sand meditation

versatility of our new sandbox



With three rocks from our collection of geological treasures and a piece of wood I cut teeth into, Joey discovered the art of the Zen garden in our own little sandbox! Traditional Japanese meditation gardens capture the essence of nature through minimalist use of the elements - stones, raked gravel, and a few carefully chosen plants.

Joey placed the three rocks with a great eye for design! Upon completing the raking, Joey commented that it needed more. I said to her, "These days, we live in a world where we always seem to want more, but really what we need to do is learn to live with less."

I introduced her to the thinking behind the Zen garden. The minimalist approach encourages one to find the most beauty in an object, in the experience. The form and color of the earth elements, their arrangement, their relationship to each other, their connection to our own life experiences, from these are derived the beauty of nature. We learn to appreciate the smallest yet most meaningful moments of our everyday life.

"You ask me why I dwell in the green mountain; I smile and make no reply for my heart is free of care. As the peach blossom which flows downstream and is gone into the unknown, I have a world apart that is not among men." -- Li Po

building willfulness

a sandbox project for the kids

Arts and crafts, including wood working, plays an important role in the development of children. Creativity and imagination is expressed through handwork, building confidence, skills, and willfulness in the child. The finished product, when well conceived, is both beautiful and functional, connecting us with the world's resources and with the inner spirit. When designed, built, and enjoyed as family, handwork projects connect us to each other.

This sandbox project was completed in one day by Ricky, Joey, Wilson, and myself.



We began by designing the sandbox, whose dimensions would be fitting for Wilson. It would be compact enough to move around in the yard, yet adequate for homeschool lessons and lots of imaginative play activities!

We decided that its dimensions would be 27 inches tall to the top edge of the box, and be roughly 27 inches by 20 inches in length and width, and about 6 inches deep. We used 1 x 8 cedar fencing for the side panels,1/2 inch oak plywood for the base, and 2 x 2 cedar for the legs.

Under my supervision at all times, we cut the cedar panels to the appropriate lengths to meet the pre-exisiting dimensions of our plywood oak base.

We nailed the cedar panels to the plywood base roughly 2 inches from the bottom edge of the cedar planks.

Wilson also helped! Each nail we used a nail set tool to bury the head of the nail for a more finished look.

Using a drill, we pre-drilled holes to screw in the tops of the legs to the plywood base.

After drilling and gluing the legs into place, we used braces with 45 degree angle cuts to support the legs, gluing those into place.

When the glue was sufficiently dry and the legs appeared quite sturdy, we flipped the sandbox over and sanded the edges to minimize splinters.

Then, we poured 50 pounds of playsand into the box.

And voila! A new sandbox for Wilson - and everyone else too - to enjoy!

syrendell sunday

a wonderful workshop with new friends



Our "Creative Family in the Dell" Workshop at Syrendell brought new friends to our Fair Oaks home. We had a wonderful time sharing in our creative striving, learning about art and crafts, music, home schooling, Rudolf Steiner, and Waldorf education. The joyfulness of family and children made the day very special.

Here is a brief synopsis of the workshop.

Circle Time

We gathered together to welcome the day with singing, verses, and movement, lighting a candle, and chiming a Tibetan singing bowl. It was an example of how a classroom teacher or homeschooling teacher may start the day with the students.

Introduction to Waldorf Education

I facilitated a lecture and discussion on Steiner and Waldorf education, using a diagram to show the thread from Steiner to anthroposophy to Waldorf.

Anthroposophy

• from the Greek "anthropos," meaning man, and "sophia," meaning wisdom


• it is the study of the fundamental nature of man


• spiritual science


• it formed the foundation for anthroposophical medicine, inner work, eurythmy, bio-dynamic farming, and Waldorf education

Waldorf Education

• began in 1919 for the children of the workers at the Waldorf-Astoria Cigarette Factory


• the main point is the approach to teaching from the development of the child


• its mantra is heart, head, and hands (thinking, feeling, and willing)


• the main lesson is a key feature

Inner Development

• Steiner believed that to be an amazing teacher, one needs to work on the inner self


