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SRV 1930 to 2010
February 2010
80 Years Ago
One of the off–shoots of the Progressive Education theories at this time was the Fresh Air Movement – the idea that children should be outdoors as much as possible. The SRV children were served milk for snack at outdoor tables. Later lunch was provided as well, probably subsidized by one family in support of others who were affected by the Great Depression. Students of all ages had rest every day, often outdoors, on cots which some of them made themselves
February 2010
Last week I walked into the shop to find eight kindergartners making candles and ten parents and an alum "helping" the kindergartners make candles. The room was crowded, warm, smelling of hot paraffin.
The children were focusing intently on their candles. They were quiet and serious. They dipped their wicks into the hot wax and watched the candles take shape. Some of the candles were long and skinny, some were fat and bumpy. In some the color was carefully controlled – blue, only, or layers of color. Others were brown blobs.
A few of the parents were standing over the melting wax, helping the children straighten their candles or labeling the finished ones. Most of them were making their own candles. They were cheerful and chatty.
Aryav dips a candle
Candle-making is a long–standing tradition at SRV, having been introduced in the 1930's. For as long as I can remember, we've done it in the winter – December or January.
The crowd in the shop is testimony to the incredible appeal of the activity of candle–making. Dipping candles is simple and yet somehow deeply satisfying. The liquid wax adheres magically to the wick. The candle grows. It is soft and warm to the touch, malleable and infinitely promising.
Like many of the things we do at SRV, candle–making can't be neatly fit into any particular realm of our philosophy and program. It is not purely an artistic project, or one of our seasonal traditions, or a community event. It is all of these things, and more.
Candle-making is an excellent project for young children (and adults!). They learn to use an unfamiliar medium, and they develop skill and control of the material over time. Candle-making also provides a vehicle for individual creative expression. It is aesthetically pleasing, and it is fun.
As a seasonal tradition, candle–making literally brings a little light and warmth to the darkest days of winter. It is an activity that can be related to many cultures and religions around the world, in which the symbolism and celebration of light play important roles. Children need ritual in their lives, and for some the litany of "Wax, water, wipe" is comforting and centering.
Candle-making at SRV is also a community activity like no other. This goes much more deeply than the fact that parents do much of the planning and most of the staffing for the week. It is about teachers, parents and children working and playing side-by-side. They are sharing a few minutes of peaceful hand–work, creativity and camaraderie. In contrast to the hustle–bustle of our usual daily work and the culture that surrounds us, this week is an opportunity to slow down, make something from scratch, and to just be together.
On another morning I returned to the shop for a few minutes, and found the 2 Day Preschoolers making their very first candles. Most of them had a parent with them, and Andreas had his big sister, Magdalia. He gripped the end of his wick in a sturdy fist, and Magdalia put a gentle hand on his arm to guide him through the dipping. They were both concentrating, oblivious of the others at the table. "Wax, water, wipe." As his little candle took shape, they viewed it proudly with identical radiant smiles.
Now I ask you, does it get any better than this?
Twelve Turnings
As part of our 80 year celebration, we'll also be revisiting the nature writing of SRV founder Grace Rotzel.
February makes more demands on us than any other month, and this last bit of winter often finds us unwilling to comply. It is a lingering month as in October, but in the fall we are willing to hold onto the color and warmth of summer, while in the opposite season we are eager to leave winter behind. We are likely to be peevish and irritable andwonder if nature is as efficient as she ought to be, and we are quite capable of showing our disapproval by going to bed with a genuine illness. The insulation from weather and life in the open, which we have so proudly and laboriously acquired, now catches up with us. It is too late for skating, too early for gardening, and the sloppy, sodden earth isn't particularly inviting. But old curmudgeons often have tender and appealing spots, and so does February.
Grace Rotzel – 1963
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