Waldorf Modern

Learning to Appreciate the Rules

waldorfmodern@gmail.com (C) — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 16:57:00 +0000

The kids' school has a no cell phone policy.

At first, I thought it would be inconvenient. I'm not attached to the phone like some people, but sometimes I didn't want to leave it in the car when I was expecting a call. I did get scolded once when I was talking on campus an hour after school when the kids were playing. (Tsk tsk.) But otherwise, I got used to it and it's expected of everyone, and it's not really that big of a deal. The idea is that everyone there can be focused on being on campus, interacting with the children and the other parents, etc., without the disruption and distraction.

I never really appreciated the no cell phones rule until I was dropping off Bean last week. They had some maintenance contractors in the preschool and kindergarten areas, working on the fire alarms. The workers were making calls, and also using that walkie talkie type service that chirps and has both ends of the phone on speaker. It was important for the work they were doing, but I was surprise how unnatural and foreign it felt. I thought about what it would be like if parents were talking on the phone when they were walking up to pick up their children from class, or having phones ringing all the time. In this and so many other ways, the Waldorf school is such a departure from the rest of the world. One of the many wonderful things it has going for it.

The kids know I spend most of my day on the computer. We have iPods, and cell phones, and computers. They are not strangers to technology or the attention I pay to it, hopping up to answer the phone when I am with them. Some of it is accepted, and some of it is grudgingly put up with.

I'm setting my phone to vibrate from now on, and screen calls so that when I am with my children, I only excuse myself if it is imperative to pick up.

Is it Spring Yet?

waldorfmodern@gmail.com (C) — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 04:39:00 +0000

The children have been asking me for weeks, "Is it Spring? Is it Spring yet?" Yesterday I had to say, "Well, it looks like Spring." It felt like it, too. We spent four hours in the backyard, I hung out with a book and tea in a lounge chair, and the kids dug holes and climbed trees. Sounds like spring, alright.

Dinner Review :: March week 1

waldorfmodern@gmail.com (C) — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 02:30:00 +0000

I don't know if it's my deliberate meal planning, or the weather, our new meat CSA, or our new produce CSA, but I have been cooking like a maniac. And everything is SO GOOD. Almost every ingredient we've been getting from the CSAs require using recipes I've never tried before. Between marthastewart.com, foodtv.com, and the genius and amazing resource that is foodblogsearch.com, I've been swimming in amazing recipes. And I rarely ate meat before we started getting a big box of local, delicious cuts every month, but pretty much everything from the meat CSA has been amazing.

I've also been able to work cooking dinner into a rhythm that works for me, and the surprise cuts and veggies from the CSA boxes keeps me motivated and trying new things. When Bean was really little, we started using a farm that did CSA delivery, and I was all excited about supporting the farm, and trying new recipes, but it was too much at the time with a baby to deal with cooking like that. But now everyone is older, I carved out the time in my schedule, I plan ahead as much as I can, and I make sure I take it easy on myself on days we have lots of other things going on and don't have as much time or energy to cook.

I'm hoping to regularly share my previous week's dinners on the weekends, linking to recipes when available if you want to give anything a try. Unless I noted a specific side dish, I usually just made a quick salad or steamed carrots or broccoli or whatever to accompany the main dish. Avert your eyes if you're a vegetarian.

Image: The Hungry Mouse

Sunday:
Black Pepper Beef Ribs

I'd never even thought of cooking ribs before, but the big box of meat had a huge rack of ribs I had to figure out what to do with. I didn't really want the standard bbq sauce style, but I didn't know there were any other options. This recipe was amazing. A pepper, paprika, and brown sugar rub, two hours in the oven, and I was ready to die happy.

Image: Christine's Recipes

Monday:
Lamb Steak

I just had a couple of bites of this, grudgingly (but lovingly) shared from the small steak I served my husband. Best lamb I've ever had, but a few bites was enough for me. The other steak we got in the meat box is a bit bigger, but the husband has been asking for it every night since we've had this recipe. Another gem from the food blog search that I might not have found otherwise.

