Advent: The Week of Plants

During the second week of December, we celebrated the plants.  Our movement incorporated an exercise in which we became seeds which sprouted, grew, leaved, blossomed, fruited, then let each of these fall as we returned into the the ground to sleep as seeds.  We practiced whittling motions during our  morning circle and sang the second verse of "People Look East"

2. Furrows, be glad. Though earth is bare,One more seed is planted there:Give up your strength the seed to nourish,That in course the flower may flourish.People, look east and sing today:Love, the rose, is on the way.

Before snack we spoke the second verse as we lit the second candle:

“The second light of Advent is the light of plants–
Plants that reach up to the sun and in the breezes dance.”

The class heard the story a story I adapted about a Robin seeking shelter, a proud maple tree, a despondent willow, a flexible cedar, and a generous doug fir.  The robin missed the southerly exodus and was looking for shelter for the winter.  The willow and the maple refused and thus lost their leaves while the cedar and the doug fir invited her in and thus were allowed to keep their greenery.  The robin's heart was warmed so much her breast turned red and she didn't need to fly south for the entire winter any more. 

This was a big week for many of the children because this week they received their own whittling knives.  I told the story of the star children and the story of the earth children.  Those who were at Mother Earth School for kindergarten had previously passed through the stages of being moon children (4 year olds), sun children (5 year olds), and star children (6 year olds.)  Star children learned the ways of knife safety.  Our class was taught knife safety by the Cedars (2nd/3rd graders.)  They speak the following verse before checking their "blood circle" and then withdrawing their knives:

This marked their transition from star chidden to earth children, which is the name we chose for our class.  They are finally putting their feet on ground as they go through the 6 year change.  This is evident by their drawings of themselves and also can be sensed when we watch them interact with the world.  Those who received their traditional steel fixed blade knives with a finger guard at their kindergarten graduation were now allowed to bring them to school.  Those who hadn't were guided one by one ceremonially to the forest where they found their knife in the gnome home among the roots of the "birthday tree" hidden under some moss.  

They spent the week whittling their apple branches into knitting needles to celebrate the realm of the plants.

Advent: The Week of Stones

During advent season, we anticipate the return of the sun and celebrate the human being's growing capacity for universal love and freedom.  We express our gratitude to the world for supporting us in this endeavour.  The first week we celebrate the stones.  We placed 4 candles on the nature table and brought crystals, shells, bones and rocks to show our gratitude.  Before snack we spoke the following verse:

"The first light of advent is the light of stones, found in seashells, crystals, minerals and bones."

And sang the following song as we lit only the first candle:

"Advent, advent the candle burns, first one then two then three then four, then stands the light of love at the door."

For morning movement, we spoke this:

"Crack, crack, the rock we hack" (we formed our fists into stones and used our other first to simulate flintknapping in rhythm)
 "Quake, quake, the mountains shake" (stomping always in rhythm)
"Bang, bang, our hammers clang" (fist over fist)
"In caves so old we search for gold" (turn around dipping then rising hand over eyes)

We also revisited the following verse as we stepped:

Little gnomes so short and strong
heavy footed march along
Every step is firm and loud
Every head is tall and proud

Pick and hammer each must hold
Deep in earth to mine the gold
Hanging over each ones back
hangs a little empty sack

When the hard days work is done
Home again they march as one
Full sacks make a heavy load
As they march along the road

 Finally, we practised the first verse of the song "People Look East":

"1. People, look east. The time is near
Of the crowning of the year.
Make your house fair as you are able,
Trim the hearth and set the table.
People, look east and sing today:
Love, the guest, is on the way."

After practising flintknapping motions for a couple days, the children learned how to properly strike obsidian with a stone to release a flake and reveal an edge sharper than a knife.  They heard nature stories about how the obsidian loves to live near water and they observed how a crater is formed under the obsidian after chipping.

