NUTRITION, Some thoughts.....
Waldorf educators are found not only in classrooms, but in gardens,
craft studios, orchestra halls and kitchens to name but a few
other environs. Recently, I had a wonderful conversation with
a Waldorf educator who ran the kitchen of a well known west coast
Waldorf School for many years. I was discussing with him the future
prospects of Mountain Oak School having its own gardens and kitchens.
On the topic of 'Nutrition', here are some of his thoughts:
It would certainly be a privilege to be able to sense something
of the unseen workings of Nature as, with the helping hand of
the gardener, she brings about the growing of root, leaf, flower
and fruit of the vegetables of the garden, for here the relationship
between Man and Nature is at its most overt.
In the wilderness one may feel, through an appreciation of beauty
and grandeur, a yearning of Nature for her fulfillment in the
becoming of Man.
In the goodness of the garden we may feel that this yearning
finds expression in the actual substantiality of the plant. Here
the different aspects of plant nature accrue substantiality in
a manner rarely seen in untended Nature, in the root of the carrot,
in the leaf of cabbage, in the stalk of celery, in the leaf bud
of sprout, in the blossom of cauliflower, in the fruit of the
bean,... The plant becomes food for man, often losing, in the
process, something of its natural balance.
Yet, of course, the work of Nature and gardener stops short at
the producing of the raw substances of food for man. Then it is
the task of those in the kitchen to carry this process to completion,
to fashion from these roots, leaves, fruits and seeds a meal fit
for man, a meal in which the different offerings of the plant
are brought together into a new whole.
This work in the kitchen, too, need not just be an outward process
any more than it is the growing of the plant in the garden. There,
behind the veil of outward visibility, elemental beings must be
at creative play, mediators to the plant of the cosmic rhythms
of growth, unseen participants in the rhythmic unfolding of the
plant on the stage of the earth. In the kitchen these powers can
also be at creative play, in the chopping of the knife, in the
stirring of mixtures, in the transforming milieu of the pot.
And this play of elemental workings is in truth not apart from
the thoughts and feelings of those in the kitchen and those in
its surrounding environment.
And so to the meal itself. Each meal is something of a festival,
a taking in of the substance of Nature, helping to establish the
rhythm of the day in human life.
Through an imaginative choosing of menus it echoes, too, the
planetary rhythm of the week and, by being based on the seasonal
produce of the garden, affirms the greater rhythm of the year.
If, at the mealtime, we turn our thoughts back in appreciation
to the plant in such words as this Celtic grace:
Blessings on the root
Blessings on the leaf
Blessings on the flower
Blessings on the fruit...
then perhaps it is not entirely our own fancy when we seem to
hear an answer whispering back through the ether...
Blessings on the Man that is to be.
- Merrill Badger, Principal
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Happenings:
Wednesday, January 5th is a half day Early
dismissal at 12:30 pm.
Thursday, January 11th from 6:00 to 7:30 pm Rosemary
and Merry Gold Kindergartens Parent Meeting.
Tea Garden will resume next week on Friday morning January
14th.
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Mountain Oak Music Program Welcomes
Marion Van Namen
In Mid November I joined Mountain Oak School to teach music to
the children of 5th, 6th and 7th grade who don't take violin or
cello lessons with Mrs. Barbara McClymonds.
Just this summer I graduated from a four year music therapy program
in The Netherlands (where I was born and grew up). The advantage
of the music therapy training is that I learned to play all sorts
of wind, string and percussion instruments. My favorite instruments
are the cello and West African drums (djembe). I learned to play
both of these instruments as an adult; as a child I had piano
lessons for 15 years.
As a music therapist I've collected and made quite a few instruments.
That's why I have 10 djembes available for the children. It is
not ideal to have two or three people play a djembe at the same
time, but it works
well with the 5th, 6th and 7th graders. The first few sessions
we explored the different tones one can produce with the drum.
Now we're discovering the magic of striking the djembes at the
same time, and especially of being silent at the same time! We're
well on our way to becoming an African drumming group.
Before I became a music therapist I was a Waldorf teacher in
Colorado. It was the Waldorf education that reminded me of my
childhood dream to make a living with music. It took a detour
in the field of marketing in Europe and the US and business consulting
in Africa to bring me back to my love for music. Besides teaching
in the classrooms, I also hope to work with a few children one
on one who may benefit from "an extra music lesson"
and I will teach cello privately. I am very happy to be back in
the US (where I lived for 11 years before I moved to Holland to
study music therapy) and I feel very blessed to be part of Mountain
Oak School and look forward to meeting you all.
-Marion Van Namen
Gate Keepers Needed
We are looking for a gate keeper/keepers to fill Brian’s
Shoes on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursdays from 7:45 to 8:15 am.
Please talk to Miss Francis or Miss Beni if you are interested
and able to take on this important welcoming role, greeting our
students in the mornings and starting their day in a safe and
nurturing way at school.
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Early Childhood Puppetry
Saturday and Sunday, January 22nd and 23rd
Perhaps you have been touched by a puppet performance offered
in a Waldorf Kindergarten. There is a growing effort out of Waldorf
Education to bring forth a renewal of puppetry arts. One of the
national leaders of that art, Suzanne Down, is coming to Prescott
to offer a puppetry workshop for parents and teachers. I’ve
worked with her for a summer intensive and greatly appreciated
her skills. Suzanne is not only a master Waldorf Kindergarten
teacher, but also trained in the art of Eurhythmy, a movement
art that Rudolph Steiner and his associates developed. Suzanne
utilizes her background in Eurhythmy to bring life into gestural
language of puppetry. Don’t miss this opportunity to work
with Suzanne Down. Cost $150.00, payment plans easily arranged.
Workshop details are available in the office or through Sharon
McFeely.
Human-i-tee's orders:
This was a very successful fund raiser! We not only raised over
$1300.00 for the school, but preserved many acres of rain forest
land.
If you have returns, exchanges or missing items from the Human-I-Tee's
fund raiser, please be in contact with Nancy Reid-McKee by the
end of the week- Friday Jan. 7th. I will be at MOCS on Wednesday
at 12:30 (early release) by the front gate in order to talk with
anyone who had problems with their order, or you can reach me
at 541-1056.
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FIRE HELP
Nancy Jensen, who was principal at Mountain Oak before Mr. Badger,
had a house fire over the vacation. No one was hurt in the fire,
but she and her family lost nearly all their possessions. They
have a new place to live now, but have to buy just about everything.
If anyone would like to help them out, there is an account at
Wells Fargo, #9142325993, for their benefit. Or talk to Martha
Jensen, 717-1641 for ways you can help out.
Thank you, Martha Jensen
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