The simple bare necessities

Look for the bare necessities

The simple bare necessities

Forget about your worries and your strife

I mean the bare necessities

Old Mother Nature's recipes

That brings the bare necessities of life

Good food, drink...rest...sleep

Art and beauty

Nature

Love, love, love...all you need is love               

And Joy

Music and dance

And Peace

Winter Fair

I just love this time of the year
Darker evenings, candlelight
Frosty mornings
Silver bells...
White Christmas (dreaming of)
etc...

Check this amazing link with lots of cute Steiner inspired nature tables, art and crafts...
https://www.pinterest.com/valleywaldorf/wintertime/

Cant wait for the Winter Fair at our school!

I will be the Snow Queen again!!!

The art of being with young children Want peaceful, happy toddlers? Then this workshop is for you! Saturday 23rd November from 12 to 2pm Location: Blackheath library “ Mindful care; The art of being with young children” For parents, carers, home educators & teachers of children aged 0 to 5 Get practical advice on dealing with babies/toddlers tantrums, difficult moments, and pushing boundaries. Learn about simplicity, slow parenting. We look at rhythm and repetition, meaningful activities, nutrition, sleep, free play, music, storytelling and creativity. Bring your questions and share your experiences. Run by Susannah Andrews, an experienced Steiner-inspired carer and trained Early Years practitioner, with experience as a Kindergarten teacher, Acorns Parent and Child Leader and Nanny. £11 please book now 07837931643 susannah.andrews@gmail.com

Autumn comes, the summer is past, winter will come too soon, 
Star will shine clearer, skies seem nearer 
Under the Harvest Moon 

Autumn comes, so let us be glad, singing an autumn tune 
Hearts will be lighter, skies seem brighter 
Under a Harvest Moon

Golden light is turning grey,
Mists begin to rule the day.
Bare the trees, their branches lift;
Clouds of dead leaves earthward drift.

Through the field the farmer goes,
Seeds of ripened corn he sows;
Trusts the earth will hold it warm,
Shelter it from cold and harm.

For he knows, that warmth and light
Live there, hidden from our sight;
And beneath a sheltering wing,
Deep below, new life will spring!

Deep below, deep below, new life will spring!

Lantern Festival


Saturday 16th November at 4 pm


Woodlands - Mycenae Road 






Our Lantern Festival will be held at Woodlands

This magical event is one of our favorite ones

At Acorns we will be preparing for this Festival making lanterns and biscuits in the shape of stars and moons.
 We do all this because of St Martin's day and to represent the inward mood of Autumn, the colder weather approaching, with the darker days, longer nights, going towards Winter; the light in our lanterns shines bright for us to guide us through the darkest times, bringing warmth and joy, love to us all.

At our sessions after the half term we will be making lanterns in preparation for the festival. Some of us leaders will bake cookies shaped like stars and moons...but this doesn't stop families making and preparing at home...

Lantern Festival 
Saturday 4pm 
Woodlands - Greenwich Steiner School 
90 Mycenae Road - Blackheath SE3 7SE

Acorns warmly welcomes families to attend our annual Lantern Festival
to be held at Woodlands, Greenwich Steiner School Saturday 16th November

We will sing together as we walk through the trees at twilight.
Please bring the lanterns you have made in your group, spare tea-light candles,
matches, warm clothing and waterproof clothing if raining.

Please could each family contribute a carton of apple juice which will be warmed
and served with cookies after our walk in the grounds?

As the timing overlaps evening meal time for many, it may be helpful to have children eat a hearty meal before the event.
This is a free event for the whole family. Siblings, dads and aunties all welcome!

Hope to see you all there.

Here there is more info about this lovely festival, taken from Faith Collin's website, which I find is like a cave full of treasures and ideas for us parents/carers and anyone interested in Steiner inspired family life...

(from: http://joyfultoddlers.info/ )
Martinmas (November 11th) is not commonly celebrated in the United States, but it’s such a lovely festival that I wanted to tell you all about it. I love celebrating these ‘smaller’ festivals because they have not been taken over by commercial interests, and you can really shape them to be special events for your family or your class/program. Martinmas in particular holds an extra special place in my heart, because it falls on my birthday! Every year growing up, I couldn’t wait for this special celebration.

