Life at LifeWays by Belinda Kenwood

 

Life at LifeWays

by Miss Belinda

 

Being a degreed special education and elementary education teacher, and after having worked in traditional childcare settings for 16-years, every so often, I take a step back to reflect on how and why I came to the decision to take the LifeWays Early Childhood Training course and begin my work at LifeWays Milwaukee. Like many changes I’ve made in my life, the decision was made after having children. My first child, a boy, began attending the infant room at the center where I worked when he was five-months old. At five-years of age, he began attending a mixed-age kindergarten program at the Waldorf school in Pewaukee (my daughter was two-years at the time), and it was through that connection that I discovered the LifeWays approach to childcare. I could sense something profoundly different that made LifeWays unlike other childcare centers and school settings, and their approach and philosophy resonated deeply with me. One of the profound differences was that, here at LifeWays, we strive to be “home-like.” After my experiences, that was a big “A-ha” moment for me. 

At LifeWays, we don’t define ourselves as “school,” and we don’t see ourselves as preparing children for school. Instead, we see ourselves as preparing children for life. As LifeWays North America states in five of their Principles for Caring for Young Children At Home and in Childcare:

• ·       Childhood is a valid and authentic time unto itself and not just a preparation for schooling. Skipping or hurrying developmental phases can undermine a child’s healthy and balanced development.
• ·       Young children (birth to 6/7) thrive in the presence of parents and other devoted caregivers who enjoy life and caring for children. They learn primarily through imitation/empathy and, therefore, need to be cared for by people with integrity and warmth who are worthy of being imitated. This is the foundation for learning and healthy development.
• ·       In infancy and early childhood, daily life experience is the “curriculum.” The child’s relationships to the caregivers and to the environment are the two most important aspects through which the child can experience healthy life rhythms/routines. These include the “nurturing arts” of rest and play, regular meal times, exploring nature, practical/domestic activities, social creativity, music and simple artistic activities.
• ·       Young children thrive in a home or home-like environment that offers beauty, comfort and security, and connection to the living world of nature. Healthy sense development is fostered when most of their clothing and playthings are of non-synthetic materials and their toys allow for open-ended, imaginative play.
• ·       Human relationship and activity are the essential tools for teaching the young child all foundational skills for life. Infants and toddlers develop most healthily when allowed to have freedom of movement in a safe environment. For three to six-year olds, creative play, not technology or early academics, forms the best foundation for schoolwork and life-long learning.

        Thus, our center has three “family” suites each having a mixed-age of children from infant toapproximately five/six years of age and all cared for by a primary caregiver. We function as an extended family or a “small neighborhood.” The older children of the suites may attend the KinderHouse and/or KinderForest programs 2 to 4 days a week with the younger children in the suites having a more intimate time with their caregiver, similar to how it is at home when older siblings go off to school for a while. When the “olders” return to the suite, the infants and toddlers are happy to see them. As per Cynthia Aldinger, Executive Director of LifeWays North America, “The rhythms and activities of the days and weeks in a LW setting are meant to imitate home life rather than school life – daily care and cleaning of the environment, bodily care of the children, folding laundry, putting away groceries, eating, sleeping, singing and playing (both indoors and outdoors), crafting for special seasonal activities.” The children have opportunities throughout the week to help in the preparation of food for our daily meals and birthday celebrations. ☺

        And so, we view LifeWays as our “Home Away from Home.” The suites are our living rooms, bedrooms and playrooms where we strive to create an environment of warmth, security and loving care similar to that of a family. We become part of the larger community when we move out into the main room where we enjoy meals together and all the activity that entails... helping with setting the table, serving the food and drink, clearing the table, washing our dishes, as well as taking dishes out of the dishwasher and placing them back in their “home.” We all play together outdoors as well in our play yard, down in the clearing and beyond, in the front yard and at local parks.

