Thankful

If during the first period of life we create an atmosphere of gratitude around the children, then out of this gratitude toward the world, toward the entire universe, and also out of thankfulness for being able to be in this world, a profound and warm sense of devotion will arise.....upright, honest, and true. ~ Rudolf Steiner

Today, with the anticipation of Thanksgiving on our minds, we felt called to make something for each person who would be joining us for our holiday festivities. Nothing too involved, just something simple and from the heart. I saw this post on Pinterest from Woodside Kitchen. It is a dough ornament, but not just any dough ornament.....

 ** It's made with 1/2 cup of cornstarch, 1 cup of baking soda, and 3/4 cup of water! Combine all the ingredients in a cooking pot, cook over medium heat until the mixture begins to thicken and takes on the appearance of "smooth mashed potatoes". Pour into a bowl and cover with a damp cloth until the dough is cool enough to handle. Knead the dough, adding more cornstarch as necessary to keep the dough from being sticky. Roll out to about 1/4 of an inch or so on a lightly cornstarched surface, cut out using cookie cutters, decorate using rubber stamps or other stencils. Place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment and bake at 175 degrees for about an hour (flipping them over after 30 minutes).**

So simple. So pleasing to work with. So beautiful and clean looking. It was a breeze to make and took well to painting and other decorating. The only thing I would recommend is to be mindful of the time in the oven (varies by size, I think). Our ornaments were quite small in size so they baked up really quickly. I didn't have that thought in the forefront of my mind so I over baked them a bit. The sides curled up and they browned a little on the bottom (I also didn't have any parchment). BUT, all is well. We painted them and/or sprayed them with a clear acrylic and sprinkled some glitter all over them

 

 

There is so much to be thankful for. Everyday I am reminded of the many blessings I have received. These little ornaments will serve as a little token of our gratitude for those we love so dearly and their presence in our life. It is hard to imagine our days without the smiles, love, and laughter of our dearest friends and family, those we see often and those we only see once in a while. We have big hearts for those we are missing and keep their legacy there.

 

This time of lessened light and inward process begs me to remember that although are days are full to the brim with moments that may seem more than we can handle, it's important to remember that we are surrounded by angels, seen and unseen. Those that hold us up and walk with us through our darkest times and those that quietly keep that spiritual space through the veil. We can honor them in this lifetime by living a life of gratitude, for all of those who have touched our lives in one way or another. Who and what are you grateful for right now?

 

I am, humbly, honored that you have chosen to walk with me in this space. Thank you.

 

Enjoy your holiday with those you love so much. Blessings to you and yours xo



Preparing in Gratitude

Blessing on this room of ours,
Blessing on the garden flowers,
Blessing on the birds and trees,
On the butterflies and bees.
Blessing on the dolls and toys,
On our quietness and noise.
Blessing on the children dear,
On the grown ups who come here.
Blessing on our work and play,
God be with us all each day.

 

 

We're preparing for Thanksgiving time in our home. As a Waldorf inspired home, we incorporate the teaching of Rudolf Steiner in much of our daily lives........

 

"An immense enrichment of the soul is achieved through the experience of feeling gratitude. One should see to it that, even in a very young child, a feeling of thankfulness is developed. If one does this, a feeling of gratitude will be transformed into love when the child is older. In every situation in life, love will be colored through, permeated with gratitude. Even a superficial observation of social life demonstrates that a valuable impulse for the social question can be fostered when we educate people towards a greater feeling of gratitude for what their fellow human beings are doing. For this feeling of gratitude is a bridge from one human soul and heart to another. Without gratitude, this bridge could never be built." ~ from Waldorf Education and Anthroposophy 1922-24 lectures by Rudolf Steiner

 

Cultivating gratitude within our children is in fact a lifestyle. It is not something that can only be acted on just one day a year. The mere  existence of gratitude in our society requires that we feel it and live it every single day. How will our world continue without it? We already can see the upsetting occurrences of what happens when gratitude fades to entitlement; our Earth's resources are being depleted, some children have grown into adults that have lost their reverence for how precious all life is, there is a lack of respect and responsibility in our ever growing populations. We are a culture of constant consumption.......if only a tear drop of gratitude could be injected into the ailments of the planet and our connection as human beings, might there be a shift in the dire situations of so many?

In the spirit of gratitude, we've been telling a particular story, a bit adapted to help capture the importance of being thankful. We discovered the story of Hugin and the Carrot (adapted from the story Hugin and the Turnip) over at Natural Kids .

The first part we adapted is where the Caterpillar asked if Hugin knew the right way to pull up the carrot.

We added "Did he first give thanks to the Root Gnome and ask if he might pull up the carrot?" Then Hugin put his mouth close to the ground and called: "Gnome, good Root Gnome. Many thanks for helping this beautiful carrot to grow so big and beautiful. May I take your carrot home so that on Thanksgiving Day we can eat a soup that tastes of carrots sweet?"

We also added at the end where everyone is helping each other up:

"Many thanks for you help. So sorry to have knocked you over."

The last line of our story is read like this:

"And nobody was hurt, and everybody laughed. All their hearts were full of thanks for the help each one did give and for that beautiful carrot that would make their bellies warm and full. "

It was very sweet to know that the message was received. Here the littles are meeting the characters and reciting the story as they remembered. I heard many "thank yous" being shared between characters and "oohs and ahhs" for how beautiful the carrot was and how thankful they were for such a lovely treat to eat. It is so beautiful to me how children really are much more readily available to give gratitude. Their wonder, their beautiful attunement to love and how each individual creature is just as important and valuable as the next. I never tire of watching this grace in action.

Another little piece that we've woven into this tapestry of thanks is the song "Johnny Appleseed". We sing an adapted version, for no particular reason, this is just how I was taught to sing it.......

Oh, the Earth's been good to me.
And so I thank the Earth
For giving me the things I need:
The sun, the rain and the apple seed;
Oh, the Earth's been good to me.

Oh, and every seed I sow
Will grow into a tree.
And someday there'll be apples there
For everyone in the world to share.
Oh, the Earth is good to me.

 

Here is a photo of a little craft we did the other day.......it's a turkey! I'm sure you guessed :) I'm not entirely into these kinds of crafty things, I much prefer something that is a bit more purposeful; but that being said, Charlotte and Kiki are very much into puppets lately. Everything is a puppet ready for a show. We happen to have many gloves that are missing their other so it seemed a perfect thing to turn them into puppets; and why not a turkey?! Gobble! Gobble!!

How do you incorporate giving thanks and living in gratitude with your littles? xo