What Is Martinmas?

Well, there are two parts of Martinmas. The first is that it’s the Saint Day of Saint Martin, and the other part is that Martinmas “adopted” the very old tradition of the the Lantern Walk. Most of us, depending on where we live, are starting to really notice that the days are getting shorter, and the nights are getting longer. As nature starts falling asleep, and the world is getting darker, it is up to us to light the world, with our own inner lights. We must look inside ourselves, and to one another, to light up our world. This light can be seen through warmth, and through kindness, and through doing what we know to be right. Saint Martin was one such man, who shared his red cloak with a beggar, then had a dream where Christ said to him, “What you do to others, you do to me.” Martin stepped down from his post in the Roman Legion to become a holy man. We, like St. Martin, can do things that are warm and friendly for one another, and this help to keep the world alight in these cold times.
We can also make external representations of our inner light, to light the world around us. One way to do that is by making lanterns. I loved making lanterns as a child! Over the years we made many different kinds of lanterns. These are some examples of the types of lanterns we made:

These lanterns are made from a tin can with holes pounded through with a hammer and nail. These can be very fancy, or quite plain, but when lit they look like little stars shining through (fill the can with water and put it in the freezer before hammering, so you don’t crush the can):


Other years, we made “stained glass” lanterns with tissue paper behind cut-outs from stiff paper painted with water color paints. If we wanted to be very fancy, we’d put waxed-paper into the cutouts, with leaves and crayon-shavings ironed between.



Then again, paper mache lanterns are some of the easiest to make, and most colorful of lanterns. They glow all over when lit!



And finally, one of my favorite (although by far the most complex) were the lanterns carved from a turnip:

Whatever the method, we would sing and sing as we made our lanterns. Then, when Martinmas finally came, it was time for our Lantern Walk. Parents and children would gather at dusk, and we would light our lanterns. Together, with our lights shining, we would walk through the land and sing our songs. Now, different groups do the lantern walk differently. Some walk through the woods, where it is very dark. Some walk through the neighborhood, to bring light and goodwill to the neighbors, like caroling. Some structure the whole experience to be soft and quiet and reverent, asking parents to keep the chit-chat to the minimum, so that it’s a truly reflective experience. Other groups troop around gaily, and end the whole thing around a huge bonfire, with songs and hot cider and camaraderie all around.

Get Ready
If you have a home-program and are excited to host an early-evening activity, by all means get busy! Likewise, if you are a parent at home and would like to invite other parents and children over to do a lantern walk, how lovely! But it may be that you can’t host an evening activity, or you don’t have a group of children. No matter what your situation, you can still make lanterns and celebrate the kindling of our own inner lights. Here’s what you might do:

Make Your Lanterns
First off, start leaving the lights off a little more, so that you and your children can really notice that it’s getting darker. Where you can, use small lamps or light candles to add more light. Then, start making your lanterns. One of the biggest-bang-for-your-buck lanterns is the paper mache lantern made with balloons, and there is a lovely description (with photos) of how to make that type of lantern here:http://www.waldorffamilynetwork.com/saints.html . Toddlers can help make this type of lantern quite easily. Or, if you have big boys who love to use tools, make a tin-can lantern. Take a used can and fill it with water, then put it in the freezer. Once it is frozen, you can put it in a plastic tub with a towel in the bottom, and make holes with a hammer and nail. If you get a nail started, a child can “help” hammer it in.

Sing and Tell Stories
While you make your lanterns, sing songs! A song that many people know is “This little light of mine (I’m gonna let it shine).” That’s a good one. I can’t find the songs I used to sing online, but here are a couple more that are sung on a YouTube video that you could use, sung by David Darcy: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mKgUFAytb2k&feature=related. You can sing one or two songs over and over again. Children love repetition! And between the songs, you might tell a story like this:

