Teaching Handwork

5th grade socks

2012-01-07T14:51:00.000-08:00

It was really hard for my 5th grade to finish their socks by winter break. Last year only one child was behind because of illness, this year almost every child was behind and needed help to finish. very disappointing. !

So the questions is, is it their class temperament? choleric melancholic should be good workers

Year of the Dragon and snake should have no problem. I don't understand

But in the end, they all finished. Now it is time to switch with the other half of 5th grade. that group is the beginning knitters. they will make hats and recorder cases.

Waldorf 7th grade reproduction Human A & P

2011-12-03T07:16:00.000-08:00

The best book to read for teaching 7th-11th grade reproduction is

You can get this book at Bob and Nancy's book Waldorf Book store.

Linda Knodle has other books as well that are VERY good for this topic. The activities and the drawings are great for waldorf teachers

Human Fertility

June 30, 2010 by admin

For use with 10 - 12 year olds Grades 4-7

Linda E Knodle
Coming of Age Curriculum Series
Lessons in Support of the Inner and Outer Changes in Puberty and Adolescence
Softound
$29.95

We are happy to be able to offer Linda Knodle’s newest editions of her original Human Fertility curriculum. She has now created two separate curriculum guides to better support the needs of different adolescent age groups.
In this first volume, offered in support of students in grades 4-7, Linda guides teachers, parents and community leaders through a detailed curriculum offerings designed to create a warm understanding of the physical and emotional changes the students are experience. Further, Linda helps adults weave a welcoming community around these teenagers.
This is truly a heartfelt work which has already graced the lives of hundreds of adolescents and the adults who care for them.
Contents:
Part One: Preparation for the Course

Introduction
Sample Rotation for Middle School Blocks of Study
Daily Main Lesson (Sample)
Elements of the Lesson
Preparation: Before Classroom Work
Preparing Yourself
Preparing the Faculty Letter for Faculty or Adult Community
Preparing for Parents Letter for Parents
Preview Questions for Interviews
Overview
Preparing for the Students Details of the Day
Spelling List
Resources for Teachers and Parents Resources for Students

Part Two: Lesson Plans
Part Three: Supplements

the math operations

2011-11-11T07:50:00.000-08:00

Check out this great site for black board drawings. http://www.chalkboarddrawing.org/gallery-of-drawings/list/set/28/1

The Four Math Operations- characterized

Allen M. Stovall

- King Peter Plus, easygoing and fond of good food, gathers a bounty of apples from his orchard.
- Queen Mary Minus, compassionate and concerned, gives away apples to those who are in need.
- Raja Taj Times, a happy-go-lucky magician, instantly multiplies a few apples into many.
- Princess Deborah Divide, a strong but fair-minded leader, makes certain each family in her domain gets an equal share of apples.
~Allen Stovall
I wrote a short play based on these and other math characters, which my Grade One Class delightfully performed on the last day of school.
(Thanks to Eugene Schwartz for inspiration.)

Lantern walk Martinmas

2011-11-08T19:12:00.000-08:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6R2UZ1pnlHg

“Down with darkness, up with light,
Up with sunshine, down with night.
Each of us is one small light,
But together we shine bright.
Go away, darkest, blackest night,
Go away, give way to light! “

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_eROjajjUi4&feature=youtu.be

“Light in my lantern, light in my heart, light in the world, light up the dark. Oh lantern I will keep the flame so it will not die. Shine it that the world may see how my light does shine. Shine little lantern light up the light. Shine in the darkness oh wondrous light!”

“Walk along, to and fro, with my lantern here we go, up above the moon and stars, shinning down to where we are.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cXOt1JdNgIE&feature=youtu.be

Walking with my lantern into the night. Chasing the shadows away with light, within , within, my light will never dim.

This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine, this little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine, this little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine, let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.

Glimmer, lantern, glimmer
Little stars a-shimmer
Over meadow, moor and dale
Flitter, flutter, elfin veil
Pee-wit, pee-wit, tikka-tikka-tik
Rucoo, rucoo.

Glimmer, lantern, glimmer
Little stars a-shimmer
Over rock and stock and stone
Wandering, skipping, little gnome
Pee-wit, pee-wit, tikka-tikka-tik
Rucoo, rucoo.

I go outside with my lantern, my lantern goes with me
Above the stars are shining bright, down here on Earth shine we.
The cock does crow, the cat meows, la bimmel, la bammel, la boom.
‘Neath heaven’s dome till we go home, la bimmel, la bammel, la boom.

I go outside with my lantern, my lantern goes with me
Above the stars are shining bright, down here on Earth shine we.
So shine your light through the still dark night, la bimmel, la bammel, la boom
‘Neath heaven’s dome till we go home, la bimmel, la bammel, la boom.

Waldorf Gallery

2011-10-16T09:28:00.000-07:00

This is a great waldorf chalk board drawing, paintings, bees wax drawing and handwork gallery.

check it out

http://www.flickr.com/photos/the_island_ghost/5206945809/in/pool-959335@N23/lightbox/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/60581703@N03/5524804172/in/set-72157626135803031/lightbox/

this week at our school

2011-10-05T18:50:00.000-07:00

I can't get the pictures to stayed turned again!

Blog spots needs to change some formatting info

michaelmas

2011-10-03T09:10:00.000-07:00

this week at our school

2011-09-11T22:29:00.000-07:00

For some reason these won't stay turned

Lesson plan for 3rd grade crochet

2011-08-13T07:05:00.000-07:00

Many specialty teachers do not know how to make a lesson plan. Here is an example of a third grade crochet class.

Third Grade crocheting a soap bag

OBJECTIVE
Students will:

· Learn to single crochet
· Learn to make a soap bag

MATERIALS

· Handwork bag
· Crochet hook
· Cotton yarn
· Scissors
· Oatmeal soap

SET UP AND PREPARE
All handwork bags should be on chairs.

DIRECTIONS

· Say the crochet verse for the students

· Under the bridge of two
Catch the fish and bring it through
Under the yarn for another one
Through the loops, and then you’re done!

· Ask students to crochet chain of 15 stitches

· Then they go back long the first row (this row is only under the bridge of 1)

· At the end of the row they don’t turn around and go back, instead they crochet along the bottom of their work as if they were turning the corner of a race track (still crocheting under the bridge of 1)

· At the end of that row, the verse is very important for Under the Bridge of Two

· Students will continue to single crochet round and round like on a race track till their bag pulls up enough to hold a bar of oatmeal soap

· Students can either crochet it closed or leave it open to exchange soap when done.

· Crochet a chain for a loop to hang the soap bag

SUPPORTING ALL LEARNERS
Walk around room to answer any questions that the students might have.

LESSON EXTENSION

Let them take home their soap bags home .

ASSESS STUDENTS
Observe students as they work. Make a note of those students who are talking too much and not working

ASSIGNMENTS -0
EVALUATE THE LESSON

1 Did students listen to the story 2, Did they listen to instructions if not why? 3. Were they quiet and respectful? 4. Were they able to make a soap bag? 5. Did they have to come see you after the lesson for makeup work?

