Category Archives: Resources

Christian Links and Resources to Love

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Goodness, I think the last post I did about Christian Resources was this post from May of 2010:  http://theparentingpassageway.com/2010/05/13/more-christian-resources-for-your-waldorf-home/.  Time for an update!

Many of you who are long-time readers know that we are heavily involved in our Episcopalian church – through the Children’s Choirs (yes, multiple choirs! Our two oldest girls just sang in our annual Spring Church musical and I was very proud!), through instrumental music lessons at church and through Sunday School.  I am teaching the Kindergartners this year with a great teaching team.   Grandpa is an Episcopalian priest, so it is wonderful to have him as a resource in our family.  I am always on the lookout for great religious resources,and will continue to pass what I find on to you, my faithful reader.

Here are some of the Christian books, articles and resources I have been enjoying as of late.  Much of what I read is actually Orthodox Christian, so you will see a mix of different denominational resources in this list: Continue reading →

Rhythm: Part Four

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I talk to so many mothers who have children of multiple ages and who are very concerned as to  how to fit in multiple main lessons, or what to do with their children when their ages are spread out between the Early Years and the grades.  It can be daunting, and many veteran Waldorf homeschoolers say that you cannot schedule that many main lessons without going insane….but then how to do it?

Let’s start at the beginning.  If you have a first or second grader, and the rest of your children are under the age of 7, then life should be relatively easy.  You can often think in terms of outside time together, a circle for all, a story geared to the kindergartener, perhaps the main lesson for the first or second grader, nap and quiet time (and perhaps do something else for fifteen to twenty minutes with the first or second grader during quiet time),  the work of the day geared toward the kindergartener but including all, and finish with playing outside.   My friend Sheila has a lovely post about her rhythm with her fourth grader and her Early Years child here:  http://sureastheworld.com/2012/03/18/brass-tacks-my-homeschooling-day/

With two children involved in  main lesson work, I think it is still possible to either put them “together” if they are close in age…ie, a first grader and a second grader could both hear folk tales, but work on slightly different academic levels.  If the two children needing main lessons are further apart in age, then you may want to have separate main lesson times.  Then for other lessons, such as foreign language or handwork, you could combine the children but have them work at their own levels.    I think all of that is possible with only two children needing main lessons, even with younger children in tow.  I think this is the sort of thing you must jump in and try and switch around as needed.  It is daunting when I go to the homes of my homeschooling friends who are not using Waldorf methods and their homeschooling is a lot of workbooks, worksheets, independent reading textbooks, and videos.  Waldorf homeschooling is different, and sometimes only by doing it can we wrap our heads around how it will work for our family and what that will look like!

I will have a fifth grader, a second grader, and a two year old turning three in the fall.  I am planning my essential rhythm to look like this:  Continue reading →

Planning Time!!

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It is the most wonderful time of the year! No, Virginia,  it is not Christmas, but it is planning time as all the boxes start to arrive in the mail.  There are lists to be made, supplies to be ordered,  rhythms to be tackled,  and prayers to be made regarding what to be involved in outside the home.

Sounds like a lot doesn’t it?  It can be for me too!

A few simple steps always help me… Continue reading →

Interesting Links This Week

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I found some interesting links to share with you all this week.

First, I found this free 58 paged document that describes all the how’s and why’s of chalkboard drawing in Waldorf Education and provides samples of chalkboard drawings for grades one through eight here:  http://www.antiochne.edu/ed/waldorf/projectJohnsonCatie.pdf Continue reading →

Late To Waldorf? Overwhelmed?

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If you are coming in late to Waldorf homeschooling or feel overwhelmed and overrun by dogma, I have a solution for you!  Please read the lectures given by Rudolf Steiner compiled in “The Renewal of Education.”  This set of lectures, given to a group of Swiss public educators only eight months after the first Waldorf school formed, is so accessible. The foreword is written by a favorite Waldorf educator of mine, Eugene Schwartz, in which he compares and contrasts Waldorf Education to John Dewey and Maria Montessori’s work and sheds light on the hallmarks of Waldorf Education:  the self –renewal and self-development of the teacher, the balance that feeling provides in education, and the approach of Waldorf education to the holistic child.

Waldorf education approaches the child from four different avenues. Continue reading →

One Mother’s Experience With “Thinking–Feeling- Willing”

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“Thinking –Feeling-Willing:  Bringing The Rhythm Home” is a fairly new program put forth by A Little Garden Flower.  I know rhythm is of interest to many of the mothers who read my blog, and one of my readers wanted to share her experience with this program.  Thank you to Sheila, homeschooling mother of two, for writing about her experiences.  I know some of you are concerned about smaller children being lost in the shuffle whilst homeschooling grades-aged children, and Sheila writes about this in this review.  I think you will find it interesting.  This is from my reader Sheila:

When I first came to Waldorf, I was overwhelmed by all the information out there: books, blogs, websites, suppliers, curricula. I honestly didn’t know which end was up. I was even confused by the vocabulary: rhythm, circle time, fingerknitting, never mind the 7 year cycles, the 3 fold nature of the human being and the 12 senses. It’s a lot to learn and there are a lot of people to learn it from. One person who has helped me to craft my mothering and my homeschooling is Melisa Nielsen. Her new program “Thinking, Feeling, Willing” is that elusive primer that I searched, googled, posted and prayed for, but at that time did not exist.

