Valley Mama

Nature Explorer's Club: Pike's Stockade

"The doctor and myself ascended a high hill, which lay south of our camp, from whence we had a view of all the prairie and rivers to the north of us; it was at the same time one of the most sublime and beautiful inland prospects ever presented to the eyes of man."  - Lt. Zebulon Pike (February, 1807)

These words are from the sign at Pike's Stockade, the beautiful location of our second Nature Explorer's Club outing.  They are taken from Pike's journal, and I imagine, had we climbed the mesa south of the Conejos River to take in the view of our valley home, we would have had to agree with him.  

We began our Nature Explorer's Club last month with a wonderful trip to Zapata Falls, an icy wonderland in the winter.  We had so much fun, and could not wait for our next trip.  The vision for our club is simple - to get out and explore nature as a group of families.  We meet once a month at different locations around the San Luis Valley to explore, hike, play and learn in this amazing place in which we live.  

For our February trip we decided to explore a little closer to home.  South from my house about fifteen miles, nestled against the mesas and the beautiful Conejos River is one our favorite local spots to play. While we primarily go for the nature aspect, it is a National Historical Landmark, marking the spot where Zebulon Pike raised the United States Flag on Spanish soil during the second expedition into the newly acquired Louisiana purchase territory in the earlier 1800's.  There is a reconstructed fort that was built based on Pike's journal entries.  They sat up camp here, built a fortress, and endured most of a brutal valley winter, completely unprepared for the cold.

Strangely enough, our valley February has been unusually mild and warm, and so most of us were not completely prepared for the chilly, windy walk to the site.  I know, we're Coloradoans...we should know better, right?  Despite the chilly wind from a front moving in over the mountains, we had a wonderful time.

Nestled among the cottonwoods and willow, along the beautiful Conejos River, with a view of Mount Blanca, Pike's Stockade is perfect for birdwatching, balancing on fallen trees, throwing sticks in the River, and exploring nature.  And that's exactly what we did!

Here is our group, heading down the dirt road between willows to get to the site.

With all our trips, even when a "destination" lies at the end of a trail, we enjoy the journey.

 There was running...

And birdwatching...

And lots of smiles, even though the valley wind was ripping hats from heads and hoods from coats.

Oh, and there was climbing.  Lots and lots of climbing...

This monument lies right beside the reconstructed fort and a natural spring.

We balanced on logs...

Sat on logs...

Climbed over logs...



And enjoyed the less windy conditions under the cottonwoods.

A small section of the area burned in a fire last spring, and many of the burned trees have been cut, leaving lots of stumps.  This provided the perfect opportunity for an impromptu lesson on tree rings by a new (to most of us) friend.  

 A magnifying glass from Mason's gear bag came in handy for counting the rings and learning how old some of these trees were.

 

Stumps are also great for standing on, of course.

 

And then there is the river.  Little ones are always drawn to the water, and what with the river and the frozen marshy spots, Pike's Stockade has a lot to offer.  

There was a little frozen (mostly) pool alongside the river, where the ice has frozen into these little needle-like formations.  We had a lot of fun investigating this pool...

Like this Mama and her kiddos are doing.

Beside the pool was a stand of willows, with new shoots growing out of the burned plants.  They made a great willow forest to walk through.

I love the color of the bare red willow against the blue valley sky.  It is one of those magical places that just calls you in to play, to walk through the sea of orange/red, to explore this little world, recovering from fire, sending forth new life into the world.  It's irresistible to little ones...and their grown-ups. 

Seriously.  This is where I live?  

Another mama with her little ones, enjoying a sweet moment in the sunshine.

And he's off...this one does not hold still for long.

The children discovered many interesting things while exploring the area, including these jawbones.  I'm a little bit in love with this photo...

I also love good informational signs with maps.  

On our walk back to the cars, a chilled out River gets all bundled up to brave the wind.  They are standing by one of the only remaining trees charred from the fire...

And oh does Mason get lucky...a piggyback from Renee!

How is he not asleep yet?

And if all of that was not enough, we pulled over to the side of the road on our way back to watch and welcome the return of the cranes to the valley.  

We had a wonderful (chilly, windy) visit to Pike's Stockade.  As we drive away from the cranes I am so thankful for this place, this community, these people, this landscape...and I wonder, what other valley treasures await our exploration this year?

Co-op Day: Apples!

Oh how we love apples.  What is it about the apple that makes this most common of fruits so irresistible? Whatever it is, we spent our co-op morning this week celebrating this favorite fruit through food, story, art, movement and song.  I usually think of apples as more of a fall theme, but for some reason I was inspired to have some apple fun with our group this week...and fun we had.

This is what we did for apple day:

As usual, more information on our Waldorf-inspired home-school co-op can be found here.

