Preschool/Kindergarten Archives -

Baking Guide for a Custom Waldorf Kindergarten Homeschool Curriculum

JenMHowell — Tue, 08 Oct 2024 06:00:00 +0000

Now you get to use everything you’ve brainstormed about seasons, festivals, and themes to lay out the details of your custom curriculum! I started with baking because, out of the many activities in a Waldorf kindergarten, it’s one of my favorites. However, if baking intimidates you, feel free to start with another activity and come back to this one. I do recommend including baking, though!

My understanding of a Waldorf kindergarten classroom is that the students make a yeasted bread each week. Kneading it helps to build up their hand strength. I think many classrooms make the same recipe each week so the children can learn it by heart. This activity brings together the three components of Waldorf education – head, heart, and hands.

I went a different direction when I planned our curriculum. During some of the months, I wanted to make delicious seasonal baked goods, so I chose four different recipes for the month. For the months that didn’t have as much seasonal inspiration, I repeated one recipe each week.

If you already know you want to repeat the same recipe for the whole homeschool year, then go ahead and write down the name of the recipe on your baking day for each week.

If you want some variety, look at your festivals first. Are there any special baked goods you’d like to make for the festivals? Write those down on your baking day or on another day if that makes more sense. We make dragon bread for Michaelmas, Sweet Weckmanns for Martinmas, and saffron buns for St. Lucia Day.

Once you’ve written down your ideas for festivals, look at your themes. Are there any recipes you’d like to make that fit the themes? I love making and eating donuts, so of course I had to include apple cider donuts in September and pumpkin donuts in October. An internet search could help you find out if there are recipes that fit a particular theme. I found out about a Hungry Caterpillar cake I can use for our gardening theme in May.

For any remaining weeks, go with seasonal recipes or anything else you would like to make. For the weeks that I didn’t find something that matched the season, we’re making challah bread, which also lets my daughter practice her weaving skills when we braid the dough.

Remember that you can make your baking schedule as simple or as challenging as you would like to! Keep it simple with one basic recipe all year, or add in some different recipes that you’ve never made before. Children love to measure and mix, so as long as they can participate somehow, they will learn skills and enjoy their time baking with you.

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Seasons, Festivals, and Themes Guide for a Custom Waldorf Kindergarten Homeschool Curriculum

JenMHowell — Tue, 01 Oct 2024 06:00:00 +0000

To create your custom kindergarten curriculum, you’re going to start with the large picture and then fill in the details. Using a few sheets of paper or your favorite electronic device, you’ll brainstorm three categories: seasons, festivals, and monthly themes.

Celebrating Seasons

The seasons provide a broad base from which to start planning. On your first piece of paper, write “Autumn” as the title. Put “Winter” and “Spring” on the other two. You can include Summer as well if you wish to, and skip any seasons that you need to if you aren’t following the Northern hemisphere school year.

On each paper, write down your favorite things for each season. What comes to mind first? What do you like to see? What scents and food and drinks do you enjoy? What sounds do you like to hear?

Remember to customize your lists to fit your family, and don’t feel pressured to write down the typical ideas for each season if they don’t fit.

Some of the thoughts I wrote down were apple cider and donuts in the autumn, lights in the winter, and flowers and rainbows in the spring.

Celebrating Festivals

When you’re satisfied with your seasonal brainstorm, write the subheading “Festivals” on each page. Then list the holidays, birthdays, and other celebrations your family observes (or that you would like to observe!) for each season.

A few festivals we celebrate that aren’t commonly celebrated where I live are Michaelmas, Martinmas, and St. Lucia Day. The first two are common in Waldorf circles.

To break the seasons up more easily, I group all of September, October, and November together for autumn, the next three months for winter, and the three after that for spring. My daughter’s early December birthday is technically in Autumn according to the date of the winter solstice, but I put everything that falls in December into the winter category.

You can also include special activities your family already does or ones you would like to do in certain seasons, such as apple picking, canoeing, or going to a maple festival.

