Episode9 ⋆ Art of Homeschooling

Welcome Winter with the Window Star Challenge

Have you ever made a magical folded paper window star? I want to invite you to join me in making one this week. Welcome winter with the Window Star Challenge!

First, here’s a little story about my window star.

My window star hung in my dining room window throughout my homeschooling journey. It became the inspiration for the Art of Homeschooling logo and the reference for my idea of the Eight Lively Arts that we can bring to our children to enliven our homeschooling lessons.

The Lively Arts for Holistic Homeschooling: Storytelling, Movement, Music, Speech, Drama, Painting, Drawing, and Modeling.

One winter, I made a folded paper star with 8 points while sitting at our dining room table ~ the very same table where my family gathered to eat, homeschool, and celebrate holidays.

I hung the star in my window and took a photograph. To remind myself of the reasons why I chose to homeschool.

My window star reminded me of why I chose homeschooling for my family ~ to make beautiful things with our hands, to gather around the family table, to learn to shine.

I made my star with the intention of it being a guiding light on my journey through homeschooling. And now it inspires me to share my encouragement and experience with homeschooling parents from all over the world.

I still hang it up every winter to bring more sparkle and light into our home during the short, gray days of this season here in northeastern Ohio.

My window star brings warmth and color back into our lives when we most need it!

There’s a guiding light inside the beauty of a window star. A light that calls on us to celebrate imagination, creativity, making things with our hands, and the important work of parenting and homeschooling our children.

Read on for instructions to create your very own window star…

Making window stars can be a meditative, inner work experience, very much like folding origami peace cranes. And your beautiful star can be hung in your window as a reminder of your reasons to homeschool.

Those reasons might include helping your children discover their unique gifts as they grow, so that they can begin to share those gifts with the world. Or perhaps you want to bring learning alive through hands-on activities that inspire joy. Maybe you even want to tap into your own creativity, too.

All of these reasons have at their core our deep desire as human beings to shine forth. To bring a little more light, a little more beauty, a little more of our unique selves into the world. To be seen. To be a brighter star.

So here’s the window star challenge!

Pause to reflect on the intention to homeschool your children with love, to invite beauty, joy, creativity and connection into your home, and to honor each other’s individual gifts.

Then complete this artistic, meditative activity of folding a bright, guiding star for your home. And then share your photograph of your own star and guiding light with our homeschooling community around the world.

May this star be a symbol of my intention to homeschool my children with love. May our work together invite beauty, joy, creativity and connection into our home. And may we honor each other’s individual gifts.

Step-By-Step Instructions for the Window Star Challenge

Now let’s get started with the supplies you’ll need!

Supplies List

8 squares of kite paper or tissue paper: The 6”x 6” size works best. You can choose to use all one color or a variety of colors. Four of one color and 4 of another can be used to produce an every-other-point pattern, or eight different colors to make a rainbow. Your choice!
1 glue stick
Flat surface for folding and gluing
Bone folder or flat tool for tightening the folds (the back of a butter knife or any flat implement will do, too).

You can purchase kite paper here at Paper, Scissors, Stone: Waldorf Supplies. In the video, I use the precut squares. You can also purchase large sheets.

See how to make a window star in the video below. Or, if you’d prefer to read the step-by-step instructions, you’ll find those below the video.

How to Fold a Window Star

The time needed to complete this project is about 20 to 30 minutes.

This is a simple beginner’s fold that children ages 8/9+ may also enjoy.

Before you begin, pause to reflect on your intention: May this star be a symbol of my intention to homeschool my children with love. May our work together invite beauty, joy, creativity and connection into our home. And may we honor each other’s individual gifts.
Work on a flat surface. I like to use a painting board. It also helps to have the folding surface be a contrasting color from your star.
You’ll be folding each point individually, then gluing them all together.
Fold your first square in half. Be sure to carefully line up the edges. Slide your finger to the center of the fold and crease from there to keep the paper from crinkling. Then, open the fold back up. The line you have just created becomes the guide for the next folds.
Now fold each corner into the center so that the inner edge lines up with that center line. Do this for all four corners.
At this point, you have a smaller square. Next, you’ll fold each square into a point of the star by folding just two of the corners.
Take just two corners now and fold each one to the center line again. Be sure not to wrinkle the paper.
Repeat steps 4-7 for each of the eight squares!
Lay out all the points in the star so that you can see your finished star.
Now, to put your star together, lay one point down on a flat surface. Take a second point and match up the larger ends in the center, lining up the second point along that same center line of the first point.
Use a dab of glue near the center of the star as you add each point.
To add the last point, you’ll need to need to lift the first point and slide it over the eighth point.
Add dabs of glue at various places to keep the star together.
The last step is to hang your star in the window using a small piece of doubled over clear tape.

Window Star Challenge

When your window star is hung in your window, snap a pic and post it on social media with #windowstarchallenge.

So that we can all come together virtually, to support and celebrate each other, our unique gifts, and our shining light!

I so very much look forward to watching our virtual window star collection grow. ⭐

May we journey together on this holistic homeschooling path with the intention to create beauty, celebrate creativity, and inspire connection.

Wishing you much warmth and light, from my home to yours!

You’ll also enjoy…

Another creative tutorial for a Winter Solstice Sun Craft.

Find more inspiration for your own unique homeschool journey here, Reassurance for Homeschoolers.

Ready for a deep dive into the contemplative practice of inner work? Sign up here for the interest list for the 2021 Inner Work Journey.

Rate & Review the Art of Homeschooling Podcast

If the #windowstarchallenge inspired you, I’d LOVE it if you could rate and review the Art of Homeschooling Podcast on your favorite podcast player! Reviews can be left on Apple Podcasts (iTunes), Podcast Addict, or Stitcher.

And if you want to show your appreciation for the Art of Homeschooling Podcast, you can buy me a coffee!

About the Art of Homeschooling Podcast

The Art of Homeschooling Podcast is for parents who are ready to thrive in homeschooling. In each episode, we share stories and strategies so you can drop the overwhelm and get in touch with inspiration. You CAN create a homeschool life you love.

I’m your host, Jean Miller, homeschooling mother of three now-grown children. And here at the Art of Homeschooling, we keep it sweet and simple so you can focus on cultivating creativity and connection at home.