What would an apple day be without apple pie?  Not near as fun as with apple pie, of this I'm quite sure. When the children arrived we began assembling the apple pies for snack.  For simplicity's sake (and time) I sliced and peeled the apples to prepare the filling and made the dough for crust ahead of time.  The little ones got to help with preparing the pans, rolling (and tasting) the dough, assembling the pies, brushing on the egg wash and making little shapes with extra dough to place on top.

Then into the oven went the pies and to the rug for circle time went the children.  Circle time was a little different than normal today, as I wanted to tell our story first.  So, we sat down and I told one of my favorite apple stories, The Little House With No Doors and No Windows and a Star Inside.  It's a fun riddle story, where a child goes on a journey to find a little red house, with no doors or windows, and a star inside.  At the end of a story I cut open an apple to reveal the little star-room where the seeds live...

We passed the apple halves around so the children could examine them, and then we did "apple yoga". We basically told a story of an apple seed/tree/pie, starting as a tiny seed curled up on the ground (child's pose), slowly growing roots and sprouting up to the sun.  We grew into full trees (tree pose) and grew out our strong branches.  We stood in mountain pose and then swayed in the wind with our ripening apples. Then we became children going for a walk and reaching up to pick apples from a tree.  After gathering our apples we took them home and baked our apple pie in various seated poses.  

Storytelling yoga is such a fun way to introduce little ones to yoga...they absolutely love it.

Then it was to the table for our apple art project...apple star stamping!  We had so much fun with our beet stamps that I thought we'd try it with apples as well.  I saved all the cores from making pie.  They make perfect round little star stamps.  Melissa also cut up a couple of apples in various ways to highlight that sweet center star to make a few more stamps.  Instead of making ink pads this time we just used brushes to paint our stamps with watercolors.  So much fun.

As the little ones finished up their apple stamp art they made their way back to our main play area (the living room) for a little play time.  Check out this amazing castle (wait, I think it was a hotel) creation of Lily's...

Soon the scent of apple pie filled the air, and we pulled two beautiful pies out of the oven.  Candle lit and blessing sung we served up the most delicious apple pie ever (seriously, I'm not even joking) and enjoyed our snack time.  We even had a little snack time music listening to Kira Willey's song Making Pie.  

After snack the beautifully warm valley day was calling, so out we went to enjoy the warm sunshine, the mud, and last summer sunflower stalks...

Then back in the house for clean-up time, a sweet story (The Apple Pie That Papa Baked) and closing circle.

Hurray for apples, warmth, and another fun morning spent with friends!

Super Sneaky Valentine's Elves

The results of our beet heart stamp project and super-sneaky Valentine elf work:

A sweet five-year old working on handmade cards (he asked me to write "I love you" so he could copy it on all the cards)... 

 

Quality time with my favorite sewing machine (complete with lego ships everywhere)... 

 

Very helpful little cupid elf...

 

Seeing our gift bags come together...

 

More time to bake with the littles and yummy cookies to eat...

 

Preparing our basket for top-secret deliveries...

 

Watching this little elf run, hide, sneak, and complete his mission flawlessly...

 

When dropping off secret gifts, trees are very useful to hide behind...

 

Then you can make sure the coast is clear...

 

Mission accomplished.

 

 

Valentine's Beet Cake

Love, love, love to you all today on Valentine's Day (and every other day as well)!  I meant to post this yesterday, but, well...sometimes life has other plans.  So, here you go, a little Valentine's love from us to you.

I love cake made with beets.  I'm pretty sure anyone who knows me well, knows this.  Mason's birthday cake the last three years has been my favorite chocolate beet cake.  

With all of these beet heart stamps everywhere, it just makes sense to make a pink (ish) beet cake for Valentine's day.  

It just so happens that my favorite Valentine's story to tell, The Valentine Baker of Pink, involves baking heart-shaped cakes, so this week as a part of our homeschool co-op gathering, I told the story and we baked a cake together.  

Using my made-up recipe, flour flying all over the dining room, we managed to get two beautiful cakes in the oven for a heart-shaped beet cake.  Sometimes baking with kids is all sunshine and smiles. Sometimes.  Sometimes it is...well, more.  Since our story was about baking, and involved using very special ingredients, I really wanted to involve the little ones in every step of the process.  It mostly went great considering we had five eager and enthusiastic children, a big bowl of flour, and a bowl of pink beets.

I didn't manage to get any photos of the process this time...and I'm sure my camera is thankful that I did not try.  I thought, oh well, I'll just take a quick photo of the cake when it's done.  This is what I managed...

 

There was nothing to be done but bake another cake.  

So this is what we did today.  I adjusted the recipe a little, and actually let the cake cool before taking it out of the pans, which resulted in a cake that held together quite nicely.  It was a hit with our group on Tuesday, and we had a repeat performance today.  

