Preview of Spring/Summer Festival, Thursday, May 21

Dear Current Families, Relatives, Alums, and Friends,

You are invited to our parent & child Mayfaire and summer festival for young children and parents on Thursday, May 21, from 8:30 to 10:30am (you are also invited to the school's larger Mayfaire on Sunday, May 3, from 11 to 3pm). Feel free to come later if 8:30am is too soon. Here is a provisional schedule. It is an outdoor festival--rain, snow, or shine.

8:30 to 9:30am Arrival, conversation, outdoor play, silk dyeing
9:15am First set of Maypole dances
9:30am Puppet show
9:40am Outdoor snack (picnic)
10am Reprise of Maypole dances
10:10am Dancing to the fiddle
Continued outdoor play and conversation until 10:30am.

To celebrate the gifts of plants and sun and bring us toward a summer mood (when the sun's fire is manifest), we will be dyeing silks in brazilwood (which produces red/orange) and osage orange (which produces yellow) plant dyes. The school will provide every visiting family with 1 30x30 silk (a good size for making a cape with for a young child). If you wish to dye more than one silk, we will also be selling additional 30 x 30 silks at cost ($3 per silk), payable by cash or check to WIWS (cash would make the administrative work easier).

You might choose, for example, to dye 3 silks--one red, one yellow, one with a yellow sun in the middle of a red background. You might want to dye extra silks for older siblings, as gifts, and the like.

It will help us procure and mordant the right amount of silks if you email me (wdolde@gmail.com) to let me know if you plan to buy silks in addition to the one the school is providing you. Please let me know as soon as possible. If you are not sure, do know that we will try to have some extras on the day of the festival.

I will do the work of preparing the silks (mordanting with alum and cream of tartar) and warming the dye vats. If you feel inspired to try this at home, or if you wish more information, I recommend Joan Almon's First Steps in Natural Dyeing.

Here are a few pages to give you a sense of the book. I am experimenting with ways of sharing pdfs on line, so here is the same selection given to you in 2 different ways. Please let me know if option A or B works for you.

A. This is a version uploaded to scribd.com.

B. This version uses google's document viewer.

With warmth and light,

William Geoffrey Dolde

Last Child in the Woods, walks at end of class

Dear Families,

     In preparing to view Where Do the Children Play (there is another showing at school this Wednesday night with a discussion), I was inspired to read Richard Louv's Last Child in the Woods (available in the Kathrine Dickerson Memorial Library once I return my copy).  I recommend the book highly.  Even as we live in a place where nature seems relatively easy to access, Louv's book helps us as islanders (and friends near the island in beautiful places) frame questions about stewardship, safety, freedom, and exploration.  Louv encourages us to allow children to find secret spaces, to get dirty, to build and feel, to participate in nature and not just develop an abstract sense of nature.  Our school is blessed with its berry bushes, large amount of fallen logs in the woods, and absence of irritants such as poison ivy or poison oak (and the nettle, if one were to call this healthful herb an irritant, tends not to grow on any of the paths on which the nursery children and I walk).

       Louv's book and a thought to helping the transition to the Butterfly nursery class for your children next year or in a future year encourages me to offer the following:  after each Dewdrop and Rosebud class for the rest of the session, I will walk with interested families to the teepee near our school (the site where Mother Earth met us during the Spring Festival).  We'll probably leave at 11:10am or so (once everyone who wants to go has had a chance to get dressed for the outside).  Stay as long or as little as you want.  This is optional and not officially part of class, so if your child is exhausted and you need to leave (or if your child wants to stay on the swings at the Berry Patch playground), feel free to do so.   

       There are many potential benefits to this activity.  Here are a few:

1)  The clearing near the teepee is close to school (children can walk themselves at their own pace) so this will not be a forced march for the children (longer walks for parents have their place, too, but I have learned that young children can be quite satisfied with a shorter walk with more chances to explore, touch, smell, dig, and explore).

2)  The clearing has lots of uneven terrain to explore.  What we offer in playgrounds and curriculum such as gymnastics attempt to replicate the motor development activities humans have found in nature.

3)  We begin our nursery day outside and walk every day to the teepee at about 9:05am or so (once all children have arrived).  It will help the nursery next fall if a number of children know the way to the teepee.  Without judging the way other teachers might do things, I find--through my reading, observations, meditations, and books like Louv's--that young children benefit much more from a nature walk if they can go at their own pace and are not forced to hold hands or hold onto a rope (if we were an urban school with traffic or other perils I would of course adapt and do things differently).  In my nursery, I go towards the front, making sure children go the right direction while my assistant walks in the back with children who choose a slower pace (sometimes a much slower pace, but our method prevents this from causing tension or a power struggle).

