Keep Calm Craft On {crafting on}

The act of creating, in one form or another, preserves my sanity amongst the chaos of life. This explains why I always have more than one project going at a time as well as why my housework tends to fall behind. I enjoy seeing what others are working on and keeping calm with, too. What are you creating? What is keeping you going? Snap a picture or two and share it with the rest of us by leaving your link below.


Hoping to make autumn come sooner, I have been busying myself with autumn crafts. One of them is a hedgehog window transparency inspired by my sweet C and her love of hedgehogs. I am working from this lovely window transparency book. Yes, it is all in German but the instructions are easy enough to follow with the diagrams and photos.

What are you working on? Happy creating!

p.s. - See that beautiful piece of wood that is currently our table centerpiece? It is actually a cutting board made by my friend Ginny's talented husband. I just can't bring myself to cut on it yet.

An InLinkz Link-up

Keep Calm Craft On {crafting on}

Simplicity Parenting 101 {Giveaway!}

Hello, hello everyone! Picture me jumping up and down waving my wands wildly in excitement as I present to you an incredible giveaway offer by my friend from back home in Portland, Lisa Weiner, MSN Certified Simplicity Parenting Counselor. Lisa is one of those people that you just instantly fall in  love with upon meeting. Her wisdom and compassion in parenting (and so many other things!) has always blown me away, so of course when I found out about her online course I had to sign up. I haven't found the time or inspiration lately to work on my parenting, especially since we left our strong supportive community in Portland, and I feel like I am forgetting my core parenting beliefs. That is not a good feeling for this Mama! I know Lisa's encouragement is just what I need to get back on track and focus even more on what is important!

 I could go on and on about what makes this course so valuable for all parents but I will let Lisa explain it all to you (in a much calmer and more organized manner than I could do!):

How often do you take time to consciously develop and hone your parenting skills?
How often to think about your guiding principles as a parent? How often do you make space to reflect thoughtfully on your parenting and to consciously make changes to create more joy and connection in your family?

If you’re like most parents today, the answer to these questions is “not often enough.” And it’s no wonder! Most of us are so busy trying to keep up with the daily work of life and parenting that we spend almost no time developing our parenting skills, getting in touch with our inner-parenting wisdom or getting the support that we long for and deserve.
By signing up for my Simplicity Parenting class, you can help change all that.

As parents who have taken my classes can tell you, setting aside the time and space to explore parenting issues in a deliberate and supportive manner can be nothing short of life-changing.
As a result of my classes, parents experience:
•deeper connections to their children,
•increased clarity in their parenting,
•the ability to stay more present with their children,
•less struggles with bedtime, getting out the door in the morning, and other daily transitions,
•more connection over family meals,
•less battles over chores and manners,
•and many more of those small, joyful moments that all parents wish for.

What is Simplicity Parenting 101?
Curious about what we'll cover in Simplicity Parenting 101? This course is a comprehensive introduction to Simplicity Parenting and will get you started on the path of family life simplification. Throughout, Simplicity Parenting 101 weaves together the latest understandings from the worlds of brain science, psychology, education and child development, with practical, down-to-earth tips, resources and ideas.
Here's a quick curriculum overview:
Week One: Introduction, Why Simplify and Values Clarification
Week Two: Soul Fever and The Compassionate Response
Week Three: Simplifying your Home Environment
Week Four: Creating more Family Rhythm
Week Five: Taming the Family Schedule
Week Six: Filtering Out the Adult World
Week Seven: Moving Forward with Simplicity

Simplicity Parenting is for you if...
You would like to polish up those tools in your parenting toolbox (and add a few more new ones!) You have a child who is anywhere between 0 and 18 years-old, whom you would like to connect with more
You’re pregnant and want to “begin as you wish to continue” on your parenting path
You’re a step-parent and would like to learn how to best support your step-children
You’re a grandparent, or a grandparent-to-be
You’re a teacher - preschool through high-school - and would like to bring the benefits of simplicity to your classroom
You are a special auntie/godmom/second mom and want to keep up with the latest developments in brain science and child development
You’re a counselor or therapist who works with children and would like to be able to offer parents more ideas to help with their children’s anxiety or behavior issues

