Creating a Waldorf Rhythm

As we approach the new school year, my email is often filled with questions about rhythm. Some families are homeschooling fully on their own, others are working with us in Seasons of Seven and still others have their children in a brick and mortar setting. No matter how you are schooling, rhythm or lack there of will lurk...waiting to see if you are going to choose chaos or peace. 

Rhythm restores power. ~ Rudolf Steiner

“Only human beings lead a chaotic life with no rhythm, nature has deserted it.” More Steiner. But HOW? How is it possible to hold a good rhythm and do all the things? Maybe you and your partner are both working? Maybe you are a single parent? Maybe you are caring for aging parents? Just how can you do it when there doesn’t seem to be enough hours in the day?

What if I told you that rhythm will restore you? Steiner is right, rhythm DOES restore power. It does some other pretty magical things as well. Having a good rhythm means your children fight less. It means your house is cleaner. It also means… wait for it…you get more sleep!! Sign me up for more sleep please!

Often parenting can feel like a hamster wheel that we can’t figure out how to get off of and if we don’t keep up we’ll fall. What if I told you it was as easy as stepping off the wheel? 

Ok, grab a pen, write some things down. 

1. You waste more time than you think. Track your time for just a day or two and see. The mind lies to us about 50% of the time so tracking your time with pen and paper is the only way to really see what we are really up to.
2. Once you’ve tracked it, take a look at the data. Don’t beat yourself up, it’s just data! What can you learn? How is your sleep? When are you going to bed? When are your children going to bed? How’s meal time? How about partner connection time? If you are in a partnership and you can’t remember the last time you kissed them, get up and do it right now and then come back! If you are single, give yourself a good hug and remind yourself that you’ve got this!
3. You’ve tracked it, you’ve looked at the data, now it’s time to get to work.  Go to bed tonight before 10pm (YES! DO IT!) Get your kids in bed at a proper time… see my sleep chart below. Get up before your kids. You don’t have to get up three hours before them but get up and breathe without them touching you. Go potty...without them banging on the door. Get dressed...without them watching. Enjoy your cup of morning in peace.  THEN... get excited to greet them! Hug them and smother them with good morning kisses! 
4. Decide what you are eating. Making a menu is not as hard as you think. Just come up with 5-10 meals that you all like. I have a rule...if I don’t know what we are eating by 3pm and I’m not willing to get up and figure it out then we are getting take out. Take out bills can add up so it is a good incentive for me to get my butt in gear.  Make a menu for a week of breakfast, lunch and dinner. Don’t get extravagant, they really just want food, often they aren’t too particular about what it is! Shop for the menu.
5. Have a weekly family meeting. Get together each week and discuss what is coming. Get on the same page. No surprises. If it doesn’t come up in this meeting then it really does not exist to me. 

This is rhythm.  Getting these key pieces in place will save you time, get you off the hamster wheel and help your sweet people not fight so much. 

Once you have the pieces in place, put your rhythm where everyone can see it. It will help your children know the flow of the day. Here are a few of mine from last year.

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