Today was so exciting because this was our first morning of Waldorf co-op. We met at a local nature preserve for stories, crafts, and a hike. Getting out the door before 9:30 is a challenge for us, but it went more smoothly than expected. We got to the nature center right at 10:00, and settled into the room where we would have the first part of co-op. We are all planning to take turns leading the "class" part of the program, and Apple volunteered to go first. She did such an awesome job!! Carrie brought a white candle on a platter, and all of the children put something on the platter that made them think of Winter time. There were pinecones, evergreen sprigs, feathers, stones, and nuts. After lighting the candle, we sang the Circle-opening song while walking in a Circle around the candle platter. "Circle round the sunrise, circle round the breeze! Circle round the flame inside us dancing free! Circle round the ocean, the waters of our birth, circle round the stars at night, and circle round the Earth!" We all sat down on the rug and talked a little about snow. Then, Apple read a beautiful story called "A Home for Tandy". It was about a little elf named Tandy who needed a home for the Winter. He tried to share the homes of his forest friends, but he couldn't settle in with any of them. So, they all worked together to build a little home for him. Snowflakes fell outside of his window as he slept in his cozy bed. For craft time, we cut out paper snowflakes.
Apple had the great idea to spread glue on the snowflakes and sprinkle them with salt! They sparkled just like real snowflakes! We punched holes in some of them, and hung them from silvery blue yarn.
All of the kids helped with snow flake clean-up, and then we learned a verse about snowflakes. The children floated around like snowflakes while Apple said the verse. We had one more story ("The Tomten" read by Carrie), and then all of us had a picnic lunch on the rug. When the kids were done eating, they watched from the window as some very fat squirrels had a lunch of their own - birdseeds and nuts. After a little more clean-up, we headed out for a hike through the woods. It was a bit chilly, but the sun was shining which made for very nice hiking weather.
The kids spent a long time climbing up & down this steep hill. It makes for quite a climb up and quite a slide down!
They probably could have done that for the rest of the afternoon, but when some wild stick play got a little too wild (as wild stick play tends to get more & more wild) - Allison suggested that we build a home for the faeries. The kids loved that idea, and took it a step further by deciding to build a home for Tandy! It turned out to be a lovely little house.
All of the children worked together so sweetly. Lots of the little guys wanted to be roofers, and the big kids did more detail work like a door and a bed for Tandy. They made a garden outside of the front door, and made the roof leak-proof with leaves and bark.
I just love it when children are able to work together - all different ages of kids, boys and girls, with many ideas being able to put it all together and make something nice. I'm so excited about having co-op adventures with this great group of mamas and kids!!
Apple had the great idea to spread glue on the snowflakes and sprinkle them with salt! They sparkled just like real snowflakes! We punched holes in some of them, and hung them from silvery blue yarn. 
All of the kids helped with snow flake clean-up, and then we learned a verse about snowflakes. The children floated around like snowflakes while Apple said the verse. We had one more story ("The Tomten" read by Carrie), and then all of us had a picnic lunch on the rug. When the kids were done eating, they watched from the window as some very fat squirrels had a lunch of their own - birdseeds and nuts. After a little more clean-up, we headed out for a hike through the woods. It was a bit chilly, but the sun was shining which made for very nice hiking weather. 
The kids spent a long time climbing up & down this steep hill. It makes for quite a climb up and quite a slide down! 
They probably could have done that for the rest of the afternoon, but when some wild stick play got a little too wild (as wild stick play tends to get more & more wild) - Allison suggested that we build a home for the faeries. The kids loved that idea, and took it a step further by deciding to build a home for Tandy! It turned out to be a lovely little house. 
All of the children worked together so sweetly. Lots of the little guys wanted to be roofers, and the big kids did more detail work like a door and a bed for Tandy. They made a garden outside of the front door, and made the roof leak-proof with leaves and bark. 
I just love it when children are able to work together - all different ages of kids, boys and girls, with many ideas being able to put it all together and make something nice. I'm so excited about having co-op adventures with this great group of mamas and kids!! 
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