Some of you may be wondering, "Yes, but does it taste like beets?"  The answer is no...and yes.  I think that if this cake was served to an unsuspecting person (who clearly does not know me that well), they would never know that it was made with beets.  And, if you know, and know beets, you will recognize that distinctive earthy quality of the beet, and love the cake anyway.

Also, the cake itself is not as pink as it probably could be.  I don't used bleached white anything, so many of my ingredients have a little color to them (flour, sugar, honey, etc.) The batter is quite pink, as you can see below, but it loses some color in the baking.  I find this quite easy to make up for with the frosting. Also, I did add a little cocoa powder

So here you go, our Valentine's beet cake.  Enjoy!

 

Valentine's Beet Cake with Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting

1 3/4 cup flour (I used a combo of whole wheat pastry flour and unbleached white)
1/4 cup cocoa powder
2 1/2 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup honey
1 t vanilla
3 eggs, divided
1 large red beet
1/2 cup milk

Frosting:
1/2 cup butter
around 5 ounces cream cheese 
2 - 5 tablespoons of honey (really, to taste)
about 1 cup of strawberries (thawed if frozen)

Before you can really start baking this cake you'll need to roast your beet.  Preheat the oven to 400 degrees, rub the beet with oil, and wrap in aluminum foil.  Roast the beet until it is fork tender.

While the beet is cooking, prep your heart shaped pans.  Both of mine are thrift store finds, and one is a little bigger than the other, but it still works.  I like to butter the pans, line with parchment, and the butter and flour the parchment.

Preheat your oven to 350.

When your beet is tender, let it cool a little, then trim the stems and root and peel.  The peel should slide right off under some cold running water.  Place the beet and 1/2 cup milk in a food processor or blender and process until fairly smooth.  Super-simple.  Even a wee babe can do it.  :)

 

This is what it will look like:

Next, sift your dry ingredients together, and feel free to use a bowl a little less huge.

Cream the butter and sweeteners together, then add 1 whole egg and two egg yolks.  Mix in the vanilla.

Now, add the dry ingredients and the milk/beet mixture to the creamed mixture.  The best way to do this is to alternate adding the wet and the dry ingredients to your main bowl, incorporating each addition before adding the next.  Does that make sense?  Look at that pink batter!

Next, take the two egg whites that you separated out earlier and beat them until you have soft peaks.

 

Gently fold the egg whites into the batter, taking care not to over mix.

 Pour your batter into prepared pans and bake in a 350 degree oven until a toothpick comes out clean (about 30 minutes).

 

When your cakes are done, take them out and leave them to cool a little in the pans before carefully removing them.

 

While the cakes are cooling, make your frosting!  Cream your butter and cream cheese, add in the honey, then mix in the strawberries...so simple, so delicious.  

 

Cakes cool and frosting made, it's time to assemble!  I think there is charm in an imperfectly frosted cake, don't you?  I also sprinkled some India Tree decorating sugar on it, and then instantly regretted it, so, do what you like with that.

And then, of course, time for the taste test.  One judge said "It's delicious!", the other said "cake, yummy!" So there you have it. 

 

I say, "Yay for beets...and hearts...and cake!"

Sweet Beet Heart Stamps

The Valentine's fun has officially begun around here.  Though I have not always been a Valentine's Day enthusiast, over the last few years we have begun to embrace this holiday and make it our own.  

I will never forget when this shift began for me...it was actually before I had Mason.  It was Valentine's day (of course) and I was at work in my office (wait..I once had a job...in an office?), when two of my favorite people showed up to visit.  In walked Renee and her daughter Seanna...she must have been around four years old at the time.  This sweet-spirited beautiful little girl handed me a homemade Valentine and my heart melted.  The kind of heart-melting that is reserved for when you receive a special, handmade something from a child you love.  They were going around delivering little notes to people they loved, and also opening my eyes to a Valentine's day beyond teddy bears, heart-shaped candy, red roses and Hallmark cards.  

Holidays, regular days, moments...they are only what we choose to make them.

For us, Valentine's day is about taking time to recognize and celebrate all of the people and things we love every day of the year.  Mason and I spend a week working on little Valentine's surprises to secretly deliver to people we love.  It really is a heart-warming thing to share in this process with him (and now River as well)...to see the delight that he takes in creating these "Valentine's surprises" for people he loves and appreciates in his life.  We have so much fun working together, and celebrating holidays is one of many things we do that brings more rhythm to our year.   

This year Mason and I sat down with coffee and juice and together came up with a plan for our surprises. For one component of our surprises this year we needed to decorate some fabric pieces, and I thought stamping them would be fun.  How about heart stamps?  I reached for a potato, recently brought up by Aaron from the root cellar, to make a classic potato stamp, but then my eyes turned to a pink beet (also recently dug from the sand of it's winter home in the cellar).