Image: Everyday Food

Tuesday:
Italian Potpies

I thought this tasted like the type of thing the kids would love, but they weren't crazy about it. I thought it was pretty great, ground beef from the CSA with homemade tomato sauce, fresh rosemary. I must have gotten rid of the ramekins I never used that the recipe suggested, but it worked fine in a big casserole dish with the dough on top.

Image: The Kitchn

Wednesday:
Lamb Ragu

I saw this recipe a couple of weeks ago on The Kitchn, and have been keeping my eye out at the store for stew cut lamb. The box from the meat CSA had some, and this was the first thing I was really looking forward to making from the bounty of the meat box. It. Was. So. Good. I usually don't like lamb, but it was so fresh and delicious, it didn't have the overly lamby taste that I'd eaten before.

Image: Everyday Food

Thursday:
Ribeye, Baked Shells with Winter Squash

The husband ate the ribeye, and the children and I had a delicious vegetarian dinner of just the pasta with squash. It was so good, the combination of squash and parmesan tasted extra cheesy. The store didn't have any pasta shells, but I made some penne. I had a heck of a time finding the frozen winter squash puree that the recipe called for, but I ended up finding some at Safeway. The CSA gave me a carnival winter squash, and I cut up half of it and tossed it in there with all the rest as well. The fresh squash didn't cook all the way in the size I cut the pieces, but it was good anyway. I ate the leftovers for lunch the next day.

Image: Everyday Food

Friday:
Cornbread and Beef Skillet

I had some organic ground beef from Costco, and some mushrooms in the fridge, and found this recipe on marthastewart.com. The cornbread on top got a little brown when I forgot it in the oven for a few minutes, but the kids really liked this one. If I make it again, I'd add another half to the measurements to the meat mixture.

Image: Pinch My Salt

Saturday:
Potato Leek Soup and Chicken

The new CSA gave us a couple of big, beautiful leeks, which I had no clue what to do with. I've never even held a leek in my hand, let alone cook one. I even looked around the internet on how to cut it on davidlebovitz.com. Then I found a fairly basic, rustic soup recipe on Pinch My Salt, and it turned out absolutely wonderful. It was a bit roughly textured for the husband, so next time I make it I'll put it through the food processor or something to get it smooth. A rotisserie chicken from Whole Foods balanced out the meal a bit, was delicious, and will give me enough leftover meat for a recipe tomorrow.

So, last week we ate like decadent royalty. Next week brings another box of surprise produce from the CSA, and quite a few beautiful cuts of meat remain in the freezer. Having almost every recipe I've tried lately turned out successfully, it motivates and excites me even more to cook and try new recipes. Next challenge is what to do with a bunch of rainbow chard.

No Rain, No Rainbows

waldorfmodern@gmail.com (C) — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 04:29:00 +0000

Rhythm of the Home :: Second Edition

waldorfmodern@gmail.com (C) — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 02:13:00 +0000

Rhythm of the Home, the amazing online magazine that I just discovered (and wrote about) a couple weeks ago, just released their second edition yesterday. I feel this fills a need for a deliberate and conscious Waldorf home magazine, that bridges the gap between the more pedagogical based Renewal and Lilipoh, and the various wonderful Waldorf blogs.

Though I can hardly wait to devour everything in this issue, the projects, the interview, oh I am so excited, I am going to save it for this evening, when I can sit with a cup of chai and really savor it. Must wrap up my gushing, but do click your way over there.

Artful Garbage

waldorfmodern@gmail.com (C) — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 17:00:00 +0000

I asked Z to clean up her room, and throw away all the little scraps of paper she had cut up all over the floor. I gave her a bag to shove all her garbage into. Besides her paper clippings being mostly color coordinated, she artfully packaged and tied up the little package with a yarn bow. It's so lovely, I thought about keeping it for almost four seconds. ;)

Sunday Morning

waldorfmodern@gmail.com (C) — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 05:14:00 +0000

I love Sunday mornings. Leisurely breakfasts at the table, sun shining through the window. Today we were invited to a friend's house for lunch, which started early and ended late.

