Author Archives: Carrie

“Hold On To Your Kids” – Chapter Two

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We are back to discuss more of our latest book study “Hold On To Your Kids:  Why Parents Need To Matter More Than Peers” by Gordon Neufeld and Gabor Mate.  Today we are on “Chapter Two:  Skewed Attachments, Subverted Instincts.”

The authors begin this chapter with a bit about fourteen-year-old “Cynthia” whose behavior had changed in the last year to the point where she was “obsessive about her privacy and insistent that her life was none of her parents’ business.”  “Typical” methods of discipline – sanctions, groundings, time-outs had failed. 

The authors write, “The cause of Cynthia’s puzzling behavior becomes self-evident only if we picture the same scenario in the adult realm.  Imagine that your spouse or lover suddenly begins to act strangely’; won’t look you in the eye, rejects physical contact, speaks to you irritably in monosyllables, shuns your approaches, and avoids your company.  Then imagine that you go to your friends for advice.  Would they say to you, “Have you tried a time-out? Have you imposed limits and made clear what expectations are?”  It would be obvious to everyone that, in the context of adult interaction, you’re not dealing with a behavior problem but a relationship problem.  And probably the first suspicion to arise would be that your partner was having an affair.”

In a way, Cynthia was having an affair – with the peer group that had become more important than her parents and her family.

(And this is Carrie’s not here: note I do think having realistic expectations, and for teenagers having clear expectations actually is important. It can be important for adult relationships as well.  But, notice what I say is the key to discipline here:  https://theparentingpassageway.com/2010/02/22/the-number-one-way-to-discipline-a-child/)

The authors use this scenario to work toward the next section of the chapter, entitled, “Why We Must Become More Conscious of Attachment”. The authors define attachment as “a force of attachment pulling two bodies toward each other.”  They argue that we must become conscious of attachment because economically and culturally our society is no longer geared toward attachment of children toward adults.  Attachment must be known about and experienced.

There is a concept in psychology called “psychological orientation”. The authors write, “As children grow, they have an increasing need to orient: to have a sense of who they are, of what is real, why things happen, what is good, what things mean.  To fail to orient is to suffer disorientation, to be lost psychologically…Children are utterly incapable of orienting by themselves.  They need help……A parent is by far a child’s best compass point—or another adult, like a teacher, who acts as a parent substitute.” 

I love this quote on page 19 in reference to the research of the psychological attachment patterns of children:  “Absolutely clear is that children were meant to revolve around their parents and the other adults responsible for them, just as the planets revolve around the sun.  And yet more and more children are now orbiting around each other.”

The next part of the chapter, the six ways of attaching, is so important that I would like to address it in tomorrow’s post.

Many blessings,

Carrie

“Bringing Waldorf to Homeschooling” by Donna Simmons

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I asked Donna Simmons of Christopherus Homeschool Resources if she would be willing to write a post for this blog and here is a thought-provoking piece about bringing and adapting Waldorf Education to the homeschooling environment.  I hope you all enjoy this, and I encourage you to leave your comments in the comment box!

Bringing Waldorf to Homeschooling – by Donna Simmons

 

One of the interesting challenges in being a provider of Waldorf curriculum materials for homeschoolers is figuring out how to make it both understandable and applicable to homeschoolers. Waldorf education is, of course, something created for the school situation. There are many things which do not work at home in the way they have developed in the classroom.

One example of this is the recall activity which is part of the 2 or 3 day teaching rhythm. One asks one’s child to recall the story material from the previous day. Several years ago I decided to rename this “revisiting” so as to distance it from the Charlotte Mason use of the term recall. In Charlotte Mason the child is describing exactly what happened in a lesson – and it is done right after the lesson. In Waldorf, this is not an exercise in memory, of exact picturing. It is about looking afresh at what transpired in the last day’s lessons and is an opportunity for the child to share what she has let sleep in her. This is about deepening the child’s experience of her lessons, letting her “digest” it overnight. And as Waldorf education rests firmly on knowledge of the human being as a spiritual being, this is also an opportunity to allow the child to take what she has learned into the spiritual worlds. The wisdom of the saying “let me sleep on it” comes from a recognition of the importance of this gesture.

