“A story is a funny thing
It drops like a feather
From a bird’s wing
They come to us from a world unseen
They can sprout and grow just like a bean
Stories like a blossom, they unfurl
Revealing hidden treasures like a pearl“
Sprites Night 2024
by Molly Brett
Sprites night at Kimberton Waldorf School is like a story in this sense. The idea or theme begins to weave and take form while Emily, our fine arts teacher, and myself, lazure classrooms together during the summertime. The theme for the evening may be inspired by a new study, a conversation, or by noticing a need for something within our community or within the world. This past summer, Emily and I were both studying the archetypal feminine and all the unconditional love that is encompassed within this archetypal image. We were pondering a request from our end of school Inservice meeting of how to meet our school community come Fall when there may be polarized tension in the air because of the election season. We realized we had a unique opportunity come Autumn. We decided we wanted Sprites night to fill our community with a deep love and we began looking for a story that had images of an all-embracing mother or the qualities of rejuvenation, transformation, and birth.
After a couple of months of combing through fairytales as individuals and as a festival committee we couldn’t find one that quite fit what we were looking for, and this is when I realized that I had written a story that may bring to life for Sprites night the themes we were looking to imbue.
In Waldorf education we use stories to connect, inspire, heal, and bring wisdom to the students in our class. If we can’t find a story that meets a child, situation, or class, then often teachers write one. I had written this story as a therapeutic tale but the images of love and transformation were alive in the journey the princess takes throughout this Fairytale. And even though the story was mystical, I believed we could find a way to bring this story to life.
If you’re unfamiliar with Sprites night you may be wondering what it is I’ve been writing about? Sprites night is an alternative way to celebrate Halloween. A time to acknowledge a season when many traditions believe the veil is thin between the physical world and the spiritual world. This year we took the fairytale and developed chapters that became vignettes. The children were led through the story in the beauty of dusk and twilight, watching scenes being acted out along a circuitous pathway that is lit with luminaries and lanterns.
Luckily when your co-pilot is the Fine Arts teacher of a Waldorf School, even wild imaginations can come to life! A couple elements this year that we had never tried before were life size puppets and a shadow puppet theater utilizing color to make it therapeutic for the children watching. Watching this story come to life for our community was a gift made possible by the efforts of many. Our environmental services team, teachers, parents, and even students made magic happen by dipping into their imaginations, bringing goodwill, and working together.
When I reflect on the efforts of the event, they bring into the world the qualities of love, transformation, and growth that we wanted to come to life in the story. The care, effort, listening, and working together to create a unified vision, the utter transformation of a physical space that has to occur to make Sprites night possible, and the opportunity to learn and grow from experiences; both in the beauty of an enchanted evening to the hard work of making it happen are opportunities that create space for inner development within us all!
