Waldorf HS Support Thread January - Page 12

[annettemarie]

Thanks Kara! I love the beeswax and large motor ideas!

Also, I have news to share. I started my own thread, but wanted to share here as well. This is a c and p from the other thread:
Some of you may remember that a little over a year ago, we put Michael in school. There were some major behavior issues going on, plus I was being very inflexible about using a strict Waldorf curriculum. He finished first grade with a not-so-great teacher and is currently in second grade with a truly excellent teacher. He's doing really well. BUT we all want him home. As good as the best public school classroom is, we still all have this niggling feeling that we can do better by him, you know?

We had him tested for the gifted program, and it turned out he was actually really scarily smart. On top of that, he had some pretty big developmental delays in the small motor areas. Put those two things together, and what looked like behavior issues before turns out to be a pretty frustrated kid.

A couple weeks ago, he came home with the word "bitch". We were just appalled. Michael was really upset, because he had no idea it was a "naughty word." Plus, he gets little to no science or social studies and his teacher has to be very concerned with "second grade benchmarks" rather than individual interests. Which we totally understand, given the circumstances, but we're not thrilled about it.

Anyway, tonight he asked if he can come home. I really want him to. DH, who was very resistant a few months ago, is really open to it. I'm really, really praying my little guy is back home for third grade. If you have any prayers or positive vibes to spare, please think of us!

[memory maker]

I am currently at home with my 2 dds. my ds goes to public school. I also do a daycare within my home for 2 other children. I am looking at doing a more waldorf style with my 2 dds and the daycare children. I like to come up with themes for each month/season. I am currently trying to come up with more for my winter months. What are you all currently doing?

[MyLittleWonders]

Oh AnnetteMarie, how exciting! I will definitely keep you all in my thoughts. for Michael to come home!

[wonderactivist]

Originally Posted by Unreal

But he is so high needs and I'm already stretched so thin...Dh supports all this, and is in charge of kid wrangling while I work (so he's the sahd) but he isn't *active* iykwim....he's kind of a chauffeur and EMT for the kids--not much for actually doing stuff WITH them...So...how can I work this and not go insane (more so than I already am, that is)...I can't set my own work hours. If all is quiet, I can be on standby for work, but I have to take calls and emails as they come in.(

Dear Unreal,

Wow, relax and take a deep breath. It sounds like you are truly burning the candle at both ends.

One thought - you mentioned that your DH is a sahd. Does he not work also? If not, then part of this is his "job" and perhaps the two of you together can reach an agreement on what types media and of physical activity the kids should get every day. My husband also isn't terribly active, but he still takes the kids to the parks. There are benches if your dh is physically unable to participate in the play.

Also, try keeping plenty of active toys inside the house - Nerf basketball, mini-tramps, Wobbler boards, hopper balls, little plastic, movable slides, etc. inside the house, and then plenty of active toys in the yard. You can usually find a lot of this stuff very inexpensively, and if you have limted space, just use what you have - we used to play ball on a screened laundry porch.

Dh doesn't then have to "do" all of this if it is just everywhere around them...but if it is his job, then perhaps you can plan together a storytime or a simple game they can do together.

I used to work "part-time" but it often ended up being full time. After the first year, I finally decided it was only sane to set flexible "office hours." As part of that, I set up 2 hours when I truly did not accept phone calls at all - turned off the ringer - period. No company can require you to be avaiable 24 hours - even your own. It is especially for the busy days that you need that, but mainly for the benefit of a regular, rhythmic routine.

Choose whatever time of day "works" for this, and make that your time with the kids. With DH helping, perhaps you can have time all together and then time for one-on-one.

You deserve your sanity and as part of that you are going to need some time together - whether it is strctured or playtime. Phone calls in particular can truly derail your moment.

Best wishes for some calmer days,

Lucie

P.S. There's a fabulous book, Are We Having Fun Yet? The 16 Secrets of Happy Parenting in which the author helps stay at home parents to balance their needs - like getting support, "coffee breaks," etc. She has you really consider how your family can meet your needs like a business would - in a structured way - to preserve your morale. Truly great read!

