Discovering Waldorf – ‘The Magic Of Play Silks’

Play silks are pure magic – soft yet strong, colorful yet translucent – they are fairy wings, a king’s cape, a mermaid’s tail. 

Lay them down on a table and they serve as a beautiful base or background for your nature table. Create forts, host puppet shows, make costumes, and create villages with silks! 

Wrap a Waldorf doll in a silk “blanket”, swim in a “river” of blue silks, or hang a rainbow silk from your favorite window. Silks are symbols of magic in many forms of play and display.

Babies laugh in delight as silks are thrown into the air, or used to play “peek-a-bo”! 

Adults use silks in spiritual displays, as lovely table cloths, to wrap birthday and holiday presents (no paper waste!), or as a beautiful scarf around the neck.

Families not only enjoy incorporating silks into their home, but also revel in dyeing them.

Jennifer and family at the annual Griffin Dyeworks Dye & Fiber Retreat in Castaic, CA

Tie-dyeing and plant-dyeing are two wonderful ways to experience the magical process of creating a rainbow of colors for your own set of silks.

Silks may be seamlessly incorporated into lessons about entomology (silk worms), geography (China), and handwork (dyeing) with older children.

Find a special basket and gently fold your silks for storage. Keep the basket handy for children to reach and enjoy regularly. 

Feature seasonal colors throughout your home. Tie them together, use wood play clips, or sew them into curtains or puppets. Use your imagination, and watch as beautiful silks infuse magic into your home!

Resources:


Dyed silks and eBook on dyeing with children: www.syrendell.etsy.com


Plant dyes and annual dye & fiber retreat: www.griffindyeworks.com


Undyed silks and tie-dye supplies: www.dharmatrading.com


Wood play clips: www.etsy.com/shop/WoodToyShop

About the Author
Jennifer Tan, MA is a homeschooling consultant, fiber artist, musician and aromatherapist. She leads workshops, teleseminars, eCourses and writes eBooks for parents in the areas of Waldorf curriculum, homeschooling and handwork. Jennifer lives in beautiful Davis, California with her husband, Waldorf teacher Dr. Rick Tan, and their three children (and a baby due in October!). Jennifer may be reached through her website (sign up for the monthly newsletter) www.syrendell.com, her Etsy shop which features dyed silks and an eBook on dyeing with children www.syrendell.etsy.com, her blog www.syrendell.blogspot.com, and on Facebook www.facebook.com/syrendell.

Thank you dear Jennifer… oh, you have shared so many wonderful ways our kids can play with silks. They truly are the most beautiful, tactile, versatile and open-ended of toys.

Jennifer has beautiful silks for sale in her shop Syrendell on Etsy. And I have rainbow silks available in my shop, Fairyfolk, too.

Please visit my new Discovering Waldorf page to find out more about his super series and read the other posts in the archive (see the page heading at the top under my blog banner?)

And, please enter the Fairy Garden Competition if you haven’t already. Due to numerous requests, closing date has been extended for a few weeks. Click on this link for more information…

Donni