Lesson plans for Handwork

2011-08-13T06:50:00.000-07:00

Third Grade Spinning with Rocks

OBJECTIVE
Students will:

Spin with Roving and River Rocks

MATERIALS

· Small river rocks pre prepped for class

· Roving

· Extra rocks in case some come apart.

SET UP AND PREPARE
All handwork bags should be on chairs.

All rocks are made into drop spindles before class

Roving is separated before hand

DIRECTIONS

1. Pass out rocks
2. Talk about spinning and ply
3. Have the students spin with you
4. Show them how to change roving
5. To end, show them how to make a twisty twirl for a bracelet

SUPPORTING ALL LEARNERS
Walk around room to answer any questions that the students might have.

LESSON EXTENSION

Let them take home their spinning rocks .

ASSESS STUDENTS
Observe students as they work. Make a note of those students who are talking too much and not working

ASSIGNMENTS -0
EVALUATE THE LESSON

Did students listen to the story 2, Did they listen to instructions if not why? 3. Were they quiet and respectful? 4. Were they able to make a twisty twirl?

Dowels for knitting needles

2011-07-13T07:29:00.000-07:00

It is sad to say but by supplier for dowels is not making dowels for medical health reasons. Dowels on demand has made the best exotic dowels for me for 3 years now.

So I have been hunting for a new supplier. I found this site
http://www.americanwoodcrafterssupply.com/wooden-products/dowels.htm#Dowels

and they have cool knobs for the ends

http://www.americanwoodcrafterssupply.com/product_category.htm

good price.
I will tell you how I like the needles

Here is a chart for sizing needles

http://www.fibergypsy.com/common/needles.shtml

This year I am ordering 1/4 in needles for the 1st grade

Final part of my Handwork Training

2011-03-15T06:12:00.000-07:00

Here is a small window into my final week at the Fiber craft studio

A wonderfully full week! Thank you Three Fold learning center, Green Meadow Waldorf School,. Sunbridge and the Fiber craft Studio for such a wonderful four years of training!

we displayed a very small amount of our work for the graduation.

I was the student speaker in the graduation. Imagine that!

etsy pics for the day

2011-03-14T13:29:00.000-07:00

I was surfing etsy and came across these beautiful pics

i want to make this with my 8th grade
http://www.etsy.com/shop/katwise?ref=seller_info

http://www.etsy.com/listing/70007042/spring-gnome-bud?ref=sr_gallery_35&ga_search_query=gnome&ga_page=2&ga_search_type=handmade&ga_facet=handmade

I want to make this for the winter fair

http://www.etsy.com/listing/70022785/mini-totoro-and-soot-sprite?ref=sr_gallery_39&ga_ref=auto&ga_search_query=stuffed+animal&ga_search_type=handmade&ga_facet=handmade

I want to make this for my 5th graders....so cute!

graduating

2011-03-04T05:35:00.000-08:00

This is it! this is my last time going to Subridge......4 years of Handwork Applied Arts teacher training.

Yipppppeeeee!!!! allllllll done!

Pat pat pat,.....I'm patting my back.

See you all when I get back

waldorfhub

2011-03-01T19:43:00.001-08:00

there is a new waldorf chat forum called waldorf Hub
check it out

http://waldorfhub.com/groups

High School Biology chalk board drawing

2011-03-01T19:42:00.000-08:00

I did this drawing this week. I will try and take more pictures of my drawings as I do them.

our Waldrof school

2011-02-10T06:06:00.000-08:00

5th grade socks and 10th grade FIne Arts

2010-12-10T03:10:00.000-08:00

Our last day of 5th grade Handwork next week the kids will wear their socks, drink Hot coco and play monopoly

My 10th grade is doing great in their Fine Arts class. So happy with their progress in Acrylic art Media

updates

2010-12-05T08:10:00.000-08:00

My semester is coming to an end so I have a little time to put up an update

All the children in the 5th grade advanced knitting group finished their socks 2 weeks prior to the end of school.
All 7th graders finished their slippers 3 weeks prior to the end of school

The 6th grade tunics hogged way too much time from the handwork curriculum that I had already set in motion. not all will finish their marionettes and we will not be able to put on a show.

This sunset picture is from my Kitchen window.....beautiful! It almost looks like a tacky poster from the 80's

for the 5th grade Inida block we did Henna on everyone

8th grade making PJ bottoms

The Handwork teacher's guide ...From Steiner and Hauck

2010-11-10T19:56:00.000-08:00

Here it is...for free :)

http://www.waldorflibrary.org/Journal_Articles/Handwork.pdf

Yoga in Yardly PA

2010-10-31T07:58:00.000-07:00

Here is My Favorite place to go to Yoga Classes and get Chiropractic in Yardly PA.

http://www.khalsahealing.com/

You all should see this. Story of stuff

2010-10-31T07:53:00.001-07:00

first grade

2010-10-30T06:12:00.000-07:00

My first graders classroom. She is so happy!!!! I love it!

Check out what cool things this woman is doing

2010-10-30T05:52:00.000-07:00

Go to http://www.cookingwithmykid.com/recipes/baked-pumpkin-oatmeal/

Baked Pumpkin Oatmeal

Cantaloupe sized pumpkins, also known as sugar pumpkins, are truly great for baking. We took the most amazing combination of oats and spices and then baked them right inside the pumpkin. It’s so easy to make, it looks absolutely beautiful and tastes even better.

My kid assisted by scooping all the seeds and stringy bits out of the pumpkin and also selected which ingredients we’d include inside. You can really add anything you like to the oats – dried fruit, nuts, maple syrup. You name it. No matter what you pick, I can guarantee it’ will taste like fall.

When the oatmeal is done you can put this beautiful pumpkin right in the center of the breakfast table. Bellissimo! When doling out scoops be sure to scrape up some of that baked pumpkin goodness with the spiced oatmeal. Now for the recipe…

Baked Pumpkin Oatmeal
Prep Time: 15 mins Cooking Time: 40 mins to 1 hour
Ingredients
2 sugar pumpkins
1 tablespoon melted butter or canola oil
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup unsweetened apple sauce
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 cups old fashioned oats
1 egg
3/4 to 1 cup lowfat milk (depending on how milky you like your oatmeal)
1 granny smith apple (peeled + diced small)
extra brown sugar for sprinkling
extra milk for splashing (optional)
Preheat oven 375 degrees. Start by carefully cutting the top off your pumpkin and cleaning the insides out. (Save the seeds for later – recipe to come!)
Combine all remaining ingredients (except the sugar for sprinkling and milk for splashing) in a large bowl. Stir well and divide batter evenly between the two pumpkins. Sprinkle lightly with brown sugar. Place both pumpkins on a cookie sheet and bake for 45 mins to an hour or until pumpkin is soft enough to scoop and oatmeal is done. After it was done, we added a splash of milk. Remember: When doling out scoops be sure to scrape up some of that baked pumpkin goodness with the spiced oatmeal. Makes 4 servings.
We cooked the pumpkin with the top off for the first 20 mins and then put the top on loosely (allowing for steam to come out) for the rest of the baking time. If you choose to cook with top on, make sure that the stem soaked in some water and that it is far enough away from the heat source. You can also cook it with the top off the entire time – the oatmeal will still come out tasting great.

