My First Pony.

My Dearest T and K,

Hello my Darlings.

Today I am going to tell you about my first pony. His name was Pipparus and he was a tiny little white pony. He had a very naughty streak and my mother said it was good to learn how to ride on a naughty pony as he would teach me all kinds of things. That he did! He was so small that he could fit under a fence pole and knew well that I, on his back, could not. He would duck under them to knock me off and I quickly learnt to keep him well away from fence posts. I chuckle as I write this as I can't imagine allowing either one of you to ride on a pony who's best fun is to try to get you off. But... things were different when I was a child.

I entered my first show on Pippy and the judge thought us such a cute combination that she awarded us with a Highly Commended Certificate. I was VERY proud.

Here is a photo of me receiving it...

I was six, the same age that you are now, K. My best friend, Lindy, is on the other pony whose name was Quinella. She had won.

Here is an event I won. It was the Fancy Dress and I dressed up as an American Indian. We made hand prints in colored paint all over his white coat and I had long black yarn plaits and rode without a saddle. We got the winners RED rosette for this outfit. Look at us, how could we not?

I loved Pippy dearly and berated anyone who dared to call him by his nick-name, The Little White Goat.

He taught me to ride well. His naughtiness taught me to anticipate his every move, a skill that is handy even today and one that I try to teach you both.

I love you very much,

Your mom,

Donni

How to Tie Dye.

We have an early summer tradition. We raid our closets for white shirts that aren't so white anymore (chocolate milk, ketchup, coffee stains :-). Also, during the year, if I come across a nice cheap white dress for K, I purchase it in a bigger size and keep it aside too. What do we do with all of these tired old clothes, you ask? We tie dye them of course! We have our own little tie dye party, giving new life to our old stained things.

This is what is needed:

Dyes (found at markets and craft stores - I found mine at Walmart)

Squeeze bottles (found at craft stores)

Rubber bands (craft stores)

White clothes to be dyed.

A dying pot filled with clean cool water (this is the pot I use for all of my dying - I don't use my dye pot for cooking food)

Rubber gloves.

First we wash our clothes. Then, when they are still damp, we tie them up with rubber bands.

Once they are all rubber-banded up, we mix the dye to the dye instructions, put on our gloves, and fill the squeeze bottles. We decide on what color should go where (not an easy decision for a 6 year-old but a very easy one for a 3 year-old!) and squeeze the dye onto the garment.

We love the concentric circle tie dye patterns the best. You can see how we tied K's dress up with rubber bands to get this effect... the dye will not penetrate the white cloth where the rubber bands are tied tightly... thus making the white circle suns.

Here, K wanted to experiment with a whole lot of colorful circles.

When the dye has been applied to each garment, put it in a plastic bag to rest and 'set'.

We also each made a rainbow silk - here is Mr T's... he liked squirting his dye best.

The dye instructions say to leave the dyed garment in the plastic bag for 6-8 hours for maximum color. We, however, wanted our clothes to be gentle colors, so we washed them in HOT water after about 2 hours (besides, it was just too hard to wait much longer!)

Here is K's dress and Mr T's t-shirt. Didn't they turn out wonderfully?

I made them jump for joy, (in an effort to get rid of the spazzy grins in the photo above but included it anyway as it's just too damn funny!)

We left our silks over night and they are much brighter.

We will be a colorful little Rainbow Family this summer.

Blessings and magic,

Donni

Silent Sunday.

I love these special moments in our day.

Blessings and magic for a happy weekend,

Donni

Friday's Nature Table.

Oh, how I LOVE Friday's! You guys bring so much wonderful inspiration to this page... Thank you!!

I encourage everyone to participate... just add your link in the form below and your post will become the next on the list for all to enjoy.

Grab the above Friday's Nature Table button and link it to www.themagiconions.blogspot.com on your blog so that others can find this wonderful resource too.

Blessings and magic to you for sharing today!

Discovering Waldorf - " Waldorf Essentials"

Please welcome Melisa Nielsen to Discovering Waldorf today.

