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Archives, Gardening with Children, Giveaway, Nature, Outdoor Play

Gardening with Children

Working in a garden helps connect children with nature and the cycle of the year, teaches children where our food comes from, and awakens wonder and awe at watching a plant grow from seed to flower or fruit.

Children as young as three-years old can begin helping in the garden. They can help rake and hoe, and with a parent’s help, plant seeds in a small patch, tend the plants and watch them grow.

In Waldorf education, gardening is usually practiced with children and their teachers in kindergarten through second grade. Teachers know that gardening with children provides early science lessons, but more importantly, working in a garden cultivates a connection to nature, which will lead today’s children to become caretakers of the earth later in life.

Later, gardening is an important element of the third grade curriculum in a Waldorf school when children study housebuilding, farming and gardening.

A backyard garden provides a magical place in which children can play and explore.

The marvelous books Sunflower Houses and Roots, Shoots, Buckets & Boots by Sharon Lovejoy are filled with inspiring ideas for gardening with children including planting a “sunflower house” or “beanpole teepee” – gardening projects in which children can hideaway during enchanted summer days! Sharon’s books will help you and your child plan and grow a garden even if you are a complete notice.

URBAN GARDENING

And gardening is not limited to families who live in the country or in the suburbs. If you live in the city and don’t have a backyard, here are some urban gardening ideas for parens and children:

Plant flowers around the base of trees on your sidewalk
Plant window boxes
Plant and tend a planter outside your front door on a porch or stoop
Grow an herb garden in your kitchen (Harvest mint for tea and herbs for soup.)
Plant in raised beds on a roof

Children are naturally drawn to growing things from seeds. I still remember as a child planting carrot seeds in a little patch of dry dirt outside our apartment building in urban Los Angeles, and the wonder and awe of seeing the green sprouts from the seeds I planted and watered! How could I have guessed then that I would grow up to live on a farm in Maine and have large vegetable and flower gardens?

Bella Luna Toys is pleased to offer high quality gardening tools for children, kids work gloves, and a number of books on gardening with children to help children get started.

GARDENING GIVEAWAY

NOTE: This giveaway is now closed.

To celebrate spring to encourage families to plant a garden this year, Bella Luna Toys is pleased to have partnered with our friends at Johnny’s Selected Seeds, producers of high quality, non-GMO and organic seeds here in Maine, for a fantastic Kids Gardening Giveaway!

Win a shiny red bucket filled with kids gardening tools from Bella Luna Toys, six packets of easy-to-grow fruit, vegetable and flower seeds from Johnny’s Seeds and books to help you get started.

Win This Bucket of Goodies to Grow a Garden!

Entries must be received by midnight EDT, Monday, May 14, 2018. One winner will be chosen at random and announced on Tuesday, May 15. Good luck!

Congratulations to Glenda B. from Somerset, Kentucky who was our lucky winner! Thank you to all who entered.

Well may your gardens grow!

Do you have a garden? Are you inspired to start one this year? Have an idea to share on gardening with children? Leave your comments here!

April 28, 2018 by Sarah Baldwin

Archives, Festivals, Waldorf Education

Celebrating Michaelmas

What is Michaelmas?

Michaelmas (pronounced MI-kel-miss) was originally a Christian festival in Western Europe during the Middle Ages. It is the feast day of the archangel St. Michael, and is celebrated on the 29th of September each year.

Michael is an archangel in Judaism, Christianity and Islam, but his festival is one that can observed by people of all faiths and spiritual paths.

Michaelmas falls near the autumn equinox, marking the quickly darkening days in the northern hemisphere. It comes at a time when the weather is rapidly changing and the days are noticeably shorter, and we have a natural instinct to prepare for the colder months ahead.

It marks the end of the harvest and the time to begin to put away food for the winter. It is a time of apple picking and cider making, a time to make warm soup and gather round the hearth. It is the time to put our summer clothes away, and pull out our sweaters, hats, and mittens.

Michaelmas marks the season when we feel the impulse to turn inward after the long, warm days of summer, and gather up strength and fortitude to face the colder days and long nights of the winter ahead.

Celebrating Michaelmas at a Waldorf School

Michaelmas is typically the first festival of the new school year celebrated in Waldorf schools. The festival usually includes a harvest theme with food such as apple cider, fresh baked bread, and pumpkin muffins, as well as games and activities of courage. The grade school children will usually perform a play of St. George taming a fiery dragon with the spiritual help of the archangel, St. Michael, who gives him courage.

Photo by A Mountain Hearth

Taming the Dragon

St. George, the patron saint of England, is the human manifestation of St. Michael on earth and their stories are closely related.

The story of St. George taming the dragon symbolizes the inner courage it takes to face our human challenges. As the days grow colder and the nights grow longer, we must find and bring forth our own inner light when the sun, warmth and growth of the earth are fading.

St. Michael, who gave courage to St. George, gives us courage to uphold what is right and true, and the strength to face the challenges that lie ahead. The story speaks to children in a deeply symbolic way, feeding their innate need for truth and justice.

