Yesterday my first grader asked what the sky was made of, and today she wrote this poem:
Little Blue Sky
Little blue sky,
How are you up there so high?
Come down to me,
We will play games.
I love you,
Little Blue Sky.
I had a question from a mother regarding a six year old child (almost seven) who she felt was speaking disrespectfully not only to her but to other elders within the family.
I responded to her that I felt some of the passages from the book “You Are Not the Boss of Me! Understanding the Six/Seven Year Old Transformation” may be helpful to her; while much of this book is aimed at Waldorf Kindergarten teachers, I think it is still well-applicable to the home environment.
“This transition time, often called “first puberty” or “first adolescence” is a time when children go through an abundance of transformations. These can bring symptoms of chaotic behavior manifesting in even the most well-adjusted children……..(if) we as caregivers can be prepared inwardly to see and meet the new behaviors of the children, then the children and their parents are more at ease in our presence. The children can then have a safe place to test out their newfound need to push for boundaries, we are braced to meet them and the parents can have trust that we truly understand their children.” (Of course, this is written for classroom teachers, but I think the idea still stands.)
“Sometime between the age of five and one half to seven we begin to see that children are asking for something more from us in addition to our continued working out of imitation.” (page 4)
There is the crux of it; changing from using imitation and modeling to a bit more direct of a disciplinary style. This does not mean reasoning! But it does mean a matter-of-fact, peaceful energy around the fact that you are the parent.
From Page 8 – “One of the most common responses I’ve witnessed is the need of children to be the boss. Parents, teachers, and their peers are no longer safe from being corrected at every mistake. This, coupled with an arrival of a sense of time (before, after, and so on), can show itself at circle time when a child speeds up the verse to be finished before the others or on the morning walk when the child slows down her walking so that she can arrive way behind the others. Going along with what everybody else is doing is no longer an unconscious priority……..A Matter of fact response is needed (then). “Teachers know the rules of the land, “ or , as I have said to my own children. “That is my job. Your angel asked me to be your helper.” Children benefit immensely by being met directly at this time, and a neutral, informing tone of voice can reassure them that the boundaries are still in place even though their whole being is in upheaval. What a relief this is for them!”
This passage is specifically about boys in the kindergarten – “In the kindergarten we can see that boys need to know who is the “boss”. They easily establish a social pecking order with one strong “captain” at the top. This behavior is even more evident during the six-year-old change. It is important that an adult take on this role of “captain of the ship.” There are far fewer problems with bullying and social dominance if it is very clear to the boys that the adult is the boss. Boys need clear, strong boundaries and limits firmly established. They do better when the rules of conduct are simple and do not require elaborate explanations.” (page 119)
From page 271 – “Remember, you, as the parent, are the child’s loving authority. Do not be afraid to claim that role. Your guidance with strengthen, not suppress, your child’s will. This child is reassured by a warm, confident adult who knows how things work in the world and can show him or her the way.”
Waldorf teachers of this child would think about carefully choosing the battle, trying to transform this situation into a game or offering assistance but also not being afraid to state things a very matter of fact manner regarding what needs to happen.
The six and seven-year old transformation is the harbinger of what the seven to fourteen-year-old needs. Many parents out there are using a very direct method of guidance with children younger than six, and this is putting the cart before the horse. However, as your child moves closer to seven and into the second seven year cycle, you can have confidence that a direct, clear rule is often called for and needed.
As adults, we do not feel happiness all the time and we do not always speak respectfully at all times to one another. This child may need to have some other needs addressed – sleep, rhythm, diet, is the child getting sick, what is being modeled in the environment, is this child expending enough physical energy, is something unusual going on at home that is upsetting to the child, is the child involved in some sort of practical work that engages him – but there can also be a place for a simple sentence, and a place for the child to draw a picture to make retribution if he particularly hurt a family member’s feelings with his words. No guilt trip, no judgment on the child or the child’s behavior in a wordy way. Just a simple phrase of how we treat one another and restitution by the child’s hands and body through movement and doing if this is called for.
Just a few thoughts from my little corner of the world.
A mom wrote in response to the original post “The Need to Know” (the original post I wrote can be found here: https://theparentingpassageway.com/2008/12/31/the-need-to-know/ ) and talked about how her first child was very verbal and thrived on lots of explanations. She recognized she has explained many things to this child and she also recognized her second child doesn’t seem to need all this. This led to the question below, that I wanted to share with you all:
As I was pondering all this, I thought about the future, and how it may be possible that I would have both older and younger children at the same time, and how the younger children might end up hearing explanations given to the older ones… I wonder how one would work out the differences in parenting that would be given to all the children and how to keep the younger ones from getting involved in the more grown-up conversations of the older children.