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Waldorf Essentials by Melisa Nielsen

What is essential? It is a question that Rudolf Steiner tells us to ask of ourselves. I have been at this a long time and the word essential always stops me… cold. Of course, like many moms, I love the beauty of a Waldorf home. Simple, clean lines, beautiful wooden toys, beeswax crayons, soft tones. The stage is set for such a warming atmosphere – one where we would all love to curl up and stay. This isn’t Waldorf though – this is materialism. Often when moms can’t have that perfect home they get down, feel depressed or spend every extra dollar on that next wooden toy. Is this essential? I say no. I’ve been at this for many years and yes, we have beautiful play things that we have acquired, we have many of the material desires of the Waldorf heart, but it took me years to obtain them. Looking back, while I was pining for the look of the Waldorf home, I really should have been working on me. The spirit of Waldorf lies not in the toys, not in the trappings, not in beautiful blog posts and afternoons spent sorting through pages of Flickr photos. It isn’t in that wooden castle or in the basket of perfectly sorted and folded play silks. It is in YOU. It is in the striving and more importantly the understanding of Rudolf Steiner’s desire for children. In the book “Rhythms of Learning” by Steiner, co-authored by Roberto Trostli, Robert McDermott writes the foreword. He explains:

“The self-education of adults is essential for the Waldorf approach to educating children, because Waldorf does not consist solely of methods, techniques, or structures, but rather the development of human capacities – those of the children but also, and more importantly, those of teachers and parents.”

This passage sends a strong message that Waldorf education is about really understanding Steiner and his work. The beauty of Waldorf isn’t in what the eye can see – it is in what the heart can feel. When you tap into it at first, your senses are overwhelmed by the visual stimulus – the beauty of the Waldorf playroom or the wonder of the children dancing around when their other schooled peers are playing video games or pretending to be older than they really are. When you begin to pull back the layers and really begin to study the method, your heart starts to understand something that your eyes and brain can not comprehend. Waldorf is a feeling, a knowing and above all it is a TRUSTING. Our mainstream culture does not teach parents to trust, it teaches them to question everything and to forget that faith plays a very large role in parenting. Faith and patience are forgotten virtues in this world of “I-want-it-now” so we must work to cultivate it within ourselves. When we develop our will in a healthy way, our children benefit and we can really begin to live the essentials of Waldorf.

How do we develop this? Inner work is such a huge part. If I had to hang my hat on anything, it would be my connection to God, Source, Goddess… what ever that means for you. Steiner believed that children need this strong connection as well and in this world that continually dulls us, we need that connection to make us sharp again.

In “The Renewal of Education” Steiner writes:

“If one observes children who, through proper upbringing, have developed a natural reverence for the adults around them, and if one follows them through their various phase of life, one may discover that their feelings for reverence and devotion in childhood gradually transform during the years leading to old age. As adults, such persons may have a healing effect on others, so that through their mere presence, tone of voice, or perhaps a single glance they spread inner peace to others. Their presence can be a blessing, because as children they have learned to venerate and to pray in the right way. No hands can bless in old age, unless in childhood they have been folded in prayer.”

This IS the heart of Waldorf. That essential connection to the Divine. This connection allows us to then dream big, set goals, move forward – without the connection, it is all just stuff. In this world of materialism, we must work harder to bring to our children a sense of gratitude, love and duty. A sense of Waldorf. It is in the heart, not the eyes.

What is essential? Steiner believed we all need three basic things: 1) our basic material needs met, 2) to learn how to get along with our fellow man and 3) freedom in education. These are Waldorf essentials. The rest is fluff.

Now, now… I am hearing many of your already – “but wait! This stuff is awesome! It is great! Shouldn’t we have a wonderful natural home?” YES! You should always strive for those things that make your heart sing, always! But… know first your god, then yourself, then your children….cultivate the beauty there….then there is beauty every where.

A line from one of my favorite songs “there is beauty all around, when there’s love at home.”

May this method bless your heart and soul, may you bless others with the knowledge of what you have learned and may your children bless their children because of the great work you have begun.

Much love. Melisa Nielsen

Thank you for your wise words, Melisa. Life is a work in progress and there is always so much to learn. Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts with us. Our own Waldorf adventure has been such a blessing to our family. It has encouraged us to slow down, live in the moment and enjoy everything for what it is. The joy is in the journey.

