Yesterday I spent a few minutes in Curly-Locks's kindergarten classroom. On the shelf above the kitchen area, used for preparing snacks, I saw a row of yellow bananas, ripening. And boy, was I happy to see this! Today when he has his snack, he'll enjoy a good banana.
Years ago when we lived on the farm, we went to visit our neighbour who was also farming bio-dynamically. She had a visitor from overseas, actually a Christian Community priest who used to come to South Africa from time to time. Evelyn Capel was spiritually gifted and also much valued for the advice she could give to parents because she was able to see into the children's previous lives.
Anyhow, I digress. What I meant to share with you is a picture I still hold vividly in my memory. When we all gathered for a meal under the vine-shaded pergola, she spotted the fruit bowl on the table.
"Oh how wonderful," she exclaimed. "One of the things I was determined to do on this trip, was to eat a naturally-ripened banana."
Of course, that's not going to happen here, in the north-eastern area of North America, but we can at least avoid eating green bananas, and especially, avoid giving them to our small children. They are extremely indigestible.
If you think about it, the whole ripening process is a very special one. We cook our food to take the ripening a stage further, which all helps the digestive process. The thing is, magical cosmic processes take place within us when we taste, swallow and digest our food. These days, it seems to me, we mostly live with one extreme or the other. Either we don't care whether we eat healthily, organically and so on, or we do care, but actually treat our bodies the way commercial agriculture treats the land. i.e. this mineral is missing, so we'll add it. We're low on this vitamin, so we'll add that. And yes, I totally confess to being part of the latter camp. And this means I'm actually taking a pretty materialistic view of nutrition.
'Tis a puzzlement, though.
As I've mentioned before, small children are likely to respond to texture even more than taste. So, when it comes to bananas, give them time to ripen and mash them well if you're feeding some to your baby.
Monday, October 29, 2012
Friday, October 26, 2012
Down time
Grandfather and I are collecting the Blue-eyed boy from school everyday. This week the weather has been clement enough for us to walk him home, and that brings a wonderful grace. This is because it gives him some wind-down time. Zigzagging along, he crunches leaves under his feet, kicks at a few dandelion heads, climbs out of the swale to cross a driveway, jumps down the other side to land on his knees, and so on.
A truly valuable time. After long hours at school he has many experiences to absorb and release. Once at home he'll likely settle down to play and I'll hear him murmuring phrases other children had said, sometimes imitating behaviour by acting out. This is all healthy for the soul.
And we as adults need this kind of down time as well. We need the chance to reflect so that we don't get entirely swept up in the busyness of modern life.
When our four children were younger and we lived in Cape Town, I was fortunate enough to be able to take a few minutes round about 5 o'clock... a difficult time of the day when it comes to kids. I'd walk out the front door and along our dirt lane to look up at the mountains and the sky. I'd observe the clouds--in itself a helpful soul exercise. That tiny window would allow me to breathe, provided the strength for me to get back inside and cope with teenagers.
I hope you can find a few moments in your day to remove yourself from the hustle and bustle and renew your forces. Remember to allow your children that possibility too.
A truly valuable time. After long hours at school he has many experiences to absorb and release. Once at home he'll likely settle down to play and I'll hear him murmuring phrases other children had said, sometimes imitating behaviour by acting out. This is all healthy for the soul.
And we as adults need this kind of down time as well. We need the chance to reflect so that we don't get entirely swept up in the busyness of modern life.
When our four children were younger and we lived in Cape Town, I was fortunate enough to be able to take a few minutes round about 5 o'clock... a difficult time of the day when it comes to kids. I'd walk out the front door and along our dirt lane to look up at the mountains and the sky. I'd observe the clouds--in itself a helpful soul exercise. That tiny window would allow me to breathe, provided the strength for me to get back inside and cope with teenagers.
I hope you can find a few moments in your day to remove yourself from the hustle and bustle and renew your forces. Remember to allow your children that possibility too.
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
More on books
Curly-Locks wanted me to read to him and presented me with a smallish hard-covered book, 'The Magician's Garden'. The story was simple and the illustrations old-fashioned: charming watercolours, with no harsh outlines, which is the ideal. Why? Take a look outside your window. Isn't that actually how we perceive the world? We want to give our kids the truest picture possible.
