Scenes From This Week In New Hampshire

 

And so begins another week of learning about Emergency Pedagogy from Bernd Ruf! 

Gorgeous view from the High Mowing SchoolHigh Mowing School campus. 

View of Temple-Wilton Community FarmTemple-Wilton Community Farm during my workshop's nature walk. 

Two of the gorgeous cows at TWCF. On Tuesday we helped bring them in from the field and our instructor, MichaelAnne sang to them to bring them in to the dairy barn. 

We spent time talking about cows and ways that working with cows can help children who have experienced trauma can heal by working with them. 

Tuesday evening lecture gievn by Bernd Ruf regarding how we can help support and/or be part of the teams that go into areas where trauma has occured to conduct Emergency Pedagogy. 

The walking path I would take from Pine Hill to High Mowing for lunch each day. It is simply magical. 

Wednesday and Thursday my workshop group (animal therapy) spent time at the gorgeous Earth & Sky Biiodynamic Farm. This farm is simply magical and like the farm I would love to live on/steward. 

Our first day at Earth & Sky was all about chickens. 

They have around 120 hens (and some two week old baby chicks as well)!

We had the most delicious garden water. Various herbs and edible flowers made it especially yummy and a very welcome treat on a hot, humid day. 

Ready to take more notes during Bernd's two morniong lectures. 

Our final day at Earth & Sky was all about sheep, goats and horses. We also spoke a bit about biodynamic farming. MichaelAnne recommended some wonderful books and resources for us should we want to learn more. Biodynamic farming was a term that I knew of but something I did not know much about. Learning from MichaelAnne this week inspired me to want to learn more and bring the preparations to help heal our little piece of land. 

It was another incredible week and I am glad I went! It made for some very long days though and so I am glad that it has come to a close. I did not attend the final day/closing ceremonies on Friday as I was so beyond tired and needed a day of not driving to and from New Hampshire. Being there though really did make me wish I had been a Waldorf teacher in my life before my girls and that we lived there in Wilton. What a simply lovely area and magical place! xo 

A Perfect Pen for Her Parzival Block

Grace's final block this lesson year is about Parzival. In Waldorf schools the Parzival block is a hallmark of the junior year of high school and as such we made sure to plan for it for this year for Grace (and next year for Emma). Grace has wanted a  glass pen for  awhile now and seeing how she's creating an illuminated letter for a project for this block it seemed like the perfect excuse to surprise her with the much wished for pen. I found this set on Etsy from a local maker in NY. It arrived quickly, was packaged gorgeous and I hear it writes beautifully. Somehow have a feeling this won't be here only glass pen! 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 

Doctoral Kitty

 

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

In Celebration!

 

After a delicious lasagna dinner (made by David) we celebrated Grace, as well as Dave's parents 50th anniversary, with two of the most delicious cakes ever!

Boston Cream Pie Cake in celebration of Dave's parents' fiftieth, 

and Lemon Raspberry in celebration of Grace!

Two of our most favorite cakes from Flour. The perfect way to celebrate these special occasions and a sweet ending to the first time we were all together again after fifteen months apart! xo

On Eighth Grade Graduation Day!

 

Today we gathered together to celebrate the eighth grade class of Seasons of Seven! Not only was this a special day for the eighth graders but it was also a special day for our family as it was the first time that we have seen either set of grandparents since February 2020! And while the weather was unseasonably cold and rainy (a whopping 44 degrees for the high) the day was absolutely spectacular! We all gathered on Zoom where pictures of the class as babies/toddlers/younger grade students, in addition to present day pictures of each, as well as their art work was shared. Where speeches were given, first by Ms Jaia, then by each of the eighth graders (as is the tradition at Waldorf eighth grade graduations) and then by all three of the directors, followed by well wishes from all the parents before certificates were given out. This ceremony was probably the best ever and it was such a wonderful way to come together as a family and as a school community to celebrate this extraordinary year, this incredible class and to send them on their way with love and good wishes for high school (wherever it may take each one of them)! We are looking forward to celebrating Emma this same way next year! Thank you Melisa, Nicole and Melanie for making this dream of yours a reality last summer, and thank you Ms. Jaia for the most incredible eighth grade year for Grace! We watched her grow in ways we never imagined and we are so grateful for your love, support and encouragement for Grace (and Emma too)! We are grateful you took on class seven in addition to class eight and are so very thrilled we get one more year with you! Many wishes for a wonderful summer to all! We look forward to all that Seasons of Seven high school has in store for Grace (and all that Seasons of Seven class eight has in in store for Emma) next year! xo 

Emma's Rube Goldberg Project

 

On Saturday, Emma, with an assist by David, created her Rube Goldberg project. Today, they shared their projects in class! Ms. Jaia said that Emma's project was "so fancy!" That's how we roll in this family! xo