Seasons of Joy Looking for a way to bring peace and joy to your day?
Seasons of Joy is my 10-week seasonal guidebook to add rhythm and fun to your daily routine. Each guidebook has ten weeks' worth of circle times, stories, arts, crafts, and handwork, painting, playtime activities and more!
Seasons of Joy seeks to empower families to create peaceful rhythms and routines and joyful celebrations that follow the circle of the year. The blog also chronicles our adventures in living simply, loving exuberantly, and Waldorf inspired homeschooling.
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Happy Waldorf Wednesday!
Today is Katie Grace’s birthday! I am hoping her birthday gift gets here, because for some reason our mail service has been rather spotty of late. I woke up early to decorate her door because I forgot last night- whoops!—and in between the busy-ness of a normal Wednesday here, we’ll need to whip up a birthday cake. She’s requested ham for dinner. Yum!
We’ve also added a new member to our family this week. His name is Not-a-Mousie. It was Fred, but them we had a conversation that went like this: Read more...
We’re having so much fun with Spring Seasons of Joy this year! One of the things I really do love about my e-guides is seeing the gleam of recognition in my children’s eyes as we bring back songs we sang at the same time last year. There’s something so comforting and familiar in singing certain songs at the same time each year. We may add some new things as well, but the foundation of the circle is the same
Right now we’ve been enjoying the flower fairy circle. I’ve even caught my younger ones searching yard for hidden fairies! Read more...
Last Sunday, I was so blessed to attend the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra’s performance of Beethoven’s Ninth. It was amazing. Also? Long. Usually I get lost in the music but for some reason I found myself really thinking about the lyrics of the fourth movement. The real lyrics, translated of course, which have absolutely nothing to do with the “Joyful, joyful, we adore thee!” stuff we sing at church or when watching Sister Act.
Joy, beautiful spark of the gods,
Daughter of Elysium,
We enter fire imbibed,
Heavenly, thy sanctuary. Read more...
The good news? We finished our 180 days last month!
The bad news? I have a to-do list that’s a million miles long.
So… the trick this week will be to keep “doing school”—my plan is to do our science and social studies together and for each kid to do a bit of math and literature reading and then to also do read aloud and go investigate this amazing city that we live in—while making a dent in my to-do list. Read more...
Happy Waldorf Wednesday!
Birthday Boy!
Wait, what’s that you say? It’s Thursday? In the real world, perhaps, but in my world, where I wandered about yesterday thinking it was Tuesday and then panicked and tried to take my kid to a piano lesson that didn’t exist? Today is Wednesday.
Please tell me this happens to other people.
It’s all my fault, of course. Since I’ve suddenly decided to have a life, my dance card has become a lot fuller than it was before. Carmen rehearsals, voice lessons, trips to the gym—and this is all besides the normal activities of six homeschooling children. Throw in all the end-of-the-year performances and a mama who is too busy to take 10 minutes to get organized, and you have a week with two Tuesdays and no Wednesday. Read more...
"Now We Are Six"
When I was one,
I had just begun.
When I was two,
I was nearly new.
When I was three,
I was hardly me.
When I was four,
I was not much more.
When I was five,
I was just alive.
But now I am six,
I’m as clever as clever.
So I think I’ll be six
now and forever.
Author: A.A. Milne
When I was one,
I had just begun.
When I was two,
I was nearly new.
When I was three,
I was hardly me.
 Read more...
Happy, happy Waldorf Wednesday!
I would like to do my normal chat-a-little spiel a bit differently today and make an announcement. I am going to be hosting a Spring Faire right here on Seasons of Joy! I know the Waldorf schools typically have theirs around May Day, but because I was slow on the uptake (and a little afraid to make the leap) our will be the week of May 20th. My heart’s desire is that this is truly a community celebration and I want you all to be a part of it. If you’re interested at all, here’s what you can do. Read more...
Sigh. I have had a really hard time getting my groove on this year blogging-wise. What I really need to do is to make a blogging schedule, but for some reason I have been dragging my feet on that. Maybe that can be today’s hard thing.
Our fairy tale mural is, sadly, a thing of the past. It kept falling down and no matter what we tried—tape, sticky tack, foam tape, those wax clippie thingies—I just couldn’t get it to stay on the wall. And because it was on a wall by a staircase, it got trampled when it fell and…. well, you know how it goes.
There were actually a lot more pictures on it before it fell down, but for some reason I can’t find any photos. Boo! Read more...
Courage is not simply one of the virtues, but the form of every virtue at the testing point.
~C. S. Lewis
As I’ve been embarking on this whole journey, I’ve been challenging myself to do one hard thing every day.
As I shared on my personal Facebook page, doing hard things is… well, hard. And I’ve become so unaccustomed to doing hard things that I’ve become kind of soft. But you know what else I’m learning?
The more hard things you do, the easier it becomes.
And since I’m not one to suffer in silence, I’m going to challenge you as well. Read more...
Matthew and I making cherry blossom prints
Happy Waldorf Wednesday!
So, wow! 30 weeks of Waldorf Wednesday! I will say I’m starting to question the Waldorf part of Waldorf Wednesday. Not that I’m questioning the efficacy of Waldorf education—not at all! Rather, I’ve seen the term Waldorf used all too many times as a club to beat other mothers about the head – That’s not Waldorf! You’re doing it wrong!—rather than a goal or a standard that we’re all striving towards. At the risk of sounding heretical, my deepest wish in that we’d live in a post-Waldorf world. One that was beyond labels and instead trusted every mother is trying to give her child the gentlest, most loving, most magical childhood possible. And then, when we did see others making choices we might not agree with, to extend to them the same grace, mercy, and love we would extend our own children. But, as I tell my own little ones, if wishes were piggies, bacon would always be on sale… Read more...
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Our Current Read Aloud: When You Reach Me
In the car we’re listening to… The Mysterious Benedict Society and Prisoner’s Dilemma
Character Counts! This month’s character trait is: Courage!!
"Courage is not simply one of the virtues, but the form of every virtue at the testing point." ~C S Lewis Blessed Mother Teresa, Pray for Us! 
Love begins by taking care of the closest ones - the ones at home.
~Mother Teresa |
