs of mittens,
Then picked up a knife
and carved 2 wood kittens.

He finger-knitted
an entire nativity scene.
With the most amazing skill
I'd ever seen!

When he sprang
from his seat on the floor and arose
I yelled, "Arianna - watch -
there he goes!"

With the unfinished doll
she was struggling to sew,
Arriana went to watch
him out the window.

And I heard him exclaim
as he drove out of sight!"
Arriana, my dear,
the stiches are too tight!"

Carrying on the Tradition

"Miss Kristie! Look! Look! Look what my fairy left me!"



It was Morgan, my "after school daughter". Morgan comes to stay with us every day after her school dismisses from 3:00-6pm. Since my eldest daughter is away during the school year this year Morgan uses her room. So we call her "my fourth daughter".



Morgan has built a fairy house in her room just like the one Sofi has in her room. They both look forward to signs that the fairies have visited. Is something out of place in the house? Did the fairies eat the chocolate they left for them? Did the fairies spill something or leave a note? Did the fairies leave a gift?



However, I didn't realize that Morgan was as entranced by the fairy world as Sofi was, until this past week. I thought she was just building the fairy house to have fun with, and because she liked crafts. Morgan, being 12-years-old, was not waiting for the fairies too, was she?



So, Sofi's fairy continued to leave "signs" and "gifts" (at night after Morgan left so Morgan was not hurt) but Morgan's fairy didn't visit at all. I still didn't notice what was happening. When Morgan came to me and said, "Miss Kristie, my fairy is not visiting." I put in my mind that perhaps her fairy should visit soon. However, I didn't put it in my mind as a priority. Even Sofi's fairy took a week break for a while there...



So I was surprised when Morgan came running to me with some gifts in her hand saying "look what my fairy gave me!" I smiled and showed my appreciation for the gifts. I imagined that Morgan had created some gifts "from her fairy" and this was making her happy. She seemed very happy. And since the fairies were on a break anyway, I didn't think much about it. Sofi's fairy had not visited for more than a week.



The next day Morgan came to me again, "Look Miss Kristie...my fairy left me a note!"



Each day it was the same until today I suddenly wondered....



'Sofi," I said, "Do you know how I explained what happens with Santa Claus and how sometimes we are inspired by these spirits to leave gifts?"

(If you are not familiar with the letter Santa left her last year you might want to stop now and read the letter at: http://thedreamangels.blogspot.com/2007/12/letter-from-santa.html)

'Yes" replied Sofi.



"Do you think perhaps Morgan's fairy has been inspiring you?"



"Hmmmm...I don't know, " said Sofi, "If she was I wouldn't remember."

"Are you sure you are not aware of helping her at all?" I pushed a bit...

"All I remember is going into Morgan's room for no reason and then I don't remember why I was there," Sofi responded.



That was the answer I had been expecting.



I was so touched. Without a word, without a formal ceremony, Sofi had taken on the tradition of "fairy messenger". She had created elaborate notes and gifts and things for Morgan's fairy to give her for the simple reason of creating joy and wonder for Morgan. The fairies had spoken to her.



She knew, intuitively, what to do and how to do it. She knew that you must never reveal your secret - even to those that know, she knew how to be quiet about it, and do it in a careful way. And at the same time she anticipated the wait of her own fairy eagerly and with great surprise and joy - completely knowing that it was I who was the messgenger but completely "knowing" that it was not I that left the items. Somehow she had completely grasped the idea of the wonder and mystery of it all and was able to be the messenger and the believer at the same time.

We completely skipped the entire drama of "Oh my! Really? There is no Santa? There are no fairies?" and peacefully merged into the next stage of her life where she becomes the messenger for the next generation.

There are two things that made this transition so peaceful. First, we do not stop believing in our home. We believe in believing. I tell the kids - you have to PROVE it does not exist or I will believe it is real! Secondly, the gift-giving and visiting process is done by teaching us to listen to our intuition and perhaps those tiny voices that come from other places. In learning to listen to those other voices we are able to gift without deception and be open about it. And the child learns to listen to their own intuition and their own angels and spirits guiding them...and the tradition is carried on.