• the four aspects of the human being: the physical body (the organic, sensory body), the etheric soul (the emotional self), the intellectual soul (the thinking self), and the consciousness soul (the self that has developed intuition, awareness, and will)

The Developing Human

• follows 7 year stages of development


• 0 - 7 years, physical development, oneness with the world


• 8 - 14 years, etheric development, emotional growth, separateness from the world, self-expression, feeling and thinking


• 15 - 21 years, intellectual development, thinking and willing


• 22 + years, spiritual development, consciousness soul, action towards global citizenry

Main Lesson

• unique to the Waldorf classroom


• a four-part 2-hour daily rhythm: circle time, new content delivery, main lesson book work, and storytelling


• subject blocks (see previous blog journey unfolds)


• three-day cycle: new content is introduced on day one, day two is an associated lecture or activity, then on day three, main lesson book for that content is done by the students

Basics of Wet-Method Painting

At first, trying out a new artistic medium is, frankly, quite frustrating! When I was first introduced to wet-on-wet painting, I found myself frustrated with not being able to control the paint. Soon, I realized I needed to "let go," to give in to the nature of watercolors, and to allow myself to be taught a new technique.

With our workshop, it was no different for the first-timers. A bit of patience, of letting go, of perseverence, and the self artistry will emerge beautifully!

I do not teach the students how to express themselves - that comes from within, but the techniques can be learned, which act as tools of expression.

To recap the lesson (refer to previous blog art of letting go for examples):

• begin with laying down masses of color with a fluid yet firm application of the brush
• blend primary colors to get secondary colors, and so on, to give a nice dimension to the page
• use the negative space technique by applying a wet brush, then dry brush, to lift the pigments off of the page where you intend it to be white space or for appying a new color
• when the paper is a bit drier, begin to lay down some foreground details such as trees, shrubs, animals, structures
  

Fiber Arts

For fiber arts, we carded wool with two different sizes of hand carders and a drum carder. We did some needlefelting and spinning on spindles.

Nature's Classroom

The children strolled around the yard with baskets and collected samples of nature. In Waldorf education, nature studies are always related to humankind. How do plants and animals and humans coexist? How is the human form similar to plants and animals? Do we share physical cahracteristics? Physiological similarities?

With the young ones, it is simply about exposure to the earth's bounty and beauty. Being in nature is meant to be a full sensory experience, touching, smelling, listening, and tasting.

We tied together the fiber crafts with the nature experience and crafted a tiny figure cloaked in a hand-felted wool outfit and an acorn hat!


Music, Verse, and Song

We ended the day with a drum circle, singing, and verse writing.

I particulary liked the spontaneous jam session with my little friend Tyler (2 years old) when I played harp, he played a mini zylophone, and we sang a song about bananas!

Please visit our family blogsite at Syrendell as well for more on the workshop!

verse for peace

choose to proceed with love

born from the cosmic seed all

humankind begins as a cellular ball

with potential energy to proceed in love

growing in the womb of our earth mother

tethered to spirit cords of one another

a family cared for by our heaven father above

we crawl then walk and talk and interact

with innate sense for mindfulness and tact

yet some brothers choose to push and shove

a downward spiral created by the unthinking few

ending our earth stay in a catastrophic brew

so I offer now suggestions to extend our lease

close your eyes and inside you will find

your earth family connected by oneness of mind

think collectively and goodness will increase

the blood of angels from your chest the flow starts

coursing with others via oneness of heart

feel in empathic wisdom and be naturally at ease

sift through wartime rubble or play in timeless sand

we choose our actions through oneness of hands

so in kinetic energy let us proceed today in peace

snail trail

from syrendell to australia

My blogpost today has few words - I am thankful for Diana of Artemis Moon, who through her blog has made my day:

myartemismoon.wordpress.com/2009/09/09/snail-trails/

Blessings to your family, Diana.

Rick

watercoloring with wilson

daddy and son and butterfly

My son Wilson and I spent a few minutes together painting a butterfly. Using the wet-method painting, we first created the background color with reds and blues. Wilson then lifted the pigment from the page using a wet, then dry, brush where the butterfly would be. He added yellow for the wings, then painted its orange body.