Melisa runs A Little Garden Flower which provides Waldorf Homeschoolers with all sorts of help and resources, including Waldorf dvd's, consulting and curriculums. She has helped many families homeschool their children happily.

Click here to read the other great articles in the Discovering Waldorf series.

Thank you Melisa,

Blessings and magic to you,

Donni

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Patriotic Fruit Pops.

Aren't Fruit Pops THE BEST? Especially in the hot California summer afternoons, there's only one thing that'll cool you down... a fruit pop.

Here is our 4th of July version.

We used fresh strawberries, sweetened milk and fresh blueberries.

Blend your strawberries.

I know I have those little ice pop trays somewhere but, alas, we couldn't find them. Not to worry, folks, sometimes its more fun to improvise. I used these bottle liners instead.

Pour the pureed strawberry into about a third of the mold.

Set them in the freezer to freeze. When they are set but still a little mushy, insert your ice-cream sticks. The almost-frozen strawberry will hold the stick in place.

When the strawberry layer is well frozen, add a layer of sweetened milk.

Set them back in the freezer for the milk layer to freeze.

When the milk layer is well frozen, add a layer of pureed fresh blueberries and set them back into the freezer to freeze.

Voila! Red, white and blue fruit pops... just the perfect little treat for Independence Day.

We, of course, couldn't wait until then and had to devour our Patriotic Pops the minute they were ready.

Yum, yum, yum!

They sure tasted delicious!!

Blessings and magic,

Donni

Make a Vintage Rag Ball for Independence Day.

I am so grateful to this great country for all she has given us. She welcomed us with open arms, encouraged us to find our place within her flowing skirts and has nourished us with friendship, love and laughter. Although A Good Man and I are immigrants, both of my children were born in California and are very proud to be Americans. Independence Day is a great celebration in our home. Today, we started our celebration by making rag balls in fabric that reminds us of the US colors. We are reading Little House on the Prairie at bedtimes and when I read about the rag balls Ma made, I thought how sweet it would be to make our own. And how pretty they would look as decoration leading up to the 4th of July.

To make our rag balls, we needed:

A ball (tennis balls would do fine but we had these foam balls from a craft store)

fabric

scissors

thumbtacks

hot glue gun

Start by snipping the fabric with scissors, 1 inch apart.

Using the snips, rip the fabric into strips (don't worry about fraying). Tie the ends of your fabric strips together and trim the loose ends.

Use a thumbtack to fasten the end of the fabric ribbon to the ball (if you are using a tennis ball, use your hot glue gun to stick the fabric to the ball as a thumbtack won't work.)

Tightly wind the fabric ribbon around the ball, carefully covering the entire surface. K had to concentrate very carefully to keep the fabric ribbon face side up. It was a great exercise in thinking ahead as she worked the ribbon to cover her ball... it's not as easy as she thought it would be. I was proud of her for sticking with it.

When the entire ball is covered with the fabric, use your hot glue gun to fasten the end of the ribbon onto the ball.

Voila! A precious American ball to play with.

They look wonderful as a centerpiece on my table. Mr T plays with them often and, when he's done, back they go, into their wooden bowl on the table.

Blessings and magic,

Donni

Silent Saturday.

Dandelion Wishes.

Blessings and magic for a happy weekend,

Donni

Friday's Nature Table.

It's Friday again and I look forward to enjoying the nature you have enjoyed. Thank you all so much for sharing your inspirational links.

I encourage everyone to participate... just add your link in the form below and your post will become the next on the list for all to enjoy.

Grab the above Friday's Nature Table button and link it to www.themagiconions.blogspot.com on your blog so that others can find this wonderful resource too.

Discovering Waldorf - "Preserving Childhood"

I am especially happy to welcome Nicole, of the blog Redbeet Mama, to Discovering Waldorf today. There are so many of us who have found ourselves caught up in the tidal wave of consumerism. We are constantly bombarded with messages of 'buy this!'... 'get that!'... 'trade up!' We get swept away without even realizing and then find ourselves empty, hollow, lacking. So many of us know that there is magic out there but wonder if we have strayed too far. As Nicole points out, it is never too late. With will and determination, we can bring ourselves and our families back into the realm of magic, of peace and calm and of simply finding the joy in the everyday moments...

