Supporting Self-Directed Play

The past week has brought a transformation here, both as we have checked off some big tasks and as the children's moods have shifted in a big way.  After supper last night, they involved themselves in extended train play, with tokens to pass between stations, an infirmary, and office workers.  The transitions between all those things were largely seamless, disputes were handled good-naturedly, and the coming of bedtime song was met happily.  It was amazing.

I wanted to elaborate more on self-directed play, especially since I have seen such an improvement in this area.  With my children being the center of my efforts, I have been free to begin to shape things around their needs and mine.  This is very freeing for all of us.  Furniture has been moved, added, removed, and so on.  Feeling so crowded previously, it is so nice to have some space and flexibility.  I have chosen to go back to a kindergarten mood, with a corner to be quiet (or have sheep) in, more house play, more vehicle play, more everything play.



The weather has cooperated by being cold and wet, so time inside has been quite welcome.  The children all took turns at their own pillow houses, as they called them, sometimes sharing and sometimes not.  There was some possessiveness over these houses, but each owner still felt it was nice for them to have them for a time.  Willow's house is below.  Just as I had lost hope in her "good ole days" of play, she has surprised me.  I had a feeling she needed some of that familiar activity, in addition to her time spent on higher pursuits, like Nancy Drew and piano.  Perhaps, through healthy play, she is freed from the feeling of being the oldest?  I am interested to see how things go.

I really wanted to share more about Supporting Self-Directed Play.  I found the book to be immeasurably helpful in a home setting with multiple children.  I've read nearly all the Waldorf titles and scoured the Online Waldorf Library, and this is the best resource I've found.  It discusses the kinds of self-directed play children engage in (mandalas!), gives numerous accounts from teachers, and provides many helpful photos.  There are pictures that are very familiar to me!  It also gives charts with differences between children who are well engaged in their self-directed play and those who are struggling. 

Time and again, in my parenting journey, I've found that there is not some magic spell that changes everything.  And yet, there are moments when everything changes.  What has shifted?  Has the world suddenly become easy?  Not in the least!  I have simply looked at the same thing with renewed eyes or returned to something that was allowed to fade away.   Often, it is my own change of heart that allows things to get past a sticky spot and move on a more even keel.  This book stresses that the inner life of the teacher matters greatly.

I wanted to share a short list of books that I think are essential to understanding children's play, in addition to Supporting Self-Directed Play:

• Toymaking with Children by Freya Jaffke :: This book discusses the stages in play between birth and seven, along with recommended playthings for each age range.  It includes instructions for Waldorf dolls, play stands, knitted cords, bunting beds, wooden toys, silk marionettes, and the very open-ended toys seen in kindergartens.  
• Children at Play by Heidi Britz-Crecelius :: Consider this a history of play.  The author collected numerous first-hand experiences, along with those from literature, of how children played up to the age of ten or so.  All age ranges are discussed, with particular interest in older children who were able to have "free-range" experiences.  It includes "The Day We Flew the Kites," a personal favorite of mine.
• Spindrift from Wynstones :: This is part of a seasonal collection that I really love, but this book stands out as a good all-around resource.  It has verses for work and play, songs in the pentatonic scale, and a large number of stories from around the world.  The children enjoy hearing them time and again.  I include it because I think it can inspire everyday work to be more playful, and it can provide material for circle times and read-alouds.
• Work and Play in Early Childhood by Freya Jaffke :: I guess you can figure that I like what she has to say, and I appreciate the wisdom of older Waldorf teachers.  This book offers more detail on how children play, with color photos and suggestions for inner work for teachers.  I enjoy books with photos, because I like my children to see how other children play and work in a similar setting. 

Lastly, I'd like to include some videos that show children at play in Waldorf Early Childhood settings: 

• Sophia's Hearth :: Numerous seasonal videos, teacher training.
• Escuela Waldorf Alicante :: 3 to 6 year olds, 1 to 3 year olds, and daily work. 
• WECAN :: A series of six videos with scenes of play and reflections from parents and teachers.