Playing with Jack Frost

Imagine the joy of children arriving to school with the ground covered in frost and even snow! They laughed with glee as they collected all the ice they could find.  We built a cozy fire every day, told stories, worked on our crafts and handwork, played our flutes for the snow fairies, and observed the plants withdrawing their life forces into their resting places under the earth's blanket.

Yurt Insulation!

Thank you to all who helped to insulate our yurt and keep us warm through the winter and cool in the summer!

Shoemaking

The children worked on their shoes as the ground became colder and harder during the Autumn months.  For their first pair, we chose a pattern that is modelled after moccasins.

They the story of Little Tuppen which includes a cow generously offering her leather to make shoes:  http://www.mainlesson.com/display.php?author=baldwin&book=fables&story=tuppen
The 3rd grade was studying textiles this year so they shared an account of how leather is made with our class.  Later, we also heard the Grimm's story of the Elves and the Shoemaker.  It's a story about how the elementals help a hard working craftsperson who gives his trust and effort to the world, even in difficult circumstances. http://www.authorama.com/grimms-fairy-tales-39.html

We sang our shoemaker song while we worked.
The children developed their fine motor skills, joyful focus, and confidence.  They used awls, sewing needles, sinew, and scissors. It's not easy to sew leather! When needed, the shoes will help them to keep both feet "firmly on the ground."  The children grew in relationship with each other as they noticed that everyone had different strengths and humbly helped each other.  Shoes are something they will use almost every day, and now they have a more conscious, direct experience with them.

During our letters block, we played with all the sounds that help us in our work.  During our numbers block, we counted stitches, discovered the twoness of our feet as we stand upright, counted by twos forwards and backwards, stepped our numbers, and played many other number games in preparation for addition, subtraction, multiplication and division which we will explore in February.

We're looking forward to wearing them while we jump rope in the Spring!

Lantern Walk

I hope to every family at our Lantern Walk next Wednesday, November 6th at Tryon Creek State Park at sunset (5pm.)  Until then, the children will be making lanterns, learning songs, and hearing stories about caring our light through the darkness of winter.

Flutes

We've met our flutes and are getting to know them! We even began playing and will practice every Tuesday and Thursday from now on.  CHeck back here for more info...

November Conferences

Conferences are coming up (before Thanks giving break) and I'm excited to be able to share our work with all of you in person and hear your questions and observations!  We'll also be discussing the Handle Institute's sensory screenings that Judy Russell performed for us.  Check here soon for more info...

Quality of Numbers and Samhain Story

For our first week of our first numbers block, I told a story adapted from "A Journey to the Shining Isle" from Starhawk's book titled Circle Round.  It's a story about leaving an apple out for Grandfather Deer on Samhain (Halloween).  He brings you to a river as wide as the sea where a Ferry person asks you riddles (in my version).  Each day, they ask a riddle which is answered by a number.  Here are the first two:  

 1) As straight as a spear I stand, to reach for the sky with both my hands, my shape reveals how many "I am"  Answer: The number one!  I am the only one who is me!

2) Alone I cannot feel myself, but with the one I can feel the other.  You have them both, what am I and what is my sign? Answer: My two hands! 

And so on...

Eventually, the children cross the river to the Shining Isle where they meet their ancestors, play and eat wonderful food!  They then meet the Goddess with two moons in her eyes who is stirring a pot full of stars.  These are the spirits of the children who have yet to be born.  The brew tastes sweet and will help the whoever drinks of it through hard times.  Eventually, they make their way back home.

The children are asked "What is One?', 2, 3 etc each night.  The day after the number is revealed, we find things which express oneness (the circle, ourselves), twoness (our eyes, hands, sun and moon), threeness (triangles) and so on all around us.  We are so lucky be out in nature for this!  We can also count our garden beds, the animals we see, etc.  We also are stepping to our verses and then counting in ones, twos, and threes forwards and backwards. This is all preparing us for arithmetic, and some of the children are discovering the connection already. We draw some of those things.

The next day, a new number is revealed, and we write the number from 2 days before in basic Roman numerals (a series of I's) and in Arabic numerals (1,2,3,4 etc.)