A Story of Autumn Light Once upon a time there was a little boy who lived with his mother and his father and his baby sister. He played all summer long in his shorts and bare-feet, feeling the hot sun on his face. Then, one day, the ground started to get cold, and he had to put on shoes. Then the wind started to blow! He was chilly! He had to put on a sweater to keep warm. The leaves started to turn colors and fall off of the trees. “What’s happening?” he asked his mother. “Autumn is here,” said his mother, “and soon Winter will be on its way. Do you see how the squirrels are collecting nuts for the winter? And the mice are collecting seeds. And our dog is growing a nice, thick coat to keep himself warm.” The little boy thought about this for a few days, and he did notice the squirrel collecting nuts. And when he petted his dog, he noticed that his coat was getting thick and bushy. A few more days went by, and the boy said, “Mother, it seems like the world used to be full of sunshine, but now it is getting dark. Will it keep getting darker and darker?” And he mother replied, “Yes, it will get darker and darker each evening until the deep winter. The world is getting ready to sleep.” The boy thought about this for a few more days, and he said, “Mother, will we be dark and cold, too?” “No,” said his mother, “We will stay warm, but it won’t be the sun that warms us as much. During these dark, cold months, we will have to find our own lights!” “How can we do that?” the boy asked. “We can do that by lighting fires in the fireplace, by lighting candles all around, by wearing warm clothes and even by making lanterns to take our light with us outside in the dark! And we can keep ourselves and others warm by doing acts of kindness, to warm our hearts.” That little boy and his mother and father made lanterns to bring their lights outside, and when they were done, they took their lanterns out and sang sweet songs, and knocked on their neighbors’ doors to take them some fresh-baked banana bread, to keep them warm as well. And the boy and his family kept their lights lit and their hearts warm all through the Autumn, and through the Winter as well.

When the Day Comes
When the day comes (traditionally November 11th, but if you’re just getting started, do it any day in November; nobody will know!), tell your children: “Today is the day! The day for our Lantern Walk! Today we will take our lights and our warmth outside with us!” Bake some banana bread or cookies together, for the neighbors, all the while talking about how much the neighbors are going to love it, how warm it will make them feel, and how warm you will feel as well! While the bread is baking, the children might color some cards, and then it will be time to make sure that the lanterns are all ready. If you have many more children than adults, and the children are very young, you might need to use those electric votives that “flicker” like a real candle, but if you can, use real candles. Even young children can be careful! Set all of the lanterns on the table, turn out the lights, and light the candles. In this darkened atmosphere, oh-so-quietly get your warm Autumn clothes on, with warm hats, scarves, mittens (depending on the weather in your area). You might hum the lantern songs softly while you dress, and when you have to talk, whisper. This makes the event into something special.
Finally, you’re ready to go! Singing your song loudly, give each child a lantern, and head outside. Sing all the way to the neighbor’s house, and ring the bell. Tell your neighbor that you and the children noticed it was getting cold and dark, and you made some banana bread to help them keep warm! Then back home you go. A successful lantern walk!

Parting Thoughts
The main thing about this is to do something that you and the children can be excited about. It may be that you make only one lantern together. It may be that you take store-bought cookies to one neighbor. Or if you care for many children and going out of your yard is too hard, it may be that you ask parents to arrive 15 minutes early and you and the children walk around the yard with your lanterns and then everyone eats warm banana bread at the end. You can adjust it to whatever feels manageable for you, in your situation. But telling a story for several days in a row, and then “living” the story through your own actions, and noticing how good it feels to be generous to others, helps a family or a class to feel alive and warm and connected. What a wonderful way to go into Autumn!

The art of being with young children

The art of being with young children

Want peaceful, happy toddlers?

Then this workshop is for you!

Saturday Oct 19th 12-3pm

Church of the Ascension, Dartmouth Row, Blackheath

“ Mindful care;

The art of being with young children”

For parents, carers, home educators & teachers of children aged 0 to 5

Get practical advice on dealing with babies/toddlers tantrums, difficult moments, and pushing boundaries. Learn about simplicity, slow parenting.

We look at rhythm and repetition, meaningful activities, nutrition, sleep, free play, music, storytelling and creativity. Bring your questions and share your experiences.

Run by Susannah Andrews, an experienced Steiner-inspired carer and trained Early Years practitioner, with experience as a Kindergarten teacher, Acorns Parent and Child Leader and Nanny.