       In the video, Where do the Children Play, a professor, after talking about the manner in which mass media can inhibit child development, suggests that he could train children to be environmentalists using the mass media because it is such a powerful teacher.  Louv (also appearing frequently in the video) would disagree; Louv worries, in fact, about some environmental organizations that do so much teaching of the mind but won't allow children to pick flowers, catch frogs, or build tree houses.  Louv writes about John Muir chasing gulls with his homemade gun as a boy (Muir was apparently a bad shot); Louv worries that if we try too hard to train children to always leave nature in peace as young children (not that we should encourage children to violate hunting laws), they will grow up with the sense of nature as an abstraction and feel, as adults, no connection or need to preserve wild and natural spaces.

  The professor in the media also suggests that children who do have a lot of media exposure have a richer vocabulary and know more about the world.  Louv, again, laments that children know about the Amazon rainforest but nothing about flora and fauna near their home.  I want to quote here Louv quoting D.H. Lawrence:

. . . Twenty-first century Western culture accepts the view that because of omnipresent technology we are awash in data.  But in this information age, vital information is missing.  Nature is about smelling, hearing, tasting, seeing below the "transparent mucous-paper in which the world like a bon-bon is wrapped so carefully that we can never get at it," as D.H. Lawrence put it, in a relatively obscure but extraordinary description of his own awakening to nature's sensory gift.  Lawrence described his awakening in Taos, New Mexico, as an antidote to the "know-it-all state of mind," that poor substitute for wisdom and wonder:

Superficially, the world has become small and known.  Poor little globe of earth, the tourists trot round you as easily as they trot round the Bois or Central Park.  There is no mystery left, we've been there, we've seen it, we know all about it.  We've done the globe and the globe is done.

This is quite true, superficially.  On the superficies, horizontally, we've been everywhere and done everything, we know all about it.  Yet the more we know, superficially, the less we penetrate, vertically.  It's all very well skimming across the surface of the ocean and saying you know all about the sea . . . .

As a matter of fact, our great-grandfathers, who never went anywhere, in actuality had more experience of the world than we have, who have seen everything.  When they listened to a lecture with lantern-slides, they really held their breath before the unknown, as they sat in the village school-room.  We, bowling along in a rickshaw in Ceylon, say to ourselves:  "It's very much what you'd expect."  We really know it all.

We are mistaken.  The know-it-all state of mind is just the result of being outside the mucous-paper wrapping of civilization.  Underneath is everything we don't know and are afraid of knowing.

Last Child in the Woods (57-58), Richard Louv

With warmth and light,

William Geoffrey Dolde

 

Lyrics and Words to Verses and Songs this Session

Dear Families,

        Please remember that we have no classes on April 9, 10, 16, & 17.  Our school is closed for spring break.

Here are the words and lyrics for the finger games, songs, and puppet show at the table in the middle of class.

As I typed these out, it became quite clear how much onomonapoeia, phonemic play, and nonsense exist in my spring repertoire.  My guess would be that it is easiest to learn these verse and songs from class, and I wonder if my typed out words make any sense to families not currently attending class.  If you are interested, there are three books of games and songs composed by Wilma Ellersiek available in English (currently), with other drafts floating around from workshops.  Her directions for the gestures are thorough (at first I found them overwhelming).

        I offer so many Ellersiek games and songs because children seem to respond so well to them.  Ellersiek was a university teacher of music, drama, and Eurhythmics (not Waldorf's Eurythmy) in Germany.  In the fifties, she was disturbed by the elimination of play from German kindergartens and began composing verses and songs based upon nature observation as a balance, or antidote, for the increasing and (she believed) improper academics and precocious intellectual work.  Even though the academic kindergartens in Germany were a flop and there was a return to more play-based kindergarten (though today, apparently, in much of Europe there are government pressures to follow a No Child Left Behind approach to early childhood [decisions based upon questionable research, but that is another topic]), Ellersiek continued with her passion of observing nature and children at play and crafting these into games and verses for teacher or caregiver and child.  Some of the gestures that seem strange or awkward at first (such as twisting the wrists above the head) are ones Ellersiek observed children using in spontaneous joy and play.   Although these can be hard at first for an adult, children tend to love them, and in the long term I find them helpful for adults as well (as a nice reprieve for the wrists, for example, after a busy night of typing songs and verses).