How Simplicity Parenting 101 works:
Class starts on Monday, April 4th, each week, for seven weeks, you will:
Learn at your own pace: Every week, you'll receive videos with teachings, exploration and stories about the weekly topic. View on your computer, tablet, or even smartphone at your convenience.
Dive deeper: You'll receive worksheets with activities designed to help you experientially explore the weekly topic, and to guide you through the process of crafting positive, sustainable changes to your daily family life.
Get specific, hands-on answers: Each week, you'll take part in a live group coaching session where we will learn ways to apply what we are learning to the nitty-gritty moments of family life. Got questions for me? This is where we'll work together to find your answers.
Join our vibrant parent community: You'll participate in a lively class forum where you can ask questions, offer support and share ideas, articles and resources. This is the "cozy coffee shop" of the class, where we get to "hang out", get to know each other and create community. I will be having my cup of tea in the forum every day (M-F) from 9:30am-10:30am PST and will be available then to answer questions, address themes and swap stories.
And more: You'll receive links to relevant articles, blog posts and other workshops and classes I recommend, as well as book, craft and recipe recommendations!

Lisa has very generously offered a place in her Simplicity Parenting 101 class to one of you lucky readers! The online class, valued at $250, begins this Monday April 4th. Also Lisa is offering 20% off with code SIMPLE-20

For a chance to win, simply leave a comment on this post! If you would like an additional chance to win:
-post this giveaway to Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, or your blog
-“like” Handmade Parenting on facebook

and please make sure to come back and leave me another comment letting me know you did so!

Please make sure you comment via intense debate and not via blogger on your phone. If you comment using blogger it gets deleted and cancels out all of the other comments in the process. Sorry for the inconvenience. Thanks for understanding!

Comments will close on Saturday April 2nd and I will announce the winner within this post that night.


Comments closed! The winner is:

Eniko commented - Thank you for this generous chance!

Congrats!!I am emailing you now so you can register before class starts on Monday.       

Good luck everyone! I look forward to "seeing" you in class. Thank you, Lisa!

Simplicity Parenting 101 {Giveaway!}

worked up

Remember my post about my fear of teaching math? Well, I am very happy to report that I worked myself up over nothing. The four processes were so much easier to teach than I expected, once I actually got over my fear and did it, that is! C picked them up straight away. She loved meeting Porter Plus, Michael Minus, Tabby Times and Donald Division (Waldorf math teaches all four processes at the same time, I rather wish I learned that way!). I started out with very simple problems and about five problems in she asked me if I could please make them a lot harder. Here I was thinking it was going to be such a struggle and it ended up being too easy for her! Phew!! I suddenly have confidence in teaching!!

We have since rotated back to a language arts block and have given math a time to rest but continue with some math in our morning circle time. I am realizing now that a key to math for my children is doing our daily circle time which incorporates math. I can truly understand why the Waldorf schools do this. Math was always K's favorite subject in school but then when we started homeschooling it became her least favorite. She seemed to forget everything she was taught. I felt like such a failure (maybe that's why I feared teaching math to C). Skipping over those circle times played a big part in it, and I see the proof of that now. Since I started math with C and doing our daily math verses, skip counting on the balance beam, movement, etc. K has picked up her love of math again. She loves joining in and now asks for daily math work. She just wants to sit and do math all day long. Her confidence is back! I am so grateful for all that these lessons have brought our way. I think I am beginning to love math myself!

worked up

Winter to Spring

I adore this picture. K used makers to draw it for C to color. Her own coloring page. Look what came this week! No, not the cat who always finds the most uncomfortable spot to sleep but K's fourth grade curriculum! I am really excited (and yet a bit intimidated) to plan for next year. Of course we have to get through this year first. Starting later in the year and taking too many breaks has taken it's toll on us. But hey, now we know what NOT to do this autumn, right?! I was originally planning on homeschooling year round but after reading some Donna Simmons articles and researching deeper into how Waldorf education works, I realized that was not the best idea for us. My children need that time off to let everything internalize and digest. With the way Waldorf works, they should just pick right back up when we come back to it all three months later. At least that's how it works in the Waldorf schools. I shall pray that I am doing okay enough that it works out that way for us, too.

I have been feeling a bit like a mad scientist in my kitchen lately. Our water kefir (AKA Beatrix) is really taking off and starting to grow. We now have two batches going at a time. I have also been working on some home remedies to get us through this winter to spring transition that has been weakening our immune systems - elderberry syrup from Rosemary Gladstar's Herbal Recipes for Vibrant Health and some homemade congestion rub (think Vick's vapor rub). Oh, not really related but that popsicle you see Little L eating in the first couple of pictures is strawberries and cream made from this recipe. It is by far the best cream popsicle I have had since I gave up dairy nearly 20 years ago (eek, I am getting old!).

