SPACE to SOW and GROW - Sera's Self-directed Learning

For the last couple of weeks, Seraphina has initiated a new learning venture.

She grabs an early reader book from the shelf and copies it word for word into her notebook. She seems to really enjoy forming the letters on the page, holding her pen and mouth just right. It is such a pleasure to watch her as she delves into reading and writing.


As she writes, we read the words together and she makes sense of the story. Afterwards she draws a beautiful picture to illustrate what she has just written.






She's also been practising math. Totally self-directed! I have never taught her how to form numbers or how to write sums. I think she saw an example of a written sum somewhere at sometime and then decided to experiment herself with it. Was such a surprise to find this in her book!

Love this Life!

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SPACE to SOW and GROW - Waldorf Alphabet (D)

Well, this week there was a great deal of fire breathing and unfortunately I don't mean literally.. That would have been super cool!

I told the girls the Grimms story of "The Dragon's Grandmother" and when it came to doing our drawing Seraphina chose not to draw... She was still anti-drawing since the week before :(

She kept saying "You just draw it for me!".

I didn't want Seraphina to think I agreed that she could no longer produce a lovely drawing for her book so we stalled for a couple of days while I put my thinking cap on...

At the end of the week I made a suggestion that surprisingly she liked. We decided to help each other draw each other's dragon! It was fun and a little silly and I have to say the result was most wonderful x

 

During the week we dressed up, danced and played our djiembe drums. We discovered new dips and desserts and loved up Dad for Father's Day xx

 

 

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SPACE to SOW and GROW - Waldorf Alphabet (C)

"C is for Cookie" yom yom yom yom yom...

Cookies and cake were on the agenda this week. We played around with different varieties until we were all cookied out! Smartie cookies were the most fun to make and eat.

Story time has always been a lovely experience in our home. Since travelling along our Alphabet Journey, Seraphina has been getting upset if her drawing isn't "perfect". She cries and wants to throw her drawing in the bin saying it's not as good as mine :(

Although I'm flattered that she thinks my drawings are so lovely, I am finding it challenging finding the right words to encourage her as she's not very receptive to anything I have to say in these moments.

I try and tell Seraphina that Art comes from the Heart. It is an expression of our own inner beauty and feelings and that even if it's not perfect, it's perfect!

This week we read "Alice in Wonderland" and the scene where Alice meets the Cheshire Cat was the inspiration for our "C" page.

Let's see what "D" will bring....

 

 

 

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SPACE to SOW and GROW - Waldorf Alphabet (B)

Our 'B' page was inspired by a classic Winnie The Pooh story. Here you can see the bear in the 'B' and if you look closely you will see the wings of the bees are 'B' shaped too.

Seraphina decided to draw a home for her bear too. So sweet x

Earlier in the week we did some traditional butterfly paintings where you fold a sheet of paper in half and put blobs of paint on one side only. Then you fold the paper closed and smooth over the top, spreading and mixing the paint underneath. The girls really enjoyed this activity and they couldn't stop at one or two. They made sooo many.. My logical brain kicked in and I started thinking, "time to wrap this up, they've experienced the concept.. Seriously, how many butterfly prints do you really need?" (I have a thing about "wasting" paper) but then I relaxed and went with the flow letting them get what ever they needed from the moment. The result was lots and lots and LOTS of gorgeous, colourful pieces of paper.

I knew that they would come in handy one day for decorating gifts or being a gift in itself or even perhaps morph into some other fabulous crafty creation... I was right :)

Going with our 'B' theme, I folded the prints in half again and cut an outline of half a butterfly. I let the girls open them and to their delight they saw beautiful colourful butterflies appearing before their eyes. They also commented on how each side was exactly the same. There's our lesson on symmetry!!

Lucy helped punch holes in the top of each butterfly and with the help of a dear friend, we made a garland of butterflies to decorate our living room.

