Lantern Walk 2012

Last evening we were a community of more than 100 gathered in the school yard; children carrying lanterns newly made and parents carrying lanterns recycled from previous years. 

The evening, and the preparation by the children as they make their lanterns and learn the story and songs, is a celebration of St Martin and how he shared his cloak with another whose need was greater; a story that encourages us to be the warmth and light for ourselves and for others.  It is a story of our shared humanity. 

We were led in song by my son's teacher and we sang "High and Blue the Sky" and "I'm Walking With My Lantern" as we circled out of the yard and into the neighbourhood. We walk in silence except for the repetition of these simple songs celebrating hope and kindness and honouring those called to help others and be good in the world.  As the long parade of lanterns returned to the school yard the grade 1 and 2 class shared their musical telling of the story of St. Martin to end our celebration.

When we returned home we placed two more lanterns on our shelves to remind us of the teachings of St. Martin and the warmth and brilliance of this community.

High and Blue the Sky

High and blue the sky, 
trees are very tall, 
wild geese flying seem so small. 
See on silent wings in flocks they go, 
never parting from a single row. 
We go through the land, 
like a wild geese band; 
together in our flight are we.

Clear and dark the night, 
stars are very bright, 
lantern shining seems so small. 
See in single file we walk along, singing joyfully our lantern song. 
We go through the land, like a wild geese band; 
people of one light are we.

May Fair is this weekend!

One day not too long ago, I had occasion to go back to the school after the children had all gone home and the yard was empty - or so i thought. I happened upon the teachers in the yard having their own little May Fair and I grabbed a few moments of the magic with my phone.

I have written about May Fair before and this video includes images from years past.

See you on Saturday!

Celebrating Light and Community

There are two events at school that mark "the holiday season". The first is Winter Fair, a community gathering of music and food, crafts for the kids to make and art and crafts for the adults to purchase. The silent auction represents the generosity of local businesses and often includes books written some or all of the writers who are part of the school community. Many of the vendors are parents or linked to the schools and the cast of musicians includes professional musicians from town, friends of the school and parents - some are all 3.

The school is decorated to the rafters and looks its best for the event.

The teachers of the youngest children prepare a puppet show that runs multiple times over the day. It is a lovely gift of time and attention.

The children make crafts to sell and prepare food to share in the cafe. During the event they are hosts and consumers and run and play as children do at large family gatherings.

Events at this time of year are always tied to some tradition or another but I feel that these events, Winter fair and the Spiral Walk, steer clear of Santa and overt Judeo-Christian imagery and no mention is made of Solstice, Saturnalia or Pagan anything but the event includes a strong infusion of greenery and candle light. The sense of festival, hope and sharing are tradition themselves. In my mind it is the best of the season.

The second event is the Spiral Walk.  The older children walk the spiral with their classes at a different time. Parents do not participate except with the youngest children.

From  a darkened gym drifts music - this year it is piano; other years it has been violin or woodwinds. Inside, taking up much of the floor lies a spiral of pine boughs, a table set with unlit candles and, not visible until fresh-from-outside eyes adjust, in the dark sit silently the parents and older siblings of my son's class.  Eventually we hear the shuffling of feet and hushed but familiar voices outside the door.  The children are led in by the teachers and as they pass the circle of families each joyfully slips onto the lap that belongs to them.  The teachers light the candles and tell us that the candles represent the earth, plants, animals and humans and they tell us an abbreviate summary of the story that has accompanied the lighting of the candles in the class in recent weeks. I am not doing this justice.

One teacher walks to the centre of the spiral and in turn each child walks the spiral of fragrant green boughs and is given a small lantern which they carefully carry on the path that leads out of the spiral. On the way they gently place their lantern on one of the gold stars within the spiral.  This boisterous group of high energy children, barely more than toddlers, are silent and participate with rapt attention.

The dark, the music, the light, the ritual, the coming together, the ceremony create a quietly uplifting meditation on hope and perseverance. I leave feeling more relaxed than I arrived and with renewed strength to continue to find and create pockets of light.

The children are excited to share with us the gingerbread cookies they have made and we all gather in the classroom for cider, cookies and an explosion of energy before the term ends for the holidays.