It felt like today demanded lingering.

Guest Post :: Welcome Sono-Ma.com Readers

waldorfmodern@gmail.com (C) — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 07:14:00 +0000

I am thrilled to direct you to my first ever guest post, on Sono-Ma.com. Fellow Santa Rosa Waldorf mom Holly contacted me about reprinting the announcement I posted about the Kim John Payne presentation in Santa Rosa on March 23. She was also so gracious to describe my blog in such a terribly flattering way. :: bats eyelashes ::

Holly's blog is a great resource for local parents, not to mention her valuable posts on general parenting and Waldorf issues, such as eggs and community supported agriculture, and art and creativity.

Links :: Waldorf Web Resources

waldorfmodern@gmail.com (C) — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 03:42:00 +0000

I should make a list of all the great Waldorf blogs I've been hearing about lately. Make a list you say? Don't mind of I do...

The list of amazing great Waldorf blogs, websites, and resources I can't believe no one has told me about before:

The Parenting Passageway

"Peaceful Parenting for a Hectic World" I linked to Carrie's blog in January, but it absolutely bears a second mention. Every post is so well thought out and valuable for mothers and Waldorf parenting in general. We are also lucky she is so prolific. She posted twice today!

The Waldorf Connection

Though the current workshop series is almost over, Donna Ashton has been hosting a selection of parents, writers, and educators, speaking on various topics. I signed up to hear about Waldorf based philosophies on learning foreign language, science, and handwork, and have not been disappointed in the wonderful speakers. Previous calls are available for purchase as downloadable mp3s. I'm waiting impatiently for more.

Rhythm of the Home

From the site: "Rhythm of The Home is a free quarterly magazine based on the seasonal rhythms of the Waldorf and Montessori philosophies, and it is our goal to bring this wonderful community of artists, educators, writers, photographers and parents together to share ideas, projects, recipes and traditions that help to enhance each of the seasons." The magazine is co-edited by Heather Fontenot, of Shivaya Naturals.

...

I've been putting off adding a blogroll, but I hope to get going on that next month. Besides these valuable resources above, I keep track of another two dozen or so Waldorf related blogs. If you have any favorites to share, add a comment!

Kim John Payne in Santa Rosa March 23

waldorfmodern@gmail.com (C) — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 17:26:00 +0000

Summerfield Waldorf School in Santa Rosa is hosting a talk from Kim John Payne the evening of March 23. This year he is speaking about Teens and Tweens: The Power of the Peer Group. Even though my children have a ways to go until they are teenagers, I will be attending.

Oh no, my oldest is almost a 'tween.' Heaven help me.

Tickets to the event are $10 and available at Summerfield or Copperfields stores. Copies of Simplicity Parenting will be available at the event, and a book signing will follow the talk.

I have had the pleasure of hearing Kim speak at Summerfield the last couple of years on Simplicity Parenting and the Soul of Discipline. The last talk was so packed, I sat on the floor.

His calendar lists his speaking engagements, so if you are not in the vicinity of Sonoma County, I hope you can find another talk to attend. If not, audio cds of his talks are available for purchase, and other audio interviews and articles are listed on the new Simplicity Parenting site.

And let me once again recommend his book, Simplicity Parenting, and add a little more to my review. (Carrie at The Parenting Passageway has an in depth review.) I love the concepts he sums up with some key points in side bars with main concepts:

Quite Simply: The magic of rhythms is in the process, not the particulars.

Quite Simply: As you decrease the quantity of your child's toys and clutter, you increase their attention and capacity for deep play.

Quite Simply: More than simple pleasure, anticipation is identity-building.

Quite Simply: All children are quirky.

Garage Pantry

waldorfmodern@gmail.com (C) — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 18:14:00 +0000

The children had the entire week off from school, and the one thing I wanted to do was take them to the deYoung museum. That's it, just spend one morning out of the five in San Francisco taking in some culture 'n stuff. You know what I ended up doing? Cleaning out the garage.