It's time for me to get on with other work, though you can tell that I am so pleased to be writing about this topic and our improvements. I wanted to share a few final thoughts.  Things have been messier, the best kind of messes-- the kind that are alive and energetic, calm and thoughtful.  I thought this quote from Supporting Self-Directed Play really captured what the children are doing when they play:

We have built the whole world.

Crafting On

There's a blustery chill in the air, at long last, and we're reaching for hats and mittens.  It's such a nice feeling!  We're read "The Hedgehog's Harvest" by Suzanne Down for Laurel's story this morning.  It inspired me to complete three more friends for our wooden hedgehog.  Now they're settling in nicely to the felted pumpkin I made last year.  The story and instructions can be found in the Autumn 2008 Living Crafts that was sent to me so many years ago.

In knitting news, I finished Roan's helmet.  It was hard to get a straight face out of him, but he is pleased.  You can see my ravelry notes here.

I've started an In Caps Tee for him, with plans for long sleeves.  I really like the formula for the pattern, and it seems like it should be easy to modify for the colder weather.  In addition, I'm casting on a Little Kina sweater for Willow's doll Virginia.  It's a birthday gift, but I'm running short on time.  I don't think she'll mind.

Right now, I'm ready to go out and do some leaf peeping.  Everything's behind schedule this year.

For more crafting, visit Frontier Dreams.

Earthways

A month into our school year, things are becoming more clear to me.  Willow and Roan are in the midst of their second and third blocks, respectively.  Roan spent a week on Autumn nature stories from the Enki materials, instead of sprinkling them through the year, as we have done in the past.  I'd like to write more about the Enki materials and their comparison to other curriculum options, but I'll save that for its own post.

Right now, I'd like to offer my thoughts on the Earthways book by Carol Petrash, and how it has tied into our schooling over the years.  I can see how this book must have inspired the Enki creators in their work, and I think we'll come return to it time and again.  As crafty as I am, I'll admit that I do a lot of the crafting while the children look on.  It's time to shift that!

The author spends considerable time on ideas for greening your home or classroom, on reusable versus disposable, and the like.  I'd call it a Waldorf kindergarten craft book with an environmental slant.  Mainly, it is helpful if you are looking for themed activities to cover a whole month of weekly work.  There are sections on wheat, berries, beeswax, butter, wool, indoor and outdoor play spaces, and so on.  If you've read the festivals books from Hawthorn Press, some of the ideas inside will seem familiar.  I believe I've seen dozens of instructions for lanterns across my home library, though we often make the same kind each year.  I feel ready to branch out a little this time. 

The section on corn is an interesting one, and echoes some of the activities suggested by the Enki crafts guides.  A new one for me was grating corn cobs.  You begin by having the children remove the dried kernels, then they string them (which is quite challenging!), and then you can let them grate the cobs together.  It makes a colorful kind of "meal" that the children love to play with, even if it is a little messy.  It's a mess that I think is one of the better kinds. ;-) We've done this with an old cob and I think we'll do it again soon.  Laurel really enjoyed it.

Enki suggests this kind of candle holder for children to give as holiday gifts.  We've never made one, but I've recently gotten a big hand drill, so I'm feel more optimistic.  Our town also has a steady supply of smaller candles now, much to my delight (an herb store!).  I think of this as a thing to make each year, but still worth the special effort.  We shall see.

I guess what I am getting at is that there are SO many ideas out there for children and nature crafts.  If you're looking for a simplified list or book, this one is it.  I think the skill range can be fairly wide for a home setting or a mixed age class.  Nothing is really too difficult or requiring special equipment, unless you are intending to grind grain (they suggest a coffee mill).  I've bought numerous books along this vein and I'll weigh in on a few others later on.

Well, it's nature school day and nutting is in the plans.  Maybe a little wood splitting, too?  We shall see.  Happy Thursday!

Crafting On :: A Tree for the Gnomes

Up in a green orchard, there is a green tree, 
the finest of apples you ever did see. 
The apples are ripe and ready to fall, 
and here is the basket to gather them all. 

~Enki Kindergarten Movement 

I guess this is the season of tying up loose ends. The school planning is in its final phases and things are coming in from the gardens. The apples and pears are getting ripe and starting to fall, so it seemed fitting that the gnomes I made back in May should have their own apple tree. 

