The Living Arts: Social

Have you ever wanted to do something special for a festival and then thought, "No, I could never get all of the parents to keep their voices down/sit still/wear appropriate clothing/sing the same song"?  See how Susan Siverio helps the parents at Spindlewood Waldorf Kindergarten and LifeWays Center, to prepare for their Advent Spiral in early December.  She sets the scene, shares the adult symolism of the event, and asks that parents allow their children to have their own experiences, without the adult interpretations.  How lovely.

It is the middle of November and I am in the midst of organizing the house, sorting and simplifying the “things” that have collected, and gathering new and recycled items to create presents for the holidays. My motivation for organizing and simplifying is two-fold right now. In part I do it for I love the cleaner, simpler look and our family finds more peace this way; I am also trying to get myself, my children, and my home ready to start caring for a little one in our home. Making or buying handmade gifts has become a new tradition of giving for my family.

My husband told me something the other day that started to change the way I think and dream. See, I am a dreamer. I have always been one to imagine my life running many different courses, and following only a few. Truth is, I have lots of ideas and secret dreams that will likely never come to fruition for they are either too far-fetched or the idea is no longer of interest to me for I have moved on to yet another dream. I have even bigger dreams of saving the world through starting a plethora of non-profits.

At Rainbow Bridge, we had twelve children, ranging from one to five years old. Each year, we developed our Michaelmas theme over several weeks starting in late September. We would open our circle with “The Autumn Winds Blow Open the Gate, St. Michael for You We Wait” (see blog entry by Mara Spiropolous on September 6^, 2012.)  Then we would sing a shortened version of Elizabeth Lebret’s song “A Knight and a Lady,” with words I changed to be less sexist and to represent taming, rather than slaying, the dragon: