Homeschooling Classes - Woodworking, Music, Art, Handwork

We are very excited about our upcoming homeschooling classes in Davis, CA! Winter term begins January 26, 2016. Registration is available online at www.wholisticlearningresources.net. 

We also travel and teach workshops for homeschooling groups, parents and teachers! Contact us for more information on scheduling workshops near you.

Homeschool Classes Offered in Davis!

Announcement from Wholistic Learning Resources

WLR is coming to Davis!

WLR is pleased to announce our new classes in Davis, California!

The new classes will be taught by two outstanding teachers and Waldorf enthusiasts: Rick & Jennifer Tan. Please join me in welcoming the Tans to Wholistic Learning Resources!

I met the Tans a number of years ago and Jennifer was actually one of the teachers at WLR  during our first semester of classes in 2010. Soon after, however, the Tans relocated to Davis. I am excited to be working with them again at our new location at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Davis.

The new classes include Nature Notebook Journaling, Art, Handwork and Music. The Tans are talented, experienced teachers who bring a wealth of knowledge, joy and beauty to everything they do. In addition, they are experienced homeschoolers themselves and are flexible in their approach to education.

Classes will be held on Tuesdays, beginning September 15 and will run for 10 weeks. View the schedule for more details.

Homeschooling Again...Joy!

Ancient Humans - Watercoloring Stonehenge

Geometry - Pentagons and pentagrams

We have decided to homeschool at least one more year with our son Wilson.  He is currently considered a 5th grader, so we are joyfully jumping into all things ancient, while continuing to deepen our understanding of botany that we started at the end of last year. We are using Earthschooling, Teaching Textbooks (math), Story of the World, and an eclectic mix of books, field trips, and our own projects. Some highlights from our first couple of weeks.

Botany - Growing seeds indoors and then transplanting into the Fall garden

Botany - Identifying plants during a hike to Boiling Spring Lake in Drakesbad within the Lassen Volcanic National Park

PE - Tap dancing with siblings and Mommy

Art - Watercoloring a scene from our camping trip to Lake Almanor

Botany - Crayon drawing the stages of plants

Learning Anatomy Through Art

Learn the cross-hatching technique as you draw muscles and bones of the human body! Dr. Rick Tan shows you how in a video available in our Etsy shop and at the Bearth Institute.

Appropriate for grade 8 Waldorf on up, although artists, homeschoolers, and those interested in anatomy will enjoy it at a variety of ages. The picture featured here is from our 8th grade daughter, Joey.

Making a Gnome Calendar

It has been a crafty summer here at Syrendell!  

We spent an inspired weekend at the Griffin Dyeworks Dye and Fiber Retreat in Castaic, CA.  Camping, spinning, teaching Tunisian crochet, weaving, dyeing, coppersmithing and so much more!  Truly a treat for all people interested in learning more about fiber arts in a relaxed setting. 

Next, we spent 4 weeks teaching, leading and assisting at the Davis Waldorf School Summergarden camp.  Week 1: Knitting, crochet, lucet; Week 2: Spinning, weaving, kumihimo; Week 3: Plant-dyeing, wetfelting, needlefelting; Week 4: Papercrafting and sewing.  Children also participated in gardening and wholesome food preparation.  


Now, we are enjoying crafting at home.  Joey is spinning yarn to earn $ for her upcoming 8th grade trip.  Her yarns are available at www.syrendell.etsy.com and by custom order (email: info@syrendell.com).  Ricky has been helping get our craft/music room reorganized (a thrilling and scary task!).  

Wilson and Mommy created a calendar with gnomes.  This was inspired by one that we had seen made by Mama Roots a while back, one of our favorite Etsy shops.  First, we ordered a wood ring from Joshua Rutherford of Honoring Fallen Trees.  He makes them out of beautiful hardwoods in different colors.  We chose maple.  Next, we selected 12 special little wood people.  We talked about the 12 months of the year, the 4 seasons, and the colors and symbols that represent the seasons.  


Next, Wilson chose colored pieces of felt for each month and matching embroidery threads.  With some embroidery assistance from Mommy and sister Joey, little gnome hats were sewn.  

Wilson painted the gnomes the color of each season and then sealed them with beeswax polish as they dried.  Hats were glued onto the gnomes.  Now, we will play games, tell stories, create math problems, and talk about the months of the year in Spanish and English with our beautiful gnome calendar!

Birth Photos and Art

Pregnancy and birth are a journey to remember.  This pregnancy, we are taking a lot of pictures and forming a baby book from 5 weeks pregnancy, on. 

5 Weeks

18 Weeks

Part of the baby book will feature artwork.  What do we think of when we say, "pregnant", "baby", "birth"?  Each person in the family has a different outlook -- a personal interpretation of what this special time means for us.


39-40 Weeks

Each of us created a piece of artwork by drawing over the past couple of months.  Once the baby is born, we will do this again.  It is fascinating to see the differences in the styles, medium choices and content. 

We look forward to including these beautiful pieces of artwork in the baby's book after she is born!

Wilson's Birth Art - Colored Pencils

Joey's Birth Art - Colored Pencils

Ricky's Birth Art - Pencil

Jennifer's Birth Art - Block Crayons

Rick's Birth Art - Oil Pastels

Birthday Rings

We have always wanted a birthday ring that we could also use on our nature table for festival celebrations, including Advent.  One of our local Waldorf dads handcrafts these beautiful rings and sells them in his Etsy shop.  We asked for one unfinished so that we could paint it ourselves!

The wood is sycamore which is already so beautiful on its own.  We tested out how it would look on our kitchen table and in our nature table area.

Wilson and Mommy decided to paint rainbow colors using our Stockmar watercolors.  Then, we polished them with natural beeswax polish. 

Now, the birthday ring is ready!  It's so beautiful, we have it out in the kitchen right now.  When the new baby is born around October, we will use it to celebrate the birth with a candle.

Kerelaion -- a new eBook and art technique

We are very excited to introduce an artistic medium that includes a combination of wax, oil and aromatherapy.  Create beautiful, ethereal artwork using the Kerelaion technique!

 

Our eBook includes a list of supplies, directions on the technique, when and how to use this with children and as a therapeutic technique, a verse, and beautiful color pictures. "Kerelaion" means wax-oil in Ancient Greek.

Wonderful to experience by yourself, for homeschooling, or with groups of children and adults.

The eBook will be emailed to you as a PDF file within a day upon receipt of order and payment.  Available through our blog, website and Etsy shop.

New Workshops!

New workshops are scheduled for 2011!  Come and join Syrendell to learn more about handwork, art and aromatherapy.  Workshops are held in Davis, California unless otherwise noted.  Davis is about 20 minutes from Sacramento and 1.5 hrs. from San Francisco.  We also travel and teach!  Email us to schedule a workshop near you.

To see the upcoming schedule and register: www.syrendellacademy.com

February 6
Felting 10-12
Spinning 1-3

March 6
Beginning Crochet 10-12
Tunisian Crochet 1-3

April 3
Beginning Knitting 10-12
Wet-On-Wet Watercoloring 1-3

Waldorf Watercolor Postcard Giveaway!

Please visit Jen Dimonte's beautiful blog, Ancient Hearth this weekend!  If you leave a comment, you will be entered to win one of Rick's postcards.

Watercoloring DVD Available

Our wet-on-wet watercoloring video is now available in DVD format!  Click here to order.  A wonderful resource for learning how to teach children ages 3-12 this artistic technique.