Michaelmas Festival

Friday morning when we pulled up to school there was an excited feeling in the air.  You could tell that all of the children knew it was a special day.  As Jackson, Nora and I were leaving the school we walked past a giant (and I do mean giant... this picture doesn't do it justice) pot of soup being brewed by some volunteer parents.  All of the classes had been busily chopping vegetables throughout the week for the big feast that was to take place after the Michaelmas play.





The first graders were asked to wear red for their part in the play (which inspired me to make a new skirt for Grace the night before).  When we arrived back at school about an hour before the play all of them were outside bustling about in their red bandannas working hard to get everything ready.  It was so neat to see their sense of pride and connection as they worked together for this big event.





All of the grades have a part in the play (except the kindergartners).  It was very beautiful.  Jackson especially loved the dragon.  And I especially loved being surrounded by such a wonderful community of people.  As all of the teachers, children and parents sang a blessing together before the feast (in a round I might add) I couldn't help but feel incredibly grateful to be a part of this school.

May Day

Her Light

Last week Grace (along with the other preschoolers and kindergartners at her school) got to partake in an Advent Spiral. It was such a beautiful little celebration and so touching to watch as a parent. Each child takes their turn walking through a spiral of fresh evergreen branches until they reach the center where they light their own candle from an already lit one, and then place it on a star along the spiral path. When all the children are finished the spiral is glowing with apple filled candles.

She was so proud as she bravely carried her candle to it's star. Everyone told me to bring Kleenex- which I didn't understand at all and I didn't do- but I should have. As one parent put it, "as you watch your child walk through the spiral sometimes you can get a glimpse of how they walk through life." And as I watched Grace circle around, smile on her face and so sure-footed, I did feel as though I was in fact getting just a little glimpse.

Funny how such little things can make you feel so proud as a parent.

The Clothes...

This morning Grace got to pick more herbs from our gardens to bring into school for soup making. She loves doing this.



But that's actually not why I'm blogging. Really this post is about girl clothes. Four year old girl clothes to be precise. I'm a little embarrassed to admit how much I love picking out Grace's outfits in the morning for school. But I mean really, how cute is this.



And, I'm proud to say, I was able buy all her clothes for school (except shoes) at my two favorite thrift shops. For some reason this makes me like the clothes even more I think.

But more importantly (I suppose) is that the girl in these clothes had another very happy day at school today... making soup and new friends.