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Celebrating Birthdays the Waldorf Way

Birthdays are always a cause for celebration in a Waldorf early childhood classroom, and were one of my favorite traditions as a Waldorf kindergarten teacher.

Rituals and traditions allow children to experience the “rhythm of the year,” and celebrating a birthday honors the child’s place in the family and in the world at large.

In this week’s Sunday with Sarah video, I share my version of the Waldorf birthday story and demonstrate how to use a Waldorf Wooden Birthday Ring with the story. While the birthday story can vary from teacher-to-teacher, the story is usually about a child looking longingly down on the earth from the heavens and choosing to cross the “rainbow bridge” to join his or her parents on earth.

Another version of this story can be found in the book Beyond the Rainbow Bridge by Barbara Patterson. The picture book Little Angel’s Journey offers another version of the story with beautiful illustrations by Dzvinka Hayda.

A transcript of the birthday story I tell in this video can be found below.

And if you want to be sure to catch all future videos, be sure to visit my Sunday with Sarah YouTube channel and SUBSCRIBE!

Happy Birthdays!

TRANSCRIPTION:

Once upon a time, more than six years ago, Abbie wasn’t here on the earth at all. Oh, no. She was up in heaven with her guardian angel. She had a lovely time there. She could roll around, she could dance, she could hop first on one foot and then on the other without falling at all.

One day, Abbie’s angel gave her a ball made of real gold. Abbie loved to play with her golden ball. She would throw it high up into the air and catch it again and she could toss it from one hand to the other without dropping it even once. Then, one day, when Abbie was in a very strange and curious sort of mood, she wanted to see how far she could throw that golden ball. So she picked it up, felt its weight in her hand at her shoulder, aimed, and threw that ball just as far as she could. Well, she threw it so far that it disappeared right out of sight. Abbie searched here, there, and everywhere, but the ball was nowhere to be found.

But then suddenly, Abbie saw something shining among the clouds, and lo and behold, there was her golden ball. As she reached for it, the clouds parted and Abbie saw something beautiful. She caught sight of the earth and there she saw oceans and mountains and blue sky and trees. And as she looked even closer, she saw a little red farmhouse with a woman working in the garden and she saw a man with kind and loving eyes busy fixing things around the house. The woman was singing “Oh, how happy I would be if a child would come to me.” And she saw three little Corgi dogs barking happily and running around the yard. And as soon as Abby saw the man and the woman she wanted to go down to earth to be with them, to be their little daughter.

“Look!” said Abbie to her Guardian Angel. “May I go and visit them?”

“Yes,” said her Guardian Angel. “Yes, you may, but first we will go on a very long walk. Take my hand and we shall go.”

First, Abbie and her Angel visited the house of the Sun. The Sun gave Abbie the gift of courage and tucked it into her heart. “This courage,” said the Sun, “will give you strength when life is difficult.” Abbie thanked the Sun.

Next, they visited the house of the Moon. The Moon gave Abbie the gift of wisdom and tucked it under each of her feet. It felt just like a pair of soft slippers. Abbie thanked the Moon.

Next, they traveled past many, many Stars and each one winked at Abbie as she passed by. Then one Star, Abbie’s own very special Star that still shines in the heavens every night, touched her lightly on the eyes and said “Here is the gift of the twinkle in your eye, that you may always see the joy in life.” Abbie thanked the Star.

Then Abbie’s Angel led her through the Starry Gates to the Rainbow Bridge. The Sun and the Moon and the Stars sang her name. “Remember, I will always be with you during your journey on the earth,” said her Angel. Then Abbie slid over the Rainbow Bridge, down, down to the earth.

A kind and gentle lady with a beautiful smile and warm brown eyes took the tiny child and tucked her in a special place under her heart where she carried her for many days and many weeks and many months until one day she held a beautiful baby girl in her arms.

“Oh, look!” said her Mother and Father. “She is the most beautiful gift of all. We shall call her Abigail Lucy Reed, for that is the very best name for her.”

During her first year on earth, Abbie learned to do many, manythings. She learned to smile and to roll over, and then she learned to sit up by herself
and later pull herself up to stand. She loved music and her favorite toys were a little wooden rattle with a bell in it and her favorite teddy bear. And then the baby, who wasn’t quite tiny anymore, had her first birthday and she turned one year-old.

Well, during the year that Abbie was one year-old, she learned to do many more things. She took her first steps when she was 13 months-old and walked right over to her Grandpa. She also said her first word which was “horse” but it came out sounding more like “herse.” Abbie’s grandparents came to visit from Florida that year. And then, after another trip around the Sun, Abbie had another birthday and turned two
years-old.

Well, during the year Abbie was two, she took a big family trip to a wedding in Vermont. While Abbie and her family were in Vermont, they visited the Morgan Horse Farm and Cabot Cheese Factory. Abbie loved the garlic cheese and happily munched. While she was two, Abbie spent much time with her Mom, playing, drawing and reading, but Abbie especially loved playing with her horses. She took care of her riding rocking horse, lovingly grooming her and shoeing her every day. Then Abbie had another birthday and was now three years-old.