  A story goes that Ellersiek was on vacation in the Black Forest and met Klara Hatterman, a Waldorf kindergarten teacher, also on vacation.  The two discovered the harmony in their work, and this was the introduction of Ellersiek games into Waldorf early childhood programs.  Kundry Willwerth has carefully translated these verses into English.  Here is Willwerth's tribute to Wilma Ellersiek.  (It seems the pdf version of the tribute does not contain Ellersiek's poem "Call to Deeds" that Willwerth alludes to.  I will post this on a future blog).   Even if we are not destined to compose intricate songs and verses for the classroom, we can find a model of attention and mindfulness in Wilma Ellersiek.  The qualities that Magda Gerber, Emmi Pikler, Dorothy Corkille-Briggs, Susan Weber, and others working with and for young children hope to cultivate in adults--careful observation, creative not-knowing, trust in the child, genuine encounter and presence--blossom in the artistic work of Wilma Ellersiek.

       Here are lyrics for our dances around the Maypole at the end of class.  Please do not worry if your child does not stay at the Maypole.  Please do keep dancing.  My observation has been that as weeks progress, more and more children like to join in, and even children who do not join for every dance have an authentic experience as they watch adults and others dance.  

For new families or families that seek a refresher, here are the lyrics to many of the other songs I sing throughout the morning.   This is the same document I have distributed earlier in the year.

With warmth and light,

William Geoffrey Dolde

Follow-up from Strunk and White Talk

Dear Families,

Thank you for being so responsive and offering your insights and experiences during yesterday's Strunk and White Speak to Children talk. From the positive response I have received, I intend to offer this talk again in the fall--perhaps with a different title so more parents will be inspired to attend. Other of my talks for next school year may include, "An Apology for Self-Esteem," "Making Choices about Choices," and "Here, Eat a Carrot Instead: Apparently Crazy Discipline Ideas from Experienced Teachers that Really Work."

During Sunday's talk, I spoke about the articles describing the research on the inverse power of praise--that too much global praise (good job, good girl, great job, you're so smart) can make a child risk averse and less likely to prosper academically, emotionally, and socially. I have published links to these articles before, but I offer them again here to make them easy to find.

This article from New York Magazine offers a parent's perspective on the research.

This article from Scientific American Mind is by Professor Carol Dweck (the researcher mentioned in the previous article) and is a bit more formal in nature.

I look forward to seeing many of as begin our new Spring Session this Thursday and Friday. We will have new finger games, songs, and a puppet show for the spring--along with Maypole dancing at the end of each class (the fiddle with Brother Wind's green cloth will be there, too). Call the school if you still need an application--341-5686.

Applications for next year's 3 day nursery class are also available. Please call Adam Fawcett at school (341-5686) to procure one. You may also visit www.wiws.org to obtain documents.

Please know that beginning in the 2009-2010 school year, our administration and board are launching a 100/50/0 tuition policy for new families (with the goal of giving current families the same benefit as soon as possible). This means that for a family's second child enrolling at our school, that child's tuition will be half of what it would normally be. The third child comes to school for free. This is part of a larger plan to make Waldorf education as accessible as possible to all families in the South Whidbey and surrounding areas. Please share this information with friends who may have dismissed our school because they assumed the tuition for multiple children would be unaffordable.

With warmth and light,

William Geoffrey Dolde

Brochures and Applications Available

Dear Families,

The brochures/applications for the Dewdrop and Rosebud classes for the spring session are now available outside the Butterfly Classroom. After this, the final week of our winter session, the spring session commences on March 26 & 27.

Here is a preview of the schedule for the spring. There are 8 classes and one open festival.

Week 1 -- March 26 & 27
Week 2 -- April 2 & 3

closed for Spring break (April 9, 10, 16, & 17)

Week 3 -- April 23 & 24
Week 4 -- April 30 & May 1
Week 5 -- May 7 & 8
Week 6 -- May 14 & 15

no classes May 21 & 22 (The Waldorf School has an altered schedule on the 22nd as a snow makeup day. Many of our Rosebud families will have older siblings without school on that day).

Thursday, May 21, Parent & Child Summer festival open to all current families, friends, alums, and guests. Details and location to be announced.

Week 7 -- May 28 & 29
Week 8 -- June 4 & 5

Applications and Intentions for next year's nursery class

Thanks to families who included their enrollment intentions for Rosebud children when returning renrollment forms for their older siblings. You may procure an application for next year's nursery from our enrollment director, Adam Fawcett. It would be helpful to know what current or past Rosebud families have thoughts of starting the nursery next fall (or later in the year). Our faculty is in a process of allocating our teaching resources where our skills will be of most help to the school, and it will help this process to have at least an estimate of what 3 day nursery enrollment will be next year. Please share your thoughts about your child's enrollment for next year with me by email (wdolde@gmail.com) or in person--or tell our administrator, Maureen Marklin. She and Adam share an office upstairs; both can be reached by phone at 341-5686.