Have any of you been hit with the spring cleaning bug? I haven't been able to find time to really start yet, much to my dismay, but I did at least reorganize the children's linen closet. That is bringing a smile to my face.

p.s. - What do you do when you miss your friends so much you can hardly stand the pain any longer?
Make sock dolls of them, of course! The girls proudly showed me these dolls they secretly made at night (when they were supposedly sleeping *ahem*). They hope to share them with their friends soon. Very soon, indeed!

Winter to Spring

Wool Felted Egg tutorial for Easter or Spring {Appearance of the Root Children}

This article/tutorial originally appeared in the spring 2010 edition of Rhythm of the Home. I was told by the editors that it was one of their most popular articles. It is funny to look back at this now. I can remember when we first started our Root Children celebration. This was before we celebrated Easter as a family (and before I joined the church). I wanted a way for my child (it was only K, then) to experience an egg hunt and all the fun associated with springtime. Now my three children still receive small gifts (like seeds) to welcome spring but our focus is more on the Easter season. These eggs, of course, could be made for whatever celebration you like!

I apologize for the quality of the photographs and that some of them are different sizes. That's how they were saved in my e-mail for whatever reason.

One of my family's favorite yearly rhythms is the arrival of Spring. My children look forward to it more than any other day of the year. That is the day the Root Children visit our home in celebration of returning above ground to play. Staying true to Waldorf holiday traditions, we start preparing about a week before the actual day by getting out our copy of 'The Root Children' by Sibylle Von Olfers and reading it every night before bed. I can see my little ones' anticipation build every time we read it, as they wait excitedly for spring to come. My oldest will often update me on what the Root Children living underground in our own yard are doing. She will see a flower emerging from the ground and tell it to wait until Mother Earth opens the door before it can blossom, or she'll see a beetle outside and tell me the Root Children just finished cleaning him and let him above ground to dry off.
When spring finally comes, my little ones wake up to find a Root Child waiting for them on our kitchen table in front of a decked out festivity stand. When they see her they know spring is officially here.
The Root Children are very generous and like to announce their arrival with small gifts for my children. To make it even more fun, they hide these gifts in wool felted eggs all over our backyard for my little ones to find. Here are simple instructions for making your own wool felted eggs to celebrate spring's arrival (or Easter!). You can do this alone to surprise your little ones, or you can have them help. This is a great craft for children of all ages. My youngest loves to play with the wool in the 'bubble water.'

Supplies needed:
- natural dish detergent (we like to use Seventh Generation)
- a large bowl
- hot water
- wooden eggs OR plastic easter eggs taped shut with packing tape or duct tape
- a washboard or bubble wrap
- wool roving in colors of your choice (we try to use bright colors so they really stand out when hidden in our yard)
- scissors

Instructions:
Wrap the plastic (or wooden) egg in a thin layer of wool with it all going in the same direction. Use just enough wool to cover it. Next, wrap or lay cross-ways another thin layer of the same wool or another color. The important thing here is to criss-cross the wool so that the fibers will lock together.
Now that your egg is ready to felt, prepare your bowl by adding a few drops of dish detergent and some hot water. The hotter the better but if little ones are going to be helping, make it more on the warmer side. Swish the water and detergent around to thoroughly mix together.
Start out by holding your wool covered egg in one hand and using the other hand to scoop a little bit of water at a time and gently sprinkle over your egg, very carefully patting the water in so as not to dislodge the wool.You do not want to pour or submerge your egg into the water until it has started felting. Once the wool is wet and beginning to cling to itself, you can start to lightly rub the wool in your hands. After doing this for a couple of minutes, you will see that the wool has begun to felt. You can now rub it more vigorously in your hands, or rub it on the wash board, or even wrap it up in the bubble wrap and roll it back and forth. Do this for about 10 minutes. You will need to continuously sprinkle more hot water on it or even submerge it in the bowl. The wool needs the heat along with the friction to be able to fully felt. After those first layers have fully felted you can add more layers one at a time, and just felt each layer as you did the first. I have found that adding many layers of thin wool is easier to work with than a few thick layers, so after each layer seems tough and felted I add another thin layer going in the opposite direction of the past layer. There really is no right or wrong with how many layers to add just continue adding until you are satisfied. Just remember : the more layers you add the sturdier your egg will be. One tip I learned recently is if you don't feel that the egg has felted well enough you can put the felted egg into the toe of a pair of pantyhose and knot them right above so it can not move and run it through your washing machine on a HOT rinse cycle. Once you feel it has enough layers, rinse your felted egg in cold water to remove any of the left over detergent and then let it dry thoroughly, this usually takes a day or two. Once dry, you can add designs to your egg by needle felting them on, or leave them as they are. To remove the plastic (or wooden) egg from inside the felted egg, cut horizontally in a straight line or zigzagged (so it looks like the egg was cracked open) about halfway to 3/4 of the way up the egg . Make sure you cut only a little more than halfway around the egg. If you cut it open too much you risk it ripping from excited little hands.
You can make the openings of the eggs look neater you can use some embroidery floss and do a simple blanket stitch around the edge of the opening.
Fill the eggs with whatever simple gifts you like. When the Root Children leave these eggs for our children they usually like to fill them with seeds to plant in our garden, crystals and stones, and perhaps a little wooden or knitted animal. Now place them outside all over your yard the morning of the first day of spring and let your little ones discover the magic of the Root Children in their own yard. Enjoy!!

