Intentional and holistic rhythms, routines + systems to support your children, your home and yourself.

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Weekly Rhythm Free Printable Cards

"Wash on Monday, Iron on Tuesday,Mend on Wednesday, Churn on Thursday, Clean on Friday, Bake on Saturday, Rest ...

Seasonal Mealtime Planning

The theme last week on my Instagram page was “Nourishing Little Minds and Bodies” and as a part ...

Seasonal Mealtime Blessings

Over the years we have sung and said many blessings at our table. Saying or singing a blessing ...

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A daily affirmation.

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7 Ways to hold a space for a calm and connected family dinner tradition.

Some notes to consider along with everything in the above image:

🥦 “regular family dinners” does not mean dinner together every single day! Life is busy- older siblings have extracurricular activities, parents work late and many other events make it difficult for a family to be together for a daily meal
🍠 Having a routine or rhythm in place according to your schedules (eg. Mon/Fri/Sat/Sun dinners together) means that these dinner dates will remain consistent and a priority for you and your family
🌮 The definition of “family” is open. Children who share their time between parents or other carers, or who live in intergenerational homes get the same benefits from “family dinners” as do children who live in a nuclear family
🥗 If your children are very young, it’s likely that their dinnertime will be very early and as a result, so will yours
🥑 The benefits of family dinners are varied and diverse. The social benefit of connecting, coming together and spending time with one another is just as nourishing as the actual meal.

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Repeat after me: this is not about being perfect, this is about modelling joyful resolution and presence.

The first time I saw the strength of imitation my son was about 1 1/2 and kept throwing the towel violently on the ground or in the garbage bin in the bathroom. He started to “throw” or “toss” the lotion, his PJS and other things. After a few weeks, I realized that after bathtime I was in such a hurry to move to the next step of our routine, I would unconsciously throw the towel to the ground or in the laundry hamper! I had thought, oh no- he’s in a throwing stage, it must be developmental but in fact he was mimicking my exact gestures perfectly! Was it bad he was throwing things? No, not at all. This experience just taught me the power of imitation and to be much more conscious of my “being in the world” as his little soul was drinking me in.

There are many ways we function in autopilot throughout the day, especially as parents. We cannot live our daily lives in holy perfection, but what we can do is stop, slow down and use the little moments to model the very essence of what it is to be a conscious and centred human.

What children thrive off of is: our joyful resolve.

Perhaps you can never find joyful resolve in doing the laundry- that is OK! But I encourage you to find other moments where your children are able to imitate you being present and connected with a meaningful task or family ritual.

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I have a series of three articles archived in the Journal all about discipline- what it is and isn’t.

Some of us may have an aversion to the word DISCIPLINE because of the way in which our parents disciplined us as children. Some of us may embrace the word and may even argue we all need a little more discipline in our lives. Wherever we lie in that spectrum and no matter how we name it, I think we can all agree that children need loving AUTHOR-ities in their lives.

In his book, The Soul of Discipline, Kim John Payne describes how being a loving authority may look different depending on the developmental phase a child is in.

🤎 Young children up to age 7/8 need strong boundaries and fewer choices.
They thrive on rhythm and strong parental authorship.
An anecdotal example is that we would not give a young child the option not to wear a hat, mittens, coat and snowpants on a freezing cold day. We simply state, “These are the clothes we wear in this weather.” while helping them to dress. We model this by wearing the same clothes ourselves. It’s a non-negotiable. We are the “governor” as Payne puts it.

🤎 Middle school-aged children from age 8-12/13 are in a middle ground. They still need a fair amount of boundaries but they are learning how to assert their independence and experimenting with their individuality. They need us to hold boundaries but also to allow them to make and learn from mistakes. We are “gardeners” who tend to them, pay attention when things are going awry and prune and pull back when they need us to. If an elementary school aged child didn’t want to wear their hat, gloves and snowpants to school we might allow them to make that choice but insist that they bring them all in their bag instead of leaving them at home.

🤎 Teens require the most amount of freedom. They are finding themselves in the world, searching for new meaning and purpose without the constrains of family identity. We can be their “guides”, giving advice when needed and asked for with minimal interference. If they don’t want to wear a coat, much to our chagrin, that’s their choice.

