The Power of Courage

In September we celebrate Michaelmas. I first learned of it when I was learning about the style of home school we wanted to use. It is such a fun festival. 

I spent some time making a pair of wool and leather slippers for each of my children. They were fun but by the third pair I was ready to be done with the project. If you ever make slippers remember to sew each piece of both slipper before moving on. Don't do it the way I did of completing one slipper and then doing the second one. They will look more uniform if you make both at the same time. I used felted sweaters and cut up leather that I got from the thrift store. 

I also needle felted the designs. These are the ones I made for my boy, the girls look different.

This is our September nature table. Our table this year looks a lot more fleshed out and we have more fun stuff to put on it. It took me some time as in the beginning I didn't have much stuff to put on it other than items from outside like seeds, sticks, and flowers and such. Now we have some wooden figures, and I needle felt items sometimes to go on there. 

Here is a blurry picture of our Michaelmas Feast. My husband likes to help me plan this one and he gets excited about it. Next year I think we are going to have chicken wings and we will call them dragon wings. We didn't have any dragon bread as we recently found out some members of our family have problems digesting gluten. It is hard to go without bread. 

Our chalkboard wall. I have been loving how I can write verses on it that we are working on for the week. It adds a nice touch but makes my house really feel like some sort of school.

We made a sword this year. My boy had interest in sanding it for about 20 minutes so it is a little rough. I figure he will get better at it as he still is very much immersed in imaginative play. I made the crown and dragon mask. 

We made up a short little play and practiced it all week. The kids thought this was a hoot as we have never done an activity like that before. It has been fun adding activities to our festivals. At first when we started celebrating them I only tried to do one or two simple things just so that it was possible. Since the kids are a little older they get excited and we are more capable of doing more and more each year.

When daddy got home from work we went out on the lawn and preformed our play.

There they go... running far and wide out into the neighbors lawn. They really got into it. 

They all did their parts so well.

They loved it.

We found an old white pillow case and I cut a neck hole and arm holes and we added a belt. It turned out great for a nights tunic. 

Daddy loved the play too. We think he was impressed. 

If you are confused as to what this celebration is here is a link for you. From my knowledge is us traditionally a catholic saint day, but our home school curriculum chooses to celebrate festivals and most of them are from European tradition. They are to create a family culture as well as to mark the year for young children. This is one of the common festivals that Waldorf communities celebrate. At first it was a little odd for us but I really like the themes of light and darkness and courage over evil. That goodness wins. After a few years of celebrating Michaelmas it has become a very fun event that hallmarks the new school year, the coming darkness of winter, and the reflection of the light within.