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Preserving Childhood by Nicole of Redbeet Mama

My penchant for living a calm and meaningful lifestyle and my deep desire to preserve my daughters childhood led my family on a magical journey of setting free old thoughts and following a simpler way of life. During my pregnancy with my second child, my husband and I started to practice meditation daily. We were healing from a very traumatic experience shortly after the birth of our first daughter.

My initiation to motherhood was chaotic, scary and full of love and hope. My energy went to my daughter and her medical condition while trying hard not to fall apart. My mind wasn't quiet. I was racing around occupied with errands and activities for the little one not realizing that my home was the heart center of my life. It was where my daughter and I needed to be - to be one with each other and to make our house a home. Through calming our minds and focusing on our breath my husband and I evolved into earth-loving, meditative vegetarians who cut up our credit cards and went on a major plastic purge. I sold all things plastic, chunky, garish and anything that made an unnatural sound on Craigslist. I then went on to sell my fancy baby carriage and heaping bags of name brand baby clothes on eBay. Our family wasn't hurting for money we were hurting to live a more meaningful life. Our mantra had become "The more you live without, the more you live within."

After the birth of our second daughter, my husband's job took us to live in Connecticut. This change allowed me to let go more, start fresh and gave me the confidence to go in the direction of my heart's desires. I was immensely enjoying being a stay at home Mom and I had never been happier in my life... but I wanted to move back home. We moved back to Pennsylvania and wholeheartedly began living a modern-Waldorf-inspired lifestyle in our new condo - perhaps an oxymoron to some. I make it work. I make the effort to spend as much free time outside in nature - everyday. As my husband likes to say, "There is no such thing as bad weather just bad clothes". (He is Norwegian)

The rhythm in our home is free-flowing and revolves around my chores and the little ones needs. I involve them in all that I do and I enjoy the togetherness - sometimes though it requires me to reach deep within - especially when it involves flour!The trick is to feel unhurried and to remember to exhale.

The little ones help me with the laundry and the dishes. They each have their own household routines like pouring the evening tea or watering the flower bed in the morning.

Everything we own has a specific place in our home - this makes clean up easy and the house uncluttered. I believe living with less and living without clutter has made us all happier. I do my best to be mindful and create an environment that is calm and inviting the whole day through. In the morning after breakfast and chores, I warm lavender oil, play soothing music and do handwork with the little ones.

Soon after their handwork the little ones intuitively set off to go on their own to play. I use the expand and contract idea - and it works. After focusing on handwork they like to play freely and energetically. After morning snack we go outside - our day unfolds with this rhythm of inhaling and exhaling - breathing very slowly staying in the moment. They play with seasonal items such as shells, acorns, stones, crystals - anything else they have found in nature and with our much loved handmade toys.

With the proceeds from our plastic purge and clothing sale we invested in a Waldorf play stand, silks, blocks, and a few wooden toys, true luxuries. On most days, while the girls are deeply involved with their play there is a magical energy in our home - a humming that says "do not disturb - this is how childhood is supposed to be." I try not to interrupt them with my adult agenda which is my biggest challenge in setting our pace for the day. I am very mindful of how I plan our outside time, our social time and the time we use to run our errands. As a general rule, the only store I take them to is our local children's consignment shop, health food store and the food market. Stores are just as bad as the media when it comes to interfering with my attempts of preserving our daughter's childhood. The little ones watch very little television. As a family we watch shows like Caillou, Little Bear and nature programs together. I also watch very little TV and when I do the little ones are asleep. This alone has made a huge difference in my life - I am no longer influenced by the media or unnecessarily stressed out by what I see or hear.