Monthly Themes

By now you probably have a pretty solid idea of what you want the seasons to look like overall. If you feel like your ideas for a season are sparse, my monthly plans are available on this website. You can also usually find ideas in Waldorf Facebook groups.

Next you will need a calendar printout for each month. You can do a quick internet search to find free calendars (for example, search “September 2025 calendar”) if you don’t have a planner. You’ll need a calendar that has a square for each day. For planning purposes, a monthly layout will give you the best visual and help you make decisions.

Once you have your monthly calendars, you can write in all of your festivals that have set days, like holidays and birthdays. If you can fill in other activities, that’s great, too. I wanted to go canoeing and visit Amish country in October, so I picked days that I thought would work the best and wrote in those activities, keeping in mind that the dates are still flexible.

Now you’re ready to choose a theme (or themes) for each month! Using your brainstorms of what you love about each season plus what you’ve written on your calendar, select a theme that makes sense. You can pick whatever you like most about a season, or you could choose something that’s common for a particular season.

Here’s a list of my themes in case you need an example.

September: apples

October: pumpkins

November: giving, light

December: festivals (We spend so much time getting ready for St. Lucia Day and Christmas that this theme made sense for us.)

January: snow, stars

February: love, birds

March: spring, rainbows

April: flowers

May: gardening

Once you have your themes written down, I hope you’ll see how your custom plan is starting to take shape. You’re ready to start on the details!

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How to Create a Custom Waldorf Kindergarten Homeschool Curriculum

JenMHowell — Mon, 23 Sep 2024 17:11:39 +0000

Waldorf kindergarten is a two-year experience that starts when the child will be five for the majority of the school year. (This could mean your child is still in homeschool kindergarten when public school would place them in first grade).

When my daughter was approaching her first kindergarten year, I only had an inkling of what was involved in a Waldorf education. Even though commenters all over Facebook assured parents that they didn’t need a kindergarten curriculum, I knew that wasn’t the case for me.

I wasn’t going to naturally break into a song about Autumn trees while on a spontaneous walk through nature in the middle of the morning. I wasn’t going to pull out my stash of dyed wool roving and on a whim say why don’t we make pumpkins today? I needed a plan. So I bought a Waldorf kindergarten curriculum.

The curriculum itself is wonderful and covers almost all aspects you would find in a Waldorf school, from watercolor painting to beeswax modeling to handwork. In the autumn when we started, I enthusiastically told the stories to my daughter and led her through circle time (songs and verses with movement). We followed all the suggested activities for each week.

In the winter, I found it a little harder to keep up with, mostly because of family illnesses, but also because most of the handwork was too difficult for my newly turned five-year-old.

When the spring portion started, I lost all interest. The stories weren’t seasonal, which I had loved about the previous seasons, and I felt like I didn’t connect with the activities anymore. I switched to a different curriculum I had gotten for free, and we finished the school year. However, that other curriculum didn’t completely fit what I wanted to do, either.

In early summer, I started mulling over how I could create my own curriculum, something that would fit us better. I didn’t make an effort to work on it, but, here and there, my mind started to put together a solution. One night at 11 pm, it suddenly all came together, and I brainstormed on paper and plotted out an entire Autumn of activities.

I loved it, and I knew it would work. I knew it would work because it had come from my inspiration and vision.

In this series of blog posts, I want to walk you through what I did so you can custom design a Waldorf kindergarten curriculum for your family. I want you to be excited each week as you and your child bake, paint, model, and handcraft exactly what makes sense to you.

You’ll need to take some time to brainstorm and research, but a lot of it will come easily as you think about what you enjoy in each season.

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Kindergarten Homeschool Ideas for May

JenMHowell — Sat, 20 Jul 2024 18:13:32 +0000

Here are some ideas for homeschooling your kindergarten child in May! These activities are based on Waldorf and Charlotte Mason education models, so there is no formal schooling yet, such as language arts or math lessons. Instead, the activities reflect the seasonal rhythm of the year to give children a sense of time, place, and connection.

Even though the official start of spring was in March, May is often when it feels like spring is really ushered in. Flowers are everywhere, and green leaves cover the trees. We see bees out and about and even the occasional butterfly. In Ohio, we plant most of our vegetables and flowers in mid to late May, after the danger of frost.

