Posts

What makes a toy a Steiner or Waldorf toy?

Nov 25, '21

With modern day technology, everything we want to learn or find to purchase is at our fingertips.  There are hundreds of toy brand that claim to be Waldorf inspired but what really makes a toy a Waldorf or Steiner toy.  At Growing Instincts we don’t consider a toy to be...

Celebrating Michaelmas

Sep 27, '21

September 29, midway between the northern hemisphere's summer and winter solstices, the ancient festival of Michaelmas is celebrated. As the days start to get shorter and warmth starts to fade, Mother Nature provides a last gift of the season, harvest ripens and we get to enjoy the last few days of warmth until the next spring

Dragon Bread Recipe for Michaelmas

Sep 27, '21

Ingredients. 500g whole-wheat flour + 500g Strong white bread flour Large tsp brown sugar 25g (5tbsp) Dry Yeast Scant tsp sea salt 75g white sugar 150g currants 25g sesame seeds and/or sunflower seeds 500ml warm milk (blood heat) 50g melted butter 1 egg yolk (or egg replacement) A little beaten...

The Autumn Nature Table

Sep 27, '21

The idea is to allow children to connect with the natural objects and the scene depicted on the nature table. This connection can foster an inner relationship with the items and rhythms found in the natural world.

WHY YOUR KID SHOULD PLAY WITH FIGURES

Sep 14, '21

 Playing with the figures encourages Imaginative play, helps emotional development, encourages language development, can be a wonderful home décor pieces as well.

Pentatonic music for your home

Sep 9, '21

 It is a rising or sliding arrangement of notes in a certain order of pitch. The pentatonic scale gets its name from the Latin words penta meaning ‘five’ and tonus which means ‘sound’ or ‘tone’ and so the pentatonic scale is simply a five note musical scale.

The Growing Instincts Team Toy Picks: Why we love these products

Sep 8, '21

Eco Kids, Waldorf, Steiner, anthroposophical, natural, wood, Play dough, blocks, Pebbles, Bajo, Papoose, spoon, music, musical, finger paint.

Why wooden hula hoops perfect for you?

Sep 2, '21

Wooden Hula hoops are environmentally more sustainable; require zero maintenance, with no warping overtime. They are better for toning, exercising, offer better grip (even w/ clothes on).

What are Waldorf Toys?

Sep 1, '21

The “Waldorf” in Waldorf toys comes from Waldorf education, which is based on the educational philosophy of Rudolf Steiner.  According to Steiner's philosophy, the human being is a threefold being of spirit, soul, and body whose capacities unfold in three developmental stages on the path to adulthood: early childhood, middle...

Porcelain Lithophane Night Lights

Aug 31, '21

Lithophanes are the amazing 3 dimensional porcelain transparencies that the Porcelain Garden Inc are renowned for. As light shines through the varying depths of the etched porcelain panels, they come alive with remarkably detailed images. We create them by first engraving the image in a translucent wax, illuminated from behind....

Montessori learning tools

Aug 27, '21

Montessori believed that “What the hand does, the mind remembers”. Concrete materials make concepts real, and therefore easily internalized.  The child will work abstractly with paper and pencil once has internalized the pattern and no longer needs the material. 

Playing dress-up is not just for Halloween

Aug 19, '21

I grew up in India so I used to try to play with my mom’s sari and pretend to be my teacher and grab my blackboard and teach my grandma how to read and write since she came from a generation when women’s education wasn’t really important.