        We view our “home” as sacred space. We view our work with children as sacred work. We strive to be an example of what it means to live in community. We strive to bring awareness of how our words and actions affect the community, and as such, reflect upon what our responsibility is to one another as we live and work together in our “little neighborhood.” In practical terms it may look like the following examples:

• ·       Manners matter – “May I Please” and “Thank you,” “Excuse Me,” etc.
• ·       Hanging up our coats/jackets, snow/rain pants, on our hooks and placing our boots/shoes tucked together and “kissing” the wall.
• ·       Entering our space calmly, with softer voices, saving the running and louder voices for outside.
• ·       What we take out, we put away...toys, dishes, chairs, tables, etc., and when we make a mess, we clean it up.
• ·       Lending a helping hand and/or lap and words of encouragement when asked or needed.
• ·       Waiting to speak until it is our turn

And so on...

 

I think what I’m trying to get at in my roundabout way is, it is through our growing awareness and striving as adults working in community and the actions we take out of that striving and awareness that will make us worthy of imitation and plant the seeds of loving kindness and awareness in the children of what it can look like to be in community with one another...the joy and satisfaction of working together for the good of all as well as the difficult work of dealing with the challenges and learning through our mistakes.

 

And by the way – Though my children did not directly benefit from attending a LifeWays center as they were too old, it opened up a whole new career path for me, and they were able to benefit from the changes I began making at home based on what I was learning and how I was growing both personally and professionally through LifeWays as well as through the Waldorf school they were attending.

And full disclosure – My son, Kristian, began his “school career” attending a parochial school 4K-Kindergarten program. Halfway through his 5K year, we changed schools. I realized in hindsight that he was too young to go to an academics based school at 4-years of age though he appeared to others to be quite “ready” as he was both tall and had a sophisticated use of language. Little did I know at the time that those things are not enough to make one ready for school...but that’s another story for another time.

 

Once Upon a Time by Jane Danner

 

Once Upon a Time

By Miss Jane

 

Once Upon a Time, there was a grandmother. Her own six children had all grown up and left, one by one to live their own great adventures. That old grandmother was sad and lonely. And so that grandmother went out into the great wide world looking for some children who might need her. And she did. She found seven wonderful children who welcomed her with open arms and let her care for them. And she was happy. 

 

There are so many things that have changed since I was a little girl. Phones are no longer rotary. They are not even attached to the wall! Test patterns no longer mark the end of television for the day. Car seats. I-pads. Google Searches!  Children seem to grow up very differently today than I did 50 years ago. And yet, I invite you to peer into The Woodland Suite on any given day at about 12:45 in the afternoon. We’ve just said a fond farewell to Linden, who spends her afternoons at home. The shades are pulled, the lights are off. A minute ago, the suite was restless and noisy but now all the children are on their cots. Hugo has Red Baby snuggled under his arm. Pim has his bunnies and robin hidden under the blankets, Vera has ghost doggie snuggled close and Moss has the rabbit from the windowsill which he thinks he has snuck when I wasn’t looking. Clara has her thumb stuck in her mouth and has sighed contentedly. And, Leo always mentions his dad as he snuggles up in his cozy bed.  All of them are listening to a story written down over 150 years ago. “Once upon a time there lived a donkey…” Just like me, when I was little, they listen intently or nonchalantly, but they are listening. And when it ends, they are calm and quiet and just drifting off to sleep. 

It is amazing to me that these Paw Patrol and Star Wars children still love “Sweet Porridge” and “Iron Hans”, “The Bremen Town Musicians” and “The Donkey” and “Mother Holle”, “Rapunzel” and “Snow White” as much as I did. Every year I tell the same stories that my father told me and the children never seem to tire of hearing them. They listen intently as the mother goat cuts open the belly of the wolf to let out her six children. They listen as she stuffs rocks into his belly and then sews him up while the wolf snores away under the shade of the old oak tree. Really? The wolf did not notice he was being sliced open with a scissors? But the children never ask, in the same accepting way that I never asked. It just seemed right.

