Contributed by Sarah Wiberg, Parent-Child Class Teacher
Parent-Chid Class Table Quiet Crafting
Tea and crafting is part of the rhythm in the Parent-Child classroom. This time offers parents a creative activity and time to connect while the children play.
I am currently enrolled in the Birth to Three Training at Sophia’s Hearth, in Keene, NH. As I was reflecting on my week of training last month, I began to see that this training is meeting me professionally and personally in such a deep way. I have been called to grow in ways I did not expect.
Practicing Quietness
One of those opportunities for growth came in the form of practicing and embracing quietness. One of my teachers put into question my own practice of quiet. I had been so proud of all the things that I could juggle in my mind and still appear calm on the outside. I started to realize that I do not allow enough quiet moments to come into my day - moments that could really fill and restore me instead of constantly feeling frazzled.
"A quiet mind and calm environment is fertile ground for creative play and safe social experiences and interactions."
During class, I am often able to find a place of quiet. The strong rhythm of the morning offers opportunities to follow what is known so well and I enjoy a calm, quiet mind. The children can often find that peace in the day when they are surrounded by what is predictable. A quiet mind and calm environment is fertile ground for creative play and safe social experiences and interactions.
Modeling Quiet for our Children
Our children find this peace when we are able to find it for ourselves. Through our modeling, they learn to feel calm in their environment. This might be the hardest to achieve for parents. I will be the first to admit that there are many times that it is easier to be the teacher in a class than a parent at home. At home it is easy to become distracted by the demands of life; dishes, laundry, ironing, making lunches for school, cleaning the living room, vacuuming the floor…(care to add a few more?) And I did not even mention the work expectations, evening meetings, or different family commitments. How is one ever able to find a quiet moment at home with the ever-running list of responsibilities and commitments?
During the season that seems to pull us in so many directions, I challenge you as I have challenged myself, to find a quiet moment each day. This moment could be to meditate, reflect on something in nature, read a book, or just observe our children as they play. In this moment we may also make time for finding gratitude for what we have in our lives. This practice helps us to find the positive in each day when it is so easy to feel overwhelmed. Our children will feel this shift and begin to reflect it in their own lives.
Here is one of my favorite verses.
Quiet I bear within me
I bear within myself
Forces to make me strong
Now will I be imbued
With their glowing warmth
Now will I fill myself
With my own will’s resolve
And I will feel the quiet
Pouring through all my being,
When by my steadfast striving
I become strong
To find myself within myself
The source of strength,
The strength of inner quiet.
-Rudolf Steiner
Many blessings during this Holiday Season.