This is a great question, and I have several thoughts on this and other matters after reading her comment.
My first thought actually is in relation to the first child’s verbosity. I am not trying to make generalizations here, but I have heard this MANY times from mothers with first daughters (not all mothers with first-born daughters, but certainly many). We are a gender that revolves around feelings, words and explanations, and relationships, and since the first child has no older siblings to imitate and pattern off, they only have YOU to imitate. This is, as mentioned above, at least partially a gender issue for these first time verbose children, as I have not only heard this from many attached parents whose first child is a girl but I have also heard this from mothers who have had two, three or four boys and then they have a girl! These parents are blown away at how verbal, and explanation-seeking and different these girls are from their boys. However, this can be not only a gender issue but also a parenting issue and a parenting challenge as well.
If there is a chance that our girls, especially our first girls, are geared toward being in their head early and being very verbal and over-involved in adult matters early, I think that it is even more reason to STOP TALKING SO MUCH. Girls tend to take everything you say and remember it and think about and come back to it. A child under the age of seven, and even under the age of 9, does not need this awareness. Period. It does nothing for most mother-daughter relationships except provide the child with lots of words to press against and strong emotions to ensue.
But I digressed for the moment -back to the original question poised above! The way that this works with older and younger children in the same household is that as your child gets older, you can actually say to the older child, “Honey, please take your little sister into the other room and play for a few minutes while Daddy and I talk.” This is certainly hard to do with a three or four year old, but not that hard to do with a seven or eight year old.
If there is something that you need to discuss with an older child, but not a younger child, chances are the younger child will go to bed before the older child and you will have a chance to talk without the younger child present.
As all children in the family grow and give up naps, there is a better chance of them going to bed at an early hour and you having some time to spend with your partner to talk about things without the children present. There is also a better chance at this stage that you will be able to have some time away from your children to spend with other mothers without the children present. This will feed your soul, and will keep you from overloading your children with adult information and questions.
Lastly, though, I want to point out that even 7, 8 and 9 year olds do not need to know everything going on all the time and decisions are still the responsibility of the parent. One example that came quickly to my mind was the election. I saw during the election how the public schools made a huge deal about the election, held mock elections and really talked about the election and the candidates. The result of this for many of the 7, 8 9 and even 10 year olds I saw was either complete joy or tears on election day, not understanding how their friend and their friend’s family could like one candidate and their own personal family did not , not really understanding how all this worked but feeding off the emotions everywhere– this, to me, underscored how again society takes a 7, 8 and 9 year old and tries to put them into the position of an adult – this time the position of a voting adult!
Steiner talks about the age of reasoning starting at age 14. When my great-grandmother was 16, she was married, working with her own business and starting a family. This may not be ideal in this time and place, but I do think the way we often treat small children is like adults in this country but then we micro-manage and over-manage our teenagers when they are supposed to be making decisions, (even in the area of small decisions where making a mistake is not harmful!). This is rather baffling – teenagers are at the beginning of logic and reason, but this is still the time to gain experiences and reasoning skills – but not at the age of 7 or 8 or even 9.
Small children deserve to be treated with respect and delight; please do not dump the adult decision-making process on them at this point. That is your job as a parent.
So, hopefully this not only answered the question but also provided a bit more to ponder and meditate on. Are you treating your 4 year old like a 9 year old? Are you treating your 9 year old like a 16 year old? Are the tools and explanations and choices you are providing appropriate for the age of your child?
One place to garner more information is through the wonderful compilation of Steiner’s lectures in “Soul Economy’. These lectures really do trace the birth through teenaged years and provide many practical points of knowledge for you to take away and use in Waldorf homeschooling and in life.
Just a few thoughts from my little corner of the world.
This very short article by Betty Staley has so much truth in it that it should be required reading for all parents:
http://ijoanjaeckel.blogspot.com/2009/01/b-e-t-t-y-s-t-l-e-y-to-educate-future.html
Read and enjoy!!
