Happy Autumn!

Today the kids and I talked about the equinox and how everyone in the world gets an equal amount of sunshine and moonshine today/tonight. We said good bye to Summer and welcomed Autumn. We talked about the harvest and thanked God for blessing the crops and providing us with food. We are about to make sun-bread together and talk about how the days will be getting shorter and shorter as the earth tilts away from the sun. With Michaelmas coming, we will talk about how this is a season to practice courage and bravery as we put on the whole armor of God to help us slay our own personal dragons (besetting sins). Happy Autumn, everyone!

Wool!

So we began our autumn handwork early, in August. We have gone through the process of washing and dyeing the wool and are now carding some every day (will probably take several weeks). Finally, we will felt a pair of red slippers for my oldest boy and a pair of orange slippers for my middle boy. Enjoy the pics :)

Getting ready to wash!

 Dirty, stinky wool!

Middle brother, helping!

Oldest brother getting in on the fun!

The water was this dirty AFTER two washes. We washed twice more to get this:

Sunning the wool :)

Then, a week later, we dyed it. First the red:

Then the orange: 

In the sun again to dry!

 Aaaand...a gratuitous super cute baby pic with the kitty nap guardian :) 

She slept while we dyed wool!

Practicing...

One of the main parts of the next two years is teaching *myself* all the Waldorf teacher skills that I will need in future, and in that way this journey is about me, too, and not just my kids. It will be a growing, a stretching, a gathering of talents and knowledge. Homeschooling is such a vehicle of sanctification. I am striving to become better at communication and really listening to understand (rather than listening to reply...reloading my tongue with prideful and unkind words). I am working on modeling perseverance, humility, and patience before my children as I train them to develop these traits in themselves. How can I bring to my children that which I do not already possess? Inner work is such an important part of being a teacher to these intuitive little ones who can sense your heart in an instant! Anyway! This was intended to be a post about some of the more practical skills I am learning, like chalk board drawing and knitting, but it took a sharp turn into spiritual development. So here are some pictures of me practicing:

These will be leg warmers for little sis (currently 4.5 months). I started in the round several times and was just frustrating myself. So I decided to work them flat and seam the sides and attempt round knitting with a bigger project (32 stitches on four needles is not easy!). 

This was my very first chalkboard drawing. I'm trying to have very low standards 

and just be content with progress!

Kindergarten!

Well, it's here...as a homeschool graduate myself I am finally on the cusp of my firstborn son's first school year! Our two years of kindergarten will focus on outside play and movement, scripture and catechism, festivals, music, songs and rhymes, painting, stories and poetry, handwork, cooking/baking, and a bit of Italian here and there. I could not be more excited! School begins September 9, stay tuned for a peek into our home and Waldorf inspired kindergarten.