Beet heart stamps!  I was instantly in love with the idea.

I started with two beets and created two different sizes of hearts.  

Aren't these beets just gorgeous?  They are one of my favorite varieties to grow, Chioggia beets (or candystriped beets).  These beets are sweet, earthy and wonderful...and they make the perfect Valentine's heart stamp.

That little saw from the pumpkin carving kit (which I referenced on the blog before) came in handy.  I never imagined how much use I would get out of it when we bought the kit last October...

For ink pads we just used a sponge, red paint, and a little water to keep the sponge damp.  There are many kinds of paint that would work well here, depending on what you want to stamp.

Once we had a little work space ready I gave Mason the fabric and he got to work...

This is just a sneak peak of the project...the full project will be revealed later in the week.  

We had so much fun with our beet stamps we decided to keep it going with our co-op group today.  We had a Valentine's-themed co-op group today, and the stamping project was so much fun. 

(For those of you who follow the co-op theme posts, I will compile everything that we did today for the Home school co-op page later this week.)

Last year, as a part of our Valentine's surprises, Mason and I made bookmarks to give out as Valentine's. It was a fun and easy project to share our love of reading with those people we love.  I thought book marks would be a great project for our group today as well because they are fun to make and...who doesn't need a good bookmark?

The children used a template and traced and cut out their bookmarks from watercolor paper.  Then they punched holes at one end and cut out hearts and other shapes from origami paper to decorate them.  After that it was time to stamp!  

I made several more heart stamps so there would be various sizes and each child could take one home as well.  Angie and Lilly made our ink pads, and then we got to work!

Once they were dry we added pieces of yarn through the holes and our beautiful bookmarks were ready to be gifted as Valentines to special book-lovers we know.

I had so much fun with these stamps...it might take a little restraint to not make even more beet stamps and heart everything in sight...

Check back this week for more Valentine's fun including a yummy recipe (with beets) and fun ideas for celebrating with children!

Simple Pouch for Worry Dolls

Last week I posted about Mason's new worry dolls and how much we love them.  I included a tutorial on how I made the dolls, and now I'll show you how I made this super-simple pouch to keep them in.

Before I begin the tutorial, I should say that I am so glad we brought these little dolls into our nighttime routine.  They have really helped him with letting go of some of his worries.  Last night as we finished our story and he cuddled in close I asked him if he wanted to talk to his worry dolls before he fell asleep.  His response was, "I don't think I need to tonight...I guess I don't have any worries!  If one comes (a worry) I'll just wake up and tell a doll, and go back to sleep."

Sweet dreams, indeed.

Simple draw-string pouch for worry dolls tutorial:

 

Please note: this is a very simple sewing project, perfect for a beginner!  

You will need: 
fabric
something for a drawstring (I used a bulky yarn)
the usual sewing supplies

First, find a fun fabric.  I had this sparkly star fabric leftover from another project and my eyes went to it immediately.  

I laid the piece of fabric down on my table and found a circular object about the size I wanted for the bottom of my bag.  This ended up being a little saucer plate.  I traced around it and cut it out.  

Next, cut out a rectangle from your fabric to match the size of your circle.

To figure out how big to make your rectangle you can either 1) Awkwardly measure around your circle with a tape measure, or 2) Use a little math...your choice.  The formula to get the circle's circumference is diameter x pi (3.14).  The diameter of my circle was just under 6 1/2 inches, so my circumference was 20 inches.  Once you have your circumference, add a little for seam allowance (for example, with a 1/4 inch seam allowance you will need to add 1/2 inch).  This number gives you the width of the rectangle you will cut out next.  My rectangle was 20.5 inches wide by 7 inches tall.  The height is just about your preference...7 inches will get you a pouch similar to this one, but you can make it taller or shorter if you'd like.   

Next pin and stitch the short sides together (right sides together) to form a tube, leaving about 1 1/2 inches at the top open.  

 

Iron the seam open, including the 1 1/2 inch open section at the top.

 

With the tube still wrong-side out, pin the circle to the bottom edge of the tube (not the edge with the opening), right sides together, and sew.

 

Turn the bag right side out.  This is what it should look like:

 

Next you'll need to iron the hem to create a casing for a drawstring.  The way you do this depends a little on the drawstring you use.  Just make sure that the opening is large enough to contain your drawstring.

I turned the hem under about 1/4 an inch and ironed, and then turned it under to meet the beginning of the seam and ironed again.

 

This is what it should look like:

 Now sew the seam for the casing.

This is what it should like:

 Time to add your drawstring!  I tied a knot in the bulky bamboo yarn I was using and attached a safety pin to run it through the casing.

 

Ta-da!  There you have it, a super-simple, quick drawstring pouch to keep your worry dolls safe (or any other treasures that need a home).

