Little Light of Kindness, part 2 – a festival of light and compassion
On Sunday, 15 November — in the week after St Martin's Day — we will celebrate a festival of light and compassion together. The children will prepare a path of light, we will listen to the story of St Martin, and at dusk the children will lead us with their lanterns along the path they prepared themselves.
This is the second part of the Little Light of Kindness — part 1 took place on Wednesday, 28 October.
When and where
- 1.45 pmArrival and hello to the sheepParents and children, please come about 15 minutes early. Before the children go into the yurt, we say hello to the sheep — by the end they will be settling down for the night.
- 2 pmThe children's programme beginsWith our help, the children prepare a path of light, then we gather in the yurt for the story.
- 3.30 pmParents join us at the yurtWe light the tea lights and the children lead us along their path with their lanterns.
- ≈ 4 pmPlanned endThe sun sets at about 4.25 pm, so we finish the walk at dusk, before it gets dark.
📍 The yurt at Lunina dolina, Destrnik — you walk from the car park to the yurt; directions and parking information are sent by e-mail.
Registration is required, by Saturday, 14 November, 6 pm.
How the afternoon will go
The path of light
This time we are not making new lanterns — the focus is on the experience and on preparing a path of light together. With our help, the children prepare a path along which they will later lead you, their parents, with their lanterns. That way they feel that they can create something beautiful on their own — and that they can be the ones who show others the way.
The lanterns
Children who were with us on 28 October will find their lantern from part 1 waiting for them here. For children who did not come to part 1, we have prepared lanterns.
The story of St Martin
Once the path is ready, we gather in the yurt and listen to the story of St Martin — the soldier who, on a freezing night, cut his cloak in two with his sword and gave half to a beggar shivering by the roadside. We talk about how light is not only the flame of a candle, but also a kind word, a hug or helping a friend, and we sing a little lantern song together.
The lantern walk
At 3.30 pm the parents join us at the yurt. We light the tea lights and the children lead us along the path they prepared — this time the children lead and the adults follow.
The lanterns hold real tea lights — their warm, living flame is what makes this festival magical. The adults take care of safety: we light the tea lights together, the path has been checked, and the mentor and parents stay with the children the whole time.
Light that travels on
At the end we put out the lanterns, and the children take them home to share their light symbolically with someone who could not join us — perhaps a grandparent, a neighbour or a friend.
Quiet during the story
During the story we kindly ask parents to keep the area around the yurt as quiet and calm as possible, so the children can truly sink into it.
No phone torches or flash
During the experience, please do not use phone torches or flash photography — let the path be lit only by the children's lanterns.
Why we light lanterns in autumn and how Waldorf schools celebrate this festival is told in our little story about the lantern festival.
Who it is for
children aged 4 to 10
per child, payment on arrival — including all materials, a tea light, a snack and a gingerbread
for children — places are filled in order of registration
Language. The workshop is held in Slovenian, and in English whenever needed — our team speaks Slovenian and English and understands German well.
Supervision. The children prepare the path of light on their own, with our help — if they can manage it, please let them do this part without you. Parents bring them at 1.45 pm and join us at 3.30 pm for the shared walk. Please enter in the form how many adults will join the walk (field Odrasli na sprehodu). If a younger child is not yet ready to stay without a parent, we can arrange for a parent to stay the whole time.
Snack
During the programme the children get warm tea and a light snack — some fresh and dried fruit, bread and cheese. After the walk there is warm tea for everyone. If your child has an allergy or special dietary needs, please let us know when you register.
One gingerbread, many pieces of kindness
After the walk every child receives a gingerbread. We wait until everyone has one and only then open them together — each child is invited to share it with their family.
When we share something good, it does not lose its value — kindness spreads.
What to wear and bring
- 🧣Warm clothes, hats and gloves for children and parents — part of the afternoon is outdoors, and it gets cold quickly after sunset
- 🥾Shoes for grass and mud — you walk from the car park to the yurt
- 🧦Slippers or warm, ideally non-slip socks — we take our shoes off in the yurt
- 🫙A glass jar (about 0.5 l) is welcome — if you have a spare one at home, we will gladly use it for lanterns
- 🏮Children do not need to bring a lantern — their lantern from part 1 is waiting here, and we have prepared lanterns for the others
- 🔦For adults, a head torch for the way back to the car after the end, if you like — please keep it switched off during the walk
With our mentor Hadeja
We run the workshops together with Hadeja Adeva Horvat, an experienced Waldorf kindergarten teacher from Zavod Livija, an organisation that supports empowered and caring families. Hadeja leads the workshops as mentor; we take care of the space, the materials and the warmth of the yurt.
Registration
Places are filled in order of registration and you receive a confirmation by e-mail straight away. Once all places are taken, you can join the waiting list and we will let you know if a place becomes free.
The registration form is on the Slovenian page of the workshop. The fields are: Ime in priimek (name), E-pošta (e-mail), Telefon (phone), Odrasli na sprehodu (adults on the walk), Otroci (number of children), Imena otrok (children's first names — recommended, so we can greet them by name) and Sporočilo (message — feel free to write in English).
One more thing
If it rains
In heavy rain we will shorten the walk or replace it with lanterns in the yurt — we will let you know of any change by e-mail and phone.
Photos
We will take photos at the workshop. Photos in which a child can be recognised are published only with the parents' consent — if you agree, please mention it in the message when you register.
You can reach us at info@lunina-dolina.si or +386 70 620 382 — in Slovenian, English or German.
When nature sleeps, we must stay awake. ♡
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