Eurythmy

From a flyer given to the families attending a Eurythmy performance...

"Eurythmy is an art in which the heart learns to speak and sing
through flowing movements of the body. The movement choreographed to
poetry and music bring the word and tone to life in the visible world.
Entering the cultural life of man in 1912, under the guidance of
Rudolf Steiner, Eurythmy began as a performing art and soon found its
way into education in the Waldorf school.

Waldorf education is a worldwide movement in which each child learns
not only through thinking but also through their feeling and willing
as well. Every subject is taught so that the child can approach it
with his intellect, experience it artistically and work it into his
will through physical activity.

Eurythmy is the heart of Waldorf education. The wealth of pedagogical
possibilities within Eurythmy is limitless in that it can enhance and
develop imagination, creativity, limb coordination, dexterity,
individual initiative, and an ability to work harmoniously within the
social sphere. Furthermore, it brings the students a deeper
understanding of many aspects of their curriculum, in particular
geometry, music theory, grammar, and poetic structure such as rhythm,
rhyme, assonance, alliteration, etc."

Here is an email I received from Miss Orchid, our Asst. Fairy Garden Teacher and a Eurythmist:

Hello, it was requested by one of the parents that I send her a little
bit more on Eurythmy. Though it is hard to express in to words, below
are a few attempts.  It may be too extensive for all the parents to
want to read or try to understand - but feel free to pick and choose
from these descriptions to pass along as interest may arise in what
the children are actually doing in their eurythmy class.

-OrchidFrom the book "Rudolf Steiner" by Johannes Hemleben

"Architecture, the plastic arts, and painting have been a part of all
civilization. Art always reflects the spirit of the age. The pyramids
of Egypt, the Greek temples, the medieval cathedrals, are each a
manifestation of their age. But Eurythmy is something new. It is
neither gymnastics nor dance nor is it mime. True, it is an art of
motion, but at the same time is is an art of consciousness. To
understand this we have to strip from the word 'consciousness'
everything that is suggestive of 'intellectuality'. No art comes from
the intellect, which is the enemy of all true art. The aim of Eurythmy
is to make visible by gesture and movement the spiritual conformity
and quality of words and sounds, and make of them an artistic
experience. This requires 'spiritual consciousness', which makes the
unseen vital processes that lie behind every uttered vowel or
consonant, every syllable, every word, every sound, something that can
be enjoyed as an artistic experience. From the subjective-objective
experience Eurythmy is borne as visible speech, as visible song.
Starting in a very modest way in 1912, Eurythmy under the aegis of
Marie Steiner developed in three directions: as stage art, as an
educational aid in schools, and as a therapeutic method. "

From Rudolf Steiner:

"Man as we see him before us in complete in himself. But this
completeness is the result of motion...And when we develop eurythmy we
are carried back to the very beginnings of motion...God does eurythmy,
and in so doing produces the human form.  ...for eurythmy means in a
certain sense the making of gestures, yet no transient random
gestures, but cosmic ones, loaded with meaning, such as cannot be
otherwise and are not due to any human caprice.  There is perhaps no
art in which one is made so intensely aware of being at one with the
Cosmos, as in eurythmy."


And here is a description of Euythmy by one of our students and her mother:

Kaia's description of eurythmy (unsolicited - she chose to write this herself, I simply typed what she wrote so I could email it to you):
"Eurythmy is where you do all of these movements, and we each have our own special eurhythmy shoes. If you have a certain kind of color, the bottom of your shoe is hard, like for tapping, and it's the same color as the top of your shoes, which are soft.

I love the stories the most, especially the one where the dragon flies up to the sun and swallows it. We flapped our arms like dragons, and I felt strong.

I like the stepping stones, where we step and say a poem.

I like skipping around the circle while we clap and sing:

"Skippity skip
Skippity skip
Under and over
We never slip
Pepper and salt
Pepper and salt
Over and under
We never halt"

When I do eurythmy, I feel happy because I like to skip and to sing."