Sweet Sibling Moments

Sibling love.  It's been melting my heart lately.  It's the moments they share, unaware of being observed, that get me the most.  Hearing the giggles as they run around playing together in another room, watching brother help sister up onto the bed, sister taking brother his coat and boots before we leave the house...all these little things make it hard to imagine life before a River.

I love that these two little people have one another, and that I get to watch their relationship grow and strengthen every day.

Here are a few sweet moments of the week captured on camera by papa and mama.  The last one is a repeat from my last post, but I love it so much I couldn't resist sharing it again.

Sure, they also have moments that are not so peaceful.  Moments of anger and frustration.  But these are also moments of learning how to work through and resolve conflict.  Moments of learning patience and forgiveness.  Moments of learning how to be a family.

And, at the end of the day, through any frustration that may arise...

They adore one another.  

And I could not love them more.


 

 

Why We Play

OK, begin disclaimer:  This blog post is in no way meant to judge anyone for parenting/educating decisions. Seriously.  We all walk our own paths, sometimes diverging and coming back together with the unique paths of our friends and family.  This is a beautiful thing.  We all make decisions that are right for us and our families.  This blog is a place I've created to share my musings and thoughts on all things mamahood related...a little glimpse of the path we are walking (hopping, skipping, running, flying, crawling...).  

This post is intended to offer some of my thoughts on early childhood education, and a little more of an explanation into our non-traditional views on the subject.  Many of you might disagree (even strongly) with some of our views.  That's OK!  Awesome, even.  We are all experts when it comes to the unique wonderful beings that are our children.  Alright, I end this disclaimer with love and respect for all of you.  

Since becoming a parent I have been consistently amazed at societal pressure to begin formal, academic instruction so early.  Why so much, so soon?  The pressure is intense, it's everywhere, and it doesn't just stop with academics.  It seems like we want our children to be able to do so many things at an increasingly earlier age.  I think that in part this comes from the excitement of watching our children grow and learn...it's truly an amazing thing to be a part of.       

I recently came across this article from the University of Cambridge discussing the evidence of pushing back the standard school-starting age to seven.  In a world where many of my family's decisions are not the norm, it's nice to read more evidence to support what my intuition tells me...early, formal academic "schooling", especially when it takes away from child-led creative play, is not necessary or beneficial for our children as developing learners.  

From the article:

"Neuroscientific studies have shown that playful activity leads to synaptic growth, particularly in the frontal cortex, the part of the brain responsible for all the uniquely human higher mental functions.

In my own area of experimental and developmental psychology, studies have also consistently demonstrated the superior learning and motivation arising from playful, as opposed to instructional, approaches to learning in children. Pretence play supports children’s early development of symbolic representational skills, including those of literacy, more powerfully than direct instruction. Physical, constructional and social play supports children in developing their skills of intellectual and emotional ‘self-regulation’, skills which have been shown to be crucial in early learning and development."

I think it's very interesting that the recommended age to start school based on the review of the research is seven.  This fits in perfectly with Steiner's theory of child development and Waldorf pedagogy.  While we are not Waldorf "purists", many Waldorf tenants resonate with me and we do incorporate many Waldorf principles in the home life and education of our children...."Education for the head, heart, and hands."  The more and more reading I do about the latest mind-body research and how it relates to parenting, the more I realize that most of this brand new research is supporting what Steiner said so long ago about the stages of child development.  For a more in-depth look on the science behind peaceful parenting I highly recommend Parenting for Peace by Marcy Axness.  In fact, I'm about to start a re-read...  

According to this theory, the first stage of child development (also referred to as human unfoldment) is birth to seven (sometimes 6). During this stage (according to Steiner's theory and much recent research) a child learns primarily through imitation.  Their life forces are primarily concerned with the developing physical body.  It is the dreamy time of childhood, and much focus is on imaginative, creative play.  As the child learns primarily through imitation and physical doing, it is important to provide a safe, nurturing environment worthy of imitation with plenty of opportunities to play, explore and to "do" practical life activities.  For more information on this first stage of development (as well as an introduction to Waldorf) I recommend Beyond the Rainbow Bridge: Nurturing our Children from Birth to Seven.    

While it is possible (and possibly the norm these days) to pull a child in this stage of development into their mind and intellect, it is not considered beneficial, and in fact, may be harmful.  There is a wonderful post here, by blogger Hybrid Rasta Mama on the over-intellectualization of childhood that I enjoyed if you're interested in this topic.

So what does this look like, practically?   

This description, take from the Sophia Mundi Waldord School Website sums it up beautifully:

"The best education for the child through these years is given by providing a warm, safe, nurturing environment, with the rhythms and routines of mealtimes and rest, family celebrations, simple stories and music, and surroundings filled with natural beauty, colour, gentle manners, good nutritious food and the experience of the world of nature – the stones, the sea, the rivers, and plants and animals through the seasons."

