February 2nd is the halfway point until spring finally makes its arrival. This day has many names, Groundhog Day, Candlemas, Imbolc, and St Brigid’s Day. This day is a reminder that not everything lasts and new seasons come among us each year. In Waldorf education, the rhythm is so important for children. It gives them the stability and knowing of what comes next. We have a daily rhythm (you can read more about our winter daily rhythm at the link provided) that my children know so well, including my 2-year-old. For our weekly homeschool rhythm, Monday is for nature, Tuesday is for handcrafts, Wednesday is for watercolor, Thursday is for baking, and Friday is for plays. Each new week I choose a seasonal story to read at the end of the homeschool day. The story I chose this week was Brigit and the Cailleach. It’s the perfect story for Candlemas.
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Monday – Nature Day
Monday’s are our transition day in our homeschool. The transition from the freedom of the weekend into a new week of home education. We spend our Mondays in nature, our nature day. This week I asked my children during our nature walk to look for any signs of spring. Now we live in the midwest of the United States and it is still freezing here so I knew there wouldn’t be any signs of spring but I wanted my children to be aware that the season will soon change. Once we finished our nature walk and came in to warm up, we made hot chocolate and I read to them Brigit and the Cailleach from our Winter Tales book.
Tuesday – Handcraft Day
On Tuesday we decided to make homemade beeswax candles with whole oranges for handcraft. Candle making is one of our favorite handcrafts to do in our homeschool. For this, we cut oranges in half and took out all the flesh. We then set them in the sun to dry (it works better to let them dry overnight). I then melted some of the beeswax pellets in a tin can to pour into our oranges. We took candle wicks and glued them to the bottom of the orange. I then helped my kindergartner pour the wax into the orange. They turned so pretty and smelled delicious.
Wednesday – Watercolor Day
On Wednesday we watercolor, my favorite day of the week. We watercolor wet-on-wet and it always turns out so beautiful. I painted with my daughter and retold the story of Brigit and Cailleach. We started with blue for winter and than yellow for spring. The colors turned out beautifully.
Thursday – Baking Day
Baking day, Thursday, I wanted something sweet, and simple, that reminded me of spring. I chose thumbprint jam cookies. They are always a favorite but a very light dessert. You can use any jam of your choosing, I chose strawberry and lemon. It’s the perfect treat to go with a warm cup of tea. This is the recipe I used.
Friday – Play Day
Fridays are set aside for a little theater. My daughter and I do a little play for her siblings and Papa of the story we read that week. Fridays we spend our time setting up our stage and creating whatever she may need to be successful. We made two wooden dolls, one that represented the Cailleach and the other that represented Brigit. She chose a rock and a log for the well and a stick for her staff. We then knitted a cape for Brigit and lit our orange candle to end the play.
This is probably one of my favorite weekly rhythms we have completed so far. One reason I love Waldorf education is because I am learning about different festivals and holidays that I was never taught. It is amazing to be able to share these different cultures with my children.
I would love to know if you celebrate Candlemas and what you do to celebrate. I hope this inspires your homeschool.
-Micah