Are You Feeling the “February Slump” Yet?
By Sarah Barrett
The Waldorf festivals are part of what makes the Waldorf curriculum so special. These festivals, or holidays, are connected to the rhythm of life and the passing of the seasons. In celebrating seasonal holidays, the goal is to develop in the child (and adult) a sense of the rhythm of the seasons, the passage of time and a sense that there is something bigger than oneself.
Our lives are seasonal. We go through ups and downs, and it’s important for us to remember that seasons change and time passes, so we are never in a “down season” forever. Celebrating the rhythm of the year helps us remember and embody this truth.
Candlemas is celebrated on February 2 and traditionally marks the return of the light. We are leaving the dark deep winter and just beginning to notice more daylight in the evenings. Younger children may recite the verse “Candle, candle burning bright; Winter’s halfway done tonight. With a-glowing we are knowing; Spring will come again.” Hundreds of years ago it is said the priests melted the candles that had grown short with use and fashioned new and tall candles this time of year.
There is something very special about this festival for homeschoolers. Like the candles of the winter, we may sense the coming of Candlemas by feeling our own burn-out. We may be feeling worn down, bored, restless, metaphorically needing to be melted and remolded in preparation for what is next. In the wider homeschool community, this feeling is often referred to as the “February slump.”
It reminds me of the wonderful tale, The Lion, The Witch, & The Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis when it was always winter and never Christmas. It was dark, dreary, and even hopeless until there began to be whispers that, “Aslan is on the move!” Something wonderful is coming!
Rudolf Steiner likened the winter solstice to the time at which Earth turns from its deep in-breath of the Autumn to begin its out-breath into Spring. As creatures of the Earth, we too begin to feel the need for activities that ring of out-breath this time of year.
This is the restlessness that we begin to feel in February. As homeschoolers who have worked hard through Autumn and Winter when the Earth takes her great in-breath, now it is time to begin our exhale. We feel the mysterious feeling that something just isn’t right. The antidote is to bring renewal into your rhythm.
This “February slump” isn’t so much of a slump as it is a call to begin to awaken to the spring that is coming. May we “live in each season as it passes, breathe the air, drink the drink, taste the fruit, and resign yourself to the influences of each.” (Thoreau)
Candlemas is the time to intentionally bring some out-breaths to your homeschool rhythm. This may look like artistic activities, nature, singing, playing an instrument, gardening, and just plain recess. These can provide a balance and a breathing to other inbreath activities, and this is the time to bring more weight to the out-breath side of the scale.
Remember that a child is rarely served by “just going crazy” or being overstimulated so we are not saying to fill the day with out-breath activities, but to shift the balance a bit, following the voice within us that is calling for a shift this time of year. What a privilege we have as homeschoolers to be able to change our rhythm this time of year!
As a homeschool grown-up, what is needing to shift within you to prepare for what is next? What is preparing to take root now and rise within you this Spring?
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At Lotus & Ivy, our teachers are here to help you get through the “February slump”, and we have a wonderful list of new classes that begin on January 29. Email us at lotusandivyvirtualclasses@gmail.com or call us at 321.866.6860 if you have any questions about how our classes may help enliven your rhythm this time of year.
And join us for our Candlemas Celebration on January 28 as we honor this time of year with singing, movement, and artistic activities.