our lantern walk

last night we had our martinmas lantern walk. we made these beeswax lanterns in class. they are so stunning! the kids were able to help with much of it though there were obviously some safety precautions with the hot wax. it was great to have them present and to be a part of the process. they really enjoyed the magic of watching these lanterns come to life!
i learned how to make these from my dear friend kelly at our handwork group last month (thanks kelly!). they were so beautiful i just had to share them with the children.
we met a couple of blocks from class and walked to school in the fading light of the evening. it was very windy. lighters were kept in hand and lanterns relit (it's telling me that's not a word, isn't it a word?) many times as we walked. everyone had a great attitude about it though and we enjoyed a lovely walk. as we approached the building, we gathered on the playground in a circle to watch the lanterns and to sing our songs once more. then we filed in to the dark hallway and placed our lit lanterns against the walls.

our little camera is not fond of taking night time pictures. the best picture we captured was of the lanterns lining the hallway. looking forward to parents sharing their pictures! ;)

then we gathered in the classroom and i told a sweet little lantern story (that i can't seem to find online or i would share it with you). i adapted the story so that the little boy makes a beeswax lantern just like we did. then we all enjoyed cookies and tea and lovely fellowship with one another. i am so very proud of the amazing group of families that have been brought together by our little program! it is so refreshing to get together as a group and really soak it all in. so much love in one room! :)

as pre-festival preparations were starting to stress mommy out just a bit (yes, it happened!), dad comes strolling in with his own lantern that he had been crafting. he made this out of wood scraps he had. he is notorious for his elaborate plans that are still being executed at the last minute. he actually wrapped the parchment paper around his masterpiece in the car on the way to the walk! i love how it turned out and i LOVE that he wanted to make a lantern himself.

daddy saved the day with his lantern. our daughter was the one stressing out because her lantern would not stay lit. matt was happy to trade with her as his had no problem holding the flame!

looking away from the camera even in the dark!! ;)

i'll be back tomorrow to tell you how to make your own beeswax lanterns. my first tutorial!

edited to add: i found the lantern story here!