A number of early childhood families from WIWS plan to gather at Maxwelton Beach at 10am (feel free to come later) today and will do so each week. I'll be there this week.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Friday, June 17, 2011
Saturday Furniture and Ice Cream
Dear Families from Rosebud and Dewdrop,
I am including you in this post for 2 reasons
1) Some of your children will join the Butterfly nursery next year.
2) We've received thoughtful feedback that it is good to include all parent & child families in all opportunities for the school. What follows is traditionally an invitation to do manual labor (one we might have shielded new families from). Feel invited but not obligated.
As some to many of you may know, the carpets were cleaned this week. Tomorrow at 9am WIWS asks families who can to come to the school to move furniture back into the classroom. It normally goes quickly.
I will be working at the restaurant tomorrow morning. I will go later tonight and set up the Butterfly Room (I have no furniture that I can't move myself; I have donated away the couch and will replace it with a fresh piece of comfy furniture later this summer). Please feel invited to come tomorrow morning, nonetheless. It is likely we will need help moving for other classrooms in the school.
If you find yourself at school tomorrow with a surplus of movers and seek a way to contribute to the Butterfly Room, the windows and shelves and corners and crevices would always appreciate a deep clean. This is also something we will do in informal work days in late August or early September--so it is an invitation for tomorrow, not at all an obligation.
Thanks for your support of the school.
William
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
I am including you in this post for 2 reasons
1) Some of your children will join the Butterfly nursery next year.
2) We've received thoughtful feedback that it is good to include all parent & child families in all opportunities for the school. What follows is traditionally an invitation to do manual labor (one we might have shielded new families from). Feel invited but not obligated.
As some to many of you may know, the carpets were cleaned this week. Tomorrow at 9am WIWS asks families who can to come to the school to move furniture back into the classroom. It normally goes quickly.
I will be working at the restaurant tomorrow morning. I will go later tonight and set up the Butterfly Room (I have no furniture that I can't move myself; I have donated away the couch and will replace it with a fresh piece of comfy furniture later this summer). Please feel invited to come tomorrow morning, nonetheless. It is likely we will need help moving for other classrooms in the school.
If you find yourself at school tomorrow with a surplus of movers and seek a way to contribute to the Butterfly Room, the windows and shelves and corners and crevices would always appreciate a deep clean. This is also something we will do in informal work days in late August or early September--so it is an invitation for tomorrow, not at all an obligation.
Thanks for your support of the school.
William
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Saturday, June 11, 2011
No Summer Playgroup
Dear Families,
Please pass along the following information. While last summer's playgroup was sweet, it was also small. I also had 4 children guaranteed all summer, and this summer I do not have this consistent group. I want to create a successful experience for students and myself. At present I have only 1 student enrolled for 2 weeks, and even if there were a sudden rush of a few families, it would not be enough to make the program feel like a group for the students.
I recommend you contact Cordula Hetland if seek child care this summer. Her phone number is 360-321-5608. Her email is hetland_cordial@hotmail.com. She is a trained and experienced Waldorf early childhood teacher from Germany; she leads our extended program at the Whidbey Island Waldorf School; and she is offering care at her home this summer. Her home-based program may better serve the needs parents in the community have in terms of schedule and flexibility with ages of children and group size than I am able to serve at school.
I look forward to seeing you at the Waldorf School in the nursery or parent & child classes, at festivals, and throughout the year. My boys and I plan to attend a number of Wednesday and Friday morning (11 to 3; though I've heard different times) Maxwelton Beach gatherings if you want to stay in touch that way.
With warmth and light,
William Geoffrey Dolde
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Friday, June 3, 2011
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Summer Beach Fridays
Dear Nursery and Parent & Child Families,
In class on Thursday I mentioned the tradition of a school gathering at Maxwelton beach on Wednesdays. It now seems that there is a gathering specifically for early childhood families on Friday mornings at Maxwelton from 10am to 2pm. I will try to make as many of those gatherings as I can beginning on June 17. The invitation below comes from a kindergarten assistant and parent of 2 children in kindergarten.
