The Waldorf Way

My husband is finishing up his second week at Steiner College. He is in the teaching program that will be 5-weeks each summer for 4 summers.

I am very proud of him for going "back to school" after already having a doctoral degree. He is really enjoying the challenges, creativity and inspiration that are presented in daily lessons about philosophy, anthroposophy, curriculum, arts, eurhythmy, singing and more.

He started a blog to synthesize what he is learning: www.thewaldorfway.blogspot.com. We invite everyone to come read it, leave comments and follow the blog. I am learning so much from reading his blog each day!

Here are pictures of some of the watercoloring that he has been doing in painting class, as well as pictures of us on the gorgeous, magical campus when we go and visit Daddy during lunch (and visit the college bookstore, too, of course!). Watching Rick being inspired daily by the college is making me think about attending the handwork program in the future....Hmmm....

Friends Forever

Rabbie and Navy in their new home

Syrendell would not be a complete family without Rabbie and Navy! Our two creatures of nature have become the best of friends since they have been sharing the same space together for about five years now. They have moved a couple of times, but were never apart in those five years. Their latest home is in our backyard, just off the porch, in what will be our spiral path reflection garden (hope to work on that soon!).

Both had originally lived in southern California with us, and came up here to enjoy the northern California landscape. The trees here in Fair Oaks offer us reprieve from the hot summers, and for Rabbie and Navy, plenty of cool shade, some dappled warm sun, and a canopy of maple and jacaranda to keep predatory avian eyes from spotting our furry friend! We are a tad worried about raccoons in the area - are rabbits in their food chain? We might have to place an overhead enclosure to give some extra protection.

Rabbie is the rabbit, if you hadn't deduced from the name. And Navy is the Russian desert tortoise - no relation to the armed forces, just a name our daughter picked out of her imagination when she was five. Rabbie and Navy are liking their new digs, Rabbie started to groom herself immediately after entering her home, and Navy claimed a cool spot under the wood pile.

I SPY! Can you find Navy?

Potato Harvesting!

Ricky carefully harvesting potatoes

This week, we harvested baskets full of potatoes from the garden. We didn't even know that you could grow potatoes in California! What a delight to dig around and hunt for them. We studied different types of roots this year, so it was fun to find roots that we can also eat!

Yay! We found another one!

Wilson hard at work

Basket full of potatoes (basket woven by Daddy)

We've also been harvesting some tomatoes, onions, yellow squash, zucchinis, cucumbers and string beans.

In the next few months, we are hoping to have pumpkins, scallions, chard, bell peppers, citrus fruit, figs and watermelon. We love gardening by the creek in our back yard.

Homemade Botany Books

Separate from our science main lesson books this past school year, Ricky, Joey and Wilson each made their own Botany Books.

We tore pieces of watercolor paper and used Stockmar watercolors to design our covers. Mommy cut some white paper to fit the books and punched two holes at the top of them.

We each made a "twizzler" out of yarn and tied the tops of the books.

The botany books contain a table of contents, sketches of plants from our yard and the UC Davis arboretum, names of plants, and poems/quotes about plants.

We observed the apple tree in our backyard all year. Once per month we sketched the same branch. Finally, there are little apples this month!

The bulbs we planted at a homeschooling bulb planting clinic in October bloomed throughout the spring. We sketched some of our bulbs as they grew.

We will continue to add sketches, information and poems to our botany books as we explore our new yard.

Snails in the Garden

The garden is alive - a micro-biome of vegetation, organisms, and elements such as minerals, water, and sun. When we are involved, tending to the seasonal harvest, we become connected to the spirit of the earth.



Naturally, we find an assortment of creatures also enjoying the garden. Amidst the broad leaves of squash, we spotted a congregation of Syrendell snails!



It's Snooks (orange), Sport (red), Slim (blue), Sprig (green), and Sweets (purple), taking in a beautiful day. We should learn a thing or two from snails, to slow down a bit and savor life.





Happy gardening, friends!

Our New Home - Syrendell

Syrendell has moved....just across town (still in Fair Oaks), to a fairy cottage by a creek. We are surrounded by grandiose trees, a bio-dynamic garden, wild berries and spiraling vines. Our magical home is in the midst of natural beauty...so much to inspire us as we learn, create and grow together a family this year.


We are still close to relatives, the kids' activities, and conveniences. The best of both worlds! Our neighbors are kind people who all have an affiliation with anthroposophy and/or Waldorf education. Sacramento Waldorf School, a park and bike path are around the corner. Steiner College is two blocks away. The American River is a few streets away. Time to start biking and rafting!

Our home is smaller than our past houses, and yet it feels just right. Funny how we think that as the family grows, we need more space! Well, we've had a large new home with a pool and big yard in the past and we loved it, but...this place is different. We are enjoying the closeness of each other, the simplicity of having fewer square feet to clean, and time to focus on homelearning, gardening and art.

Spiral Path in the Front Yard

Already, we are playing our instruments more, singing, and crafting! Good energy abounds.

Syrendell Sprites Crafted in our New Home

Our home has a large deck in the front and back which extends our living and learning areas. We've transformed the bookcase and dining room table Daddy made into a homelearning center, aka, the "Dell". Our new Dell has doors that lead out to the back porch, reminding us of the importance of spending time out of doors each day.

So....we haven't been blog posting or commenting as often this past week because of the move. Our Etsy orders have been a bit delayed. We should be back up to speed, soon. Although, it is awfully tempting to just sit on the deck and breathe in the jasmine...take a nap...dream....

Mud Dyeing

Bjo Trimble hosted a mud dyeing class at the Griffin DyeWorks Fiber Retreat in Castaic, CA. The African tradition of bogolanfini (bogo=earth or mud; lan=by way of; fini=cloth) dates as far back as the 11th century AD, when this art served to decorate hunters' garments and women's wraparounds. Apparently, Anakin Skywallker used a bogolanfini wrap when he traveled with Padme in "The Clone Wars." At the Retreat, some of us created our own designs using the pigments and fixatives that Bjo prepared for us. After cleaning our fabrics, we soaked them in myrobalan, which is rich in tannins, and acts as a mordant. Soy milk was also used as a fixative. Slurries of mud with iron oxides, clay, and other earth minerals offered natural pigments. We used brushes to appy the mud dyes. Bjo instructed us to wait about two weeks before washing for the pigments to set.

Here, the Tans created some interesting designs with the mud dyes. Primitive motifs, timeless shapes, and mythical creatures graced our garments. You can email Bjo or visit her website for information on dyeing and other cool facts and tips about dyeing with mud!