And from Steiner himself...

"The task of the kindergarten teacher is to adapt the practical activities of daily life so that they are suitable for the child's imitation through play.  The activities of children in the kindergarten must be derived from life itself rather than being 'thought out' by the intellectualized culture of adults. In the kindergarten, the most important thing is to give children the opportunity to directly imitate life itself."

This is the sort of environment we strive to provide for our two young children.  I see the way it nurtures their whole being...and it feels right for us.

Throughout our days, in everything we do, we are always learning, and when I observe my children, I see that in these early years their spirits want to learn primarily though play.  

Once, about two years ago, a person we met at the coffee shop asked me what I did for a living. Luckily (for him) he did not utter the dreaded, "oh, so you're just a mom."  After a brief discussion he turned to Mason and asked him what he did.  I'll never forget Mason's response...

"I'm mostly a home player."  I giggled to myself, but it made perfect sense.

When Mason is having a hard time with something, maybe unkindness from a friend or aggressive behavior witnessed, I watch him work through it in his play.  Sure, we talk about it as well, but play (and stories) are his preferred ways of learning...of really incorporating the learning into his being.    

"Let's pretend..." might be the thing he says the most throughout any given day.

Usually, we don't just do a fun science experiment together.  We are two scientists in a secret laboratory on the moon working on creating something that will save the world.  This is all child-initiated, because it is his main way of learning about the world right now.

We don't just fold clothes.  Oh no.  We are clothes folding robots working in a factory with 'in' and 'out' boxes and specific techniques for cloth napkins.

Unlike many of his peers, our five-year old has not yet begun learning to read.  I should say, we are intentionally not doing any kind of formal reading instruction with him yet.  This is a choice, and I could not be more confident in it.  What we are doing is cultivating a love of learning and a love of language...things that will ultimately serve him far better when he does learn to read than knowing all of his letter sounds by three.  He has a grasp of language that surprises many people.  He makes up songs, recites poetry, listens intently to stories told and book read aloud.  He loves saying silly tongue twisters and discovering puns on his own.  He loves language, and is excited to learn to read one day.    

The way our little ones are educated is extremely important to us.  I'm learning (more and more everyday) that sometimes the best thing I can do for Mason's education is to step back and get out of the way of his learning.      

We choose to let our little ones spend these dreamy days of childhood being children.  Playing, listening to stories, singing songs, working alongside us, exploring nature, eating healthy food they often help prepare, more playing, using their bodies to learn about all they can do, creating art, more playing...

One day we will dive into academic work and intellectual pursuits with them, working with the natural wonder, curiosity, and reverence developed in these early years, but for now, they get to play.

Yesterday my children spent most of a snowy morning being a werewolf family (Mason is currently fascinated by werewolves, which to him are just fun creatures who can turn from human to wolf, and River's participation mostly involves howling) and the afternoon turning a table into a hammock cave.

Today was all about building with blocks and pretending to be knights.

 

And tomorrow?  Who knows...

Of course, this is only the tip of the iceberg on Waldorf/Steiner child development, and I am by no means an expert. There are many wonderful books and resources available if you are interested in learning more.

Also, I do not consider myself an expert on early childhood education, just an expert on my family and my children.  I'm constantly learning from them, and in the process my views and thoughts shift.  

One thing I know for sure, is that right now, in these early years, my children will be free to play.  Free to enjoy every bit of their one magical childhood.  Free to learn in every moment, in the way that is best for them.  I truly believe that they, and the world, will be the better for it.  

Thirty Three?

Does anyone else forget how old they are?  For the last several years Aaron has been the one to remind me how old I will be on my birthday.  Since having little ones I just cannot seem to remember sometimes. Maybe this year will be different...thirty three seems fairly easy to remember...

Yes, I think I'm going to like this year 33.  Today was a wonderfully peaceful day with my family and my new ukulele.  That's right.  I've found a new love to fit into my already full days, but more on that in a minute.

I knew in advance that one of my sweet birthday gifts was getting to sleep in this morning, so when River sat up and started looking for something to get into I just pulled up the covers, rolled over and kept on sleeping.  Bliss.  Aaron took the littles downstairs for breakfast preparations and I kept on sleeping.  A little later I awoke, not because of a sound or movement, but because I felt a presence.  I opened my eyes, and Mason had gotten himself completely under the covers with only his sweet little smiling face showing.  He told me he was watching to make sure I was still asleep because he and papa were planning something. 

He came in for a cuddle and went downstairs to retrieve the painting he made for my birthday.  I sure do love that boy.

When I came downstairs River and Aaron handed me coffee and finished up breakfast while I just sat down to enjoy the morning and my new 33 birthday music playlist from Aaron (which includes quite a few awesome ukulele tunes).  I am one lucky mama.