Lantern Walk 2011

The Story of St. Martin

Once upon a time there was a young man named Martin. He was kind and gentle. One day he was going to the city of Amien. As he walked along the country road he rejoiced at seeing the tall trees with their branches swaying in the breezes and flowers of many colours growing from the ground and at hearing birds chirping and singing.

He said, “The world is good” and felt happy to see the trees and flowers and hear the birds.

The sun shone down on him and he felt its warmth on his shoulders.

Soon he came to the gate of the city of Amien. He walked through a large archway. The sun was fading and it began to get dark so he lit his lantern. As he walked along he came upon a man crouched on the ground shivering and cold with hardly any clothes on. Martin took off his cloak, tore it in two and laid one half over the shivering man and gave him his lantern so he would have warmth and light.

Then he went on until he came to his place of rest and lay down on his bed and went to sleep. While he slept he had a dream. In his dream there was an angel who said, “Thank you for giving part of your coat to the shivering man and your lamp so he could have warmth and light. Your name shall be St. Martin.  Again and again St. Martin gave clothing to those who were cold and food to the hungry and light to those in need.

Ritual and Reverence

I do not experience Waldorf as religious but I do feel the grounding and connecting effect of ritual and reverence.

There is a great deal of ritual in Waldorf education - whether it is the daily and weekly "rhythms' or the community events that mark the annual calendar, things happen in a predictable and comforting way.

As my daughter entered grade 1 this year I was moved to be standing in the circle of the school community with other parents, children and teachers all of whom had gathered to welcome the children to the grade school in word and song.  Each child was given a flower by a student in the graduating class with whom they had been paired, a gift that will be returned at the end of the year when those same students prepare to leave for high school.  On that first day my daughter and her classmates crossed the threshold into their formal education by passing under an arch of boughs held by their teachers from Kindergarten and in turn they each leaped joyfully into their education.



This week the families and teachers of the younger grades gathered in the dark, in the post-Hallowe'en bleakness, for the 'lantern walk'.  This early evening gathering is in celebration of St Martin and the story of how he shared his cloak with another whose need was greater. It is a simple event that honours the act of being a spark of light in the dark night, a spark of light in the world. It is a story that encourages us to be that warmth and light for ourselves and for others.  The opportunities to make this 'religious' or tied to the story of a faith tradition are there, but they are avoided in favour of a story of our shared humanity.

To meet in the dark of the late autumn night, on the brink of winter, with others - to walk in silence except for the repetition of a simple song celebrating hope and kindness and being called to help others and be good in the world - is an act of reverence.

I'm walking with my lantern,
My lantern walks with me.
Above the stars are shining,
Below are shining we.

The night is cold and dark and dim
Ra bimbel, ra bumbel, ra bimm.

May Fair 2010

May Fair is the smaller, less intense cousin of Winter Fair.  6 months apart each event feels like the best of the season for me.  May Fair is just a lovely time in the yard.  It marks a turn in the season, a chance for people to get together, a time for the kids to run with their friends in the yard, get their faces painted or make some crafts, an excuse to share some good food, the opportunity to do a little bit of shopping (beautiful blocks and a pink play cape for us this year) and hear some great music. Oh, yea and participate in, or watch, the May Pole.


Both Winter Fair and May Fair accentuate the sense of the school as community. I am sure this is the same for school events at all schools.


We are a small family, with extended family out of town and no strong religious affiliation so the school provides an important sense of community for us.  It is a place where the children know each others parents and siblings, where last years skates are handed on to the younger sibling of a classmate. It is a place for on-the-fly parenting support/advice and commiseration. It provides a sense of being connected and known in context.


I think a sense of being part of a community, a classroom community, a school community can be the roots of citizenship.  When we learn how to participate in a group beyond our immediate families, we are practicing being in the world. When children see their parents baking for the bake sale, digging garden beds, or creating the school's website and when parents rush from work to be part of the audience for the end of year assembly we are learning and showing how to be in community, in society.


It is nice to be outside with our children and other families, it is fun to make crafts, listen to music and eat good food - and it is important too.