December 1st...The Journey Begins...

The Holy Family

I have several favorite Christmas traditions that we started years ago when we first began our Waldorf inspired journey.  One of them is our Descending Angel Calendar that is very easy to make.  I can't even remember where I first saw it, but it is very easy to make, stores easily, and is fun for children. 

Here is how: I used felt and cut four long strips and sewed them together (the dark blue).  Then I cut out 26 gold stars - one of them you can see at the top, which is larger and represents the guiding star and then 25 smaller ones which go all the way to about 2 inches from the bottom strip.  The little angel can be made out of tissue paper with wool rolled up in the shape of a ball to form the head.  You can either use a pin or tape to move her down each star for each passing day.  Eventually, ours will stand upright on the stars as the remaining section of the strip is on the table itself.  Here is our angel on the first star for December 1st!

One of my other favorite traditions which begins on December 1st is to prepare the way for the Holy Family and their journey to the stable.  I absolutely cherish my beautiful manger, which has also served as a set for many of our schooling stories, as well as a structure for the girls freeplay.  It was handmade by Rick Tan of Syrendell as a custom order.  Jennifer and Rick are two of my favorite people in the waldorf circle and have so many talents.  I have always been thrilled with their creations!

Pinecones that you can collect with your children are always fun to represent nature and trees in storytelling.  Rocks are also beautiful and add to a nature table.

In the past, I have used pieces of evergreen branches for our spiral, but this year, I wanted to try using our dried moss.  The evergreen branches sometimes slide on the silks (also hand dyed by Syrendell), but the moss tends to grab at fibers more, so I think if we bump into the table, our spiral won't slide out of place this year...we'll see :)  I also love the look of it.

Interesting note of Ancient Hearth history - the Joseph doll was my very first needle felting creation.  I had no training, but used to oogle the beautiful dolls I would see, so I gave it a whirl and voila!  I will always cherish these primitive figures.  There is something special about the simplicity of them.

Below is the base of my Descending Angel Calendar.  Once she reaches the last star on the morning of the 25th, we light our beeswax candle and take a moment to reflect on the many blessings we share and the beautiful soul born 'this day' so long ago...

So the journey for 2012 begins today and we begin to try to quiet our innerselves to prepare for all that this month brings!  Tomorrow, we light our first candle of Advent as it 'officially' begins. 

P.S. Don't forget to start your St. Nicholas stories today, if you are celebrating the Festival of St. Nick!

Holiday Preparations: Wooden Ornaments

Alas, it has been months since I've penned this blog last and for that, and for my overbooked schedule, I apologize.  Life is keeping us very busy and I don't have much time for elaborate, well planned posts.  But, what I love about December is that as part of our homeschooling year, I block out much of the month to focus on all of the wonderful festivals, baking, and traditions; and it's a time when we slow down, stray from more formal lessons, and focus more on creating memories by living in the moment.  So, I am hoping to write many posts over the month of December and would love to start by sharing some warm fuzzies that we treasure in our home. 

Like many of you, I prefer anything handmade.  It is hard to find natural, handmade in the local shops, so I often head over to etsy or track down obscure shops online where I can find those heartfelt goodies that make us feel cozy inside.  I was thrilled to find these handmade wooden ornaments from Germany at a local shop near our home last year.  There were so many cute ones that we had to narrow it down over and over again and I hope that we can snag a few more this year - adding to our little collection through the years.

The girls begged me to get out the old Christmas bins from the garage (no basements where I live) so they could begin decorating the tree and these were some of the first ornaments to go up...

Flying Santa

 



The Baker

 



Santa with his Walking Stick

 



Our Russian Soldier

 



Of course, the girls found the mini village my father had surprised us with the year I got married and the twins got sidetracked, but hey - any creative play is great by me!  December is a time to slow down, turn inward, and recharge the soul.  Kids definitely recharge through freeplay while we adults often recharge by ignoring the phone, dishes, and laundry and enjoy watching those little ones around us in all of their innocent, joyful splendor.  Childhood is a wonder to behold!

We are preparing our special holiday table, our Advent spiral, Advent wreath, and of course - we are excited about our first festival in Dec - Bishop Nicholas' Day!  This special tradition was made even more fun thanks to the amazingly beautiful and talented Christine Natale and her St. Nick stories - read one a day, beginning Dec 1st and get your kiddos into the spirit of giving and sharing... I have referenced Christine many times in my blog and there is a big reason why - she truly encompasses the Waldorf heart through her love of children and her foundational training and understanding.  I wanted to post the link to her stories now for anyone who plans to begin them December 1st!

You can read more about St. Nicholas here.  And I will be back with more photos as we prepare for this most wonderful time of year! 

Also, I have several comments that I've not answered yet - I hope to eventually get to them.  And I just saw that I have reached a wonderful milestone of 300 followers :) So in honor of that, yup...you guessed it...I am planning a special giveaway - so stay tuned!  Hugs to all of you!

Happy St. Nick's Day!

