https://lifewaysnorthamerica.org Nurturing Families, Inspiring Childcare Mon, 03 Feb 2025 03:30:58 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.8.1 https://lifewaysnorthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/cropped-icon-32x32.png https://lifewaysnorthamerica.org 32 32 https://lifewaysnorthamerica.org/the-innate-brilliance-of-children/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-innate-brilliance-of-children Mon, 03 Feb 2025 03:30:58 +0000 https://lifewaysnorthamerica.org/?p=70003 Children have an internal program that drives them to meet challenges and to practice new skills through play. Just as we do not need to teach a child to walk, we do not and cannot teach children how to play.  Although fair play and social skills are not innate, the desire to work through life’s […]]]> https://lifewaysnorthamerica.org/festival-celebration-as-a-bridge-between-the-worlds-by-sharifa-oppenheimer/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=festival-celebration-as-a-bridge-between-the-worlds-by-sharifa-oppenheimer Mon, 03 Feb 2025 02:40:02 +0000 https://lifewaysnorthamerica.org/?p=69993   Spring here is at first so wary, And then so spare that even the birds act like strangers, Trying out the strange air with a hesitant chirp or two, And then subsiding. But the season intensifies by degrees, Imperceptibly, while the colors deepen out of memory, The flowers bloom and the thick leaves gleam […]]]> https://lifewaysnorthamerica.org/working-within-a-community-by-shanah-ahmadi/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=working-within-a-community-by-shanah-ahmadi Mon, 03 Feb 2025 02:18:28 +0000 https://lifewaysnorthamerica.org/?p=69983   Our grade school students have the good fortune of participating in a horse program that is held at a teacher’s home. Recently, our Rose Rock School community joined joyful forces to clear a pasture for the horses. This was a very Life as the Curriculum day! It was so beautiful and heartwarming–poetry seems the best […]]]> https://lifewaysnorthamerica.org/snow-mandala-the-soil-and-the-soul-by-sharifa-oppenheimer/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=snow-mandala-the-soil-and-the-soul-by-sharifa-oppenheimer Mon, 03 Feb 2025 01:54:04 +0000 https://lifewaysnorthamerica.org/?p=69978     The winter mandala, above, is poignant in its simplicity and purity. It reflects the nature of the people who created it on a whim, in the midst of a snowy afternoon exploration ~ my grandchildren. Here we see an elegant representation of the child’s innate consciousness which aligns intimately with the worldview of […]]]> https://lifewaysnorthamerica.org/transition-support-by-jerilyn-cole-burke/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=transition-support-by-jerilyn-cole-burke Fri, 17 Jan 2025 20:45:02 +0000 https://lifewaysnorthamerica.org/?p=69688 Winter 2025   Thank you, Jerilyn, for sharing your time-tested wisdom with us! Why are transitions sometimes so challenging for young children? (For those with little littles, put this info in your pocket because toddlerhood is not far off!) You might have heard young children referred to as “little cavemen.” While not the most charming […]]]> https://lifewaysnorthamerica.org/lovegrowsherestorytellingbelonging/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=lovegrowsherestorytellingbelonging Fri, 17 Jan 2025 19:54:43 +0000 https://lifewaysnorthamerica.org/?p=69241 Winter 2024 Leslie Wetzonis Woolverton and Lynn Turner, co-founders of WIDEN Arts, have shared this blog with us! Life is told through story. We experience life through our senses and learn about the world and our place in it through the stories we see, hear, feel and tell. As such, when we actively develop an […]]]> https://lifewaysnorthamerica.org/love-grows-here-late-winter-series-into-storytelling-of-belonging-and-inclusion-in-waldorf-early-childhood-part-2/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=love-grows-here-late-winter-series-into-storytelling-of-belonging-and-inclusion-in-waldorf-early-childhood-part-2 Fri, 17 Jan 2025 19:50:41 +0000 https://lifewaysnorthamerica.org/?p=69245 Winter 2024 Our blog today has been shared with us by Leslie Wetzonis Woolverton and Lynn Turner, co-founders of WIDEN Arts.  You may be asking yourself why are lap plays, table plays, and marionette performances important to young children and how can they help create a sense of belonging in these times of societal discord […]]]> https://lifewaysnorthamerica.org/let-the-moments-speak-celebrating-festivals-without-over-explaining-by-jerilyn-cole-burke/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=let-the-moments-speak-celebrating-festivals-without-over-explaining-by-jerilyn-cole-burke Tue, 03 Dec 2024 22:56:37 +0000 https://lifewaysnorthamerica.org/?p=69004 December 2024 This blog was shared with us by Jerilyn Cole Burke!  She writes: The cold has finally caught up with us in my neck of the woods!  With it comes an invitation to slow down, breathe deeply, and savor the reflective season that’s now settling in. I’ve been thinking about festivals and how we […]]]> https://lifewaysnorthamerica.org/st-nicholas-story-by-acacia-moore/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=st-nicholas-story-by-acacia-moore Tue, 03 Dec 2024 22:40:03 +0000 https://lifewaysnorthamerica.org/?p=68998 December 2024     December has come yet again; what a time of rich tradition and stories! This week, Acacia has a story to share with us that she shares with the children she nurtures! We hope you enjoy it and may feel inspired to share it with your own children.   The story has […]]]> https://lifewaysnorthamerica.org/the-gates-to-winter/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-gates-to-winter Tue, 19 Nov 2024 14:10:12 +0000 https://lifewaysnorthamerica.org/?p=68816 Autumn 2024   During her most recent workshop with us, Anna Rainville shared this message about the season. It is a beautiful invitation to us all.      “One feels a shift in the seasonal mood when the light changes and each day grows darker earlier than the day before. While a feeling of reflection […]]]>