I cannot say I understand it completely. If I did it would certainly lose its magic. All I know is that Santa continues to leave gifts, Zarelda (the fairy) continues to leave gifts and now, a new fairy leaves gifts for Morgan. And sometimes the fairy houses are disturbed and none of us know how or why...

Blessings & Health,
Kristie

Class Mantras

We are always working together to develop workable class mantras. By workable, I mean ideas that work for everyone in the class, are understood by everyone in the class and are meaningful to what we want to accomplish. I thought I would share some of my favorite "mantras" with everyone. What are some of your favorites? If you have some favorites yourself please post them to the end of the BLOG. Thank you!

1. Mantra One: We need solutions and not problems. This is to encourage students to come up with solutions to their problems instead of complaining. It is so easy to fall into the "I don't WANT to do that activity" mode. This mantra encourages students to come up with workable solutions instead of complaining. This works well because in the process of coming up with workable solutions students are given wonderful opportunities to be creative and they are allowed to "be in the teacher's (or parent's) shoes" for a moment and experience the actual difficulty of coming up with ideas. A good example of this was two days ago a child in the enrichment class said, "I don't want to make bread again!" When it was suggested that she find a solution to this "problem" she realized that she actually did want to make bread, she just didn't want the same toppings on the bread so we found some additional selections for her and she enjoyed her bread very much!

2. Mantra Two: We need to keep the air clean too! This is a reminder that our words and attitude can pollute the air in the same way the dust or dirt can pollute a surface. If gossip ensues, or children are teasing or focusing on negative thoughts they can be encouraged to keep the air cleaner by putting happier, more peaceful thoughts into the air. This idea can be expanded on. You can have an "air cleaning" session with a sage stick and some positive thoughts said outloud by everyone or you can do a little "acting" and pretend you are wading through a thick sea of dirty air.

Repetition helps enforce the ideas so instead of repeating the ideas 500 times, the familiarity of making it a regular statement helps to reduce the need for repetition and encourages everyone to participate in the "reminding". If you were to make a different comment every time someone complained it would become confusing to the child and would create an ongoing need for the parent or teacher to repeat their ideas over and over. When you use a "mantra" it makes it easier for the child to remember.

You can also create verses, poems or songs out of these mantras, you can draw them and hang them on the wall, or include them in the Main Lesson Book.

MEMBER BLOG TOPICS THIS WEEK
(there are many more topics in previous weeks. Scroll down to previous BLOG posts to see the previous member topics)

Montessori and Waldorf Meet on a Rock
My Favorite Nature Walk Theme & Activity - Full Lesson

There were many member questions answered this week as well. These questions included: Ideas for reluctant readers, natural tick removal tips, how to deal with "selfish" behaviour, and more.

The member video this week was "How to Make a Felted Bendy Doll"

Remember - for a limited time - when you become a member at www.herbnhome.com you only pay for ONE of the services (Waldorf Channel Membership, BLOG Membership or Health and Homeschool Consulting) and you get the other two services for free!

Honoring Our Work

Sunii created this from a pair of doll knitting needles that we made last week (see previous BLOG POST)

Waldorf education puts great emphasis on the process, rather than the end product and this is part of the beauty of learning in this way. However, this does not mean that one forgets the end product. Honoring the end product in some way, can further inspire the child and enhance their learning experience. There are so many ways to do this. Here are some of my favorite ways:

1. Display: We have numerous ways to display our work around the home. I include my own work in these displays so the children can be inspired by my work and also see that I am proud of my own accomplishments. In the wicker-room we have frames that contain the children's drawings and pictures. These pictures can be rotated in and out of the frames at the child's request. In the art-room (dining room) we have two walls where work is hung and displayed for all guests and the family as well. We display many works on the nature table and on various shelves around the house.

2. Use: I try to find as many ways as possible that we can use what we create. Sometimes the children come up with these ideas like in the way they decided to use the knitting needles we made for the dolls last week! We have used paintings as invitations or cards before, we give many of our creations as gifts and sometimes I use the children's artwork in books or in BLOG posts. Some creations can be eaten, woodworking creations are often useful (placecard holders, candleholders, etc..) and so much more. I can usually find a way to use anything we have made. If not, it can take a place of honor in a memory chest or in a special notebook.

