beeswax leaves

One of our favorite Autumn crafts is beeswaxing leaves.  We do this sometimes a couple of times a week and end up waxing all manner of Mother Nature's treasures.  Last year I found a "Crockette" (mini Crock Pot) at Goodwill for $2.99 and it's one of the most useful items for crafting I've ever brought home.  The Crockette is dedicated to this one use so I never have to clean it out and, as long as we plan ahead (it takes an hour or two to melt the full hardened pot back down to liquid wax), we've got a sweet smelling, entertaining, natural activity at our fingertips.

After a gathering walk, when the leaves (or seed pods, or sticks or whatever) are still fresh, we dip them into melted wax, gently flatten them a bit and leave them to dry on parchment paper.  If we want them extra thick, we dip them in a bowl of cold water to harden the first wax layer then dip them again.  It's easy for kids of all ages and takes no skill at all.

In addition to our Nature Table, we have a Nature Tree in one corner of our living room.  Its branches are filled with butterflies and dragonflies in Spring, flowers and fruits in Summer and waxed leaves in Autumn (held in place with mini clothes pins). 

The wax preserves the leaves for longer than they would normally last but, over time, they still fade and return to the earth as the season passes.

hallowe'en

Halloween is coming, soon we'll be
Dressed in funny clothes and then you'll see
Pumpkins in the window shining bright
Oh we'll have a good time on Hallowe'en night

I've noticed that a lot of people have really strong feelings about Hallowe'en.  Some folks just can't wait to dress up in crazy, grotesque or provocative outfits, go to all sorts of haunted houses and parties or decorate even more elaborately than others do for Christmas.  Others seem to despise the very notion of the day for primarily religious reasons that I don't quite understand.  To each their own I think.  I can respect both ends of the spectrum.  Me, I'm indifferent to Hallowe'en.  Some years I've even forgotten it altogether and was only reminded when running into costumed folk in the grocery store whilst doing a little late afternoon shopping.

It's fun to see kids dress up though.  We dress up at least three times a week at all times of year  and I think it's kind of thrilling for children to have grown-ups join them in this delightful game they like to play.  Grown-ups, kids, everyone is playing and no one even had to convince anyone else to wear to most ridiculous hat.

Of course Hallowe'en changed for us a few years ago when our daughter became aware enough to know something strange was afoot.  We had our first go at trick-or-treating then and it was somehow much more magical than I had thought it would be.  Perhaps I had merely forgotten having, you know, grown up too much.  It was just fun to roam the streets in the dark with our lanterns and costume silliness and see everyone else doing the same.  That first year I also had the notable realization about what an unusual show of generosity and community this night is.  We dress up, knock on the doors of people we barely know and they welcome and greet us, smile and give us a sweet treat before wishing us well on our way.  Aside from all the ghouls and gore, doesn't it all seem so shockingly hospitable and benevolent considering the age we live in?  Maybe our wholesome experience is somewhat unique since we've spent Hallowe'en night for the past three years in the neighborhood where my parents live.  It's mostly small children out and about and a lot of the houses are quite done up.  It's like an after school special as dusk turns to darkness on tree lined streets with laughing children running hither and thither.  Everyone's just so darn friendly.  And they're giving us candy!  (I had forgotten how unbelievable that seemed to me when I was young.)

As those memories return, they're full of such simple, lighthearted joy.  So, despite some discussion of turning this day into a smaller, more nature based, sugar free affair, we'll likely continue this mainstream tradition.  Of course, we will somehow get rid of most of the candy.  She'll get to keep a few choice pieces of her hoard of tasty treats and the rest are destined to feed the Sugar Sprite.  (For more on the Sugar Sprite click here.)

However you all celebrated, we hope your Hallowe'en was as fun filled, happy and safe as ours.

autumn celebrations

So much has been happening this past week and I've had hardly a moment to share any of it.  Our school hosted its annual Lantern Walk, there was Hallowe'en, we forgot to even acknowledge Samhain and the Sugar Sprite has a basket of goodies just waiting for her in our kitchen.  (We're still working on composing our letter to that sweet pixie.) I've got a lot of stories to tell and soon I will find the time.

