Waldorf if you live without "traditional" seasons?

[erinwestpoet]

Seriously, how is it possible when you live somewhere without real seasons to fully incorporate Waldorf? The absence of a rhythm of seasons really affects me, so I am sure my children feel some of that.

[boatbaby]

I don't know the answer off hand, but I wanted to say that my step-mom volunteers at a Waldorf school where she lives with my dad in Hawaii, so I will ask her. My guess is out there, they talk about rainy season and dry season, they have a whale season when the whales all migrate to the island, various tropical fruit seasons (they don't grow all year, there is a tiem for the passion fruit, and a time for the avocado...) and so on. You still have rhythms in the tropics, just not the same ones we have up north.

(In Los Angeles it's earthquake season, fire season, mudslide season, hahaha - just kidding!)

There are so many natural rhythms in life. Sunrise and sunset, tidal shifts, moon phases, rainy and dry seasons, prevailing winds, various growing seasons, etc.

I'm curious to see what others say. We unschool with a Waldorf-y emphasis and also plan on traveling (mostly tropical) in a couple of years, so I too wonder about this.

[tallulahma]

nak

we live in arizona, without traditional seasons... but we celebrate the rhythm of the earth. the solstices are still very real & present, just more subtle. it may not be 20 degree or snowing. but it is winter. it gets chillier at night, rains more, etc.

we have different planting seasons, monsoons, etc.

hth.

[h4ppyphant0m]

Originally Posted by tallulahma

it may not be 20 degree or snowing. but it is winter. it gets chillier at night, rains more, etc.

OT - I had to giggle at this since I just cleaned the 1/2 inch thick ice off of the windows of my car in -1F.

[tallulahma]

Originally Posted by jennaba

OT - I had to giggle at this since I just cleaned the 1/2 inch thick ice off of the windows of my car in -1F.

:

its 46 & rainingg & i cancelled all plans until it gets back into the 60s on wed.

im so sorry.

i grew up in michigan. i remember

[fadedgirl]

This has literally been driving me crazy for the past few years. Aside from DRIVING up to the mountains so that my DD can see autumn colors, or snow, I've been at a loss. And having to go far away to observe these things pretty much negates the point.

It is a very far cry from living with real seasons and weather right outside your window, or in the backyard, or being affected by them in any real manner whatsoever.

I'm anxious to hear what everyone else has to say. My answer is to move!!!

[KJoslyn78]

Originally Posted by tallulahma

:

its 46 & rainingg & i cancelled all plans until it gets back into the 60s on wed.

im so sorry.

i grew up in michigan. i remember

today in NY.... so warm the snow started to melt (AFTER i brushed off the 6 inches of snow : from the New Years eve snow storm)... and now its night, and its all icy out there.

46 in NY is like... light jacket weather in the winter

DH keeps "threatening" moving us to Tucson

[RollerCoasterMama]

Originally Posted by jennaba

OT - I had to giggle at this since I just cleaned the 1/2 inch thick ice off of the windows of my car in -1F.

I'm not dealing with outside in MN today. After seeing the slip-n-slide and dealing with a feverish toddler on our first night in a big-boy bed...baby and I called in sick today!!!!!!!!

Seems like it's gonna be a real winter this year!

Back on topic, I've had a similar thought---we get all the seasons, however, this far north, they don't really coincide with the official calendar start dates. I've seen people referencing them as when they switch out their nature tables. It just wouldn't reflect our reality if I left fall up through November and half-way through December! And spring starts towards May---and is brown and muddy! I've already thought about it quite a bit and I know I'm going to want to make it reflect our seasons, but we'll have to come up with mini-seasons for winter and spring! (ex: Thanksgving/harvest, Christmas, WINTER, Easter, then spring) Otherwise our nature table will be stagnant for months and months!!!

[counterGOPI]

im there with you! we are in virginia right which which is just hot hot hot all the time. no snow or anything good like that but we are using things from nature from when i lived in ny ect and we are hopefully movign to a 'seasonal' area soon!

[PabloHoneySF]

Cold and rainy in Northern California today. My boys haven't even seen real snow yet (I'm not even talking about this year.. we're talking about their ENTIRE lives ).

I can fake Spring and Autumn, but Winter is hard since there are mostly trees out there with still with leaves or pretty fall colors. We talk about the cold a lot and use the holidays to benchmark the Seasons for us.

3901sca- I used to live in Minneapolis and can I tell you how I DON'T miss those mornings where I sat in the car in the mornings for what seems like hours waiting for the windshield to defrost? Miss ice skating on Lake Harriet though, it's so pretty out there. Hope your little guy feels better

[cagirlintexas]

I totally know what you mean. We are in houston texas and we have very little season change. Its frustrating!

[emmaegbert]

Originally Posted by fadedgirl

This has literally been driving me crazy for the past few years. Aside from DRIVING up to the mountains so that my DD can see autumn colors, or snow, I've been at a loss. And having to go far away to observe these things pretty much negates the point.

It is a very far cry from living with real seasons and weather right outside your window, or in the backyard, or being affected by them in any real manner whatsoever.

I'm anxious to hear what everyone else has to say. My answer is to move!!!

I also live in San Diego (and look forward to moving when I'm done with school). But while I am here I have decided to *like* it. Its GREAT for my 4-year-old to be a little kid and get to play outside every single day of the year without ridiculous amounts of clothing. However, San Diego *definitely* has seasons. They just aren't the same as Northern Europe. I find the wet/dry cycle extremely dramatic, having lived all my life in the northeast before I came here 5 years ago. 7 or 8 months without rain is really crazy for me. I can hardly imagine that Arizona SUMMER isn't as big a change for your lifestyle as winter is in the northern climes. The thing about the southwest/california is that we spend so many resources trying to imitate a different (wetter) climate. So you have to make your way into canyons, estuaries, or other places that don't get a nightly dousing of colorado river water...

If you are lucky enough to have your own land (not us- we rent a small apartment), you could certainly see the seasons out in your backyard. You could devote part (or all!) of your landscaping to native plants (or plants from a similar climate). Let part of your land go dry in the summer. I find the tans and browns of the un-watered grassy areas here dramatic and beautiful.

We have a small community garden plot, we spend lots of time out doors, and we notice the changes in the plants, flowers, animals, day length. And as the person from Hawaii said-- the fruits at the farmers markets change- my son loves food, he notices and frequently laments the lack of pomegranates, tangerines, strawberries, watermelon. Right now we are really enjoying the return of our nasturtiums, paperwhites and california poppies.

And yes-- we have the moon, the tides, the solstices, we have seasonal migrations (like grey whales! butterflies in spring! birds!). Even the fires are important for the plants and animals who evolved to live here.

And I do drive up to the mountains once in a while when it snows- boy that is fun for my son! We also suit up and make sure to go outside when it rains. We also visit the deserts, which are close by and totally strange and amazing to me. We go swim in the pools at Cuyamaca when they are full in springtime and there we can see tadpoles... I don't know. Its here. Its just the humans have scraped aside and covered over the land and tried to obliterate the seasons. I feel like a detective uncovering the "true" nature of this place as I live here.