Jennifer is his homelearning teacher, and the letter "B" was one of their letters of the week - "B" for butterfly, and the shape of its wings. Jennifer told him that I would be doing the painting lesson with him, and when I was directing him with his brush strokes, doing it just a bit differently from Jennifer, Wilson said, "I haven't worked with Daddy before." He is so cute!

syrendell workshop

creative family in the dell

Just a couple of weeks away is our one-day seminar at Syrendell called Creative Family in the Dell: Workshop for Parents and Toddlers. If you know a family in the Fair Oaks, CA, area, please let them know to register with us for a day of wet-method painting, nature studies, and fiber crafting! Just click on the workshop title to go to our Syrendell Academy website for details.

Have a beautiful day!

mahatma gandhi

spiritual leaders at syrendell

Creating wood toys for our Syrendell Etsy shop has been a rewarding experience. For me, the creative process of working with wood is quite satisfying. For the families who own our wooden sprites and streamer wands, they are enjoying the natural beauty of handcrafts. And certainly, the toys can also be educational. But can they also have a spiritual nature?

Mother Teresa joined us at Syrendell as one of the first of a series of wood figurines I called the Leaders of Peace. Mahatma Gandhi is our latest addition to the Syrendell family. I had to carve his distinctive steel-rimmed spectacles and prominent ears! He wears the traditional Indian dhoti. He holds his hands as if in prayer or as if ready to help. I wanted the piece to express a sense of reverence and meditative quality, capturing what it may have been like to be in his presence in his efforts for world peace.

syrendell academy

a creative workshop in the dell



Thinking, feeling, and willing. Head, heart, and hands. The balance of the human spirit. We strive for this in our inner lives. Steiner believes the thirst for knowledge is what gives humankind the boundless freedom to seek truths and to lift ourselves into higher planes of consciousness. This thirsting for knowledge can only be quenched with willful action. Perhaps this is the role of the educator. Knowledge is meant to be shared and teaching others is a way of willful action.

My wife Jennifer and I feel blessed to have had the opportunities to learn from wonderful teachers who gave us skills we ourselves enjoy, and can share with others. Parents to their children. Friends to friends. Teacher to student. Through each individual soul the thread of knowledge weaves. As Steiner points out in his book Philosophy of Freedom, "In so far as we think, we are the all-one being that pervades everything."

Education connects us and enlives us. Everyday, Jennifer and I model for our children, and impart in our children what we know - and we likewise learn things from them as well! The thread of knowledge remains unbroken, and to expand it we are also compelled to share with other families what has been given to us.

We are hosting through Syrendell Academy a workshop for parents in beautiful Fair Oaks. It will be a day of cooperative learning, the synergy of willfulness. Painting, fiber crafting, a nature hunt, music, verses, and playing. Visit the Syrendell Academy website for info on Creative Family in the Dell: A Workshop for Parents and Toddlers. If you know anyone in the area who may be interested in attending, please let them know, and Jennifer and I will be happy to receive them.

Good day to you!

verses versus verses

and the snail goes to...

The title suggests a competition (I just liked the homophone!), but our first verse-writing give-away was really a way for my readers to have an outlet to express their Inner Poet! Heartfelt, genuine, ethereal, clever, brilliant, inspiring, poignant, personal, funny, bold, and expressive. Thank you to the FOUR who submitted a verse for me to post on this fine Saturday morning -- we all win as we are graced by your creative striving, but alas, only ONE receives the syrendell snail.

The snail is given to Diana. Congratulations! You can find Diana on her blogsite My Artemis Moon. Here is Diana's verse entry:

My dearest little one

so fiercely growing

willing yourself your brother's equal

and yet the years between you remain.

Constantly striving to reach out beyond

the footsteps that have gone before you

There will come a time

when you forge out on new paths

spaces and places where none before trod

but for now feel the joy and the wonder of childhood

our love here will hold you and carry you on

till it's time for your own paths

and destiny's journey

and your love here from family

will light the path home.

Beautiful, wonderful all, here are the other verses.

