Boundaries are funny things.
We are constantly worrying about them.
Boundaries with our kids.
Boundaries with our parents
Boundaries with our in-laws.
Boundaries with neighbors. 
Boundaries are everywhere.  

I tend to spend a great deal of time talking about boundaries with the families we work with. Many of us live lives much different than the rest of our families and even some of our friends. We end up needing boundaries in order to keep our children on the path we have selected - it isn't always easy and we have to constantly evaluate if we can give in to that one episode of Sponge Bob at Grandma's or that candy bar with Uncle Joe or that video game with cousin Timmy. How do you stand up without being a beastie?

Sometimes boundary issues hit much closer. A few years back, I worked with a mom that was in a marriage that wasn't happy. She worried that she was past the point of no return. Her husband continually crossed boundaries and was verbally abusive. While this is...

Rhythm is more than just thinking about what you want to happen each day, it has underpinnings of the parents will development, cycles of the year and child development – all wrapped up in one.  To have a life that flows (for the most mart) and doesn’t feel chaotic or stressful, it takes us getting control what we can and knowing when to settle down and let the rest go.

Step One – evaluate how you want your life to FEEL. This step can’t be underestimated!  You have been walking through feeling chaos for some time, it can be an addicting way to live, going from one drama or crisis to the next.  Take the time to really examine how you feel and thinking about how you want your life to feel. This should take one-two days.  Take the time to write this out, sleep on it and then review what you have written.

Step Two – commit to doing what ever you have to.  How important is this thing called rhythm? How important is it to you to...

It doesn't really matter if you are falling back or springing forward, most of us have some sort of upset when the clocks change. If you are lucky enough to not have to change your time then carry on! The rest of us tend to suffer from something akin to jet lag.

If you didn't already have a rhythm in place, then give yourself a good week or two to adjust and then begin. Start with our posts here on rhythm, or come and join our Thinking Feeling Willing program for a good in depth study and successful management of your rhythm. 

Now if you have been coasting along and you have been keeping a pretty good rhythm, don't let the time change throw you off completely. Some things that really help me:

• Be kind to me!  I know that I will lose sleep no matter if I am springing forward or falling back so I really try to be kind to myself on the time change weekends. That means I make sure all my regular rhythmic things are in place - good bedtimes, menu for our meals, everyone's...

I love THIS article. Of course it is by one of my favorite Waldorf authors, Roberto Trostli. He speaks throughout the article about balance, he also speaks tenderly about something we all worry about as Waldorf teachers... TIME.  Steiner suggested his teachers teach for two hours a day and have the rest of the time for preparation - of course that doesn't happen, even in the schools, but we can expect to put in 2+ hours for a lesson that may only last for 30-60 minutes. Sounds like a TON - it is.  How do we make this manageable?

Trostli says:
"The amount of time we need for preparation depends on how we go about preparing. If we think of preparation as a process of gathering information, we will probably spend a great deal of time trying to become well-informed, and we will probably never feel sufficiently prepared. If, however, we think of preparation as a process of becoming, a learning process that engenders interest and enthusiasm for what we will be teaching, we may...

A while back, I was having a moment with one of my sons where I had to really step up my message about something. He was struggling with a moral issue and Erik and I as his parents had to lay down some expectations. The thoughts came flooding to me...this is a simple task, but it isn't always going to be easy, he has society hurling things at him all the time, how will he navigate these teen years?  For our personal lives, we live very Gospel centered, meaning that commandment of "Love God & Love your neighbor" is at the center of our lives. Such a simple commandment, but not always easy on the follow through.  Things happen, we get off center, we aren't always impeccable with our word, but it is our daily striving.  It isn't always easy to heed that commandment... sometimes that neighbor isn't very nice and I find myself praying for them and for myself to be more tolerant and let their issues be between them and God.  Not always easy.

Homeschooling and...

I was thinking the other day about two of my favorite resources, The Waldorf Online Library  and The Rudolf Steiner Archives  - I love the audio place too and use them a lot, but there is something about printing out a lecture if I need to and then going after it with a pen and highlighting all the tidbits I need - that makes me a nerd and a waster of paper.  LOL. In all seriousness though, I think these resources are fabulous. I will often pull a lecture from the archive to read and then see if Rudolf Steiner audio has it as well.  I may read, then listen, then go back and read some more.  This is my favorite way to use these two resources.  The Waldorf Library is a bit different, while they have some things written by Steiner, what I really appreciate are the articles written by teachers of all grades, with topics ranging from grammar to circle time to astronomy for middle school!  These things help me be a better curriculum writer...

This can be such a touchy subject - we never want to sound ungrateful or get our children thinking that it is ok to be that way, but as parents, we are allowed to draw the lines on what comes into our homes. There are a few things that I find helpful and that I have worked with over the years.

**Start a few months ahead of big holidays like Christmas and birthdays so you can catch them before they shop. Just gently let them know that you are really working to decrease the toys in your home to help your children not be overwhelmed. Focus on how much this will help the children - try not to focus on how it will help you! Let them know that your focus has become more natural because it is better for them. You can even mention the dangers of plastics if you think this grandparent will listen. Talk about wanting to get back to natural things - appeal to the toys that made this generation happy, simple dolls, wooden blocks, etc. this is very appealing to some grandparents as they remember...