Looking toward Michaelmas, Dickerson Library

Dear Nursery Families,

While we had a rich first class meeting, we were unable to talk about Michaelmas, our school festival. I want to write now to help you decide whether to attend both our Friday, September 25, nursery and parent & child Autumn Festival and our all school Michaelmas Festival and pageant on Tuesday, September 29 (from 4:30 to 7:15pm; exact time may shift slightly).

Although I do not have a cogent article available in electronic format, I recommend two available in the Kathrine Dickerson Memorial Library (in the lobby upstairs). Waldorf Education: A Family Guide contains an brief but thorough introduction to Michaelmas. Rahima Baldwin Dancy, in You Are Your Child's First Teacher, describes many aspects of Waldorf education and parenting in that spirit with thorough and loving attention (her chapter "Rhythm and Discipline in Home Life" gives a helpful explanation of how Waldorf early childhood parents guide children in their classes--it can also be helpful for moms and dads at home). I will also post an article outside the Butterfly classroom in coming weeks.

Here is my take on Michaelmas. As summer changes to fall, days shorten, and the frost and cold of winter approaches, we as humans need strength and courage to help us stand upright through the darkness of winter. Different cultures have received inspiration from the meteor showers (heavenly iron, shooting stars) they observed around late September; the iron from the stars of heaven gave people strength. In various cultures and religions, this comes forth as a tale of a hero--a knight like St. George or Archangel Michael conquering or taming a dragon. For Rudolf Steiner, this battle between a knight and a dragon goes on inside each one of us--the dragon is not some other out there to be excluded, but, rather, that part of ourselves that we need to confront, acknowledge, and tame so we are ready to be free individuals capable of serving humanity and the world.

Obviously, explanations of a psychic battle inside each of us would be a bit much for our nursery children. I also find that many 2 to 4 year olds are not ready for images of dragons (or witches, monsters, big bad wolves, and the like). Whereas 5 and 6 year olds begin to seek more powerful archetypes of good and evil (which they meet in fairy tales told with loving objectivity by a trusted adult), many 2 to 4 year olds (while still presenting and finding challenges) receive their best nourishment not from battling pretend dragons, but rather from looking in wonderment toward the heavens and the stars. An early childhood teacher could simplify the celebration of Michaelmas toward an examination of stars--singing "Twinkle Twinkle" and cutting open an apple to reveal the star come to earth on the inside.

The feast and pageant on Tuesday, September 29, will contain some elements your child might love--food, community, music, a bonfire. The grades children will present a play in which, with the help of Michael, nobles conquer a dragon. The dragon--as portrayed by 6th graders--can be scary; my 5 year old was scared last year when he witnessed a rehearsal (I am directing the pageant this year and have scheduled all rehearsals to be after our nursery class time--both to avoid this potential fright and because I can't be in two places at once). Please ask other parents and decide for yourself if you wish to attend the evening festival. Some of children will have siblings in the play, so they will probably want to come to watch. For others, even though it is a great way to get a sense of the school community, there will be other chances. If you do plan to attend the Tuesday evening festival, please remember to bring your own plates and utensils (some new families missed this last year).

Because I do not think the Michaelmas play is necessarily appropriate for every nursery child, I offer another celebration of Autumn the Friday before at 9am for children and parents together. Nursery children and I will have baked extra bread and made extra soup in class that week (I'll ask for extra vegetables). On that Friday, we'll gather to share a snack outside and play and have a harvest dance to the fiddle. Then we'll go inside for a puppet show. After that, we will walk to the woods to meet (as a surprise for the children) a knight from the stars and Mother Earth--they will both present us with gifts. After the walk, children and parents will depart with their gifts.

I'll send more reminders as the date approaches.

With warmth and light,

William Geoffrey Dolde