Monthly Archives: March 2010

Easter And Its Forty Days In The Waldorf Home

Posted on by
4

Easter can be the beginning of a lovely forty days leading up to the festival of Ascension.

In the days of Early Christianity, Easter was the most important festival of the year (and it still is in the Orthodox Church).  Easter itself is actually more aligned with the cosmos than one might think.  In “All Year Round”, the authors write:  “There is no fixed date for Easter.  It moves in the calendar between the middle of March and the middle of April, and the festivals of Lent, Ascension and Whitsun (Pentecost) move along.  The moment of Easter arises when the four great rhythms which we use to order our lives meet as they run their course.  When the sun has moved through a full year from one spring equinox to the next, then the monthly lunar cycle must be fulfilled with the sighting of the full moon.  After that, the rhythm of the week must draw to a close.  Finally, the moment which marks one day from the next- midnight- must have passed before the Easter Festival of Resurrection can truly be celebrated. 

On Easter Day, there are several wonderful traditions one can consider.  One would be to have your children deliver decorated eggs to your neighbors to celebrate the renewal of life; this suggestion is offered in the little pink book, “An Overview of the Waldorf Kindergarten”.  Eggs are of course a symbol of new birth and in the creation myths of many cultures the egg plays a distinctive role.  Eggs have also been found in graves from pre-Christian times.  Red eggs are central to the Easter celebration in the Orthodox church and sometimes still left on the graves of people who have died in the country of Greece on Easter.  Eggs are a symbol of resurrection for Christians.  If one plants seeds in a bowl on the nature table to sprout in time for Easter, a red egg could be placed in this bowl to find on Easter morning!

Another suggestion offered in the Kindergarten  book is to work with Easter with a verse regarding caterpillars and all the children go to “sleep” as the teacher comes around and tucks a silk around them and then they awake and use the silk as wings!  I especially love that idea.

Another almost forgotten tradition is the one of the “Easter Tree”.  In the past, it was a barren tree with four cross branches decorated with green and also eggs hanging on them in colors associated with the four elements (earth-purple; water-blue; air-yellow; fire-red).  I actually like this idea for Easter baskets as well – can one include all four elements in the Easter basket? 

There is also a custom of “Easter water” in some traditions.  Children aged six and above can go and get water from a well or spring as their “Easter water”.  Brigette Barz notes in “Festivals With Children” that, “We are dealing here not with magical actions (one can simply use the water for the house plants afterwards) but rather an experience of the holiness of the world woken through silence.” 

In a separate article in this book, Barbara Klocek writes, “…if one is aware and awake, the forty days following Easter can be a time of healing and replenishing.  This was the time when the Risen Christ walked upon the earth bestowing wisdom and blessings…..Can we create the time to witness this wondrous gift of forty days?  To take the same walks everyday, or to observe one place at the same time each day will allow the senses to create a window for our soul to drink in this feast….The balance of the forty days of Lent is given in these forty days after Easter.”

“Festivals With Children” suggests an Easter tree be left up for the forty days with forty blown eggs as decoration; stories for the forty days could include The Frog Prince, Rapunzel, The Crystal Ball or The Two Brothers – all from the Brothers Grimm.  Also suggested in this book is activities involving braiding, weaving, folding paper or working with clay.  These activities have an underlying theme of transformation about them. 

Many blessings on your celebrations,

Carrie

Peaceful March: Gardening Throughout the Waldorf Curriculum

Posted on by
2

There is nothing more peaceful than being outside digging in the dirt, pulling weeds, planting things, surrounded by vegetables and flowers.  Waldorf Education  values environmental education and gardening, and I think deserves a closer look for ALL families and especially for homeschoolers.  Steiner felt that “the garden work should be an obligatory addition to the lessons.” (from the little booklet “Gardening Classes At The Waldorf Schools, compiled and written by Rudolf Krause). 

Part of a child developing into their bodies entails making a home for themselves on Earth.  It also entails a child getting to know and understand the rhythms of the year, season, day and the rhythms prevalent in nature.  Gardening is also a great way for children to learn how all things are interconnected and how we depend upon the Earth and land for food, and how we depend upon one another.  We depend upon that farmer who grows wheat that we get to grind for flour to make our bread for the week, for example.  Steiner said,  “It is of special significance for social development to experience by one’s own hand that people always depend on the work of their fellow human beings.”  

Gardening is a wonderful place to develop the twelve senses so eloquently laid out by Steiner.  These senses are the prerequisites for academic success.  It is also a sure antidote for peacefulness, for decreasing anxiety, worry and depression that seems to so plague this generation of children. 

Gardening throughout the curriculum may include some of these components:

First Grade and Second Grade – fostering a reverence for the land using all twelve senses through nature crafts (not so much through garden chores yet!)  Nature stories are also important and to leave some of the mystery of nature to unfold

Third Grade –  This is the age where a nine-year-old is truly developing a sense of place, where their place is on Earth.  Where do they belong, how do they create a home here on Earth.  The nine-year-old year is a year of DOING, DOING, DOING, and gardening and farming is at the heart of the curriculum for this year.  Measurement, building, seeing where things come from (grains on the stalk to bread, sheep to yarn, dyeing things, making compost and cycles of life within the garden).  Gardening becomes a vehicle for teaching about the basis of human culture, how we stopped being nomadic and wandering for the most part and  planted crops such as oats, barley, wheat, rye, corn, millet and rice. 

Fourth Grade – This is a time when ten-year-olds begin to study geography, starting with their own local geography.  What better way to do this than to look at the animals in their own garden, to look at how soil develops and the differences between types of soils, to really look at their own sense of place.

Fifth Grade – This typically is when a student has a bound gardening lesson book and there are herb studies, plant studies, drawings to be made and projects from herbs.  Honeybees are also a great focal study point.

