The latest news...

Ni Hau!
Greetings from Shenzhen....

We were incredibly blessed with an opportunity to have Brian travel to China this summer, where he has been working with teachers, parents and students affiliated with the Wuben Waldorf Training Campus. We are both still trying to find the words to explain the joy we're experiencing in seeing the Waldorf impulse coming alive in the East. Something Brian said to me over the phone today just begins to capture it, I think....

"I don't think this is as much about what I'm learning, rather more about what I'm unlearning..."  

Magic. 

Brian started his trip by leading a 2-day parent workshop in Art and Movement/Games for parents new to Waldorf education and philosophies. The workshop was followed by a week-long camp in the countryside for children ranging in age from 4-12! His trip will end with another 2-day workshop, this one for teachers from around Shenzhen. We're looking forward to continuing our relationship with the Wuben Training Center, and seeing their evolution over the next few years.

In other news, our friends at Living Music in the Home have generously given us a 50% off discount code to share with you! FISH50 is valid for anything in their store, but only through Sunday 8/23 at 11:59pm EST. LMIH is a Waldorf-inspired resource for parents and teachers who wish to share the joy of music with their children and students. Dan & Michelle Prindle provide on-line musical training for adults so they can nourish a culture of music in their homes and classrooms. It's been a big year for the Prindles...Michelle finished her Early Childhood training, they released their new Foundations of Music e-course, and they are now awaiting the birth of their third child...any day! Click the image below to use your 50% off code:

It's been an exciting year for us too, and we're grateful. The Waldorfish community continues to grow, which means new and exciting opportunities to travel and teach. Let us know how we can help you and your school community!

Blessings,
Robyn (& Brian, in China ;)

PS. The 4th video in our block crayon tutorial series was released this week!

Play hard, sleep hard....and repeat.

(The most) important work is happening this week while we're on vacation. Much love from the Nepisiguit Bay!

xoxo - Robyn & Brian

Perspective Drawing notes - Brian Wolfe

Brian has been teaching at Rudolf Steiner College this week - diving deep with Class 6 & 7 teachers into drawing fundamentals, charcoal, portraits, painting & perspective drawing. His class notes for the perspective portion are a work of art themselves! (I'm his wife...I can gush a little, right?) I combined them into a pdf this morning and they are ready for downloading! These are for YOU, middle school teachers (or anyone else looking to explore perspective drawing). 

Waldorf teachers are FULL ON super heroes! They spend a good portion of their summers planning, practicing and preparing to bring the best they can offer during the school year. Be sure to HUG the next one you see.

sweet connection...

 I've been teaching a class this week, that has taken me full circle back to the reasons why I became a Park Ranger years ago, and ultimately why I also became an educator. A young girl joined our group, having only just moved to the U.S. (from South Korea) 3 weeks ago. When I say that she was immobilized by fear & anxiety because of the language barrier, it would be an understatement...I just don't have the language to explain how much anguish she experienced early in the week. On Days 1-3 she wasn't even able to make it through the first hour before needing to be collected by her (very loving & patient) mother (also experiencing the crazy language barrier).

On Day 4, I scrapped the plan, and took us where I've often seen major transformations take place....outside, into nature. We all walked together, collecting small gifts from flowers and trees, feathers, seed pods, and spent some time with some baby geese at a nearby pond. I was watching this child closely, and could see the weight lifting....by the time we returned, she was smiling and able to make eye contact. This morning when her mother dropped her off, she pulled me aside and showed me several photos on her phone....the only words her mother said were "yesterday, after." What I saw in the photos was that this child had taken home the objects we collected on the walk, and made beautiful (framed!) collages that were now hanging on their walls, and resting on bookshelves. She had even tucked sprigs of lavender and rosemary into various nooks and crannies around the house. Her mother's eyes filled with tears as she scrolled through the photos, which of course triggered my own.

It turns out that happy-crying requires no translation ❤️

-Robyn

Full early in the morning,

awakes the summer sun. 

The month of June arriving, 

the cold and dark are done. 

The cuckoo is a fine bird, 

she whistles as she flies. 

And as she whistles "cuckoo", 

the bluer grow the skies.