Wool Felted Egg tutorial for Easter or Spring {Appearance of the Root Children}

The Land of Straight Lines & Curves {Waldorf first grade form drawing}

After evaluating and reevaluating C for the past few months, I decided she is ready to officially begin first grade. She had been asking me when she would begin for quite some time, but I knew it wasn't anything to be rushed. Waldorf education follows a very age-appropriate developmental approach that engages students at each distinct age and inspires a lifelong love of learning.  I want the lessons and stories that will feed C's soul to be done at the right age/time when she is fully ready to receive them.

Last week was her first week of school. We kept it really simple and fun to help ease her into her new rhythm. We spent all of last week with her joining in on big sister's morning circle and warm up and focused on form drawing and handwork (two of my favorite lessons).

"Rudolf Steiner gave indications for the teaching of form drawing during his lecture courses at Stuttgart in 1919 (Practical Advice for Teachers). Form drawing is one element that is unique to Waldorf education. Even upon introduction to form drawing, teachers see that form drawing is a powerful tool for development in a child’s education. There are many sound reasons which support the feeling that form drawing is good for children. The simplest and perhaps most straightforward reason is that it develops the fine motor skills as a preparation, and later a support, for writing. It strengthens eye-hand coordination, giving the eye practice at being coachman for the horses, the hands. Form drawing also works in the other direction: The movement of the hand also educates the brain. Furthermore, it is part of the evolution of art and, as such, develops the aesthetic sense and a feeling for form. It also teaches thinking but in a non-intellectual way; it trains the intelligence to be flexible, able to follow and understand a complicated line of thought. The more human beings are trained to think flexibly, the greater the world is strengthened in intelligence. Finally, form drawing really supports the development of the whole being of the child, guiding him or her in a healthy way with certain types of forms brought to the child which are appropriate for his age in the various grades. Developing a feeling for form, then, develops the will forces. To develop this feeling for form, the hands must be brought to feel the form; we need to see with our hands. We need to describe the feeling of the movement. We need to work through a form until it is incorporated in us; the drawing itself is really only a trace, an echo, of our process of movement. Although we wish to achieve a “certain perfection” in the drawing of the form., it is the process which is of greater importance. If the process has been properly worked through, the product will be good."
—Ernst Schuberth

If you are interested in form drawing, there is some great information here and a wonderful short video here.

C took a journey to the land of straight lines and curves.We searched for straight lines and curves indoors and out:
We made straight lines and curves with modeling beeswax:
We went outside and drew straight lines and curves on the pavement: Then we balanced and walked on a straight line: crawled (which we decided we would be better done on the grass or indoors on carpet in the future. Ouch!): Skipped and ran (I do believe it was at this point that she sang loudly, "I LOVE homeschooling!": Then we did the same with a curved line - a spiral in fact. C's siblings couldn't sit this one out! One of the days I used my finger tip to draw lines on C's back and then had her draw what she felt on a blank piece of watercolor paper with a magic crayon. After I did it a few times she painted over her drawings to see what she made. Then finally she received her very first main lesson book and after practicing on paper she put her first form drawings into her book: As for her first week of handwork:
Before C will learn how to knit with knitting needles, I am teaching her all about wool and the many stages it goes through to become yarn. We played with different variations of wool and C made wool clouds (you might remember this post on them from when K was in first grade). Then she dyed some yarn that we will use to finger knit with, then four finger knit with and then she'll make her knitting needles and begin to knit. It's important that she goes through the process in that order. Little L was sad he didn't have yarn to dye so I cut him a piece of cotton fabric to dye however he wanted: That is where we are at. Lots more form drawing in her main lesson book this week and more wool fun, too. Next week we will begin language arts. I have quite a bit of preparing to do for that so I had better get to it! I hope you are all having a lovely week, friends.

The Land of Straight Lines & Curves {Waldorf first grade form drawing}