Revisiting our rhythm

Starting all over again with a clean slate is always a good feeling. As some of you know, in Waldorf education, we believe in the importance of rhythm. Daily, weekly and yearly rhythm helps the child feel secure because it provides predictability, among other things. A rhythm is not rigid. It needs to evolve and grow with us. It felt like we outgrew our rhythm since last fall, so with this in mind, I decided to revisit our rhythm for 2010.

J'adore ce sentiment de recommencer à zéro avec une belle année toute neuve devant moi! Comme certains d'entre vous le savent, dans la pédagogie Waldorf, on croit en l'importance du rythme. Le rythme de la journée, de la semaine et de l'année sécurise l'enfant parce qu'il sait notamment que les événements se dérouleront sensiblement de la même façon. Un rythme n'est pas rigide. Il doit évoluer avec nous. Nous avions le sentiment que notre rythme ne nous convenait plus depuis cet automne. Nous avons donc décidé de le modifier pour 2010.


:: Delicious buns baked by my friend Stephanie from the Tassajara bread book::
:: Délicieuses brioches confectionnées par mon amie Stéphanie à partir d'une recette du Tassajara bread book::



::Dress-up play::
::Déguisement::

So here's our daily rhythm:

7 am: dressing-up, making beds
7:30 breakfast, farm chores
8 am clean-up, sweep floor, girls draw, mama organize meals for the day
9 am Activity of the day (see weekly rhythm)
9:45 Circle time, wash hands
10:15 Snack time
10:45 Outside play
11:30 Preparing lunch
12:15 Setting the table and eating lunch
1 pm Reading of a story and free play in the living room
2 pm Mommy tells a story learnt by heart
2:30 Sanck time
3 pm Free play (outside or inside)
4 pm Mommy prepares dinner, bathtime for the girls
4:30 Farm chores
5:30 Dinner
6 pm Go upstairs, brush teeth, story, blessing with a candle, sleep


::A corner of my friend Steph's house that really looks like her::
:: Un coin de la maison de mon amie Steph qui lui ressemble beaucoup::


::Warming tea shared with good friends::
:: Un thé épicé partagé avec de bons amis::

And here's our weekly rythm:

Monday: washing clothes, watering plants, baking a snack recipe together and nature collecting day.

Tuesday: Baking bread together, washing mirrors and some windows with vinegar spray, vacuuming and washing the floors, and collage day.

Wednesday: Cleaning the bathrooms, painting day, granola baking or yogurt/butter making day.

Thursday: Crafting/festival preparation, menu planning, food shopping.

Friday: Modelling day (either beeswax or playdough), ironing.

Saturday: Bigger clean-up in the barn/garden, working with wool (either tower knitting, finger knitting, drawing with wool or felting). 1st Sat. of month: dusting. 3rd Sat of month: cleaning up fridge and cupboards.

Sunday: Family hike, music/dance day.

For more inspiration on weekly and daily rhythm, read this great post and this one.




::Beautiful Adélie::
:: Si belle Adélie::


::Mara and her friends had a blast putting up a little play for us::
::Mara et ses amis ont eu beaucoup de plaisir à préparer une pièce de théâtre pour nous::


::Charming little Maël::
::Charmant petit Maël::


::Reading time::
::L'heure du conte::


::Fresh sourdough bread and homemade granola, two popular breakfasts around here::
::Pain au levain tout chaud et granola maison, deux déjeuners populaires::


::And my wonderful cook turned some of that bread into a chevre, schrimps and arugula pizza. To die for::
::Et mon extraordinaire cuisiner a transformé une partie de sa recette de pain en pizza au chèvre, crevettes et roquette. DÉ-LI-CI-EU-SE!!::


::And since we still have a couple of kilos of rice, quite a bit of Garam Masal, cardamom and saffron to use up, we made some Rogan Josh with some of our mutton meat with homemade chapati bread. Pretty delicious indeed!::

:: Et comme nous avons encore quelques kilos de riz à utiliser, pas mal de Garam Masal, de cardamome et de safran, nous avons fait du Rogan Josh avec des cubes de nos brebis et du pain chapati maison. Pas mal bon!::

Homemade chapati bread (so quick, easy and delicious!)

4 cups of sifted flour
2 teaspoon of sea salt
1/4 cup of yogurt plus some warm water to make a soft kneadable dough

Knead 5 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes in a warm spot. Cut into 10 pieces of even size. Roll as flat as possible and cook in a very warm pan (cast iron is ideal) on both sides. Keep in the oven while you cook the rest. Spread lots of butter on top. Great for rolls of any kind, thin pizza crust and just as is!