Imaginative Storytelling
Thursday, August 27, 2026 | Day 2
Our second day, Thursday, August 27, 2026, homeschooling Waldorf-inspired kindergarten was just as joyful as the first, and once again I completely overplanned. I am homeschooling my triplet nephews, who are four years old, along with their 11-year-old brother, and I am quickly learning that everything takes more time with younger children. We had wet-on-wet watercolor painting planned with beautiful watercolor paper, painting boards, sponges, brushes, and the primary colors ready to go, but we never got to it. And that is perfectly okay because now everything is ready for another day.
We started with some of the materials I've been gathering from my school room, including Lyra watercolors, wooden pieces, wool for felting, washcloths, and some beautiful new silks from Sarah's Silks. I also baked another apple pie before the children arrived because last time the pie finished baking after they had already gone home. This time I wanted them to walk in and smell that beautiful apple pie and actually be able to enjoy it. I used maple crystals instead of sugar and baked the pies in tiny dishes. I should have made more because they ate every bit of them.
We began by lighting a candle, with my older nephew doing the honors. Even though we are in Southern California and it is still blistering hot, I pulled out a few fall decorations because we are going to enjoy the season whether the weather cooperates or not.
One of our first projects was painting tiny wooden mushrooms. I have a card deck showing different kinds of mushrooms, and although red mushrooms with white dots were definitely the favorite, we ended up with a lovely assortment. What I loved most was knowing that these little mushrooms weren't just an isolated craft. They became part of our storytelling later in the day.
We also finally enjoyed the cold brew coffee we had made earlier in the week. It was decaf and organic, and the children had it with a little maple syrup alongside their apple pie. Having food as part of every lesson has been such a joy, and I really want to continue that rhythm throughout the year.
Another project I'm especially excited about is a plain wooden rainbow arch. I originally thought I would paint it myself in beautiful desert colors, but then I realized it would be much more meaningful to make it together. Our kindergarten space isn't completely set up yet, and that is intentional. Throughout the year, my older nephew and I are going to do some carpentry and build a bookcase where we can store all of these beautiful materials we're making, finding secondhand, or borrowing from my school room.
We also planted the tomato seeds the children had removed earlier in the week. We used mason jars with a little insert at the top and string that reaches down into the water. The children filled them with soil, compost, and coffee grounds and planted about three tomato seeds in each jar. Almost all of them sprouted, which made this such a satisfying continuation of something we had started during our first lesson.
I'm also realizing that the children really want to take something home after every class. They ask to take pieces of nearly everything we're working on, so I think I'm going to make that part of our rhythm and intentionally include something small they can bring home each time.
We finished with our story, The Hedgehog Leaves Home. We read just a few pages at a time, and this time the children were able to add their newly painted mushrooms into the storytelling. We also included an owl that we felted earlier in our homeschool journey. They love being part of the story rather than simply listening, and that is one of my favorite things about teaching young children. They are so bright-eyed, curious, and completely engaged.
By the time it was time to go home, everyone wanted a washcloth and even the little paper-bag mats we had been using. I thought that was adorable, so with my sister-in-law's help, I made a few more before we said goodbye.
It was another full, beautiful day of cooking, painting, planting, storytelling, and making things together. We didn't accomplish everything I planned, but I think that may become part of the rhythm of this season: planning plenty and then allowing the children, the work, and the day itself to decide where we actually go.