Sarah's observations of Kaia:
"I believe we all chose to share and teach what we are most excited to have learned ourselves. And as the eldest of 8 cousins in her family, Kaia loves to teach. She brings home imaginative stories and songs and poems she learned at school and involves her very willing friends and family in a gentle way, guiding each of them through movement and lyrics. Each child is engaged with a part of their own-maybe a cat who chases a mouse or a farmer tending his growing vegetable. Every time we have guests, Kaia encourages everyone to participate ineurythmy because it enlivens her spirit, which is clearly contagious, and eurythmy provides an artistic outlet for her.
I've also noticed that when eurythmy is integrated into the curriculum, Kaia picks up concepts very quickly. Counting and multiples are an excellent example of this: The students learn by incorporated movements how to count by multiples of any number. Kaia's favorite is 4. "One" is counted by touching the toes, "Two" is counted by touching the knees, "Three" is counted by touching the shoulders, "Four" is counted by reaching up to the sky. "Five" starts again at the toes, and each time she reaches to the sky, she knows it is a multiple of four. Another example how eurythmy works is with the memorization of poetry and rhymes. There is an emphasis on the rhythm of the words, and when movement is incorporated into stories, there is a deeper understanding of the message. The golden sun and the apples on the trees are represented by specific movements when recited, so that the students feel confident retelling because they understood it so well to begin with.
I am also grateful for the effects eurythmy has had on Kaia's speech and annunciation, as well as her posture. Young children eventually learn to fine tune their speech and movements, but eurythmy helps guide them in subtle ways they may not even realize. It feels like playful expression rather than scheduled therapy.
Thank you for sharing eurythmy with our family; I have no doubt its effects will be far-reaching."

Vowels (Wind Sounds), consonants (stick sounds) and the World Tree

For the final week of our first writing block, I told a story given to me by Miss April, and changed greatly by myself.  It was a very windy Autumn week, and the children's imaginations met nature quite harmoniously as they discovered the secrets of the "wind sounds", or vowels.  Though the pictures I painted with words for the children were more colorful and detailed, the essence of the story is this:

Long ago, the first people told each other their stories under the World Tree.  They never had to remember them, because they never forgot.  Then, one day, one of them dropped a story into the sea, and it sunk to the bottom.  It was not lost, it just sat there on the bottom of the sea, waiting to be recovered.  The first people asked the Sun, Moon, and Stars for help, and they spoke with Mother Earth who decided to send Brother Wind to help.  The Wind began to howl around the World Tree, and it dropped its branches to the ground.  They began to fall like this: (I'd like to post a photo here of a few branch letters we made during the storytelling-they were shaped like B, M, T and other consonants and we made the sound as they fell.)  The sticks reminded the First People of the stick sounds, so they began to tell their stories with the stick sounds.  (We practiced saying each others' names using only consonants-mine was T-CH-R Fr-nk.)  Then they paused, listened and looked at the great wind howling and raised their arms in awe, and said "aaawwwsome!"  As a stick flew at one person, she crossed her arms in protection and said "stay!" Then one person stood, raised her arm to the sun and said "me!"  Another did the same but put both arms to the side and said "I am me."  They all joined hands in a big O and said "O, we are whole." (we then sang and danced our "Make New Friends" song we've been practicing all year.)  And, after the wind let up a bit, a little boy noticed a small bird flying from a branch, raised his little arms straight up together and said "oo, that's cuuute."

One of the vowels was revealed to the children each day of the week, and we would practice toning the vowel sounds together with our voices, making the vowels with our bodies, feeling how the sounds made us feel, discovering their shapes in the outdoor environment, and finding words that have those sounds in them.  On the next day, we would color a picture of the world tree with the vowel shapes floating in the wind.  Some of each day is spent practicing writing letters we've already been aquainted with.  There are no lines on the paper, this is basically form drawing, so the children can really experience trying to make the letters evenly spaced, sized, and on the same plane.  They are learning to hold their crayons properly, sit up straight for this short period, and take care of their supplies.

