pictures of Sunbridge college

This place is a small haven....fairies and gnomes roam free here......I'm not kidding!!!!!!

Thoughts for waldorf kindergarten class handwork

I don't have pictures because I am still out of town....

But a few people have asked for Kindergarten handwork ideas.

In the early childhood class the most important crafts which support their senses, nourish their soul and help in fine motor skills would be:

Note: Please only use pastel colors...save the darker colors for later years. plant dyed is best.

1) Wet felting. this can be making small balls with just a very small hand full of felt. make a bunch and sting into a necklace.
wet felt a big ball with a bell inside. this can be used to play with or as an ornament.
wet felt a mouse on your thumb (you will need pictures to see this)
wet felt a chick (again you need pics)\
wet felt a mat. put a shower curtain on the ground and lay sheets of batting on the ground. cross layers so that the batting will felt. Now put some warm soapy water on top and have the children felt with their feet by stamping on the roving.
2) sewing
very important for fine motor skills.
sew a knot baby
sew a gnome
sew a tooth fairy pillow
3) roll balls of yarn. always roll away from the self. you are rolling the ball for the world. even if you are making the item for yourself. you are still helping others. so you wrap it down and it comes up and over and wrap forward towards the world.
4) finger knit and finger weave. I should do a u tube on this......
5) weaving

supply source

since I am doing lots of ordering right now I will share some places to order waldorf Handwork supplies


1) brown sheep for yarn...I like bulky because when you make animals and you stuff them it does not show as much. worsted is thin and can show the stuffing....you get further faster with the bulky as well www.brownsheep.com

2) earth guild for plant dyes.....and there is the place in england that I got a bunch of stuff but I can't remember the name at the moment. www.earthguild.com

3) www.Eugenechernin.com for cross stitch stuff.

4) dowels for knitting needles www.dowelsondemand.com/

5) darma trading for silk and cotton/ hemp material for handwork bags http://www.dharmatrading.com/

6) bamboo and metal crochet hooks from joann fabrics size G or H www.joann.com

7) roving and doll supplies ...weirdolls.com

8) wool batting and roving. they only do phone orders...there is no web site....$5.85 per pound! West Earl Woollen Mill, Ephrata PA 717/859-2241

more on book

THe more I think about it the more I want a bunch of people to be involve in this book.

I want it to be collection of handwork lectures, patterns, thoughts, verses, songs, and experiences from teachers, parents and children.!!!!!!

oooooooew I love it!


What do I name it?

If you can think of a name I will put a thank you to your family for naming the book.



And if you want to put a story in the book, a pattern, thoughts, songs experiences.....you will receive a free book

My Curriculum this year

Just putting thoughts down....are you ready?

grade one:

Story about sheep and wool
intro to wool spin with stick
make knitting needles size 8
learn slip knot
finger knit bulky wool for handwork bag draw sting
finger knit Golden chain to take home and wear that day
learn to cast on
Knit Cat...cast on 16 stitches make a square white wool
Knit a Bird...cast on 14 st make a triangle plant dyed wool
sew on to bird, felted wings and beak
Knit a pentatonic flute case. cast on 30 st. 8 different colors. change colors every 2 ribs (4 rows)
Knit Bear Plant dyed wool brown shades
Knit rainbow ball

Grade 2

Braid string for their new handwork bags.
Knit a mouse. cast on 10 stitches knit into a square. sew on ears and tail. we will plant dye wool
Knit/ pearl an owl.
Knit a Gnome
Learn to crochet a chain as long as you are tall
Crochet a bracelet. chain 5, turn around stitch, single crochet back and forth to make a cuff.
Crochet a potholder. crochet 20 stitches. back and forth
Crochet a bag
Knit a lion

Grade 3

Crochet a chain for the new handwork bags
Plant dye wool for their recorder cases 2 colors per bag
Tell story of Stone soup. have children choose characters
Crochet hand puppets for Stone soup puppet show for Kindergarten
Make spindles
Learn to Spin.
Crochet with spun wool
Learn to weave on Lap looms
Make place mats or bags

Grade 4

Draw pictures of how to embroider handwork bags. use embroidery hoops
Make Handwork bags
Make cross stitch fountain case
Cross stitch pouches using mirrored image

Grade 5

Make new Knitting needles
Make a horse this is their "remember how to knit" project
Go to first grade for 2 classes to help teach knitting
receive 5 double pointed needles and learn to knit in a round
Knit a Hat
Knit fingerless gloves.
Penpals with the Flagstaff waldorf school

Grade 6

Talk about what endangered animal they want to adopt as a group. ( ie the polar bear)
Make a pattern on paper of the animal.
have each child bring in $4 to adopt the animal.
cut out the pattern and pin onto felt. cut out felt pattern and pin. Must be a gusseted animal
Make a table puppet
Make a marionette. assign parts before beginning for the Kindergarten puppet show.
Make a sock monster http://www.stupidcreatures.com/gallery.html