Hello kindergarten (early childhood) families,
We are planning to gather on Fridays at Maxwelton beach from 10-2 during the summer, to stay connected and have fun. Please join us! Last summer we found that sometimes there were many of us, sometimes few, but Maxwelton is so fun anyway. If this day/time doesn't work for you please let me know, and perhaps we can work on something else. I am also planning on sending this info out to nursery parents, so spread the word to all early childhood folks, new and old ;)
Looking forward to it,
Ashley, Thor, Anna & Evelyn
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
In class on Thursday I mentioned the tradition of a school gathering at Maxwelton beach on Wednesdays. It now seems that there is a gathering specifically for early childhood families on Friday mornings at Maxwelton from 10am to 2pm. I will try to make as many of those gatherings as I can beginning on June 17. The invitation below comes from a kindergarten assistant and parent of 2 children in kindergarten.
Hello kindergarten (early childhood) families,
We are planning to gather on Fridays at Maxwelton beach from 10-2 during the summer, to stay connected and have fun. Please join us! Last summer we found that sometimes there were many of us, sometimes few, but Maxwelton is so fun anyway. If this day/time doesn't work for you please let me know, and perhaps we can work on something else. I am also planning on sending this info out to nursery parents, so spread the word to all early childhood folks, new and old ;)
Looking forward to it,
Ashley, Thor, Anna & Evelyn
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Location:Maxwelton Rd,Clinton,United States
Sunday, May 29, 2011
Reflections for Parents in a Hurry
Dear Families,
I sent along to many of you cartoons that summarize the discussions from Faber and Mazlish's book Siblings Without Rivalry. If you have not received these and would like a copy, please contact me (wdolde at gmail.com), and I will be glad to send along a batch. This was in response to a parent's request for help when time is short. Below a few other resources that have helped parents in a pinch over the years.
First, a caveat I've uttered before. Although I find Siblings Without Rivalry a really helpful book, I wish the name were slightly less emphatic. I wish the name were "Siblings With Just Enough Rivalry to Help them in Their Development" (this would probably be harder to market). My understanding from reading books such as Your Child's Self-Esteem by Dorothy Corkille Briggs and the work of Kim Payne is that children need a bit of jealousy, conflict, and rivalry to develop (Kim Payne warns us to avoid a harmony addiction). Briggs tells us that when there is too much jealousy, children then tend to shut down, and development stops. Kim Payne calls this the moment at which conflict becomes stuck and an adult needs to bring presence to the situation (not always doing something; sometimes Payne tells us, "Don't just do something! Stand there!" Sometimes children need our nonjudgmental presence as witnesses). I think Faber and Mazlish would agree, of course: I just want to make sure none of us are deluded into steering our family ship to a nonexistent (and ultimately unhealthy) cove devoid of any conflict or rivalry.
That said, I find rereading Siblings Without Rivalry or How to Talk So Kids WIll Listen or How to Talk so Kids Will Learn refreshing. By dipping into their cartoons that summarize the chapters, I am able to wake up and bring presence to situations that I had fallen asleep to, whether with my sons or in the classroom: "Oh yes, that's where I could have been trying a different way."
If the excerpts from Siblings Without Rivalry brought help, you may enjoy How to Talk so Kids Will Listen--which has more examples of parent and child interactions. Here's a link to one preview of this book http://www.amazon.com/How-Talk-Kids-Will-Listen/dp/0380811960
You should be able to find it at libraries as well. If you are short on time, skip to the cartoons at the end of each chapter--with effectiveness they encapsulate the kernel of each chapter's argument.
Our WIWS library houses a number of cds of lectures by Kim Payne. Over the years, a few parents have found The Compassionate Response lecture to be water in the desert when they found themselves at a breaking point. If you do not want to wait for the library to open again, you can order the CD directly from Kim Payne's web-site: http://www.thechildtoday.com/Catalog/
Katrina Kenison's Mitten Strings For God: Reflections for Mothers in a Hurry provides support and reflections on a variety of topics that translate what one thoughtful mother learned at a Waldorf school into ways of being at home. This should be available at libraries. Here's a taste of the book from Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Mitten-Strings-God-Reflections-Mothers/dp/0446676934.
IF YOU HAVE SLIGHTLY MORE TIME
I find Eckhart Tolle's books easy to read, transformative, and helpful to review frequently. His guidance toward presence and awareness helps me greatly as a teacher and parent. I would recommend either Power of Now or A New Earth. His web site contains a great deal of content: www.eckharttolle.com.