During the year that Abby was three, she rode her first horse, Mercedes. It was love at first sight. Abbie placed daisies in her hair and in the mane of Mercedes while riding her. That was the year she started ballet lessons which she still loves and continues. Then, Abbie had another birthday and turned four years-old.

When Abbie was four, she was able to lead a miniature horse named Midnight to her grandparent’s camp from a neighbor’s house, with her Mummy following close behind. Abbie continued to love horses and her ballet lessons. Then, Abbie had another birthday and turned five years-old.

Well, during the summer that Abbie was five, she learned to ride her two-wheel bike with training wheels. She also learned to climb a tree all by herself. And in the fall, when she was still five, she joined Miss Sarah’s kindergarten class and met Miss Sarah and Miss Jess and all of you, her friends here, for the first time.

Now, today is February 20th and Abbie is again celebrating a birthday and today Abbie is
6 years-old.

[SUNG]

We wish you a happy birthday
A joyous and celebrated birthday
To our dear Abbie
May you have a long, long life!

February 20, 2019 by Sarah Baldwin

Archives, Family, Festivals, Sunday With Sarah, Waldorf Education

The Festival of Martinmas

Martinmas, or the festival of St. Martin, is celebrated around November 11 in Waldorf schools with a nighttime lantern walk–often with songs followed by autumn treats.

Like Halloween, Martinmas is rooted in Christian ritual but is now more of a cultural event, anticipated by children in many European countries. The essence of the holiday—marking the end of the fall harvest and the advent of snowy weather—reminds us that through all of life’s outward changes we maintain within us the warm light of our spirit.

Martinmas dates back to the Middle Ages and the veneration of St. Martin, a 4th-century bishop who founded an abbey in Tours, France. Martin was a Roman horse soldier who converted to Christianity; according to legend, one wintry day he encountered a shivering beggar and cut his cloak in half to give the poor man warmth. That night, Martin had a vision of Jesus wearing Martin’s divided red cloak. Martin is now the patron saint of tailors, as well as that of France.

Traditionally, Martinmas coincided with the many busy activities around farms in late fall. Any remaining late crops in the fields, such as winter squash, would be harvested before the deep snow falls; it was also the time to plant winter wheat, which came up in early spring and provided flour for the new year.

The bounty of the late harvest, fresh wine, and the slaughter of animals naturally suggested a feast day. As such, Martinmas was a precursor to the American holiday of Thanksgiving, and is still marked in Europe with sumptuous meals, often of roast goose. In Germany, suckling pig is prepared in the town square.

Centuries ago, bishops in some European countries ordered fasting for several days a week from Martinmas to Epiphany—a period of 56 days. Among the more unusual Martinmas traditions no longer observed was the invocation in Ireland that no wheel shall turn on the feast day—in respect for the fact that Martin was killed by being tossed into a mill stream and crushed under the paddlewheel.

Today in many European countries, the Martinmas festival culminates in a lantern walk at night, followed by a bonfire and songs. Traditionally the lanterns were carved out of newly harvested squash gourds, and illuminated with a candle—the origin of our jack-o-lantern—but can also be made of paper or jars. The lanterns and the bonfire symbolize light in the darkness of winter, and give hope to the poor through the good deeds of St. Martin.

In America the holiday is not commonly observed, although the city of St. Paul, Minnesota has a public Martinmas lantern parade around Rice Park. The tradition of Martinmas has been maintained in the New World primarily by Waldorf schools.

From a child’s point of view, the best part of Martinmas may be the sweet treats at the end of a lantern walk. In some countries, children go from house to house with their lanterns, “begging” for treats—certainly the origin of our modern Halloween ritual.

If you are not part of a Waldorf school community (or don’t live in St. Paul), you may wish to organize your own family Lantern Walk with friends and neighbors. The books All Year Round and Crafts Through the Year have instructions for making different types of lanterns. The Autumn volume from the Wynstones collection of seasonal books has a number of lantern songs that can be softly sung on your quiet procession.

Last, but not least, don’t forget to have some treats ready when you come inside to get warm after your walk, like hot cider, ginger cookies and apples.

May the generous spirit of St. Martin be with you through the season!

Have you celebrated the season with a lantern walk–either at school or at home? If not, are you inspired to try one? Please share your thoughts and experiences!

October 23, 2018 by Sarah Baldwin

Archives, Education, Sunday With Sarah, Waldorf Education

What is Waldorf Education?

When I explain that I am a Waldorf teacher and now sell Waldorf toys, I am often asked to describe Waldorf education “in a nutshell.”

Waldorf education is so multi-faceted and can take years of study to comprehend, but in this new “Sunday with Sarah” video, I do my best to give the viewer an overview of some of the primary differences between Waldorf education and mainstream schooling.

If you have questions after viewing the video, please post your comments and questions below, and I’ll do my best to answer them. Nice to be back with you!

TRANSCRIPTION:

Today I want to try and answer the question “what is Waldorf education?”

I get this question a lot from people who are new to Waldorf. They want to know, briefly and in a nutshell, what Waldorf philosophy is all about. It’s so hard to describe it succinctly because it’s so deep and multi-leveled, so I’m going to sum up five aspects of Waldorf philosophy which make it unique from “traditional” education.