[mama_kass]

Carey~ This is an article from the Mothering website with questions and answers with Rahima Baldwin Dancy. She wrote You are your Child's First Teacher. One of the questions is how to make a child care more Waldorf.

http://www.mothering.com/sections/ex...e.html#daycare

annettemarie~ I hope that your ds will come home. Family happiness is so important.

Nancy~ We do not celebrate Candlemas, but instead we celebrate Imbolc since we are Pagan. The two are very similar, and celebrated on the same day. Here are some things we do. Take what you can use and leave the rest!

We start by going outside to wake up the ground. The children take their magic wands and "help" the fairies and other nature spirits to wake the Earth. We sing and chant. Make up your own song that talks about waking the Earth.

Then we go for a walk to look for signs that spring is coming and that the earth is starting to thaw. We pick up any items that we come across that suggest spring to put on our nature table.

When we come back home we make sure anything that would suggest winter or Yule/Christmas is put away. It's time to move winter out and get ready for spring. This is also a time that we begin spring cleaning.

Then we plant an inspiration garden. We get dirt from our yard and put it in a big baking dish. Then the oldest ds and I write down things we are working on this year and plant them in the garden. These would be things like, I will plant a garden in the spring, I will learn to skateboard, etc. After we plant our garden we light a candle over each "seed" and say a blessing.

Thanks mamas for such a wonderfully supportive thread this month. I will see all you ladies in next months thread. We have to keep this going!

[wonderactivist]

Originally Posted by mama_kass

We start by going outside to wake up the ground...Then we plant an inspiration garden.... After we plant our garden we light a candle over each "seed" and say a blessing.

Dear MamaKass, What wonderful, inspiring ideas to take with me today. We were going to start our garden next month with the worm composter, but now I can start it now! Thank you!

We have done candle-rolling for Candlemas before - hobby stores sell inexpensive kits for that and 4 yr olds can do it easily...but I was always advised against doing the dipping with young children as it requires a lot of patience and my little one is a very active boy. With my youngest 7 this year, however, we're thinking of doing it for the first time inspired by my best friend in Texas plus this blog post from Life a La Carte

[memory maker]

mama_kass- thanks for the link!

[muse]

Welcome Laurie! I think you may find that the tv thing starts to resolve itself a bit as you get more into a rhythm with your family. For now I wouldn't stress about it too much. Step by step.

r.e. candlemas/imbolc/groundhog day; none of these mean much to me in their own right since I'm neither Christian, Pagan or American (LOL), but I have been so inspired this year to mark all the subtle changes of season and this day makes sense to me as one to be marked. So we'll be gathering with a group of other famlies in the woods, felting seeds in pods, taking a nature walk where the kids can look for signs of spring, making twig weavings (simply weave some yarn onto a forked twig and weave in found nature objects). We may light a few candles or my slightly-more-pagan-than-me suggested a cauldron fire and making wishes/blessings (sounds fun to me!), before sharing hot soup and bread.

If anyone happens to read this in the next couple of hrs I'm still in search of a fitting - secular - story or poem appropriate for 4-6 yr olds. Something involving spring, light, sun....

[NoCalMomOfTwo]

Thanks Maya, I hope you found your poem!

I hope this thread will continue for future months because I've really enjoyed reading it and have found out alot about Waldorf and just some great holistic homeschooling ideas. Maybe someday soon I will be able to contribute more myself!

Thanks again,
Laurie

[MyLittleWonders]

Originally Posted by NoCalMomOfTwo

Thanks Maya, I hope you found your poem!

I hope this thread will continue for future months because I've really enjoyed reading it and have found out alot about Waldorf and just some great holistic homeschooling ideas. Maybe someday soon I will be able to contribute more myself!

Thanks again,
Laurie

Laurie, here is the February thread.