Since we don't have room for a properly stocked pantry in our wee little kitchen, I claimed one side of the garage for a food pantry. Besides cereal, I keep mostly our stockpile of canned and jarred foods in there on a couple of shelf units.

But since we moved and left an old chest freezer behind, my husband has been wanting another, with dreams of it filled with steaks and ice cream dancing in his head. Maybe it will help with dinner planning, too. Between his ethereal visions of never ending mint chip, and my frustration with our black hole of a freezer, I picked one up.

Though I made sure to measure at the store, make sure we had room, the freezer ended up ONE inch too wide. So, I had to unload everything in the pantry shelves, unscrew them off the wall, move them over one inch, screw them back in, and fill them up once again. Of course.

This pic of all the shelf contents looks like a crime scene photo. Or does it just look like crimes take place in my garage?

And when I said "I" had to unscrew and move the shelves, I meant my husband. I did almost all the unloading and reloading, though. There is a concrete ledge that the back legs of the shelves rest on, then they are screwed to the all wood back wall.

Like a glove. We still even had room for the oxy acetylene tanks, the drill press, and the welder! Joy of joys! ;)

I ditched a tiny table, an old wood hutch, and other random junk that I had piled up in front of the shelves. I'm sure you'll forgive me for forgetting to take a 'before' shot of that sad scene.

All packed back in, even neater than usual. I love having containers all lined up nicely, seeing what we have stocked up, knowing I could make a dozen batches of spaghetti sauce or have ten bowls of soup if I wanted to. I'm weird like that.

I'll start filling up the freezer later this week, and use it to clean out the kitchen freezer as well, which will be nice. We will be rich in frozen organic pizzas, berries, and peas. And, next time I go to Ikea I will be able to fill a cart with Swedish meatballs. (Seriously - those meatballs from Ikea are nearly as good as my own from scratch, I use Alton Brown's recipe.) As a bonus, this whole side of the garage is nice and neat. All this, and we fit the car in here, too.

Week Off from School

waldorfmodern@gmail.com (C) — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 18:30:00 +0000

The children have had this whole week off from school. Besides crossing my fingers hoping I don't get called in for jury duty, going to the optometrist (why did I schedule appointments during a vacation week?), and enjoying the decent weather, we've been crafting it up around here.

No one is more prolific than Z with the needle felting. She started out with some simple flat-ish designs, then found Wool Pets at the library, and now we're all in trouble of downing in needle felted chickens. ;)

Bean is taking a break from felting after poking herself in the finger (it happens to us all, sister), and I am slacking off and spending as much time as possible curled up with tea and The Likeness.

The Internet Wants Me To Plan Dinner

waldorfmodern@gmail.com (C) — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 17:00:00 +0000

I've been thinking about meal planning for months. Dinner is an issue for me, I go through weeks when I just can't get it together and we end up eating sandwiches and going to restaurants. This year, though, after checking my 2009 count of how many times we went out to eat (186), I've been doing pretty well with dinner without a formal plan. In fact, just last week we went out to dinner for the first time in 2010. A record!

But I'm feeling in my bones that I'm getting close to overwhelmed with making dinner, and feeling the need for a written meal plan. It will help balance our weekly main dish categories (meat, pasta, legumes, etc) and it will make dinner prep and cooking work its way into my developing home/domestic rhythm a little more smoothly.

Especially these last couple of weeks, reading through all the blogs I frequent, it seems like everyone has been talking about meal planning! I swear, the internet wants me to get a meal planner together. And that's not counting the regular blogs whose main focus is meal planning, like This Week for Dinner. Kate at Design*Sponge recently posted a download for a combination weekly breakfast lunch and dinner meal planner with grocery list. A family in Texas was featured on Good Morning America for planning dinners a year in advance. Selena at Apron Thrift Girl just began posting her weekly meal plan schedule, and Holly at Sono-Ma was just featured on Tip Junkie for her meal planning post, which includes a link to her combination schedule and grocery list. It seems like a lot of dinner makers are using google calendar as a meal planner, like Dawn at Renaissance Mama. That makes it easy to move things around, link to recipes, and have scheduling recurring dinners.