3. Creating Memories: After the display is over, if an item cannot be used on a daily basis it goes into a special notebook or scrapbook or into a memory chest. The children often sit down with these scrapbooks or memory chests for hours remembering the friends they were with when they made things, how much they enjoyed (or didn't) the activity, and much more.

4. Going Beyond: Sometimes when we do a project the kids surprise me by taking the project farther than I intended (such as in the case of the doll knitting needles that they actually used). I enjoy this process of asking, "now that we are done...what more can we do?" Sometimes you can create a story from what you have created, sometimes you can use or display what you have created in a unique way. Sometimes you can combine two creations into one thing. I always enjoy doing this with my unicorns. Once I finish knitting them I create stories or personalities to go with each one (Sofi enjoys helping me with this) and take pictures of their story. Sometimes I write books about them or make videos about them (see The Unichronicles or the Unicorn-on-the-Cob on YOUTUBE). The children enjoy taking pictures of their own creations and making stories about them, drawing or writing stories about them or just telling me stories.

5. Shows: has your child worked hard on a play or a story or on learning a song? You can hold a neighborhood show or just a show "by invitation only" for your friends. Some people even take videos of private shows and send them to their relatives to enjoy. The children take these events very seriously and are very proud to be able to show their work to others. Encourage them to dress up and create their own invitations for these events and to help you in the planning.

A Story from Sofi and Mama

I love drinking hot chocolate on cold winter mornings...

YUM! All ready to drink! Yah!



Oops...no! This needs more marshmallows!

Uh....where did that other marshmallow go???

Perfect! Now I can drink my hot chocolate!
By the way... I am looking for a good home. If you want to adopt me please visit me at:

TheDreamAngels ETSY

Kids & Dolls that Knit

Kids minds can be like fire. You add a little spark of inspiration and they flames of creativity can reach quite high just from that little spark. It always amazes me. I will often plan an entire lesson only to have it take a completely different direction when the creative drive kicks in!

Yesterday was one of those days. My plan was to do some knitting, tell some stories and start the kids on some projects they can work on through the winter. As the days grow colder we will be outdoors less and less so the kids will need some more "hand" work to balance their day (I always balance with head, heart and hands). That is so easy to get when they explore outside, but it becomes more challenging in the cold winter months. Some of the kids in the enrichment class know how to knit, some have learned but have not knitted for a while and some do not know. My goal was to make sure everyone got started on something.

What happened was even more magical! Everyone got started pretty quickly and they were all overjoyed to be knitting or knitting again. For some reason knitting seems to appeal to boys and girls, all ages (above 6 or 7) and all temperaments. And as knitting always encourages casual conversation (hint for parents with teens/tweens - it's a great way to get them talking) one subject led to another and another and we soon decided that the dolls needed to knit too.

So I found an old set of pick-up sticks, grabbed some wood beads from the bead drawers and we put together some tiny needles...

Then someone had the idea to make little balls of yarn and then I remembered I had some tiny baskets I got on sale for about ten cents last year somewhere...

Soon we had an adorable little knitting basket for all the dolls. Then Sunii decided to see if the needles really worked and discovered that not only did they work but that they were very manageable and much easier to use than the large ones. So a few of the kids decided that "the dolls" were going to knit themselves some tiny toy unicorns...

So far they have finished most of the unicorn body and have been working hard at their little knitting projects whenever they have a spare moment today. So it looks like everyone got started on their knitting alright! I just didn't expect that they would be knitting on miniature doll needles for two days! I think they even knit MORE because "the dolls were knitting".

This BLOG post is a weekly sample post. For daily visual inspiration on projects/crafts/stories and lessons sign up for the "member's BLOG" and "member's channel" at The Waldorf Channel. You can sign up at www.herbnhome.com - both of these resources provide photos and video of many many Waldorf-inspired crafts and lessons each month. You can save money by making your own Waldorf supplies, have an ever-growing resource to go to whenever you need inspiration for the day or week, and even ask questions on the consulting list about any homeschooling or health issue you have questions about. Posts from previous weeks are all indexed and easily searchable on one page. Member videos are also indexed by topic on one page! This is a great supplement to ANY homeschool program you may already be doing.

Member posts this week include:

Practical woodworking for the grades

Felting beads

Mandala Lesson for balance, harmony and coordination

Paper Making - Watercolor and other paper

A Winter Fairy Home

The Non-"Tree House"

Much more from previous weeks too!