SIXTH GRADE – this is the traditional part where gardening classes started at the Waldorf school as indicated by Steiner, at age twelve is what Steiner recommended.  I believe schools are starting earlier now because there is more need to combat our lifestyle where we are so cut off from nature. 

Steiner felt it was important to teach about the farm as a living organism, the fertilization that provided nutritional components, the application of homeopathic principles to earth.  You could look into all the resources for biodynamic gardening here!  Steiner was amazing that he could create all of this!

Sixth and seventh grade could include work with the soil, growing vegetables and raising flowers.  In eighth grade, some curriculums focus on perennials, annuals, home gardening.  In ninth and tenth grade, the growing of fruit, grafting methods and the study of soil and fertilizing is studied.   Some sources say that in ninth grade the student will learn about plant growth and ground covers and that relationship, weather, constellations and that in tenth grade students will focus on pruning trees and shrubs, repairing tools during the winter, building trails, looking at the relationship between agriculture and cattle. 

As homeschoolers, we can use our yards and natural spaces as a wonderful and integral part of our homeschool.  

The Agriculture lectures by Steiner may be an excellent place to start, along with Steiner’s more basic works on education so one can understand how the gardening fits within the entire curriculum.

For those of you with small children, I would recommend Donna Simmons’ book, “From Nature Stories to Natural Science:  A Holistic Approach to Science for Families “ ( http://www.christopherushomeschool.org/bookstore-for-waldorf-homeschooling/essential-christopherus-publications/from-nature-stories-to-natural-science.html)       and also the books by author Sharon Lovejoy, such as “Roots, Shoots, Buckets and Boots: Gardening Together With Children available here:  http://www.amazon.com/Roots-Shoots-Buckets-Boots-Gardening/dp/0761110569/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1269311505&sr=1-5

There is also a lovely audio CD available here that entails one Gardening Teacher’s experience at a Waldorf school through the grades:  http://www.waldorfinthehome.org/2007/07/gardening_with_children.html – This CD is a lovely listen!

Many blessings,

Carrie

The Twelve to Twenty-Two Month Old: A Traditional Perspective

Posted on by
4

There are several posts under the “Baby and Toddler”  header that deals with toddler behavior and how to best live peacefully with a baby ages birth through three, but I thought I would highlight some traditional viewpoints of these ages again. (And whilst we have a traditional developmental perspective and realistic expectations for ages twelve months through age nine on this blog now, I still have the birth through twelve months to go!  Whew!)   We are also  going to circle around to loving guidance for the baby through age two in  several posts in the next several weeks or so.  It seems like there would not be a lot to talk about there, but since a 1994 (and yes, let’s hope that this has since  changed for the better in the past 16 years!) Canadian study showed that 19 percent of US mothers spank their under one-year-olds, I think we still have some work to do in helping mothers achieve an understanding of normal developmental behavior!!  If you need help with gentle discipline, suggestions as what to do about “defiance” and such, please do look at the “Gentle Discipline” header for a start.  There are also a lot of posts dealing with anger in parenting and just some general inspiration!

So here goes for the twelve to twenty-two month old, a traditional perspective.  Again, my main resource is “Your One-Year-Old:  12 to 24 Months” by Ames, Ilg and Haber, the Gesell Institute of Human Development.

Twelve Month Old:

  • Very lovable; friendly, sociable, typically adapts easily
  • May be creeping on hands and knees, pulling to stand, walking
  • Has pincer prehension – grasping objects between thumb and forefinger; they love to grasp and release things; they may try to stack a few blocks if you do it first
  • Baby loves an audience!  Waving bye bye, clapping, are all up there with fun things to show off for people!  Has a few words to show off as well!
  • May be down to one nap in the late morning (or not, in my experience with families!)
  • With eating of solids, may want to stand, may need toys to play with during meals
  • Tips for this stage:  you do not need a lot of toys, just time to spend with your baby and to be warm and joyful with your baby – they love to be sung to, rocked, held.
  • Your baby will also need time to explore on his or her own a bit.  Observe, but stand back a bit and let them be.  They are discovering things for themselves and don’t need you to point out every little thing for them!

Fifteen Month Old:

  • Many like to walk, and to be carried.  Sense of balance is not fully developed
  • Not especially cooperative, not especially social with other people
  • Wants what he wants when he wants it, independent,
  • May imitate household chores he has seen you do
  • Not typically interested in other children
  • Loves to empty and fill things, good at dumping things out
  • Will creep on hands and knees when in a hurry
  • Language is about a dozen words or so, although may imitate words you say inconsistently – can respond to more words than they say
  • Wants to do things for himself or herself but cannot really manage to do what they want to do
  • Motor drive is strong, tends to grab things, tries to feed himself with an upside down spoon, better at staying seated for eating but wants to self-feed and be independent
  • Typically down to one nap a day that takes place after lunch
  • Difficulty in dressing is to be expected
  • Tends to grab, scream, yell because he has strong needs that he cannot yet verbalize
  • May do well be wheeled around in a stroller for a walk or in a sling for a walk
  • Wakefulness at night common – RESPOND TO THEM! 
  • May resist bathing – try bathing together is my recommendation
  • Highest point/age for throwing things
  • Tip for this stage:  Do not press this baby too fast; neural pathways are still being laid down

 

