It is starting to warm up here, which is fantastic! So, last
weekend I went with my host family on a spontaneous trip to the wildflowers. It
was so beautiful! The wildflower region stretches from about an hour from Cape
Town all the way until Namibia. Another fun fact, I learned that South Africa
has the most diverse flowers of any range in the world! Neat-o, huh?! There is
really no wrong or right way to see the flowers, so we just drove and stopped
when we saw something nice. The first place that we stopped was a flower
preserve off of the highway. We got out and each took time to walk around and
take in the surroundings. The most amazing thing about the wildflowers were
that you could walk 10 feet in one direction and see something completely
different or see one flower, just one, and never see that kind again. The different
flowers were stunning! There were daisies, lilies, critters, and butterflies.
It was a perfect, sunny day, so all of the flowers were open. We stopped a few
more times when we found huge fields ridden with flowers. It seemed as if a
paintbrush had just painted over the grass. The air smelled like honey and we
were all reminded of “The Wizard of Oz” as we sat down and had a picnic. Afterwards,
we drove to the town Darling, which besides having the most wonderful name, is
also a very cute small town. Luckily, there was a street festival going on and
so we had a break and enjoyed all that the festival had to offer. When we drove
home that night all of the flowers were going to sleep, sadly, but it was still
so enjoyable just to see them. When we were heading into Cape Town, I couldn’t
keep my eyes off of Table Mountain. It is truly one of the most amazing sights
that I have ever seen. I cannot get over how regally it stands nor how flat the
top is, haha, which I realize sounds a bit silly. The whole day was fantastic! If
you feel like looking at about 100 pictures of flowers, the photo page has been
updated.
Things at the school are continuing to go very well! The
kids have really reached my heart, and no matter how far my patience is
stretched, I always smile whenever I think about school. Here are just some
tidbits about school:
-I learned that if you give two children your tennis shoes,
they will spend 20 minutes trying to tie them. I loved the way that they were
so attentive to the knots that they made. For example, after they learned that
pulling the knot tighter would not un-do it, they had to think about another way
to solve the problem. Getting to sit there and watch was a gift.
-The girls’ new favorite game is “salon” where about 3 or 4
of them surround my head and pull and twist it into different shapes, braids,
and pony tails. Needless to say, I often have a headache at school haha.
-My new favorite accessory is chalk all over my pants.
-I had a moment that I never considered before. The children
have a craft rhythm, which means that on each day they do something specific.
One day a week they use dough (playdough) to shape and mold into their hearts
desires. I was always sad when we did dough because each child does not get a
lot. I would always think, “what on earth can someone do with just a little bit
of dough?” So, this past week, we inquired about borrowing some dough from
downstairs so that the children can have some more. Our teacher said no,
because the dough that we use is thick and hard, and it works on the fine motor
skills of the children. I had never even considered this! But it is so true! We
use dough and beeswax to model, and although each child only gets a little bit,
a lot goes into changing the shape of the dough. The children really have to
work, especially with the wax, which I attempted for the first time this week.
I was amazed how difficult it really was, and I only had a small bit of it.
-I have come to love ringtime, which is when the children
sing and play finger games. It amazes me how the nature of the children change
from song to song. Our teacher does a fantastic time about varying the rhythm,
pace, and volume of the songs that we sing. I learned that the reason Waldorf
uses ringtime is that the children are still coming into their bodies. Ringtime
helps them to not only learn how to interact with their classmates, but realize
new movements on their own.
Next week I will go to a new Waldorf school. I am excited to explore a new place!
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