New Waldorf Channel Show: Watercolor Paper & Spinning Wool

This can now be found on our new blog HERE

Don't forget the pinball game...

Hi everyone...I usually post this announcement on Sunday but the auction ends Sunday so I wanted to give everyone a chance to see the e-mail....

The auction ends tomorrow so don't forget to check out the wooden pinball game starting at only $5.00 bidding (worth $75.oo -$90.00). It is at:

Pinball game

Watercolor & Meditation w/ The Middle Grades

As winter approaches the kids (mine and the ones who come for Waldorf Enrichment) have been both more meditative in many ways but also more physically energetic! So we have been outdoors a lot but when we come in their favorite activities seem to be painting and bread-making. There is a meditative comfort in these two activities that seems to go so well with the colder months.

And as the kids become older they are not always guided by the stories and verses but sometimes simply guided by their inspirations and their heart. As the kids grow from the early childhood years into the age of awareness of themselves and others I take some time each week for them to express themselves in watercolor AND in writing without being guided by story, verse or lesson. Children in the middle grades enter a world of intellectual depth and insight. At this stage, when they aspire to problem-solving and knowledge, students are challenged with great philosophical ideas, the precision of mathematics, and the beauty of ensemble music. Some time of individual meditative expression is helpful during this period. Part of the reason I do this is to help them to learn how to take time to meditate through the activities they are doing.

At this stage in life children have often been shuttled into a way of life that can involve too many activities and a lot of intense schooling - a lot of head work. Having them sit down and meditate while they watercolor - either to nature or music - is a way for me to help them balance that "Heart" nature with their head and hands and to help keep that element strong in their lives. This is the age when a lot of schooling starts to take the heart out of things and keep the kids occupied in their head and their hands only.

So this week we decided to take inspiration from nature instead of from stories or verses for our watercolors. The kids collected their favorite leaves and I asked them to reproduce them onto their watercolor papers. I was very clear to them that "re-produce" only meant the mood, the colors, what the leaves evoked in them and that they did not have to draw the leaf itself unless they wanted to.

I am always amazed at how insightful and spiritual and artistic the kids can be. The pictures below are some of what they came up with when working with the leaves...

The Dangers of Building with Muffins

Early in the morning the dim light reveals last night's project. I got our old blocks out of storage so the girls (9 and 10) could make a rat-maze for our rat. Instead they decided to build castles and they added a couple muffins for "royal cakes". I am so excited they still like the blocks! I guess I will take them out of storage! My grandfather made haf of them...my dad gave them to me.

The sun rises to reveal more of the castle...

Someone smells the muffins and starts her rampage of distruction :)...

Who - ME? Really I didn't knock over the castles! I'm a sweet innocent bunny!

(Grrr...WHERE are those muffins????)

Member BLOG posts this week include:

(Join at: www.HerbnHome.com)

Snack Inspirations & Philosophy

Using a Kids' Business as a Homeschooling Lesson

(and they even earn money and practice their music for "fun"!)

Previous Posts to Members-only BLOG:

Member BLOG posts this week included:
Easy Christmas Handiwork for Cat Lovers
Knitted Mouse
Map Making & Woodburning with a Story - Complete Lesson
Autumn Snack Inspirations
Mom - vs - Manager
Fantasy Party Snack Idea
Independant Learning Tips

Member Tutorials at The Waldorf Channel include:

How to Make Block Crayons
How to Make Molding Beeswax
How to Knit a Rabbit
How to Make Fairy Wings
Pre-Needle Felting
Form Drawing
and MUCH MORE...

Waldorf Books and Wrap-Sacks - Free Shipping Too

For Sunday Sharing to day I wanted to share that I just uploaded 50 new vintage books (total 164 now) to my shopping site AND some beautiful wrap-sacks (reusable and trackable gift sacks). All these things are at least half off the retail price because when I find treasures I share them with my shoppers :) Of course I kept some of the awesome wrap-sacks for myself but I purchased a lot of extras. They are a great price so if you want more than one visit soon.

And if you order more than one book you get FREE SHIPPING on all your books - even if you order 20.

