Tips & tools to support your homeschooling program.

The recent discovery of the mass graves at the Kamloops Indian Residential School site has spurred us to want to engage in conversation about how we can support truth & reconciliation. To that end, we share some thoughts on how to talk to your children about Residential schools. The below excerpt is from our Grade 4 Wonder of Local Geography unit.​

Geography demonstrates the interconnectedness of our world: the people, animals, plants, climate and geographical locality and how each aspect supports and influences the others. It is a time of experiencing the wholeness of life and how we all belong together on the earth. It isn't easy to separate Geography from the history of an area, so it makes sense for us to combine them. Your child will have opportunities to take their developing critical eye and apply it to form opinions and judgements around the historically unfair treatment of Indigenous populations in the province/state where you live. As your child is still young and immersed in the feeling realm, we must bring this history in delicate and age-appropriate ways. Stories with perspectives of Indigenous youth are helpful when wanting to relay more adult facts. It is also necessary to remember that there are many years for your child to learn some of the more difficult and disturbing facts around Residential Schools and Reservation life. From our experience as teachers of elementary school-aged children, when choosing what topics to address about the mistreatment of Indigenous people, it is very impactful for your child to hear that many children were separated from their parents, or had their hair cut, and were forced to stop speaking their language and had cultural traditions stripped away. Depending on your child's age and family history, you can decide when it is the right time to address sexual abuse and violence. ​

HOW WE HEAL FROM THE PAST

Whether one individual has been hurt by another or an entire culture was hurt by another culture, the process of healing is the same. First, the painful action has to be acknowledged. That means that the person/group that made the mistake must acknowledge or admit that a mistake was made. They must admit that they did something that hurt another. This is the first step. It helps the person who was wronged feel better. After the acknowledgment, there is the truth about the situation, the truth of what the action was that was hurtful, and the truth of how it made the person/group feel. From this point, there can be a heartfelt apology. This can make the person who was wronged feel heard. This is an important step. After the apology, the hurt person must find a place to forgive the other. If we hang on to the hurt for too long, it is not healthy. We need resilience to heal. Do you know what resilience means? It's a quality that helps you bounce back from bad experiences. We all face bad experiences from time to time, and we all need the ability to return to our peaceful and happy place. This takes resilience. With all these parts in place, healing can begin. 

Share with your child about the steps that your province is taking in the process of healing from this cultural trauma. Explain what stage the province is at regarding fair treatment now and apologizing for the past decisions. What are the challenges, hopes and dreams for the future of your province?

It can feel paralyzing when we don't know what to do to help or to heal.  Here are some helpful websites to learn how to be part of positive change.

• ​Truth & Reconciliation Commission of Canada
• Settlers Take Action
• 11 Books to Teach Kids About Residential Schools

We encourage families to recognize the passage of time and the seasonal rhythms through festival celebrations.  Festivals provide an opportunity for your community to unite and share wonder, reverence and gratitude.  May Festival celebrates the awakening of the earth, the lengthening of days, and the rebirth of nature around us.  We celebrate this time of growth with joyous song and dance, playful games and a community picnic.

Traditionally May Festivals are celebrated on May 1st, but we have always found that using the early weeks of May to prepare and then holding the festival later in the month works too.  And if you're homeschooling, you can be as flexible as you like.

Here are some ways you can bring a May Festival to your homeschooling community.

• Connect with others in your area, for example, on the Daily Wonder Facebook Group to organize your festival.
• Plan to safely meet at a park and have everyone bring a picnic lunch.
• Gather ivy, braided wool and flowers to make May crowns.​

Earth who gives to us this food,
​Sun who makes it ripe and good,
​Sun above and earth below,
​Thanks for all that you bestow.

Thank you dear earth for the ground that I stand on.
​Thank you dear sun for your warmth and your light.
Thank you dear wind for your pleasant cool breezes.
Thank you dear rain for the cool of the night.

The silver rain, the shining sun,
The fields where scarlet poppies run,
And all the ripples of the wheat,
Are in the bread that I do eat.
​So when I sit for every meal,
And say a grace I always feel,
​I am eating rain and sun, 
And fields where scarlet poppies run.

2. Yes, it's not your own dog's poop, but pick it up anyways if you see it on your walk.
3. Ditch the paper towels, use a cloth instead.
4. Refuse the plastic straw and carry your own reuse-able ones.
5. Donate old clothing and household items to your local thrift stores, free stores or shelters.
6. Buy local, support local businesses and cut down on environmental shipping costs.
7. Choose sustainable products.
8. Grow a garden, even just one pot with a plant on your window sill if you don't have a yard.

More than 1 billion people now participate in Earth Day activities each year, making it the largest civic observance in the world. For more information, visit www.earthday.org

The Easter Bunny
A charming, simple story about how the Easter Bunny learned how to deliver eggs. http://happywhimsicalhearts.com/2016/03/easter-bunny-rabbits/ This website has really great resources on further ways to celebrate the seasons, ways to bring Waldorf into the home, etc.

Egg Dying 
Natural dyed eggs are usually a 2 day project. To prepare, collect leaves and flowers, and secure them to the eggs using panty hose or cheese cloth (they work best when freshly picked, as maleable and moist sticks best to the eggs). After they have sat in the dye, the wrapping is removed revealing the beautiful stamp of the chosen flower or leaf.

If you're not so keen on the chemicals in store-bought Easter egg dye, try these nine all-natural options. Each features a colouring agent — a vegetable, fruit juice, or spice — that gives colour to hard-boiled eggs.

