:: there are a few books that i use and reference quite frequently. first and foremost is the book, you are your child's first teacher by rahima dancy. i find myself going back and re-reading chapters time and time again.
i am finding simplicity parenting by kim john payne to be very useful. i am still reading it and have already utilized the book in simplifying my daughter's bedroom. i have started working on small sections around the house and we are doing our second round of simplifying the kids' bedroom and going through the bookshelf, which we did not get a chance to go through yet. kim john payne spoke on the waldorf connection. i jotted down some notes that i am hoping to post soon.
a real treasure is, a child's seasonal treasury by betty jones, which is out-of-print (the first part of the book could be found on google books. it would be wonderful to copy as much as you could) i am still introducing new ideas from this book and i have used it for years now. the book includes verses, poems, movements, fingerplays, games, activities, handwork, baking and cooking for each season. it also is a great introduction to mornings, mealtimes, cleaning up, evening verses, with roughly 2 verses for each. the treasury also contains the birthday anticipation verse as well as a number and alphabet verse that could be used for a first grade resource.
another great book that i can not say enough about is earthways, by carol petrash. the book includes seasonal activities and crafts and seasonal nature table ideas. it also offers valuable earth-friendly tips and ways to create a natural indoor and outdoor play space. there is also a tremendous resource section in the back of the book, included seasonal book recommendations. it is also on google books and you could definitely use the index to plan your projects.
another great book that i can not say enough about is earthways, by carol petrash. the book includes seasonal activities and crafts and seasonal nature table ideas. it also offers valuable earth-friendly tips and ways to create a natural indoor and outdoor play space. there is also a tremendous resource section in the back of the book, included seasonal book recommendations. it is also on google books and you could definitely use the index to plan your projects.
for songs, there are nursery rhymes, folk songs and a series of songbooks that i really love is from naturally you could sing that i would recommend. the song books from naturally you could sing include a cd, which really helps if you do not know how to read music. we own sing a song of the seasons and i have used it for years, with movement and fingerplays in circle time or on our car rides. their website includes a list of contents for each of the songbooks, including this is the way we wash-a-day, sing a song with baby, lavender's blue dilly dilly, and the wonder of lullabies. i discovered some new lullabies that i really enjoy singing, as well.
for verses, i really like seven times the sun by shea darian, is a wonderful resources, which provides verses and songs for morning, mealtime, play, work, quiet, healing, bedtime, family time, personal renewal and peacemaking. there are a section of family rituals, a passageway for parents and book recommendations for each chapter. there are a few songs that i use all the time and really never would have thought to use at these times because i never really experienced someone singing at these times, in particularly for healing and quiet times.
quiet moments by shea darian
quiet as the wings of a butterfly
quiet as the gentle falling snow
quiet as the light of a firefly
quiet as a seed starts to grow
quiet as the clouds that are drifting by
quiet as the rocks by the sea
quiet as the mist cross a country road
quiet as the wind in the trees
loving arms by shea darian
loving arms that hold you
loving hands that care
loving eyes that see your pain
guide you back to health again
loving arms that hold you
loving arms that care
another series which is great for verses is the wynstones series, which i see cited all the time. we have gateways. along with verses and songs for morning, evening and birthdays, gateways also has a section of fairy tales that are shorter in length. at this time, i can not remember anything so i do use index cards (or cards from our watercolor paintings) or sometimes i only have short amounts of time, which makes this there fairy tale section a great resource for puppet shows.
for stories, of course, a grimm's fairy tales is an essential going into the first grade. we also have a tasha tudor's fairy tales, which has some abbreviated tales that might work well. an enormous resource for FREE stories could be found at www.mainlesson.com. 10397 stories to be exact. WOW. you can search the site by authors, books, stories and curriculum. here is the waldorf kindergarten book list.
i have a relatively young journey into waldorf and i have discovered the parenting passageway to be so resourceful. carrie is well versed in waldorf, homeschooling and shares valuable parenting information and book reviews. i am really enjoying the new energy that her postings are bringing me, i have so many postings bookmarked. you could spend hours over there. carrie has a bunch regarding resources, that you might find helpful:
www.movementforchildhood.com , www.healingeducation.org , and the book, Movement Journeys and Circle Adventures by Nancy Blanning and Laurie Clark if you are like me, this is something new to me. there can be a lot that i feel i need to research and i could spend hours searching the web to find more information. it can be overwhelming trying to choose the right thing. but, i have learned that it just is about doing and being with my children, baking with them, cleaning with them, singing with them, being in nature with them, creating joyful moments with them and making connections. slowing down, taking time and nurturing relationships by giving, receiving and responding with love, warmth and truth. rhythm is also key, i am working at re-establish it here because i have experienced the harmony that rhythm brings.
marsh johnson, of waldorfhomeeducators@yahoogroups.com, can put you at easy with her words. she writes the following...
Playing, helping, resting, imagining, thinking, painting, modeling,
experimenting with blocks, logs, string, trees, mud, wind, cooking,
eating, sharing, giggling heaps of preschoolers in a rainbow house,
planting and gardening, sewing, fingerknitting, listening, singing,
playing with bubbles and learning to cut with scissors and use glue,
and sitting on a warm human lap…….hearing the stories, hearing
the words, creating the images inside those adorable curly and stick
straight haired heads………..this is the intellectual development
of the human child in the best sense of the word: addressing all the
aspects, the head, the heart, and the hands.
At home, you can accomplish this so much more easily, in a sense,
because YOU are the creator of your world. Your home, your schedule,
your possessions, your choices, your stories, your food, your tone of
voice, your joy and creativity, you are the queens and kings of your
child’s universe, the King Peter and Queen Susan and Aslan all rolled
into one! In a sense, you are the suns of your galaxes, and your
children dance around you in their own ellipses…as such, you can
select and create elements that will shine on all of us….now and in
the future times.
are there any resources that you love or find helpful? please share
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2 comments:
Thank you for taking the time to make such a full list - also, your wet felted sun is beautiful!
wow what an amazing post you have written Christine. So much useful information. Thank you!
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