You can see all the new books at:

Vintage Waldorf Books

You can see the Wrap-Sacks at:

Wrap-Sacks and Holiday Items

And now something to share...

We went to the apple festival at Living History Farms yesterday and had so much fun but perhaps our favorite thing was sampling the apple fritters that they were cooking in cast-iron pots on the open fire! Sunii made me get the recipe:

Apple-Fritters

2 cups flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1/8 tsp. salt

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 handful finely chopped apples

1-2 cups water

Combine all ingredients, add apples last. Batter will be thick. Spoon into hot oil. Batter should float to the top and flip over when its ready. Fry until golden - about 3-5 minutes. Drain on a paper towel, roll in sugar :)

My Favorite Acorn Craft

As you all know we have a million acorns in our front yard (yes, even after sending out over 1000 of them to friends online). So in my quest for more acorn crafts I came across a wonderfully simple and fun craft to make with the acorns. I have to admit this kept us occupied for at least an hour - we made many of them and had a "contest" to see how many we could get to spin at the same time. These really work as well as any top I've purchased from any store and they are much more fun because you make them yourself. The kids were wide-eyed when I showed them what "magic" acorns could do! Aparently this was a popular toy many years ago because I found the instructions for this on a lot of sites.

To make these adorable little toys -

1. Get a nice acorn with no cracks

2. Drill a small hole in the top with a hand-drill (or you could use a nail and hammer gently?)

3. Stick a half of a match-stick in the top (NOW I have a use for all those used matches!)

4. Spin, spin, spin it around.

5. Giggle

If you like this BLOG post consider becoming a member in the "members-only BLOG" - this ALSO includes membership in the Waldorf Channel Members-only site (shows and tutorials for members only) AND the Health and Homeschooling Resource and Consulting Group (herbnhonmeconsulting@yahoogroups.com). You can sign up for only $5.00 a month at: www.herbnhome.com ($15.00 for the first month only). Just one of these services is worth the $5.00 a month but I know not everyone is going to sign up and use all of them so I am only charging the fee for ONE service but giving everyone ALL THREE.

Member BLOG posts this week included:

Easy Christmas Handiwork for Cat Lovers

Knitted Mouse

Map Making & Woodburning with a Story - Complete Lesson

Autumn Snack Inspirations

Mom - vs - Manager

Fantasy Party Snack Idea

Independant Learning Tips

Member Tutorials at The Waldorf Channel include:

How to Make Block Crayons

How to Make Molding Beeswax

How to Knit a Rabbit

How to Make Fairy Wings

Pre-Needle Felting

Form Drawing

and MUCH MORE...

Join at: www.herbnhome.com

Waldorfy/Synthetic Hybrid Acorn Things

Relocated to New BLOG at: http://earthschooling.info/thebearthinstitute/?page_id=103

A Childhood of Playstands

When I attended the Waldorf parent-child class with my eldest daughter (now almost 14! WOW) I immediately fell in love with the playstands. I wanted one so badly! I was so envious of my friend who had a husband who was so good at making them he even donated a couple to a new initiative! But alas, I could not afford to purchase them. Years later, when I found myself in a better financial state and able to purchase a few more hierloom toys for my children I looked back at our photo albums and realized we already had playstands! In fact, we had so many of them - we were rich in playstands! I thought I would share some pictures of some of the playstands we have had over the years...

Dining room chairs of course...

Sawed off bedstands/bed frames....



Logs and sticks...



Even small chairs...

Mom -vs- Manager & Pumpkin Seeds

This is the title of our first members-only BLOG post. You are always welcome to browse the many offerings on this free BLOG. However, to gain access to the member's BLOG you must be a member of:

http://www.earthschooling.com/ Year Member
http://www.earthschooling.com/ Lifetime Member
http://www.herbnhome.com/ Consulting Member

If you are a member you can always login to the member's BLOG by using the password gate in the right hand-column.

Blessings & Health,
Kristie

New Member BLOG!

Year and lifetime members of the Waldorf Enrichment School/EarthSchooling Online now have their own private BLOG! I will be posting lessons and inspirations to that BLOG for all members of the year and the lifetime program. If you are a year or lifetime member you can login to your online member page and find a link to the new BLOG there. All members of herbnhomeconsulting@yahoogroups.com also have access to this new BLOG.