We made Honey Bee muffins and played the Bongos and I finished our 'B' week with a tale from The Brother's Grimm - Snow White and Rose Red...

 

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SPACE to SOW and GROW - Waldorf Alphabet (A)

Seraphina has really been wanting me to spend more one on one time with her doing "school stuff". Not that she knows what goes on in a classroom at school, but never the less, I took her request as a sign to start some formal kind of academic work.

She is already familiar with most of the letters of the alphabet but I have been secretly waiting for the day I could introduce her formally in a Waldorfy kind of way.

For 'A' we read two picture story books written by Neale Donald Walsch (author of the famed "Conversations With God".

The first book was "the Little Soul and the Sun" and the second, "the Little Soul and the Earth - I'm Somebody!".

These books are beautifully written and illustrated. The first story gentle describes our connection to God, the light and explains that all we see as "good" or "bad" is ultimately LOVE. It provides an understanding and awareness that we are ALL eternally connected.

It touches on life purpose ideals and that we make an agreement with God to have an experience on Earth. Depending on that choice, or choices, other souls will incarnate and help us to experience the feeling or lessons that we have agreed upon.

The second story is when the soul is born to Earth and guided by her personal guardian angel. It shows how as we begin our journey on Earth we are still aware of where we came from and WHO we are. Then as we begin to feel and think in our human bodies we tend to lose sight of this and forget why we came. That is when the guardian angel comes in to support and remind us of our purpose and our universal connection to God.

So, for us, these books were a great inspiration for our 'A' page...

Other things we did to reinforce 'A' was to listen to an old record of Johnny Appleseed, produce some Apple Cider and Apple Peel Vinegar and bake an apple pie. Lots of apples that week!!

Now we wait three months for the vinegar. It smells fantastic already!

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Birth of a Babe - 4th March 2012

So good to be back on the blog and to celebrate the arrival of our newest family member, Chloe Shekinah!!

Chloe was born 4 days early which is not really "early" as such, but was an interesting, new experience for me.  My babies always come "late".  Well, except for Wade.  He was spot on his due date!  Lani was a day over, Seraphina was 3 weeks over and Lucy almost 2 weeks over.  So, when I woke with a strong contraction at about 1.45am, I wasn't quite convinced that labour had begun..

You see, another new experience for me was to feel Braxton Hicks quite strongly and literally for 2/3 of my pregnancy.  I had mildly noticed them with the last pregnancy, but this time they were often regular and VERY noticable.  I just figured my lovely uterus was working a little harder this time (being the 5th pregnancy) and needed a bit longer to prepare.  And it was this reason that when that first "real" contraction presented itself, I half thought it may be another Braxton Hicks.  Surely, baby wouldn't come early??

I continued to lie in bed, eyes wide, and breathed calmly through the contraction.  It did seem a little stronger than the BH's, so I opted to wait and see if another one or two generated and if there was any regularity to them.

10 minutes passed, and along came a contraction.  Just as strong, and enough to make me stand and get out of bed.  I had the urge to go sit on the loo.. (as you do!) and while there another two contractions passed, each ten minutes apart and each increasing in intensity.  I started feeling rather excited and believed that labour was in motion.  Should I wake hubby??

My instinct was not to wake Steve just yet, just in case it was a false alarm and all over as quick as it had begun.  And besides, the house was soooo quiet and serene.  I was really enjoying the moment alone.  I potted around the house, putting things away, folding... and transferred slowly to a favoured corner of our dining table for support as I felt a contraction rising.  

Recognising the familiarity of the way my labours generally progress, I decided that I was most likely going to birth my baby this morning and best be setting up my birthing space.

At this stage I wasn't counting contractions, however, intuition invited me to quicken my waddle slightly when foraging the following items.. mattress, towels, waterproof tablecloth, sheets, placenta bowl etc.  I had another contraction as I was dragging the mattress up the hallway, (It was a child's size IKEA mattress, so nothing too strenuous), made my bed then decided to go and wake sleeping Papa Bear - with a midway sojourn at the dining table.. Another contraction!  Yep, well and truly 5 mins apart now.  The time..  about 2.45am.