Movement

Movement is a central aspect of our class.

Here is one of the movement sequences we practice every day:

The morning sun slowly rises (Laying on stomachs, Arch backs like a cobra)
Out squiggle snakes of all sizes 
Wiggling squiggling by the brook (Wiggle on ground)
Hush be still (Finger on mouth)
take a look (hand over eyes)
a lizard  (plank push up position)
scurries beneath a log (Scoot backwards)
rib­bet, rib­bet out hop the frogs (two foot leap into squat, then frog jump reaching high)
widdling waddlng to and fro
out come the ducks all in a row (duck walk)
around the meadow the swift deer run (Run in lemniscate)
under a golden shining sun (arms over head in a circle)
On the branch closest to the sky (reach high, arms together, on tiptoes)
an eagle leaps (jump up and land on one foot, arms stretched wide)
and begin to fly (jump and land on other foot, stand on one foot, arms wide)
then lightly touches down (both feet down)
without a sound (arms down at sides and quiet)

(There are many movement sequences we practice throughout the day, this is just a sample.)

and these are some of the skills I'm observing and working with in each child's development throughout the year (let this be a guide, never a cause for worry):   

GRADE 1 MOVEMENT DEVELOPMENT SKILLS

Sense of touch

Is comfortable being hugged, tickled, getting dirty or messy

Doesn’t mind different kinds of clothing

Has beginning sense of social boundaries

Sense of life

Not unduly restless or lethargic

Uses limbs vigorously and actively 

Enjoys moving furniture and heavy objects

Is willing and engages in movement activities for 15-20 minutes w/o fatiguing

Sense of self-movement or Proprioception 

(Body position as experienced through tension in joints and muscles)

Maintains physical boundaries (i.e., doesn’t bump into people or things) 

Stands upright during verse and speech work

Sits upright at desk

Sense of Balance or Vestibular Function 

Walks a beam, log, or line forwards looking straight ahead

Bunny hops (both feet together)

Balances on one foot with eyes closed

Hops on either foot

Stands on one leg

Beginning to skip and gallop

Jump rope: pass through front door; w/one beat of rope; w/specific number of jumps then out; jump to ‘Teddy Bear’; run through w/partner; jump w/partner; jump over stationary rope getting increasingly higher; pass under rope to 10” from ground. 

Rolls, leaps dodges, and runs smoothly

Sits on chair without rocking back and with feet on floor

Comes to quiet stillness physically and maintains that posture for 2 minutes. 

These lower senses build three capacities in the child – 

Sensory integration (of four lower senses)

Demonstrates normal amount of movement, wiggling, tipping, bumping, touching, and squeezing (showing that an average amount of sensation is sufficient for his sensory systems)

Participates fully in movement activities

After a required and reasonable time is given to rehearsal, is able to execute these movements with ease and coordination 

Accomplishes two tasks simultaneously, such as claps and says rhyme  

Beginning abilities with working, sequential, short-term memory skills as seen in mental arithmetic and dictation  

Stays on task and quiet for a period of 15-20 minutes

Visual-spatial processing and orientation 

Knows and moves easily on the above/below and front/back spatial planes to build an internal map of what is where in their body and in their world

Identifies and copies simple geometric drawings while exhibiting proper pencil grip. 

Climbs easily and with confidence

Knows left from right

Shifts gaze from one object to another, from blackboard to paper

Head stays steady when reading

Tracks moving object with eyes without jumps 

Visual-motor integration 

With increasing focus and concentration

Executes simple geometric form drawings

Writes letters and numbers as taught

Demonstrates smooth eye tracking when following a finger with eyes only 

Kicks a medium-sized ball accurately

Throws a ball or bean bag to each other

Throws and catches bean bag/ball with one hand

Bounces ball 

Aims and precisely throws bean bag into basket from 2’ away.