Eighteen Month Old

  • Age of Disequilibrium – see back post here on disequilibrium: https://theparentingpassageway.com/2010/02/27/the-typical-ages-of-disequilibrium/ 
  • Easily frustrated; temper tantrums – even if you did  everything “right”, there would still be temper tantrums.  Needs a lot of gross motor outlets!
  • Wakefulness at night is common- RESPOND TO THEM!
  • Often needs help to be bodily moved rather than verbal commands.
  • Can walk and run but will fall, usually has arms up and out for balance, can stop and start well but has difficulty turning corners
  • Loves to go up and down stairs or to climb up onto large chairs or sofas
  • Does not think ahead at all, just is motor driven and runs around – the adult must think through the environment
  • Loves to lug, tug, push, pull
  • Short attention span; hard to “entertain” because the attention span is so short
  • Apt to drop whatever she  is handling; gross motor predominates over fine motor
  • Doesn’t like to have diaper changed,
  • Very little peripheral vision; will turn whole head to look at something
  • Language skills vary tremendously; may be starting to form two-word sentences; also gets very frustrated with speech because he often cannot express what he wants to; not all words are to communicate, but just to express words for the sake of the pleasure of making sounds and talking
  • The idea of “mine” is prevalent
  • Separation anxiety when mother leaves
  • Still lugs, tugs, pushes, pulls, probably can play for longer times outside than inside
  • Usually decrease in appetite

Twenty-One Month Old

  • Unpredictable – can act more like an eighteen month old or act more like a two-year old.  Get to know your child and if they typically run ahead with developmental stages or behind or right on cue.
  • May have difficulties falling asleep
  • May bite when frustrated; pushing and pinching may also occur
  • Walking in crowded areas, church, stores may be problematic- don’t be afraid to keep outings not related to the child to a minimum
  • Per The Gesell Institute’s “Your One Year Old”, this is often a difficult age for working mothers – the child wants to tell mother what has happened during his day and really doesn’t have the words for it and becomes frustrated.  As increased language comes in, this eases.  Hang in there, working mamas!
  • Not typically interested in other children
  • Girls’ speech more advanced than boys’ speech typically; still may lack the speech necessary to make wants and needs known leading to frustration
  • Great at taking off clothes and running around naked!

 

Sometimes I think the Gesell Institute books come off a bit negative; please read them for yourselves and pick from it what resonates with you.  I look at the child less from a strictly traditional viewpoint myself, but these are pretty accurate markers for the ages, so having an idea what to expect at different ages will be a big help to you and in your efforts toward gentle discipline.  Please see the gentle discipline header for more articles regarding how to handle “defiance” and different developmental stages.

Many blessings,

Carrie

Regarding Waldorf and Reading

Posted on by
11

Please read on for some encouraging words for folks with both early readers and those who have later readers….

People get very, very wrapped up in our society about reading.  Reading is very important, to be sure, (I have a journalism degree!)   but I hear from mothers all the time who either believe that bringing in reading prematurely is the right thing to do, or from mothers who are following a Waldorf model and their children have taught themselves to read and now they are saying to me, “But Carrie, I can’t do Waldorf First Grade because my child can read really well!”   

First of all, some  children do  read earlier than age six and a half or seven.  Of course!  This is not to be discouraged per se, but in these cases, we must be sure to look at the holistic development of the child first.  For example, can your early reader ride a bike with training wheels?  Without training wheels?  Can your child swim independently with your supervision?  Can your child do the monkey bars with just your supervision?  Does your child know by heart many poems, verses and songs?  Can your child sing and display a sense of rhythm in music?  Can they gallop, skip, hop on one foot?  How is their endurance for activities and  how is their sleeping?  Attention span?  Can they bake, garden, order things, dance?  How are they in social situations with other children?  How are they with adults?     I will write a post on First Grade Readiness in the future!

And I am not saying this to knock an early reader at all!  I have an early reader myself, who could read anything she wanted to read, adult books and newspapers included, at an early age. This is typically the case with children who truly teach themselves to do it.  They just can do it.  We just want to ensure balance!

There is one  issue that I see to be significant  though.  By MOST curriculums, not just Waldorf, the children in First and Second Grade are typically reading Frog and Toad and those sorts of books.  Waldorf at home can certainly involve these types of books.  There is in general a difficulty when your children truly are very fluent readers, that they are beyond those beginner reader kinds of books, there is not much for them to read.  A true “I taught myself how to read” kind of five year old typically goes from reading something simple to being able to read whatever they want (newspaper, portions of grown-up books) quickly.  They are so far beyond Frog and Toad and other books, they want thick books to read, and most of those books are for children much, much older so the themes are much older.

So, I think if you truly have an early reader, you can limit the books and the reading time in general  in the under-7 years until their maturity and understanding can catch up with their ability to read and not feel badly about it.  Some would say, well, you can explain it all to them!  You can go over vocabulary with them!  Why?  First of all, they should be laying that foundation of experience in ALL areas of life for even greater academic success later on!  If they can truly read, they are still reading, they are not going to forget how to read just because they are not reading novels!  And,   It is not all just about reading!  What about math? I personally would rather see a child move ahead in math and numeral literacy, than reading, but in American society we put so much emphasis on reading, almost to the exclusion of other things.  Second of all, if the themes are just too mature, there is no fix for that but TIME.  Nearly EVERY OTHER COUNTRY starts reading when children are 7, again, there are NO studies that show starting early reading is better in the long run for academic or professional success.  Third of all, from a physical perspective, the eye is NOT fully developed for lateral tracking until age EIGHT, so perhaps those countries that are working with starting reading at the right time are based more upon the physiology of the child than the American system is!  So please stop talking about “delayed academics”!  How about talking about bringing in academics at the right time?!

My other issue in general with these books for even a six or seven year old who is reading is that there are rarely beautiful long, thick books with no pictures  for these children to read.  In Waldorf, we try to pick books for the under-9 year old  that focuses less on an individual protagonist because at this point the child does not feel they are an individual.  That doesn’t happen until the nine-year change and to point that out, that separation of yourself as an individual, is rather premature for the six and seven year old.  That being said, I think an eight- year- old can certainly read “B is for Betsy” and that sort of series, some of the older series of books published in this country in the forties and such.  A six and a half or seven year old can certainly enjoy chapter books if you can find good ones!  But please don’t rush your children into it all, and do not neglect reading to them and the oral storytelling, oral verses, singing end just because they can read. 