I have previously used the basic but cute meal planner (pictured below) Alice posted on futuregirl, and will give that one a go again. I'll start with something simple that gets me started thinking about recipe and grocery planning, and hopefully I will end up with at least six homemade dinners at home, made with love.

Top Image: Kate Pruitt
Bottom Image: Alice futurgirl.com

Needle Felted Heart Necklace

waldorfmodern@gmail.com (C) — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 05:19:00 +0000

I'm not really into Valentine's Day. I am, however, into hearts and love and half off Valentines candy the day after.

The Valentines the children made for their friends at school were accompanied by needle felted heart necklaces I made. I thought I'd take some photos of my procedures. This is totally basic needle felting, though, so if you've ever done it before you probably won't need a step by step tutorial. I've only needle felted a few times, but this was a cinch. This is more for me like practice documenting a process as a tutorial. ;)

A little pile of wool roving.

Separated into two tufts to join in a vaguely heart shape. Even though this will compress down quite a bit, you will end up with about the same size area that you start with. So, start with about the size you want, maybe a little bigger.

Poke poke poke with a felting needle. Some people use those multiple needle tools, but I just use one needle.

After a few minutes of poking.

I flip it over to get it off the foam and poke it evenly.

Thoroughly poked.

I add some more wool on the top to make it a little puffy on the top.

I keep it flat on the back so it will lay flat as a necklace.

A tiny little more wool to make it look a bit more fresh.

The nice thing about using wool yarn for the necklace is that I can just felt the yarn into the back.

I put a bit more wool to cover up the yarn after it's attached.

Ta da. Happy Valentine's Day.

Library Selection :: Simplicity Parenting

waldorfmodern@gmail.com (C) — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 17:23:00 +0000

Of my big stack of Waldorf books, so far I have finished Simplicity Parenting by Kim John Payne.

When I was halfway through the first chapter, I was convinced that every Waldorf school should give a copy of this to new families. There is so many valuable suggestions and plans to foster a simpler, more satisfying family life.

While Kim does mention that most of his suggestions stem from Waldorf influences, the book does not assume that the reader necessarily has children in Waldorf schools, and is not written from that perspective. The book is divided in sections covering four levels of simplification; environment, rhythm, schedules and filtering out the adult world.

The general concepts of simplicity parenting and some background on Kim's research are discussed in the video below. The book also has a dedicated website with more videos, information, and a speaking schedule.

One point Kim makes in the book is that when a child is sick, you immediately begin simplifying. I was reminded of this last week when both Z and Bean had coughs and fevers. They took the day off from school, I called in at work, we ate simple meals, took naps, played quietly, and read books. I even helped them tidy their rooms, because looking at that mess and trying to play in it was a bit too overwhelming when they were trying to recover. Besides sickly, coughing children it was all fairly relaxing. The way it usually should be.

Almond Blossoms

waldorfmodern@gmail.com (C) — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 16:01:00 +0000

Every time I look out the kitchen window, the almond tree buds are getting bigger and bigger. The first buds started blossoming, which is so nice to see in this cold cold weather. I love the winter, the grey skies and rain. Early spring is good, too, and it is on its way.

Bedroom in the Afternoon

waldorfmodern@gmail.com (C) — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 23:45:00 +0000

A little peek in Bean's bedroom this afternoon. I keep thinking about moving her furniture around, but then I change my mind. She's getting a little too big for her play kitchen, and could probably use a larger table and chairs set. Eh, I'll leave it for now.

Simple Dinner

waldorfmodern@gmail.com (C) — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 07:45:00 +0000

I couldn't resist the bag of globe artichokes at Costco, even though I had to haul down the big pot to cook them in. It's been so long since we've had artichokes, I forgot to cut the tops off. But look at these beauties!