When we'd finished reading I looked to see the publisher info. Ladybird Learning to Read (or words to that effect). Our son had found it in a charity store. Now, Ladybird put out modern books but I can really recommend keeping an eye open for the old ones. Yes, they can be used as a learning-to-read scheme, but I also used to 'read' the illustrations to the boys when they were smaller. They particularly liked 'On the Farm' for instance.
Now, as an author, I'd far prefer you to buy new books. But as Nana I strongly suggest you keep an eye open for older illustrated books. Chances are they'll be more true to life, less 'cartoonified' than the new ones.
As a side-note and to backtrack to the littlies, it seems to me that books for the youngest kids today are all about teaching: numbers, colours, shapes etc. Ask yourself, 'Do I need to put those concepts onto my baby as soon as possible?' I'd suggest not. Far better to show them illustrations that present a true picture (as I said already). That will help them get a feel for this new home they have on earth. Help them overcome the homesickness for heaven.
When we'd finished reading I looked to see the publisher info. Ladybird Learning to Read (or words to that effect). Our son had found it in a charity store. Now, Ladybird put out modern books but I can really recommend keeping an eye open for the old ones. Yes, they can be used as a learning-to-read scheme, but I also used to 'read' the illustrations to the boys when they were smaller. They particularly liked 'On the Farm' for instance.
Now, as an author, I'd far prefer you to buy new books. But as Nana I strongly suggest you keep an eye open for older illustrated books. Chances are they'll be more true to life, less 'cartoonified' than the new ones.
As a side-note and to backtrack to the littlies, it seems to me that books for the youngest kids today are all about teaching: numbers, colours, shapes etc. Ask yourself, 'Do I need to put those concepts onto my baby as soon as possible?' I'd suggest not. Far better to show them illustrations that present a true picture (as I said already). That will help them get a feel for this new home they have on earth. Help them overcome the homesickness for heaven.
Monday, October 22, 2012
Words and images
On Friday evening I went to a local bookstore to give a short reading from my novel 'Cape Town'. This was an event sponsored by the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, so we began with hearing from the authors of picture books and worked up to the more mature teen/crossover stories.
This brought the whole subject of children and books to mind. More, it brought the whole subject of the word to mind. So, first of all, I'd like to share an image with you, one that I can post because it belongs to me (as opposed to someone else!) This is from a series my dad drew and painted for me when he was 'up north' (i.e. not in Southern Africa) during the Second World War.
Here it is:
I'm sure you recognize little Tommy Tucker who sings for his supper. And I really really hope you recite nursery rhymes to your little ones, and sometimes sing them too.
As human beings, we are privileged to have this very special gift of language. As a writer I'd say that generally we're moving away from lyrical, rhythmical writing. Yes, even in poetry. In my opinion that's a shame and particularly when it comes to words for small children. As I wrote and emphasized in my book 'Magical Motherhood, a Series of Letters to Cheryl', rhythm supports life. Children will delight in the rhythms, alliterations and assonances of nursery rhymes. Even if, sometimes, they don't actually make much sense to us these days, be assured that they'll be nourishing and enlivening your little one.
More on books for slightly older children tomorrow.
This brought the whole subject of children and books to mind. More, it brought the whole subject of the word to mind. So, first of all, I'd like to share an image with you, one that I can post because it belongs to me (as opposed to someone else!) This is from a series my dad drew and painted for me when he was 'up north' (i.e. not in Southern Africa) during the Second World War.
Here it is:
I'm sure you recognize little Tommy Tucker who sings for his supper. And I really really hope you recite nursery rhymes to your little ones, and sometimes sing them too.
As human beings, we are privileged to have this very special gift of language. As a writer I'd say that generally we're moving away from lyrical, rhythmical writing. Yes, even in poetry. In my opinion that's a shame and particularly when it comes to words for small children. As I wrote and emphasized in my book 'Magical Motherhood, a Series of Letters to Cheryl', rhythm supports life. Children will delight in the rhythms, alliterations and assonances of nursery rhymes. Even if, sometimes, they don't actually make much sense to us these days, be assured that they'll be nourishing and enlivening your little one.
More on books for slightly older children tomorrow.