“Michaelmas is a great time to ponder our own inner dragons and to cultivate the courage and strength necessary for self development.” – from Waldorf Publications newsletter

Celebrating Michaelmas at Home

If you are not part of a Waldorf community, here are some ideas for observing the festival and the season at home:

Learn Michaelmas songs and verses. The Autumn volume of Wynstones seasonal series has several to choose from.

Create a Seasonal Nature Table depicting St. George and the Dragon. You could display autumn leaves, small pumpkins and gourds to represent the harvest. Or you could display the Black Knight with Red Horse, Dragon, Cave, and Large Angel wooden figures from Ostheimer of Germany. Orange and red play silks can represent the colors of fall and the courage of St. Michael.

Tell stories about St. Michael or St. George. One of my favorites is from the beautifully illustrated picture book St. George and the Dragon by Margaret Hodges.

Read “The Most Beautiful Dragon in the Whole World” from Reg Down’s charming collection of autumn stories, The Festival of Stones.

Do fun outdoor activities that require strength, courage and bravery: take a hike, have a tug-of-war with friends and family, have a scavenger hunt for “dragon eggs” (these can be small gourds spray painted gold).

Bake Dragon Bread. This is a loaf of bread shaped like a dragon. You will find a recipe with accompanying story in the book All Year Round: A Calendar of Celebrations.

Make a dragon candle for Michaelmas. Instructions can be found in the book All Year Round.

Of course, preparation is as important a part of a festival as the day itself. And Michaelmas is the beginning of the fall season. These activities can be extended and enjoyed throughout the month of October.

As adults, we can use this time to focus on our own inner work and spiritual growth. Take time for meditation and journal writing, and think about the areas in which you would like to grow.

Wishing you strength and courage this Michaelmas season, and may all your dragons be tamed!

Have you celebrated Michaelmas at a school or at home? Are you inspired to begin a new tradition? How do you prepare for the coming season? As always, your comments are always welcome!

September 24, 2017 by Sarah Baldwin

Archives, bella luna toys, Childhood, Education, Family, Parenting, Storytelling, Sunday With Sarah, Waldorf Books, Waldorf Education

Storytelling from the Heart

Sarah Baldwin, Waldorf educator and owner of Bella Luna Toys, explains the importance of storytelling for children and gives parents ideas on how to make up their own stories, and tell stories “by heart” in this “Sunday with Sarah” video.

TRANSCRIPTION:

Hi, I’m Sarah Baldwin. I’m a Waldorf teacher, an author, the mother of two Waldorf graduates. I’m the owner of Bella Luna Toys, and I’m also a storyteller.

And guess what. So are you!

Today on “Sunday With Sarah” I’m going to talk to you about storytelling and why I think it’s so important to TELL children stories–from memory or from the heart, or stories that you make up–as opposed to just reading them from a book.

Now books are great. We sell a lot of picture books and chapter books at Bella Luna Toys. I don’t want to discourage you from ever reading to your child or encouraging your child to read, but when we can take the time to TELL a child a story–eye-to-eye and heart-to-heart–there is no greater gift. Children love it!

Now you may think “I’m not creative, I don’t have any ideas. How do I possibly make up a story?” Well, it’s not that hard, and the more you start exercising that storytelling muscle, the easier it becomes.

The easiest way to get started, I think, is to just start telling your child stories of when you were a little girl or you were a little boy. Children LOVE to hear stories about their parents when they were little, and remembering the adventures they had or the trouble they got into!

You can also tell a story reviewing the child’s day. Now, reviewing the day before sleep, in bed, is a wonderful, relaxing way for children to let go of the day and drift off to sleep.

And you can disguise the child. You can change his or her name, or it could be a story about “Squirrel Nutkin” or another little animal, but then use the events that child’s day to help them review the day and soon they’ll begin to recognize themselves in the story. “Oh, that’s what I did today!” and they’ll get really excited to hear a story about themselves.

For instance: “Squirrel Nutkin woke up early one morning and his mother had made him a bowl of oatmeal. And after they ate their oatmeal, they washed the dishes together and took a walk to the park…” and so on, reviewing what the child had to eat that day, who they saw, what activities they did.

So, if you need more ideas, one of my favorite books, and we offer it at Bella Luna Toys, is called Storytelling with Children, written by Nancy Mellon. Nancy is a master storyteller who has taught teachers and given workshops, and it’s full of great ideas.

And stories don’t have to just be told. They can also be told as a puppet play with little figures. Nancy gives lots of ideas in this wonderful book.

So I really encourage you to start, if you don’t already, making up stories. You can also memorize a story, like a fairy tale, and try telling it by heart. I like saying “telling it by heart” rather that “memorizing.” It just is warmer.

A fairy tale you know well, like “Goldilocks and the Three Bears” or “Little Red Riding Hood.” You know what happens in the story! Tell it in your own words and when your child makes that eye contact with you and has that heart-to-heart connection, they will just warm right up, and you’ll enjoy it, too.

So, leave a comment! Let me know if storytelling something you do regularly. If not, and you decide to give it a try, let me know how it goes. Let me know if you have any questions. Happy storytelling! See you next time.

Book referenced in video: Storytelling with Children by Nancy Mellon

January 29, 2017 by Sarah Baldwin