From Hallie, she wrote about her verse entry titled Summer Rain, "I originally wrote this for MY best friend but now often think back to it when I see my daughter with her best friend...ironically playing in the rain!"

I remember hot summer rains

When I played with my very best friend

Under umbrellas and pretended

We were sisters

We played dolls on her porch

And it rained all around us

So puddles grew great

Just waiting to be jumped in

We had our favorite lunch

Of macaroni and cheese

And we pretended we were in

The nicest restaurant ever

When we grew tired of our game

We took our socks and shoes off

And ran around in the rain

Still wishing we were sisters!

From Angela (and Ruth and Bea), she writes, "I love my children - a quick poem about my three little ones and how they've been instructing me in savoring the moment and learning to be silly once again."

I see in you

the parts of me I had let fade away

but am rediscovering, rekindling -

drawing back to myself -

by being in your presence.

Mothering you

is a second chance -

to see things as you see them -

to find joy in simple moments.

"Oh, and my 6 year-old Ruth's contribution - she chose to write a poem about her sister, Bea, who is 4."

Bea is sweet

Bea is kind

Bea is more gentle

than anyone you can find.

"Okay, and now Bea says she wants to make up a poem about Ruth."

Ruth is nice

Ruth is sweet

She's sweeter than a sugar beet.

From Suzane, her verse titled The Unfolding, is about Rudolf Steiner, "his philosophy speaks to us as parents and I could not think of anyone who has made such a difference to our living. My verse is about how my life with my children has grown through the Waldorf way."

As the Seasons of learning unfold before me,
I am taken by its splendor.
As I am guided through my human life,
I awaken to the needs of my children.

Rudolf Steiner spiritually inspired by masterful thinking
has taken hold of my mind.
Like the dawn awakens my soul from slumber.
Something wonderful has begun.

I am Like a watered seed
emerging towards the light.
I have been given a tool, a treasure to share.
I must use it wisely.

To see my boy when ready,
with burning desire to read
is warming.
I am glad we waited.

Little hands that touch and mould
exploring with nature.
Fingers that paint and fiddle with instruments.
The gift of a picture and heavenly music.

Minds that expand , knowledge yet untold.
No limits to learning here with my fold.
Knowledge has given power to the learner here.
Our philosophy a road worth the travel.

To Hallie, Angela, and Suzane, who did not receive the give-away snail, I am offering a syrendell snail at a 20% discount from the listed price on the Syrendell.Etsy shop. To all the verse entrants, again Thank You!

last day of give-away

submit your verse today!

Today is the last day for submitting a verse for a chance to receive one of our syrendell snails. Click here for details on the give-away. Tomorrow, I will post the submissions, and announce the person whom I will send the snail to.

This is a verse I wrote for my instructor, Astrid Schmitt-Stegmann, who is a wonderful speaker, writer, and teacher (her assignment to us was to write a verse for a second grader, so I chose her, imagined as a young child, before her academic achievements in comparative literature and oration):

She warmly welcomes
the misty morn
"guten morgen"
her day is born
oh how the world churns
in God's hands
she sees beauty and grace
throughout the land
she searches deep
within her heart
no words yet
to describe this Art
soon I know
with voice and pen
her words will flow
again and again

first day

the homeschool rhythm

Here are just a few highlights from the Tan family first day of school.

biking on the American River bike trails

scavenger hunt

circle time with Mommy

design stage of a wood project

an overnight camp-out on the backyard deck

world as percept

philosophy of freedom, chapter four

Steiner states in chapter four: "The failure to recognize the true relationship between mental picture and object has led to the greatest misunderstandings in modern philosophy."

By modern, of course, we must put Steiner's ideas in the context of the time the book was published, 1894. And the misunderstandings were among his contemporaries who had a spectrum of philosophical viewpoints on the topic of the human's relationship with the world. (One blog is not enough to distill the nuances of thought among the philosophers of the time, so forgive me, if you are a scholar of philosophy, if I oversimplify the concepts presented. My aim is to try and understand the material, often made easier for me through visual representations. In so doing, I am striving to follow the threads of Steiner's thought processes - which I believe is an honest approach to Philosophy of Freedom.)

