Looking for a way to bring peace and joy to your day? Seasons of Joy is my 10-week seasonal guidebook to add rhythm and fun to your daily routine. Each guidebook has ten weeks' worth of circle times, stories, arts, crafts, and handwork, painting, playtime activities and more!
They're also temperamental, mercurial, and downright stubborn at times.
One thing that has really worked for me when I want my toddler to do something, be it putting away a toy or bringing me his shoes, is this little phrase...
Can you do it all by yourself or would you like some help?
This isn't said in a threatening way, nor is it intended to be any sort of a put down. I'm thrilled if he can accomplish something by himself and more than happy to assist him if he needs or wants help. But I've found, more often than not, the toddler really does want to do it himself.
How do you help encourage your toddler to cooperate?
"I am going to work," said Mister Thumb. Hold up thumb. "Now who will go with me?" Said Mister Pointer, "I will go. Hold up pointer finger. You need my help, you see." And so they worked together As happy as could be. They made a lovely apple In a big tall apple tree. They made a little bluebird. They made a sun for me. Mister Pointer said, "I like to work." Mister Thumb said, "I agree!"
Coloring with crayons is a traditional early childhood activity, and that is well-loved here at our house. Not only is a great creative outlet, but holding crayons helps children cultivate the small motor skills that will later help them have a functional pencil grip.
The typical box of Crayola stick crayons can be fun in their variety for older kids, but are often frustrating for the little ones. They're thin and break easily, and I've noticed my own wee ones seem a little more interested in peeling off the paper than in coloring with them. They seem less substantial, especially after using a block crayon or homemade muffin crayon, and just seem ill-suited for small hands in general.
For small children still using a fisted grip, block crayons and other chunky crayons such as homemade muffin crayons (see our handmade football crayons in the photo above) give them control they can't necessarily get with a stick crayon. Additionally, the broad strokes a child can make with a block crayon encourage a different style of drawing, one that is more focused on archetypal drawing and organic forms, and less focused on details and outlining. Personally, I think there is value in both, and my children have access to both types of crayons. Another advantage to the block crayon is that when a child is filling in a sky or a grassy landscape, it's a lot easier to do with the broad, flat side of a block crayon.
It is worth noting that block crayons, when first created, were never meant to be used by small children. They were created by two German art teachers for a very specific type of drawing technique used with children in fifth grade and beyond. Some Waldorf teachers have also made the argument that block crayons teach a child an immature and improper grip that later gets in the way of a functional pencil grip.
Crayon rocks are new on the coloring scene. They're made from soybeans and natural mineral colors, and according the website, they're designed to strengthen tripod muscles (thumb, first, and second fingers) and help prepare a child's fingers and hands for writing. They do crush and crumble easily, though, so beware of that.
Some other ideas to make coloring more enjoyable: ~ Make coloring an intentional experience. Say a little rhyme or verse before beginning-- there's one at the start of this entry-- and tell a little story or poem to set the scene. Color together sometimes, although beware of your child comparing their coloring to yours. It's great for children to have free access to art materials, but it's also great to set time aside to make it special. At our house, Thursday is coloring day, and has been for ten years!
~Make a coloring board. At the Waldorf school where we took our parent-child classes, the children used a strong piece of cardboard covered with brown paper on which to color. Not only does this allow each child to have his or her own workspace and helps to keep crayon off the table, but it also serves as a perfectly smooth surface so that no dirt or imperfections on the table. A quick and easy substitute would be an old cookie sheet.
~Have a special place for your crayons. We keep ours in a Longaberger basket that was a wedding gift.
~ Round off the corners of the paper. This gives it a more organic and natural feel.
I'd love to hear how you make coloring a special experience!
We've been having fun so far! Today Katie Grace made mood phases crayon resist paintings. It's a little difficult to see. I think I posted this before, but these are our phases of the moon beanbags. Here is the moon phases chalkboard drawing
which Katie Grace then copied into her main lesson book. O Lady Moon, your horns point toward the east. Shine, be increased! ~Christina Rossetti And finally, phases of the moon with cookies. Yummy! You can check out the activity here.
