Welcome Spring...

Gosh, it's been something like 6 weeks since I've managed to blog. I've put it down to two reasons: firstly, all our photos since my daughter's birthday have been taken on her "new" camera, and I haven't had the time to work out how to download them yet; and secondly my physical body has been calling out to me to receive some tender loving care...and so I've been forced to listen...

Just received these lovely photo's tonight. My daughter's Class 3 started on their "Building Project" today - what a lovely way to welcome in the Spring sunshine. I can't wait until it's my turn to have a day off from my shop work in a couple of weeks, and enjoy time building with the children.

The Class 3's have chosen to build a Lizard seat near the Permaculture Garden...T came home exhausted but so happy today...

Stage 1...stay tuned...

The Story Tree at Honeybee

You may wonder where we've been over the last few weeks....well I've been off adventuring in the *interesting* virtual world of "Twitter". Now if you've dipped your toe into this strange new world you will know that not only does it make no sense at all when you first enter it, but that once you do get your bearings, it is totally addictive. Consequently, as I certainly do not wish to spend too much of my life in virtual reality, I am going to have to allocate myself just a certain small time each day there. For parents interested in Steiner/Waldorf education, you will find that I have started a "twibe" (which in Twitter world is a group of like-minded people that connect up from around the world) - feel free to join if you are interested: http://www.twibes.com/group/Steiner

I also discovered that there would be great value in sharing with my blog with my twitter friends, but not wanting to expose my children to that wide, strange world (I have 1,200 followers and growing) I decided to start a new blog that would be far less personal, and more devoted to providing parents with information on creative and imaginative play, reviews of our very favourite games, books and music, and articles on green and conscious parenting.

This does not mean that Making Honey is going anywhere, far from it. I am really loving keeping an online journal about the life of my family - as I have never found time over the last few years to organise our photo albums, and I am enjoying writing again. If anything it means I can keep family and business a bit more separate, and that feels good. Of course I will still chat about books we are reading, games we are playing and things we are making.

So, if you are interested in making a little visit over to my new blog feel welcome - it's called The Story Tree at Honeybee (you'll find out why over there)....

Gabrielle Talks 2009

For those in Melbourne interested in Rudolf Steiner's philosophy from a parenting perspective, the Gabrielle talks are on again this year.

"Every birth is a gift to us of an innocent, beautiful soul.
How can one embrace the young child of today? What effect does the rushing in our lives, the noise in our environment, the pressure of achievement and the impact of the media have upon our children?
All children need peace in which to grow and love to help them flourish. Imagination is food for their little souls; and a safe environment, free from the pressures of modern life will help to sustain them for their whole lives.
Their physical bodies and sense perceptions need a nourishment that does not over stimulate their nerves, and they need good rest, time in which to experience the world and wonder at it.
The Gabriel Talks will address these issues and develop them further, providing a basis upon which to develop an understanding of the growing child in the 21st century."

For a calendar of events and more information you can contact the Gabrielle Centre here.

For new mother's who are interested in understanding their baby and child from the perspective of the threefold human being: body, soul and spirit, I also highly recommend this book: The Incarnating Child. Written by the late Joan Salter, the founder of the Gabrielle Centre and well known for her work in maternal and child health care, this is a rich and nourishing book for anyone intersted in seeking the deeper meaning behind birth and child development, while being highly practical. I discovered this book 11 years ago when I was pregnant with my daughter and have drawn on it ever since in my work with children.

Indian feast

Unfortunately you can't blog smells, or I could have shared with you the wonderful aroma of the Lamb Biryani the girls and I cooked for the Class 5 Indian dinner on Thursday. This is a lovely mild Indian dish layered with rice and baked in the oven. The lamb is marinated with limes, saffron (yes we were indulgent), cardamon, cloves, garam marsala, mint and garlic. It is delicious. (Re Recipe: I find you always need to add more liquid than the recipe suggests, I added double the amount of yogurt and didn't use the mace.)

We had a lovely night, mingling in the vibrant sea of silk sari's and bobbing heads of turbans, and getting to know some of the other parents.

We ended the night on a high with a traditional performance from a lovely, graceful and very supple Indian dancer - so beautiful.

The girls looked gorgeous in their sari's, and Erin was really pleased with the way her henna turned out.

Behind the green door...