A sweet relaxing morning was made even better by a surprise visit from my amazing parents who drove down from Creede to take us to lunch.

In the afternoon while River napped I sat down with a latte (yes, an afternoon latte...it is my birthday after all) and my new ukulele.  I am so smitten with this instrument that is bringing so much unexpected joy into my life.  

 It happened quite by accident, really.  I play the guitar a little, but I've never had a desire to learn more than a few songs to sing around the campfire.  When Mason was 2 or 3 I began craving music again, and got a mandolin.  I started learning to play, and even had a couple of lessons, but then I got pregnant with River and my focus drifted away from music again.  Then, my cute little mandolin met an early and accidental demise in a way that is still a bit of a mystery.  I still love the mandolin, and hope to get another one someday.

One day this winter I was playing around on Mason's little soprano uke (that's the tiny one) that was a gift from Grandma and Grandpa.  I was having so much fun on it, I decided on a whim that my birthday gift to myself was going to be a new ukulele.  I've written previously on how my focus this year is on inspiring and bringing out my creative energy. Playing music again (this time with the ukulele) is something that is just for me, to nourish my own creative spirit.  

So, I bought myself a concert ukulele.  And, it brings me joy.  I just love the freedom of this instrument.  It's lightness is more that just physical.  It has brought more music into our home, and we are all loving that. Mason has become inspired, and is picking up instruments and writing songs.  Even River enjoys her basket of musical instruments a little more.  

It is so true that if we want to see something in our children the best thing to do is to do it ourselves. Become that which we want to see.  Children who see their parents read will probably be more into reading themselves.  These little people learn so much more from what we do than what we say...this becomes more and more apparent every day.  

Seeing me explore my own creativity will encourage my children to do the same, and bringing music into our home again is the perfect example.  So, I suppose it's not just for me after all...this new love of the ukulele.  It's for all of us, really.

Birthdays.  I love birthdays.  For me, it is a time for celebrating, a time for reflection, a time for rest, and a time for inspiration.  This day was all of those things.  I am feeling deeply grateful for the amazing people in my life and this place I call home.  I feel nourished and refreshed, on a soul level, and inspired to embrace this path of creative mothering that I love so much.

Many thanks to all of you wonderful humans who are a part of my life.  I can't wait to take another trip around the sun with you, perhaps while playing a ukulele.  

  

 

 

 

Waldorf-style Worry Dolls - A Tutorial

We recently welcomed some new little friends to our home, and I thought I would introduce them to you. They are special little dolls who live in a magical pouch underneath Mason's pillow, and though they have only been with us a few days, they have already brought much joy and peace of mind to one little boy (and one mama as well).

For the last couple of months Mason has begun sharing his "worries" with me at night when we are cuddled in bed.  There is something about the dark of night that allows our fears and worries to creep up to the surface.  As a part of our night-time routine I always try to provide Mason with a safe, comfortable and consistent space where he can talk about anything that bothered him during his day, and anything that may be on his mind in general.  He loves this, and though we are together all day every day with many opportunities to talk, he will often choose to wait until the darkness of bedtime to ask the deep questions and talk about things that are bothering him.

Out of respect to my sweet boy I will keep his worries and questions private, but I will say that he is a sensitive soul, and lately some of our night-time talks involve some pretty heavy topics of which he has recently become aware and is quite worried about.  They are pretty normal things for a child of his age to begin to wonder about, and talking out loud about them really seems to help.  

As these night-time talks became more regular, sometimes lengthy, and sometimes with tears, I wanted to find a way to honor his process while taking away some of the worry.

Enter: Worry dolls for Mason, Waldorf-style.  I have always loved the tiny little Guatemalan worry dolls that you tell your worries to at night and place under your pillow to take those worries away while you sleep.  I decided to create something similar for Mason, and this is what I came up with... 

Five little worry dolls, Waldorf-style, with a sparkly little pouch to sleep in.

Two nights ago we went through bed-time routine as normal, and when we closed our book for the night I reached under the pillow and pulled out this little bag.  Mason opened the bag and took out the little dolls and we looked at them.  I explained the tradition of worry dolls and said that I thought we might like some to live with us.  I told him that they are very special dolls with a magical ability.  If you tell them your worries, they take them from you so you can let them go and sleep peacefully.

The boy got a huge smile on his face and started giggling.  He immediately took one doll and said, "Worry doll, I'm worried that...."  

And then "Mama, it's working already!"

He told each doll a worry, put them back in their little pouch and put the pouch under the bed.  He then went straight to sleep with a smile on his face.

I could not believe it.  I mean, I had hoped they would be helpful...but wow.  

The next night Mason could not wait to talk to his dolls, and the same thing happened.