Nicholas, brushing snack crumbs from the table as Daniel watches.
When my oldest, Michael, was just two-years-old, we were blessed with the opportunity to take join a parent-child class at the Susquehanna Waldorf School. While many of the other children busied themselves caring for baby dolls or jumping from stump to stump, Michael would cozy up to Miss Jackie and help with whatever yummy snack was being baked that day. I remember being concerned because he would spend playtime stirring and stirring and stirring the batter rather than playing. I remember also the teacher's wise words, that it was more than OK, it was soothing to his soul to be engaged in this peaceful and meaningful work.
Those of us with older children know the struggle of assigning chores. My two oldest help with laundry, trash, compost, recycling, and dishes and are also responsible for keeping their own rooms tidy. While they might grumble, I know how important it is for all members of a family to have a hand in keeping the household running. We do children no favor when we give them unlimited leisure time with no responsibilities.
The littlest members of your household can help as well. Small, predictable tasks with child-friendly tools stored in an easy-to-access manner help your little one become more independent and reliable. Many of these jobs-- the swishing of a broom, the stirring of the batter, the polishing of a spoon or a banister-- have a rhythmic quality to them that is very soothing to a child's soul.
We like to sing and hum while we work, silly little songs to the tunes of folk songs or made up from our own hearts. We make our own cleaning supplies when possible, polishing wood with beeswax and lemon and using water and essential oils to make an all-purpose cleaning spray. By watching their older siblings and their parents work cheerfully, the younger children are not only invited into the experience, they welcome it, wanting to imitate the actions of those they love and respect. For this reason, we try to be cheerful and diligent in our work, not complaining but completing a job from start to finish with a cheerful spirit. The little ones join in at their own comfort level, moving in and out of the moment. It makes me smile to see them, one foot in the adult world of work and function, the other in their child's world of play and frivolity. It makes me even happier to see those work themes carried over into their play.
So, what can your little ones do?
They can wipe down tables...
...stir the soup (cape optional)...
...polish wood...
...stir batter...
... sort silverware...
...feed pets...
...and water plants.
Remember, even when it might make your job take a little longer, it's worth it to let your little ones join in.
Asking a child to draw a picture of a house, a tree, and a person is a pretty common assessment technique, and one I've been using with my own little ones for years. You can use it with anyone age 3 and up. There's actually an entire psychological evaluation centered around the exercise, but I don't quite take it that far, LOL!
The Waldorf community has a different take on the house--tree--person exercise. A 1999 edition of Gateways makes the following connections:
1. The house-- a picture of where the child is on earth. From that place the child goes out and comes in again in the process of meeting the world.
2. Tree-- indicates the child's connection with his etheric body... The tree is connected with the spiritual world and the earthly world, above and below. It is also a home.
3. Person-- shows the human being with an astral body. The house and tree in the pictures also indicate aspects of the human being.
I love the fat, round, tall characteristics of Nicholas's drawings. The lack of detail, the starkness, the archetypal quality to them. It's a fun exercise to keep these tucked away, asking for new ones to be drawn every once in a while.
Last week's menu was a two-weeker, so you might think I have nothing to say today. But you'd be wrong! I have quite the little cookbook collection. I'm not a terribly creative chef and prefer to use a recipe, but I also find I get bored doing the same thing over and over again. So I like to mix things up.
When I plan my menu, I like to grab two or three cookbooks to work from over the next two weeks. This, coupled with my handy dandy monthly notebook that I fill with magazine clippings and print outs of seasonal ideas I want to try, usually gets me through two weeks of planning.
These are the cookbooks I used for the first two weeks of February. The big brown book is The Parenting Cookbook by Kathy Gunst and the editors of Parenting Magazine. I first browsed this cookbook at a friend's house, and was impressed with the recipes. It has a great combination of kid-friendly recipes and healthy ingredients. We made the molasses cookies today for afternoon snack and they were a big hit!