The watercolors I chose for this month reflect Memorial Day and what we see in the natural world around our home.

Theme and Festivals

Our theme for this month is gardening. On our property, we have several native plant gardens and a raised bed with strawberries, herbs, and vegetables. Most of our gardening activities in May involved cutting and clearing dried out stems from the previous year’s flowers, but we do get to plant our tomatoes and any herbs that didn’t survive the winter.

Our celebration this month is Mother’s Day. We’ll either take my Mom out for tea this month or have afternoon tea at our house. We’ll also observe Memorial Day at our city’s parade and ceremony.

Here is our May schedule. We follow a four-day schedule because of our Thursday co-op. I can’t share some of the handwork and beeswax modeling we have planned because they come from other curriculums, but I’ll let you know where you can find them. I’ve also created my own handwork resource.

Get a free pdf of 60 Seasonal Handwork Ideas for Children by signing up for the Hawthorn and Hazel Homeschool email list. You’ll also receive the latest updates, including curriculum information.

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May Homeschool for Kindergarten

Theme: Gardening

Festivals: Mother’s Day

Daily homeschool schedule

During breakfast: Bible study; read a poem.

Lavender’s Blue circle time (movements with seasonal songs and verses).

Main activity

During lunch: Folk song, picture, composition, or hymn from Ambleside’s schedule. Then I read aloud. We’re currently working through the free reads on Ambleside’s Year 0 schedule.

Monday afternoon: Nature study

Main activities

Week 1

Friday: Paint rocks to look like insects

Week 2

Monday: Bake honey cake

Tuesday: Watercolor with green, yellow, and blue

Wednesday: Model a bee with beeswax

Friday: Thumbprint bumblebees

Week 3

Monday: Bake Very Hungry Caterpillar cake

Tuesday: Watercolor with red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple

Wednesday: Model a butterfly with beeswax

Friday: Handwork from Lavender’s Blue

Week 4

Monday: Make bug snacks

Tuesday: Watercolor with red and blue

Wednesday: Model a flag with beeswax

Friday: U.S. flag craft

Week 5

Monday: Fruit pizza flag

Tuesday: Summer break!

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Kindergarten Homeschool Ideas for April

JenMHowell — Thu, 11 Jul 2024 18:58:07 +0000

Here are some ideas for homeschooling your kindergarten child in April! These activities are based on Waldorf and Charlotte Mason education models, so there is no formal schooling yet, such as language arts or math lessons. Instead, the activities reflect the seasonal rhythm of the year to give children a sense of time, place, and connection.

At this point in the year, I’m ready for summer, a season April doesn’t quite fulfill. Some years we get two feet of snow in one day, but other years there is a noticeable increase in temperature. The timing of the flowers blooming can also vary. When I moved from Florida to Ohio at the end of April several years ago, the redbuds and dogwoods were weeks from blooming, however, this year they bloomed very early.

The watercolors I chose for this month reflect the Easter season and what we see in the natural world around our home.

Theme and Festivals

Our theme for this month is flowers. Besides the white dogwood and purplish-pink redbud flowers, we might see tulips, daffodils, and native Ohio wildflowers in the woodlands and the bog.

Our celebrations this month are Easter and my brother’s birthday. We go to the Good Friday service at our church, the Easter breakfast, and the Easter service. It’s always a beautiful, joyful morning.

Here is our April schedule. We follow a four-day schedule because of our Thursday co-op. I can’t share some of the handwork and beeswax modeling we have planned because they come from other curriculums, but I’ll let you know where you can find them. I’ve also created my own handwork resource.

Sign up here!

April Homeschool for Kindergarten

Theme: Spring, rainbows

Festivals: First day of Spring, birthdays

Daily homeschool schedule

During breakfast: Bible study; read a poem.

Lavender’s Blue circle time (movements with seasonal songs and verses).

Main activity

During lunch: Folk song, picture, composition, or hymn from Ambleside’s schedule. Then I read aloud. We’re currently working through the free reads on Ambleside’s Year 0 schedule.