La Leche League’s publication THE WOMANLY ART OF BREASTFEEDING sums up the fear that many mothers have when pregnant with her second child: “The mother who is expecting her second child sometimes finds it hard to imagine that she will feel as close to the new baby as she does to the little one who is already here. Can there be the same strong love the second time around? The miracle of mother love is that it increases with each new birth. It is not diminished, not limited. It is not a pie that must be sliced into smaller pieces to accommodate extra plates at the table. With the new baby comes a resurgence of love for the whole family.”
Attached parents often find that in addition to preparing ourselves for the major transition from more of focusing on one child to focusing on the needs of the family, they would like suggestions for how to help prepare the older child.
THE WOMANLY ART OF BREASTFEEDING states that “generous portions of love and reassurance will go a long way toward helping your older child, the ex-baby, accept the demands that the new baby is making on your time”. It talks a lot about the helplessness of the baby and acceptance of sacrifices within the family for the new baby.
“Encourage them (older children) to remember that the new baby will be the only member of the family who will be completely dependent on you-just as they were at that age. When thought of in this way, it’s easier for a young person to recognize (but not always accept) that baby’s needs must certainly come first.”
”Looking ahead, you’ll find that cheerfully putting the needs of the baby first, as a matter of course, is an example of caring for others that benefits everyone. It’s a good way to educate your children for their future roles as loving parents.
This can be a delicate balance, however. Some mothers have found that while she is the only one who can nurse the baby, the baby is more than agreeable to receiving diaper changes from daddy, and snuggling with an aunt or uncle after feeding, while a three or four year-old often has strong feelings and preferences as to which caregiver does what things. A point to consider is many things for a toddler or preschooler is the repetition of “this is who always does these things” so to consider every point within your rhythm and who could do what may be helpful. On the other hand, a three or four year old may protest, but sometimes a baby’s truly physiologic, biological need is to be with Mommy while the toddler or preschooler has an emotional need to be loved and wanted by Mommy. It is a balancing act, and everyone in the family has needs. Sometimes the needs of one child will take precedence first, sometimes not, but the children are always loved and the needs are met.
Advice for Preparing Your Child for Pregnancy and Birth:
The Gesell Institute books (Your One-Year-Old, Your-Two-Year Old, etc) discusses what children typically understand about pregnancy at the following ages (and it may be much less than you really think!)
The Gesell Institute offers this wise advise: “Unless the child asks questions, best delay the announcement till the last few months…The very young child has a very different sense of time from the adult.”
It can also be very surprising to mothers who thought their children really understood everything about the pregnancy and birth to find out as their children got more verbal several years later what they really understood and remembered from the pregnancy and birth!
What Wise Mothers Have Suggested:
Read On Mother’s Lap or Dr Sears’ Baby On The Way to older child
Call the newborn “our baby”
Point out breastfeeding babies and that babies need to nurse when you see them
Take the older child to prenatal visits
Tell the older child their own birth story
Point out older siblings who are helping younger siblings when you see them
Let Dad take over some of the routines for the older child before the baby arrives….Many mothers commented to me that the children that they waited to do this with until after the baby was born seemed to feel displaced and were not accepting of this change at first….Also harder on Dad, because Dad feels unwanted by the older child whom he is trying to help and assist.
If your child develops separation anxiety during the pregnancy, go with it
Some mothers have their children watch maternity/birth shows or videos – I personally have an issue with this, but that is just my own personal opinion….Please do consider your child’s age and temperament though!
If your child is still nursing, talk about that your milk may dry up during pregnancy but the baby will bring it back (make the baby a hero :))
What Mothers Say About Including Siblings at Birth:
Write down a birth plan and figure out what you are comfortable with
Prepare your children for the physicality of birth – some children are uncomfortable with the things that happen, even older children. such as 9 year olds. You must be prepared for not only what you have in mind, but your child’s needs regarding this.
Consider your child’s age
Have a back-up plan
Have drinks, snacks, toys at the ready
Some kids celebrate by baking a birthday cake while Mom is in labor
What Mothers and Other Sources Say About Adjusting As A Family
The Gesell Institute books say, “Downplay the baby. He or she absolutely will not care.”
THE WOMANLY ART OF BREASTFEEDING says:
Regarding Housework:
Regarding Meal Planning:
Regarding Laundry:
Regarding Time for Other Little Ones:
Typical Areas of Challenge in Meeting Family Needs:
And every family will come up with different ways to work with these challenges that work for them, but here is a list to get you thinking:
What Wise Mothers Say:
Advantages to Being the Number Two Child or more in a family from author Nancy Samalin in her book “Loving Each One Best: A Caring and Practical Approach to Raising Siblings”:
Parents are more experienced, less uptight
There are older siblings to teach you the ropes, be your playmate
Parents are less intense and can roll with the punches more
There is more activity and fun!
