6 Winter Waldorf Festivals to Celebrate in December

Advent

The period beginning four Sundays before Christmas that is observed by most Christians in preparation for the celebration of Christmas Day. In Waldorf homes, Advent is recognized by representing the kingdoms of our planet each Sunday:

The first Sunday of Advent we recognize minerals and stones.
The second Sunday of Advent we recognize the plant kingdom.
The third Sunday of Advent we recognize the animal kingdom.
The fourth and last Sunday of Advent we recognize humankind.

We have so many beautiful ways to share with you on how to bring this sacred festival into your home or school in our publications:

December Preschool/Kindergarten Book (Ages 3-6)

December Afterschooling Book (Ages 6+, teens and adults)

Advent and St. Nicholas Festival Book (All Ages)

St. Nicholas Day, December 6th

Celebrated on December 6th (December 5th elsewhere) in many European countries to honor the Christian saint as the bringer of gifts. Boys would sometimes dress as bishops to give to the poor. Many children would wait for treats to be left under their pillows or shoes that were left out. In Waldorf homes and schools, this celebration continues with children leaving their shoes out the eve before (December 5th) to wake to small treats inside including chocolate, coins, fruits, nuts and sometimes a small toy. 

Where to find ideas for this beautiful celebration:

December Preschool/Kindergarten Book (Ages 3-6)

December Afterschooling Book (Ages 6+, teens and adults)

Advent and St. Nicholas Festival Book (All Ages)

Santa Lucia Day, December 13th

The Feast of St. Lucia or Santa Lucia is a festival of light, as are many of the celebrations this time of year. In some countries she is represented as a lady in a white dress with a wreath of candles in her hair. Many celebrate this special day by having the oldest daughter in the family wear a wreath in her hair and offer sweet buns or cookies to others. Boys also share a role by wearing star boy caps or dressing as St. Stephen. The procession is said to help all move forward with light into the deep, dark winter days ahead. 

In my Kindergarten class, we often made St. Lucy Buns as well as crowns and star boy hats for the children and had a walk around our playground and school. In the Little Acorn Learning guides we offer complete instructions for these activities as well as some more unique ideas such as planting indoor wheat for St. Lucia Day.

December Preschool/Kindergarten Book (Ages 3-6)

December Afterschooling Book (Ages 6+, teens and adults)

Winter Festivals Book (All Ages)

Hanukkah

This beautiful Jewish festival is often called the Festival of Lights. It is observed to recognize the rededication of the Temple of Jerusalem. Often a menorah will be lit each evening for eight nights to represent the rededication of the Jewish faith and to spread the light to future generations. A fun game played during this time is the spinning of a dreidel and sometimes small gifts will be shared each of the eight days of spiritual acknowledgement. While my family is not Jewish, I always recognized this special festival in my classroom as the light of hope reaches beyond all faiths and backgrounds. 

Our Winter Festivals Book includes a beautiful tutorial on making a menorah with found nature items, a Star of David banner, as well as a paper menorah. We also have recipes and songs to share.

The Winter Solstice/Yule, December 21st 

The Winter Solstice is the shortest day of the year and the first day of winter in the Northern Hemisphere. This day marks the winter season which continues until the Spring Equinox. Yule was celebrated before the conversion to Christianity in many cultures and this ancient festival still holds strong roots in all we see in the Winter Solstice as well as Christmastime. 

Celebrating the solstice is a magical time in Waldorf homes and schools. All of our books bring this warming festival into the lives of your children with warm recipes, songs, crafts and meditations. Creating a Yule Log was always a favorite in my classroom.

December Preschool/Kindergarten Book (Ages 3-6)

December Afterschooling Book (Ages 6+, teens and adults)

Winter Festivals Book (All Ages)

King Winter Celebration Book (All Ages)

Christmas Day, December 25th 

The day that celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ in many Christian faiths (Eastern Orthodox faiths celebrate on January 7th). The four Sundays of Advent lead up to this sacred day.

In our home we have a beautiful tradition of an Advent Spiral calendar as well as other advent traditions such a nativity, advent wreath, mistletoe and Christmas tree. Culturally on this day, many children wake up to gifts from Santa Claus who travels the world to bring joy to those who believe. The tradition of Santa Claus stems from the long rooted tradition of celebrating St. Nicholas, the saint of giving. Many non-Christians still enjoy decorating and sharing gifts this time of year to share love and light with one another.

December Preschool/Kindergarten Book (Ages 3-6)

December Afterschooling Book (Ages 6+, teens and adults)

Advent and St. Nicholas Festival Book (All Ages)

Winter Festivals Book (All Ages)

Which of these December festivals do you celebrate? We hope we have inspired you to weave your own family traditions and customs into your winter celebrations and also try incorporating new ideas from some of the examples above.

A Winter Scavenger Hunt

While it can be tempting to stay indoors when it is cold and snowy outside, taking your children outside to discover the beauty of nature during winter is well-worth the effort of bundling up and getting out and about for awhile each day.

