Mantles of Care
For Young People
Mantles of care bring together nature, the elemental beings, the spiritual world, and the human I with warmth and rhythm. They can restore breathing and settle the nerve sense system and senses in a living etheric stream that invites the receiver and those present, towards harmony.
Human beings develop differently to animals. With them, the creative forces retreat at birth. They leave people free. Human beings learn to walk, speak and think not from nature, not from angels, but only from other people.
Rolfe Heine
Anthroposophic Nursing Practise, 2009
Caring for the Senses
Mantles of Care work with bodily, daily seasonal and spiritual rhythms to offer hygienic self-care that is age and developmentally appropriate for the human being
When the child is born into the sense world, they are cared for by the people and their surrounding environment in such a way as to awaken the seeds of the three essential capacities that are necessary for learning from life.
These three: attention, attachment and self-regulation – are recognised as a birthright to the child.
Lisa Romero, A Bridge to Spirit, 2019
First they come to the child from without, from their caregivers , and are undisturbed by a supportive outer environment that does not create imbalances. As the child grows, they unfold these three essential capacities and eventually become independent learners within life. In the spiritual world , the three seeds of learning are the faithful observer, the experiencing = harmonising capacity and the strengthened free will. These allow us to learn from the surrounding spiritual world and also to grow through a healthy inner development that allows for a full development through the learning we acquire.
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Receiving Mantles of Care Provide the Child with Health-giving Forces of Rhythm, Warmth and Harmony.
Working alongside One Another
Developing the Self Developing the World Mantles of Care programs are prepared in consultation with the educators to support each unique community. The program accompanies the rhythm that the children are held within. Together we work from the understanding of the children’s development through the lens of anthroposophy.
Rhythms of Three
Included in a session are activities for the child to harmonise their warmth, gather themselves into their centre and support their daily health and hygiene through care practices. A rhythm of three can support a deeper working and experiencing of the mantles.
Goals of any true art of education must be to impart to the child the ability to meet the challenges of illness and master the obstacles. When this is successful, we speak of health. This means not just the absence of illness but a possibility for the individual to permeate the 3 fold organisation of the body in such a way that the full potential of the physical, mental and soul and spiritual aspects can develop.This enables one the freedom to act according to one’s own disposition and purpose. This salutogenic approach to health is a foundation for the educational process.
Rudolf Steiner, Samaritan Course
Exploring Ways with Mantles of Care
To have a fresh set of eyes on the children, a visit is arranged to be present in the space to observe unobtrusively during a “class session”. Questions the Educator(s) are carrying regarding the children, space and interactions can be received prior to the observation.
Discussions occur following the session, at a suitable time, to be introduced to mantles of care suggestions that could be continued by the Educator and staff to integrate into their group. These are usually suggestions that will support the group as a whole whilst at the same time meeting the particular needs of some.
Contribution: $120 for 1 hour observation and feedback with recommendations.
Independent workshops can also be offered including supporting transitions, preparing your family care basket -practical first aid, supporting sleep, the benefits of wrapping – new eyes for children’s clothing.
Contribution: $150 for 1 hour session for up to 10 parents.
Why Care? Care underpin the basis of life- food, water , shelter, clothing, warmth, rhythm, love. Care enables development.It creates space. It enables the establishment of a physical, social and spiritual place where transformation and change can grow. Order in the outer space allows breathing to occur in the inner space.As care is practised in social institutions, it is a model of self care and care for others.Care practised in childhood becomes the caring community of the future.Caring for a human being is geared to their future. We must first recognise and encourage the seeds for the future that slumber in each person, regardless of the biographical context. As a responsible relationship is modeled for all that is material, moral strength to value the object, whether person, animal, plant, cosmos or thing as it deserves is grown. Maintaining care practises takes effort , it goes against the habitual thinking and behaviour of our interiorised materialised world today. Through our conscious practice of care a sustainable future is created.
Rolfe Heinze, Anthroposophic Nursing Practise 2009
Mantles of Care with Children
At a point throughout the day, perhaps the initial arrival and free-play time, in a specified mantles of care space/tent, a mantle of care activity that has been determined in consultation with the Educator can be freely offered to interested children.
To begin with it could be a mantle of care activity that welcomes and warms children helping them to settle through the new transition back to or into their new class. Children’s rest after lunch could also be observed and further mantles of care introduced if needed to support a nourishing digestion time/ rest.
Contribution: $150 for 1 hour inclusive of materials for up to 10 children
Care of one’s own body is an expression of human independence and autonomy.
In supporting children towards independence, the consciousness of the caregiver is required so that those children in need of care are supported in their own activity and are not limited by creating roles of dependence and beneficiaries. Independence is promoted consistently and purposefully by taking into consideration developmental stage and capacities of each child.