Remember that lovely green door a few posts ago? Well, this is what I see when I step through it each day with my eldest. Her class is studying the ancient people's this year, starting with India. Each morning we are greeted by the heady scent of incense and fresh flowers. Little bits of paper are also turning up all over the house - an experiment with Mandala's. AND in a couple of weeks we are having an Indian feast at the school - better dig my dahl recipe out. Anyone out there got a good curry recipe? Apparently we all have to wear Indian attire - so could mean a trip to Savers! The mandala maker, however, has been learning to wrap a sari from the most gorgeous material her Dad picked for her. Can't wait to see her wearing it.

Green Week - Day 6 Saturday

This gorgeous green Phlegmatic Puzzle is handcrafted by Grimm's Spiel and Holz and is coloured with natural non-toxic dyes. It is one of a set of four that is based on the four temperaments.

I discovered the four temperaments when I was studying the work of Rudolf Steiner (founder of Steiner/Waldor education), and I found it incredibly insightful. The four temperaments were first described by Hippocrates, the father of medicine. He described the basic personalities of all humans as being made up of four temperaments being: Sanguine, Choleric, Melancholic and Phlegmatic. While there are four temperaments, each of us may have a dominant one, but usually a combination of two.

As a parent I have found that by recognizing and working with your own and your child’s temperament you can turn a challenging situation into a much more positive experience. For instance, a child that is bossy and stubborn, may really respond to being given leadership situations.

Each temperament has it’s own unique challenges and attributes. You might be surprised to know that A A Milne based his main characters on each of the four temperaments:

Cholerics- passionate; natural born leaders, temperamental, stubborn and prone to anger, get things done. Like Rabbit.

Sanguines - optimistic, fun, talkative, popular and sometimes over-bearing, a social butterfly skipping through life, enthusiastic, lacking focus, curious, difficulty finishing things. Tigger, Roo, Christopher Robin

Melancholics- gentle and kind, moody, can suffer from depression or negatitvity, sensitive, preoccupied with their inner world, cares for others. Eeyor, sometimes Piglet

Phlegmatics - easy going, steady going, likes to observe, reliable, willing to comple tasks, slow to action, calm, gets-along-with-all types. Winnie the Pooh

If you would like to learn more about the four temperaments, you can visit:
http://www.openwaldorf.com/temperaments.html

Green Week - Day 4 Thursday

This is the door my eldest walked through for the first time two weeks ago - to be welcomed with real warmth, care and friendship into her new school. She's the happiest I've seen her for a long time and it is a joy to drop her off by this door each and every morning. More pictures and stories from beyond the door soon.

The transition from child to adolesence

My little baby is growing up right before my eyes - as the mother of a ten-year old girl I have been so aware this last year of her transition from child to being on the thresh-hold of becoming a young woman - it comes with great joy as I watch her blossom and unfold the beautiful person she is becoming and also with a tinge of sadness in saying goodbye to the innocent days of childhood.

Austrian philosopher, Rudolf Steiner, the founder of Waldorf education, states, "In the ninth year the child really experiences a complete transformation of its being, which indicates an important transformation of its soul-life and its bodily-physical experiences."

Around the age of nine, children seem to leave the magical, imaginative world that they have lived in and "wake up". This happens as their identity and individuality starts to develop – Steiner observed this the “I forces” coming towards the soul.

If you observe you nine year old you may notice some fundamental changes – they may become more self-conscious, begin to form one on one friendships as opposed to playing in a larger group, become aware about being different to others, and may become more critical of their parents (especially the mother!) – there can be a lot of questioning and even a sense of lonliness.

Another inner process that can happen at this age is that they have an experience of their own mortality – now it may not be expressed in this clearly defined way – but you may find your child around 9 has an experience of death or illness that makes them aware of this part of life for the first time in a conscious way. For instance, they may have a dangerous fall when bushwalking and say to you: Mummy, I could have died.

I also noticed an interesting change in play – although my daughter still does continue with some imaginary play – she is beginning to collect things:

these little Japanese Momiji dolls

suncatchers, and “useful but weird objects – a box full of bottle tops, feathers, paper clips and all manner of bits and pieces.” Here I sense a search within her to “define” herself – to explore her own personality, likes and dislikes and what makes her different from someone else.

It's a good time to begin after school activities - learning an instrument, art-classes, girl guides, sports etc. Often society pushes us from a very young age to do this, but the younger child needs time and space to explore the world and develop their own imagination, while the older child needs to explore their emerging individuality and their new found talents.

It is a beautiful time to watch your child emerge from the cocoon of childhood and spread their wings and explore who they are becoming. And it is a journey of trust, as a parent, to allow them to become who they truly are and not impose upon them who we are or think they should be…

Some additional information can be found here.