An Appreciation of Fruit

AN APPRECIATION OF SHARING FRUIT IN THE WOODS WITH YOUR CHILDREN

Often using the word "rhythm" to describe the process, a Waldorf early childhood teacher creates a schedule of a morning or day that allows time for vigorous movement (often called out breaths); and for times of quietness and interpersonal and self awareness (inbreaths). It is wonderful working with my kindergarten colleagues, with your children, and with my memories of children I have taught in the past: each group of children asks for nourishment in unique ways; each teacher answers this request in unique ways. Just when I thought I'd "never" serve fruit in the woods again because it had unsettled past groups (children focusing to whether they got as much as another; children expressing a sense of lack, a sense of competition; this mood lingering into the outdoor play of the children), your children have had the intrepidness to dispel my false conclusions.

We have a lovely time when we gather--after the longest nursery hike I've ever taken, longer than I thought I would take--to share apples, pears, and satsumas (thanks to Lynne). I still cut the apples and pears in half to display the stars in the center. The children wait with ease and equanimity. Rather than competing, children make sure I am not forgetting to serve their classmates. Your children have helped me to meet and nurture them where they are. They have also reminded me to celebrate and respond to the present: this current outdoor snack routine would not work so well if our class grows in size. Rather than worry about what if (a good what if for the school), I remain confident that we would shift and find other ways to create a rhythm or the morning that supports the children.

Lynne and I have been supplying a lot fruit recently and have source to bring quantities of organic fruit to school. Although the harvest season is over, if you find yourself near a bounty and want to share a bag with the class, wonderful. This is an invitation, not a request or exhortation; please feel no stress about it. It is great if each family can bring a vegetable or veggies for the soup on Wednesdays.