Respite

He who lives in harmony with himself lives in harmony with the world.  

- Marcus Aurelius

What a cluttered week this one is proving to be. Busy, yes- however its an enjoyable pace. I think being able to feel peace amid the chaos is what had been helping me stay grounded and not feel stretched.  

My weeks this Autumn are filling up with Co-op, the mom's support group I am now volunteering with, bible study, and play dates (oh and not to mention errands!) But I am fine with this clutter. Its predictable and workable. If need be and I am no longer at peace or my children are not either, there are ways to cut back. But Co-op remains a priority, and one that I love. This week my Co-op partner Anya is hosting and leading. Out theme is families. Its nice to observe the children in a new light and to also be sharing the duties week by week. So I suppose this is my off week in a way! 

But to to the cluttered weeks I will be having and just not feeling a well (darn allergies), I probably will not be in this place daily anymore. Mostly certainly 3-4 times a week but I just wanted to update you so you don't think I am unwell. 

I am working on my Winter submission to http://rhythmofthehome.com/. I am excited and I hope it goes over well. 

Deirdre painting a D and then painting it in. 

Correcting her grip! 

 Dancing King- We have 20 minutes of music and dancing everyday before dinner

The Lagoon

As a little girl, from age 1 to 6, I lived on the bay. We went to the beach almost everyday year round- even if it wasn't swimming weather. I have, and always will have, a deep connection to the water. 


When I was young, I dreamed of having my own little lagoon to play and swim in with lots of little sea creatures to discover. And today after 20+ plus years of dreaming we found it and its on a river no less! 


While our "lagoon" is not a real lagoon by the geographic definition, it is our lagoon nonetheless. Shallow clear waters, shade trees, daisies on the shore, shells galore, periwinkles, and ton of little critters to discover... we were in heaven! 


So as in Soulemama's words today, I am blissed out! Today was idyllic and really the epitome of childhood bliss. What a wonderful blessed day we had to top of a great weekend! It really was like a dream come true for me, but most of all to see my children loving the water as I do and truly savoring one of God's magnificent gifts to us, made finding our lagoon worth the wait! 

Daily Verse or Quote: “Be the change you wish to see in the world”- Gandhi

I know, I know- I am casper but my skin is healthy! 

Can you tell he is teething? 

Fishing with Daddy! 

Shells and a new suit! 

Seriously to top it off the lagoon had tons of wild daisies! 

Where the periwinkles, minnows, and fiddler crabs live! 

Who needs pre-manufactured fun when you find a place like this??

Looking for whales!! She is convinced that they can live in rivers! 

Playing sweetly together! 

Art and our Waldorf Co-op

PS: We have 3 chrysalises 

Now on to the blog: 

Tonight is a lazy night. We did not get home from our day trip until 7:30pm. Today the kiddos and I visited my mother and brother in Virginia Beach, my hometown. I also was lucky enough to see my high school/college best friend Jess during nap time- a rare and sweet time for us both now that we both have kids! I missed her daughter's baptism last weekend due to Jonas being sick, but I was there today and was able to give her a little homemade reversible quilted bib. Abbie's gift was the first sewn gift I have given anyone besides my kids. So I am nervous about it. I am very critical of my sewing. But babies are forgiving :) I just love that little Abbie! 


But on to the focus of the blog! Part of my homeschooling vision is incorporating Waldorf education into our daily lives and schooling. This all began back in October when a dear friend Sarah gave me a Nova Natural toy catalog. Yes, this all began with toys! Their catalog was pure art and so vastly different to anything I have seem commercial on the market. Something deeply resonated with me while flipping through their pages. That resonation drove me to dig deeper and see the aesthetic and vision behind the toy company. All of that then lead to Waldorf education. At the time, I had never heard of Waldorf before, which was shocking and disappointing  since I was studying 'Education' and recently received my Masters in Teaching. 


So after falling in love with Waldorf and finding my mothering compass, I began making small subtle changes in our home and schooling. One of the aspects of Waldorf that I love the most is their attention to arts and crafts as well as the respect it is given when created by a child. My daughter was particularly drawn to wet-on-wet watercolor painting and beeswax modeling. I however had never seen any of the supplies that I needed to do these activities in our local Michael's. So I turned to the Internet! 


While Nova does supply the things I needed, I could not afford to keep getting them as often as required from them. Even though their prices are very very reasonable!  I generally use Nova for our Waldorf toys and household items. No one beats them in that department. But Bella Luna Toys is also high up on my list. I love Sarah Baldwin. 


So for our quality Waldorf home-schooling supplies we turned to Cedar Ring Circle Co-op. Becca over there is a fellow Momma and works so hard for the families in the Co-op. She helps supply us homeschooling Moms with quality and affordable Waldorf supplies. We do a monthly order, and members get an awesome discount. I highly suggest them to you. We are so pleased and grateful. Traditional large schools can afford to buy in bulk, but homeschoolers don't have that luxury, yet we all want the necessary supplies for our kids, right? Also since Waldorf is specialized and not well known, the supplies and toys used are hard to find and can be expensive. 


So my fellow Waldorf home school moms, please check Cedar Ring Circle out if you need to access to quality Waldorf supplies! I am so glad that I did! 

-http://stores.cedarringcircle.com/StoreFront.bok                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

DD's 1st wet-on-wet watercolor

nature table 

DD's 2nd wet on wet watercolor painting

She uses it now as a carpet for her gnome house. 

Nature/Painting Corner

A Tiger!- Beeswax crayons have such great color to them and glide on so smooth. 

Lion

Flowers