3rd grade

2010-10-23T23:21:00.000-07:00

santa fe waldorf school woodwork class and Handwork class

2010-10-13T05:50:00.000-07:00

Visiting a beautiful campus, really nice teachers and polite students!!!! Makes for a very nice experience!

Update on 5th grade socks

2010-10-13T05:28:00.000-07:00

At week 8 of the school year my advanced knitters in 5th grade have all done both cuffs (except two who were sick and have fallen behind) 5 have turned the heel on the week 8 and the rest should turn the next week.

2 students have finished one sock . closed the toe on week 8.

Going MIA

2010-09-19T08:31:00.000-07:00

I will be Missing in Action for the next few months. I am finishing up my BA and need to have ALLLLL other distractions taken away.

If I am doing something REALLLLLLY cool I will post it but other wise please look back through my blog to find questions you might have. I did not tag all my posts so there is LOTS if you just have time to look around.

I have posted my curriculum several times in the past and also on the side bar you can find where I order all my supplies

Blessings to all

7th grade felted slippers

2010-09-15T06:42:00.000-07:00

my girls just LOVE this song

2010-09-11T20:24:00.001-07:00

An AMAZING teacher and poet

2010-09-11T17:13:00.001-07:00

Like Lilly Like Wilson
By Taylor Mali
www.taylormali.com
I'm writing the poem that will change the world,
and it's Lilly Wilson at my office door.
Lilly Wilson, the recovering like addict,
the worst I've ever seen.
So, like, bad the whole eighth grade
started calling her Like Lilly Like Wilson Like.
Until I declared my classroom a Like-Free Zone,
and she could not speak for days.
But when she finally did, it was to say,
Mr. Mali, this is . . . so hard.
Now I have to think before I . . . say anything.
Imagine that, Lilly.
It's for your own good.
Even if you don't like . . .
it.
I'm writing the poem that will change the world,
and it's Lilly Wilson at my office door.
Lilly is writing a research paper for me
about how homosexuals shouldn't be allowed
to adopt children.
I'm writing the poem that will change the world,
and it's Like Lilly Like Wilson at my office door.
She's having trouble finding sources,
which is to say, ones that back her up.
They all argue in favor of what I thought I was against.
And it took four years of college,
three years of graduate school,
and every incidental teaching experience I have ever had
to let out only,
Well, that's a real interesting problem, Lilly.
But what do you propose to do about it?
That's what I want to know.
And the eighth-grade mind is a beautiful thing;
Like a new-born baby's face, you can often see it
change before your very eyes.
I can't believe I'm saying this, Mr. Mali,
but I think I'd like to switch sides.
And I want to tell her to do more than just believe it,
but to enjoy it!
That changing your mind is one of the best ways
of finding out whether or not you still have one.
Or even that minds are like parachutes,
that it doesn't matter what you pack
them with so long as they open
at the right time.
O God, Lilly, I want to say
you make me feel like a teacher,
and who could ask to feel more than that?
I want to say all this but manage only,
Lilly, I am like so impressed with you!
So I finally taught somebody something,
namely, how to change her mind.
And learned in the process that if I ever change the world
it's going to be one eighth grader at a time.

Knit-a - thon baby hats and donation

2010-09-11T08:21:00.000-07:00

my 8th grade did 11 days of Knitting baby hats that they donated to a women's shelter for pregnant women. Here is the picture of a pile of wrapped baby hats. and the mothers are standing on the other side of the table receiving them.

the second picture is of a board I saw in the shelter that said "what is your temperament" The mainlesson teacher and I were just floored that they had this in their living room.

Been so busy!!!

2010-09-08T21:45:00.000-07:00

Busy first few weeks of school..... yes, we in the south west start school in Aug.....yes when it is blazing hot!

Well I usually get sick the first month of school....here it is again...I have the cold and so do all the kids...sneezing on my hands while I help them and all....yuck!
wash hands .....wash.....sung in my mind to the melody sung in the Kindergarten.

My advanced Knitting group for 5th grade is AMAZING!!!! 14 children in that group, the other 13 children in that grade are in woodworking class.

I have 4 kids already done with both CUFFS!!!!!

Here is one of my daughters at pick up....just loving first grade!

I'll take more pics asap

3rd grade spinning rocks

2010-08-22T19:33:00.000-07:00

For those who wanted to know what the rocks were...they are drop spindles.

Here you can see Renata Spinning with it at the Fiber Craft Studio

School has begun! Welcome to my rooms :)

2010-08-21T09:47:00.000-07:00

3rd grade rock drop spindles. we made 25 of them

My handwork room is getting a face lift and some more room

2010-08-05T19:28:00.000-07:00

this is the make shift wall made from doors , they all came down now

last year my room was separated by a make shift wall that went into another room. Well this year I get BOTH rooms!!!!! It's going to be HEAVEN for the kids and myself.

one of my final projects

2010-08-04T21:52:00.000-07:00

This is a story telling apron I made for my final project. ...One of my final projects

Calendar of the soul...this week

2010-08-01T01:32:00.001-07:00

Calendar of the Soul

[August 01, 2010 - August 07, 2010]

Eighteenth Week

Can I expand my soul
That it unites itself
With cosmic Word received as seed?
I sense that I must find the strength
To fashion worthily my soul
As fitting raiment for the spirit.

Fountain pens

2010-07-31T23:07:00.000-07:00

It's important to have a good fountain pen. The Main Lesson books needs that extra time with good penmanship to really become a piece of artwork.

http://www.waldorfsupplies.com/cgi-sys/cgiwrap/psstone/store/agora.cgi?cart_id=6756314.2839*z16i58&product=Pencils_and_Pens

http://www.montgomerypens.com/product_detail.asp?product_id=10305

http://www.coloradopen.com/category/fountain_pens_0_to_30

My favorite Crochet hooks

2010-07-31T17:21:00.000-07:00

My very favorite crochet hooks seem to not be in stock anymore...They were about $1 and change per hook. Now they are impossible to find BUT I did find some here and paid about $40 for 15 hooks plus shipping.....total rip! But what can I do? I love these hooks and so do the kids.
http://www.herrschners.com/product.aspx?sku=010271P&qid=

If you are a fan of these you can go here to get them.

If anyone knows where to get these for less than $2.75 please let me know. Joann is out of stock.

My 1st graders placemats

2010-07-31T08:32:00.000-07:00

sew good side facing good side. Don't sew up bottom

Turn inside out. and sew up bottom.