£11 includes refreshments, please book now 07837931643

susannah.andrews@gmail.com

The art of being with young children

Want peaceful, happy toddlers?

Then this workshop is for you!

Saturday Oct 19th 12-3pm

Church of the Ascension, Dartmouth Row, Blackheath

“ Mindful care;

The art of being with young children”

For parents, carers, home educators & teachers of children aged 0 to 5

Get practical advice on dealing with babies/toddlers tantrums, difficult moments, and pushing boundaries. Learn about simplicity, slow parenting.

We look at rhythm and repetition, meaningful activities, nutrition, sleep, free play, music, storytelling and creativity. Bring your questions and share your experiences.

Run by Susannah Andrews, an experienced Steiner-inspired carer and trained Early Years practitioner, with experience as a Kindergarten teacher, Acorns Parent and Child Leader and Nanny.

£11 includes refreshments.

 Last few spaces left, please book now 07837931643

susannah.andrews@gmail.com

deadline: please, book and pay before Wednesday 16th.

Mindful care:

the art of being with young children;

a workshop for parents, carers,

home educators and teachers of children aged 0 to 5

Saturday 19th, 12 to 3 pm

This is the place and the time to bring your questions and share experiences,

hear practical advices on how to deal with babies/toddlers

tantrums, difficult moments, pushing boundaries...

learn about simplicity, slow parenting, natural rhythms, how to have peaceful and happy toddlers and get inspired by an experienced carer who is Steiner inspired.

We are going to look at rhythm and repetition, meaningful activities, nutrition, sleep, free play, music, storytelling, creativity. Bring your questions for discussion.

£11 , includes refreshments. Limited spaces, please book now 07837931643

susannah.andrews@gmail.com

Full Moon - sweet dreams

Sleep

Sleep that knits up the ravelled sleave of care
The death of each day's life, sore labour's bath
Balm of hurt minds, great nature's second course,
Chief nourisher in life's feast.
~William Shakespeare, Macbeth







On a full Moon night, happy dreaming to all!


x Susannah

September is here again!

Cooler winds and golden skies, hazy lights and that smell of new....
fresh new start, yet, in a way for most of us is just going back to a familiar routine! Back at school, back to the rhythm.



Playing, relaxing, fun and leisure, finding gradually their place again in between a more fixed daily and weekly routine. Yep! Time to be more serious. That old feeling of looking forward to the weekend, arriving at mid week, swimming through Boring Wednesdays, sliding onto Tired Thursday and crawling passed Frightful Friday and yipppee: Recharging Saturday and Fun Sunday.

Hopefully, with me creating a balanced schedule of work and fun, having also started the last 4 weeks a regular fitness routine...I want to make sure I don't go back to my old 'slob' state and maintain my new slimmer and more energetic, green tea drinker, Zumba dancer, sexy lover, laid back mother state. I don't want to go back to that scary zone of hormonal and grumpy, tired, i player addict and chocolate lover I was beforehand. No room for domestic goddess either; let the rooms in our house gather a bit of healthy dust and relax about cooking: I am super keen on grilled fish and steamed/boiled greens, so easy, so non fussy (and if I win the lottery I will hire a Japanese cook and an Italian cook for us)!

So, how am I going to stick to this routine now?



I will keep the faith: I will remind myself about it; I will remember how easy it is! How great I feel after exercise, how simple life can be, how invigorating and refreshing is to live without any 'must do' and learn to prioritize. I give priority to myself, as I have learnt to be selfish and feeling fine about it. I am looking after myself, and the rest will follow. 



Ultimately, if I feel good and if I am slimmer and fitter, I will look beautiful, feel empowered, will be stronger and have more stamina, be a better person, mother and wife and lover.
Will feel more positive about everything and will radiate positive energy outwards to people around me.

Being SELFISH

I now know it is so important and it is ok to be selfish, in fact, vital!
So let it be...


S      Nurture your SPIRIT.
E      ENJOY moments alone.
L      LOVE yourself.
F      Keep FIT and FEEL good.
I       Make your unique needs IMPORTANT.
S      SHOWER yourself with gift
H     Be HAPPY and open-hearted.