One of our favorite things to do is to create Winter Scavenger Hunts and as my girls get older, the hunting can get a bit more challenging.  Keeping in mind the ages of your children, you can print out a list of fun things to look for during your next winter nature walk.   Or, feel free to use our list below:

Can you find:

Melting ice?

Evergreen needles?

Nuts?

Dried tree sap?

A frozen flower?

Food for the birds?

Interesting tree bark?

Water dripping on a branch?

Winter berries?

Signs of old life?

Dead leaves?

Fungi?

Animal tracks?

A winter hideaway?

Here are some other fun items you may consider adding to your list:

Two similar rocks
A green leaf
Birds in winter
Squirrel
Roots
Pinecones
Icicles
Frozen water
Spider web
Nest
Living insect

We'd love to hear what you and your children discovered on your hunt.  If you'd like to send us photos of your discoveries we are happy to post them here.  Send to info@littleacornlearning.com

Happy winter discoveries!

Great Outdoor Challenge - Afterschool Gardening

For all of my Waldorf Afterschooling friends. When my girls were little, I also did my best to supplement their afterschool experience while using traditional schools. Here is a post I am resharing from 8 years ago (wow!) to inspire you to do the same:

One of the things I try very hard to do with the girls is to make sure that they are able to get a good amount of outdoor time after school. This is one of the bigger challenges I face as a waldorf-inspired parent who is not using a waldorf school or homeschooling. The girls get home around 3:30 and they are tired, hungry and have homework. But if it fits into our afternoon - I try very hard to get them some free time outside to "shake off" their day.

As a waldorf parent and teacher, I do my best to foster a love of nature and appreciation of the natural, wild, untamed, deep rooted world around us in my own children and the children I care for in my nursery program. I know that they will be the ones left here after I am long gone... what I teach them now, they will teach their own children and carry into a future WAY beyond myself... and they are the only hope for our planet, the human race and the future. This is what I try to tell parents and caregivers... your job is SO extremely important... the ripple effects can truly change the world.

There were so many leaves and acorns in our garden. We raked, picked, shoveled and dug... we're getting ready to plant and the girls are getting excited. We have four square foot boxes and each girl is in charge of one. They will make sure their box is planted, tended to, weeded (not many weeds with square foot gardening), watered, picked and cared for each day.

The daycare children will help when the girls are at school by watering and caring for our garden as well. We also have a lot of other areas where we will be planting herbs, flowers, strawberries and lots of other fun things!

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this year is OUR YEAR for a lot of little green thumbs at Little Acorn Learning :) Wish us luck!

Show Us Your Halloween Doorstep and Win a Free Ebook!

Happy Halloween!

Did you decorate your home for today's holiday? Show us a simple photo of your Halloween Doorstep and enter to win a FREE ebook of your choice from LittleAcornLearning.com!

Here's how:

1. Take a photo of your Halloween Doorstep

2. Post it on Instagram

3. Mention Little Acorn Learning and tag two friends

4. Use hashtag #LittleAcornLearningHalloweenDoorstepContest 

(we know, it's a long one!)

Winners will be chosen and contacted directly!

Best of luck and have an amazing night with the children.  Maybe the Candy Fairy (aka Switch Witch) will come?

A Visit from The Candy Fairy

When my children were little they were often more excited about the Candy Fairy then they were about trick or treating on Halloween night. Every Halloween night each girl left out a big bowl of candy for The Candy Fairy. Amazingly, she just so happened to always fly down our road after they went to bed... and, in appreciation she left some treasures in return.
The girls were always convinced that the more candy they left the better the surprise would be in the morning. Sometimes it was a fairy type of treasure like you see in these pictures and as they got a bit older it would often be a special toy, doll, art supplies or Lego set.

And, don't worry ... I wasn't a mean mom... each girl kept enough candy to enjoy a piece or two when they wanted a treat that week - just not a pillowcase full.

By the way, I heard the fairy visits houses any time after Halloween so you may want to see if she's heading to your neighborhood soon.

xoxo
eileen

Today is Michaelmas

Do you know what Michaelmas is?  If you are not familiar with Waldorf Education, this mysterious Fall Festival may not be something you are familiar with.  

From the Little Acorn Learning Autumn Equinox and Michaelmas Festival E-Book:

"The significance of the Michaelmas festival in Waldorf schools is seen in the story of a simple boy, who acts out of bravery and righteousness on behalf of others, can overcome fear and darkness. Light must be honored and respected, and can be the greatest weapon we possess in the face of frightening challenges. The older children are taught that we all have within us a dark side, and that we must acknowledge it, learn to control it, and not act out of our destructive emotions. Our dark sides can be a source of strength, inspiration, power, creativity, and mystery—but they must be balanced and harnessed by the light for us to live healthy, happy lives and do good in the world."

"During this time of year when the world is growing dark and we travel inward to find our own inner light to offer to the world around us... (we are much like Michael)..This is the time when we gather up our strength and wield our swords of courage and upright living to slay our inner dragons of depression, egoism, untruth that try to arise. " ~ written by my dear friend, mentor Marianne Frost 

We obviously do not bring these heavy concepts to the little people in our lives. For them, the idea of bravery and truth need not be communicated, it should be emulated naturally. Simple celebrations of the season are appropriate instead and do not have to be done just today – bring them through the next month or two to enjoy each day of through autumn.