Monday afternoon: Nature study

Main activities

Week 1

Tuesday: Watercolor with purple

Wednesday: Model a flower that’s blooming with beeswax; finger knitting

Friday: Fingerprint flower art

Week 2

Monday: Bake lavender tea bread

Tuesday: Watercolor with purple and green

Wednesday: Model lavender flowers with beeswax; finger knitting

Friday: Handwork from Lavender’s Blue

Week 3

Monday: Bake focaccia with vegetable flowers

Tuesday: Watercolor with red, orange, yellow, and green

Wednesday: Model a flower that’s blooming with beeswax; finger knitting

Friday: Paint with flowers

Week 4

Monday: Bake hot cross buns

Tuesday: Watercolor with red, purple, yellow, and green

Wednesday: Model a lily with beeswax; finger knitting

Friday: Flower pounding

Week 5

Monday: Bake rosebud tea cakes

Tuesday: Watercolor with red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple

Wednesday: Model a rose with beeswax; finger knitting

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Kindergarten Homeschool Ideas for March

JenMHowell — Wed, 10 Jul 2024 19:40:22 +0000

Here are some ideas for homeschooling your kindergarten child in March! These activities are based on Waldorf and Charlotte Mason education models, so there is no formal schooling yet, such as language arts or math lessons. Instead, the activities reflect the seasonal rhythm of the year to give children a sense of time, place, and connection.

March makes me happy. Yes, it’s still cold, but it’s the start of spring, and flowers begin blooming. There is hope for warmer days and an abundance of sunny skies. It’s also my birthday month, which, I admit, was more fun when I was younger, but I still enjoy celebrating it.

The watercolors I chose for this month reflect what we see in the natural world around our home.

Theme and Festivals

Our themes for this month are spring and rainbows. As rain and thunderstorms take the place of snow in March, seeing rainbows is a possibility. Rainbows can also represent all the colors we see starting to return to the earth.

Our celebrations this month are the first day of spring, my mom’s birthday, and my birthday. To celebrate the start of spring, we choose a Saturday for Spring’s birthday party, an idea that came from Lavender’s Blue. We invite my parents and grandma over for lunch or tea and dessert. Since my husband and I like to make Jesus’s resurrection the sole focus for Easter, Spring’s birthday party is when we dye eggs, give gifts like rain boots and special toys to our daughters, and hide eggs to find. Last year, my mom made a bunny cake, one of my favorite desserts when I was a kid.

Here is our March schedule. We follow a four-day schedule because of our Thursday co-op. I can’t share some of the handwork and beeswax modeling we have planned because they come from other curriculums, but I’ll let you know where you can find them. I’ve also created my own handwork resource.

Sign up here!

March Homeschool for Kindergarten

Theme: Spring, rainbows

Festivals: First day of Spring, birthdays

Daily homeschool schedule

During breakfast: Bible study; read a poem.

Lavender’s Blue circle time (movements with seasonal songs and verses).

Main activity

During lunch: Folk song, picture, composition, or hymn from Ambleside’s schedule. Then I read aloud. We’re currently working through the free reads on Ambleside’s Year 0 schedule.

Monday afternoon: Nature study

Main activities

Week 1

Monday: Bake maple donuts

Tuesday: Watercolor with green

Wednesday: Model eggs with beeswax; rainbow weaving

Friday: Sprout chia or grass seeds indoors

Week 2

Monday: Bake meringue cookies

Tuesday: Watercolor with blue

Wednesday: Model rain drop with beeswax; rainbow weaving

Friday: Handwork from Whole Family Rhythms

Week 3

Monday: Bake sun bread

Tuesday: Watercolor with yellow

Wednesday: Model sun with beeswax; rainbow weaving

Friday: Bake bunny cake

Saturday: Spring’s Birthday Party; dye eggs

Week 4

Monday: Bake carrot muffins

Tuesday: Watercolor with red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple

Wednesday: Model rainbow with beeswax; rainbow weaving

Friday: Handwork from Lavender’s Blue

Week 5

Monday: Bake hummingbird cake

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Kindergarten Homeschool Ideas for February

JenMHowell — Tue, 09 Jul 2024 22:08:06 +0000

Here are some ideas for homeschooling your kindergarten child in February! These activities are based on Waldorf and Charlotte Mason education models, so there is no formal schooling yet, such as language arts or math lessons. Instead, the activities reflect the seasonal rhythm of the year to give children a sense of time, place, and connection.