Does not distract or need inordinate amounts of help or redirection

Bi-Lateral Coordination and Dominance

Crawls correctly

Has good body awareness and good gross motor skills

Crosses vertical midline shown through executing hand clapping or feet jumping games with crossing 

Has established hand preference 

Body geography 

Homolateral movement of the body, uses right hand to touch body parts on the right side of the body to the middle 

Fine motor  

Use fingers dexterously (sew, finger knit, finger games, cuts with scissors, ties shoelaces, buttons, zips)

Opposes all fingers to thumb precisely with eyes open or shut

Shakes hands w/ thumb separated from fingers

Has appropriate pencil grip

Auditory motor 

Sings and moves at the same time

Says rhymes and chants with clapping rhythms

Auditory or Language processing

Identifies separate sounds

Able to pay attention to one voice or sound

Attends to, understands and remembers stories he has heard or read

Follows sequence of 2-3 directions

Responds to others’ questions, stays on topic

Creates rhymes and sings on tune 

Japanese

The children have been participating in Japanese class every Wednesday and Friday from 12:15-1pm with Aki Sensei, a native speaker of Japanese, mother of Juno and Luka, and skilled teacher.  The children are completely immersed in the Japanese language, as Aki Sensei only speaks Japanese during this period.  The children often begin their lesson with an active game.  They sing a song in Japanese accompanied by a finger play about a fox which involves common greetings.  They also go through a series of movements which are healthy for their bodies help them to experientially learn common words like "sit," "stand," "run," and body parts.  They observe and act in the natural setting learning words like "tree," "stone," and "apple" through games.  The children folded origami cranes, envelopes and airplanes. For the final lesson of the 6 week block the children made onigiri, rice balls with nori (seaweed), and optional umeboshi (plum) and fish.  They love the class and relate to this language and culture with enthusiasm.

----------------------------------------

Fox song

 

Kocchi kara kitsune ga dete kitayo     ( watch the fox come out from over here)

mimi oogokasuyo piku piku piku          (let's wiggle the ears)

mae o mooite konichiwa                    ( face forward and say hello)

kon kon kon kon sayonara                  (say goodbye to the fox now)

 

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Clap with one finger

 

ichi(1) no hakushu  ichi no hakushu     (what does it sounds like if you clap with 1 finger)

kikasete kudasai donna oto?

 

(repeat the above refrain with 2-5)

 

ni(2)

san(3)

shi(4)

go(5)

-----------------------------------

Rock, Scissors, Paper

 

goo choki pa de                                    (what shall we make with rock, paper, scissors)

goo choki pa de                                   

nani tsukuro nani tsukuro

migite ga goo de hidarite  ga choki de katatumuri  (make a rock with your right hand and scissors with the left to form a snail)

(the rest is just variations on this theme of making different things with rock, paper, scissors, like a swing, tent, etc.)

 

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Letters Block and Storytelling

During this language block, I tell the children a story every day in the cedar grove.  They listen in silence the first day, then act it out the next day before they hear a new story.  They do this with great enthusiasm.  These stories feed their souls and they come up with glorious pictures in their imaginations.  I tell stories that have a main character who has a particular sound in their name.  Then we draw that picture with beeswax crayons as a very simple color drawing.  The form of the letter then emerges from the picture and the children love to discover this!  From then on we find everything we can that has that sound in it or the shape of the letter in nature.  For the letter B, I told the story of "Snow White and Rose Red" which you can find in Grimm's tales.  We drew a big brown bear.

And this is as good a time as ever to mention that we've been observing the B-B-Bees as they prepare for the Winter.

Here are some other stories I've told:
"The Giving Tree" A poem by Shel Silverstein
"Wyeast, Klickitat, and Loowitlatkla" A Tale about Mt. Hood told by the folks of this land
"The Golden River" by John Ruskin
"The Adventures of Northwestern Garter Snake" tales from Teacher Frankie's heart and class
"Little Tuppen" An old tale retold by Paul Galdone

Trips to Johnson Creek

We have been walking to Johnson Creek every other Tuesday after main lesson.  We observe and experience how it changes though the season.  Our first lunch spot is already completely under water!  During this letters block, we look for things in nature that have the sounds in them that we are working with or find things that look like the letters we are learning to write.  The children have participated in many activities such as games and stories while on the trip.  This also offers deep nature immersion and different perspective (literally, from across the creek) on the farm and our school.

