Our Waldorf Homeschool Journey

Hi Everyone!

It’s Friday and we’ve had a great week! Juliette has been cross stitching a bookmark for her Dads birthday next month. She’s really enjoying this activity. She wasn’t too keen on knitting when we did it last year, though she did finish the project, a pink pig. It’s just so relaxing sitting with both my kids as we sew and knit together. The joy and peace I’ve missed is back in our home.

StJohn has finished his first knitting project, a lavender cushion. He knitted it with needles he made with his Dad (they’re in the picture here with the cream wool). Then he sewed it up on his own, then stuffed it with dried organic lavender. The cushion smells heavenly.

It was his very first knitting attempt and we just knitted a square, so that he could get the hang of it. You’ll see the finished product at the bottom of the post, the tasseled cushion thingy in blue and green. We made it out of handspun merino wool. It is so soft! He is so proud of it!

 

 

 

 

His next project which he’s busy with as we speak is a creamy coloured rabbit. The knitting on his needles (in the pic up top) is the first leg of Bunny-Boy! This time StJohn cast on, on his own. I showed him how and off he went.

We have a verse we use to teach both our kids knitting. And it definitely helps get the sequence of events right! Each sentence is said when the next knitting step takes place. The needle goes in (in through the front door) the wool is wound round the knitting needle (run around the back) etc. If you’re a waldorf mama you’ve heard it a trillion times, but I’d like to share it anyway for those who haven’t heard it before. It goes like this:

In through the front door

Run around the back

Peep through the window

And off jumps Jack!

When he’s casting on I just changed it to “on jumps Jack” and he got it and started casting on!

I’ve done a bit of research on Rudolf Steiner and why he thought knitting was an idispensable activity for Grade 1. Firstly there is a close relationship between finger movement, speech and thinking.

Rudolf Steiner said:”The body thinks, the body counts. The head is only a spectator.”

I couldn’t put it more clearly then that. To watch StJohn as he adds up how many stitches he has, subtracts that total away from how many he needs and then starts counting rows and subtracting them from the number needed. Incredible. There doesn’t appear to be any pause for thought. It just happens. I still find it amazing.

If you’re thinking of knitting with your kids, please give it a try. Once you get going you’ll love it. I’d like to leave you with a quote of Rudolf Steiners….

“Thinking is cosmic knitting….A person who is unskillful in his fingers will also be unskillful in his intellect, having less mobile ideas and thoughts.”

Isn’t that one of the reasons for waldorf homeschooling, to allow our children the freedom, and provide them with the tools to have free and unique ideas and thoughts?

Now I’m off to put fresh hay into the chicken coop, and see if our bread is rising. Ooooh and I’m off to the wool shop tomorrow to get wool for a couple of gnomes. I’ll post a picture of them and the pattern once I’ve finished one. Can’t wait to see if they turn out the way the pattern says they will. (There was no pic on the pattern, though reading it, it sounded gnome like.Cross your fingers please!)

Have a beautiful weekend,

Blessings,

Sue

Filed under: Verses, Handwork & Crafting, Waldorf Homeschooling, Homeschool on September 19th, 2008