See stories for the nuance in this approach…

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These simple questions help me immensely when we are tempted to launch into lectures or verbal explanations or when we need to deeply consider how to frame, articulate and present the harder conversations that are oftentimes absolutely necessary to have with our children.

The next time you’re waffling about whether to say anything at all or how to say what you want to express to your young child, ask yourself these four questions, and see what comes up for you.

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It’s hard to fit “parenting” into a few squares but this week I’ll be sharing some ideas based on my training as a Family Life Coach with @simplicity_parenting

I’ll also share some of my favourite parenting accounts and resources in the stories throughout the week.

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I hope last week’s tips on creating a Family Movie Night tradition were helpful.

Screen-time can get a bad rep even in our home but when we consciously and intentionally choose media for our family it has the power to be transformative on many levels.

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There have been a lot of questions about mixed ages in a family and the resulting appropriate title choices for a family movie night.

I recommend that the youngest child in the family be at least 5/6 years old when you start a family movie night tradition. Alternatively, you could organize it so that the youngest is asleep or out with grandparents when the rest of the family sits down to watch together.

The reason I suggest the 5 year cut off is because it is very difficult to find media that is engaging enough for older siblings and parents but gentle (and short) enough for small children.

For those who have a movie night tradition in their home, at what age did you start? What movies worked well for a range of ages in your home?

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🏆 Our Favourite Family Movie Night Films for Mixed Ages 6+

1. My Neighbour Totoro
2. Madagascar
3. Encanto
4. Moana
5. Frozen 1 & 2

🥈 Runner’s Up for Ages 6+
Raya the Last Dragon
Inside Out
Ice Age
Yes Day
Zootopia
Ballerina
Hamilton

🎥 Favourite Documentaries
My Octopus Teacher
A Beautiful Planet
Biggest Little Farm
Wing’s of Life

🕊 And For Extra Sensitive Little Ones and Children Ages 4-6:
The Little Bear Movie
Dancing in the Light
Room on a Broom
Stickman
Ponyo

Drop yours below!!! 👇🏼👇🏼👇🏼

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@commonsenseorg is a non-negotiable part of developing healthy media habits and choices in your family. I cannot recommend their website highly enough. You can look up movies, TV episodes, video games and other media on the site and get comprehensive reviews and ratings from professionals, parents and children.

If your friend recommended Moana but you’re not sure if your highly sensitive five-year-old can handle it, look it up on @commonsenseorg and you will be able to read in detail about each of the “scary” or “questionable” scenes.

We talked about creating setting the time and day in stone earlier this week.

Finally, @commonsenseorg also often has a section at the bottom of a review called “talk to your kids about” where they share discussion points to go with the film. Read through these if you’re not sure where to begin family discussions surrounding the film’s themes.

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This week I’ll be sharing ideas and tips about creating a family movie night ritual. What do you want to know? Ask away in the comments below!

Six Benefits of a Family Movie Night Ritual

🎥 allows practice of delayed gratification
🍿 carves out a scheduled time together on a regular basis
⚡️ sparks family discussions on a wide range of subjects from stereotypes to global warming
📖 provides an opportunity to teach elements of a story (characters, plot, conflict, climax and resolution)
🌎 teaches children (and adults) about experiences outside of their own perspectives
❤️ provides opportunities to share emotional experiences & name feelings
💆‍♀️ provides a change in the regular dinner/bedtime routine and a much needed break for parents

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The long, cold Winter season is the perfect time to establish a family movie night tradition.

This week I’ll share some tips and ideas on how to start a family movie night even if siblings are of different ages and have diverse interests.

Do you have a family movie night tradition? 🍿 🎥

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One of the things I love about #waldorfeducation is its focus and emphasis on movement for a healthy early childhood. Climbing, spinning, swinging, skipping, hopping and crawling have all been shown integrate the right and left brain hemispheres; develop fine and gross motor skills as well as coordination and balance. All of these skills are pre-literacy essentials.

But today, I want to share the resources we use when we have decided our children are ready to explicitly develop their phonetic awareness and reading skills.