Some treasures from St. Nick!

Don't Forget to Leave Your Shoes Out for St. Nick!

Tonight is a special night for the families who follow this European tradition of leaving their shoes out on the night before December 6th to celebrate the feast of St. Nicholas.

We celebrated this tradition as a child and I have so many fond memories of this special day leading up to Christmas. It was always a favorite with lots of anticipation and glee and I am so happy to share it now with my children. One of my mom's favorite Saint's Days - to this day, she still reminds me to leave my shoes outside my bedroom door on the eve of December 5th!

Now in my own tradition, in the days leading up to this event, starting on December 1st, we read a story a day written by the talented author and Waldorf teacher, Christine Natale. Her Bishop Nicholas stories are found free here. They are short, so you could even start them today and space them out to read them all before the big day tomorrow :)

We are also enjoying this out of print book by Jakob Streit called, Saint Nicholas. With the help of Cindy from Whole Spirit Press, we were able to track down a few remaining copies, the link of which has been listed on my blog. I'm not sure if they have all sold out, but you may contact them as listed. See the post here.

Last year, I did a post documenting our celebration which can be found here. We'll see what Old St. Nick decides to leave the girls tonight :) And I hope to share shots of our Advent celebrations and winter preparations over the next several days.

Also, get ready for a special giveaway that I will be hosting, so stay tuned! Lots of fun and festivity coming down the pipeline!

Happy St. John's Day! Midsummer's Day!

St. John, oh happy festival,

Thou festival of light,

With songs and happy melodies

Our souls may grow so wide.

For all the beauty of the world

Which loving spirits have unfurled,

Oh come! Oh come ye spirits gay

And dance with us on Saint John's Day.

~Wynstone's "Summer"

Today is Midsummer's Day and marks the half way point of the year -today being the day we celebrate the birth of St. John, which is placed exactly six months before we celebrate the birth of Christ on Christmas Eve.

Midsummer traditionally is the season for fire rituals indicative of purification and transformation. The heat of the rising sun is at its peak. Sunflowers grow in the sun...yellow bumble bees buzz from flower to flower, dancing under the golden sun, children flit about like butterflies in the summer breeze.

We are heading to a friends house to swim today and tonight, I will read the girls a wonderful story for Midsummer by the amazing Christine Natale (who is hard at work on her Fairy Tales book) entitled "The Return of the Sun King". Christine was kind enough to share it on my blog a few months ago and I hope you all enjoy it as much as we do! Reading this story on St. Johnstide is our new annual tradition, along with making some sun stars to grace our windows! (pictures to come soon)!

Hope you all enjoy this marvelous day and celebrate the arrival of summer! Christine has published stories about St. Nicholas here. And she began a blog several months ago which can be found here. She has been very busy lately with her new waldorf school, but loves to hear how her stories have touched our children, so feel free to leave her a comment on her blog!

Update on Jakob Streit's Saint Nicholas Book

Thanks to the wonderful Cindy Walker at Whole Spirit Press, we were able to find out a bit more about bringing Streit's "Saint Nicholas" book back into print.

The copyright is held by Mercury Press and a very limited number of copies are available as of this moment. I was told this morning that once these are sold, they will reconsider whether or not the book will be brought back into print. I got the impression it was low on the totem pole :(

But if they won't reprint it, then perhaps Whole Spirit Press will be able to secure the rights to reprint it.

If you are interested in obtaining a copy, you may email them at:

mercurypress@fellowshipcommunity.org

Or call: 1-845-356-8494 ext. 420

They are part of the Steiner community in Chestnut Ridge, NY and were very hard to get a hold of. There is no online ordering available and the book is around $7.50. I just ordered a copy, so I will confirm that it is indeed the right book :D The price seems very low for this book. Again, they don't have many copies left and I was dissuaded from putting the word out there, but I know there are many who would love a chance to own a copy of this wonderful little book!

Happy Birthday, St. Nick!

Excerpt from Wynstone's Winter book:

"Upon his snow white steed
With wind and lightning speed
St. Nicholas leaves the sky
And comes a riding by...

And we will learn a tune,
Of sun and star and moon,
And sing our happy lay,
Sing on St. Nicholas' day."

~ from Germany

Today, we celebrate a generous soul who gave of himself in order to light the flame inside of others. I have so enjoyed learning about this wonderful man.

In his honor, I had to share this page from Tasha Tudor's book, "A Time to Keep".


This morning, the girls awoke to their boots holding special treasures from St. Nicholas...porcelain kitty boxes to hold some handmade jewelry, needle felted characters, knitting needles with hand painted tops, and each twin received a special mineral - Elena received sulphur and Charley received sodalite which we will place upon the seasonal table before this eve when the plant kingdom makes its way into the Advent scenes!


