Candle at Bedtime

It's Simply Magical to us, the glow of the candle burning. Really there is nothing more peaceful and calming then when we say our nighttime blessing and light our candle. The warm glow that brightens the room and the wonderful smell of the beeswax burning. The kids love this time of day. I think we all cherish it. So calm and loving.

Our Night time blessing:

A star for you to wish on,
 A sun so warm and bright, 
 A moon for you to sleep on, 
 Happy dreams, 
 A kiss goodnight.

Do you have a night time blessing or prayer you say each night? 

Blessings & Gratitude

Cultivate Mindfulness.
See gratitude as a daily practice.
In pictures, words and songs,
let children express a grateful heart.

Gratitude & Reverence

Rudolf Steiner stated "If he sees that everyone who stands in some kind of relationship to him in the outer world shows gratitude for what he receives from this world; if, in confronting the outer world and wanting to imitate it, the child sees the kind of gestures that express gratitude, then a great deal is done towards establishing in him the right moral human attitude. Gratitude is what belongs to the first seven years of life."

Steiner also wrote "If one observes children, who by a right upbringing, have developed a natural reverence for the grownups and their surroundings, and if one follows them through their various stages of life, one can discover that their feelings of reverence and devotion in childhood are gradually being transformed during the years leading to old age. A adults such persons may have a healing effect upon their fellow man so that by their mere presence, or through the tone of their voice, or perhaps by a single glance they can spread inner peace to others. Their presence can be a blessing because as children they have learned to venerate and to pray the right way. No hands can bless in old age, unless in childhood they have been folded in prayer."

Of course, these qualities cannot be taught. They must be modeled by the adult and imitated by the young child. They must "live" within the parents.

(source: Steiner Human Values & Education and The Renewal of Education)

Waldorf Teachers consider the Moral education of children to be one of their primary tasks. Gratitude, Love and Duty: Steiner asks that we sow the seeds and cultivate these three fundamental human virtues.

Children should say grace before each meal to express their reverence for the earth and her gifts.... Gratitude is the basis for love. When children deepen their appreciation for the natural world, they deepen their love for all of creation.

A Child's Book of Blessings

With blessings for everyday events from dawn until dusk, for special activities, and for specific times of the year, this exquisite collection offers children and their parents a simple and practical way of bringing a sense of the sacred into their lives. Olwyn Whelan's beautiful and intricate illustrations enrich Sabrina Dearborn's thoughtful and touching selection, making this a book that will become a keepsake for generations.

Blessings & Prayers

The earth is firm beneath my feet,
The sun shines bright above,
And here I stand - so straight and strong,
All things to know and love.

Two eyes to see with,
Two ears to hear with,
A mouth to speak with,
A mouth to eat with,
Two hands to work with,
Two hands to pray with.

**************************** 

Earth we thank you for this food,
For rest and home and all things good,
For wind and rain and sun above,
But most of all for those we love.

*****************************

Thank you for the world so sweet,
Thank you for the food we eat;
Thank you for the birds that sing,
Thank you God for everything.

******************************

The sun in in my heart,
He warms me with his power,
And wakens life and love,
In bird and beast and flower.

Oh golden sun so great and bright,
Warms the world with all its might.
It makes the dark earth green and fair,
Attends each thing with ceaseless care.
It shines on blossom, stone and tree,
On bird and beast, on you and me.
Oh, may each deed throughout the day,
May everything we do and say,
Be bright and strong and true,
Oh, golden sun, like you!

*************************

Blessings on the blossom,
Blessings on the root,
Blessings on the leaf and stem,
Blessings on the fruit.

Blessing on this room of ours,
Blessing on the garden flowers,
Blessing on the birds and trees,
On the butterflies and bees.
Blessing on the dolls and toys,
On our quietness and noise.
Blessing on the children dear,
On the grown ups who come here.
Blessing on our work and play,
God be with us all each day. 

*********************************

 

I thank the earth beneath me
For there I stand and walk.
I thank the air around me
Which helps me breathe and talk.
I thank the sun so warm and bright
So far away in Heavens height
To keep me safe 'til morning light.

**************************************

For the golden corn and the apples on the trees,
For the butter and the honey for our tea,
For fruits and nuts and berries that grow beside the way,
For birds and bees and flowers, we give our thanks today.

Blessings on our meal and our family.

**********************

Dear God, we thank you for the night,
And for the pleasant morning light,
For rest and food and loving care,
And all that makes the world so fair.
Help us to do the things we should,
To be kind to others and to be good
In all we do and in all we say
To grow more loving every day.

My deeds I will do
With my feet on the ground,
My head will direct them
That they may be sound.

Father sky who gives us light
And embraces all in sight
Mother earth who makes a home
For all who grow and roam
We thank you for your kindly gifts
The food, the air, the stone that sits,
Fires which warm our hearts each day,
And the rain in which we run and play.

*******************************
Blessings! Blessings!
To all we love,
And blessings on our meal.

The eagle gives thanks for the mountains,
The fish gives thanks for the sea
We give our blessings for the food
We are about to receive.

After reading a wonderful newsletter from A little Acorn learning

They had made a beautiful Tree of Thanks Today with my kids I am going to do the same

and will post pictures of our own Tree.

Are you planting your seeds wisely?