Passover (Pesach in Hebrew) is a Jewish holiday that celebrates the Hebrews' liberation from slavery by the great prophet Moses. Moses would not have survived to free his people, had it not been for the cleverness of his sister Miriam. She set him in a basket on the river Nile, and watched over him until the Pharaoh's daughter found him and took him home to be her own son. 

In this way, Moses survived the dangerous times in Egypt, and grew up with a deep compassion for the Jewish people. In his adult years, he fulfilled his destiny to guide the Jewish people out of slavery in Egypt, to form a covenant with God through the Ten Commandments. 

Miriam, perhaps the only woman in the bible, who is not referred to as someone's mother or daughter, has, in more recent times, taken a place of honour at the Passover Seder. As Jewish celebrations and rituals become modernized to fit our new levels of awareness, we turn to the women of the Bible stories, choosing to elevate them to places of importance. In modern Jewish rituals, when the Seder, or religious dinner ritual takes place, many families choose to include Miriam as one of the sacred guests. A cup is filled with water, in her honour, and songs and stories are shared to celebrate her strengths. 

What a wonderful time we live in, where we can honour the importance of the feminine, and include it in a ritual that was formed thousands of years ago. 

Here are some ways you can learn more about Miriam and celebrate her as well.

Sing Miriam's Song
A beautiful song depicting the spirit of women now and in ancient days.  Here are the lyrics so you can sing along:​

We are now experiencing some days that bring a subtle breeze telling us that we have turned a corner and spring is approaching. 

We can feel joyful feelings awakening within us, feelings that bring a hope that naturally comes with rebirth. 

We are reminded of our resilience, the inner strength that we have to carry our souls inwardly through the dark months. We are always being, and always becoming. Each moment necessarily creates the next, and we are creating a dance with the world. The joy of spring is a joy that unites our souls with the world. We, together, feel hope, faith and comfort in the return of the light.
 
How do you experience the approaching spring in your soul life?

The following inspiration is taken from: Weekly Meditations-Rudolf Steiner's Calendar of the Soul Intentions by Patsy Scala
The joy of becoming arises
Out of the world's womb,
Quickening the senses' brilliance
Mat it find my force of thinking,
Fortified by the divine powers
Living powerfully within me.

Intention: This week, I will feel within my soul the burgeoning joy of knowing that rebirth is possible at any stage of my life, and I will allow my soul to dance with the becoming of the seasons. I will experience the inner optimism that this brings.

Here is a little snippet from the overview of the Daily Wonder Greek Mythology unit.

The Year 5, Month 7 unit, The Wonder of Greek Mythology, offers wonderful "soul food" for Grade 5 children. The myths of the Greek gods and goddesses offer rich characters and drama. Studying the Greek myths also allows children to see how deeply these myths are embedded in our culture and are often referenced in our arts and entertainment.  It is deeply nourishing and educational when children understand the roots of Ancient Greece and Greek Mythology, and therefore have a deeper connection when references are made in modern comics, television and movie culture. This unit also provides an opportunity to learn about Greece's geography, the Greek alphabet, the Olympics, the Greek connection to the English language, poetic odes and hexameter, grammar and writing development, and artistic work. 

The Grade Five student is considered at the "Golden Age" of childhood. They are balancing at this moment between childhood and puberty. There is grace, capability, and earnestness in this balance between two worlds. There was a time in Ancient Greece's history that was known as the "Golden Age'. Humanity was standing, poised and balanced between a dreamy child-like consciousness and a wakeful, intellectually capable consciousness. At this meeting point, the Greeks emerged as the ultimate example of grace, beauty, athletic ability, and intellectual and philosophical thought. The fact that the work produced thousands of years ago is still so highly esteemed is a tribute to the achieved greatness. Grade 5 children, standing in their Golden Age, must be inspired by greatness of such a high calibre. They must feel the call to their best work and their best effort. It will be through their artistic endeavours, their poetic writing and recitation, and their athletic efforts that they will feel their power, grace and inner beauty shining forward. This time in their life and the depth of their abilities provide them with a deep feeling of confidence and trust that will carry them into puberty and beyond. 

Questions to ask before the unit begins: What is my connection to Greek Mythology? What do I hope to gain from bringing this unit to my child? What do I hope that my child gains? 
 
Questions to ask at the end of the unit: What new connections did I make with this material? What wonder did I discover about Greek Mythology and its influence that still exists today? How did my child receive these lessons? What wonder was inspired? 

Ohhh! The long and drawn out days of winter!!  

We've got this! You've got this! 

Haven't we done this so many times before? Made it through the darkness of winter?! Yet, why does it feel so difficult at times? 

When nature is sleeping, it is like a death on the earth. Without the glory of nature to lift our Spirits, we must each do it for ourselves, and for each other. 

It is actually exactly what is being asked of us each year, at this time. That we recognize how powerful we truly are. Even though all of nature is deeply asleep, we humans are soulfully wide awake. We are learning, reflecting, remembering, thinking, feeling, creating, connecting and loving. 

We are truly amazing beings!!

The following inspiration is taken from: Weekly Meditations-Rudolf Steiner's Calendar of the Soul Intentions by Patsy Scala
The world threatens to numb
My soul’s inherent powers.
Therefore, step forth memory,
Shining from depths of spirit,
Strengthen my vision
That only by strength of will
Is able to sustain itself.

Intention: This week, when I feel the tiredness of too much winter, I will remember that, within this winter, I am the one, through my inner spirit, who supplies the warmth and the light that sustain me.