Autumn Gardening!

Gardening in the Autumn can be tricky in Northern California. Sometimes, the heat continues through October making it hard to pull out the tomatoes, peppers and basil. Other weeks, it is cool and crisp and feels like time to plant greens and root veggies.  Here we are back in early September, planning the garden plots after pulling out most of the summer veggies.

We select a garden plot each year to fill with a cover crop, like fava beans, to provide nutrients to the soil.  Hopefully, the beans and peas will grow up into our handmade tepees from branches that our neighbors cut down. Grow, little fava beans!

Adding sweet soil from the bottom of our compost pile helps revive the raised garden beds. Our compost pile is hidden by the fence near our meditation spiral.  The spiral is filled with new golden leaves each morning!  This is the view from our bedroom window each morning.

We have learned that certain crops just do not grow well from seed here, so we plant some seedlings -- broccoli, onions and cauliflower.  The garden gnome watches over our progress.

We are going to add some flowers for beauty and color to invite the elementals to stay! Sometimes, we do better planting in pots and barrels like this one, filled with celery, strawberries, pansies and nasturtiums.

Time to sing as we garden!

I dig, dig, dig

And plant some seeds

I rake, rake, rake

And pull some weeds

I bend and watch

And soon I know

My garden sprouts

And starts to grow!

Making an Autumn Wreath - Transformation

Taking children on a nature hunt as the seasons change is a wonderful way to honor the plants and the new season.  During Autumn, we enjoy collecting acorn caps, oak balls, dried flowers and rose hips, while marveling at the changing colors of leaves and wild grasses in the preserved pond area near our home.  The landscape has truly transformed!

Once we collected a variety of dried flowers, we decided to create a beautiful wreath for our front door, welcoming autumn into our home.  A bit of Feng Shui included -- wreaths are a way to bring positive energy to your family life.

Supplies:

1.  Two gauges of wire
2.  Wire cutters
3.  Variety of dried flowers, herbs, rose hips
4.  Optional: ribbons and other embellishments (we chose to keep this wreather all natural with no ribbons)

We started off making a circle out of a thicker wire, and then cut pieces of thinner wire for wrapping.

 















Long pieces of sage were placed around the circle and tied on with bits of wire. 

Then, we added dried flowers, berries and rose hips. 

Eventually, there was enough wire wrapped so that all we had to do was stick the plants into the wreath and they would stay. 

We'll add and change out some of the plant material as ithe wreath dries over time, and as we continue on our nature hunt adventures!  

It was exciting to see the rose bushes so transformed from flowers to hips...we wonder what we will find on our next trip! 

Autumn Nature Tables

Autumn is a favorite time for us when it comes to creating nature tables.  Going on nature hunts for rose hips, fallen leaves, oak balls, dried herbs, and acorns is part of the fun! 

We read books about the harvest, gnomes, and the changing of the seasons as the root children begin their descent into the Earth.

We celebrate Michaelmas and bring out pumpkins in anticipation of Halloween.

Rainbow summer colors, green leaves, and ocean waves disappear as hues of orange, gold, eggplant and brown appear.  A time to celebrate the cooler weather and a time of rest and contemplation.

October Enrichment Guide is Here!

Four Full Weeks of Waldorf Crafting, Verses, Songs, Stories, Recipes, Caregiver Meditations, Adult Inner Work and Seasonal Celebrations.  Syrendell is a contributor each week! HUGE E-Book! (OVER 100 pages!)

Week One, October - Birds, Showing Kindness
~Learn and Share New Songs with the Children
~Read Books of Birds and Kindness
~Sew a Bird Mobile
~Participate in Seven Days of Increasing Kindness
~Make Birdseed Pinecones
~Learn a 'Sweet Song' on the Pennywhistle or Flute and Listen to the MP3 Version Sent Along with Your Ebook
~Craft a Beautiful 'Kindness Egg'
~Meditate on Cultivating Kindness in Your Life and the Lives of Others


Week Two, October - Woodworking, Honesty
~Sing Fun Songs as you Tap, Tap,Tap during Woodworking Week
~Read Books to the Children about Woodworking and Honesty
~Create Gorgeous Wooden Trees for Play or to Adorn Your Nature Table
~Read a Sweet Sparkle Story about a Wish Crystal - Included in Your Purchase is also a Link to the MP3 Version of this story by Master Storyteller, David Sewell McCann
~Carve Wooden Snails for the Children
~Spend Time this Week Listening Honestly to the Way You Communicate
Week Three, October - Cornhusks, Humility
~Make Beautiful Cornhusk Candle Holders
~Read Books of the Season and Theme this Week
~Sing Songs of Corn, Farmers and Autumn
~Cook Delicious Tamales for Your Family or School
~Create Flowers out of Cornhusks
~Use a Scroll Saw to Make Autumn Ladies and Indian Corn as Toys or for the Nature Table
~Spend Time Meditating on Being Humble in Life and Accepting Where Others are on Their Path


Week Four, October - Pumpkins, Illumination
~Sing about Witches, Pumpkins and More!
~Fill Your Basket with Books that Light Up the Week
~Bake Pumpkin Muffins with the Children
~Create Pumpkin Globe Lanterns to Illuminate Your Home or School
~Learn 'Orange Leaf' on the Pennywhistle or Flute and Listen to the MP3 Version Sent Along with Your Ebook
~Create a Beautiful Pumpkin Path to Bring in Halloween
~Meditate on Illumination and All of the Colors of Your Life

Autumn Handwork eBook

Our Autumn Handwork eBook is now available at Little Acorn Learning!  Also, check out their wonderful Afterschool Guide and Seasonal Menu.

Happy Autumn!

Autumn is...

Setting up our Autumn display -- pumpkins and corn stalks from our old garden.  Tunisian crocheting a bow for the stalks.  (Look!  One of the baby kittens has come to play.).

Spinning up our new Autumn Equinox yarn!

Geology Block Grade 6

Updating the nature table.  (pics to come!)

Celebrating Michaelmas at Davis Waldorf School (pics of kids not on blog for privacy. Rick's Grade 6 class made the dragon with flour puffing out!). 

Crocheting berets.

Singing!

Golden light is turning gray

Mists begin to rule the day

Bare the trees their branches lift

Clouds of dead leaves earthward drift....

Autumn Projects & Trips!

We love Autumn!

Creating an Outdoor Seasonal Spot (Daddy wove the Cornucopia and dyed it in indigo, Joey needlefelted the acorn child finger puppet)

Visiting the Sacramento Zoo

Taking a Nature Walk After the Rain

Knight and a Lady Song/Performance! (with cousin Sydney as the Lady)

Minerals and Rocks

Watercoloring Autumn Colors

Visiting the Bohart Entomology Museum at UC Davis (and eating lunch in the residence hall dining commons w/college students!)

Oatmeal Raisin Spice Vegan Cookies (see comments below for a link to the recipe)

Window Stars

Harvest Song Writing and Kalimba Playing
Sun & rain (BDC)
Flowers wane (BDC)
Now it's time to (BDCE)

Harvest grain! (DFG)

Re-decorating our Indoor Seasonal Spot for Autumn (aka Nature Table, Seasonal Table)

Calligraphy & Drawing with Pokeberry Ink (the pokeberries are finally ripe this week! --thanks to Lisa of 5 Orange Potatoes for the inspiration)

Spinning Yarn & Dyeing Silk (birthday present for our wonderful neighbor-- yellow-orange silk dyed with a mushroom found under our tomato plants!)

Planting our Winter Veggie Gardens