The most time consuming part of this project was finding just the right stick, the kind that would look like a nice full tree when it had it wool leaves on.  I went with dogwood, since the branches are small and easy to find.  They hang on to the tree for quite some time, so it's like picking fruit.  I teased several colors of green apart to make them fairly sheer and layered them together.  It took a very small amount to wrap the tree and then roll a few red apples.  I sewed the tree on with a few simple stitches and it's ready to change with the seasons.  I'll admit that I am looking forward to it wearing some red and gold!

I'm still plodding along on the second Love Bunny Beanie, with less urgency, and I've started work on a felted recorder case for myself.  Willow finished her case a year ago, so it's time I got to work!  She'll continue with the recorder this year, while Roan will begin using a Choroi pentatonic flute.  I'll have to write more about that as we go along.

Well, lots to do these Summer days--I better get to work on the oatmeal!

For more crafting, visit Frontier Dreams.

Circles

Round and round the earth is turning, 
Turning always round to morning,
And from morning round to night.

Enki Kindergarten Songs :: Traditional

I've been thinking a lot about our educational choices lately. The Enki materials talk about Spring being a challenging time for schoolwork, since the warm (and unpredictable) weather pulls our attention elsewhere.  I have certainly seen that in practice!  This is the time to really hold firm to our choices and boundaries, while also adding in some flexibility.  Homeschooling, as we do it, is holistic.  The whole of life brings the chance to learn and grow.  We do have set lessons times, every morning at 9:00 AM, but we also recognize the life presents us with many options that fit together.  We (myself very much included) are learning to balance whimsy and structure.

Things have been so funny lately, so much going on around us in the greater world and on our little street, that it has been easy to be distracted.  The more distracted I grow, the more challenging things become, and the less certain I feel about things.  It's a chain reaction that is also self-feeding.  It has been easy to feel like I am not doing so well at my work as a mother and a teacher.  I'll be honest--I've felt terrible about things in the past few weeks.

I've been working hard at trying to shift both things and thoughts since then.   In addition to working on improving our home to make it more useful and pleasant, I've simply kept going with what needed to be done.  Willow has been learning place value and working on reading the stories in Hay for My Ox.  Roan and Laurel have been listening to kindergarten fairy tales.  I've made an extra effort to encourage puppet plays, which we had let fall by the wayside.  We've all kept moving together and resting together.  The rest is just as important as the moving, I think. 

But circles.  This was about circles, wasn't it?  See, I am going off track again.  Perhaps it is fitting that I do!  I feel something so special when we all join hands and sing "Round and Round" on weekday mornings.  It stirs something within me that is so healing and comforting.  We need to know, over and over, that the world keeps turning and beginning again.  We grownups need filters from this overwhelming, information-saturated world just as much as our children do!  It may sound selfish to say so, but it is very true for me, being a sensitive person.  There are times that I really wish I could just turn off my feelings.

This video, in particular, captures why our family made the choice for Waldorf Education.  It helps to think of a spiraling curriculum that spans the years.  I am really looking forward to it!  Little things like this renew me and offer me some refreshment when I am feeling worn.  They give me focus when the picture is blurry and emotional.  I also turn to my bookshelf when I am at a loss for motivation or in a particularly frustrating tangle.  I guess the energy has been building for a time and the fever broke this past week and I now I am working on putting all the pieces back together, in addition to finding nourishing ways and spaces once more.

I wanted to share this sweet photo of Roan and Laurel together, reading the Alfie Out of Doors book.  Have you seen these?  The little fellow is younger than Roan, probably, but so dear with his little sister, Annie Rose.  They play so creatively, with boxes and little found bits, in their lush backyard garden and the English countryside.  As Willow has left early childhood, Roan and Laurel are often in their own world of play.  It is so sweet to see, even though it also means then end of a very special time of only very young children.

Well, another morning has come.  Heavy rain and floods are in the forecast.  I guess that will make it easy to focus here at home, though I think walks with umbrellas are certainly in order.  The children were saying just last night how they loved the smell of rain.  Wait until they see the giant pond that has shown up in our neighborhood!