I personally truly believe that giving your child a sibling is the most wonderful gift you can ever give your child! Watch your family evolve with the addition of more children and, above all, have fun and LOVE each other!!
I received this wonderful book from my sister-in-law for Christmas; it was just what I wanted. This 404-paged book written by Betty Staley is a true gem and deserves to belong on every Waldorf educators’ bookshelf. It is worth every penny! The full title is “Hear the Voice of the Griot! A Guide to African Geography, History, and Culture.”
According to the Forward of the book, the “griot” of the title refers to the “storytellers of African culture who carried the responsibility of passing on traditions by word of mouth. They were the historians, the educators of moral behavior, who held the legacy of their people and captured the imaginations of the people in the villages.” In the Introduction, Betty Staley herself expands this idea further by saying, “African have a very strong connection to the Word, to that which passes from one person to another. The griot carried that responsibility. Because African cultures have been strongly oral, word of mouth provided the lifeline of the culture. The griots were oral historians who took responsibility for keeping alive all that had been known in the time before writing. They often accompanied their recitations with the music of stringed instruments or a drum. The griot was often part of a king’s or chief’s court and told stories as part of the historical record of the people. He passed on the culture from generation to generation. More than that, the griot passed on the deepest aspects of the spiritual history of the people.”
The book is divided into seven sections as follows:
Section One –Geography
Chapter One: Longing for the African Land, Chapter Two: The Baobab and the Acacia, and Chapter Three: The Cheetah, the Hippo, The Chimp and The Ostrich.
Section Two-African History
Africa-Its People and Its History, Chapter Four: Prehistoric Africa (including a biographical sketch of Louis Leakey); Chapter Five: History of Egypt and Ethiopia (including biographical sketches of Queen Hatshepsut, Piankhy, and Frumentius, Aedesius, and Ezana); Chapter Six: Great Kingdoms of West Africa (Ghana, Mali, Biographical Sketches of Sundiate and Mansa Musa, the Songhay Empire); Chapter Seven: Islam (including biographical sketches of Ibn Battuta and Ahmed Baba); Chapter Eight: Europeans in Africa (including biographical sketches of Shaka, Ann Nzinga, Cinque) and Chapter Nine: The Awakening of National Consciousness in the Twentieth Century, including a biographical sketch of Nelson Mandela.
Section Three -Regions of Africa
Chapter Ten: North Africa; Chapter Eleven: West Africa; Chapter Twelve: East Africa; Chapter Thirteen: Central Africa; Chapter Fourteen: Southern Africa
Section Four – The Inner Africa
Ancient African Spirituality; Chapter Fifteen: The San View of Spiritual Life; Chapter Sixteen: The Bantu View of Spiritual Life and Chapter Seventeen: Ethiopia, the Seed of the Grail Impulse in Africa
Section Five – Fairy Tales, Fables, Myths, and Poems
Introduction to Section Five; Chapter Eighteen: Fairy Tales; Chapter Nineteen: Stories of Monsters and Ogres; Chapter Twenty: Fables and Myths, including Anansi Spider Man stories from West Africa, Aesop’s Fables and Yoruba Myths; Chapter Twenty-One: More Stories; Chapter Twenty-Two: Counting Rhymes, Riddles, Proverbs, and Poems (including a biographical sketch of Wole Soyinka).
Section Six – Saints and Other Holy Figures
Introduction to Section Six; Chapter Twenty-Three: Holy Men and Women including Christian Saints, Islamic Saints, and A Holy Man From African Tradition.
Section Seven – Other Aspects of African Culture
Chapter Twenty-Four: Art of Africa,including Rock paintings, sculpture, masks, textiles, and African Art Experiences in the Classroom; Chapter Twenty-Five: Music of Africa; Chapter Twenty-Six: Songs of Africa; Chapter Twenty-Seven: Games; Chapter Twenty-Eight:African Foods.
This is just a fantastic resource for all ages. There are suggestions for the teacher with every section, and suggested ages/grades for the stories and activities.
Africa is a continent I want my children to know about. I want them to be able to name the countries and understand about the different cultural groups living there. I have African friends and enjoy them and the culture they bring to my life.