In Waldorf, what you are building up in the Kindergarten is that treasure trove of oral tradition.  Then in first grade, it is typically  NOT going through the whole alphabet in order, it is “seeing” the letter arise (certain consonants and certain letter combinations that usually travel together) from a picture, just how man probably invented writing (and then reading) in the beginning. It is going over the vowels, those “heart sounds” and what feelings these arise for us within our language. It is faster than one thinks, and children who can read LOVE to make the letter pictures just like those who are not reading yet.  The children are writing simple sentences to more complex summaries  by the end of the first year.  And the oral traditions carry throughout the Waldorf Grades – there are songs and poems to memorize and recite, drama, lines and lines (sometimes up to 400 or more lines of poetry a year!), there are riddles and tongue twisters and such in opening school.  The oral tradition of speech is very important, then the writing down, then the reading.  Reading for each grade may often include the subject that was the focus of the previous grade, and more importantly,  respects the child’s maturity and soul development and holistic development.

If you need to understand how reading and writing and language arts develops within the Waldorf Curriculum:  https://theparentingpassageway.com/2010/03/10/history-and-literature-waldorf-homeschooling-grades-one-through-twelve/

If you would like to see recommended reading for first grade, please see here:  https://theparentingpassageway.com/2009/04/10/more-great-read-alouds-for-waldorf-first-grade/   and here:  https://theparentingpassageway.com/2008/11/11/great-read-alouds-for-waldorf-at-home-first-grade/

For second grade see here:  https://theparentingpassageway.com/2009/05/29/great-books-for-second-grade-in-your-waldorf-inspired-homeschool/

Many blessings!  Be confident in what you do!

Carrie

Fairy Tales, Books and Storytelling With The Little Ones

Posted on by
24

Some wonderful mamas have asked about storytelling with the little ones- how many stories, what kinds of stories  to bring in when, how often, so I thought I would quickly address this and then I have a writing deadline for something else to get to!

We look at building an oral basis of language first and primarily (this later extends into the grades because we first write what we know orally, and then we learn to read off of what we write.  The lectures in “Practical Advice to Teachers” by Rudolf Steiner elucidate this very well).

For one to three year olds, I would suggest mainly nursery rhymes, singing, singing, singing, little rhymes or short verses,blessing before meals, verses regarding animals and plants you might see on your nature walks.  For a three year old, some folks would start to add fairy tales, but I feel a little  bit differently about those tales for the three-year-old.  I often feel the “list” of fairy tales was designed for a mixed age Waldorf Kindergarten, and if your oldest is three, they are not going to have those older ages to really carry those tales.  So, you have to know your child well.  Sometimes introducing children to these fairy tales goes better in a song format, called a story circle, by many Waldorf Kindergarten teachers.  I tend to say for three year olds at home with no older siblings, how about using Juniper Tree’s “Around the World With Finger Puppet Animals” by Suzanne Down?  Also, simple stories you make up…  Then, at four, you could move into Suzanne Down’s nature stories, other nature tales, and other fairy tales and more complex stories you make up.

The fairy tales, whilst the hallmark of the Early Years and first grade, don’t have to go away completely!  We can always circle back around.  There is a book called “The Pancake” made up of repetitive fairy tales and such  that could be an effective reader for first or second grade.  Mrs. Marsha Johnson has a free “Russian Fairy Tales” block on her Yahoo!Group  that involves creating readers and such for second grade – this expands vocabulary quickly!  It also takes something the children know through the oral tradition, we write it, then we make readers and read it!  In Third Grade, that whole series collected by Andrew Lang (The Pink Fairy Tale Book, The Blue Fairy Book) could be readers or read-alouds.  There are collections of fairy tales and folk tales from all over the world.  This then later moves into mythology and finally into other great works of literature. 

The other place I differ is that all the stories have to be memorized.  This makes no sense for those of us who have small children, as the memory is part of the etheric body and that is being depleted when we have small children  as we share our life forces with them as they are still connected to us.  Donna Simmons always talks about using two beautiful watercolor paintings and making a beautiful, special book that the tales are written down in.  I have seen that work.  You can also try a bag of props to help you remember the story.

Yes, the stories in a Waldorf Kindergarten are usually brought for anywhere from two weeks to a whole month, the same story.  If you see the story coming out in their play, or they can chime in on the story and the story’s repetitive phrases, then you know it is sinking into them and doing good work!  Puppets, drama, music, props, all enliven the experience. 

As far as books, we know the first seven years are truly for the development and protection of the lower four of the twelve senses.  This is for interaction with people, and yes, reading to a child is interaction, but we would like to see even more in the way of singing and storytelling than books. 

For example, for children from birth to three, they don’t necessarily need books at this point.  A bedtime routine could be singing or storytelling and oral traditions.  I think many of us with multiple children admit to reading far more books to our first child as a baby than our subsequent children; we didn’t always know or have at our disposal the wonderful songs, nursery rhymes, etc that we build up over time.  There are some lovely books for babies, but is this an indispensible part of building literacy?  I don’t think it is; I actually think oral recitation,  singing and rhymes are.  Children who lack fluency in reading, children who have dysarthria (speech expression), etc actually  often need to go back to recitation of oral material in a rhythmic manner.

What babies need is human contact, being carried, being in a sling, being talked to and sung to and rhymes and learning to enjoy and play in silence as well, and to listen and hear the sounds of nature!  If you are going to read something, how about beautiful poems or things out of the Bible or the Koran or whatever fits your religious traditions?