The biggest influence in my life and where I gather my inspiration is from my meditation practice, my husband, books, blogs and my Goddess circle. I was meant to take this path. My daughters are happy - our family is happy. It has confused some, but has made sense to me and my husband the entire way. It is possible to go from being trapped in a fast-living, Fisher-Price, Gymboree buying Mama to an in the moment, mindful and calm Redbeet Mama. I blog about the challenges and joys of living a Waldorf inspired lifestyle in a condo, raising my girls, celebrating my inner Goddess ( all woman are Goddesses whether or not they recognize it, I choose to recognize it and it has made me a better wife, mother and self.) My blog is my gratitude journal and allows me to express myself while my little ones sleep and it keeps me focused on my goals of preserving my daughters childhood.

Namaste!

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Thank you, Nicole. It is clear that your words and insights come straight from your heart. I particularly love your quote that "The more you live without, the more you live within." So very true. Thank you for sharing your story and wisdom... may your words inspire others to seek what their hearts desire.

Nicole writes a lovely blog called Redbeet Mama... beautiful words, photos and stories. It is a favorite of many.

Here are the other inspiring articles in the Discovering Waldorf Series.

Blessings and magic to you for sharing today, Nicole.

Donni

World Cup Fever!!

Has your home caught World Cup Fever (or, as they say it in South Africa... Fevah!)? Ours sure has... especially since the host country is my very own homeland, South Africa... the Rainbow Nation. It warms my heart to see the happy images from home. I can't tell you how happy I was that South Africa drew their first game... a win would have been better, of course, but a draw was better than most had expected. I hope like mad that we play 'out of our boots' to advance through the competition. Good luck Bafana Bafana!!

So, in honor of the Soccer World Cup, I have chosen a few treasures from my favorite Etsy shops to share with you...

Here is the Mighty South African Lion from Mama4Earth... isn't he gorgeous!

If you are a supporter of Spain... you'd want this lovely crown in your house from Kats in the Belfry.

And, for all of those Brazilian Babes... these earrings will go wonderfully with your soccer outfit... they are from Skipping Stones.

Of course, I couldn't leave out my new country... the US of A. How cute is this puzzle from Puzzled for your little soccer fan!

Good Luck, All! May your teams do well and may you have fun watching them. I'd love to know who you all support?

Blessings and magic,

Donni

Make a Hold-All for Dad.

On with our handmade Father's Day. What is more special than a little gift, made by the hands of his own sweet child?

We had another episode this morning. I'm sure it happens in your house too... A Good Man was trying to take the children out to breakfast to let Mommy have a little 'alone time' when, alas, he couldn't find his keys. We searched... under cushions, in pockets, next to toilets... 30 minutes later (30 minutes eaten into Mom's 'alone time) we found them, on top of the fridge!

So, after my lovely 'alone time', when A Good Man had gone for his daily run, the kids and I, and K's little God-sister, J, made our dads a special key-bowl for him to always keep his keys in.

We needed:

small balloons

glue

tissue paper

a bowl with a plastic bag inside it (for easy glue cleanup)

scissors

a permanent marker

and flat leaves from the garden (we used clovers as J insisted we needed 'man' flowers for her daddy)

We blew up the balloons.

With the permanent marker, we drew a circle around the balloons for where the top of our bowl would be.

We tore the tissue paper into small squares.

We filled the plastic-bag-covered bowl with glue and mixed in a little water until it was the consistency of light cream.

We put our hands in the delightfully slimy glue...

And finger painted our balloons with glue below the mark we had made.

We then pasted the strips of tissue paper onto the balloon. After the bottom of the balloon was covered in tissue paper, we pasted on a second layer by dipping the tissue paper into the glue so that it would stick nicely.

Then we carefully stuck on our clover leaves.

A last layer of tissue paper over our clover leaves to hold them in place and our balloons were put, upside down, into paper cups to allow our bowls to dry in the sun.

When they were dried we popped the balloons with a pin and our gorgeous bowl kept their shapes. I can never capture this step on film as my kids are too eager to wait for me to get a clear shot... this is always their favorite part of our 'balloon' projects.

With scissors, we trimmed the edges of our bowl so that they look neat...

And, Voila!, our key hold-alls are ready for the big excitement of giving them to Dad.

I hope he uses this gift ALWAYS!

Blessings and magic,

Donni