What IS eurythmy??

What IS eurythmy?

If you had asked me last week I would have said eurythmy had something to do with dancing and scarves, or maybe dancing with playsilks… clearly I had not the faintest idea what eurthymy was.  I knew it to be “one of those Waldorf things,” a hardcore Waldorf thing, and it was a bit of a mystery to me, one that I was fine with not knowing too much about.

This week I know enough to know how wrong I was to dismiss this important aspect of Waldorf education. Having participated in the workshop last weekend I can now say that eurythmy has to do with music and movement and language and evokes a strong sense of connection with others in the group.  Our school hosted a 1/2 day workshop with a guest eurythmist who led us through a series of eurythmy exercises that served to instruct and to whet our appetites for more.

I can now imagine how eurythmy in a curriculum would support the introduction of literacy in grades 1 and 2 and the whole body experience of learning to read and write in a Waldorf curriculum. And it was fun.

Waldorf education is rich with stories and the children learn to feel the rhythm, images and music in the spoken word.  In a second session a professional stage and screen actor coached us to pay greater attention to language, the words we use, and the ways in which they embody the essence of the thing they represent.  I came away with a new sense of how I might begin to speak in ways that support the intention of my words and strengthen my connection to both language and audience. I also feel a greater sense of gratitude that my children are learning not just the content of the words they use, but the power and meaning of them.

After looking for a video that captured my experience of the workshop these 2 came the closest. You can see why I linked it with scarves.  I am not so sure I can say that eurythmy is an art form for watching so much as I feel like it was a fun group activity and one that is rooted in the movement, language and music already so central to a Waldorf curriculum.

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.

Participation

There is no doubt that the sense of community around the school appeals to me.

One of the things that builds a sense of belonging for me is the opportunity to participate, to be involved. Real involvement, not selling chocolate bars or cheese or magazine subscriptions - those are a special form of torture, just for parents.  They ask very little and mean about as much. Real involvement asks something of us - time, creativity, commitment and caring.  In return we receive a sense of connection, belonging, and ownership.

Involvement means many things - choosing to teach here, sharing gifts of music and art, helping with reading in the classroom, skating with the class, baking (and baking some more!), building and repairing things, being part of committees, attending the craft circles and making things for Winter Fair, going on field trips or worrying about the finances like they were your own.  The list is endless and it really starts with caring about the school and doing what one can. Participation changes over time - from each according to their ability. Time and financial constraints are a form of ability and the school seeks to make room for all abilities.  The is no pressure if now is not the time to participate, we all ride the ebb and flow of life with children.

The school is a labour of love that starts with the teachers and ripples out to include everyone. It is not a product to be purchased, it is an enterprise. Within the word enterprise are notions of  purpose, undertaking, adventure, complication, risk, scope and significance, effort and boldness. It feels good to be part of such an enterprise and I believe it is good for my children to see me participating in something larger than us, something with optimistic and altruistic goals. Just as the children benefit from meaningful work, so too do I.

Through want of enterprise and faith men are where they are,

buying and selling, and spending their lives like serfs.

Henry David Thoreau

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.

NOP

If you live in Kingston you know what this means.
It means that we are part of the vibrant community around Skeleton Park.

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.

The First Day of School

Last year I wrote about Ritual and Reverence and included the first day of school as both a ritual and an act of reverence:
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.

I was moved by this simple ceremony again this year.  Joining us were new children and new families. Missing from the circle were families that had moved away.  As I looked around the circle I saw all of standing there together and I thought of all that had happened within this community of people in the last year, the multiple ways in which we come to know each other by sharing the experience of being a school community.  Some had suffered losses that touched us all.  We had also acknowledged and celebrated the successes and joys, big and small. These events happened in the context of the school community and connected us further - as friends. 


The school year began with parents and children joining with teachers and staff to mark the beginning of the year, to welcome new students and teachers, to hear what the work of each class will be over the year and to celebrate the teachers who will create the magic that is learning. We also gathered to shine a special light on the children entering into the grade school.  Under an arch of sunflowers, the students and teachers passed from the communal space of the yard, into their classroom homes. New students were welcomed with a potted plant to care for. My daughter returning to a new grade but to  her classroom with her teacher - the same as last year. She was carrying the plant she had been given to care for at the beginning of last year; returning to her desk where her coloured pencils and crayons waiting for her, her knitting project was also waiting in the classroom.  


Ready for the new but eased and comforted by the familiar, there had been very little anxiety or nervousness associated with the beginning of the school year, my daughter knew what to expect. We parents, left in the yard, paused for a few moments to let the emotion runs its course, and to share with each other how surprisingly moving it all is every year.

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.