Winter Inspiration

chalk on black paper by Brian Wolfe

Winter is an interesting season for me. I find this season full of polarities. It's a peaceful time and there is a great amount of work to be done; it's a dark time and we celebrate with lights; it's a cold time and yet, there is warmth all around; the days are short, but as a teacher and a basketball coach, not really. I'm definitely pulled in two directions during this time of the year. I want time to slow down so I can take in every moment with my family, listen to Christmas jazz on pandora while cooking with the kids, drive around and look at Christmas lights, and hopefully see some snow! This is also a time for exciting basketball games, competition, traveling all over for games, and teaching/coaching.

In the spirit of the season, here is a fun chalk drawing drawing of a peaceful winter landscape and a great motivational quote that I heard recently.

"Snowflakes are one of nature's most fragile things, but just look at what they do when they stick together."

Happy Holidays and Stay Warm!

Brian

New chalk tutorials....

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We have two new chalk tutorials to share with you! The Seasonal Landscape tutorial offers guidance and tips for creating a beautiful drawing appropriate for a variety of settings and seasons.   

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The Michael & the Dragon tutorial will guide you through creating a drawing perfect for the 2nd grade classroom, or any classroom during Michaelmas.

Enjoy!! 

"I never had to relive those games..."

Everyday David works with professional athletes, clearing physical, emotional and spiritual trauma from a lifetime of extreme pressures.  And still, we celebrate sports, and the profound meaning they bring to the individual, their families and communities.  As with everything in Waldorf education, it's not a matter of censoring, but timing and conscious engagement from coaches and parents.

Here, our own Brian Wolfe, a 10 year+ Waldorf games teacher & championship-winning upper grades basketball coach, gives an opening chat for Kim John Payne, author of Simplicity Parenting and Beyond Winning, Smart Parenting in a Toxic Sports Environment.

I once thanked "Mr. Wolfe," with tears in my eyes, for being another strong male role model for my sons.  He thanked me, but I said, "No, really. I want you to understand.  It's been years, now, that they come home elated, sharing stories and laughing over their games and art time with you.  Years of us realizing you are one of the best parts of their day.  We don't believe this is a small thing.  It's a huge thing, for them to love art, to learn to play cooperatively and to have another man in their life that sees them, celebrates them and holds them accountable.  We're deeply grateful."  

For one of our sons, this was so much more important, because he was recovering from post-traumatic stress from my near-terminal pregnancies (his own and his brother's).  Waldorf education allowed us to slow down enough for us to really support  our son, to see his true smile emerge and to feel him come into his own happiness with a sense of ownership and curiosity.  He has always been exposed to professional sports, and now, at twelve years old, he's ready to begin organized sports for himself.  

With coaches and parents holding the family, the child's health, friendships, skills, sportsmanship and winning as important aspects of a holistic picture, I'm ready, too.  And grateful.

Thank you for being a part of this community and conversation.  It's so important.  You can get Kim's book, Beyond Winning, here. 

Maya

Carving. Nesting.

It's been a decade of celebrating Fall in this low-key, dusty, abundant, chaotic, agricultural bliss.   As this community grows, so too does our family.    

Next Fall we'll bring another small being to our local harvest festival, something to celebrate, and yet...this was the "easiest" year to date.  The kids were finally old enough to do their own thing, knowing every acre, every field, farm stand and vendor.  It may be another five years before it's that simple again. 

Community let's us draw the circle of our family larger, while we find ways to quietly scale back.  

At home we're making small changes to create more intimacy, like building new fences for the goats and birds.  The tiny library/mud room has lost it's couches and gained two ancient, double Waldorf-desks, as well as a few wooden store structures to hold art and homework supplies.  I guess you could say we're nesting.

Carving out this moment. 

David