Next sew on TOP of the mat round the edge to make it nice and flat

My applied Arts teacher training videos

2010-07-30T12:40:00.000-07:00

I need to make another one but in case you didn't see these yet....I made them for you :)

Music I like to listen to while I am cleaning the house

2010-07-30T12:07:00.001-07:00

wet felting color wheel and felting with your first grader

2010-07-27T09:42:00.000-07:00

My first grader and I woke up this morning and just really wanted to felt! So here are our creations!

we felt outside on a picnic table so that the water goes through it.use very little fleece...no clumps warm water and soap just use yoru hands to put the water on or an empty soap bottle. only gently push down to make sure the water is getting into the wool pat for 10 mins roll into a rice mat for 15 mins. rinse with water

Does anyone know how to do this?

2010-07-26T08:50:00.000-07:00

Its silk that you take some solution and bleach out the color and use a stencil ....anyone know how? What is the solution?

Handwork supplies for 8th grade

2010-07-26T08:45:00.000-07:00

http://www.fabric.com/ProductDetail.aspx?ProductID=6bb5401b-a4eb-4abb-80ba-662aa71047ce

Fabric .com has some nice material for 8th grade.

we are making apron, bags, quilted pillows and PJs this year.

Felted goodies wholesale from Nepal

2010-07-25T04:01:00.000-07:00

I just came across this site and am sure that some of you waldorf teachers will want some of these things for your school store...or some of you home school moms for your families....I found a place like this in NYC at the flea market but they were selling retail.....wholesale is so much sweeter!

The prices seem totally unreal....for those of us who have wet felted it seems criminal but I also know it makes them some good money for their families and I want to support natural fiber stores

http://www.feltandcrafts.com/handmade-felt-products-felt-shoes-slippers-c-1_7.html

7th grade art ....math block waldorf school

2010-07-24T15:40:00.000-07:00

I found a very interesting blog with a wonderful teacher who is very artistic.....my favorite type of teacher!

Check him out!
You should also check out his wife's blog...she is a handwork teacher.

http://thewaldorfway.blogspot.com/2010/02/divine-proportion.html

Wet Felted Apron Waldorf Kindergarten/ story teller

2010-07-23T11:32:00.000-07:00

I am starting to work on my final project. it is a combo of Felting, sewing and Nuno felting .
The links show some professional Nuno felting.
http://mirelap.wordpress.com/2009/02/01/sewing-with-nature-contest/
http://www.etsy.com/listing/44422690/felt-fairy-pointed-halter-top

This is a Jack and the Bean stock apron. I am going to make little people to go with it. But I also need to make a Nuno skirt....Soon working on it. I started a shirt too.

here is what I have so far.....I have this idea of a skirt for one thing and a story apron for another....let's see what happens in the end :)

Handwork training at RSC

2010-07-23T06:45:00.000-07:00

There are 2 Handwork trainings each year on opposite sides of the US
Here is a post from the West Coast training at Rudolph Steiner College

The Handwork teacher's blog name is Syrendell

http://syrendell.blogspot.com/2010/07/recreating-human-vessel-handcraftsand.html

more teacher training

2010-07-22T05:48:00.000-07:00

http://www.fibercraftstudio.org/applied_arts_program

Summer fun with your kids

2010-07-22T05:36:00.000-07:00

I really like this new blog I came across called childhood magic. There is a great activity for the summer.

Frozen OJ on the Rhine or in the rind :)

http://childhoodmagic.blogspot.com/2010/07/frozen-orange-cups.html

felted head

2010-07-22T05:26:00.000-07:00

More pics from teacher training year 4

2010-07-19T17:06:00.000-07:00

some of our teacher training this summer. year 4

2010-07-18T18:27:00.000-07:00

Here is my dream place to get fabric

2010-07-18T02:28:00.000-07:00

http://www.spoonflower.com/tags/owl

look at some of these cool colors

Another beautiful star lantern pattern

2010-07-16T12:40:00.001-07:00

http://childhoodmagic.blogspot.com/2010/07/dodecahedron-star-lantern-tutorial.html

The song we will sing at our teacher training graduation in Feb.

2010-07-16T12:22:00.001-07:00

I'm back! First off....Shoes in NYC

2010-07-16T11:56:00.000-07:00

A friend in my teacher training (Julia from Ithaca Waldorf blog) and I had a great time the weekend between our handwork training weeks and we went to the city and took pictures of people walking by ....The trick was to not let them know. It was a study of feet! We walked 70 blocks the first day!

socks!!! she is holding her shoes Police horse Police shoes are so boring! Felted slipper from Nepal and India My daughter started taking pictures when we went to NYC.

Star lantern tutorial ....found it!

2010-06-17T01:50:00.000-07:00

http://childhoodmagic.blogspot.com/2010/04/star-lantern-tutorial.html#comment-form

sweet!

Last summer for me at Three Fold / Fiber Art Studio/ Sunbridge

2010-06-17T01:15:00.000-07:00

I fee like when we started we were the 12 dancing princesses. Now there are much less of us finishing up the training but it is still very magical and their energy is still with us.

I am packing to get ready to leave for the East Coast.....looking forward to my last summer in NY.

I hope to have a VERY full training...you know how Choleric I am and how I just CAN'T sit still for too long....time is money baby!

calendar of the soul...this week

2010-06-13T07:19:00.001-07:00

Calendar of the Soul

[June 13, 2010 - June 19, 2010]

Eleventh Week

In this the sun's high hour it rests
With you to understand these words of wisdom:
Surrender to the beauty of the world,
Be stirred with new-enlivened feeling;
The human I can lose itself
And find itself within the cosmic I.

painting rooms. Lazure and Veil

2010-06-12T12:37:00.000-07:00

use chalk to draw your people or animals etc. this way you can rub it off and not harm done, if you paint with out an outline you could mess up and a veil doesn't go away.

This picture is inspired by a Dutch artist and her work of the Fisherman and his wife. I need to look up her name and show you the picture. Her's is much better but I enjoy learning from her work.

I have been asked "have the meditations given by steiner...

2010-06-11T06:04:00.000-07:00

Have the meditations given by Steiner become a guiding star for my inner life?

Well....maybe...I don't say them everyday and I don't feel we study them very well in our training.

But I do like this one. We are actually in week 10 or something but I do like this verse.

Fourth Week
(April 28-May 4)

I sense a kindred nature to my own:
Thus speaks perceptive feeling
As in the sun-illuminated world
It merges with the floods of light;
To thinking's clarity
My feeling would give warmth
And firmly bind as one
The human being and the world.

