Spring Cleaning

As a follow up to yesterday's post, I have finished making some spring cleaning changes on the site.  All my resource links are now available on their own separate category pages under the heading of "Pages" on the right hand side. 

And on a totally unrelated topic, here are my kids sewing today.  As you can see, F was very serious about his new "sewing sock" that he got to sew up with a real metal (but somewhat dull) needle!  It's just a wool filled old sock.  Very easy for a young child to poke through with a needle and some embroidery floss. :)

My daughter did some sewing too.  Here she's making a daisy rug for her gnome home.  It's a little Spring present for them. :)

She was so excited that she wanted another project so she started a little sachet for my mom.  Here's the front piece.

Learning Patience

Late last week, during our art time, we got out the kids' brand new boxes of modelling wax.  After exploring and naming the different colors and noticing the warm beeswaxy scent, we proceeded to soften it up using the warmth of our hands.  Now, if you've never used modelling wax before, you should know that this is not qickly done.  It's pretty stiff, and warming it takes a great deal of time and patience.

F warming his wax

When S decided it was to hard to soften it just to her liking, she began to lose interest in making something with the material.  We happened to be working at the table, which had two tea lights burning in lanterns the kids had made.  (My kids love candle light and request it at every meal.  We had just finished lunch and had left the candles burning.)  I held my piece of wax over the top of the lantern jar, where the heat was just warm enough, and VOILA!  In moments we had lovely, soft, pliable wax.

Following suit, F and S both warmed their pieces and delighted in the soft, silky texture, and pearly, translucent colors of the wax.  It is truly a joy to work with, unlike anything we have ever used.  So with the softening figured out, we moved on to actually forming shapes with our fingers.  In the past, I have made playdough with the kids.  Playdough is soft, can be acted upon quickly and with force (pounding, rolling, cutting) and will comply easily with the maker's hands or tools.  Beeswax is no such thing.  It must be pinched, pulled, rolled, and otherwise shaped with the fingers alone.  ("What amazing fine-motor work!" the teacher in me thought.  I immediately vowed to put away the playdough.) 

 

from left to right, F's mushrooms,
my gnome, S's gnome and mushroom



This activity pushed my kids to the limits of their patience.  Between waiting for the wax to soften and taking the time to work slowly and thoughtfully with their fingers, they had almost had it.  But they pushed through and were greatly rewarded for their perseverence.  Before we knew it, we had several mushrooms and two cute gnomes.  Over an hour had passed by the time we were done for the day.  If you can get a two and a half year old and a four and a half year old to sit happily and do anything for over an hour, I congratulate you.  It is no easy task.  Now that the kids are both learning to understand that the quick and easy way is not always the best way, they will be open to so many possibilities in their learning.

I am so grateful to be teaching them in the Waldorf fashion.  I think about the way I was forced to teach in a public school and about all the opportunities that the students miss out on for learning patience, the ability to focus, and the value of purposeful activities.  It is wonderful to see these things come to life in my own children as they polish their wooden toys with beeswax, or learn to sew with a running stitch, as S did today.  And most of all it is so delightful to see them take pride in the work they were patient enough to do.





S and her first running stitch!