Let it snow!

What to do with children on days like this...?

1. Wrap them up warm

2. Double up on socks and gloves

3. Open up the door

4. Go GO GO!

Lantern Walk.

There is a lovely tradition we try to celebrate every year which I first came across through some Steiner/Waldorf friends. It is usually celebrated on Martinmas eve which is the 11th November, although it is a lovely thing to do once the darkness draws in and the evenings shorten, a simple symbolic way to entice the light back.

The basic premise is that the children make lanterns and then take a candle lit walk in the dark dark woods! You can either make them together as part of your evening together, or everyone can do them at home and then get together.

There are so many types of lanterns to make. What we did was very simple. 

You will need:

A glass jar for each child.

A roll of thin wire eg. florists wire.

Some sheets of coloured tissue paper.

Some pva glue in a small container like an egg cup.

A small brush for each child.

A tealight for each jar.

To begin, tear the tissue paper into small pieces.

Start painting glue onto the glass jar and press pieces of the tissue paper onto it. Continue until the jar is covered.

Once the glue is dry, measure a length of wire to form a long loop, plus extra to wrap around the neck of the jar. Secure it by twisting the ends tightly around the wire where it meets the vertical lengths. 

It's important to have a long loop so as to avoid little hands getting too close to the candle!

Once everyone has gathered together outside, the adults can help light the candles. Then we can set off into the dark, dark woods.

These next few photos were taken with a flash so of course it loses the candlelit atmosphere.

 

It was equal parts thrilling and slightly scary, even for the older children!

They really do get such a thrill out of doing something they would rarely get to otherwise.

There are simple little songs that are traditionally sung for the duration of the walk. It helps if a few people know them to start off.  But any song that includes light or sun would do. The walk by the way need only be ten to fifteen minutes long. Believe me, after ten to fifteen minutes tripping through the darkness, their imaginations start to take off, and it's not long before everyone is ready to head indoors for some warming soup! 

Hallowe'en!

We'll stir the apples round about,

And watch the one who gets them out.

The time goes past with many a shout

At Hallowe’en.

Happy Hallowe'en!

Bealtaine.

Bealtaine, or May day, the first day of May, the first day of summer. At last it arrives and hopefully with it some weather which merits the title of 'summer'. Traditionally in Ireland, and still in some rural parts, and I'm sure England, some of the age-old practices are held up. The word Bealtaine comes from, buaile which is the high summer pastures which the cattle are moved to at this time of year, and tine which means fire in Irish. Bale fires were lit as beacons on hilltops.

It was also a good idea to leave out something for the fairies, as they are very active at this time of year too! Children love being involved with this. It's very simple really. Even just leaves and flowers along with some raisins, seeds or nuts arranged on a flat stone, or a wall or even a doorstep is enough. The thrill of knowing that the food will definitely be gone by morning is contagious! And it always is gone. Amazing!



There are lots of traditional games and songs associated with this seasonal celebration. While the May bush would have been popular, the Maypole would have been seen in areas that had an English influence. But it's such a lovely tradition that it has been adopted by a good number of people.



A length of pole with ribbons around one and a half times the pole length attached to the top is basically all you need. We stapled ours on and then wrapped another piece of ribbon around the top into which we placed fresh flowers.



Very few little girls need an excuse to dress up as a fairy, and even the boys get into the spirit of it. If the children are very young you can have them all walk in the same direction. But if they are slightly older you can have them weave in and out in opposite directions to each other. If your ribbons are in two different colours it looks wonderful when finished.



There are a number of songs you can sing with them as they walk. The most poular is 'Here We Go Gathering Nuts In May'. Some say it was originally 'Knots', which are posies of flowers, which makes sense to me.

'Here we go gathering nuts in May,
Nuts in May, nuts in May,
Here we go gathering nuts in May,
So early in the morning.'

If you are making a day of it you can organise lots of outdor games in celebration of the return of the sun. I'll be posting some ideas over the next week or so.

Easter Fun.

Let's start off with some Easter fun. This is something that is perfect for those rainy spring days when everyone is climbing the walls. Or. Just for the fun of it! Make sure you invite some friends over and pool your resources. All you need is as follows:


Enough eggs to go round. I would suggest more than one each, as these are so quick to do everyone wants to do more than one, I find. Pipe cleaners, a pin, a toothpick, and some paint. We use a variety of whatever's in the cupboard, but, we LOVE the metallic paint that the Early Learning Centre do. It gives the finished egg a gorgeous lustre, and the paint doesn't get mucky when it gets mixed up.




So, first, pierce the egg with a pin, both ends. Push in your toothpick and jiggle it about to break up the yolk. Then BLOW the insides out into a bowl. This gets lots of laughs let me tell you!



The next bit is tricky, but using pipecleaners makes it a bit easier. Push it straight through from one end to the other. Bend up the bottom bit so it doesn't slip out.



Then get painting! The pipecleaner is also good for holding the egg while you paint.






Then bend the other end of the pipecleaner and hang them up somewhere safe to dry.



These eggs here have been given a first layer. You can then go back and give them more detail or colours when they dry. Just make sure you do light colours first! We also used some cute stickers which we got in an egg painting kit. They'll be peeled off after the second colour goes on.

An Easter Tree is a gorgeous way to display your creations, and any other lovely finds you pick up. Over the years it is nice to build up a collection of eggs to take out each year. The blown eggs are very delicate, and I would recommend an egg box for storage.


And I also recommend a yummy omlette for tea to use up all those eggs!


Posted by Ciara.