The overwhelming smell of fresh bread and the brightness of many candles met Mirabel as she stepped into the kitchen so early in the morning that it was still dark. The linen sleeping sack draped over her shoulders looked like a long shawl. “Ah, there you are,” said Rowan. “Good morning, Sister and Caretaker of of Barn Hill, and thank…
When Mirabel rolled over in the dark, her face landed on a clump of prickly, pokey, stick-up straw. She brushed it all away from her face, but when she tried to settle again, a lone piece of straw poked at her cheek. Now, opening her eyes, she looked over the edge of the loft toward the door which was now…
Ronduin emptied the bucket of kitchen scraps into the chickens’ food bowl. “Sunrise and Sunset, you will like what I brought you today,” he said to the chickens in a tone that sounded like he expected them to understand. “Yesterday I noticed some turnips that had started to sprout and I asked Cook Agnes for green tops. She said she…
The dawn wind stirred the grass on the foothills. And, when a blade of dew-damp grass brushed across his cheek, Roland wakened from his light sleep. Sitting up and stretching, he surveyed the cows and sheep who were already up and grazing. He had woken may times through the light to check on them by the light of the moon.…
Thinking the tickle was a spider crawling across his face, Ronduin startled and leaped out of bed. Now he hastily tugged off his nightshirt in case the spider had darted inside. In truth, the tickle was only a bit of straw poking through a hole in Ronduin’s mattress, but he had no way to know in the darkness that it…
by Karah Pino and Kim Allsup Roland’s farewell song turned into a whistling tune as he walked. He steadily lead the long line of animals down the hill through the forest and then along the high path that sat just above the muddy fields. The cows and sheep pressed forward excitedly, murmuring to one another. Every time an inviting patch…
“We can wait here at the well until we can see Roland and the animals walking along the high path toward the foothills,” said Mirabel. “Let’s get Giselle and her calf. They can wait with us,” said Rowan. The two children walked along the barn and, at the corner, stepped through the open gate in the the fence that ran…
While A Gift of Wonder is set in an independent Waldorf school, it shows a spirit of teaching and learning that is relevant to parents, homeschoolers, pod schoolers, public school teachers and independent school teachers. The time tested methods shown here in the context of an inspiring story are relevant in all learning environments. Join me as I teach the…
I am looking forward to being part of the panel discussion at this event. The topic is the future of education. After the last few months, as schooling jumped onto Zoom and almost all parents were suddenly homeschooling, conversations about education have changed. Parents wonder how teachers keep children engaged. Some children miss the classroom, yet others have discovered the…
The School of Sophia and I started planning this online class many weeks before Covid 19 transformed life as we know it. My intention in those simpler times was to show parents and teachers how to use stories to empower children to deal with disappointments, difficult social situations, behavior challenges, new routines, losses, crises, and the usual developmental challenges of…