IF YOU HAVE MORE TIME
Polly Berrien Berends' Whole Child/Whole Parent travels through world religions and literature to reflect upon what it means to be a parent, what we are to learn in this process. Many of her conclusions work in harmony with Tolle's.
Dorothy Corkille Briggs Your Child's Self-Esteem was one of the few books Magda Gerber recommended. It seems to me that Briggs, like Faber and Mazlish, like Goleman and Gottman (Emotional Intelligence), like Louise Gurney, continues a stream of reflections about child development that are in harmony with Haim Ginott's teachings at Columbia's Teacher College and his books such as Teacher and Child.
You can start immersing yourself in the works of Rudolf Steiner in audio format for free by visiting www.rudolfsteineraudio.com. You might start with Anthroposophy in Everyday Life or the Education of the Child. Steiner was often lecturing to people familiar with his descriptions of the material and spiritual worlds, so a first listen or read might feel a bit much (after repeated reads, I can hold on to the cohesion of his images).
I am aware of the irony that this note is a bit long for help in a hurry. I look forward to seeing you at our summer festival Friday.
With Warmth and Light,
William Geoffrey Dolde
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
I sent along to many of you cartoons that summarize the discussions from Faber and Mazlish's book Siblings Without Rivalry. If you have not received these and would like a copy, please contact me (wdolde at gmail.com), and I will be glad to send along a batch. This was in response to a parent's request for help when time is short. Below a few other resources that have helped parents in a pinch over the years.
First, a caveat I've uttered before. Although I find Siblings Without Rivalry a really helpful book, I wish the name were slightly less emphatic. I wish the name were "Siblings With Just Enough Rivalry to Help them in Their Development" (this would probably be harder to market). My understanding from reading books such as Your Child's Self-Esteem by Dorothy Corkille Briggs and the work of Kim Payne is that children need a bit of jealousy, conflict, and rivalry to develop (Kim Payne warns us to avoid a harmony addiction). Briggs tells us that when there is too much jealousy, children then tend to shut down, and development stops. Kim Payne calls this the moment at which conflict becomes stuck and an adult needs to bring presence to the situation (not always doing something; sometimes Payne tells us, "Don't just do something! Stand there!" Sometimes children need our nonjudgmental presence as witnesses). I think Faber and Mazlish would agree, of course: I just want to make sure none of us are deluded into steering our family ship to a nonexistent (and ultimately unhealthy) cove devoid of any conflict or rivalry.
That said, I find rereading Siblings Without Rivalry or How to Talk So Kids WIll Listen or How to Talk so Kids Will Learn refreshing. By dipping into their cartoons that summarize the chapters, I am able to wake up and bring presence to situations that I had fallen asleep to, whether with my sons or in the classroom: "Oh yes, that's where I could have been trying a different way."
If the excerpts from Siblings Without Rivalry brought help, you may enjoy How to Talk so Kids Will Listen--which has more examples of parent and child interactions. Here's a link to one preview of this book http://www.amazon.com/How-Talk-Kids-Will-Listen/dp/0380811960
You should be able to find it at libraries as well. If you are short on time, skip to the cartoons at the end of each chapter--with effectiveness they encapsulate the kernel of each chapter's argument.
Our WIWS library houses a number of cds of lectures by Kim Payne. Over the years, a few parents have found The Compassionate Response lecture to be water in the desert when they found themselves at a breaking point. If you do not want to wait for the library to open again, you can order the CD directly from Kim Payne's web-site: http://www.thechildtoday.com/Catalog/
Katrina Kenison's Mitten Strings For God: Reflections for Mothers in a Hurry provides support and reflections on a variety of topics that translate what one thoughtful mother learned at a Waldorf school into ways of being at home. This should be available at libraries. Here's a taste of the book from Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Mitten-Strings-God-Reflections-Mothers/dp/0446676934.
IF YOU HAVE SLIGHTLY MORE TIME
I find Eckhart Tolle's books easy to read, transformative, and helpful to review frequently. His guidance toward presence and awareness helps me greatly as a teacher and parent. I would recommend either Power of Now or A New Earth. His web site contains a great deal of content: www.eckharttolle.com.
IF YOU HAVE MORE TIME
Polly Berrien Berends' Whole Child/Whole Parent travels through world religions and literature to reflect upon what it means to be a parent, what we are to learn in this process. Many of her conclusions work in harmony with Tolle's.
