Here in the Midwest, September brings change. Fall winds begin to blow as the air grows colder. Farmers bring in the harvest as the days grow cooler, shorter and darker. Toward the end of the month the Autumn Equinox heralds in the beginning of darker days and a few days later, on the 29th of […]

For me, providing a rhythmical day for the children at Rainbow Bridge (ages 1-5) felt like one of the most important and life-giving things I was doing with and for them. The Veiled Pulse of Time, a book on biographical cycles by William Bryant, increased that conviction through his consideration of the nature of time.

We tend to think of rhythm as a schedule or a sequence of activities that flows with the energy of the day, the energy of the week and the energy of the seasons. Yet there is another type of rhythm that surrounds us all the time, the rhythm of the familiar, the predictable, and the

One of the tasks of the growing child and one of the functions of parenting is to bring the child into rhythm.  It may seem as if the life of a newborn completely lacks rhythm. Feeding and sleeping occur at irregular intervals and the baby’s breathing is erratic.  The first hours, days, and weeks of

Some days in my life with my young children, nothing works as I expect it to. If I have learned anything in my almost four years as a mother, it is that everything changes. Occasionally, I forget this lesson and need to relearn it. What worked yesterday to help a baby fall asleep or to

Anyone who spends time with children soon comes to recognize that the child’s most basic needs take precedence over everything else in the course of a day. The needs of children are very simple and very basic. When these basic needs are not met, they take over the child and instead of joyful play and

Last Saturday, I completed my LifeWays training and was left with bittersweet feelings. It was a wonderful, emotional year full of challenges and growth (I am pictured with some of my classmates to the left in the black dress surrounded by my loving kids). After emotional goodbyes to the lovely, strong, and passionate women I

A warm welcome to Mara Spiropolous who will be taking on the role of Blog Coordinator for the LifeWays blog.  Mara just finished her LifeWays training in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.  She is kept busy by three little ones at home, ages 3, 2 and 1!  She will be sharing her experiences of working with the LifeWays