Papa Bear rose with sleepy eyes (he was due to wake at 4.30am for work).  

Steve:  "What's happening", rubbing eyes.

Me:  "I think baby might come today." - another contraction.. "Yeah, baby's definitely coming!"

Steve:  "What do you need me to do.  What do I need to set up for you?"

Me:  "Nah, I've already done it" - pointing to my little sacred space.

Steve:  "Oh, you've already done it.  That's nice Babe."

Me:  :)

At this point I went and checked in at my birthing alter, read my blessingway blessings, lit my candle and put on my birthing necklace.  I felt the support of all my friends, my own mother and all the mothers before her.  I was ready to travel to the deepest part of myself, where time seems to stand still.  I knew what physical and emotional demands would be offered to me.  I was ready for the experience.  The spiritual exaltation that is childbirth.  -  Beautiful women.. stay with me. xx

Another contraction sees me back to my favourite corner of the dining table.  Head down, focused breathing, body swaying....

Things were really moving quickly.  I could feel my body expanding, dilating.  The pain was advancing incredibly and a moment of fear crept in.

Me:  (having a little cry..) "I don't want it to hurt"

Steve: .........silent pause.........

Me:  "I take it back.. I do want it too"

I knew my body was working hard to birth our baby.  I knew that what I was feeling was perfect and that baby was with me all the way.  I transformed my thoughts.  I knew if I focussed on the pain, resisted the pain, I would hand over my power to it.  I needed strength and courage to birth this baby.  There was no turning back now!!  I welcomed the pain, invited it back in to my experience, and the fear subsided. 

The space between contractions was narrowing and I had that immediate urge to get to the place were baby was to be born.  No more walking around.  I needed to get into position....

We decided to let Lani (14), Wade (11) and Lucy (3) sleep until just prior to baby's arrival.  Seraphina really wanted to be a part of the birthing experience, so Steve woke her and the two of them sat at the dining table while I kneeled on the mattress, leaning on to the couch, cuddling pillows tightly through contractions. 

My body was being consumed.  With each wave I could feel baby moving closer and closer, traveling down the birth canal, preparing to crown.. and yet part of my spirit was watching from above as the mechanics of childbirth took over.

I rested in between contractions and sang like a whale during them.  Baby was being born..

The other children were woken.  At this moment, I felt I needed to change position, so on Steve's return I turned to kneel upright, facing his loving eyes and holding his forearms for support.  

The contractions were working to push baby.  However, in this position I felt some resistance.  Intuitively, I asked Steve to help me stand.

Steve:  "We don't want baby to fall out"

Reflecting on our previous births, I assured him that I will need to birth the head first and baby will not "fall out". :)

Standing certainly released the resistance I was feeling and during the next contraction, an ocean of waters gushed out blessing my birthing space.

With another hard squeeze and a roar of emotion from me, I noticed a few drops of blood on the mattress below.  I took this as a positive sign that baby was crowning.  "Oh Good" I whispered.  We had traveled well.. Baby is almost here!!

Once again through divine guidance and pure direction from my baby and body, I asked Steve to help me back down.  

Baby crowned.  I felt her head presenting. 

Elated, I knew that with the next surge she would be with us, safe in the sanctity of her family and home.

Our last contraction together felt more like two in one.  It was a good thing I had kneeled back down on the mattress as baby's head and body birthed in one last momentous push.  4.18am - She was here!!

As she lay before me, I paused quietly.  A brief moment in time to integrate between two worlds and for me to soak up the euphoria.  She was perfect.  Raising her to my heart, I felt relieved, proud, overwhelmed, grateful... totally immersed in a universal blanket of love and beauty .

Words can not describe those first few moments together.  So much LOVE...  A life is born and a new journey begins. XX