 

I think the real genius behind “Thinking, Feeling, Willing” is that the program is split into separate sections: one for the child and one for you, the mom. This is a cornerstone of Waldorf that I am realizing only in retrospect. You can’t focus on the “things” of Waldorf (and here, I am not even talking about the material “things” like wooden toys, play silks and Stockmar crayons; but even things like circle time, baking day and festivals). What I have found is that these things cannot come into your home in any real way until you have prepared yourself first. Melisa knows this and stresses this to everyone in her yahoo group, her consulting practice and those who use her curriculum. “Thinking, Feeling, Willing”  can thoroughly prepare you to homeschool your children with Waldorf-inspired methods.

 

The first lesson for Mom is all about rhythm. Rhythm, rhythm, rhythm . . . when I first came to Waldorf I kept hearing this word. I knew I wanted to have this gentle order to my day, but how to get there? (I have to mention Carrie here, because she is the one who helped me to solidify my rhythm, back before Melisa’s program existed. Check out this back post: http://theparentingpassageway.com/2011/01/05/rhythm-for-the-irregular/Her advice dovetails nicely with Melisa’s.) And even though I feel our rhythm is pretty solid now, it is not something static or finished. Through TFW, I have looked at our daily rhythm through a bigger lens and I am now working on bringing in a seasonal sense of rhythm to our year.

 

The monthly lessons for the child are seasonal and simple. I have a 6 year old kindergartener who seemed to be just floating along in the wake of our 4thgrade lessons. Our days were fine, but I wasn’t being intentional with my little guy. I knew it was important to stress the seasons, sing songs, recite verses and do things just for him, but that made me think I had to totally shift my homeschooling focus and recreate a Waldorf kindergarten in my home (ironic, because a Waldorf kindergarten is modeled on the home!) Melisa’s book suggestions, her continuing gnome story, her outrageous (!!!) recipes, and easy handcrafts have allowed me to simply augment what I was already doing. I can honestly say my fourth grader enjoys these aspects of our day just as much as his younger brother does.

 

TFW also provides handwork lessons that teach you how make many of those items so indicative of Waldorf: dyed silks, little gnome figures, paper lanterns, not to mention knitting! I learned how to knit pretty easily a couple of summers ago, but for some reason fingerknitting seemed beyond me. I have watched youtube videos and tried to figure it out through books with no success. Melisa’s video tutorial had me fingerknitting within about 2 minutes. In turn, I taught my boys and we now have chains and chains of fingerknitting waiting to decorate our Christmas tree come December.

 

 

Like everything Melisa Nielsen does, “Thinking, Feeling, Willing”  is comprehensive and budget-friendly. With a couple of books (some of which can probably be found at your local library), a few craft supplies, and some yummy additions to your shopping list, you can honestly get started with Waldorf in a real way. You will not waste time searching endless blogs, buying books and supplies you really don’t need or feel like you are out there reinventing the wheel by yourself. The program also includes a year of email and personal phone consultation with Melisa – she is literally there every step of the way with you. I think TFW is a great place to begin for those who are just coming to homeschooling with little ones, those who are coming to Waldorf with older children and even those who want to bring about a more rhythmic, seasonal focus to their time at home – homeschooling or not.

 

Thank you Sheila for this review.

Many blessings to you all,

Carrie

Real Life Resources For Children With Challenges

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I just wanted to thank all of you who have been so supportive of my recent postings on children who have challenges in the realm of sensory modulation, and also regarding my postings on our twelve senses.  This work is really important to me as a physical therapist and in how I see the generation of children coming up now who are really struggling in these areas.

Many parents are looking for resources that could be helpful in real life for their children with sensory challenges, children who have been diagnosed along the autistic spectrum, or children who are facing other challenges that are deemed “medical” but as we know from a holistic perspective involve the whole being.

Here are some resources I have been gathering since the workshop I attended on the twelve senses: Continue reading →

Squirrel Fun

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I know much of the Northeastern United States is currently buried under snow and even some power outages, so I feel almost bad for saying that fall is finally here in all its glory in the Southeastern US.

I love fall; I always have.  Crunchy leaves of many splendored colors, smoke rising from chimneys, crisp air and sunshine, squirrels and chipmunks scurrying about, fall foods such as apple, squash, greens and pumpkins!  Oh yes, my favorite time of year!  I am gathering up Thanksgiving recipes and getting ready to start on some holiday crafting as well.

So, in that vein, I wish to bring some fun poetry, verses and movement about squirrels to our homeschooling this week, especially for my sweet little toddler who has finally figured out that not every four legged animal is a doggie like his giant Leonberger!

Here are some squirrel ideas for this week if you would like to play along with me: Continue reading →

Need Homeschool Planning Ideas? A New Forum

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There is a relatively new forum called “Homespun Waldorf”, put together and run by a group of experienced homeschooling mothers.  I don’t get to personally participate a lot due to time restraints, but I have noticed many threads zooming around on there about combining grades and how to do it from veteran homeschooling mothers.  It may be helpful to some of you who are thinking that you need to teach separate main lesson blocks for everyone in your family; that truly is not the case.  The number of children in your family is akin to the social environment created in a school classroom; you really can get to know your family and what will work best for them all as a group and as individuals.  Homeschooling rarely looks like it does in a school setting.  We are at home.  Our homeschooling experience is first and foremost about family, about the things that unify us as a family in love, the activities we do as a family… and the learning in love as well, of course. 

 

At any rate, without further ado, here is the link so you can join yourself: 

www.homespunwaldorf.com

 

Kudos to Sarah for starting this and to all the volunteers who keep it running!

 

Hope that helps some of you who are planning,

Carrie