Practical advice

2010-06-10T06:43:00.000-07:00

Published on Wednesday, June 2, 2010 by YES! Magazine

Six Things to Do About the BP Gulf Disaster

by Sarah van Gelder

Instead of sitting helplessly on the sidelines, here are six things every American can do.
BP has failed repeatedly to stop the gushing oil disaster in the Gulf. It's trying again—using a technique that risks making matters worse—and saying that there may be no repair until August, when it finishes drilling relief wells.
The media, meanwhile, is treating much of the news from the Gulf like it's a contest between the "Drill Baby Drill" crowd and the Obama administration. It's not. It's a national disaster.
While those of us outside the world of deep-sea engineering have limited knowledge, there are some things we can and should demand:

The federal government needs to take charge and put BP under temporary receivership as recommended by former Labor Secretary Robert Reich. BP was dishonest about the quantities of oil flowing into the Gulf, and their initial repair efforts have failed. The federal government is accountable to the American people, and it needs to decide what to do to protect our nation's water, wildlife, and shorelines of the Gulf (and wherever else the oil travels). As Reich argues, receivership would allow the government to act with full authority and accountability, and to call on all the expertise available (not just BP's) to help make the difficult calls.
The cleaning and protection of coastlines needs to be ramped up. Whether that means hiring more local fishers, bringing in National Guard troops, or deploying citizen brigades on the beaches, the response needs to be aggressive and sustained. Even if the oil stopped flowing today, the contamination would continue washing up in sensitive coastal regions for months or longer. All workers should have training, equipment, and protective gear to keep them from being sickened by the oil and the toxic dispersants.
There should be generous pay for the armies of bird-rescuers and beach cleaners, and those out protecting shorelines with boats and booms. Families who are the immediate victims of the disaster should get first crack at the jobs, and their wages will help sustain the region through this economic storm. Charge BP (and any other companies responsible for the disaster) the full costs for as long as it takes to get this region clean, whether it's months or years.
Use the least toxic chemical dispersants and insist on full disclosure of the makeup of all the dispersants being dumped into the Gulf. The U.S. EPA should determine which dispersants, if any, are used based on the long-term health of the Gulf and its shorelines and estuaries, not based on which companies haveties with BP or which chemicals will be most likely to hide the effects and protect BP from embarrassing images of oil slicks. Use emergency powers, if necessary, to get a full disclosure of the makeup of the dispersants from BP or whoever is refusing to release it. Without this information, there's no way to keep the emergency responders safe, to properly treat stricken birds and sea life, and to assess the long-term damage.
Boycott BP, but also other oil companies. They are all spilling oil (see what Shell is doing in Nigeria, for example), and causing direct environmental damage. But using oil, no matter what company pumps it, is putting our entire planet at risk through disruption of the climate. Melting ice caps, changing rainfall patterns, mega-storms and failing crops are already happening, but that is only the beginning if we start hitting climate tipping points. We must kick our fossil fuel addiction. This is our part of the solution.
Begin a massive conversion to energy efficiency and renewable energy. There is a lot of blame to go around for this disaster, from the practice of putting cronies in charge of regulation to the corporate culture of putting profits above all else. But this disaster is above all happening because the oil that is easy to get to is already taken. Now oil companies are trying to get the oil that's hard to reach, from deep under the oceans, from hostile regions of the world, and from dirty and destructive sources like tar sands. We've entered a time that analyst and author Michael Klare calls "The Age of Tough Oil," and the costs—human, environmental, economic, and strategic—are rising with each new barrel. Making our economy more energy efficient and building a renewable energy infrastructure offer immediate benefits in terms of jobs and economic stimulus and will sustain generations to come.

Sarah van Gelder wrote this article for YES! Magazine, a national, nonprofit media organization that fuses powerful ideas with practical actions. Sarah is executive editor for YES! Magazine.

book binding

2010-06-10T06:33:00.000-07:00

I just taught the faculty how to do book binding so that we don't HAVE to buy the pre made books from paper scissor stones or Mercurius....if we don't want to....

The pictures below are books my girls and I made yesterday.....we are just having so much fun with it.
we ran out of glue...so some are undone....its addicting actually.

It is SUPER simple

get cardboard
glue (spray glue is best)
fabric or water color painting.

Take your paper and fold to the desired size. Sew up the center of the fold with simple needle and thread.
have the cardboard almost match the paper. cover the cardboard with material and leave about 1 in allowance on all sides so that you can fold and glue onto the cardboard.

now take the first page of the folded paper and glue that to the cardboard and the last page and glue that to the other side.
All done!

Gnome party, stone soup, 1st grade flutes and 4th grade

2010-06-02T08:24:00.000-07:00

Last week of school.....lots of parties and plays and water play days

Gnomes in a basket last few 1st grade flute cases. 26 kids in that class

3rd grade crochet stone soup puppets

High School Art Festival at Orange county waldorf school

2010-05-16T09:56:00.000-07:00

Our 9th grade had a blast!

this is a botany scroll. I love that!I did this blue veiling with my 7th grade. Its a great intro to veiling. THis teacher did it with 10th grade.

here are some pics

Next veil painting

2010-05-10T08:38:00.000-07:00

step one. get your base wash

step two add more layers....slowly ..

change directions often so that you don't get stuck with a pre formed picture in mind.

I'd like to show a video but I don't see the video upload on my blog panel

3rd grade puppet heads

2010-05-10T08:34:00.000-07:00

Here is surgical stocking from Ebay plant dyed in Madder and cutch

Puppet heads for 3rd grade crochet hand puppets

A veil planting I am working on

2010-05-02T09:41:00.000-07:00

week one week two

plant dyeing silks for the kindergarten rainbow bridge

2010-05-02T09:37:00.000-07:00

Plant dyeing silks has to be one of the most enjoyable arts I know of.

Here is my weekend experiments.

Red onion skin for green
tumeric for yellow
cochineal for orange and tumeric
indigo for blue
indigo and cochineal for purple

waldorf mayday

2010-04-30T18:05:00.000-07:00

Good morning, Lords and Ladies, it is the first of May, we hope you’ll like our singing, it is so sweet we say. The cuckoo sings in April, the cuckoo sings in May, the cuckoo sings in June, in July she flies away. The cuckoo drinks cold water to make her song so clear, and then she sings “cuckoo, cuckoo,” for three months of the year.

“Here’s a branch of snowy may/ A branch the fairies gave to me/ Who would like to dance today/ With the branch the fairies gave me?/ Dance away, dance away/ Holding high the branch of may/ Dance away, dance away? Holding high the branch of May.”

7th grade slippers again

2010-04-29T16:43:00.000-07:00

this child is making a shark out of this slippers

9th grade basket weaving

2010-04-28T05:31:00.000-07:00

9th grade
I am very pleased with the basket weaving block.
this is our 3rd class and our 3rd basket
Basically they are making one basket per class
next class with will plant dye some reeds for a larger basket that should take them 2 classes....they are just so fast!!!!!

Limo, dinner and the Opera

2010-04-25T08:24:00.000-07:00

I organized a Limo ride to a fancy fine dinning restaurant and then to the opera for my 8th and 9th grade.

I was the only chaperon in the limo and I have to say it was "interesting". we met up with another 9th grader teacher at the restaurant and at the opera we met up with about 10 other faculty members, parents and the 6th and 7th grade.

Anyway, so here is a picture of the type of limo we used. I can't show you the pics with the kids in the limo.