In this chapter, the relationship of the human to the world is explored as subject and object. Object is anything that can be observed. Subject is the one doing the observing. So, because it is from our perspective that we can speak and know of anything, we can say that the human is a subject, and the world is the object. Steiner introduces the word percept. A percept is essentially an object, but Steiner uses the word to further add the quality of man's perceiving, sensing, and cognizing that object, and that a "perspective" exists, as in, from my perspective, I see the object, the percept.

Where the divergence of viewpoints occurs is in the question, "The thing, the object, the percept, that you are seeing in your mind, what is its true nature?"

Here, I must now introduce the idea of mental picture, or percept-picture. In your consciousness, you see an object, for instance, a flower, and it is a metal picture, a perceived picture of that flower. Three viewpoints that I believe to be presented in chapter four are: naive realism, critical idealism, and Immanuel Kant's theory.

The diagram I created illustrates my understanding of these three viewpoints. Each view is represented as a human figure in brown. The peach-colored circle in the head is conscious awareness (one can say it is the I, or the conscious soul). The flower in the middle represents the outer world. The flower within the peach-colored circle is the mental picture, or percet-picture, of the flower. The lines from the human to the flower represent the process of perceiving the object or percept (the flower) - each has a different quality, which is crucial to the argument. So here goes!

The naive realist sees the flower. All of the flower's qualities that this person discerns - smell, color, touch, form, are that object's true reality. The fuschi line, the perception process, transmits from the flower to the mental image of that flower, without any changes as that may be produced by the body's physiological organization. Deliberately, I did not use a continuous line that passes through the material of the body.

The critical idealist also sees a flower, but there is a huge difference with the naive realist. Steiner cites George Berkeley as the "classical representative" of the following view: in Berkely's words, "...so long as [objects] are not actually perceived by me, or do not exist in my mind or that of any other created spirit, they must either have no existence at all, or else submit in the mind of some Eternal Spirit." In other words, things do not exist outside of the person. Mental pictures, the percept-pictures, are all that there is. In my diagram, the flower is in the consciousness of the person, and the perception from the outside object is non-existent, hence the transparent line.

Now the Kantian view. Immanuel Kant acknowledges that a flower exists outside of the person. However, he asserts that the human being's ability to really experience the object, the thing-in-itself, in its true nature, is not possible because by the time the perception reaches the consciousness, the percept-picture has been completely modified by the body's physiological organization. In other words, as the object is observed by the eye, for instance, that stimulus upon the retina of the eye, the optic nerve, the white and gray matter of the cortex, is not even anywhere close to the reality of the object by the time it is transmitted to our consciousness. Hence, in my diagram, the line from the flower undergoes a color change when it enters the body and to the consciousness.

In this chapter, Steiner mostly refrains from interjecting his own viewpoint, as his main task in this chapter is to elucidate and refute the other viewpoints. But in every case, Steiner sees the faults in each one as giving limitations to our knowledge. In every case, it is the element of thinking that is not as valued by each of the viewpoints, the human's ability to form concepts is not addressed. For instance, the naive realist accepts the world objects as is, therefore, there is no gain of knowledge as there is nothing deeper than what the person immediately experiences. The critical idealist, since all the pictures in his mind are essentially figments of his own imagination, then this dream-state provides no impetus to know more. For the Kantian proponent, knowledge is limited to what his or her body can transmit and process from the reality outside of the body.

In trying to follow Steiner's own thoughts on all this, he himself does not directly present his viewpoint, so I am eager to discover as I continue to read, what's he thinking?

snail for you

(first, a verse occurs)

I am sending home with you one of our beloved syrendell snails!

You have seen the verses I have been posting on my blog, some I have written (like the verse for joey), some from Steiner, and others. It is a Waldorf tradition to write poetry - anyone can be a poet if you have something wonderful to inspire you!

Write a verse about someone you love, venerate, admire, or are inspired by.

Email your submission to ricktan3@hotmail.com. It must be your original work. I will read them, post all of them by next Saturday, and choose one poet to send the snail to!

Happy verse writing!!