What are you doing in your homeschool to learn about the continent of Africa?
Just a few thoughts from my little corner of the world.
Candlemas is on February 2 and celebrates the beginning of the lengthening of the days, and in some traditions is considered the beginning of spring. It is my understanding that this day is also halfway between Winter Solstice and Spring Equinox. This festival began in pre-Christian times as a Celebration of Lights and of the Celtic goddess Brigit (February 1st). Candlemas takes its name from the blessing of the candles on this day for use in the church throughout the coming year. It is also a celebration within the church of the presentation of Jesus in the Temple to Simeon and the elderly widow Anna. In the Catholic Church, I believe this is also celebrated as the Feast of Purification (of Mary). This is now also a celebration of Saint Brigid and also a time where we look to the hibernating animals to come out and see if it is winter and whether or not we will have an early Spring. This is also a traditional time of preparation of the fields for later planting.
In the book “All Year Round” by Ann Druitt, Christine Fynes-Clinton and Marije Rowling it says, “At the beginning of February, when the infant light of spring is greeted thankfully by the hoary winter earth, it seems fitting that we should celebrate a candle Festival to remember that moment when the Light of the World was received into the Temple, when the old yielded to the new.”
For children under the age of 7, the celebration of the festivals is not in the verbal explanation of the day, but the doing. An answer to a very small child’s question of why we do this or that for many festivals is just that we do! As a child approaches seven, there can be more explanation for the reasons behind things, but please do not spoil the magic and mystery of the festival by all the history.
Here are some ways that Waldorf families celebrate Candlemas:
One would be to think of goals and things you would like to see happen in this New Year together, in this time of new beginnings, as the earth becomes Spring again and do something to celebrate that.
Of course, the major activity is usually candle-making in some form – rolling candles, candle dipping, making earth candles outside in the ground and lighting them. Some families have their candles blessed on this day.
Some families celebrate by tilling a garden plot for March planting.
You could have dinner in candlelight.
Marsha Johnson over at waldorfhomeeducators@yahoogroups.com recommends making and eating fresh bread, vegetable soup or vegetable chowder and baked custards as your Candlemas meal. Recipes can be found in the FILES section of her yahoo group.
We can also offer simply made stories and poems about our friends the bees and work with beeswax and honey in some way during this festival.
In the United States, this is also of course Groundhog Day and many families celebrate by going to a groundhog day event.
Some families tell stories about Brigid or read the picture book about Brigid and her cloak. You can also search for Brigid’s crosses on-line and make those as a craft; they are very distinctive-looking.
Some families have a bonfire on this day.
These are just some suggestions I have read or heard through other families. If you celebrate Candlemas in your family, please do leave a comment and tell everyone how you celebrate this day…Help someone new to this festival get started!
Steiner looked at the stages of childhood development through seven year cycles. He further divided the first seven year cycle into three parts consisting of the ages birth through age two and a half, two and half through age five, and age five to age seven.
Steiner writes about this importance in this passage from “Soul Economy” -(my note: for those of you not familiar with “Steiner – speak”, the ether body refers to the body that maintains your life functions. It is not visible and is not composed of matter but more encompasses life processes within the body. When the ether body dies, the result is that the physical body dies as well):
“What children learn during this first two-and-a-half-year period is extremely important for their whole life. They do so through an incoming activity and from what they have brought with them from prenatal existence. Just consider how children learn to speak and walk during this first short period. These are two human faculties that are closely connected with maintaining self-confidence, both from a personal and a social point of view. These two important faculties are being developed while the ether body is still engaged in shaping the brain and radiating into the rest of the organism.”
One of the principal thoughts for the Early Years from a Waldorf Perspective is that small children under the age of 7 should be in their bodies. We want to do this not through head oriented commands in the home environment or the head-oriented verbal commands of organized sports, but through movement couched in fantasy or shown and demonstrated through imitation.