Spring has definitely sprung so I say start now and plant your seeds wisely! Spend all the time you can with your young ones. I say submerge yourself in their hugs, kisses, laughter, play times and smiles. I say WAKE-UP and realize how lucky you are for the little treasure you have. I am an absolute believer of allowing your child to be selfish and alone with just you! It's wonderful and inspiring.

My children are so happy to be able to complete a task undisturbed,I have found that Gabe works better if left alone. They are happier when they are able to come up with original ideas, to be able to wake when they are ready, and to be with the people they love and trust the most... US! They are pleased to see how the world works on trips to the bank, the market, the post office... they are happy to be at the library looking, in quiet, in the morning hours, at all of the wonderful books full of ideas and plans... (if/when we went later in the day-when LOTS of school kids were "unwinding" from school, it was so chaotic that Gabe asked that we go at "the other time when it is like a library and not a playground")

I agree with everyone that what happens is that your young child models and takes in all of the wrong behaviors. It's too early to separate from Mom, and forming strong attachments to peers at this age is not "natural". what is wrong with our society is that everyone needs to busy themselves with friends, gatherings, meetings, clubs, social events, etc... because they cannot figure out what to do when they are faced with the quiet of home and just themselves... They have forgotten how to be intimate, and how to be quiet within... Everyone wants to be entertained, and expects that their children want and need it too, when nothing is further from the truth.

If we lived 100 years ago, and all of time before that, we would look forward to the few "festivals" a few times a year... and that would be about it. The majority of our time would be spent within our own community, where we would be doing the jobs and deeds of friends... knitting baby booties for John's new baby sister, making a new warmer quilt for Granny Ann for this coming winter, canning vegetables for the unfortunate Mrs. Widow, etc... Our social event would be a celebration of bringing in the harvest, welcoming the new family or saying our last goodbye to our favorite neighbor...

There would be no carpool, no little league, no night at the pizza place. It seems so unnatural to me that it isn't "obvious" to everyone where the problems arise. We are too busy to simply "live". Everyone is walking around in a depression, looking for meaning when it is the simple deeds that give meaning.

The simple daily moments.

This past week while my sister Meg was off too work the kids and I "helped" her 18 month old son make some beautiful Mother's day gifts for her. As we were decorating one of her gifts I was explaining to him simply how this was for his mama and how it was for her special day. He totally knew and got right to work decorating and smiling and saying "mama mama".Yesterday when she opened them she was so touched that she started to cry.

It was simple, but so meaningful.

My sister and I were talking about Mother's Day and how at school the teachers help the students make gifts for their mom. I started thinking how my children make me things all the time without anyone's "help". I get tons of cards,drawings,paintings and even imaginary gifts. Those are way more special than any teacher made gift.

I wholeheartedly believe that expecting that a child's soul gets what it needs in a playgroup, or a classroom setting, is just selling the child and parent both short.
Friends are fun, yes... but they should not make up the largest portion of our days, and the days should not always be structured, well planned and filled up and busy-busy. Young children need time to wonder, to dream, and to have you all to themselves. They need to just "be" and not to be learning how all of the time. When again in their life will they have this? Never! Maybe that is whey there are so many "adult children" with problems in our society...

Young children, and young adults need a strong foundation, strong roots... they get that from YOU the parents! Your job is the most important job in the world, and anyone trying to "sell" you their playgroup, class, or social agenda is just trying to fill up their own empty longings for what they don't have the courage to create and face in their own lives! (whew: talk about soapbox queen..!)

Our children will benefit and grow into wonderful people because we fought the good fight! We have shown them what to strive for ourselves. My suggestion is begin to take care of what matters.. teach your children the importance of cutting vegetables to make a soup for all to share, to sew a blanket for the cats new kittens, to loan, borrow, barter and trade, to care for the house, the yard, the neighbor... there will be plenty of time to "play"... remember, "daily work is the play of childhood" and letting them imitate you at work at home is what is most important to a young child.

I shudder to think of what "soul forces" are at play in a child who is being taught vanity ("Let's get pretty for school") and societal expectations ("We have to go... this is our play day") at such a tender age. What messages is that sending? That you cannot rely on yourself to make fun? That you "need" friends to have a happy day? That family is not enough, or that the party is more important that the work that needs to be done?

When was the last time your child folded daddy's shirts? When was the last time s/he swept the floor clean? What matters most now, is being a family and caring for the home and the family... tending to the garden, the pets, and the days work... People with teens complain that all they want to do is hang out with their friends, that they don't want to do their chores, etc... and I want to say "What did you think? You had them in playgroup since birth... you TAUGHT them that was what was important!" and most people just simply don't get it. They were taught, by their parents, what was MORE important... Taught by the way their lives were structured and their days spent, when they were young. That is when the seeds are planted!

Of course, these are my strong thoughts and feelings... and I do admit, I don't have many friends because of them.

But to me the size of my "circle" doesn't matter... it is what it's made of that counts.

Daily Blessings

Blessings on the blossom,
Blessings on the root,
Blessings on the leaf and stem,
Blessings on the fruit.

Earth we thank you for this food
For rest and home and all things good
For wind and rain and sun above
but most of all for those we love.

I thank the earth beneath me
For there I stand and walk.
I thank the air around me
Which helps me breathe and talk.
I thank the sun so warm and bright
So far away in Heavens height
To keep me safe 'til morning light.

Thank you for the world so sweet,
Thank you for the food we eat;
Thank you for the birds that sing,
Thank you God for everything.