I attended a parent meeting at my daughter's Waldorf school this morning. She excitedly played outside with the rest of the class during a mild-weather spring morning. I thought she might be on the swing set or building in the sandbox or munching on an organic apple by the picnic table. Nope. My three-year-old was making soup. Apparently, the older kids had created an "outdoor kitchen" with some big sticks and furnished it with second-hand enamel pots and cups and wooden spoons. Dirt served as the main pantry staple and she had plenty of mud on her dress to show for her hard work.
I saw why she wouldn't leave her post. Her soup was getting better and better as she added water from the watering can, tiny leaves, and sweetgum balls. She was deep in her play, very preoccupied with this soup coming out perfectly. As I told her we needed to go, she added her finishing touch. Plop went a gaint rock into the pot! Maybe it was for presentation or maybe for flavor. Either way, I couldn't ask for better focus and concentration on a task. This is the work of her age group in a Waldorf setting. Creativity is cultivated to invent and focus is cultivated to see the task come to fruition. The goal is that she'll take this ability to focus and carry it through the rest of her academic life. When other kids are watching video games, eating junk food, and medicated with ADHD drugs, this is a beautiful alternative.
Wednesday
Field Trip to Blue Heron Goat Farm
Our homeschool co-op organized a field trip to Blue Heron Goat Farm in Waller. Farmer Lisa spent a lovely spring afternoon with us telling us all about their farm and their animals. The baby goats were my daughter's favorite.
The human kids got to have a turn at milking one of the goats. We learned that there's just a four day turn around time from the grass they eat turning into cheese. And, after this we did get to sample some of the most delicious goat cheese I've ever tasted.
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