That's how you're supposed to do it, right? I ended up just serving these and some leftover risotto for dinner. You should have heard the satisfied humming going on when we ate these.

Dinner is another one of those tasks I need to get a rhythmic routine into, but simple meals once or twice a week make it easier on me.

Domestics :: Laundry

waldorfmodern@gmail.com (C) — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 18:00:00 +0000

Besides the dusty floor, the laundry area should look something like this, always. But the laundry is usually the first thing to get totally out of control. Dirty clothes overflowing out of the laundry basket, all over the floor, it's not pretty. Nothing to be done about it except to just keep on top of it like I'm trying to tackle a wildebeest.

If the problem of getting the clothes into the washer gets resolved, the problem becomes folding it all. Top of my bed, clothes folding headquarters. But I'm making it part of my daily domestic rhythm, wash, dry, fold, closet.

Ah, the texture and smell of warm laundry, oh how luxurious? Not me.

Peg Rack

waldorfmodern@gmail.com (C) — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 22:29:00 +0000

Bean has been needing something to hang up her bags and necklaces and things in her room. Both sides of the doorknob were overflowing with yarn loops and aprons and things, I couldn't get close to getting the door shut.

I found a pine tool rack during my last trip to Home Depot, whose weight limit is a bit overkill for a few necklaces, but it was nice and plain. (I couldn't find it on the website, but I did see a somewhat similarly plain peg rack on amazon.) I ended up cutting the rack in half, and then cut each peg in half, also, just right to fit behind the door.

Successful weekend afternoon project, and now Bean has a place she can reach to hang up her sweater, a spot for her ballet bag, and important things like her Autumn and Winter Fairies.

Colors

waldorfmodern@gmail.com (C) — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 22:27:00 +0000

It's a bit hard to see the tones of each color clearly, but it's neat for me to get a see a view of so many paint colors in each room. One thing I consider when picking out colors is how it will coordinate with the adjoining room. This shot from the bathroom is pretty much the only place where we have different shades in every room.

Quiet Violets

waldorfmodern@gmail.com (C) — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 22:22:00 +0000

We don't get these flowers blooming quite so prolifically every year, it's nice to see the little patch in the front bed doing well and spreading out.

Truck Turf

waldorfmodern@gmail.com (C) — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 22:21:00 +0000

This truck in front of me at a stop light had grass growing in the bed! I couldn't resist grabbing the camera before the light turned green. Love the juxtaposition of fresh green grass and the rusty old work truck bed.

Link :: The Magic Onions

waldorfmodern@gmail.com (C) — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 18:16:00 +0000

Nicole from Frontier Dreams added a great post, Rhythm in the Home, an addition to the 'Discovering Waldorf' series on The Magic Onions.

Nicole goes through the ways she started to add more rhythm to their lives, and how beneficial it has been for her family. She even outlines most of her daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly rhythms.

Rhythm is something I've been trying to work earnestly on this last month. I would love to be able to incorporate a weekly rhythm, and lay a more rhythmic groundwork for weekends and vacation days. My regular weekday schedule could use some work as well. Nicole recommends a few books as great resources for incorporating rhythm:

You Are Your Child's First Teacherby Rahima Baldwin Dancy

Beyond the Rainbow Bridgeby Barbara Patterson and Pamela Bradley

Seven Times the Sunby Shea Darian

Photo: Nicole Spring

Link :: The Parenting Passageway

waldorfmodern@gmail.com (C) — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 02:54:00 +0000

I just discovered Carrie's The Parenting Passageway blog last week, and it is an amazing resource for Waldorf parents. I have been looking around for some literature regarding the "nine year change," as Z and some of the other children in her class will be turning nine later this year. I just want to know a bit about what to expect.

And just what I was looking for, Carrie posts The Nine Year Old: A Traditional View today. She excerpts from and suggests reading Your Nine Year Old, by Louise Bates Ames and Carol Haber.