Thursday, October 18, 2012
Connecting to the Spirit of the World
We do this by living as consciously and as joyously through the seasons as we possibly can. I love how, in North America, the different seasons are celebrated. Right now we have the full glory of fall before our eyes.
So, a couple of days ago, I brought the Blue-eyed Boy home from school. It was a sunny afternoon and he didn't go inside straight away. Instead he stood and looked for a moment. This is what he saw:
Truly, I could almost see the workings of his mind. As an aside I can tell you that he's lost his two front teeth, which is good for a child who's just started formal education. Why? Because the change of teeth is accompanied by a certain brain development.
So, he was thinking. To a purpose. He went and got the rake, and raked the leaves into a heap. You can see what's left of it in the pic. When the heap was big enough, he abandoned his task and went to the swing. Whoopee! Whee!! He swung over the heap and let go. Landed in the leaves.
How much fun was that? I almost wished I could do it too!
Living with the seasons helps us connect to the Spirit of the World. If you like, you can consider Him as the great, cosmic sun-being who came to earth over 2000 years ago. So no, it's not paganism to live consciously through the seasons, but a great gift for our children. Apart from anything else, it helps them to overcome the homesickness for heaven and makes them happy to be here.
So, a couple of days ago, I brought the Blue-eyed Boy home from school. It was a sunny afternoon and he didn't go inside straight away. Instead he stood and looked for a moment. This is what he saw:
Truly, I could almost see the workings of his mind. As an aside I can tell you that he's lost his two front teeth, which is good for a child who's just started formal education. Why? Because the change of teeth is accompanied by a certain brain development.
So, he was thinking. To a purpose. He went and got the rake, and raked the leaves into a heap. You can see what's left of it in the pic. When the heap was big enough, he abandoned his task and went to the swing. Whoopee! Whee!! He swung over the heap and let go. Landed in the leaves.
How much fun was that? I almost wished I could do it too!
Living with the seasons helps us connect to the Spirit of the World. If you like, you can consider Him as the great, cosmic sun-being who came to earth over 2000 years ago. So no, it's not paganism to live consciously through the seasons, but a great gift for our children. Apart from anything else, it helps them to overcome the homesickness for heaven and makes them happy to be here.
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
When to ask questions
In general, I'm against asking small children questions. Yes, I know this is endemic in our society and I find myself doing it too. But honestly, what are we doing by giving the kids multiple choices? We're actually handing them over the authority that belongs to us as parents and grandparents. And this, I can assure you, will not work in our favour when our children hit the teenage years.
There's another side to the question (!) that I've maybe mentioned before. That is, even us adults suffer from decision fatigue today. This is because every decision we confront makes a demand on our ego. To put decisions onto small children actually takes away from their vitality. And truly, they only come into full ego-hood once they turn twenty-one. Rudolf Steiner says that even the way the foot walks on the earth changes at that time. No, I didn't manage to observe that in my four children.
But sometimes a parent needs to pry. Kids, as we know all too well these days, can be subject to bullying. I remember when our youngest, Ben, was in kindergarten, he kept complaining about a sore neck. I thought this was maybe tonsils, and had a look, but no, his throat wasn't inflamed at all.
The complaint was repeated. I was puzzled. Ben was a child who could usually express what he felt and experienced very well. At last I winkled it out of him. Yes, another boy was 'strangling' him at school. And now that I understood the problem, we were able to address it.
So, as always, be as aware as you can.
There's another side to the question (!) that I've maybe mentioned before. That is, even us adults suffer from decision fatigue today. This is because every decision we confront makes a demand on our ego. To put decisions onto small children actually takes away from their vitality. And truly, they only come into full ego-hood once they turn twenty-one. Rudolf Steiner says that even the way the foot walks on the earth changes at that time. No, I didn't manage to observe that in my four children.
But sometimes a parent needs to pry. Kids, as we know all too well these days, can be subject to bullying. I remember when our youngest, Ben, was in kindergarten, he kept complaining about a sore neck. I thought this was maybe tonsils, and had a look, but no, his throat wasn't inflamed at all.
The complaint was repeated. I was puzzled. Ben was a child who could usually express what he felt and experienced very well. At last I winkled it out of him. Yes, another boy was 'strangling' him at school. And now that I understood the problem, we were able to address it.