For ages three to five, ideally, the books are kept up on a shelf and brought done with reverent care when it is reading time.   Perhaps you  have a  set reading time before quiet time and then  again at bedtime.  Rhyming, repeating books are wonderful for this age, such as the story of  Chicken Licken or Henny Penny or The Gingerbread Man. The other kind of book  is ones of  simple stories of every day life where not much happens. Books such as Ezra Jack Keats’ “The Snowy Day” and other by him.   You want the same books to be around for one whole season if possible, and then change them out with some new ones.  And yes, that means you read the same books over and over and over, but that is really what small children need to develop vocabulary and a sense of sequencing in the story line.

For ages five to seven, we can now add some weightier stories and books.  More complex fairy tales, more formal story times where we sit and light a candle and listen to this story.  This is where you look at that list of fairy tales by age and read them and see which story speaks to YOU and then you tell that.  If it doesn’t speak to you, pick a different one!  Here is the list:  https://theparentingpassageway.com/2008/11/20/the-importance-of-fairy-tales/

Chapter books most likely are something that should wait, I think, until at least age six and more ideally, probably grade one and being seven years old.  Don’t rush this, there really is time.  Here are some back posts with books for the under-7 crowd:  https://theparentingpassageway.com/2008/11/20/more-books-for-children-under-7/   

One thing that always baffles people about Waldorf is starting things a bit later. ( I actually don’t consider it later, I consider starting it at the normal, appropriate time) This is what  EVERY country almost around the world does except us and England at this point. Yes, the children go to school early, around age 3 or 4, but no academics are taught until the first grade.  There is no rush, and those children beat our children on every kind of standardized test and our educational system is particularly failing boys who often have trouble sitting still during those first seven years.  There are NO studies that back up introducing “academics” at an early age, and in fact, children are play-based programs for the first six years excel ahead of children introduced to academics early!    But I digress here, back to the main subject at hand….

Someone asked what I personally do with my under-7s.    My oldest, as I have repeatedly written about on this blog, pretty much taught herself to read around age  five and a half.  I have some posts on  here about doing Waldorf First Grade with an early reader.  The thing no one tells you about early readers, is that there are few things for them to read that are worthy!  The things they can read have themes that are way too mature, and the rest are series that are short and not beautiful – sorry,  Captain Underpants does not count to me.  🙂  So, her books were limited and that was a source of complaint, but I am glad we stuck to it.  Before the nine-year change, you really want more of the archetypal, life is beautiful and good and safe and orderly kind of books.   My second five-year-old is not yet reading, but likes to be read to and loves stories and can sing, sing, sing. She is picking out letters and letter sounds, and that is okay (and it would be okay if she were not).    My third little guy is just a wee baby, so he is enjoying songs and hearing passages of the Bible hear and there..:)

As far as storytelling within the Waldorf homeschool, I did stick to the same story for usually a month, unless there was a special story I really wanted to bring around for a festival.  I know many of the Waldorf schools stick to one story every two to four weeks, but bring in a separate  story for baking and/or gardening or nature walk day.  That may very well be way too much for a mother tending to multiple small children at home, so I think you must do what resonates with you.

Hope some of that helps; take what resonates with you.

Many blessings,

Carrie

Peaceful Homeschooling: Resources For Waldorf Grade Two

Posted on by
6

Here are my suggestions  for  essential resources for Grade Two.  Investigate for yourself and take what resonates with you!

  • Again, just like Grade One,  if you are not a do-it-yourselfer, you will need a curriculum!  I like Christopherus for a full everything ( handwork, music, everything!) -included except the need for a form drawing book- curriculum (although you can buy the Second Grade Math, Saints and Heroes and Animal Tales books separately).  Everything is very detailed and step-by-step, and you can tailor it to what your family needs.  Live Ed! is also a possibility;  I am not sure what extra resources one would need with Live Ed!  though regarding such things as handwork,etc or how much extra work it is to create your own rhythm out of it……My recommendation with choosing any curriculum is just to  make sure you know how much work it will take to put together if that is a concern for you and what other resources you will need outside of that curriculum to flesh it out!  Those two, plus the guide for second grade by Melisa Nielsen and the blocks by Marsha Johnson, are the only ones I that I can suggest to you in knowing that the authors work off of an anthroposophic basis that understands and respects the seven-year cycles and the three-and-four fold human being.  On the whole other hand, I honestly don’t think second grade is that hard to piece together yourself because there are quite a few resources for these kinds of stories. 
  • Also be sure to check out the free blocks in the FILES section under Second Grade on Marsha Johnson’s Yahoo!Group waldorfhomeeducators@yahoogroups.com.   There are at least two math blocks there that are free and also a Russian Fairy Tale block that could be useful for this grade. 
  • If you are going to put second grade together yourself, you may consider checking out Melisa Nielsen’s “A Journey Through Waldorf Homeschooling Grade Two” which  has some lovely articles in it to set the stage for second grade, ideas for how to approach the saints, verses and a paragraph of explanation for  many of the Saints,  many of the Aesop’s fables in their entirety and a sample  order of possible Main Lesson  blocks for the year with an idea or two  for each day of the week using a four-day week, and some  forms for second grade form drawing.   The extra resources you would need are listed within this guide. 
  • Samples of work at this stage can be important; there can be wide variation in the skills and abilities of second graders.  Check out the Grade Two Main Lesson Book pictures available to download for a fee  at the Millennial Child website by Eugene Schwartz here:  http://www.millennialchild.com/and also the second grade work on display at Christopherus:  http://www.christopherushomeschool.org/resources-for-waldorf-homeschooling-and-conscious-parenting/gallery-of-student-work/2nd-grade.html   
  • Check and see if you will need a form drawing resource or a traditional drawing resource for yourself.  Drawing, whilst still about color and gesture and filling up the page,  is becoming more formed and with more variety (how will you draw the animals for those fables?!)  and if you need help in this area, now is the time to get cracking and practice!
  • Yarn, knitting materials, a needle for sewing and ideas for projects.  I feel strongly about leaving purling until Third Grade and the nine-year-old change  because purling  is a gesture toward the body, a gesture of inwardness.  This is an area you will have to search your heart and decide what is best for your family!
  • The heart of this year is fables, folktales, American tall tales fit well, and also things like Russian fairy tales,  trickster tales, more African tales from Betty Staley’s “Hear the Voice of the Griot!”  What Native American tribes were or are in your area?  Some families bring Native American tales here and in third grade as well; some families wait until fourth grade and do these Native American tales along with local geography. Follow your heart, and do have a plan for this year that meshes with the coming years.  Themes run through the year, and everything builds upon everything else.
  • For music curriculum, pentatonic flute/recorder is traditional.  My friend Jodie over at homemusicmaking.blogspot.com is hard at work on curriculum; there are also resources available through David Darcy and Prometheus Press.
  • Movement is a big part of second grade between active, imaginative ways to bring the subtraction and addition facts and the multiplication tables  and also doing movement in blocks as found on the Movement for Childhood website.
  • Wet-on-wet painting is important, and so is modeling.  I like “Painting in Waldorf Education” by Bruin and Lichthart  and of course Arthur Auer’s “Learning About the World Through Modeling.”  Excellent!
  • One thing I have found a lot of fun is to bring in some Eurythmy-inspired lessons; verses and songs and poems with gestures.  I love “Come Unto These Yellow Sands” for that.  If you are not a trained eurythmist you cannot bring the speech eurythmy gestures and do them justice, but you can bring movement and fun to your homeschool with this wonderful book that covers Kindergarten through all twelve grades with great ideas!  There is also an article on copper rods on the Movement for Childhood website available here:  http://www.movementforchildhood.com/copperrods.pdf
  • Some people have asked me if they should get Donna Simmons’ “Saints and Heroes” book versus “Stories of the Saints” – the traditional Waldorf resource.  They cover different saints; please look for an upcoming blog post on this since it is a common question! 