My Top Five Tools for Beginner Readers:

📕 All About Reading Pre-Literacy Program @allaboutlearning takes children step by step through activities to help them develop phonetic awareness. This program was recommended by @ginnysheller many years ago & it has been my go-to when each of my children has started their reading journey. It’s fun, multisensory and based on the Orton-Gillingham approach.
📗 Reading Guide Highlighter strips (google this) help children who find it challenging to track & follow the line they are reading. They basically block out the rest of the page so that your child can focus on one line at a time.
📘 Shelley Davidow’s Early Reader Series is a gentle introduction to reading simple words. The books progress in difficulty & are satisfying for even beginner readers to sound out.
📕 Montessori Sandpaper Letters are exactly what they sound like & a way for children to begin practising writing and recognizing the letters of the alphabet. We always start with capitals and then move on to lowercase letters.
📗 Finally, I am a Waldorf early childhood teacher but I am also a parent and this year more than ever has presented an opportunity to try to find balance with all things, including technology. Last year I carved out times in the afternoons to help my older children with homeschool work while my younger children played on a reading app called @readingeggs They loved this novel time and I was surprised with how much they absorbed and gained in terms of reading skills. My youngest (6) still enjoys going through a level some weekends.

Any other reading tips or favourites you have in your family? Share below! 📚

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Fingerplays (rhymes that you act out with your fingers) are not only a great distraction for fussy, defiant or overtired toddlers, they also stimulate a loving and intimate connection between the caregiver and child.

Regular Fingerplay:

👌assists in motor and language development
👏supports body awareness & fine motor skills
🤛 increases rhythmic proficiency
🤞develops muscular coordination
✋supports strong memory development

Fingerplays can also be used as a tool for transition (from one activity to another) or as a redirection (from unfavourable behaviour).

Do you have a favourite fingerplay you want to share with us all in the comments?

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Play-based early childhood education programs are becoming more and more common as the research continues to point to the huge foundation that must be built before formal reading and writing instruction is introduced. In a play-based preschool and kindergarten program, children are given the time and space to play; move their bodies in a variety of ways; experience rich oral storytelling and rhyming and provided opportunity to engage in meaningful work that helps to develop fine and gross motor skills.

Below are a few more links and resources for you if you want to learn more:

Move to Learn Webinars for Caregivers and Children run by @sesamestreetincommunities
https://sesamestreetincommunities.org/training/move-learn-together-movement-literacy/

Teaching Literacy in Waldorf Schools from @mountainphoenixcommunityschool
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=TJlCUlGwggE

Literacy Lessons in Waldorf Early Childhood by @storyseedlingsliteracy Rebecca Hipps
https://meaganrosewilson.com/2019/11/literacy-lessons-in-waldorf-early-childhood/

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Very young children learn through imitation. If reading time, storytelling and audiobooks are are a part of their daily and weekly routines, rhythms and family culture they will be more likely to prioritize this time and interest as they grow older.

Another way to foster a love for books which isn’t so accessible at this time depending on where you live, is visiting a library. Most libraries are offering online borrowing and pick-up so this could be a temporary alternative.

What are some of the ways you nurture a love of reading in your home?

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This week I’ll share some of the ways preliteracy skills are practised and developed in early childhood.

We all want to raise children who love to read and have a passion for learning. The early childhood foundations we build this lifelong skill on are simple and surprising.

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Wise words to start your weekend.

Go gently friends. Nothing is simple or easy right now. Wherever you can take care, slow down and be kind.

❤️

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Developing a regular journaling practice has been shown to

📓 Boost mood
📓 Reduce symptoms of anxiety and mild depression
📓 Reduce intrusive and avoidant thoughts related to PTSD
📓 Improve working memory
📓 Increase creativity
📓 Enhance self-awareness and mindfulness

If you want to try journalling but you’re not sure where or how to start, one technique you can remember from the Center of Journal Therapy is the acronym WRITE:
What is the subject of your entry?
Review/Reflect on the subject
Investigate your feelings further
Time yourself (10-15 min/day)
Exit smart with questions that promote further introspection and self-analysis

Do you journal? Has your practice changed over time?
See the comments to read more about my personal journey with journaling.

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