Yes, I am back thinking more about siblings.  I wrote a pretty popular post about the balance that has to occur with Waldorf homeschooling of siblings, and some of the things particular to Waldorf homeschooling here:  https://theparentingpassageway.com/2009/05/05/homeschooling-multiple-children-with-waldorf/

The thing to really think long and hard about is this:  If your children were going to school, where everything is divided by neat age ranges into grades, your children would spend no time together at all.  The peer group of your child instantly becomes more important than the relationship between siblings.  Older children enrolled in school seem to be indoctrinated into the attitude, (at least in many of the unfortunate cases I have seen), that “we don’t hang around with the babies!’ kind of thing as opposed to the approach that older ones should be the safe keepers and guardians and helpmates to the smaller children.

You have a wonderful opportunity to do this at home!   In the days where you feel as if your older one is being shortchanged by having smaller ones in the picture who keep eating all your supplies and getting into your older ones’ projects, or on the days when you feel your younger ones are being shortchanged because they are tied into the older ones’ schedules and you are not doing the same things with the younger ones that you did with the older ones when they were that age…..well, just take a breath.

Realize that the relationship you are cultivating and nurturing between the siblings is probably one of the most important things, if not the most important thing, your child will take away from his or her homeschooling experience.

We work hard to balance the needs of ALL the members of our family, but we also rest in knowing that our family bonds are strengthened by the sheer amount of quantity time we spend together day in and day out.  This is something probably only other homeschoolers understand. 

So have peace and rest in knowing this ,

Carrie