A journey towards
Our beginning

Something new
Like fresh morning dew

The feeling of anticipation
The joy of the happening
And the warmth
Of what is yet to come

Together
As one

Now

Pop your bubble

 We live comfortably in our own bubbles with thin barriers enclosed around us.
We rarely make eye contact with those we pass on the street.
We rarely comment or acknowledge that out there others exist apart from us.
We often go through phases of our lives when we really live in our own bubble; maintain this strict, rigid detachment until we encounter ever so fleetingly a moment where our bubbles burst, one enters inside of our barriers, touches us — perhaps accidentally, perhaps intentionally — & reminds us that there are others outside of ourselves, that we are surrounded by sentient & spiritual beings.
Often, on the bus, or the train, I look up & scan the faces that stand in front of me. Most of them with headphones, listening to music, staring listlessly in front of them, focusing their eyes on nothing. Others finger their smart phones, texting, reading, looking at their messages. No one speaks to each other, no one glances in the other’s direction.
I am astounded at this indifference, how no one seems to notice this interconnected moment, where we are being inundated with sights & smells & sounds that are stimulating our bodies — or at least mine, anyway. I seem to be the only one with this awareness. Everyone else is in their own little world.

I popped my bubble, a while ago...I am safe; I know that if I wanted it , I can go back inside it at any moment, but I chose not to.
Step outside your bubble: connect, smile, interact, talk, communicate, (not on facebook or twitter) be brave!

Since then, I have been feeling like a human!
Truly human with the divine inside me.
I opened up and I let love flow. I am still learning...always open and creating...





As human beings, our bodies have evolved from the very fibres of Mother Earth - we are her 'children’ and as such we are too demanding of Mother Earth, whilst simultaneously giving too much of our own time to the minutiae of our lifestyles and the demands of schedules and individuals who do not necessarily appreciate it.  As such, just like Mother Earth, we too demonstrate a seismic response to stress

As we similarly fight for self-preservation in response to stress, reverting to the animal rather than higher, spiritual instincts,  we increase our plundering litter-effect on the harmonious existence of Mother Earth … and she too can only make us aware that we demand too much through her own animalistic response of shaking off the litter, through the stressed shifting of her plates.

When I consider the esoteric teaching of “As Above, So Below” I find it easier to understand that what is happening to Mother Earth is more natural than “unnatural” in terms of earth-bound and sky-ward elements, such as environmental disasters and "unnatural" elemental conditions.  Earthquakes often occur in and directly affect the very centres of highly populated areas, the very points on the planet where Mother Earth is carrying the negative energy of those living there, that demanding and all consuming litter.  This disturbance of Mother Earth’s balance and sapping of her sources, results in these calamitous shifts in energy as she is forced to shake herself, a natural response in warning of her own depletion.  

I, for one, feel bound to Mother Earth and have heard her warning, felt her pain.  For myself I feel that now is the time for a collective consciousness: a time of healing and community with Mother Earth and I consider it to be my privilege to help prevent harm and to use my music to help heal our spiritual stresses and commune with Mother Earth as she struggles to be heard above the storms of our own creation.

Now I popped my bubble, this is the new -old me...I am me, my own self, renewed, recharged, re-invented. I stepped out of my comfort zone and receive the vibrational energies of the pure light divine and the cosmic is flowing through me...



And it feels fresh and new; it feels like wearing a new skin, a new scent.
Entering a new phase of my life, with an open mind, a positive attitude.
I am creating new habits, breaking the old ones, making space, allowing change, going through the change and with the change, like riding on a wave, into the vast ocean.
I am feeling excited, but very safe, guided by this strong spiritual connection I feel, like a new person.
This is freedom in it's pure form; of course, I am still bound to the practical side of this life, the usual commitments.
I feel held and guided, with a sense of clarity; it is a confidence that I haven't known before, my attitude is now only positive and open.

Alive

Alive
Softly flowing
Softly blowing
Perfumed wind
Of the perfumed Garden

Water lily
Open and fragrant
Open and receiving
Cosmic light
Divine Feminine
Flower power





In the beginning were the waters of chaos ... Darkness covered the waters until ... the Primeval Water Lily rose from the abyss. Slowly the blue water lily opened its petals to reveal a young god sitting in its golden heart. A sweet perfume drifted across the waters and light streamed from the body of this Divine Child to banish universal darkness. This child was the Creator, the Sun God, the source of all life. 