Dorothy Corkille Briggs Your Child's Self-Esteem was one of the few books Magda Gerber recommended. It seems to me that Briggs, like Faber and Mazlish, like Goleman and Gottman (Emotional Intelligence), like Louise Gurney, continues a stream of reflections about child development that are in harmony with Haim Ginott's teachings at Columbia's Teacher College and his books such as Teacher and Child.
You can start immersing yourself in the works of Rudolf Steiner in audio format for free by visiting www.rudolfsteineraudio.com. You might start with Anthroposophy in Everyday Life or the Education of the Child. Steiner was often lecturing to people familiar with his descriptions of the material and spiritual worlds, so a first listen or read might feel a bit much (after repeated reads, I can hold on to the cohesion of his images).
I am aware of the irony that this note is a bit long for help in a hurry. I look forward to seeing you at our summer festival Friday.
With Warmth and Light,
William Geoffrey Dolde
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Location:Maxwelton Rd,Clinton,United States
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Summer Festival in America, Friday, June 3
Dear Nursery and Parent & Child Families Past, Present, and Future, and Friends,
Please see the invitation below. I am excited that we are expanding our WIWS family.
I will walk onto the 11am ferry with nursery and parent & child families from Whidbey Island.
Come Join Us for Some Summer Fun!!!
June 3rd -- 11:30am - 1:00pm
Lighthouse Park in Mukilteo
Picnic, Strawberry Shortcakes, Music, Dancing, Singing, Bon Fires
Free and open to the public, please RSVP: development@whidbey.com
Mukilteo Early Childhood Center will be hosting our end of the year Summer Festival on June 3rd at 11:30am for children 6 years old and younger and their families. Bring a picnic lunch for your family and we will have strawberry shortcakes to share. We will be meeting families coming from Whidbey Island Waldorf School at 11:20am at the Mukilteo ferry terminal and processing to Lighthouse Park with the violin music of WIWS Parent/ Child teacher, William Dolde. Once we are there, we will gather for some dancing and sing a song welcoming summer. Then, we will enjoy our picnic lunches, strawberry shortcakes, and bon fires.
Please RSVP so we will be sure to have enough strawberry shortcakes for all to enjoy. For RSVP or for more information, please contact: development@whidbey.com
I hope to see you there!!!
Warmly,
Vanessa
Vanessa Kohlhaas
Whidbey Island Waldorf School (WIWS)
Mukilteo Early Childhood Center (MECC)
Development Director
Whidbey Island Waldorf School is excited to be establishing a statellite early childhood program at the new Rosehill Community Center. If you want more information or are interested in supporting this project: Please contact Vanessa at 360-221-2270 or enrollment@whidbey.com
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Please see the invitation below. I am excited that we are expanding our WIWS family.
I will walk onto the 11am ferry with nursery and parent & child families from Whidbey Island.
Come Join Us for Some Summer Fun!!!
June 3rd -- 11:30am - 1:00pm
Lighthouse Park in Mukilteo
Picnic, Strawberry Shortcakes, Music, Dancing, Singing, Bon Fires
Free and open to the public, please RSVP: development@whidbey.com
Mukilteo Early Childhood Center will be hosting our end of the year Summer Festival on June 3rd at 11:30am for children 6 years old and younger and their families. Bring a picnic lunch for your family and we will have strawberry shortcakes to share. We will be meeting families coming from Whidbey Island Waldorf School at 11:20am at the Mukilteo ferry terminal and processing to Lighthouse Park with the violin music of WIWS Parent/ Child teacher, William Dolde. Once we are there, we will gather for some dancing and sing a song welcoming summer. Then, we will enjoy our picnic lunches, strawberry shortcakes, and bon fires.
Please RSVP so we will be sure to have enough strawberry shortcakes for all to enjoy. For RSVP or for more information, please contact: development@whidbey.com
I hope to see you there!!!
Warmly,
Vanessa
Vanessa Kohlhaas
Whidbey Island Waldorf School (WIWS)
Mukilteo Early Childhood Center (MECC)
Development Director
Whidbey Island Waldorf School is excited to be establishing a statellite early childhood program at the new Rosehill Community Center. If you want more information or are interested in supporting this project: Please contact Vanessa at 360-221-2270 or enrollment@whidbey.com
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)