It's one of those memory making things...would I do it again....not likely

Why Handwork In a waldorf school is important

2010-04-25T08:03:00.001-07:00

History, Humanity, and Handwork

By Carmine Iannaccone

Our age may be a major turning point in history. Advances in microelectronics, information processing, and communications are bringing a new era, not just in technology but in all the areas of life: art and culture, human relations and education, economics and lifestyle, perception and cosmology. The personal computer has radically changed how we think about and use information, how we act, and how we interact. But even relatively simple products such as the telephone answering machine, the VCR, and the microwave oven have altered our sense of time, our expectations, and our daily lives. More sophisticated products such as cellular phones, compact disks, portable video cameras, and digital photography are having and will continue to have a yet more profound impact on what it means to be human.

This revolution is for many a cause for concern. There are obvious benefits, but such profound changes will also have unforeseeable consequences. As we try to understand this "electronic age," the example of an earlier generation that confronted issues of a similar type and magnitude may prove a guide. About a century ago, a host of inventions including the typewriter, the automobile, the electric light, and the phonograph were ushering in the "mechanical age." A number of thinkers-among them, Rudolf Steiner (1861-1925), the founder of Waldorf Education; John Ruskin (1819-1900); and William Morris (1834-1896)-were concerned about the short-term and long-term effects of this revolution in tools and production techniques.

Machines are able to replicate a product with great precision but work best with designs based on the straight line, the right angle, and on rigid symmetry. Straight lines and right angles give precision to a product, but they take away a dynamic and living quality. For Steiner and for others, confronted by the fixed and hard-edged quality of things made by machine, "organic" forms took on new significance and value. In nature, virtually all forms are characterized by a sensuous curvilinearity and an absence of right angles. Steiner's aesthetic, his preference for organic and metamorphosing forms, is evident in his designs for the first Goetheanum and for the second.

Rudolf Steiner's active involvement in the debate about the effect of machines and machine production on human life and his aesthetic based on natural and organic forms greatly influenced Waldorf Education. Wherever possible, Waldorf school architecture and interior design are based on natural, non-rectilinear forms. This is not only out of aesthetic concern. Steiner said that the buildings in which we live, learn, and work have a profound effect on our moral life. Also, arts and handcrafts have an important, even central, role in the Waldorf school curriculum.

According to Steiner's aesthetic, each artistic creation should capture the vitality, fluid beauty, and uniqueness that living organisms manifest. While machine-made goods are uniform, handmade things are beautiful by virtue of their irregularity. A hand-carved wooden bowl or spoon, a hand-knitted scarf or hat, a wall that has been lazured (i.e., painted with many layers of thin watercolor washes), a piece of hand-dyed cloth-each of which can be found in a typical Waldorf classroom-express this sensibility. Natural materials such as wood rather than synthetic materials such as plastic also support this aesthetic. For this reason, in a Waldorf school the children's desks and chairs are usually made of unpainted wood so that the natural beauty of the grain can show. In their crafts and handwork, the children-beginning in the kindergarten-use natural materials such as beeswax, clay, and unspun wool-and experience with their hands the living beauty of the natural world.

The importance of handwork in the Waldorf curriculum is related to the dichotomy of the machine-made and the handmade product. The very imperfection of handmade goods is a mark of dignity and bears witness to the limitations that make the artisan-and all of us, by extension-human. When the first grader finger-crochets a circular mat, or when the sixth grader learns to cut a pattern and sew together a stuffed animal, mistakes inevitably arise and corrections and revisions are made. These provide lessons in humility-in the original sense of the word-derived as it is from humus, Latin for "earth." The child's experience of fallibility is an experience of her relationship to the rest of nature. It is this relationship, this connection that Steiner and other thinkers of his day realized the machine would alter.

Also, the children experience in handwork class the absolute uniqueness of each human being. Given the same materials and the same instruction and employing the same methods, a class of fifteen children will create fifteen unique pieces of work.

Because of the special value of crafts, many writers of Steiner's time held that the crafts should be as highly regarded as the arts. In Waldorf schools this is indeed the case. Waldorf eleventh graders learn bookbinding. The beautiful books they make of fine papers sewn together and bound within cloth covers are as much acknowledged as the drawings, poetry, and prose with which the book comes to be filled.

For progressive thinkers of Steiner's era, aesthetic values were not present only in the "fine arts" but also in all phenomena in nature and in human activities and creations. The Waldorf curriculum puts this idea to work by acknowledging that the sense of harmony, proportionality, and right relationship that one associates with the arts should be evident also in disciplines like biology, history, and mathematics. For each subject, Waldorf students make a main lesson book that contains both facts and artwork. The students bring together thinking and making, information with that which preserves the information, knowledge of facts with caring about how those facts are embodied. Behind this is a vision of the arts as pragmatic-rather than frivolous-in that they assist in the evolution of civilization, and virtuous in that they assist in the moral development of the individual.

Many thinkers of the late nineteenth century feared that the machine would sever this connection between meaning and matter. Simple tools designed for the human hand make this connection between the world of thought and value and the world of matter more visible. Such tools allow human beings to create products possessing a unique kind of "honesty."

The fountain pen is an excellent example of such a tool. Waldorf students learn handwriting using a fountain pen, rather than a ballpoint, precisely because the fountain pen emphasizes this connection between thought and matter. Because its point can easily catch on the paper, the fountain pen teaches attentiveness and sensitivity. Because the ink will pool if one presses too hard, or not register if one glides too lightly, it teaches balance and appropriateness. Because the pen needs to be maintained, it teaches the value of care. As with all work done by hand, writing with a fountain pen forces one to experience the "denseness" of physical reality-which is exactly what higher technologies try to mask or overcome. The student must work conscientiously and consciously in order to manifest her will in the often obdurate material world.

Using a tool such as a fountain pen when a much less problematic tool like a ballpoint pen is available brings up the issue of anachronism. Waldorf schools are sometimes criticized for keeping children uninformed about the realities and necessities of modern life-the personal computer, for example. (In fact, Waldorf schools do teach students to use a computer, but at the time when the children are ready for such activity-in the high school years.) Reformers at the turn of the century were also criticized for advocating "old-fashioned" ways of doing things. What is at issue here, though, is not one's attitude toward the past, but one's attitude toward the present and what the present brings. Should one automatically embrace all things new, simply because they are new and seem to make things easier and faster? Or should one consciously examine implications and consider options? The nineteenth-century reformers did not reject the new technologies and tools. But they wanted diversity. They wanted to retain the possibility of choice and the critical attitude that choice cultivates. They recognized that new technologies engender new attitudes, patterns of behavior, and values that may in time negate the benefits of greater efficiency. They felt that all the implications, short-term and long-term, should be considered carefully.

Steiner and other thinkers of his generation feared that the mass production of machine-made goods would lead to depersonalization, apathy, consumerism, and other social ills. They were not wrong. Our media-dominated and electronics-oriented culture is a step further along on the same path of technological progress, and we suffer from these same ills. This makes the experience that Waldorf Education offers to its students more than still relevant; it makes it still necessary.

