We're talking about Valentine's Day and Lent at the Faith and Family Livecast!
Here are some links from the Heart of My Home for you to click through as you listen.
Lenting Reading:
For Mom: Come Meet Jesus
For the Family: The Life of Our Lord for Children
Mardi Gras King Cake the Monkey Bread way
Lenten Menu Plans (samples here- we'll do a new one this year)
Many thanks to those of you who sent me a link to this article. I did indeed read it. I wish that "JM" had been more specific in her questioning. For instance:
Waldorf schools use beeswax crayons. All schools use crayons. Is it the beeswax that makes Waldorf crayons bad? Couldn't be. The Church uses beeswax candles.
Waldorf schools use chunky triangular pencils. My orthodontist gives out chunky triangular pencils. Are the ones labeled "Lyra" bad and the ones labeled "Dr. C" acceptable? Or should I throw them all in the trash, lest they lead me from the faith?
Waldorf schools encourage students to create beautifully drawn borders around written narrations. Are those borders inherently evil? They are rather reminiscent of the medieval illuminations. Perhaps I should get rid of those saints books and alphabet books with the illuminations, just to be sure.
Waldorf schools weave fairy stories into daily life. So does Martha Morse, one of my favorite fictional mothers. Is it the stories that are evil? The fairies? What exactly is it that makes fairy stories taboo? Sorry, I'm not ditching my Martha and Charlotte stories. They absolutely do not threaten my faith and they absolutely do enrich the life of my children.
Waldorf schools use transition rhymes and songs to move from one activity to the next. So does Barney the Dinosaur. And I'm pretty sure Miss Sherry did on Romper Room, too. And so do I. Does this mean I must never sing "Clean up, clean up, everybody, everywhere?" Is it really holier to just put my hands on my hips and bark the order?
My guess is that there isn't any problem at all with the use of certain craft supplies, songs, stories or styles of narration. And my guess is that most practicing Catholics are able to discern what is a quality school supply or a clever way of engaging the hearts and minds of children and what is potentially damaging. But if you are unsure, if you have any doubt, then by all means, avoid beeswax and fairies and narrations with watercolor embellishments. Certainly, it's better to be safe, than sorry.
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Some of you wrote to ask about the picture in this post. You want details? Here they are:
::Computer is fully charged and always plugged in. We rarely lose power here since the lines are all buried, but I like to know I'm fully charged should it happen. Same with my cell phone. Last night was Mike's first night home. My cell phone started the "low battery" beeping about 2 AM. I recognized that I never would have let that happen if he were gone. I'm always on alert when he's gone. When he's home, I figure he's fully charged and in charge:-)
::Half and half is gone now. We used it for snow ice cream and chai tea. I didn't restock it for Blizzard '10. But I did buy seven gallons of whole milk. Works for tea, for ice cream, for bottomless cups of hot chocolate. I am a hot chocolate snob--made from scratch with milk, cocoa, and sugar every time. This little gadget makes it frothy, too (HT: Kimberlee).
::The small tin is Daddy Van's Beeswax polish. Bored children get the polish and a rag. Kitchen cabinets, furniture, banisters--there's no end to the polishing that can be done while the snow falls and the wind howls.
::Here's the current basket of snow books. We've pretty much memorized them now.
The Snowy Day (Karoline's current favorite)
Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening (beautiful, effortless poetry memorization)
The Rag Coat (this one makes us so grateful for warmth)
::Children's Advil (Actually the medicine stockpile is a more extensive than this--my little girls are still struggling)
::And, finally the popcorn and marshmallows. This is standard snow food, but my littlest children probably don't know the whole meaning behind the tradition. When Michael was little, there was snow predicted one day. I made a big deal, stocked the snow books, talked it up in a big, big way. He was so looking forward to snowballs. No snow. So, I popped popcorn and made popcorn "snowballs." Saved the day. Now when snow is forecasted, I stockpile the ingredients for popcorn balls. That way, we have big, round, white balls no matter what.
Melt two sticks of butter in a very big pot.
While the butter is melting, pop 1 cup of popcorn. I do this in two batches.
Dump a bag of marshmallows into the melted butter.
Stir until melted.
Pour the popcorn into the melted marshmallows and stir well.
Generously grease your hands with butter. As soon as the marshmallow-coated popcorn is just barely cool enough to handle, form into balls.
Even if you don't have snow, read the books and make the popcorn balls. Childhood should be sweet.
I'm Elizabeth. I'm a happy wife and the mother of nine children. I grab grace with both hands and write to encourage myself and others to seize and nurture the joy of every day. I blog here with my daughter, Mary Beth, a wholehearted young lady on the brink of adulthood.
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