Here is one of many wooly bear houses they built.  Soon, we will be bringing our flutes and craft activities with us to Johnson Creek to play for the spirits of the land and waters.  It's a short walk away from the school down the street and through a friendly neighbor's yard.  Ms. Maura accompanies us.  The Tuesday field trips will end October 29th.  We may still plan field trips, but Tuesdays will be held on the land until the Spring.

Gardening and Farming

The children have been learning to hear and feel Mother Earth's messages during gardening.  All the garden parents have been working hard every Friday to tend the land and give it form so the children can experience adults using their hands for good deeds.  Megan led them in movement exercises where they feel themselves as seeds growing towards the sun and the Earth as plants until they lighten up and decompose into resting soil.  They sowed seed, placed stones, dug out unwanted roots, loosened soil in their hands, and covered the seeds with a blanket of straw.  We try to present the garden parents with gifts from time to time to show gratitude.  Come on down on Fridays to help out, if you'd like to get your garden on!

We've also begun caring for the chickens.  Feeding, watering, checking for pests, gathering eggs will be a regular chore.  We turn the compost, as well.  Farmer Jeff will often mentor a few children at a time in his fields.

Forest Play

All of the children from both grades classes worked together to make this fort on their own!

Form Drawing

The main lesson for the first few weeks of school was "How to be first graders."  The children learned why they come to school and how to work and play with adults and other children as a class.

In addition to that they were introduced to form drawing and practiced it everyday.  They became aquainted with their beeswax crayons and paper.  We discussed where these materials come from and used all of our senses to learn about them.  Every day I would tell a little story to introduce a new form.  The children would find examples of that form everywhere in nature.  Then we practiced the previous days form with our bodies.  We would stand in a straight line, for example, or walk in a spiral.  Finally, we would draw the form from the previous days.

The first day of school, we drew a line and a curve.  Try to find these yourself!  If you look, you might notice that everything we can touch and see is either a line or a curve.

One of the forms we drew was a spiral moving inward which tightened increasingly as it moved toward the center.  Then we drew another spiral inside the first.  I introduced all of the spirals with stories I created about the Northwestern Garter Snake who crawls under a rock when he's afraid or calm, or crawls out from the rock when its time to play.  These are also therapeutic stories which address the social issues coming up among the class.  

Form drawings are actually crystalized movement and aid in the child's development.  They are learning to control their movement, developing fine motor skills, and preparing to write letters and numbers.  The spiral which moves inward actually brings them into their body and can be calming, as are drawing concentric circles from the outside in.

All of these are wonderful!  And we often think of some way to improve next time and notice how we've improved since last time.  Even Teacher!

This week, we'll begin learning letters!

Pressing Cider

As the Autumn approached, our great apple tree shared its bounty with us by daily dropping pounds of apples.  The children used their working hands picking these up and sorting them into eating apples, pressing apples, and compost.  I brought in the cider press piece by piece over a period of a week as their anticipation built.  Finally, we pressed our apples into deliciously sweet and slightly tart cider!  They chopped the apples, filled the press, worked together to turn the crank, hold the pitcher and The children noticed the complex different color, texture, and flavor of the cider as compared with store bought apple juice.  Most thought it was delicious!  All were proud of their achievement.  We saved jars of cider for Lulu and Zen who were sick, and for Ms. Oana, our Eurythmy teacher, who donated Eurythmy shoes to everyone!

Eagle Creek Trip for Salmonfest

We recently celebrated Salmonfest with a trip to Eagle Creek.  Ms. Maura (1st grade intern) and Juanita (Nina's Mom) chaperoned and drove.  We watched the giant, travel scarred Salmon playing, battling, nesting, spawning, and offering their bodies to the river.  They had returned home from the ocean and far away waters to bring their blessing of courage.  The children offered them a song we have been singing every morning.