The Brothers Grimm wrote these stories down from oral tales. They were one of the first to take these tales seriously and they collected the stories from all over Europe, tales that had been told for many generations mainly by women. These were not the epic tales of King Arthur or Roland, which were told in the main hall by paid roving minstrels. These were simple old wife’s tales, the wisdom of women, told by nannies who were immigrants and slaves and tended the children, telling the tales that they had heard as children when they tucked their charges into bed at night. Words to help children learn the lessons of perseverance, kindness, compassion, and life. It explains why the tales are so like other tales told from all over the world. And from this rich oral tradition of storytelling Wilhelm and Jacob Grimm published seven different editions of children’s tales. The first edition was much criticized and not considered suitable for children so they rewrote and edited them, careful to keep the folk tradition of the original oral stories alive because the Brothers Grimm felt the fairy tales told a story deeper than the tales themselves. When I watch the children listen so intently day after day, I think so too. And because of the success of their endeavor fairy tales came to be collected from all over the world. Do a google search of fairy tales and every culture has a rich collection of fairy tales. 

I love that a famous quote of Albert Einstein says that “If you want your children to be intelligent, read them Fairy Tales. If you want them to be more intelligent, read them more Fairy Tales.” I also agree with the early criticism of the Grimm’s Fairy Tales. Not all the tales are suitable for the young child. At one point in my parenting, I decided to read Carl, my youngest son, the whole collection cover to cover. At the time it seemed like a good idea but I quickly abandoned it. It was interesting and educational, and I enjoyed reading the more traditional translations and the many stories I had never read before. There are 279 Grimm’s Fairy Tales, but many of the tales are just strange and read more like ghost stories. When I first began to tell them to the children in my care, I decided it was best to stay with the stories I was most familiar with. More recently I have found a few lists of tales that more experienced Waldorf teachers have put together. They have helped me explore tales I had not previously known about and adventure into Russian, Native American, Danish, Irish and Chinese Fairy Tales. Even with my lists in hand, I always read the tales myself before I read them to the children.

There are many different theories as to why these tales are so enduring. Some have written that the tales are a picture of being human and that “all the figures in a tale are but parts or aspects of a single synthetic person” (Novalis: What to do about witches by Ruth Pusch). That is why the children do not view the violence in them quite the same way as we adults might. Nor do they seem to react to the violence in the same way as they do to things they might see in a movie or on television. In their imaginations they recognize the characters as archetypes, as pieces of themselves that they are just coming to know. “There is no human problem or difficulty, no possible situation in life that is outside the wisdom of fairy tales” (The Wisdom of Fairy Tales by Ursula Grahl).

Children do seem to have a healthy satisfaction for the justice doled out to the many different antagonists in the end of the tales. They love that Gretel pushes the witch in the oven or that the sorceress in The Golden Bauer becomes trapped in the cage of her own making. It is a satisfaction that seems to be dampened when the tales are made nicer or completely missing when the tales are rewritten so that the antagonist becomes the protagonist but there also seems to be a rightness that the stories are still changing and evolving, as we tell them again and again. It speaks to the fact that they are really living and alive.

Many things change in a lifetime, but it seems that one thing that lives on is some old tales told from the wisdom of women to the children they loved that two brothers had the wisdom and foresight to write down and left to us to powerfully feed our souls.

 

A Morning in KinderHouse by Jaimmie Stugard

A Morning in KinderHouse

By Miss Jaimmie

Good morning, dear Earth.
Good morning, dear sun.
Good morning, dear stones
And the flowers, every one,
The animals all,
The birds in the trees.
Good morning to you
And good morning to me.

Each KinderHouse morning begins with singing this verseon the front porch. The children are gathered together, cheerfully ready to greet the day. The picnic basket is full of delicious snacks to share and refreshing water to drink. At LifeWays, there is a verse or song for almost everything! So, as I pour the children their water, we sing:

              Water from the lake.
               Water from the river.
               Water from the rain and snow.
               Water to make our bodies
               Healthy and help them to grow.

Toward the end of snack, I will often bring out a special book to read while the children finish their last bites. Recent favorites include “Ten Timid Ghosts” and “Margaret and Margarita/Margarita y Margaret,” a bilingual story about two children who meet at the park and become fast friends even though they speak different languages. When everyone has finished eating, the children politely ask to be excused, clear their dish and play together. Sometimes, we’ll enjoy a little artistic activity, like coloring with side walk chalk or painting our lanterns for the lantern walk, before heading to the woods to play. Two of our favorite play places are the clearing and the riverside. There is so much to do, play and explore! Sometimes it takes a new KinderHouse group a little while to become acclimated to playing in the woods. They aren’t always sure what to do without the familiar toys and games. But, not this group! Their imaginative play took off on day one in the woods! They love to play house/family and to transform the fallen logs and trees into restaurants, motorcycles, homes, busses and more. And, of course, they love to climb.