With warmth and light,

William Geoffrey Dolde

Spring Festival This Thursday

Dear Families,

       I look forward to seeing many of you this Thursday, March 12, at 9:30am for our spring festival.  Although the weather should be warmer than the past of couple of days, it is an outdoor festival, so please be prepared with warm clothes.

       While the children often find the festival more magical and nourishing if they can have the experience without explanation beforehand, I am offering a more detailed description of the events for adults so that you can be prepared to help if needed (please do not share with children).

9:30am  Children and parents arrive.  Bread and butter, water, and herbal tea will be available in the shelter near our playground.  If you are bringing cut vegetables to share, please bring them here.  Children play and/or eat.

9:45am (or when it seems all families intending to attend have arrived), William will play music, sing, and present a fingerplay or puppet show, depending on the weather.

9:50am  William will lead us into the woods to the teepee (the walk is 200 yards at the most).  There, Mother Earth will silently greet us.  She will present William with a fiber pot and plant cosmos seeds into the pot.   Ideally, Mother Earth will present a pot and seeds to each child.  If there are many children, and the waiting seems too stressful, William (and other parents) will help.  It is nice, however, if things do not feel rushed.  Some children, of course, may be intimated by Mother Earth, so a parent could receive the gift for the child.  Be prepared to help your child carry the pot.  We will have extra potting soil and seeds at the end of the walk if, as is possible, your child's pot spills.  We thank Mother Earth.

9:55am (or so) We walk a few more yards to another clearing in the wood.  There Sister Rain will greet us and water each pot.  We thank Sister Rain.

10am (or so)  We emerge from the woods (another few yards) and head back toward the playground.  There, Father Sun greets us.  He ties a spring crown around William's head.  Next it is ideal if Father Sun ties a spring crown on each child's head.  If there are a lot of children, William and parents can help Father Sun.  Again, it is nice if we avoid a sense of hurry.  Some children, of course, will not feel comfortable with a stranger putting on a crown; parents are welcome to help their own child with their crown.  We thank Father Sun.

10:05am (or so) Back at the playground, Brother Wind greets us and presents us with a large spring cloth for dancing.  We thank Brother Wind.  Unless it is bitterly cold, William will play the fiddle as parents and children dance with the large cloth from Brother Wind.

10:15am Children play some more, children and parents eat more snack.  Each child is welcome to take home a pot.  There will be extra in case one is misplaced or spilled.  This particular cosmos (which you can plant outside after 6 weeks or so) is supposed to help attract butterflies. to remind you of your time in the Butterfly Room.  Each child is welcome to take a crown home.  If you enroll in the spring session of parent and child classes (beginning March 26), please bring the crown to class.  We will decorate the crowns with wool roving and embroidery for May Day.  

10:30am  Children and parents depart.  Beginning at 10:45am or sooner, elementary children come outside for recess, and it will be good to leave them space.

Lyrics to songs William will sing (he will repeat them and you are encouraged to sing along)

Spring is coming, spring is coming.

Birdies build your nest.

Weave together straw and feather,

Doing each your best.

Spring is coming, spring is coming.

Flowers are coming, too.

Pansies, lilies, daffodillies,

Each is coming through.

Spring is coming, spring is coming.

All around is fair.

Shimmer, quiver on the river.

Joy is everywhere.

Mother Earth, Mother Earth,

Take our seed and give it birth.

Sister Rain, Sister Rain,

Shed thy tears to swell the grain.

Father Sun, Gleam and glow,

That the roots begin to grow. 

Brother Wind, breathe and blow,

That the blade green will grow.

Earth and Sun, Wind and Rain,

Turn to gold the the living grain.

With warmth and light,

William Geoffrey Dolde

Simplicity Parenting -- from a nursery discussion

Dear Parents,

       Please remember that there are no parent & child classes on Thursday and Friday March 12 & 13.  You are all invited to attend our Spring Festival on Thursday, March 12, from 9:30 - 10:30am outside.  Grandparents and special friends are invited to attend a puppet show and discussion on Friday the 13th (children can come along from 9 until 9:15am, then parents take children home while grandparents and friends stay for discussion and food and entertainment).  Please do RSVP to Christyn Johnson at school 341-5686 or whippet2me@aol.com if a grandparent or friend of your child's will be coming to school next Friday.

       The final classes of the winter session are Thursday and Friday, March 19 & 20.

        Here was a discussion with my nursery families about the Simplicity Parenting lecture that you may find relevant.

With warmth and light,

William Geoffrey Dolde