One of the best things about living where is do is my proximity to Hawthorne Valley aka Waldorf Land. I imagine their farm is probably one of the highest quality in the whole country, the raw milk is the creamiest and best of ever tasted, the dilly beans are lip smacking good, but the cherry on the top is that the valley is also home to the Rudolf Steiner Library. Every fabulous Waldorf homeschooling book you've ever heard of? They have it. Every festival book, craft book, cook book, parenting book? They have it. Even if their online catalog doesn't list it, they probably have it. I'm yet to request something they don't have. I drove down two weeks ago and was thrilled to see that they had checked in every Advent/Christmas book I had considered buying.
Christmas Roses: Legends for Advent
I read a good review of this book at Bob and Nancy's Bookshop. All of these books are also available at their shop. The book has about 20 stories from a variety of sources. I found that most of the stories would be a bit old for my 4 and 6 year old, but think that I would probably use it more a few years from now.
Mary's Little Donkey and the Flight to Egypt
I haven't read too much through this yet, as I found out a certain someone is getting it for Christmas from his nana. About half the book is dedicated to the arrival of the 3 wise men and the flight to Egypt. I plan on dividing these sections up to read between Christmas and 3 Kings Day. I know of families who divide up the whole book and read it from the first Sunday of Advent through Epiphany.
The Light in the Lantern: Stories for Advent
I'm so glad that I found this book. It was exactly what I was looking for - perfect for nightly readings for Jack and Lucy. The last two years we have used Christmas Stories Together and while I like the stories I find them to be quite disjointed and I can never find a good flow to them. What I find best about this book is that it has 28 stories, divided into the four weeks of advent. Plus each week is already geared towards the anthroposophical understanding of advent. It tells the journey of Mary and Joseph towards Bethlehem, with the first week focused on minerals/elements, the second week on plants/flowers, the third on animals and the fourth on humans. The stories are each about 1.5-2 pages long, perfect for before bed!
The Christmas Star: Singing with Children Series
This great song book comes with a CD, although it is not really meant to be listened to with children, rather to help you as the adult learn how the song goes. Mary Thienes-Schunemann sings in a VERY high lilting voice that is kind of intimidating at the beginning. However, there is the whole school of though about using higher voices with children to help them develop their musicality, something about them hearing the higher pitches better. Jack and Lucy definitely prefer the higher pitches and are appreciative of my efforts to reach them! I find that the more I sing in this range, the more able I am to sing in this range. The principle she works out of is called "The School of Uncoveirng the Voice" and it is definitely something I'm going to look into further. Mary always pick superb songs, some familiar ones and some new gems. We are especially loving song called "It's Advent Time!" written by Mary. The book also includes a great telling of the Baboushka story with a song to match and a recipe for 12th night bread.
Winter
This book is another great season installment from Wynstones Press. I can't imagine homeschooling without these. Honestly, if I had nothing but Fall, Winter, Spring and Summer I think I could get by just fine. The book has a great little collection of stories to use from Advent past Christmas, including "Mary's Journey to the Stars" which is one of my absolute favorites. The songs are great in this one too, it might be my favorite of all the seasons.
Do yourself a favor and get a membership to the Steiner Library. Right now you can get a great deal from the Anthroposophical Society in America. An introductory membership is only $40 for your first year, and it includes library priveleges. You have to pay shipping, but you can use media mail to send it back and the amount you can save on buying books, only to find that they aren't for you is staggering. Plus you get great mailings periodically from the Society, including my favorite, their prison outreach newsletter. I love it because it writes on most topics from a beginners level, perfect for me.