As a child increases in self-care independence, the handling of the wash cloth, the towel, toothbrush, blowing of nose, cleaning of ears, trimming of nails, toileting, and the use of their hairbrush and comb, what is to become the lifelong habit and life forces are activated.
For wholesome care is the basis for ongoing health and wellbeing: for strong and robust life forces, resilient and dependable immune systems.
Their soul dips into the child’s body during self care practices in processes of movement and rest, in muscle contraction and relaxation. The I realizes its self in the physical body through this orderly, purposeful washing of oneself, raising oneself upright ; the experience of being inside their earthly body/ vehicle/home.
Being allowed to help and receiving help creates a super- personal quality of dignity and humanity. Focusing on this healthy aspect makes body care one of the special opportunities to connect with the child, despite all the unpleasant smells, the repetitiveness, the physical and etheric demands on the adult/caregiver and sometimes the resistance we meet to continue to stand before the child in uprightness, with love.
Rolfe Heine, Anthroposophic Nursing Practise, 2009
the Care Space
The Care Space within the home or classroom is an area that is set aside for regaining harmony. The way that the space is created and respected by the adults supports the children to come towards it with reverence. Simplicity, beauty and harmonising qualities are offered in a variety of textures, weights, temperatures and other natural sensory experiences that form a care space and a care basket. The children may come to the care space to care for themselves, their friends, and the dolls. It provides carefully chosen fabrics and additional warm clothes for children who may require it. The children can be further supported by the caregivers with offerings such as warm rose facecloths or footbaths and first aid.
Contribution: $120 for 1 hour observation and feedback with recommendations.
Behind or with in the appearance of every created thing, their lives a Spiritual thought and a consciousness. Every manifest kingdom of the natural world has a spiritual consciousness as an essential part of it. We cannot consider these consciousnesses to be moral or immoral; we can only regard them as spirit-created, sense-perceptible kingdoms.
It is in this sense that we feel more connected and harmonious after allowing the spirit kingdoms of nature to impress upon the spirit kingdom in us.
The natural world around us is a form of nourishment for the deeper aspects of the human being. Everything in the universe that is born into the sensory world has a consciousness behind it. The manifestation of the natural world is the manifestation of the spiritual world; the spiritual consciousness behind a given thing or being is what serves the deep aspects of the human being.
Spirit led Community Lisa Romero Page 142
Caring for the health of the caregiver.
Strengthening the wellbeing of the caregivers supports them in finding a place of uprightness and harmony to hold an environment that can nourish children.
Care & Renewal offerings to caregivers is often well received within the child’s Playgroup, Children’ Group or Kindergarten while the child is being cared for. Modelling care of ourselves and others.
Explore –
Lemon foot baths | Hand baths | Tinkle washing on hands or feet | Dry body brushing | Cool wash | Compress ..all come to a place of completeness with a herb tea and rest.
Contribution: $40/session
A child absorbs the care shown to others, parents, plants and animals and deepens it in its own concentrated play. The care is lodged at the level of bodily experience; from imitating the adult as the role model the child becomes alive with living values that supports its experience of life as rich and valuable. It is meaningful to cultivate, support and provide care as an adult. this is reflected in our moral development. What develops our ability to know what is right? To do through our doing – we just do it.
Heller Heckmann, The Garden, 2012
Mantles of Care Conversation hour
When the caregivers and their children have been a part of the mantles of care and care and renewal, it serves them well to have a conversation circle for questions that could support it being integrated at home in the child’s daily family life.
The conversations are held with the understanding of the incarnating child, and their growth and development from a threefold perspective.
Contribution: $150 for 1 hour
WORKSHOPS
Independent workshops extend the content to better support transitions, preparing a family care basket, practical first aid, supporting sleep, the benefits of wrapping, and perceiving anew the cloth we provide for children.
Contribution: $150 for 1 hour session for up to 10 parents.
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Mantles of Care for Young People
Mantles of care revisit basic daily health and hygiene practices with the use of plants, natural materials and elements such as colour, texture, sound, tone, touch, rhythm, temperature. Together with the uprightness of the adults providing care, the children’s etheric bodies are nourished and their forces of growth and learning more able to receive and partake in a day. Full and vital etheric forces provide the ground for the higher members of the human being to find their place in the bodily constitution. As well as lesson content, these mantles may assist the digestion of food and social interactions.
Developing the Self Developing the World health practitioners work alongside teachers and parents to bring mantles of care to support healthy sensory development and the awareness of interactions, attention, self-regulation, and daily health and hygiene practices. Teachers have expressed that children have had a restorative time that has then enabled them to settle into their school work more readily.
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