You are always welcome to enjoy the free Blogger BLOG, www.TheWaldorfChannel.com and waldorfschoolonline@yahoogroups.com - all free from www.EarthSchooling.com

To gain access to more features and become a member of www.EarthSchooling.com you have 4 options:

1. "Try Us Out" - you can purchase 1 month of Waldorf Enrichment and receive an E-book for that month, life-long updates, student conversation all year, verses with audio AND 2 video tutorials (each month). There are many more features all described at: www.EarthSchooling.com

2. "Monthly Member" - if you decide to continue purchasing months you can make payments on a monthly basis and gain access to each month as you pay. You only pay for each month ONCE and then you remain a member for life.

3. "Year Member" - you can purchase an entire year of Waldorf Enrichment and you remain a member FOR LIFE so you always get updates every year. You also receive all 24 video tutorials for the year, and an E-book for each month of the year. In addition you receive the E-books "Sixth Sense Math" and "A Year of Waldorf Watercolor". You have access to your own password protected page where you can download all your materials from one place. You only pay for the year once - you are then a member for life. Now, you also gain access to the NEW member's BLOG.

4. "Lifetime Member" - Lifetime members have the same benefits of year members but they ALSO receive EVERY Waldorf E-book and video I have ever published and ever will publish. This includes all videos from lectures I do around the United States. Now, lifetime members also gain access to the member's BLOG.

Add-Ons

ANY member OR non-member who needs ongoing consulting with homeschooling or health issues can join the Health and Homeschool Forum at herbnhomeconsuting@yahoogroups.com . You can read more about this at: www.HerbnHome.com

There is a very organized search feature to this group so you can easily look up previous questions and answers. All "chat" is deleted from the list weekly so the only files remaining in the archives are the answered questions, which can then be easily searched.

Michaelmas Dragon Puppet

This post is now available on our new blog HERE

Apple Picker CLOSE - UPS (as per request)

Someone asked for close-ups of the apple-picker. There are about ten close-ups and all sorts of angles I took photos from but I didn't want to "clog up the BLOG" with pictures so they are all here:

Apple Picking Day Photos (including close ups)

Enjoy! And please tell me about your experiences if you make one and use it! My son is STILL obsessed with his. He keeps it by the bed in his room :)

Blessings & Health,
Kristie
www.TheWaldorfChannel.com

Why a Waldorf Child Cooperates

This article can now be found on our new blog HERE.

Sunii's Hawk

Sunii had a close-encounter with a hawk today and took this photo with my cell phone. We were out biking at the time. He got within one foot of the hawk and stood there with it for about 5 minutes. Way cool! I didn't get very close because I didn't want to scare it away for Sunii. He has this "magic" with animals and I figured he had more chance to get close to the hawk than I did :)

Happy Acorns Take a Trip

We had a lot of fun packing up the acorns this morning. It was like wrapping peasants for a holiday! Sunii helped me stuff the envelopes and then we decided to bike down to the USPS to mail them. On the way we saw a HAWK! It was so cool. Sunii got of his bike and walked so close to it he could touch it. I had to yell, 'Protect your eyes!" But the bird never got upset. It just stared at Sunii for at least 5 minutes and finally flew away. It was a very very large Hawk and he got within one foot of it! WOW. On the way back home we had Pumpkin smoothies with soy milk at the local juice shop. YUM!!!!

Everyone's acorns are now happily on their way to you. I will make another shipment next Wednesday if there are any stragglers :)

Blessings & Health,

Kristie

Apple Picker Photos

This article can now be found on our new BLOG HERE

Homemade Apple Picker

This article is now located on our new blog HERE

Those Cinnamon Rolls Again...

Don't put those Waldorf toys in storage yet!

I took this photo of my son and a friend playing in the gazebo with the wooden kitchen set. They had fun for about a half hour with this game - trying to see how many fruits and veggies they could balance on the scale. My son is 11 and will be 12 in January. This picture makes me so happy because I paid so much for these toys so to still be getting use out of them in their 11th year just THRILLS ME! And Sofi and her friends (9 and 10) have really been using the gazebo and kitchen set - every day they are out there creating dishes and playing some imaginary game. So if you were wondering if it is worth it to invest in these toys? Yes.