With the increasingly indoor lives us modern folks are living, bringing a little of the outdoors in can really help us tune in to the natural world. I have always been the sort of person who fills up my house with rocks, sticks, feathers, nests, pinecones and whatever little things I collect on my walks and adventures. When my kids were little, I got the idea for a nature table somewhere, and I went with it enthusiastically. We started keeping a little low table where we put seasonal treasures from nature, and little things to remind us to welcome Spring, Summer, Winter and Fall into our lives.
When I first visited our local Waldorf school, I was drawn to the seasons tables right away. They were elaborate and incorporated whimsical little faeries and elemental beings associated with that season. I loved how soft silks and wool in the colors of the seasons were used as backdrops, and little stones, flowers and pinecones were lovingly displayed like little works of art. The importance of rhythm is a huge part of Waldorf education, and the idea is that strengthening a child’s connection to the rhythms of the seasons and the days is very healthy for their development. It’s reassuring to know what is coming next, and potentially unsettling to always wonder. I adopted many of the Waldorf seasons table ideas right away, and got a little carried away with a giant driftwood gnome village that took up most of our living room. We scaled back with our move to this old farmhouse, but I still have little nooks and crannies that are changed out every season.
I wanted to share some ideas on how to bring the wheel of the year into the home and lives of our children. The more we can connect them to the outside world, the more they will be drawn out into it, to enjoy it and feel responsible as caretakers of the earth.
This is a tiny season table I made for the kids in Kindergarten. I felted them some little bunnies and chicks from wool, and we made little Spring gnomes. I put small vases of budding branches and daffodils out that I refreshed every few days or so. They really loved it, and looked forward to changing it for each season. I noticed them talking a lot more about what was going on in the natural world.
This is our Spring seasons table from last year with a Lady Spring and baby chicks I needlefelted from wool, vases of pussy willow branches, abandoned birds” nests I collected, a wooden bird, a hatched out goose egg we found camping by a lake, pictures of rabbits, and pale green silks to match the colors outside this time of year.
Here is a Fall seasons display with a needlefelted wool harvest maiden I made, some vases of wheat, vine maple branches, little pumpkins and kernels of colorful Indian corn.
In the Fall I like to collect bright colored leaves and hang them up around the house. Our candle chandelier above the dining room table has always been a good spot. In college a friend showed me how to make strings of pressed dried leaves to hang above doorways, and I’ve always had fun going on leaf gathering walks to make these. I like to put branches of vine maple leaves from up in the mountains in vases, and I do the same things with pussy willow branches in the Spring. I try to snag a few handfuls of dried wheat stalks from the edge of fields on late summer travels and these make nice arrangements around the house during harvest season.
Another seasonal thing we change throughout the year is the kids fairy treehouse. I saw one in the Magic Cabin Dolls catalogue that I really wanted, but couldn’t afford, and my creative father built us one as a gift. I made little seasonal flower fairies to live in it for each of the four seasons, and we started changing out our little toy animals to ones we would see around for that time of year.
We used dyed wool roving and budding branches or fall leaves to make the tree look like the right season.
We also set up a little scene down below with a river and waterfall of blue silk. A couple of wooden trees added a very nice woodsy feel. Faeries dined on Fimo clay foods we made at their little branch table and chairs and their little animal friends joined them.
Here’s part of the Spring fairy house scene with a daffodil fairy watching over a lamb. We made a lot of different sizes and colors of eggs from Fimo clay and put those around in little baskets. This is also the time we got out all our little toy rabbits and birds and put them all around.
Another thing I like to do is put out a seasonal selection of books on the Montessori style bookshelf my father-in-law built for the kids. I like how it’s a forward facing shelf, displaying the cover art, so we can showcase the books that have to do with that time of year. I just changed it out for Spring with some of my son’s new books about eggs and birds, and of course, gnomes.
You will find that it’s very easy to find little ways to reflect the seasons in the home when you get in the habit of it. Just identify a few spots in your house that will change with the seasons, and collect a few little things from nature that appear with the time of year. Kids are naturals at this, and placing these treasures in a special place in your home gives them the message that nature is something to be treasured and treated with care. As you bring more of the outdoors in, you might just find yourself getting out of the indoors more often.
I love pussy willow!!! 🙂
How beautiful!
I wish I could find pussy willows here without buying! I just made our first season table too last week! http://www.theevolvinghomemaker.com/felt-fairies/ I like your felted figures/animals though! I am not ready to spend the $$ on learning that just yet…but am anxious to learn. These tables are beautifully inspiring!
🙂
Jen
Thanks! Those needlefelted figures and critters are pretty easily self-taught. All you need is a foam pad and a couple of felting needles and maybe one short class to get you started. I attended a one-time baby chick felting class and went from there. Have fun with your seasons table!
Lovely, my dear. Very inspirational!
beautiful post. thankyou for sharing it with us