Next we have A Continual Feast by Evelyn Birge Vitz. I love this book for seasonal recipes to celebrate the church year. The recipes for Lent and Easter are especially good. You can find recipes for the liturgical year as well as the major feasts and festivals of the Christian year as well as recipes specific to various saints' days.
Finally this week I have been cooking from a vintage cookbook, The New Parents' Magazine Family Cookbook. While I deeply despise Parents Magazine, this 1970s cookbook fascinates me. Some of the recipes are quirky and the have some odd ideas about what children will eat and a disturbing propensity to use shortening in unexpected places. Still, there are some gems to be found.
I'd love to hear what you're cooking from this week!
Come along with me, walking walking in our circle. Come along with me, it's circle time again. Come along with me, we will sing and dance together. Come along with me, it's circle time my friend!
Will you be my Valentine, my Valentine, my Valentine? Will you be my Valentine, my very special friend? Yes, I'll be your Valentine, your Valentine, your Valentine! Yes, I'll be your Valentine, your very special friend! Source unknown-- I remember this one from my general music classes at Catholic school! When you look in your mailbox, What do you think you'll see? It might be a Valentine And it might be from me! Finger Frolic
Next we play A-Tisket, A-Tasket. It's hard with only a few little people, but they still like it! A tisket, a tasket, A green and yellow basket. I wrote a letter to my love And on the way I dropped it. I dropped it, I dropped it, And on the way I dropped it. A little birdie picked it up And put it in his pocket. Traditional
Love somebody, yes I do! Love somebody, yes I do! Love somebody, yes I do! Love somebody but I won't say who.
Love somebody, yes I do! Love somebody, yes I do! Love somebody, yes I do! Love somebody and its you, you, you! Traditional
And we've always, always, ever since I was preschool teacher before I even had kids, ended out Valentine's circle with "Mail Myself to You".
In the interest of full disclosure, this review is being written for Book Sneeze, a project of Tommy Nelson Publishing House. They send me a book for free, and in return I agree to review it. You can sign up to do the same!
For the most part, my point of view on the subject of Creationism vs. Evolution has been summed up by the St. Augustine quote on the back of Mr. Foster's book-- "Nature is what God does." I'll admit I don't much care about the hows of creation; for me, it is enough to know that God did it and that He can choose to do it any way He wants, Him being God and all. Still, I've wondered what the big deal was. The topic certainly seems to be causing enough arguments. And so I dove headfirst into this book.
The first half was pretty much cold, hard science. It was a bit tough for me to get into. Mr. Foster did a decent enough job of explaining the science, although I will admit that at times I found his attitude somewhat off-putting. He was equally snarky when speaking of the die-hard Evolutionists and the Young Earth Creationists alike. I think I was expecting something a little more neutral. Still, I can recognize what a tough topic it is to tackle. Perhaps there is no such thing as neutrality when it comes to Darwin, evolution, and creation.
The second half of the book was what really spoke to me. This is where he got into the theological and sociological aspects surrounding the issue and this is where I found myself underlining like crazy, reading entire pages out loud to my husband. It was also where I found myself liking the author a little more. In this section, I could tell his love for the subject and not just his disdain for those who have corrupted it.
Foster's theory of the coexistence of Christianity and evolution seems to hinge on two points. One, that when God was creating the Universe, he declared it all good... except for the sky and man. What if "good" is not so much a moral or ethical judgment of worth, but simply means "fit for purpose"? And his second point springs from the first. What if all of God's creation and not just man was given free will, to continue to grow and change as needed to reach the eventual goal of being perfected, being good, being "fit for purpose"? They were intriguing thoughts.
All in all, this was a great book. It made me think and, even more importantly, it drew me closer to God. I stand by my earlier position on the topic-- nature is, indeed, what God does-- but it never hurts to look closely at the miracle of creation and think about what it means to us as Christians.
Toddlers are wonderful.