 So the Primeval Water Lily closed its petals at the end of each day... Chaos reigned through the night until the god within the water lily returned.

Original article: http://www.thekeep.org/~kunoichi/kunoichi/themestream/egypt_waterlily.html#.Ug97eENwYdU#ixzz2cEVu50G3
© Caroline Seawright

great Energy

I am woman and I am divine

Aphrodite

Alive

inside me, she

I surrender

I laugh, I cry

bliss in my bones

in my womb

trembling with pleasure

or is it pain?

it has no name

but

I am She

my name, Aphrodite

or many other names

and faces come through

and who am I

but she?

of many faces 

in places

between the movement

where the stillness gives birth

to the movement

I am gone

I am awake

the ecstasy I have been yearning for

is here inside

and she

is me

(Vanessa Nova)

Visions of the Universe

With the sky and the stars and the shooting stars, meteor showers at this time of the year, I feel particularly close to the Universe!
I suggest, then, that, if you can, you go and see this:
http://www.rmg.co.uk/whats-on/exhibitions/

Amazing exhibition at the Maritime museum (lower ground)
I am lucky to have the yearly membership, so will return there again!
It took me back to my Astronomy A level and wanting to know everything forgotten again.
A lot gets forgotten, but the strange thing is that I never lost that feeling of wonder and knowing that out there is very near and our connection with the stars and planets and all things in the sky is real and part of our everyday lives. We are influenced, inspired and intrigued by the sky and we explore and soon we will be able to know much more and go beyond...It is scary in an exciting sort of way, to know that my grandchildren will take a trip to space; as easy as taking a plane to NY!

Meteor showers

Apparently meteor showers this year were amazing.
Pity I was in Wales when it happened...and Wales was cloudy and rainy!
but I still relish the images given here
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2391153/Perseid-meteor-shower-Spectacular-reminder-comet-wont-pass-113-years.html

and from this site
http://www.universetoday.com/104086/two-beautiful-timelapse-videos-of-the-2013-perseid-meteor-shower/

enjoy!

x
Susannah

you make me feel like a natural woman

Looking out on the morning rain
I used to feel so uninspired
And when I knew I had to face another day
Lord, it made me feel so tired
Before the day I met you, life was so unkind
But you're the key to my peace of mind

'Cause you make me feel, you make me feel
You make me feel like a natural woman

When my soul was in the lost-and-found
You came along to claim it
I didn't know just what was wrong with me
Till your kiss helped me name it
Now I'm no longer doubtful of what I'm living for
And if I make you happy I don't need to do more

'Cause you make me feel, you make me feel
You make me feel like a natural woman

Oh, baby, what you've done to me?
You make me feel so good inside
And I just want to be close to you
You make me feel so alive

You make me feel, you make me feel
You make me feel like a natural woman

You make me feel, you make me feel
You make me feel like a natural woman

You make me feel, you make me feel

 Aretha Franklin -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=keMeDEYx1Jw

Ready to receive cosmic healing

Opening up to possibilities
flowing between dimensions
reality and dreaming
opening up
receiving the light
 feeling warm within
and glowing outwards
feeling light
and ready

On feeling lighter

Lately, I have drastically changed my lifestyle; I am not sure how to start explaining, but I am driven by a physical need which takes me to almost a different dimension. I lost the perspective of day to day life, on the basis that my routine has changed, my attitude to routine, perhaps has shifted.

Out of the window goes the i player watching (don't have a TV) with all the regular soaps and dramas and weekly junk; comfort snacking or late meals are gone, and much more...
most of all I started eating fish again, as I was vegetarian before; two reasons blended into one: the amount of physical exercise, and I don't mean just the gym and zumba classes...!
Now, the digestion according to my own metabolism led me to this change. Ditching the carbs, especially and quite strictly in the evenings, and not eating later than 5 pm has a good impact on my energy levels and how my body feels.

