Invitation to the Autumn Festival and Fall Session

Dear Families,

Infants, Toddlers, Preschoolers, Parents, Grandparents, and Friends are invited to our Autumn Festival on Friday, September 25, from 9 to 10:30am.

As summer changes to fall, days shorten, and the frost and cold of winter approaches, we as humans need strength and courage to help us stand upright through the darkness of winter. Different cultures have received inspiration from the meteor showers (heavenly iron, shooting stars) they observed around late September; the iron from the stars of heaven gave people strength. In various cultures and religions, this comes forth as a tale of a hero--a knight like St. George or Archangel Michael conquering or taming a dragon. For Rudolf Steiner, this battle between a knight and a dragon goes on inside each one of us--the dragon is not some other out there to be excluded, but, rather, that part of ourselves that we need to confront, acknowledge, and tame so we are ready to be free individuals capable of serving humanity and the world.

Explanations of a psychic battle inside each of us or battles with dragons can be too much for children birth to 4, who, rather, find seasonal inspiration as days shorten and nights lengthen by looking in wonderment toward the stars. An early childhood teacher could simplify the celebration of Michaelmas toward an examination of stars--singing "Twinkle Twinkle" and cutting open an apple to reveal the star come to earth on the inside.

On Friday the 25th parents and children will gather outside to play and share a snack (Nursery children and I will have baked extra bread and made extra soup in class that week). We will also have a harvest dance to tune of the fiddle. Then we'll go inside for a puppet show. After that, we will walk to the woods to meet (as a surprise for the children) a knight from the stars and Mother Earth--they will both present us with gifts. After the walk, children and parents will depart with their gifts.

While this festival is open to the community, it also commences our school year for Dewdrop (Thursday) and Rosebud (Friday) classes. We will have class as usual from 9 to 11am beginning on October 1 and 2. Here is an electronic copy of our parent & child brochure; you may also procure one at school.

For families new to our program or are considering enrolling, this synopsis of the parent & child morning may help provide a sense of what your child and you will experience each week.

Here is additional information about our program:

Our classes take place in the Butterfly Room, the first room you come to when you go down the stairs in the main building.

Vegetables and Extra Clothes -- We will make vegetable soup and bread every week; children love to explore, play, and help when their parents and teacher join together in community work such as cooking. Please bring a vegetable if possible. Our classes try to make activities such as washing dishes inviting for children (and their parents). While I try to keep splashing to a reasonable level, your child may get very wet. Please bring a change of clothes.

Our 7 week session runs from October 1 to November 20. There will be no Rosebud class on Friday, October 16, and no Dewdrop class on Thursday, November 19. You will be invited to join the nursery for our lantern walk in the early evening on November 13.

At 5pm on Wednesday, October 7, adults are invited to a parenting talk in the Butterfly Room.

With warmth and light,

William Geoffrey Dolde