So, as always, be as aware as you can.
Monday, October 15, 2012
A broken promise
Here below is a link for you. But it's not the one I had in mind, which I can't find right now. The trouble is, I got involved with other writing instead of posting right away. My apologies.
https://apps.facebook.com/theguardian/society/2012/oct/09/childrens-health-screen-time
But there's a lesson here, one I've mentioned before. It's often better not to tell children what you intend in case matters take you in a different direction. For example, if you say, 'After lunch we'll go for a walk', and then something happens that means you can't do this, it's a letdown for the child. An unnecessary one, which can lead to undesirable results. I mean, maybe your toddler will throw a tantrum and then the whole household is upset.
This week, due to other writing duties, I'll be posting less often. So, no promises today!
https://apps.facebook.com/theguardian/society/2012/oct/09/childrens-health-screen-time
But there's a lesson here, one I've mentioned before. It's often better not to tell children what you intend in case matters take you in a different direction. For example, if you say, 'After lunch we'll go for a walk', and then something happens that means you can't do this, it's a letdown for the child. An unnecessary one, which can lead to undesirable results. I mean, maybe your toddler will throw a tantrum and then the whole household is upset.
This week, due to other writing duties, I'll be posting less often. So, no promises today!
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
After the weekend
The Blue-eyed Boy will be with us today. This means he won't be in school. It's a wise decision on the part of his parents because he's suffering from too much weekend.
Pity the poor teachers who have to deal with this frequent ailment, most Mondays. And I'd guess it's more difficult after a long weekend. Simply a fact of life in our present world.
So, a wise decision. Sometimes a child who's not ill simply needs some down time. An intuitive kind of observation will tell you when and, truly, it can be a big help if you can manage a 'home day'. Fortunately, over most of the growing-up years, I was in such a position with our four children. When the occasional need arose, I could offer them the grace of a little space to just 'be'.
On another note, do you know the work of Magda Gerber? I'll add a p.s. to this post with a link for you.
Pity the poor teachers who have to deal with this frequent ailment, most Mondays. And I'd guess it's more difficult after a long weekend. Simply a fact of life in our present world.
So, a wise decision. Sometimes a child who's not ill simply needs some down time. An intuitive kind of observation will tell you when and, truly, it can be a big help if you can manage a 'home day'. Fortunately, over most of the growing-up years, I was in such a position with our four children. When the occasional need arose, I could offer them the grace of a little space to just 'be'.
On another note, do you know the work of Magda Gerber? I'll add a p.s. to this post with a link for you.
Thursday, October 4, 2012
Gratitude at Thanksgiving
It seems to me there's a dwindling of teaching children to say 'please' and 'thanks'. Particularly when it comes to the latter, I know how fine I feel when a child thanks me properly and with genuine gratitude. And yes, I think this is something that needs to be taught.
Gratitude as we know from different sources, can be a powerful force in our lives. In Canada, coming up right this weekend, we'll have Thanksgiving Day, which offers us the opportunity to count our blessings and be grateful. A simple grace before the meal is surely appropriate. Children will pick it up, if we grownups hold true thankfulness in our hearts.
The thing is, opening oneself to gratitude helps the soul become receptive so that benevolent spiritual beings can approach, and be there for us. In my experience, the spiritual world responds with such bounty when even the smallest effort of recognition is given.
So, dear readers, I wish you a Happy Thanksgiving. See you on the other side!
Gratitude as we know from different sources, can be a powerful force in our lives. In Canada, coming up right this weekend, we'll have Thanksgiving Day, which offers us the opportunity to count our blessings and be grateful. A simple grace before the meal is surely appropriate. Children will pick it up, if we grownups hold true thankfulness in our hearts.
The thing is, opening oneself to gratitude helps the soul become receptive so that benevolent spiritual beings can approach, and be there for us. In my experience, the spiritual world responds with such bounty when even the smallest effort of recognition is given.
So, dear readers, I wish you a Happy Thanksgiving. See you on the other side!