1. Non-Academic Preschool

Being an early childhood teacher myself, the first thing I want to mention is that Waldorf early childhood education—nursery and kindergarten—is conducted in a non-academic environment. We don’t teach numbers, math, the alphabet or reading.

However, Waldorf preschool students build those pre-math and pre-reading skills through storytelling, hearing fairy tales and playing circle games. They are exposed to enriched language and, through repetition and memorization, are developing large vocabularies but we let their imagination unfold and we don’t push it in an academic way.

There’s a misconception that because of this, Waldorf schools are anti-reading. This could not be further than the truth. In Waldorf schools, reading simply comes later. A lot of children aren’t ready to read in the early childhood years; they’re brains need to be ready for the difficult decoding work and that happens at different ages for different children. We just allow those skills to develop naturally. Reading is like walking: kids will learn at their own pace and they don’t need it to be forced upon them.

2. Storytelling

Another unique aspect of Waldorf education is the emphasis on storytelling. Starting in the early years, teachers tell many stories by heart (I prefer to say “by heart” instead of “memorized,” which is a little colder). We learn the stories and we tell them with eye contact, heart to heart, teacher to child.

Storytelling continues throughout grade school. When children are studying history or legends they’re still hearing stories told by heart from their grade school teacher. It makes subjects come alive.

3. The Arts

Another interesting aspect of Waldorf education—and it’s the first thing which struck me about Waldorf—is that the arts are integrated into all subjects. Coming from a theater background and being a creative person myself, this really piqued my interest and appealed to me. I thought if I had had that kind of education, how much richer my own
schooling experience might have been.

For example, when a class is studying a particular subject, it might be approached through movement, rhythmic games, music, drawing, painting, etc.

My son, Harper, who’s now grown was sharing with me recently how the artistic application of color helped him learn math. Each number had an associated color with it, which helped him to learn the relationships between them and their individual properties. He still sees the number 5 as green and the number 12 as purple!

You may have heard of Howard Gardner and his theory of multiple intelligences. Many decades before Howard Gardner developed his Theory of Multiple Intelligences, the founder of Waldorf education, Rudolf Steiner, prescribed this way of learning: approaching different subjects through different artistic media which reach all the different types of learners. The kinesthetic learners learn through movement, maybe learning math through clapping and stomping games; visual learners will learn by creating art in their main lesson books, which I’ll talk more about
in a minute; and so on.

4. Class Teacher Staying with Same Class through the Grades

Another thing that makes Waldorf education unique is that, ideally, a class teacher will stay with the same group of children from first grade through eighth grade. It doesn’t always work out that way but that’s the ideal.

A lot of parents who are new to this concept question it: “Well, what if you have a bad teacher?” I’m not going to lie, it is a possibility but in my experience the teachers who are drawn to Waldorf education and who are willing to make this commitment to a class are incredibly dedicated, devoted and capable.

When a teacher stays with a class for such a long time, the group becomes a family and that teacher becomes an expert in those children. Traditionally, when a teacher gets a new class of students every year they spend the better part of that year just getting to know their knew students: how they learn and how to reach them. Then, as soon as a relationship begins to develop, the child moves on to another new teacher.

The other benefit I see to looping is that the class teacher learns with their students. They might spend their summer studying and refreshing the subjects to be taught in the upcoming grade, which makes it fresh and exciting for them. Their enthusiasm is sure to be shared with their students.

More and more public and mainstream schools of incorporating this idea of “looping.”

One thing I should add is that in the early childhood years, teachers do not progress with the students. Looping only begins in first grade.

5. Main Lesson Books

Finally, there are no textbooks used in Waldorf education. Instead, children make their own textbooks called “Main Lesson Books.”

A unique aspect in itself, Waldorf students study one subject at a time. A class will have one Main Lesson block for a 3-4 week period where they will cover one subject in depth. In sixth grade it might be Ancient Roman history, in second grade it might be Legends and Heroes. They’ll study that topic for about two hours every morning and then take write and illustrate those lessons into their own textbook.

This makes subjects so much more meaningful and helps the information penetrate to a deeper level where it’s really embedded in their memory for life, rather than just quickly memorized for a test and soon forgotten.

There’s so much more that could be said on the subject of Waldorf education, this is just my attempt at summarizing the core tenets of Waldorf.

If you want to learn more about Waldorf education, and I hope you do, there are a lot of great books and resources available. One book I highly recommend if you’re a parent of a young child is You Are Your Child’s First Teacher, written by my friend and colleague Rahima Baldwin Dancy (no relation). It’s a wonderful introduction to the early childhood years with ideas for how to incorporate Waldorf philosophy into your home.

Also, the Association of Waldorf Schools of North America (AWSNA) has a great website with lots of links to resources and lots of information. You’ll find that at www.waldorfeducation.org

You might also want to check out www.waldorfshop.net which has many resources as well: books, art supplies, toys, everything and anything related to Waldorf education.

Have a day full of play!

July 8, 2018 by Sarah Baldwin

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