• -        Go Apple Picking
• -        Make an Autumn Nature Table
• -        Read Fall Books
• -        Make Homemade Applesauce
• -        Bake Dragon Bread
• -        Hold a Family Autumn Feast
• -        Go for an Autumn Nature Walk
• -        Share Songs and Fingerplays of the Season
• -        Weave Yarn around a Pinecone

Michaelmas Fingerplay

*repeat verse for each finger
(taken from our September Afterschooling Guide)

Five brave knights
With swords held high,
Rode their white stallions
Across the sky.

The dragon roared fire
From the mountain top
One horse ran away
But four did not stop!

Four brave knights... (continue verse as above)
Three brave knights...
Two brave knights...
One brave knight

With sword held high
Rode his white stallion
Across the sky.

The dragon roared fire
From the mountain top
The knight looked back
But would not stop!

The swords raised high
The stallions full speed
Five brave nights
One good deed.

Celebrate the Winter Solstice and Win a Free E-Book By Sharing Your Ideas!

The Winter Solstice is here and I love looking back on some of the beautiful ways we have celebrated this special equinox as well as many of the beautiful ideas included in our winter e-books at Little Acorn Learning.

Over the upcoming months, the sun will climb higher, our days will become longer and filled with more warmth.  The solstice is a wonderful time to try to slow down and be more mindful of what is going on both in the world around you as well as deep inside of you.  This is something I really need to focus on in my own life as well.

There are beautiful poems, stories and books you can share with the children during this magical festival.  Some of my favorite books to share are:

       

Here are some of my old favorites to help you celebrate this special time.  There are many more beautiful ideas, recipes, songs, books, meditations and more in our winter books on our website as well as on our blog.

Make a Winter Nature Table (as explained in our Winter Festivals E-Book)

Photo by Sara Wilson

Winter Garland (as in the December 5 Day Guide and on our blog):

Solstice Spinners (detailed instructions in our Winter Festivals E-Book):

Make a Yule Log (in our December Enrichment Guide):

Roast Chestnuts

Bake Sun Bread (December 5 Day Guide):

Make Solstice Crowns (Winter Festivals E-Book):

Photo by Sara Wilson

Make a Solstice Wish (King Winter E-Book):

Make Cinnamon Cocoa (December Enrichment Guide):

Photo by Kristine Brown

Snow Candles

What are some of your favorite ways to celebrate this beautiful festival?

Post your idea in comments and we will pick a random winner tomorrow evening the 22nd to win a free winter e-book of their choice from Little Acorn Learning!

Be sure to check back here as we will announce the winner on our blog!

Solstice Blessings xoxo

Easy Martinmas Lanterns

 Martinmas Lanterns

My lantern! My lantern! 

Sun and moon and stars 
Put out all your lights 
Put out all your lights 
That my lantern can truly shine bright. 

In Germany, the custom of children carrying their lanterns into the dark and singing Martinmas songs are deep rooted.  In some areas, children go door to door in a procession with their lanterns, singing sweet little songs in return for candy. 

These easy Martinmas Lanterns taken from our Martinmas and Thanksgiving Festival E-Book can also substitute as a bedtime nightlight.  Using the battery operated lights and vellum paper make them a safe alternative to real candles.  For more fun ideas, recipes, songs, crafts, meditations and much more to help you celebrate the beautiful November festivals - be sure to grab a copy of this amazing e-book that we just released last November.

Supplies:

•          mason jars
•          vellum paper (transparent)
•          paper cutter
•          mason wire holders (can purchase at craft store)
•          mason lids with design (can purchase at craft store) *optional
•          design paper punch – or hole puncher
•           battery operated tealights

Many of the supplies can be substituted with other items in your home.  For our lanterns, we purchased three mason jars and mason jar accessories from our local craft store.  We also used one of our favorite star punchers that we had in our crafting room.  A simple hole puncher can also be used or small x-shaped slits could be made in the vellum paper to help the light shine through. 

Begin by cutting your vellum paper to an appropriate width that will allow for it to open up within the mason jar when rolled and put inside.  Then use your hole punching tool to create punched out designs on your vellum paper. This is how the light will show through your lantern.

  

Let your children be the ones to punch out the holes.  They will love working to make their lantern unique and beautiful. 

When you are done, simply roll the vellum paper in a tube and slide it inside your mason jar.  The paper should be cut short enough that when it is placed inside the jar, it opens up wider to fill the circumference of the lantern.

Add your mason jar wire handle accessory and replace the top of your mason jar with your designed lid.  Place your battery operated candle inside to check how the light looks through your lantern.

Sing special songs and take your lanterns outside on a night time walk around your neighborhood or yard.  When you return, use these lanterns as a magical nightlight to bring the peace and selflessness of St. Martin into your home.