For now, since I opted out of taking the camera on the Lantern Walk, I thought I would share just this one picture I got of Naiya before we left the house in the cute gnome hat made especially for that event.  Of course, she refused to wear it when we actually took our walk through the magical garden but she did bring along both this and last year's lanterns.  More to come on those soon too... 

five little pumpkins

Five little pumpkins sitting on a gate

The first one said, "Oh my, it's getting late."

The second one said, "There are witches in the air."

The third one said, "But we don't care."

The fourth one said, "Let's run and run and run!"

The fifth one said, "Isn't Hallowe'en fun?"
Woosh went the wind, and out went the light
And five little pumpkins rolled out of sight.

Naiya brought this little fingerplay verse home from school last week.  We've been collecting these gems from memory, from rhyme books and from Waldorf friends and teachers for years now.  I've finally added them as two separate tabs at the top of my home page.   Enjoy!

autumn nature table

We've been making lanterns, filling our Nature Table with an array of Autumn goodness (it's rather a jumble) and have begun re-telling this beloved story from year's past as we prepare for our school's beautiful Lantern Walk tomorrow...

There one was a girl called Naiya who had who had been outside in the garden all through the Summer running after the butterflies, jumping like a grasshopper, singing like a bird, and trying to catch the sunlight. One day when she was lying on her back in the meadow gazing up into the sun-filled sky, she said, “Dear Brother Sun, soon the Autumn winds will blow and wail, and Jack Frost will come and make us all freeze, and the nights will be long and cold.”
Brother Sun pushed the clouds aside and said, “Yes, it will be dark and cold. In the deep midwinter, warmth and light live deep within, hidden from sight. In the time of dark and cold, you will tend the Light Within.”
“But,” said Naiya, “How will I tend this Light when it’s dark everywhere around me?” “I will give you a spark of my last Autumn rays once you have made a little house for it, for this spark must be guarded well. It will light the way for you to tend the Light Within throughout the time of dark and cold.”
And then Brother Sun once hid again behind a cloud. Naiya went home and wondered how best she could make a little house for the spark of the sun. She took some tissue paper and some beautiful Autumn leaves and with glue pressed them onto the outside of a glass jar. Then she bound the top with a handle and formed it into a lantern. She took a candle and put it into the middle of her lantern. And, as it was growing dark, she went outside with it.
Naiya held the lantern up above her and said, “Brother Sun, I have made a little home for one of your golden sparks. Please may I have one? I will guard it well.”
Then Brother Sun looked out from behind a cloud and said, “You have made a beautiful home. I shall give you one of my golden sparks.”
And suddenly, Naiya saw how the sides of her lantern were lit up, and as she looked into the lantern, she saw a spark happily dancing on top of the candle. Oh, how happy the light was in her lovely lantern! It shone and shone so brightly.
“Thank you, Brother Sun,” Naiya called out, “Thank you.” And she took her lantern and carried it carefully home singing:

The sunlight fast is dwindling,
My little lamp needs kindling.
Its beam shines far in darkest night,
Dear Lantern, guard me with your light.

(from Autumn: A Collection of Poems, Songs and Stories for Young Children)

pumpkins, pyramids, flowers and ferries

This year, once again, we visited the Phoenix & Holly Railroad and Pumpkin Patch at The Flower Farmer just outside of Portland in Canby, Oregon.  This adventure starts for us as we take the Canby Ferry over the Willamette River on our drive out to the farm.

The ferry is tiny.  It holds only six cars and takes a scant 3 minutes to cross the river.  It's a novel activity and although I don't get as giddy as Naiya every time, I enjoy the brief ride.

Of course, it's not nearly as fun as the pumpkin train at The Flower Farmer.  Two trains actually run the tracks there that take both kids and adults on a circuit that stops once at a small critter petting area and again at the giant hay pyramid and pumpkin patch.

The pyramid is fun to climb but also holds in its interior a small, dark maze that the children played in for over an hour.

With a bevy of pumpkins from Naiya's birthday already carved up at home, we didn't gather any more but did enjoy the hay, the play, the bursts of sunshine and the crisp Autumn day.

not two heavy pumpkins

"I should feel this," Naiya says, picking up her pumpkins each in turn "...to see how heavy it is."
"Okay," says I.

 "It's not too heavy," she declares. 

"It's not three heavy," she continues.

"It's FOUR heavy!" she exclaims.