After a nice, long play, it is time for circle and story. Circle songs about animals and nature are beloved at this age as are traditional nursery rhymes, finger plays and seasonal songs, like the lantern walk songs. For many, the puppet play is a highlight of the morning. Our first puppet play was a nursery rhyme vignette, with “Mary had a Little Lamb”, “Jack be Nimble” and “Jack Sprat”. Jack and Mary were already a part of my puppet collection. I needle-felted them out of wool during my LifeWays training back in 2005. This fall, I felted a little lamb while the KinderHouse children played around me in the woods. They often came over to watch and were fascinated as the lamb came to life in front of their very eyes. The children then savored the tale of “Sabra and the Brave” for several weeks. Most recently, I introduced the story of “Huggin and the Pumpkin” in anticipation of our Lantern Walk and Halloween. After our story, we head up to the front yard to say farewell to our part-day friends and head in for some tasty lunch and a well-deserved rest. What a wonderful way to spend the morning!

From the Sunshine Garden by Belinda Kenwood

 From the Sunshine Garden

By Miss Belinda

 

Greetings, Dear Families ~

For this parent newsletter, I’d like to introduce myself, or re-introduce myself, as the case may be, and tell you a bit about me.  I am Belinda Kenwood, or Miss Belinda, as I’m known around these parts, and I am the lead caregiver in the Sunshine Garden Suite.  I have worked at LifeWays Milwaukee for a total of 10.5 years thus far and have worked in the early childhood field for over 27-years in several different capacities.  I’ve worked in center- based care (both large and small centers) as well as a Waldorf inspired home care setting.  I’ve served as a preschool teacher, an afterschool care teacher, a preschool summer camp director, and also as a Waldorf kindergarten teacher at Prairie Hill Waldorf School in Pewaukee, where both of my now young adult children attended school from kindergarten through 8^th Grade.  I even took some time away from the early childhood field to work as an executive assistant for 7.5-years.  

Truth be told, it was not my intent to go into the childcare/early childhood education field.  I had graduated from university with a BA in a duo major – Special Education for the Hearing Impaired as well as Elementary Education and had planned on becoming a teacher for the Deaf in an elementary school, hopefully, somewhere in California.  But after experiencing a life altering moment immediately upon graduation, my initial plans had to be put on hold.  Instead of heading out to California as planned, out of necessity, I moved from Michigan to Wisconsin to live with my parents for a while.  I floundered for about a year and eventually took a job as an assistant teacher/caregiver working with 2-year olds in a child care center.  This was purely a temporary measure until I could figure out what I wanted to do next.  Well, as the old adage goes, “Best laid plans,” and all, my temporary stint as a child care assistant turned into a lifelong career. 

Yep - I felt the call to take up this work. And within a year or two, I became a passionate advocate for early childhood caregiving and “education,” and began reading voraciously about child development and taking as many continuing education courses as I could in order to learn more and do right by the children in my care. 

Twenty years later, when enrolled in the LifeWays Early Childhood Training course, a wise director and instructor told us, “God doesn’t call the equipped…He equips the called.”  This was such a validating quote to hear because I had found that caring for and working with very young children is a profoundly different experience than working with elementary school aged children, middle school aged children, high schoolers and college students.  It was kind of like learning a whole new language.

Having worked in traditional/mainstream early childhood settings for the first 13-years of my career and then working in a completely different field for over 7-years, I came upon Waldorf education.  Actually, I came upon it when, as with many decisions and discoveries made after becoming a parent, I was searching for a school for my then 5-year old son.   At the time, he had been attending a private, parochial school since the age of 4-years.  During the first parent/teacher conference at the beginning of his second year of kindergarten, the teacher said something about the curriculum that literally threw me into a panic.  Because of my teaching background and experience, I had a sense of what I wanted and what I did not want in an early childhood experience for my child.  I immediately went home after the conference and began searching for education alternatives.  As a result, we made the decision to change schools after the December holiday break.  And with that, I embarked upon another transformational experience not only for my children but for our family.  It was through our connection with the Waldorf school that I found LifeWays.