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
Tucking in
Three snippets on this subject:
At this time of changing seasons, it's easy for the children to get chilled. So an undershirt is a good idea. A teeshirt that's not too large can be a good substitute, provided it's tucked into pants. This makes a huge difference to how warm you feel, as I discovered yesterday for myself when I went on my bike ride.
Tucking a child into bed at night seems to be a fading trend, thanks to the preponderance (and convenience!) of duvets. But the trouble with duvets is that they easily slip to one side, or even off the bed. So it's good to check after your child has gone to sleep. You can tuck in around the feet, at the sides, or at the bottom of the bed.
Lastly, I'm thinking about tucking into food. The other day Curly-Locks came for lunch. We had one of those boxes of organic salad that consist of different small, soft lettuce leaves. I added our (always home-made) vinaigrette, but when Curly-Locks took a mouthful he said 'Yuck', and wouldn't eat any more. So I puzzled over this, because usually he loves our salad. Eventually I came to the conclusion that his repulsion had to do with texture rather than taste.
Which is not to say that small kids don't like 'soft'. But I do think that often, texture is the more important factor when it comes to their tucking in to food.
At this time of changing seasons, it's easy for the children to get chilled. So an undershirt is a good idea. A teeshirt that's not too large can be a good substitute, provided it's tucked into pants. This makes a huge difference to how warm you feel, as I discovered yesterday for myself when I went on my bike ride.
Tucking a child into bed at night seems to be a fading trend, thanks to the preponderance (and convenience!) of duvets. But the trouble with duvets is that they easily slip to one side, or even off the bed. So it's good to check after your child has gone to sleep. You can tuck in around the feet, at the sides, or at the bottom of the bed.
Lastly, I'm thinking about tucking into food. The other day Curly-Locks came for lunch. We had one of those boxes of organic salad that consist of different small, soft lettuce leaves. I added our (always home-made) vinaigrette, but when Curly-Locks took a mouthful he said 'Yuck', and wouldn't eat any more. So I puzzled over this, because usually he loves our salad. Eventually I came to the conclusion that his repulsion had to do with texture rather than taste.
Which is not to say that small kids don't like 'soft'. But I do think that often, texture is the more important factor when it comes to their tucking in to food.
Tuesday, October 2, 2012
Do your children a favour, and watch this.
This came to me via a wonderful mother of seven. Merci, Blondine!
It's about one school's policy on media, but contains a message we parents really, really need to see and hear.
I think it speaks.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ge5G_cYpj8g&feature=share
It's about one school's policy on media, but contains a message we parents really, really need to see and hear.
I think it speaks.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ge5G_cYpj8g&feature=share
Monday, October 1, 2012
More on electronic force fields
Twice over the past few days, this subject has come up for me. First of all, as I was listening to the radio. I heard someone state something like 'the negative effects of electronic forcefields is still a controversial subject'.
Climate change, anyone?
And then I received an email. I encourage you to click on the link below.
http://www.castanet.net/news/Kelowna/81081/Utility-sale-whistle-blower=
You know, I don't think I truly considered the impact of a baby monitor. I was more focused on thinking how not having one can contribute to the development of a mother's instinct. But, being fully aware that it's not easy to hear in a multi-storey house, I confess I made use of one while doing overnight babysitting for the grandsons.
As Rudolf Steiner, the spiritual pioneer who brought so much to help us in our time, pointed out: We are all subject to the karma of our age. Technology is here and can provide us with useful tools. However, when it comes to caring for small children, the best thing is to be vigilant. Truly, when it comes to negative effects that are possible to avoid, we'd rather not be sorry later.
Climate change, anyone?
And then I received an email. I encourage you to click on the link below.
http://www.castanet.net/news/Kelowna/81081/Utility-sale-whistle-blower=
You know, I don't think I truly considered the impact of a baby monitor. I was more focused on thinking how not having one can contribute to the development of a mother's instinct. But, being fully aware that it's not easy to hear in a multi-storey house, I confess I made use of one while doing overnight babysitting for the grandsons.
As Rudolf Steiner, the spiritual pioneer who brought so much to help us in our time, pointed out: We are all subject to the karma of our age. Technology is here and can provide us with useful tools. However, when it comes to caring for small children, the best thing is to be vigilant. Truly, when it comes to negative effects that are possible to avoid, we'd rather not be sorry later.
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