Wow, the warm days are truckin' right along here in Nor Cal, it's feeling kinda hard to get into the holiday spirit. We're still looking for a rental and I'm wondering where we will decide to go for Thanksgiving. I'm really testing the limits of my fear zone these days - being so close to moving time without a rental lined up but I'm confident and I have faith.
Anyways....
So here's a copy of the winter gift idea letter I sent out to friends and family recently. I thought I would share this with my readers since I know many of you may be wondering how to create a gift list that reflects a natural play environment yet is accessible to those who are not following that lifestyle. I always try to be kind yet set some solid guidelines. Let me know what you think and feel free to copy any or all of it if you want to use it for resources, ideas, etc.
Hugs :)
Dear Friends and family,
Here you will find a list of suggested gifts for Nykki and Ronan this holiday season. We have worked very hard as a family to come up with a wide variety of suggestions which can be purchase at many different merchants, all over the country. Hopefully this makes it easier to do your holiday shopping this year.
As many of you are aware we practice a parenting and homeschooling philosophy based on the Rudolph Steiner (also called Waldorf) method. Please understand that we wish to create and educated with the most imaginative, natural and authentic play things for our children. We will not be able to keep items which do not fit our lifestyle.
For us homeschool and life are intertwined. Nearly everyday the boys are involved in some type of natural, creative project and this constitutes a large percentage of their playtime as well as the highest demand on our resources. You will find on this list many craft material suggestions and may wonder how these are "played" with by the boys. If you wish to know more specifics about the crafts the boys do, like felting, needle work, baking, painting, water color, knitting, etc. feel free to email me.
Homemade
We love homemade things! Here are some simple projects anyone can do that would really warm the boys hearts. The links beneath show you how to make them.
Felt Blocks
http://www.canadianliving.com/crafts/sewing/soft_blocks_to_sew_for_baby.php
Gnomes
http://squirrelacorns.blogspot.com/2008/02/felt-gnome-tutorial.html
Cloth Dolls
http://www.clothdollconnection.com/FreePatterns.html
Kites
http://www.skratch-pad.com/kites/make.html
Nykki
Stockmar Molding Beeswax
can be found at www.waldorfsupplies.com
Wool felt and felting needle (can be found at most craft stores)
100% cotton clothing size 7T or higher
Wooden Doll House
Spanish learning books (no logos please)
Wooden or Metal Kitchen pretend play things
Keen or teva shoes size 1
Pirate and/or space man dress up clothes
Metal Slinkey
Books and/or puzzles about space
Ronan
Stockmar block crayons
can be found at www.waldorfsupplies.com
100% cotton clothes size 2-3 T
Spanish board books
Shoes size 7
Balls (medium to large size, no small please, he still has chocking issues)
Metal Slinkey
Bath Toys
Underwear size 3 T
General
Water color paper
Drawing paper
Natural paints (Michaels Craft Store has a wonderful new "green" line)
Paint brushes
Traditional Medicinal Teas for Kids (found at most health food stores)
Wool Yarn
Embroidery Thread
Play Silks
can be found at www.threesisterstoys.com
Organic Baby soaps and lotions, Organic Bubble Bath (can be found at Wild Oats, Trader Joes or Whole Foods)
Herbs for Kids tinctures
Wool or cotton socks
DVDs
Cirque d'Solei
Star Trek Movies
Star Wars Movies
Classic Scooby Doo
The Sound of Music
Yellow Submarine
The Secret Garden
(Please note that we do allow the kids to see some selected "logo" based shows such as Scooby Doo but we do not believe in cross marketing i.e. "stuff" that goes along with logo TV. Please do not purchase logo items, we will not be able to keep them)
Websites
Here is a list of online mom and pop shops we LOVE. There wholesome products are always a winner.
www.threesisterstoys.com
www.novanatural.com
www.blueberryforest.com
Thank you and merry solstice!
Ayla, Seth, Nykki and Ronan