"The great salmon swimming upstream, brave and true, of you we dream."

They watched in awe, admiration, and playful joy.  Juanita gave them some tobacco to offer the Salmon and Ms. Maura offered some lavender.  Thank you!

We had been hearing the story of Salmon Boy, which can be found here:

http://www.firstpeople.us/FP-Html-Legends/SalmonBoy-Haida.html

(Please don't read this to your children off the internet.  When I share this story, it is from my own heart after I've first strived to fill it with meaning for myself. It's not a story I was raised with or is in my cultural tradition, so I first had to decide whether it was appropriate to pass along. Then I strive to fill it with meaning for myself, so it will come alive and I can tell it "by heart." It would be wonderful if you'd like to do the same around this time of year with your child!  Just picture the story inwardly as you read it everyday for three days.  What do the symbols mean? How might this story relate to you and your child's life?   On the fourth you can begin retelling it to your child "by heart.")

The Rains Have Arrived! How to Keep Your Child Warm at School

From now until the end of the school year, your child must arrive at school dressed in WOOL layers (long sleeve shirt, leggings, sweater, and socks) and full WATERPROOF rain gear (jacket with hood, pants, gloves, and boots that they can remove and put on themselves.)

Here is an email from Sarah Page (MES Parent and an Outreach Coordinator)

Here is the gear information - separated into parts (Wool in general, Wool Group Order, Raingear, Boots)

Wool.

Wool is awesome.  You can do all kinds of research on the benefits of wearing wool but the bottom line here is wool will keep your child warm - even if/when it gets wet.  I cannot stress this point enough: cotton can become a soppy, heavy, cold horrible fabric in the wet winter.  Want to experience the outdoors without hating the elements?  Wear wool!  There were several suggestions made at the parent meeting about how to deal with the cost of wool.  One is know that your child will wear these items atleast while they're at school.  That's 3/4/5 days/week for 10 months (I'm betting they will wear them at home too and on a trip to the mountain or the grocery store!).  That's a garment that pays for itself.  You are also very likely to get more than one year's wear out of these items.  Another suggestions that was made is to buy wool items (adult sweaters) at resale shops (and keep checking those "free" piles!).  You can wash hot & dry on high to shrink the sweaters for your child to wear.  Also, these sweaters can be washed & dried ("felted") and the pieces can be cut & sewn into leggings, hats, and mittens.  Wool, wool, wool!  Ask a sheep - they love it!

Wool Group Order.

We order from a lady named Randi with her company Skandikids.  http://skandikids.com/

Mother Earth School receives a group discount of 15% plus no shipping charge for our order.  Our code is mes15 & the discount will automatically be deducted from your order (our code will be "live" as of Sept 1).   The code will be active through Nov. 15.  Estimated delivery time is 4 weeks from time of order.  

I recommend having 2 sets of woolens (one thick, one thin), wool socks, wool sweaters, a balaclava, a wool hat on top to add an extra layer of rain/cold protection, and wool mittens to go under the rain mittens.

Raingear.

The raingear that was passed around at the meeting is ordered from a company called Puddlegear, out of Vancouver, B.C., Canada.  The gear is made by a company called Abeko.  http://www.puddlegear.com/

An outdoor gear store was also suggested as an alternative from a returning parent.  I have not personally had good luck with Columbia - my daughter's knees were always wet at the end of the day.  She was, however dry given all the layers of wool!  My kids are never wet when they wear their Puddlegear; we've been customers since 2004.

I also passed around the repair tape from REI that I've been using for tears in the raingear.  The Puddlegear can tear - there are alot of blackberries around plus bigtime playing.  And the tape works!  It is tent repair tape.  Also, even though the tape wears out after a time, and wet can then seap through to knees, my child does not get cold due to the wool.  Seriously.