I was profoundly inspired by the LifeWays wholistic approach to educating the developing child; Where the focus is on the importance of relationship-based care in a mixed-age, home-like environment where the nurturing arts, social arts, creative arts and practical life skills are practiced on a daily basis.  At LifeWays we emphasize a home-like vs. school-like experience for the young child which is based on knowledge and wisdom regarding child and human development.  We strive to create an extension of home-life based on the archetypal family model until the child is ready to move onto the more formal school experience and expectations.  This extension of home life is a developmentally appropriate practice for young children.  

I love that we have the time to help the children learn how to dress and undress themselves when we ready for the outdoors and come back indoors; that we are able to spend time in the bathroom helping the children learn how to pull their pants up and down when using the toilet, learning how to wipe themselves and flush the potty, learning how to wash and dry hands, as well as spending some one-on-one time with a little one during a diaper change.  We are able to spend time at the meal table eating nourishing meals, sharing stories and jokes, singing our meal blessings, and, yes…learning appropriate table manners. It’s gratifying to have the children help with clearing the table after meals as well as helping wipe down the table and chairs.  It’s such a joy to observe how the older children watch over and care for the younger ones as well as how the younger ones light up when they see their older friends. I also very much enjoy observing the children in their play taking care to allow them the space and time to move about freely and discover things on their own without inserting myself into their play.  It’s magical, really, to see how creative and capable young children can be.  It never ceases to amaze me. When it’s nap time, I love when everyone is tucked into their cozy bed listening intently to the story I’m reading or telling…some falling asleep during the story and others staying awake until I’ve finished with the last word.  I love as the children begin waking up after nap/rest time…some choosing to lounge on their bed, chatting with their friends, while others begin making their bed, asking me a question or two, and another asking to sit on my lap and rock with me on the rocking chair.  I consider it a privilege to be able to take the time needed to soothe little ones who are missing their mommies and daddies after drop off until they are ready to enter into play, because after a hug or a sit on the lap with a quiet song and/or conversation, something always catches their interest.

Long winded, I know. Suffice it to say, these are some of the things we at LifeWays are able to provide that along with our healthy rhythm of the day, week and year and firm loving boundaries help the children feel safe and secure when they are away from home and Mommy and Daddy and will also serve the children well when they are ready to enter the school experience.

I look forward to deepening my relationships with you and your children.

Notes from the Kitchen by Tamara Treviranus

 

Notes from the Kitchen

By Miss Tammy

 

It is truly a pleasure to cook home-made, nutritious meals for the children and caregivers.  We understand that daily and weekly rhythms and routines provide a strong foundation for children’s developing minds, bodies and spirits.  This is why, at Lifeways, we offer consistency in our meal planning, with enough variety to offer the opportunity to try new things and get used to some regular offerings.  Here is our weekly lunch schedule:

        Monday -Sandwich day

        Tuesday- Pasta day

        Wednesday -Beans and Rice day

        Thursday -Soup and Rolls 

        Friday -Pizza Day or “Breakfast for Lunch” day

 

One of our favorite afternoon snacks at Lifeways  is home-made Cinnamon Graham Crackers.  Here is a recipe to try at home. 

Note:  It is optional to add the cinnamon sugar topping but is HIGHLY recommended.  Enjoy!

 1 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup all-purpose flour

 1 tsp cinnamon 

½ teaspoon salt

¼ cup butter

¼ honey

2-3 Tablespoons milk

 1 egg

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.  Combine dry ingredients in mixing bowl.  Melt butter, add honey, and milk and lastly, egg.  Mix wet and dry ingredients together.  Chill dough in refrigerator for one hour.  Divide dough in half and roll each piece with a rolling pin to approximately 1/8 in thick.  Place on buttered cookie pan (or use parchment paper). Using a pastry brush, brush a thin layer of milk on the dough, then sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Bake for 10 minutes, and remove from oven.  Using a pizza cutter, cut the partially baked graham crackers into approximately 2” X 3” pieces.  You do not need to separate.  Return to oven for another 20 Minutes.  Then, turn off oven and open oven door a crack, leaving the graham crackers in the oven, for 5 minutes. (This allows the oven to cool just a little bit).  After 5 minutes, close the oven door and leave graham crackers in oven for 20 minutes.   Remove from oven, cool and serve!