Penpals with the Chicago waldorf school

Grade 7

Make Lesson Books. sew paper together. Make cover....( we might make the cover paper from scratch)
Wet felt ball for pin cushion
Make embroidered Pencil cases for the 2nd grade
Needle felt people and choose where they are from (ie India) skin, hair , clothes must match
wet felt Renaissance hats
Pen pals from South Africa

Grade 8

Make Lesson books
Draw, label and name their sewing machine
history of the sewing machine.
sew jewel pouches for the 1st grade
sew pumpkin pin cushions
sew fleece hats learn to read a pattern
sew quilted pillow case
sew fleece gloves. make up pattern with their own hand. or Bags
Pen pals from Costa Rica

A picture from Sunbridge

I went over to my friend Julia's site (http://ithacawaldorf.blogspot.com/
and she had a picture of our handwork room...I am on floor making....something........


since I am not home I had to swipe her picture...I like her pictures better than mine anyway....she is a profession photographer as a second profession that she keeps in her back pocket for occasional use
I will post a picture of her hard at work ....when I get home...we ran around NY city with another friend (Sarah) on the weekend....we had a great time! Sending Hugs to both of you!


I won't be home for another week and a half.....New Mexico weather and our friends are just keeping us out here....we can't leave




NEWS
I have been invited to go to the Santa Fe waldorf school tomorrow and chat it up with their Handwork teacher!!!!!
Apparently she is a new Handwork teacher this year but has been a graders teacher for many many years and would like to talk about my curriculum and what I learned at sunbridge!

You know how I love to share!!!!!!!!!


I am so honored....Pictures to come!

A book you MUST read

so I am reading several books....

The one that I got totally sucked into on my flight was eat pray love

you have to read it........you just have to!!! its a great summer book, she is funny, real and a good read.....buy it, check it out from your library or ask a girl friend if they have it....I'm sure you have a friend who is reading or read it.

back from Sunbridge

wow what a great 2 weeks!

Like I said before it is a time for rest and learning. A time to grow as a person and as a teacher.

Have you ever had a chance to be with other women in a creative setting where you can totally relax and have fun ? I kind of feel it is a rare treat...no kids no husbands, no work....just play. when not in class we would joke around, sing , spin, swim, eat, go to plays, run into NY city and visit the Met.....we even made gnome houses in an area where the local kids would find them and play.

what a fine time to sing, dance, eat organic, talk about spirituality and be in a group from many different religions....therefore taking religion out of the talk and only talking about spirituality.

It fed my soul! it has to be one of the most important times of year for me....I may not know it at the moment, I may get caught up in how much money it took to get me there and how I miss my kids so much and how I want to be challenged to the hilt so that I can get my monies worth....but once I get to reflect on the situation, I see that I have been blessed!

life on campus at sunbridge college

Life on campus is next to paradise for a Waldorf teacher....you sit on a grassy knoll and you watch the student teachers walk around campus with smiles on their face, discussing the lecture they just came from or the painting they just did etc.....as I look around I see a group of early childhood teachers focusing with lots of energy on a plant...I ask another student what they are doing..."they are meditating on the plant"

I hear a song on the wind.....a woman in the Music training is singing some songs she must have learned this morning.....

I see children running to the pond to swim and a mother breast feeding her infant under a tree where a small bunny is eating near by..............

Yah......wow


Happy to be here

Going back to Sunbridge

in a few days I am getting on a plane (due to lack of space I get to fly first class seats with my frequent flyer miles......sooooo cool, I have never sat in first class....hee hee) 

And off I go, back to NY and training in waldorf Handwork and applied arts. 

Pictures to come.

If I don't write for awhile, please come visit in 3 weeks......I know that is soooo long!   But I will have a whole new boat load of crafts (with my own slant) to share with you. 

Fiber art snob

So I have become a fiber art snob.....I signed my girls up for a fiber art camp out here in NM for the week...low and behold it is no more than an attempt at fiber art but totally lacking in natural material and projects with purpose and challenge.......another moment of reflection...thank you Rudolph Steiner for your many teachings!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I volunteered yesterday...thinking that I would learn some new stuff....

they started the day with circle and I was all happy thinking that we would do a morning verse and a song and introduce each other etc....
No such luck...just "Hi my name is....and this is my 1st year attending fiber arts camp and I will catch 3 grass hoppers today and feed them to the chickens"

Ok so circle didn't go as I would have liked...that's ok.....so the kids were split up into 3 groups. each group were brought to a station. the only cool station was the table looms....soooooo cool! but there were only 7 looms so the kids had to wait and wait and wait and wait!!!!
the other stations were projects that were very "public school" quality. plastic, synthetic without purpose.