There is a lovely tale in Wynstone's "Winter" book entitled, "St. Nicholas and the Star Children" which I will be telling tonight which is about St. Nicholas accompanying Mary and the Christ Child from the Heavens to the earth and they are joined by many little stars. St. Nicholas rides ahead, preparing the children of earth for the arrival of the Child of Light. When they arrive, as the stars leap out of Mary's arms, they become human children and play happily together with the Christ Child.

It is a sweet tale to prepare our little ones for the special day which will be here soon! Happy St. Nick's Day to all and a big thank you to Christine Natale for those incredible St. Nicholas stories! I can't wait to read more of your wonderful, wonderful stories!

Advent: Days 6, 7 and 8

Excerpt from:
E. Field's Christmas Song

...Once a lovely shining star
Seen by shepherds from afar

Gently moved until its light
Made a manger's cradle bright

There a little baby lay
Pillowed soft upon the hay
And its mother sang and smiled
This is Christ, the holy child.

We spent the majority of the day yesterday decorating the house and putting our ornaments on the tree. I had a winter wedding and as party favors, we gave out ornaments. We had a lot left over and every year, they make our tree beautiful and I will have a box to pass on to each of my children to decorate their own trees someday!

Joyful decorations abound.

Old crooners and organ chimes sound.

Boxes dusted off with treasures found,

...ah, the joy of Christmas!

~J.D.


Yesterday we read the next story of St. Nick - December 4.
Today will be the December 5th tale.
Sunday will be December 6th and then we leave our shoes out for St. Nick!

Again, I'd like to give credit to Our Little Nature Nest for sharing the link to these stories! She has an amazing blog that I'd encourage everyone to visit :D

Our next few nights of Advent reading will take place out of this lovely book by Gunhild Sehlin called "Mary's Little Donkey and the Flight to Egypt".

Excerpt from Little Donkey
by Eric Boswell

Little donkey, Little donkey
On the dusty road.
Got to keep on plodding onwards,
With your precious load.

Been a long time, little donkey,
Through the winter's night.
Don't give up now, little donkey,
Bethlehem's in sight...

Advent: Day 5

This is one of our two Advent seasonal tables. The beautiful cascading silk was hand-dyed with natural dyes by Syrendell. If you are looking for soft and artistically dyed silks, they have an amazing selection and do beautiful custom orders. I have a few silks I bought elsewhere, but they are nowhere near as soft or as beautiful as the ones from this creative family.

I needle felted a large, Old World Father Christmas with beautiful wool from Peace Fleece.

And on our other Advent seasonal table, we made a lovely Star Ladder inspired by a craft in the amazing book, All Year Round. Instead of using a blue ribbon, though, we cut strips of felt and sewed them together. And instead of star stickers, we cut star shapes out of felt and stitched them on as such.

Each day, the little angel travels down a star until she reaches the last one on Christmas Eve when we will then light our star candle at the bottom. We decorated the table with moss, evergreens, our Christmas gnomes and some beautiful crystals and rocks.

The angel is made out of tissue paper and wool. Needle felt a small ball and place it inside of a piece of tissue paper with rounded corners (see tutorial below). Tie string around the neck and twist the sides to make hands. Then attach the wings and you can either use a pin to move her down the star ladder or tape.

I also wanted to share our enchanting eco-twig house, beautifully hand made by the artist Rick Tan at Syrendell. It is made out of twigs from his yard, along with reclaimed fencing. We added the moss and the straw and it awaits our weary travelers on Christmas Eve. We will be adding to our nature table each Sunday in Advent.

Our quartz crystal was added here to represent the minerals on the 1st Sunday in Advent.

Last night, our special book pulled from our Christmas book basket was "Room for a Little One", purchased by the girls Gramy, which is a very sweet tale about the animals making room for each other and the Christ child on that special eve.

And for our Advent reading today, we shared another amazing story from "Christmas Roses: Legends for Advent". The story was entitled "The Old Woman Who Wanted a Gnome in Her Home" by the gifted story teller Jeanna Oterdahl. In the story, the old woman learns that only through giving of herself to someone else in need, would her house become a real home, complete with that special gnome.

Finally, for our December 3rd St. Nicholas Story, we enjoyed yet another fantastic tale by Christine Natale called, "Bishop Nicholas and the Family". I absolutely love the focus of the stories in this series, which is on the act of giving, rather than receiving. It is befitting and so needed in this season.

Our little St. Nicholas has found a nice home in the Advent wreath by the rose quartz crystal. He seems to be enjoying the stories about him. Elena and I finished our verse which I took from Wynstone's Winter book. Charley still has to finish hers, but I thought I would post pictures of them to sign us off for today!

It is absolutely amazing to me to see how in such a short time, the girls have learned to use the block crayons with such comfort and today, Elena decided to draw her own vision of St. Nicholas. I think it turned out much better than mine :D

Kind old man, St. Nicholas dear,

Come to our house this year.

Here's some straw and here's some hay

For your little donkey grey.

Pray put something in my shoe,

I've been good the whole year through,

Kind old man, St. Nicholas dear,

Come to our house this year.

~From Germany: Wynstone's Winter book