Our Week

On Monday, I arrived home from work to discover that Emma had created a beautiful bouquet of flowers for me from the flowers we brought home from Easter. It was such a lovely surprise! 

Tuesday saw Clove and Violet spending more time together. They are doing really well and while it's a slow thing this bonding process I have no doubt that in the end they will be besties! 

On Thursday we spy the rare Emma bird in her natural habitat. Perched on the counter enjoying the remains of the banana bread bowl! 

Thursday and Friday evening both looked like the above pictures. With the temperatures unseasonably hot (annoyingly so for us who don't love summer weather) we sought refuge outside on the deck where it was cooler than inside. Even Gretchen joined in the fun! Pizza followed by peach popsicles rounded out the day. 

And on Saturday I put the finishing touches on the final project for the two classes I took this semester. I love my doctoral program, cohort and school and these two classes were some of my favorites thus far! Here's to hoping that I can stay on track and finish up by summer 2024! xo 

In

Summer Residency

 

So grateful to have spent the last week with (part of) my incredible Waldorf EdD cohort at our first in-person residency! xo 

A Snowy Saturday

 

A fabulously snowy Saturday. 

A quiet day at home together. 

Movies watched. 

Homework done. 

Snow cleared. 

The joys of winter! xo 

When Doctoral Students Get Creative

This semester I am taking two classes, one of which has some really creative assignments! xo
 

Doctoral Kitty Returns

 

Clearly, it's very hard work keeping me company. xo 

Doctoral Kitty

 

My constant companion and writing partner will definitely be included in the acknowledgments section of my dissertation. xo 

Just Like Riding A Bike?!

 

Resources for my first research paper in twenty years. Let's hope I remember how to do this! xo 

My First Day Of School!

 

In which it's my first day of school! The Waldorf cohort in Antioch's EdD program kicked off the first day of our three day (virtual) residency this evening with class introductions! Such an incredible group of people to take this journey with over the next three years! So excited and grateful be part of such a special community. xo 

So, This Happened....

 

I am thrilled to get to be a doctoral student in the Walddorf cohort at Antioch University starting this fall! When I was an undergrad at the University of Hartford I had said that one day I would love to have an EdD. Of course, back then I also thought I was going to have four children and be done having all four of those babies by the time I was thirty! Oh, to be twenty years old again! Needless to say, since returning to The New England Center for Children this past August I have been toying with what my next chapter looks like (and doing some serious Googling). I knew that I needed to go back to school. And I knew that I really didn't want a second master's degree (unless it was an MDiv). The big question was what did I want a degree in? The more I thought about it the more I realized that if I could earn an EdD (or PhD) in Waldorf education THAT would be a dream come true. So, I took to the internet, Googled "EdD in Waldorf Education" and bam! the program at Antioch turned up first in the list of results. As I read, I knew that this was the program I was looking for! Antioch is pretty much the place to go for a degree in Waldorf education, and to have it here in New England just makes it even more fabulous! This fall is the first time they will be offering an EdD with a specialization in Waldorf education (in honor of the 100th anniversary of Waldorf education) so getting to be part of the very first cohort makes the entire thing even more special! I love that they are out-of-the-box thinkers. I love that they weave social justice into every thing they do and every class that they offer. I love that they would take a chance on a mom like me who was home raising her girls for fourteen years and homeschooling using Waldorf methods. I was honestly worried that me being home all these years and not racking up accolades and publishing in journals and making a name for myself might have worked against me, but they must have seen in me the potential I have and the unique perspective I bring! I am nervous to return to graduate school this fall, as so much has changed since I was last there. And I have no idea what I am getting into in regard to dissertation writing, but I am super excited to learn and grow as an educator and see where this community and this degree will take me! xo