I tried to bring in some little projects and I tried to show finger knitting, finger weaving and celtic double finger looping......NOPE the teachers looked at what I was doing and said it was too hard........WHAT? you have 6th graders in this group! my 4 year old was able to do all the projects they provided.........yep.....so we dropped out of fiber art camp.

too bad...what a bummer! the location was awesome. they rented a farm space and there were really cute animals theres. baby sheep, baby goats, baby chicks

visiting other waldorf schools

I think I am one of those people that likes to visit other waldorf schools and take pictures of them...kind of like those people that like to visit churches all over Europe.....is that too funny!


we drove an hour to get to the Taos waldorf school and what a wonderful drive!!!! right along the river, through the canyon....wow! it must be amazing when it is snowy.

The school is set right at the base of a beautiful mountain range....I took pics but I can't get the pics onto this computer....so you will have to wait.


They have a yurt as the Eurythmy room and all around is farm land.....cows, horses, veggies.......

and the town is sooooo sweet with the best toy shop I have EVER been to.....its an alternative toy shop.....any waldorf families dream toy shop...its called Twitter and they had free art classes and a whole play ground with a canopy of trees and comfy chairs for moms and dads to sit in while you watch your kids run around climbing rope/ tube course and mushroom play structure.
It was a very smart business move to have a play area as part of the toy shop....the thing is you have to walk through the toy shop to get to it. so kids always want to buy stuff. they even have a bath room with free diapers so moms don't have to leave if they run out of diapers.....
Moms just bring lunch and play for hours. the play area is clean and the kids take off their shoes and run around....the play structures are all shoe free zones because of the foam/ trampoline sturctures

June 11 the birth of a little golden dragon

8 years ago I was in labor and 6 hours at home with a doula, 2 midwives my husband and my mom ...into the world I birthed a baby golden dragon ....  she is so proud of being year of the dragon. 

since we are in New Mexico and away from my computer I do not have pictures....but I will tell you that she was a small blond bundle....from that moment....from that instant...my life changed and it could never go back........I was born into motherhood and my eyes opened and the world changed. 

This morning we went to early morning sadhana (an early morning group yoga class)  and there we were embraced by all the many people that were in our life when my daughter was born...she was born here in NM where we have many friends we have known for decades...

 in our yogic lifestyle we spend 40 days in our home with the new baby....only close friends and family members who will be apart of the child's life (for ever basically) are allowed to visit...we also have a savadar (a female postpartum doula) who helps to cook and clean the house during this time.  for me it was my mother...she came out and stayed with us...

So our first appearance into the world from our quiet space at home was early morning Sadhana where the rest of the community is able to see the new family and welcome them into the world.  It was a very powerful time 8 years ago and today as we relished our yogic experience, the room started to sing happy birthday to my daughter...   my husband and I were in tears as they sang to our first born. she was so beautiful as she walked around and handed out cookies and excepted all the hugs and best wished from so many friends. 

I feel so blessed to be here....

kinder class

Still working on blue and purple....but here is the beginning of a toy for kinder class. it also needs to be felted.




Kinderdolls....one doll was in the kindergarten and it had a very dirty face. so I brought her home and took off her head and put new skin on...I hand washed the body and dried her in the sun.. . Then I made another doll the same size...I'm not sure how many dolls the Kindergarten needs but once I start...its hard to stop.

hollyhock flowers for plant dyeing....my result was only a little off white...the dye tried to make purple but it did not work. I think too few flowers......I don't know....

here are some crafts for the Kinder classroom

My girls always make me smile!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

They have more energy than puppies.....

adding more to first grade

The top picture is of the 1st and 2nd grade curriculum...this is a picture from Sunbridge... you can see the cat and the pouch there

First Grade verses
These are my hands as you can see, this is my right and this is my left. I can stretch them out wide and pull them in close. I can reach them up high and hang them down low. I can shake them up and hold them quite still. These are my hands they do as I will.

Two jolly grandfathers meet in the lane
Bow most politely , bow once again
How do you do, and how do you do, and how do you do again
Two first graders meet in the land etc
Two tall farmers meet in the lane etc
Two shepherd girls meet in the lane etc
Two wooly sheep meet in the lane etc


Our time for now has ended. Our hands may come to rest. We thank our hands both left and right, for helping us to do our best.

My fingers are so sleepy, It's time they went to bed. First you Little Baby, Tuck in your tiny head. Ruby Ring, now it's your turn. Next comes Toby Great. Peter Pointer hurry Because it's getting late. Let's see if they're all nestled, No! - there's one to come, Move over please and make room For Tommy Thumb.
Blessings on your day 1st grade boys and girls.