February is often Ohio’s coldest month of the year, so let’s warm our hearts by celebrating love. While the skies are still gray and white, and the trees are still bare, inside the home, the bakers and chocolatiers and crafters will stay busy rolling dough, sudsing wool, and making treats.

The watercolors I chose for this month reflect Valentine’s Day and what we see in the natural world around our home.

Theme and Festivals

Our themes for this month are love and birds. Who doesn’t love a couple of lovebirds? With the trees still bare, it’s easier to birdwatch, and we can learn their songs, as well.

Our celebration this month is Valentine’s Day. We’re planning a special Valentine’s tea to celebrate the holiday with my parents.

Here is our February schedule. We follow a four-day schedule because of our Thursday co-op. I can’t share some of the handwork and beeswax modeling we have planned because they come from other curriculums, but I’ll let you know where you can find them. I’ve also created my own handwork resource.

Sign up here!

February Homeschool for Kindergarten

Theme: Love, birds

Festivals: Valentine’s Day

Daily homeschool schedule

During breakfast: Bible study; read a poem.

Lavender’s Blue circle time (movements with seasonal songs and verses).

Main activity

During lunch: Folk song, picture, composition, or hymn from Ambleside’s schedule. Then I read aloud. We’re currently working through the free reads on Ambleside’s Year 0 schedule.

Monday afternoon: Nature study

Main activities

Week 1

Monday: Bake strawberry heart hand pies

Tuesday: Watercolor with red and purple

Wednesday: Wet felt soap with pink wool

Friday: Handwork from Whole Family Rhythms

Week 2

Monday: Bake heart cookies (freeze some for Friday’s tea)

Tuesday: Cut hearts out of last week’s watercolors and glue on pressed flowers to make Valentine’s cards

Wednesday: Model heart with beeswax; chocolate truffles step 1

Thursday: Chocolate truffles step 2

Friday: Valentine’s Day tea

Week 3

Monday: Brownie hearts

Tuesday: Watercolor with red, purple, and blue

Wednesday: Model lovebirds with beeswax

Friday: Pinecone bird treats

Week 4

Monday: Bake strawberry cake

Tuesday: Watercolor with red and blue

Wednesday: Model bird nest with beeswax

Friday: Popcorn, cranberries, and/or dried orange slices garland bird treat

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Kindergarten Homeschool Ideas for January

JenMHowell — Tue, 09 Jul 2024 18:04:58 +0000

Here are some ideas for homeschooling your kindergarten child in January! These activities are based on Waldorf and Charlotte Mason education models, so there is no formal schooling yet, such as language arts or math lessons. Instead, the activities reflect the seasonal rhythm of the year to give children a sense of time, place, and connection.

January in Ohio brings gray skies, dull landscapes, and bitter cold temperatures. It feels like the longest month of the year, especially without a cozy Thanksgiving or festive Christmas to break it up. However, the themes I’ve selected for this month lend themselves to some enjoyable handwork, so I’m hoping the delight we find in these and other activities will whisk us merrily through the winter.

The watercolors I chose for this month reflect what we see in the natural world around our home. We’re baking challah several times so my daughter can grow in the skills of kneading and braiding.

Theme and Festivals

Our themes for this month are snow and stars. We don’t always get snow in January, but it’s more common than in December. We are likely to have at least a few clear nights to gaze at the stars.

Our celebration this month is New Year’s Day. We’ll go to my parents’ house, and some of us (me) will eat sauerkraut with them. My mom also makes pork chops and mashed potatoes.