Adapting Traditions by Jaimmie Stugard

“The cycle of the year is a mighty breathing of the earth in relation to the cosmos.” – Rudolf Steiner 

While we won’t be celebrating our traditional, community wide lantern walk this year, I hope your family will have a chance to take a lantern walk together. Adapting our seasonal celebrations and incorporating them into our home life is especially meaningful in these uncertain and unusual times. They provide an opportunity to lift ourselves out of the day to day, celebrate the earth and connect to the world around us. Including children in the preparation of simple, annual festivals creates a mood of anticipation and allows the children to experience and participate in the process of life. 

As the holidays approach, many families are considering how to adapt their holiday traditions for the safety of all while the pandemic continues. To be honest, I am really looking forward to a quiet and intimate holiday season at home with my husband and children. For years, the holidays have been a time of hustle and bustle, dashing from here to there, giving and receiving and lots and lots of eating. While I love spending time with my extended family and will surely miss them this holiday season, I think that a cozy, quiet year at home will be a nice change of pace. 

For Halloween, we will take a neighborhood walk in our costumes, light our jack o’lanterns, have a fire and warm apple cider in the yard, nibble on sweets, and watch some spooky movies. We made a candy chute in case any social distancing trick or treaters come by. In November, we’ll take a lantern walk in nature. And, we will cook together and enjoy a home-made feast of our favorite Indian cuisine this Thanksgiving. As a vegetarian, I am excited to celebrate a non-traditional feast day. And, I expect that a mellow Christmas at home may be almost as enjoyable as it is unimaginable! It has been years since I took the time to mail New Year’s cards to my family and friends and I look forward to taking the time to rekindle this tradition. I am grateful for the opportunity to slow down, adapt and deepen my experience of these family traditions. Then, when the time is right, we will once again enjoy the gift of being in community together.

Summer in the Violet Garden by Sandra Schmidt

Dear Parents, 

June has quickly turned into the middle of July for me. After the cold Spring, the warmth feels good. With the warm weather we’ve been able to run through the sprinkler during outside time in the morning. Our garden continues to grow lush with this warmth - tomatoes will soon ripen to nibble on and we have been feasting on raspberries these last few weeks. 

As we settle into our “new normal”, I’m sure my co-workers would agree that we weren’t quite sure what to expect with our reopening last month during a pandemic. I have found that the children and I are still the same. We enjoy each other’s company - we talk of what we’ve done at home and what we plan to do. We look ahead to our summer birthdays, and how the raspberries are red and tasty...how the mint is up to Luci’s bellybutton. In short, life carries on. This summer there are fewer children in my suite, this has given me the opportunity to implement the new health protocols into our daily rhythm with the least disruption to the children. I do wear a mask for most of the day, but it is not questioned why (it has become an accessory like my glasses). I do feel strongly that the world of COVID is not for the children. Their world is a dreamy one of fairies and gnomes, and all things magical. The pandemic has brought back memories for me, I remember being eight and watching the news...listening to the adult conversation and being terrified that an unknown enemy (to me) from Vietnam would find me. My eight-year-old mind devised a plan to hide under my bed when the Vietnamese came to our house in Wauwatosa. That I could hide and be safe. I was burdened with fear. I do not wish the children in my care to have a similar burden. I sense my co-workers feel the same because talk about COVID is generally limited to “adults only” time. 

For now, our routine in the Violet Garden remains much like any other summer at LifeWays...lots of time outdoors, healthy meals and being comfy cozy at nap. At lunch, we will continue to talk about birthdays and what we plan to be at Halloween. Even now with all the uncertainty in the world, our children pull us into the future - their future and all the wonder it holds and for that I’m eternally grateful. 

Blessings, Miss Sandra