IMPORTANT NOTE:  If you have a second grader who is “advanced” you can  keep moving ahead on academic skills, but please, please, please do NOT bring the Third Grade Curriculum until your child  is NINE or pretty darn close to nine.  The Third Grade Curriculum is really a year of DOING, a year that speaks directly and eloquently to the nine-year-old change.  If you bring it in too early two things will happen:  1.  The stories and activities of the Third Grade  just will not speak to your child’s soul, they become a rather empty gesture because they are being offered prematurely and 2.  You will be causing an avalanche effect for the coming years because the Grade Four Norse Myths are VERY dark!  (ie, everyone dies!)  I think a child really should be close to ten to deal directly with the content in the Norse myths; the themes are mature.  When we do academic work, we have to be sure to enliven it with lots of DOING, lots of music, art, painting, sculpting, modeling, gardening, doing, doing, doing.  Otherwise the academic work just sits there, dead and useless.  The teaching through art is the vehicle, the stories and the art and the movement and the doing are the way for the development of the soul.  If you need further clarification on this, I so highly suggest Steiner’s “Practical Advice to Teachers”.  Even just reading the forward will explain this so well!

Just a few thoughts for second grade!

Many blessings,

Carrie

Peaceful March: Simple Parenting

Posted on by
10

I think this is a wonderful month to have a “spring cleaning” of the mind for peaceful, simple parenting for the expansive Spring and Summer months that are coming.  What do I mean by that?

  • Look, really look at your children.  What developmental stage are they in?  What areas are they having a hard time with?  What could you do to help guide them?  What have you tried in this regard previously?  Don’t do that again if it didn’t work – you know, the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and over and expecting different results!  Try to think outside the box! Get support, gain fresh and new ideas!
  • How am I doing with gentle discipline?  Am I falling into places I would rather not be? How can I change that? What is my plan?
  • What am I doing to protect and nourish my child’s twelve senses and movement?  How much are we getting outside?
  • How many hours of screens is my child seeing each week and can I cut that back, down, out completely?
  • How is my child eating?  Homemade nourishing foods?  See if you can refrain from buying processed foods for a week and really focus on whole, simple foods.  How many raw fruits and vegetables is my child eating?
  • How much sleep and rest is happening in the family?  Do we have a rhythm toward bedtime and rest times?
  • Am I happy with the number of things I, my spouse, my kids, our family is committed to?  Does it need to be less? Can you take a break this Spring?  Will the world come to an end if the kids take one season from sports off and you all hike together instead?
  • How are you doing with your spouse?  Do you really know him and where he is these days or is he last on the list at the end of the day?  What is going on these days at work?  What are his favorite things?  Does he feel loved and respected in his home?  Are you spending time together? 
  • How are you doing?  Are you feeling healthy and energized?  If not, what are you eating, are you exercising, are you getting enough sleep and rest?  What time are you going to bed?
  • What are you reading these days to increase your skills as a positive person, a positive mother, a homeschooling teacher or as a wife?  What artistic work are you doing each week to replenish your own soul?
  • Does your family have a mission statement?  If not, now would be a great time to write one.  If you have one, does it need updating?  There is a back post on this blog regarding family mission statements, actually there are several.  If you use the search engine, it should come up for you.
  • Finally, are you in connection with that Creator that is higher than yourself if that is in your belief system, or what are you doing to nourish your own spirituality, your own sense of reverence toward the world, your own sense of gratitude and love?

Take that sketch pad I suggested you keep around at the beginning of the month, those colored pencil and crayons and draw yourself a map of these areas and write down or draw your ideas for change!

Happy Spring Cleaning,

Carrie

No Comparison!

Posted on by
9

Comparing yourself to others often causes the disappearance of your own happiness. This can be such a challenging path, this mindful mothering, this homeschooling, this Waldorf view of life, that to start to look around it is easy to either feel smug about it all, or more likely, insecure and questioning of oneself.