I should say, just to clarify, that I do not intend for the worry dolls to take the place of our talks, but to support him in letting go of those thoughts and worries causing him fear and discomfort.  

I had a lot of fun making these dolls, and even more fun watching the joy that they bring my sweet boy.  In the hopes that these little worry dolls might be useful for other small beings in the world, I'm offering up a tutorial for how I made them.  Enjoy!

Waldorf-style Worry Dolls Tutorial

You will need:

cotton gauze tubing or old thin sock
stockinette doll skin fabric or knit fabric in skin color
wool for stuffing
felt pieces and scraps
colorful wool roving for hair
strong button thread, regular sewing thread and embroidery floss

As with all Waldorf-style dolls, these worry dolls begin with a head.  This is basically a much-simplified version of a Waldorf doll head...in miniature.  

Begin with a piece of stretchy knit fabric for the head.  I use this cotton gauze tubing, but if you're not a doll maker and don't have any lying around, a thin stretchy sock will work fine.

I cut a piece of tubing about 4 inches long, and then cut in down one side to form a square, roughly 4 x 4 inches.

Next I took a bit of wool and placed it in the center of my tubing, bring the edges of the tubing together to make a round head and stuffing more wool in the center until it was firm.  My finished head was about 1 inch from the top of the head to the neck.  When you're happy with the size of the head, tie it securely using strong thread (I use button thread).  I forgot to get a photo of this step, but you basically want the head to look like a little ball, tied as close as possible to the wool.  Unlike with a Waldorf doll, we're not worried about forming a neck here or shaping the head.    

Next you'll need a little square of stockinette fabric in the skin color of your choice.  I used little scraps from my doll-making, but if you don't have doll skin fabric on hand you can use an old knit shirt or other piece of skin-colored fabric.  My squares were about 2 1/2 inches square.  

Next I laid the head on the skin fabric and pulled the fabric snug around to get an idea of where my seam allowance should be.  This will vary a little based on your head size.  It does not need to be perfect.  Once you have an idea of your seam allowance, stitch the sides of the stockinette square together to form a tube, careful to make sure the stretch of the fabric is across the head.  

Turn the tube right-side-out and slip it over the head.  Tie off the neck securely, and gather the fabric at the top with running stitches, pulling tight and stitching in place.

Here are several completed (mostly) heads:

Next up: the body!  I just free-handed a little body until I was happy with it.  Since the purpose of these dolls was to spend most of their existence tucked inside a pouch under a pillow, I did not want to mess around with tiny hands and feet.  I made the body one complete piece from felt.  Your welcome to use my pattern (see the photo below) as a guide or make your own.  You could also make a bunting-style dolls with no legs.  Once you've made your pattern you'll need to cut out two pieces from your felt.

Warning:  This next part can get a little fussy.  Sewing small felt pieces and turning them right-side out is a little tricky...but it's worth it!  

Pin together your felt pieces and sew them together, leaving an opening at the neck wide enough to turn the it right-side out.  For me, this was the area between these pins, though if in doubt leave more room. You can always hand sew it later.  Note: the photos below are from several different dolls, because I kept forgetting to photograph a step and remembering it on the next doll...

Turn your doll body right-side out.  This will require a little patience, and possibly a glass of wine.  I find a turning tool helpful, usually the closest thing in reach that seems like it will work.  In this case I used a pencil with a broken tip.  Take care not to use anything to pointy or you are likely to poke it right through the felt.  I have done this, and it is no fun.

Now take a little more wool and lightly stuff the body.  I found my trusty broken-tipped pencil very usefel in stuffing wool into those tiny arms and legs.  Leave enough room to insert the head (really the neck) into the body.

Position the head on the body, stuffing the gathered edges of the tubing into the body.  Now stitch the head to the body around the neck opening, stitching up the extra space at the shoulders as you go.  I did not get a good photo of this, but you should see what I mean in some of the others pics later on.

Now it's time for hair and a hat!  I did not put faces on these little dolls (as you can see) and think that they are better that way, but if you want, now would be the time to embroider eyes and a mouth.  

There are several ways to do the hair.  I find that the easiest way for these little dolls is to needle-felt it on. I made some with short hair and some with long hair.  Since we are adding a hat, it does not need to completely cover the head.  

Now for the hat!  I measured around the head and added a little for seam allowance, and then made up a little pattern.  I cut one piece on the fold, and then stitched it up the back.

Turn the hat right-side out and sew it on the head.  I used embroidery floss and big stitches to attach the hat, but do it anyway you like.

And that's it!  Now, make a few more and you're ready to help your child ease their worries away into the night.

Now all you need is a little bag to keep them in.  I'll show you how I made a super-simple draw string pouch next post.

If you do make your own Waldorf-style worry dolls I would love to see pics!