So, without further ado, here are some suggestions. Please take what resonates with you and your family. The suggestions in this post are certainly not meant as medical advice or meant to substitute for individualized plans formed by you in conjunction with your baby’s doctor or therapist if your baby has developmental challenges. This post applies to those families with infants who are developing normally, whom do not have medical problems and who were not born prematurely. For further information regarding a Waldorf approach to children with special needs, please investigate Camphill through this link: http://www.camphill.org/
For Newborn Babies: This is not so much about getting your baby into its body, but protecting the baby’s body and the baby’s senses. Lois Cusick, in her lovely book “The Waldorf Parenting Handbook” ( a great read) says this of the child within the first three years: “Parents need to defend their helpless child from an over-stimulating environment, from too many sense perceptions. Their role is to supply a protecting, nourishing nest to replace the safe peace and quiet of the womb. Quiet, warmth and nourishing mother’s milk are what babies need most when they first enter earth life.”
For Babies Who Are Not Yet Crawling (About Six Weeks to Six or Seven Months):
For Babies Who Are Crawling, Pulling to Stand and Learning to Walk (About Six or Seven Months to One Year of Age):
For Toddlers (About a Year or a Year and A Half to Two and A Half Years of Age):
For Children of All Ages-
Most of all, protect your small child from overstimulation.
Look at the visual things of beauty in the home, and how your own face is the most beautiful toy to a baby.
Think about the sense of touch and to bring different safe tactile experiences to your small child.
Think about how to bring lovely speech, songs and verses into your home.
Think about pets, gardening experiences and how to get outside in nature.
Give your child lots of chances to practice wiggling their limbs, moving to sit, manipulating objects with their hands, crawling, balancing while walking on an even surface first and then uneven surfaces.
Let your child work with pouring water, playing with sand and dirt (supervise carefully that they don’t eat all the sand and dirt, of course).
These are just a few thoughts from a Waldorf perspective regarding childhood development and what you should be doing with your child to develop these things.
Please do check out this great tutorial from my friend Catherine (and she put it in English! Thanks Catherine!!)
http://catherine-et-les-fees.blogspot.com/2009/01/nuno-felting-tutorial.html
You will enjoy seeing these creations come to life!
Just a few thoughts from my little corner of the world.
Note: If you have a Kindergartner, a child under the age of 7, form drawing is too awakening for your child. They do not need to start form drawing until first grade when they are seven years old. This post is for those parents who have children ages 7 and older, or for those parents who have a six-year-old and are trying to understand form drawing for the following year.
Form drawing is one of the those subjects that is very special to the Waldorf school and Waldorf homeschool environment and completely foreign to the public school environment. I have had many Waldorf homeschooling mothers tell me they do not like form drawing and this is unfortunate because it is such an important subject. In fact, I would like to convince you today that form drawing is so important there should be at least 2, but preferably 3 blocks of form drawing throughout your school year in grades one through four, and also continue form drawing once a week throughout some of your other blocks. Form drawing and numeral literacy should be a large backbone of the early years.
From the book “Form Drawing: Grades One Through Four” by Laura Embrey-Stine and Ernst Schuberth:
There are many sound reasons which support the feeling that form drawing is good for children. The simplest and perhaps most straight-forward reason is that it develops the fine motor skills as a preparation, and later a support, for writing. It strengthens eye-hand coordination, giving the eye practice at being a coachmen for the horses, the hands. Form drawing also works in the other direction: the movement of the hand also educates the brain. Furthermore, it is part of the evolution of art and, as such, develops the aesthetic sense and a feeling for form. It also teaches thinking but in a non-intellectual way; it trains the intelligence to be flexible, able to follow and understand a complicated line of thought. The more human beings are trained to think flexibly, the greater the world is strengthened in intelligence. Finally, form drawing really supports the development of the whole being of the child, guiding it in a healthy way with certain types of forms brought to the child which are appropriate for his age in the various grades.
Form drawing should be very active – it is not about putting the form on paper at first, not until the very end; it is about getting the form into the child’s BODY. The form should be expressed in an imaginative way through a small and simple story and then you do everything possible to get it into the child’s body – draw it in chalk on your driveway and walk it, hop it, skip it, walk it backwards, draw it on each other’s skin and guess which form it was, draw it in sand and in rice, draw it with both hands onto two sheets of paper taped down, draw it with a crayon between the big toes on a large piece of paper, shape it with beanbags and walk it on the floor, model it in salt dough or sand or beeswax, draw it in the air with your nose, toes, elbow or chin, build the form out of sticks if it is a form conducive to that. Then, at the very end, have the child stand and draw the form.
We followed this progression of forms so far this year:
Form drawing is a great therapeutic activity and an important component of Waldorf education. Please consider bringing it to your homeschool.
Just a few thoughts from my little corner of the world.
The Parenting Passageway 