First Days

September is upon us. School has started, leaves are falling, the air feels crisp. The light has shifted into a more autumnal feel.......less blazing heat and more fragmented light. It happens every year. It's inevitable. These are our first days of Autumn.

We have three school aged children in our home. Two are attending our local public school while the other has begun her schooling at home. We are not taking these first years so seriously as she is only four and a half but she feels ready nonetheless. Charlotte is a go getter. She is eager to begin to write and keep up with her siblings. We try our best to follow the natural rhythms around us, allowing for an organic learning experience. We draw our creative energies from nature and the seasons, we follow Rudolf Steiner's grain and color of the day, we try to create an environment that is full of mindful work........baking, painting, cleaning, felting, gardening, singing, and stories.

Our little "homeschool" is our dining room. Our seasonal table sits there as well as our rhythm chart. Its the center of our home, next to our kitchen and play space. The room is draped with westerly sunshine all afternoon thereby creating a warm glow during our afternoon hours. It is cozy and sweet and so far........a comfortable place to learn.

 



 As a mother and teacher I am trying to allow Charlotte to blossom as she is.  In a traditional Waldorf setting writing wouldn't begin until quite a bit later in a child's education.  Charlotte, however, is eager and has been practicing all on her own for sometime.  She is eager for it. She asks for it. As we try to establish Waldorf traditions in our home I also feel it is my responsibility to her to honor what it she feels like she is ready for. Little steps at a time. So as our first lessons we practiced spelling her name. Atop her name is a picture of herself with a few of her favorite things; butterflies, rainbows, sunshine and flowers. We also began to learn all about Monday; how Monday is connected to the Moon and that part of our main meal will incorporate the grain rice (according to Rudolf Steiner's Grain of the Day). We've begun this process by creating a book on the days of the week.......I will post photos once we are finished!

Another thing Charlotte was eager to do was memorize. She loves to memorize poems, stories or jokes and perform them for her family and friends. This is what she learned to day.......

"The world is full

Of a number of things.

I'm sure we should all

Be happy as kings."

 

 

If you are homeschooling I would love to hear how your first days are going. I'm looking forward to an exciting year ahead with homeschooling as well as being able to create a relaxing and nurturing environment for our children that attend school elsewhere. If you have children that go to school outside your home, how do you create a space where they can come home and decompress?