Carmine Iannaccone is an adjunct professor in the School of Fine Arts at the University of Southern California. He also teaches painting and drawing at the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts. He has been a parent at both the Pasadena Waldorf School and the Highland Hall Waldorf School.

This article appeared in the Fall/Winter 2001 issue of Renewal

9th grade waldorf basket weaving, main lesson book making etc

2010-04-22T19:07:00.000-07:00

This is the first day of basket weaving. Learning the vocabulary of the material and how to use wet reeds.

this is main lesson book making with the 9th grade. really easy an fun 7th grade felted slippers making slippers with 7th grade.

birthday in the kindergarten

2010-04-17T13:32:00.000-07:00

room with a view

2010-04-12T19:38:00.000-07:00

feeling melancholic ......

waldorf 7th grade Human A & P

2010-04-12T16:56:00.000-07:00

I taught 2 days of Human reproduction to the 7th grade.
Here are my board drawings

8th grade knit-a-thon

2010-04-12T16:53:00.000-07:00

8th grade blanket.....I like doing the baby hats better....to be honest

waldorf veil painting

2010-04-10T02:18:00.000-07:00

Waldorf veil painting is one of the most beautiful techniques/ media that has been brought to the Waldorf world. I am about to start my second of 3 days in vale painting with Ted Mahle

http://www.outofthecolor.com/gallery.htmlhttp://www.outofthecolor.com/gallery.html
http://www.flickr.com/photos/28165814@N08/2618945449/in/photostream/

felting exhibit in NY

2010-04-07T17:57:00.001-07:00

this exhibit was out last year and I missed it but here you can look at some of the stuff

part time pay for handwork teachers!!!! NO WAY!

2010-04-05T17:20:00.000-07:00

http://www.waldorfteachers.com/job/1868/handwork-teacher-at-taos-country-day-school/

http://www.waldorfteachers.com/job/1756/part-time-handwork-teachers-needed-at-pasadena-waldorf-school/

Shame on all those schools who are paying part time salaries to Handwork teachers who teach 1-8th grade
when class teachers work the same hours and get full time pay
SHAME ON THEM!!!!!

Teachers don't stand for it!

IT'S A BUNCH OF BS!!! especially for those teacher who paid $12,000 plus room and board and airfare for their teacher training!

Don't do it! tell them its BS!

Handwork teachers need full time pay. we work our asses off!!!!!

Hellllllll yah! I love teachers like this!

2010-03-29T16:31:00.001-07:00

spring play by faculty. King winter and madam spring

2010-03-24T16:38:00.000-07:00

4 teachers did this play for the whole school on monday...just after returning from spring break.
Kindergarten through high school
There was a narrator and the teachers just acted it out.
It was great

Have you heard these sounds children? Bells…..
They are sounds made by the winter folk……
During the warm season, King Winter lives far up among the white, fleecy clouds of the north in a winter palace. But during the cold season King Winter walks Earthland, pulling down the painted leaves from the trees, trampling upon the fields and gardens while snipping the heads off goldenrod and aster, and putting the trees to sleep.
King Winter compels the snow fairies to fill full bags of snowflakes from the mountains to drop where he commands. He scatters the leaves across the land, flattens down the flowers, and sends the birds flying south while the Earth-children sleep peacefully far beneath beds of leaves and blankets of winter frost.
Along with the long cold nights, King Winter beckons forth his son West Wind to travel through the village and cover every bough and child’s window with ice lace.
As the winter darkness begins to grow shorter, the little Earth-children stir fitfully in their beds. King Winter gathers lacey leaves and dainty ice crystal blossoms to make thicker the blankets atop them.
Day after day after day King Winter walks the land until King Summer’s son East Wind blows into Earthland to tell King Winter that Lady Spring has slept long enough and the people of the earth need to have plants from the soil again so that they can survive.
King Winter’s feet have grown tired and he looks forward to going back to his winter palace in the northernmost clouds. Every step he now takes is an effort; he leans heavily on his stick as he walks to Lady Spring’s cave. As he nears the cave he sees that the flowers around the cave are already in bloom. King Winter’s time in Earthland is growing very short.
“Wake, Lady Spring, wake!” King winter calls from afar, hesitant to get too close to the warm mouth of the cave.
King winter bends down and pets the flowers. “Wake Lady Spring, my time is short and your own time has arrived; my feet are sore and my bones are tired - Wake Madam, WAKE!”
From inside the cave a stirring can be seen….could it be she is waking?
King Winter tries again and this time he comes right up to the mouth of the cave and says,
“Madam Spring your Earth-children are waking, they need you now! I have kept them warm under a blanket of snow and frost but now they grow restless and you must wake them.”
Lady spring heard the urgent words of King Winter and begins to stretch and yawn.
“I wake King Winter, I wake” She pokes out her foot and feels the still cold air and pulls her foot back in:
“Is Father sun up? The air is very cold!” says Lady Spring.
“Madam that is your work; come out and warm Earthland once more, come, awaken the seedlings, and the trees, and the sleeping little Earth-children. Now is your time, I grow more …and…more…….” and as King winter says this he leans on his staff and starts to sleep.
Lady Spring pokes her head out of the cave to see what has happened to her dear King Winter.
(she walks up to king winter)
“King of cold and frost, the earth has slept long enough, we thank you for our slumber”
(she puts a flower behind his ear)
“West Wind, come take your King and Father back to his winter palace and let him sleep there until earth needs him again.”
And with that a great wind started to blow and King Winter was gently picked up and carried back to his home.
Lady Spring had much to do; she bent down and began to pull back the covers of winter, and waking the seeds and creatures from their deep slumber.

Madam spring gives a bunch of flowers to each teacher:
For the wee Folk (kindergarten)
For the Gnomes (1st grade)
For the Saints (2nd grade)
For the Farmers (etc)
For the Animals
For the Olympians
For the Knights
For the Artists
For the Revolutionists
For the Pioneers

hoop it!

2010-03-21T13:45:00.000-07:00

u tube puppet show

2010-03-20T14:18:00.000-07:00

my hands are red from Kool Aid dying our silks before the puppet show.

Puppet show is starting

2010-03-20T14:12:00.000-07:00

This is not my best puppet show by far! but it was something I put together pretty quick for my daughter. I wrote the play and made the puppets in one day. we practiced only 2 times for there is some hiccups. But here is the play. You are welcome to use it....you know how I love to share.

There was once a young flower child, born from the folds of a spring tulip, she was raised by the woodland fairy folk. They named her Tulipa and cared for her as if she was a fairy herself.

Tulipa was kind to all the many creatures of the forest and enjoyed helping them when in need. She would help the busy honey bees who lived in the old apple tree by going out and gathering flowers so that they could drink the flower nectar. She would help the sheep find the sweetest grass to eat and her dearest friends were the bunnies who always were getting into mischief.

On Tulipa’s 6th birthday, her only wish was to ask for a pair of Fairy wings from the Beautiful Fairy Queen.

