As a family we don’t really followed one path of childhood philosophy. We like to pick out the bits we enjoy from different philosophies when it comes to home life with our little one Floss, whether that be Montessori, Reggio, Waldorf or any other school of ideology.
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When Floss was younger we began to attend a Waldorf parent and child group one morning a week and we discovered that a lot of what we enjoy fits with a Waldorf way; gentle, slow, nature based. So, we dipped our toes in a little further to see what else we like and might add to our days, weeks, months, seasons and years.
A little update to say that Floss is now 7.5 years old and we still find lots that we love about the Waldorf philosophy. We very much enjoy celebrating seasonal occasions.
Waldorf Rhythm – Summer Solstice
Waldorf time passes through rhythms. We’ve taken part in courses with Eloise from www.fridabemighty.com looking at developing our rhythms in our lives. Her courses are so well researched – she’s a published author. You also get lifetime access to her courses so any time she repeats the course you get to repeat the course and there’s nearly always new content.
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What we realised is that we already have quite established daily and micro rhythms, our weekly rhythms were coming together, yet our seasonal rhythms were very limited. We wanted this to change. As a child I really enjoyed the passing of the seasons, but it happened more by luck and the fact that my sister and I spent most of our time outdoors in the garden.
I love the idea of marking the passage through the year with celebrations that are repeated each year. Come with us on our journey to see where the seasons take us. First up, Summer Solstice.
Creating for Summer Solstice
In our family, one way we like to make something feel special is to create something.
Floss loves balls of wool and this lovely weaving sun idea from Cathy at Nurture Store was just the craft to brighten one of our mornings as we prepared the house for the Midsummer celebration.
It requires very little materials – we love to craft so wool and ribbon remnants are always available in our house. We also had a lovely time making a sun catcher.
The idea came from Rainy Day Mum and was so easy to do. It looks lovely when the sun shines through. We used odd bits of left over tissue paper from deliveries and scrap paper. You would need some sticky back plastic.
If you’re a creative family you might enjoy a new post with creative ideas based around The Great British Sewing Bee. Find more creative inspiration for Summer Solstice from How Wee Learn here.
Summer Seasonal Books
I’d bought Floss the book ‘Summer’ by Gerda Muller to celebrate the solstice. I wrapped it in some yellow tissue for her ready for the celebration day. It’s a beautiful book with no words, just delicate drawings showing pictures of summer pastimes. It’s a book that we still bring out each and every Summer.
You could find objects in the pictures, tell your own story for each image or recall a similar time you’ve had as a family. I put the parcel in the middle of the Grimms Rainbow and Grimms Semi Circle Sun I’d made (see photo below). I couldn’t not add a couple of Ocamora Gems too. You can find lots of wooden toys at Yes Bebe (use this link for 15% off) and The Kid Collective (you can sign up to a newsletter here for £5 off when you spend £50).
We loved celebrating with a festival outside with the Waldorf parent and child group. Our first Summer Solstice and St John’s Eve celebration was really special with a bonfire. We love celebrating each year now.
I can’t believe how quickly a year has gone by and the Summer Solstice is almost upon us again. The 20th June 2024 is the solstice. This year we plan to make some new candles to celebrate Summer Check out this post for previous candles we’ve made. Happy Summer Solstice. How do you celebrate?
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