Tuesday, February 19, 2013

February

Groundhog in your hole so deep,
Lift your head and take a peep,
If your shadow makes you leap,
Curl back up and go to sleep.

Dear Spindlewood Parents,

Now that the light of day is increasing, the class seems to be "waking up" from our midwinter dream. We have carried the mood of Christmas for 40 days with our Three King Play, but I think that the children would have been happy to carry it on for another forty, never seeming to tire of donning the capes and crowns and the astronomer’s pointed cap. During this sweet quiet (well relatively) time, each child has been sewing with colored floss on an embroidery hoop. (Sharp needles require focused attention.) Now we are removing the cloth from the hoops and fringing the edges so that they will serve as candle mats. And now that the weather is a bit warmer, and the children are running and playing out of doors, we have found a large sapling to saw into slices to drill as candle sticks. We hope to be sending the completed set home with each child by Valentine’s Day. I hope they find a place at your dinner table or bedside stand.

We will observe Valentine’s Day on Wednesday, February 13 with our tradition of posting a heart "mailbox" for each child in the mudroom. We invite children to bring a homemade valentine for each of their 13 classmates that day. A simple heart cut from paper will do nicely. (Please no candy.) Your child can sign each card with his or her name or symbol. Whoever brings your child that morning can see that one valentine is placed in each of the "mailboxes". I will send home a list of children’s names and symbols just in case your child enjoys seeing and recognizing the letters and symbols.

February Break is February 19-21. There is no school that week.

Please save the date of Thursday, February 28 for a Parent Evening from 6:30-8pm. We hope that at least one parent from each family will be able to attend. I will present a description of a "Day in the Life of Spindlewood Kindergarten" so that you can get a sense of the dynamics and activities of the entire class. I would like to say a few words also about the social development of the 3-6 year old, and what Waldorf schools look for as "first grade readiness". Then when I meet with you during the first week of March for a Parent-Teacher Conversation, we will have a context in which to consider your child’s development.


Next weekend, Miss Elisa and I travel to Sunbridge Institute in Spring Valley, NY for a Waldorf Early Childhood Conference. She and I have been preparing by studying the recent book Under the Stars: Foundations of Steiner Early Childhood Education by Renate Long-Breipohl, the keynote speaker. We are both excited and enthusiastic about what is always an inspiring assembly.

All our best,
Susan

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