I just want to remind you today that you  are on the right path for your family.  It is okay if you don’t have all the answers when your oldest child is four. You don’t have to defend yourself or your choices.  It is okay when people make different choices than you do for their families.  Each and every parent and family are on their own paths and we all  have our own lessons to learn.  Each and every family is different.

I know personally  it is much easier for me to respect someone else’s choices much better if I feel like there was some thought to that choice!  LOL!  However, at the same time, parents cannot always think about every single thing that is new to them or they feel insane!  And we all have priorities of things and issues and causes that are important to us  that may not be as important to someone else.  I try to remember that. 

Please, please, please do not let your causes, your beliefs, (uh, your obsessions?)  be the wedge between you and your partner, you and your family, you and your friends if you can help it.  Maybe you  will be able to show something to the people in your life  just by being who you are and doing what you do; maybe those people actually have something to teach you today!  Please be open to that!  Open your hearts and look for the things where we have common ground instead of being so quick to jump to the differences. 

It is so hard when our oldest one is very little.  We have such a protective (and sometimes tight) gesture around that child.  We have such a need for things to be “right”.  And to be sure, there is essential and non essential, and not everything people do with their children is “ right”  by a longshot.  I think we live in a society where many mothers are striving so hard to be mindful and think things through but then  we also have so many parents who seem to view their tiny children as inconveniences to their busy lives.  However, sometimes the “mindful” parents need to let go a little bit.  Your child, whilst developing under your etheric cloak, doesn’t need your baggage, and doesn’t need you to “control” their behavior or every single thing that happens in their existence.  Your child doesn’t need this unattainably  perfect childhood with unattainably perfect parents.

What your child needs is your warmth and your love even when they are in a rougher stage of development;

What your child needs is your laughter, authentic and real;

What your child needs today is a big hug and a whole lotta love;

What your child needs is a stable rhythm but also enough spontaneity to make life fun; nothing crazy, but go splash in some puddles!  Get dirty!  Play in the mud!

What your child needs is music and stories and being outside and playing;

What your child needs is a COMMUNITY of people who love them besides just their mother;

What your child needs is for you to have a vital, positive, wonderful marriage that they can look up to (even if they think it is disgusting when you kiss each other :))

What your child needs is for you to understand child development and to have realistic expectations and for you to quit trying to fix them, to change them into someone else, and to control every single thing that goes on

What your child needs is for you to get real, give some things up for them so they can develop in the right way, but to also have FUN whilst you are doing it.

What your child needs is for you to see how real and precious and messy and wonderful parenting and family life is today.

Life is too short to not live with joy and love and warmth.

Blessings today to you and your precious children,

Carrie

Favorite Spring Tales For The Waldorf Kindergarten

Posted on by
19

Like the Fall Tales List for Waldorf Kindergarten, this is NOT an all-inclusive list, these are just some tales I have enjoyed or I know other mothers have used at these ages…..Happy finding the tales that speak to you and to your family!

 

January (Okay, still Winter!)

Four Year Olds:  Shingebiss (Winter Wynstones)

Five Year Olds:  The Snow Maiden (Plays for Puppets)

Six Year Olds:  The Twelve Months (www.mainlesson.com); 

February

Four Year Olds:  “Pussy Willow Spring” from Suzanne Down’s “Spring Tales” or a story about how the snowdrop got its color

Five Year Olds:  “The Rabbit and the Carrot”  a Chinese Tale found in the Spring Wynstones and also in “An Overview of the Waldorf Kindergarten”

Six Year Olds:  “The Three Brothers” by the Brothers Grimm

There are also a few Saint Valentine’s Day stories on mainlesson.com

 

March

For  ages three and a  half or so  and up for Saint Patrick’s Day:  “Lucky Patrick” from “Spring Tales” by Suzanne Down

There is also a great “leprechuan” circle adventure/movement journey in the book, “Movement Journeys and Circle Adventures” based upon “Tippery Tim” the leprechaun in “Spring Tales” by Suzanne Down

Four Year Olds:  The Billy Goats Gruff

Five Year Olds:  “Little Brown Bulb” from “Spring Tales” from Suzanne Down or “Little Red Cap” from Brothers Grimm

Six Year Olds: “ Bremen Town Musicians” from the Brothers Grimm;  or “An Easter Story” from “All Year Round” or “The Donkey” by The Brothers Grimm

 

April: 

Four Year Olds:  Goldilocks and The Three Bears

Five Year Olds:   “Mama Bird’s Song” from “Spring Tales” by Suzanne Down  or”Rumpelstiltskin” by the Brothers Grimm

Six Year Olds:  “Frog Prince” from the Brothers Grimm

 

May

Four Year Olds:  “Chicken Licken” or “The Pancake”  with Spring details

Five Year Olds:  For Ascensiontide, the story “Forgetful Sammy” from “All Year Round” or “Twiggy” from “Plays for Puppets”

Six Year Olds: “The Magic Lake at the End of the World” (from Ecuador, found in “Your’re Not The Boss of Me!  Understanding the Six/Seven Year Transformation)  or “Queen Bee” from the Brothers Grimm  or “Forgetful Sammy” or “Twiggy”  as listed for the five-year-old.

 

June

Four Year Olds:  “The Pancake” with spring/summer details

Five Year Olds:  “Goldener”  (Plays for Puppets)

Six Year Olds:  “Snow White and Rose Red”  or “A Midsummer Tale” from the book “An Overview of the Waldorf Kindergarten”, also in “Plays for Puppets”

What are your favorite stories?  Please add them below!

Many blessings,

Carrie

Math Phobia In The Waldorf Homeschool

Posted on by
5

Mathematics is one of those incredible subjects that has so much to offer and yet people discount it in our society.  We wouldn’t joke or find it humorous to not be able to read, so why do we hear people who ruefully laugh and just say, “Wow, I am not good at math.  Here, you divide up this bill.”   Or my favorite, the cashier who cannot make change when the computer on the cash register at the check-out line goes down.  Yuck!  My family ran a business and back then, there was no computer to tell you what cash to give back (okay, do I sound old and cranky here or what? LOL).  But, my point is, I think too often we underestimate the importance of numeral literacy.  It is every bit as important as reading!

