The Promise of Summer

Written By Class Teacher: Caitlin Reilly, The Minnesota Waldorf School

There is a promise of summer before it ever arrives; endless light and warmth, endless blue sky, towering puffy clouds, berries -- fat and plump right off the bush. At my house, there is much barefoot time, clothes are light and airy, and the tight, routinized schedule of the school year is allowed to relax and have space. An out-breath, as we say. The in-breath of school and learning is allowed to fly into the air on the wind of summer, like a dandelion seed fluttering, unfettered in the wind.

Then summer arrives, and it is really warm. In fact, it is hot and humid. The garden requires sweaty, itchy work. The berries are eaten by squirrels and birds and attract all manner of uninvited guests. Sometimes, all that time and blue sky feels too free, too endless.

And, here in the modern world, we can turn to electronic media to escape. In the comfort of air conditioning, tablets and phones and laptops provide us with video games and subscriptions to all manner of streaming services. A solution to the bugs, heat, and boredom right at our fingertips. What a relief! Tell me, what adult hasn’t curled up in front of YouTube or binged Netflix on a sultry summer day?

And what parent hasn’t turned on PBS kids while they are cooking dinner or perhaps on a very hot day when nothing else will do? What parent hasn’t been led by the siren call of “I’m bored” into turning on a movie or handing over the iPad for a hearty session of Minecraft? A mostly screen-free summer really does feel endless, and in hindsight (memory), magical.

Instead of staying inside and watching Bluey or One Piece on a sultry summer evening, what if you stayed outside and watched the sunset instead? Hunted for fireflies? Laid out a blanket and ate popsicles while watching the sprinklers as the sun sets? What if, in the heat of the afternoon, you read an entire novel cover to cover? Or let your kiddo? What if you let them or yourself become bored? There is an important gift in boredom. Once it is allowed to take hold, creativity and imagination begin to run like sap in the early spring and suddenly, the formerly bored child has built a castle out of cardboard and is happily making a costume to go with it. At our house, the cry of “I’m bored” is always responded to with an invitation to sweep the floor or fold the laundry. It is rarely accepted. Instead, that is when a complicated game is invented or a book is read or a drawing that takes the entire day is made.

Giving our children the gift of unsupervised and uncurated time and nature is one of the best gifts we can give them. If you live in a neighborhood that you can, shoo them outside in the late afternoon and don’t let them come back until dinner. If they just sit on the sidewalk watching ants for an hour, so be it. That’s okay. They will learn a lot about ants. If your neighborhood or home is not the kind that you can simply shoo the kids out, there are other lovely, screen-free ways for your children to have an endless summer. Have art supplies out and ready to be used, rotate the toy bin so that some toys feel new again, hang a bird feeder on the deck and let them watch it as long as they want. Let the deck or patio become a slightly wild  space. Eat all your meals outside.

This isn’t really meant to be an advice blog, more of an encouragement session. When I think of my childhood summers, I think of neighborhood hide and seek, playing “army” under the magnolia tree (I usually liked to stay there while everyone else went to battle. I would be the medic). I think of potlucks, so many potlucks, at various homes where we ran free on the property while the adults ate and talked and played music or whatever it was they were doing. We went to free music in the park and movies, too. Armed with chicken from Miller’s, our favorite local fried chicken place, bug spray, and lawn chairs. The adults were there when we needed them, ready with a band-aid or a cool drink. Perhaps StingStop for the 8 million mosquito bites that we got. There were always popsicles and a blanket at the ready, along with a jar for fireflies. Those memories are some of my most precious. As my son grows up, the most poignant memories that I have of his early years are the ones where he was creating endless chalk drawings, climbing the tulip maple, or we were baking together from the summer berry bounty. He used to love getting a lawn chair and putting it on the sidewalk to watch cars drive by during the annual “Back to the 50’s” car show. He made endless hopscotch games complete with challenges. He drew. He read. 

At MWS, we encourage a slow approach to media and screens. The summer is a great time to unplug, reset, and replenish our sense of beauty, goodness, and truth. We hope you have a great summer and would love to hear about your adventures. Please let us know, in words or pictures, what screen-free, summer adventures you are having! Give us permission to post on our social media (the irony here is not lost on us) if you like.

Waldorf at Home!

Here’s a delightful and enjoyable activity that your kids are sure to adore! It’s simple, spectacular, and features a wonderful grand finale based on a fascinating scientific principle: certain substances change color when they come into contact with an alkaline. Instructions for Invisible Ink Using Turmeric painting can be found here!