In addition, we will observe Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

Here is our January schedule. We follow a four-day schedule because of our Thursday co-op. I can’t share some of the handwork and beeswax modeling we have planned because they come from other curriculums, but I’ll let you know where you can find them. I’ve also created my own handwork resource.

Sign up here!

January Homeschool for Kindergarten

Theme: Snow, stars

Festivals: New Year’s Day

Daily homeschool schedule

During breakfast: Bible study; read a poem.

Lavender’s Blue circle time (movements with seasonal songs and verses).

Main activity

During lunch: Folk song, picture, composition, or hymn from Ambleside’s schedule. Then I read aloud. We’re currently working through the free reads on Ambleside’s Year 0 schedule.

Monday afternoon: Nature study

Main activities

Week 1

Wednesday: New Year’s Day

Friday: Ice sun catcher

Week 2

Monday: Bake challah

Tuesday: Watercolor with blue, then add salt

Wednesday: Model snowflake with beeswax; braiding

Friday: Paper snowflakes

Week 3

Monday: Bake challah

Tuesday: Watercolor with blue and purple

Wednesday: Model snowman with beeswax; braiding

Friday: Snow globes

Week 4

Monday: Bake challah

Tuesday: Watercolor with purple, then add salt

Wednesday: Model stars with beeswax; braiding

Friday: Kite paper window stars

Week 5

Monday: Bake challah

Tuesday: Watercolor with blue, purple, and yellow

Wednesday: Model constellations with beeswax; braiding

Friday: Handwork from Oak Meadow

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Kindergarten Homeschool Ideas for December

JenMHowell — Thu, 04 Jul 2024 13:44:24 +0000

Here are some ideas for homeschooling your kindergarten child in December! These activities are based on Waldorf and Charlotte Mason education models, so there is no formal schooling yet, such as language arts or math lessons. Instead, the activities reflect the seasonal rhythm of the year to give children a sense of time, place, and connection.

The watercolors I chose for this month reflect the festivals we celebrate and the blue sky over the snow.

Theme and Festivals

Our theme for this month is festivals, since there are so many we celebrate!

Our celebrations this month include Advent, St. Lucia Day, Christmas Eve, Christmas, New Year’s Eve, my older daughter’s birthday, and my niece’s birthday.

Every year, we make a variation on an advent spiral, and for each week of advent, we read scripture that leads up to Jesus’s birth.

We celebrate St. Lucia Day because I enjoy Scandinavian culture. I haven’t told my daughter the story of St. Lucia because I feel she’s too young to hear it. However, we enjoy making lussekatter (Swedish saffron rolls) and lighting candles. I’d like to make peg people figures dressed in the clothes the Scandinavian girls wear for this holiday and possibly sew the clothes for my daughters, too.

Throughout the month, we’ll spend a lot of free time making Christmas gifts. I try to tie in recent handwork when we plan gifts that my daughter will give to people. One year, she wet felted Christmas ornaments. This year she might be able to weave something small or roll beeswax candles. We freeze the cookies we bake during the first few weeks of December and then give out cookie plates to close friends and neighbors on Christmas Eve.

My favorite tradition on Christmas Eve is to go to church for the candlelight service. On Christmas Day, we visit family and exchange gifts. We go to my parents’ house on New Year’s Eve.

Here is our December schedule. We follow a four-day schedule because of our Thursday co-op. I can’t share some of the handwork and beeswax modeling we have planned because they come from other curriculums, but I’ll let you know where you can find them. I’ve also created my own handwork resource.

Sign up here!

December Homeschool for Kindergarten

Theme: Festivals

Festivals: Advent, St. Lucia Day, Christmas Eve, Christmas, New Year’s Eve, birthdays

Daily homeschool schedule

During breakfast: Bible study; read a poem.

Lavender’s Blue circle time (movements with seasonal songs and verses).

Main activity

During lunch: Folk song, picture, composition, or hymn from Ambleside’s schedule. Then I read aloud. We’re currently working through the free reads on Ambleside’s Year 0 schedule.

