About Rachael Miller

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Winter Reads to Share

The long evenings and blustery weather of winter provide the perfect backdrop to hours of reading. In our family, we wandered the library and sampled picture books, storybooks and chapter books to find new tales and old favorites to visit and re-visit through the hours of a Vermont evening by the fire. The authors and books below are the ones my entire family anticipates, whatever their age, for wintery hours of reading.

Elsa Beskow- A hundred years later, her picture … Read More...

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Six Rules for Game Play

Playing games with your children can be fun; the relaxed time spent focused on a shared activity can be its own reward. Sometimes, you might even have a laugh over the progress of a game or a chat about what is happening in your children’s lives. But, the game table may also be far from an idyllic moment in a hectic day. Here are a few ideas that might help everyone enjoy it more, or might at least cut down … Read More...

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Why Spirals for Advent

The spiral is an image commonly associated with this time of year. If you are part of a Waldorf community, you probably even have the opportunity to participate in the creation of a spiral for your children. But why? What is the significance of the spiral?

At each of the solstices, summer and winter, daylight begins a new journey. In the fall, the days grow shorter and shorter, like the chambers in a nautilus shell get smaller and smaller as … Read More...

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Ten Activity Gift Ideas

 

Perhaps you are a little tense thinking of yet more toys for your child and you to maintain and tidy. Maybe you are just looking for more ways to spend some precious free time with your child. The following ideas are all about one of the best gifts for any loved one- the gift of time.

  1. Make a skating date, roller or ice. You might not be able to stay on the rink as long as your child, but
… Read More...

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Holiday Gifts Kids Can Make

With the gift giving season fast approaching, parents can struggle to find ways to include their children in more of the giving side of holiday time. We all love the surprise and joy of a child receiving a gift, but it can be hard to make the equation less lopsided. If gift giving is part of your holiday tradition, finding meaningful ways to include children can be tricky. I remember a school store that opened just before winter break when … Read More...

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Add Verse to Discipline

I know no parent who has not struggled at times to feel that their child is hearing their message. Some phases of childhood can be more challenging than others and some children can hear their own drummer more clearly than the voices of their parents. In these scenarios, it’s handy to have a variety of tricks up your sleeve. One that we found especially helpful was using poetry and rhymes to communicate ideas that had to be repeated more often. … Read More...

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What’s Cookin’?

“Too many cooks spoil the broth.”

or

“Many hands make light work.”

Endless turns of life take place in the kitchen. Much of our family life occurs around the table or somewhere between the kitchen sink and the stove, everyone’s spoon in the “broth” of the day-to-day rhythms. And I’m pretty sure many families find their own important work happens here, where we sustain ourselves body and soul. It’s in the kitchen that we model values around health, ecology, experimentation … Read More...

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Halloween Fun

Halloween can be one of the most fun festivals of the year, but it often presents challenges to parents trying to foster a meaningful relationship with holidays. Add to that the current traditions that include so much candy and a sense of being “owed” treats and a family might want to sleep through October 31. There are ways, however, to bring meaning to Halloween. It shares qualities with traditions across many cultures that can inspire you to bring your own … Read More...

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10 Outdoor Autumn Activities To Do with Your Child

Every season seems more alive the more time we spend outside enjoying it. With all the demands on our time, it can be hard to remember to take just a minute here and there to enjoy the wonder of a changing season with our children. Here are a few ideas to mark the glory of fall. Some are quick, the sort of thing you can do between the house and the car, and some mean a few hours of fun.… Read More...

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Happy Babies, Happy Families

Note: as part of International Babywearing Week we’re hosting a Giveaway! See the bottom of this post to enter.

People easily recognize an infant cradled in arms as a universal symbol of parenting and nurturing; we know that babies mostly love to be carried and cuddled. Yet, this inherent part of tending an infant can be very challenging in the first couple of years. Whether you’re trying to wash clothes, buy groceries, make a sandwich or tend another child, … Read More...

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