4) Leaning how to cast on
Under the fence, catch the sheep back we come and ON we leap
5) Making a square. Cat Pattern
Cast on 16 stitches. Knit until the square can fold into a triangle.

6) Casting off
Knit one, Knit two, leap frog sue .


7) Knitting Bird. Cast on 14. same as Cat pattern but sew in a triangle . Sew on orange felted beak.

Cast on 16 stitches. Knit length of 2 squares (able to fold into 2 triangles)

Flute Case Pattern:

8 color changes (your choice in how this is done).
This current pattern is for size 10 needles

Cast on 40 stitches.

1) Knit 2 ribs (4 rows)

Change color and leave a 2 inch tail on the end.

2) Knit 2 ribs ( 4 rows)

Change color again and leave a 2 inch tail on the end. Make sure that you only change color when you have the tails at the tip of the knitting needle. This will make a fridge on the bottom of the flute case.

3) Repeat for 8 color changes. (This could mean 2 colors changing back and forth or 4 colors changing around etc)

4) After the 8th color change, cast off and sew the case up using the whip stitch. That means we use a yarn needle and sew in a spiral. Leave the top unsewn.
5) 2 methods to finish. Either knit a flap with a button or have your child make a twisty twirly and gather it at the top (a draw string) like their handwork bag.

6) The flap:
Cast on 15 stitches. Knit 5-8 ribs and cast off. Sew on a button.




Knit a pouch. Cast on 16 . Learn to decrease
Cast on 16 stitches. Knit length of 2 squares (able to fold into 2 triangles)

Under two fences, catch the sheep, back we come and off we leap.
Decrease the pouch by decreasing one stitch each row.
Ends with a triangle
Get a button to finish it.

1st grade

I wanted to share what I did this year in Handwork with all the different grades
I will be changing some things next year...but just to share with those who are curious...

I will start with 1st grade...above you can see the books I used...they are a must!


we started our year with a story about a local brother and sister who were going to their grandparents farm.... 2 hour drive from the city to a town we locals are all familiar with for its clean air, farm land and snow.

on the farm they run into sheep...from here the story introduced sheep, wool fleece, spinning on sticks to make yarn and what we can do with yarn.

from there we made our own knitting needles.

I feel I need pictures to properly share this with you...pics to come....

what you need

dowels
sand paper
cement ground
bees wax
felt

we made the knitting needle ends from sculpty clay


next we learned how to make a slip knot.
Verse:
"Here is the lake...see the snake...grab his head and pull the thread." (pics to come)

Then we stared to finger knit a rainbow chain...this became the draw string for their handwork bags. (I pre made 24 bags in pink ) Pink and red are the colors for first grade...it is the color of the womb.

then we finger knit a golden chain that they wore home

Next we learned how to cast on....we cast on for about 2 classes.

Then we stared on our first project the CAT

cast on 14 stitches and knit a perfect square...to make a square take the bottom right corner and pull up to the top left corner... when the square make a perfect triangle...then you are done.

More info to come..............................

Bird
Flute case
Bear
Pouch
Puppet
Rainbow ball

etsy

I just found a wonderful Indian fabric etsy store. I want all of it!!! maya, maya, maya!
http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5661894

ladies camp

Ok the tickets are made...I am going back to sunbridge...being that it takes lots of money to get there...I think it will be a question every year...can I get there this summer/spring?

But it is set...kids are taken care of and I am looking forward to 2 weeks of ladies camp....


when I was a kid I would go to 6 weeks of Kundalini Yoga ladies camp...http://3ho.org/WOMEN/womens-new/womenscamp-newpage.htm

it was so fun!!!! it was a camp for only women and girls...females learning how to grow as graceful shaktis... Shakti is a Sanskrit word for graceful woman.

we would tent in a quiet camp group owned by the founders of the camp, shaded by zillions of cotton wood trees in New Mexico... eating organic food, doing really fun activities like, white water rafting, rock climbing, archery etc....and then tons of Yoga and meditation.

I noticed it was also a special time for the women that went...it was a retreat for them...they did workshops all day (unlike the teens...we needed to play)



Anyway...My point is...this sunbridge time is like a woman's camp for me...a retreat... a time to grown within my self.

Meetings

I have been in meetings for the last 2 days and I just received my new schedule for next year....last year I was 3/4 time...next year I will be full time.

The surprise was that I am on the list to teach a double period of fine arts to both 7th and 8th grade...thats an extra 4 hours with the middle school kids....last year I had them for a one block of 8 weeks...not the whole year.

and how will I fit in my BA classes at night with this new full time schedule?

I am honored to be in the position that the mainlesson teachers feel I am a good enough teacher and artist to take on ...even replace their own artistic class period during the week....but wow!

if I screaming now that means I will really be screaming next year.


rethinking the whole plan......hmmmmmmmmmm

now where did I put that wand? I know I had it ......