Articles

Cooking With Kids

Our children have been involved with helping prepare meals for a few years now. Initially it was my husband's idea, and I was hesitant to share my kitchen and deal with the mess! But by working one-on-one with my four older children, they are now capable of making meals by themselves. More...

A Fun Way to Design Your Garden

by guest writer Lizet Frijters, textile artist

I am an avid gardener, always keen to learn more, either from other people or from my own observations.

Starting a garden can bring about many questions, and to be able to fully enjoy it there is usually a lot to consider, especially if we aim for a sustainable garden. Getting the most out of our garden is easier if we design it well. More...

The Importance of Toys

Toys:
Children don’t require a lot of toys, but the few they need should be of good quality and well chosen. These toys need to be ‘open ended’ which means each toy presented has multiple uses. This lets the child use the toy as a tool in their imaginative play. More...

Journey to My Light Within

by guest writer Melissa of Rainbow Made Toys

Who am I, and how am I going to parent and educate these two children?
This is the question I asked myself three years ago, looking at our toddler and newborn. I needed direction; I needed to find the light that was going to guide me through this new stage of life.
A chance ad. in a newspaper led me to a local hall and in that hall I found Steiner playgroup. From the morning circle that was filled with verses and songs that created beautiful images to the toys made from wool, wood and natural cottons to the parents who I connected with instantly. Okay, they were not on the homeschooling journey with me but they had a parenting style that was in tune with what was in me. No university degree in Early Childhood gave me what those parents gave me in that first morning of playgroup. They gave me my light! More...

Home Growing - Gardening with Children

A garden is a place to play, learn, explore, work, relax and connect with nature and each other. Supervised babies and toddlers usually enjoy time touching and eating things in the garden. Talk about your surroundings as you show them things. Being outdoors provides health benefits and promotes calm, and growing some of your own food is the ultimate way to interact with the earth. Gardening is dirty work, though, so avoid any fuss about mess by wearing appropriate clothing for the job. More...

The Four Temperaments

I first came across discussion of The Four Temperaments in writings about Waldorf and Steiner education. I therefore thought that they were a development of Steiner’s – an anthroposophical teaching. I have since discovered references to the temperaments through history. The concept of temperament is thought to have emerged with Hippocrates dividing humanity into four basic groups around 450 BC. He saw the root of one’s temperament as being derived from the humours (bodily fluids) dominant in the body: blood (sanguine), bile from the liver (choleric), phlegm (phlegmatic) and bile from the kidneys (melancholic). Amongst the ancient astrologers and philosophers individuals were classed according to the elements of the natural order too: respectively air, fire, water and earth. More...

Left or Right Brained?

This concept was first popular in the 1970s when it was accepted that the left hemisphere of the brain controlled analysis and accuracy, while the right side was responsible for aesthetics and feeling. Of course, we use both hemispheres of our brains all the time. They interact with each other in complex ways and cooperate with other parts of the brain as well. The theory suggests though, that we all have a preference for one or the other hemisphere’s apparent functions. More...

Articles Copyright © Belinda Moore, Melissa Lennon, Lizet Frijters 2000-2010
Not to be reproduced without permission.