Autumn has officially arrived and I couldn't be happier! It is my most favorite season and I eagerly await its arrival every year. Last week, I switched out our seasonal mantle, putting away our summer things and replacing them with fall items. Now, pumpkins and squirrels, acorns and gourds, star lanterns and a harvest maiden adorn the mantle.
Peter gladly made three of these squirrels for our mantle display
my first needlefelted standing doll-a harvest maiden complete with her basket of apples
one of the paper star lanterns I made using the boys watercolor painting
On Saturday, we hosted a potluck with our homeschooling group, celebrating the autumn equinox. Mother Nature had her own plans as we had been going on day 7 of heavy rain and just minutes before everyone's arrival, my yard had been turned into a rushing creek! The kids didn't seem to mind though and headed outdoors later after the rain had stopped.
This was the first year that we included a few games into our gathering. I wasn't sure how the kids would feel about bobbing for apples, but they all participated eagerly and it was one of the highlights of the evening!
Peter and the boys drew this scarecrow for pin-the-hat on the scarecrow. It has to be one of the cutest scarecrows I have ever seen! We decided we should keep it up to enjoy for the rest of the season.
I could say that for the majority of my life, I went through the season's without paying much mind to what was happening around me. Even in my early years of motherhood, I never really took the time to notice the shifting of the season's, the small changes occuring not only in nature, but inwardly. Once I came across waldorf education 4 years ago, that all changed. I am amazed at how in tune I have become. I notice the change in the light that dances across my table in the evenings, how the tree in the front yard now has several leaves the color of crimson where last week, there was only one, how I feel the need to cozy up inside and knit and knit and knit, how my body is now craving soups and roasts as opposed to salads and fruits. It is an awareness that I no longer take advantage of. And I hope I am passing along this mindful way of life to my children as well!
Dear Tanya, you're so lucky to have such a home school group!
ReplyDeleteIt was the same for me when I discovered waldorf, the appreciation for the cycles and rhythms~ and have become in tune with it all, living as a part of nature rather than outside of it. and I wonder, how on earth did I go through my young years without this? I am glad to be able to give it to my children!
<3