The Harvest Mouse

I love the idea of a Form Modeling curriculum in grades 1-3 (Basic Sculptural Modeling: Developing the Will by Working with Pure Form in the First Three Grades by Hella Loewe is available at Amazon as well as a free downloadable PDF at the Online Waldorf Library) but clay can be intimidating for a lot of homeschoolers. It feels like a big expense, a big setup, and a big cleanup.

I think for a lot of people modeling beeswax feels more doable, so it is good to have some modeling beeswax ideas handy as well.

We always warm the beeswax in our hands but I have heard that some teachers pop it into a pot of barely simmering water. Has anyone tried this? Does it work? Does it reduce the value of the lesson (which is strengthening the will forces) to hand children beeswax which is already soft and pliable?

I like to have a long story ready to read while they are warming up their wax. An idea which occured to me recently is to introduce the sphere by talking about the perfectly round nest of the Harvest Mouse. So I'm collecting my Harvest Mouse resources. Does anyone have one to add?

The Human Being and the Animal World
by Charles Kovacs
chapter 5, "The Harvest Mouse"

Tell Me a Story
edited by Louise deForest
"The Harvest Mouse" by Denise Kilshaw, p.25
now ALSO available online for free at OWL

We Build Our Homes: Small Stories of Incredible Animal Architects
by Laura Knowles, pp.52-53

Swirl by Swirl: Spirals in Nature
by Joyce Sidman

Animals Upside Down: A Pull, Pop, Lift & Learn Book!
by Steve Jenkins

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