Tulipa sat next to her animal friends and complained “Today is my 6th birthday and all I want is to fly above the trees, but until the Fairy queen grants my wish, all I can do is walk, hop, and jump in the forest.”

As the morning light filled the forest, Tulipa went to a new born flower and sat down on the top of the flower to wait for the Fairy Queen…… for everyone knows that the only way to meet the Fairy Queen is atop a flower as its petals are touched by the sun’s rays for the very first time.

“Dear child” Said the Fairy Queen, “Good Morning, are you waiting for me?”

Tulipa jumped to her feet and very gracefully curtsied.

“Yes Fairy Queen I have been waiting to ask you for a Birthday wish”

“Ah, yes, and what would you like to wish for on this Sixth Birthday of yours, child?”

“All I have every wanted is to be granted a pair Fairy Wings.” Said Tulipa.

The Fairy Queen looked sad, “I would give you fairy wings if I could, but a Goblin sits at the base of the Fairy Wing tree and I cannot make him leave until winter when he falls asleep till spring. Now that spring has arrived the Goblin has woken up again.” “But, you have many animal friends in the forest to help you trick the Goblin. Bring your bunny friends with you and with their help you will have your wings.

Tulipa thanked the fairy queen and set out to gather her bunny friends. Once she had found the 3 cleverest bunnies in the meadow they began their journey into the forest to find the Fairy winged tree.

As they neared the end of the path. Tulipa saw the most beautiful tree she had ever seen and all around it hung 100’s of fairy wings flapping to and fro. But under the tree was the most horrible looking goblin she had ever seen.

The first bunny said, “I will put sweet honey suckle under his nose so that he will not smell you Tulipa”
The second bunny said, “and I will thump the ground with my foot so that he will not hear you coming Tulipa”
The third bunny said, “And I will run to and fro in front of him so that he will not see you coming but instead he will watch me.”

So the 3 bunnies did as they said the first brought the Goblin sweet honey suckles to smell,……… the second thumped the ground very loudly …………..and the third ran to and fro.

Tulipa softly walked up the tree, trying her best not to be seen by the Goblin. She plucked a small pair of wings from the tree. But as she did this, the tree began to jingle.

The goblin looked up and saw Tulipa.
“Who are you? And why have you come to take my fairy wings? They are mine, mine mine. I will have to catch you and eat you” but at that moment the three bunnies grabbed Tulipa and carried her as fast as their little bunny feet would carry them. And as we all know bunnies are very fast indeed.

The Goblin tried to catch them but he was far too slow and is easily confused by direction.

Tulipa was carried back to their meadow and there she smiled a big smile she kissed the noses of each bunny, she put her wings on her back and with one big jump she leapt into the air and flew above the trees.

The bunnies sat together congratulating each other on such a fine job and watched Tulipa as they planned their next adventure.

-Narsingh Khalsa

Tea party birthday

2010-03-18T15:48:00.000-07:00

Basket with Chocolate bunny and felted egg and carrot

12 little girls came over for a tea party
we drank chamomile tea and ate tea party treats
After that we wet felted carrots and eggs for an Easter basket where a large chocolate bunny was sitting waiting.
Then we used Kool aid and dyed play silks.
We also played pin the tail on the bunny and musical chairs.
TO end we had a puppet show.

Wonderful 6th birthday party for my younger daughter.

8th grade human drawings and felt I am working on

2010-03-15T09:58:00.000-07:00

this is a felted piece I did for our silent auction. 8th grade crayon drawing. no outlines just using the side of the block crayon

Kimberton

2010-03-09T07:57:00.000-08:00

THis is one of the most beautiful handwork rooms I have ever been in and everything has its place. Often Handwork rooms are full of supplies lacking their proper place...but everything is just beautiful in this room. It has the feeling of calm, organization and learning. This is a blissful space and the Teacher for the lower grades at Kimberton is one of the Teacher trainers in the Applied arts program for the 6th cycle....they switch teachers back and forth. So I don't get to be with her but I learned SOOOO much just by spending an hour with her. If you can apply for the Handwork training, I think you will really enjoy working with this talented teacher. The woodworking program is the other program that I observed and I was TOTALLY blown away with the majesty of this program. It is by far the best woodwork program I have come across!

Movie magic....Applied arts program

2010-03-01T08:56:00.000-08:00

My process with clay....Applied Arts Teacher training

2010-03-01T07:17:00.000-08:00

I love clay and I just adore the topic of Educating the Will. If you get a chance read this book
http://www.awsna.org/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=309

Here is another book you MUST get!

Handwork Training in Spring Valley NY

2010-03-01T06:56:00.000-08:00

So now my 3rd year is complete and we are gearing up for our final year.

Here on the East Coast

2010-02-20T09:04:00.000-08:00

Here on the East Coast life is a little different...a little faster and a little more cultured.

We went to Kimberton Waldorf school yesterday and I was blown away by the majesty of the campus and faculty. I was able to sit in on 3 different classes. The 5th grade handwork class, the 11th grade handwork class and the 12th grade woodwork class.

All 3 teachers seemed very well versed in their art and in the teachings of Steiner.

I think the best thing for Handwork teachers to do is to GO AND OBSERVE other teachers in other schools.!!!!! talk and talk and talk about your art until you really understand it.

Talk and read and talk and share and talk and send pictures to friends and don't live in a place of fear that what you are doing is incorrect. You are with the students to teach and Waldorf curriculum is so free you can bring just about anything and as long as it is put in the right frame work and tied into other parts of the curriculum....you are sure to have a positive out come.....

Find the truth of who you are as a Handwork teacher. Don't teach what your mentor tells you to do because THEY thinks its best....do what YOU feel is best and what YOU LOVE TO DO!!!! ART, FIBER ART, Metal ART, WOODWORK or HARD HANDWORK etc!

I would love to share pictures of Kimberton but I will have to wait till I get home...there is also this feeling of privacy for the school and I am not sure if they want me to share these pictures...I'll ask and see...I think you all will want a Handwork and woodwork room like these when you see them.....I am so jealous!

Off to my Handwork Applied Arts Training again

2010-02-16T13:03:00.000-08:00

Off to my Handwork Applied Arts Training again (ending my 3rd year)

Send me happy flying thoughts....you know how I loath flying!

If I could talk to Zeus, I think I would be okay....or some other Archetype who had air traffic control.

We are just puppies in this strange existence....totally unaware of the higher forces....!

6th grade animal adoption

2010-02-13T18:55:00.000-08:00

this semester the 6th grade will be adopting a baby elephant from this program
http://www.sheldrickwildlifetrust.org/index.asp

we are also making felted elephants to go along with this project

THis is a very powerful project and all the children know about it now.
I have been doing this adopting project for the past 3 years and all the kids really love it.

here is a felted nature table person and some elephants this last picture is of the 3rd grade pencil case

I LOVE IT!!!!!!

2010-02-10T08:46:00.001-08:00