Parents have many questions about the developmental leaps of the six/seven year old. A few key points for this age: They are quick, physical and not especially deep thinkers. If they are getting into things you don’t want, they probably need … Continue reading
From about five and a half onward, the six/seven year transformation is a time of change. It is can be an overwhelming but profound period for children. Children at this time are working out of not just imitation, but also … Continue reading
One of the most pressing issues for the child of the traditional preschool age (ages 3 and onward) is learning to deal with boundaries. I find many attached parents, especially first-time attachment parents, are rather slow about using boundaries. It … Continue reading
Our oldest two children are 17 and almost 21 (in a few short weeks). Through them, I can listen to the things that they have observed in their relationships with others outside the family. They have mentioned addiction and a … Continue reading
One of the most popular posts I ever wrote was talking about “defiance” in children under the age of six. In part, I wrote: They are not “defiant”; defiance implies a fully conscious knowing of right and wrong and choosing to do … Continue reading
Many of you know that Waldorf Education and also in the way that I parent, I look not only at seven year cycles but the main developmental transformations of certain ages – six/seven, age nine, age twelve, age fifteen/sixteen. Fifteen/sixteen … Continue reading
One interesting thing that Waldorf Schools typically do in sixth grade (at least in the United States) is to have the students make dolls. These are not put together the way a professional dollmaker would put a doll together, but … Continue reading
In the world of Waldorf homeschoolers, there is a lot of press about the developmental changes surrounding the six/seven year old, the nine year old, and sometimes a little about the twelve year old. However, the fifteen/sixteen year change is … Continue reading
This is my second time through Sixth Grade Mineralogy, as it is popularly known in Waldorf Schools. Some Waldorf homeschooling parents want to take a bit broader view of mineralogy as well. I think Waldorf Schools do traditionally include such … Continue reading
We read a lot about protecting early childhood in the literature of Waldorf education and Waldorf parenting, but did you ever stop to think that the time of middle childhood is also a time to also be honored and protected? … Continue reading
The Parenting Passageway 