If I had a lot of money, I would employ a Japanese/macrobiotic chef to cook for me almost daily; I started craving poached/grilled salmon with ginger, soy and spring onion, natto, seaweed, especially more than before.

I am going to exercise classes and the gym almost daily and started to feel I can lose all this excess weight I have been carrying for the last 12 years!

My priorities have changed, thanks to my lovely husband, now I put myself first; it is ok to be selfish, to look after myself, to feel slightly vain and wanting to look good; it is strangely liberating.
Feeling lighter, a positive shift, the old and the new me, only better...

O

O...
with the moon
watching
a new beginning;
now
more than ever
before
and ever after
whole,
round and full,
like an ...O...
 a full moon rising
in the vast skies;

a new moon
a new start
a waxing gibbous moon
and a spectacle of
noctilucent clouds
shining
glistening
sparkling
and my
tingling
bringing
this new cocktail
of sensations

O...
opening
blossoming
like a lotus flower
in a dripping wet pond
deep blue
deep
deep

It's gonna be a bright sun shiny day

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XtiXiYMS86U

Artist: Johnny Nash Lyrics
Song: I Can See Clearly Now Lyrics
I can see clearly now, the rain is gone,
I can see all obstacles in my way
Gone are the dark clouds that had me blind
It's gonna be a bright (bright), bright (bright)
Sun-Shiny day.

I think I can make it now, the pain is gone
All of the bad feelings have disappeared
Here is the rainbow I've been prayin' for
It's gonna be a bright (bright), bright (bright)
Sun-Shiny day.

Look all around, there's nothin' but blue skies
Look straight ahead, nothin' but blue skies

I can see clearly now, the rain is gone,
I can see all obstacles in my way
Gone are the dark clouds that had me blind
It's gonna be a bright (bright), bright (bright)
Sun-Shiny day.

Life is beautiful

Life unfolds
Before
And ahead of me

The last of me
The beginning
Again

Wings of desire
Love and hate
Forgiving
Accepting
Moving forward
Looking backwards

Rest, and restless sleep
Awake
In deep thoughts
The wrong thoughts

Dwelling in a stagnant pond
Only to find a way out
Drowning or floating

Finding the waterfall
Rinsing away all
Cleansing and refreshing

Amongst the blurred water lilies
The vivid colours

The choices
The hurt
The joys
The dreams
Forgiveness
Acceptance
Then
Gratitude

Life unfolds
Life is beautiful


(Susannah)

Multicultaral festival

Sunday7th July
MULTI CULTURAL
FESTIVALGreenwich Steiner School
Woodlands
An all day event
Pupils, Parents, Teachers, Families and Friends,
from Acorns Parent and Child families to Middle school,

You are ALL invited to join and celebrate with us the Multicultural Festival.
It's nearly the end of the school year and we have one last festival to celebrate!
What a lovely way to celebrate and be part of the cultural  diversity
in our school.


There will be fun activities for the children
 (and the adults of course).

Games, dance, activities, workshops and storytelling to name just a few!
In the past we had tango, drumming, sushi making and circus skills and much more! I have fond memories of these festival and I am sure this will be a good one too, with the sunny weather on our side!

To add to the spirit, come dressed in your traditional clothes, if you wish.

 If you can, please bring  a traditional dish from your country of origin that can be shared. The idea is that we can all have a taste!
Vegetarian preferred, or otherwise, please make sure you clearly label ingredients and state the country.

And for those who have a musical talent, bring along your instruments so we can sing and dance together.

Please, if you have any particular skill that you like to show and teach or just share let the school know.

You must learn to be still in the midst of activity and to be vibrantly alive in repose. (I. Gandhi)

 

 

Mandala painting workshop

 

Jo Katsuno is doing a children's workshop

Mandala painting  at her house in Petts Wood on

 

 

Saturday 29th June from 12 -4pm.

The cost for the day is £15 per person if you bring your own lunch or £20 per person if you would like to have a hot vegetarian based meal provided.

The price includes all art materials and your 30x30cm painted canvas to take home with you.  If you are interested let her know and she will send the full address.
Her email is jo.kenji@hotmail.co.uk 

The workshop is aimed at children aged 7 upwards and there is limited space.

 

Children and adults paint together.