Here are some fun links regarding math anxiety and numeral literacy:

http://www.mathacademy.com/pr/minitext/anxiety/index.asp#myths

http://math.about.com/cs/mathreform/a/myths.htm

You actually don’t “have” to have an aptitude for math; math skills can totally be developed!   I was not “good” at math, although I enjoyed it in the younger grades, then went through a period where I cried a lot and didn’t “get it” and then lo and behold, when I took college mathematics courses like calculus and such and physics one, the math part made complete sense!  Who knew?  I think the challenge is, though, that some children need many problems to master a concept and some need only a few problems.

Also, children have to be willing to try (and sometimes fail) and work at something!  You may notice this tendency to work at something (or not) in areas other than mathematics with your child.  I think try to give them a taste of success in something outside of math is helpful, as well as giving them problems you know they can do along with harder things in math.  Also, I think it is good to work in small chunks in the early grades – sometimes I think we are expecting far too much of our first and second graders.  Do make sure your expectations are realistic!  Check out the math standards for education by grade for your state and see if you are on track!

Jamie York and his co-authors discuss in “Making Math Meaningful” book for grades 1-5 (and I do think this book is worthy as a supplement to whatever math curriculum you are using!)  (here is the link: http://web.me.com/meaningfulmathbooks1/Site/Welcome.html)     that “math phobia” can begin somewhere between second and fourth grade and that this can be “undone” in the sixth and seventh grades, but it is much harder to undo this in the  high school years.

What can you do if you are math phobic or you notice your child being math phobic?  How can you progress in math in your Waldorf homeschool?  This could be a series of posts really, but let’s look at some simple ideas here.

  • First of all, check your own attitude and what you say about math in front of your child!  Are you math phobic?  Then homeschooling  math is going to be wonderful for your own development as well!
  • Please place the same importance on that as you do reading!  I hear many parents say, “Well, I didn’t want to do First Grade Waldorf because my child already knew his letters and how to read!’”  As if all First Grade is is a bunch of letters!  What about math, the qualities of numbers and the four processes?
  • In first grade, do bring in math daily after you do your qualities of numbers block if you are doing a non-math block.    Every day there should be time to work with math manipulatives  and later on with mental math.  There should be simple oral sentences you give to work out with manipulatives (or just mentally).  Most families do this right after gathering. Perhaps you have some songs and verses for the month, some movement, and then you do your ten minutes of math.
  • From about second grade up, you may consider having a time one day a week during non-math blocks to devote a half hour or so to math, practical math, however you want to bring it.  Many families do this on their last day of school for the week.
  • All this being said, do let math sleep at some points during the year.  Let it rest and germinate inside your child.  You may find when you return to it that your child understands it so much better.
  • Homeschooling math can be so very intense because of that one to one relationship. It is easy to hover and offer too much help.  Some mothers keep laundry to fold nearby or knitting nearby.  I have often transformed into a “substitute math teacher” with a crazy accent (mom has gone out to the store!) who is kind but strict.  She doesn’t help, she wants to see what you can do and she doesn’t hover. 
  • If your child is crying every time math is presented, take a break!  Or, alternately, instead of taking a break, you may really have to go back to the part of math your child understands and works from there to figure out what is tripping them up.  Subtraction usually is part of it and not really having those addition and subtraction facts down cold.  I think Jamie York’s math book is great for diagnosing where the problem is. 
  • Movement, movement, movement.  Bouncing a ball, tossing a ball, standing on the end of a balance beam and tossing bean bags into a bucket, bouncing on a trampoline for addition/subtraction facts and multiplication tables. 
  • Work whole to parts and all four processes together.  Most children don’t seem to understand at first that subtraction will “undo” addition and division will “undo” multiplication. I think that is the advantage of teaching math the Waldorf way with all four processes together.    It is also hard for them to see 4 X 7 is the same as 7X4, so work with that in mind for these Early Grades.
  • Stories are great, but I think at the end of second grade and certainly at the beginning of third grade, there needs to just be math.  However, always save the last ten minutes to tell stories – in first grade, do tell a fairy tale at the end of the lesson, in second tell a folktale or fable and in third tell some Native American tales or more fairy tales.  It is always that holistic working of all subjects together. 
  • Do play games that involve math and find opportunities to use math in gardening, cooking, handwork.  It can be done!  🙂
  • People ask all the time about worksheets. I know most Waldorf consultants will tell you later, after the nine year change, most seem to say Fifth Grade. I  believe on the Jamie York website given above, there are some math worksheets available for Third Grade and up.

SOME LINKS TO HELP:

The math curriculum as laid out in the Christopherus Curriculum Grades One through Eight:  http://www.christopherushomeschool.org/waldorf-homeschool-publishing-and-consulting/curriculum/subjects/mathematics.html?0=  This includes links to the math books that are available separately from buying the full curriculum.

Melisa Nielsen’s Math E-book, Grades One Through Five:   http://shop.beaconmama.com/Waldorf-Math-Geometry-Curriculum-and-Supplies_c12.htm  For $18, this is a steal!  Every lesson is laid out completely for each block. 

Math Books section at Bob and Nancy’s:  http://www.waldorfbooks.com/edu/curriculum/mathematics.htm

Free math blocks and movement for math at Marsha Johnson’s Yahoo!Group at waldorfhomeeducators@yahoogroups.com

Math goals Grade One:  https://theparentingpassageway.com/2009/03/29/ron-jarmans-math-goals-for-waldorf-grade-one/

Many blessings,

Carrie