Sunday, the mommas in our Waldorf co-op, plus a new momma (yay!) met to discuss the upcoming year. We decided to start the second Monday in September. We also are going to change the format a bit, after Erin told us about another co-op group she read about.
We're going to try to incorporate more singing/verses for transitional periods, and a game that the kids play upon arrival to co-op.
The new momma does yoga with kids, so she is going to bring the Energy in by having the kids do some different yoga poses. My girls love doing them already, so this will be a welcome addition to our co-op.
We're going to expand our Circle as well:
Have a gathering verse. I found this one from
here:
Rinka ranka rosy ray.
Welcome, welcome, golden day.
I can skip and I can hop.
I can turn and I can stop.
I can dance and I can sing,
With my friends we form a ring.
I don't know if we'll be using it, but it will be something like this. The mommas will start singing it to draw the kids into the Circle.
Then we'll sing our Circle Round song were the kids can get out there last few stomps and shouts. After that we'll light the candle. Tanya said she had a good "candle lighting, candle extinguishing" verse for us to use.
Then we'll do some fingerplays - we talked about doing a couple seasonal fingerplays, then a couple of fingerplays that will change from month-to-month.
Per Erin's suggestion, one of the mommas will tell a story. Last ("school") year we read a different story each week, but this year we're going to be telling the same story for 4 weeks, but a different momma each time. I think hearing the same story (not word-for-word to be sure) from different adults, each with her own style and inflection and expression, will be a benefit for the kids. It will certainly help me with my storytelling abilities. Right now, all the stories I tell are mainly nature tales ("how the tadpole became a frog") and faery tales (the adventures of Oakie Twinkletoes the Faery), so this is going to be very exciting for me.
After the Circle, we'll move on to craft time. This year we're going to try having a different craft every week, rotating from watercolor painting, wet felting, carpentry and crayon drawing. However, we could also do the same craft for several weeks in a row. It is really just a wait-and-see sort of thing. I can see the children really getting into the carpentry projects and wanting to work in that area for a while.
Then we'll move on to lunch. Kids are always hungry, so it is easy for lunch to be inhaled and the mommas left standing holding the crumbs. So to bring more mindfulness and peace to lunch, we're going to try making it a sit-down lunch like we would do in our own homes. I'm going to make a small placemat and maybe napkin for each child, and we're going to add a small candle or other decoration to the picnic tables. We may say a small blessing over the food as well. So even though the food will still be the same sandwich, veggies, crackers, fruit, etc, it will hopefully be more relaxing for everyone.
After lunch we'll close co-op and move on to free play. We meet beside the creek, and the kids are used to being here. They have lots of fun here, finding creatures, "fishing", and having adventures. Usually at some point we go for a walk. There is a short paved loop trail as well as a couple of longer trails that we have access to there.
We discussed more "momma modelling" of things - just seeing the mommas sing and do handwork, outside of the actual "lesson". In my experience, these are the times when my children are even more impressionable than usual.
In the past we have done co-op on Monday morning and then had Creek Day on Thursday afternoon for just playgroup. We all agreed that we would drop the Creek Day on a regular basis when co-op starts in mid-September, and only do that playgroup on occasion. We'll also add a monthly field trip throughout the year and continue to get together for seasonal celebrations.
After talking with Erin about her plans to do a true Waldorf kindergarten for her nearly 6yo boys, I've decided that we will be starting something similar in the fall. We're finally at a point where I can actually have a Circle here without Laurel asking me to hold or nurse her constantly. I tried to do a Circle with the kids last year each morning, but I couldn't give it my full attention with Laurel and Olivia crying to be held and nursed.
I'm sure I'll have more musings on this soon, as there are only a couple weeks to prepare. I imagine, right now, that we'll do some sort of themed week, around a story and a library book. We'll continue our regular visits to the Schiele Museum and Backcountry Farm, too. The regular planning will help me prepare for when we declare to the school system our intent to educate Lela ourselves. That will be in the fall of 2012, I believe. They don't want to hear from you until your child is 7.
This group of mommas and kids is great - I'm really looking forward to the upcoming co-op year!