Monday afternoon: Nature study

Main activities

Week 1

Monday: Bake Linzer cookies

Tuesday: Watercolor with yellow

Wednesday: Model wreath with beeswax

Friday: Roll beeswax candles for St. Lucia Day

Week 2: St. Lucia Week

Monday: Bake blizzard cookies

Tuesday: Watercolor with yellow, blue

Wednesday: Model candle with beeswax

Thursday: Prep lussekatter

Friday (St. Lucia Day): Bake lussekatter; make Swedish hearts

Week 3

Monday: Bake cutout cookies

Tuesday: Watercolor with blue

Wednesday: Model Christmas tree with beeswax

Friday: Make gifts

Week 4

Monday: Bake chocolate crinkle cookies

Tuesday: Watercolor with red, green, and yellow

Wednesday: Christmas Day

Friday: Pomander balls

Week 5

Monday: Bake gingerbread (and serve with homemade whipped cream!)

Tuesday: Watercolor with red, blue, yellow, and green

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Kindergarten Homeschool Ideas for November

JenMHowell — Tue, 02 Jul 2024 16:44:35 +0000

Here are some ideas for homeschooling your kindergarten child in November! These activities are based on Waldorf and Charlotte Mason education models, so there is no formal schooling yet, such as language arts or math lessons. Instead, the activities reflect the seasonal rhythm of the year to give children a sense of time, place, and connection.

When I lived in Florida for 11 years, the sun shone almost every single day. For an Ohioan coming from one of the cloudiest places in the country, it sounded like perfect weather, but there were days when I grew tired of the constant sunshine. As I told my cousin in a phone call, I was “craving November.” Robert Frost captured the essence of this month in his poem “My November Guest.”

“My Sorrow, when she’s here with me,
Thinks these dark days of autumn rain
Are beautiful as days can be . . .
The desolate, deserted trees,
The faded earth, the heavy sky . . .
Not yesterday I learned to know
The love of bare November days . . .”

The watercolors I chose for this month reflect what we see in the natural world around our home and the typical colors associated with Thanksgiving. We’re baking challah several times so my daughter can grow in the skills of kneading and braiding.

Theme and Festivals

Our themes for this month are light and giving. We’ll spend more days inside watching the rain and start planning for the upcoming holidays.

Our celebrations this month include Martinmas (November 11th) and Thanksgiving. Although I didn’t celebrate Martinmas as a child, it’s commonly observed in Waldorf circles, and I started the tradition in my family last year. We make a lantern, go on a lantern walk at night, and bake Stutenkerl. Because this holiday is about being a light, I also want my family to gather items we don’t need and donate them together.

Here is our November schedule. We follow a four-day schedule because of our Thursday co-op. I can’t share some of the handwork and beeswax modeling we have planned because they come from other curriculums, but I’ll let you know where you can find them. I’ve also created my own handwork resource.

Sign up here!

November Homeschool for Kindergarten

Theme: Light, giving

Festivals: Martinmas, Thanksgiving

Daily homeschool schedule

During breakfast: Bible study; read a poem.

Lavender’s Blue circle time (movements with seasonal songs and verses).

Main activity

During lunch: Folk song, picture, composition, or hymn from Ambleside’s schedule. Then I read aloud. We’re currently working through the free reads on Ambleside’s Year 0 schedule.

Monday afternoon: Nature study

Main activities

Week 1: Martinmas Prep Week

Monday: Bake challah

Tuesday: Watercolor with purple and orange

Wednesday: Model lantern with beeswax; sort donations

Friday: Handwork from Whole Family Rhythms

Week 2

Monday: Bake Stutenkerl

Tuesday: Watercolor with orange

Wednesday: Model acorn with beeswax; plan Christmas gifts

Friday: Handwork from Lavender’s Blue

Week 3

Monday: Bake challah

Tuesday: Watercolor with orange and yellow

Wednesday: Model walnut with beeswax; plan Christmas gifts

Friday: Handwork from Lavender’s Blue

Week 4

Monday: Bake challah

Tuesday: Watercolor with yellow, orange, and red

Wednesday: Model turkey with beeswax; plan Christmas gifts

Friday: Salt dough advent spiral, roll four beeswax candles

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