But in terms of school and homeschool, the point about revisiting is that is does not work at home in the same way it works in the classroom. In the classroom revisiting is a shared activity, a group activity. The teacher leads the class through yesterday’s work, gradually building up a picture of what was done as well as acknowledging the opinions and questions of the children. And not all children participate on every day. This is something that has value over time – it is not a drill for everyday. At home one-on-one revisiting can deteriorate into cross examination. And as not all children are completely invigorated by revisiting, it can also become painfully awkward, with lots of shrugged shoulders and “dunno’s” leaving a parent feeling like a failure!

So at home we must ask ourselves the question “what is important about revisiting” and then see what suitable form might be best. My opinion is that conversation is the best vehicle for the benefits of revisiting and is a more natural way to teach a child at home. We are, after all, homeschoolers and it can be a grave mistake to try to create a little Waldorf school at home. I am constantly getting feedback from burned-out parents who tried just this and who exhausted themselves trying to follow programs which were based on the forms of Waldorf and not its essence as expressed outside the classroom.

Anyone can look at a chart laying out the progress of the Waldorf curriculum and then create a schedule of lessons based on it. But….unless they have taken the time to study what underlies the progression of the curriculum, all they will be working with is a bare skeleton. As unschoolers rightly point out, why should one work with a curriculum which is arbitrary, based on the whims of adult ideas on education? But….the thing about Waldorf education is that this is not the case. The Waldorf curriculum rests on profound observations of the developmental needs of children, on the spiritual foundations of human development. It is never, in any way, arbitrary.

So it does behoove one to try to understand what lies behind the progression of the curriculum. Why is history not taught until fifth grade? Why are all four math processes taught together? What is the importance of the animal legends block in second grade?

Then one has the freedom to choose how to fashion one’s curriculum and to not do things just because “it says so here”. Further, one can teach very different blocks than might usually appear in a Waldorf school but still be true to Waldorf education’s basis. One is understanding what the education rests upon and so can work with it, co-creating an education for one’s child, instead of merely receiving material from others.

But much of this is subtle. On the one hand one can easily “lose the wood for the trees” and cling to main lesson blocks because “that is what they do in Waldorf schools”. But on the other hand one might have missed the importance of certain aspects of the curriculum or methodology.

One wants to have good reasons for doing things differently. One wants to understand the essence of Waldorf education so that one can then make it one’s own. One needs to be able to truly understand what developmental need each aspect of the curriculum speaks to so that one can then see how it might or might not be applicable.

For example: Steiner said that grammar should be introduced in second grade. Why? Because it brings an inner form to the child, mirroring his developmental need to move from an all-encompassing consciousness to a more pointed, analytical consciousness (but only very slowly!!). Fine. But…..Steiner was referring to German grammar as he was speaking to the teachers at the Waldorfschule in Stuttgart. This makes sense in the German language – nouns, for instance, are capitalized and thus a German child can easily start to get a feel for grammar as he observes this. But in English – in unruly multi-sourced English – this is not the case. Like spelling, English grammar is plagued by rules which only hold in a rather narrow set of circumstances. Thus to learn English grammar, one must be old enough to appreciate the complexities of our language and be able to be flexible. A very young child does not have this capacity and thus learning grammar would necessitate only memorization. By memorizing grammar rules one might “know” something about grammar but not in a deep sense. One has not “made it one’s own”. This is not the way Waldorf pedagogy works.

Similarly in math, confusion seems to have arisen over the years as to how to use stories. Steiner clearly indicated that young children need to be introduced to mathematical concepts via pictures (thus the advent of the math gnomes, created by my old teacher Mrs. Harrer many years ago and which has becomes almost institutionalized – something Steiner would have been most unhappy about!). Why use stories to introduce math? Because that is what speaks to the consciousness of the young child. Seven year olds have not yet developed the kind of analytical abstract ways of thinking that adults (and teens) have. To teach them holistically, to speak to the reality of their experience, one needs to meet them in their picture consciousness. But…that is for young children. Somehow this has spread amongst Waldorf schools (and some curriculum providers) to mean that math lessons continue to be carried by stories well into the middle grades! To me this is shocking! By 4th grade a child must start to deal with numbers as numbers – not as kings and queens and other story figures! Could it be that the sad reality of Waldorf schools being very weak in math is related to this? And is all of this a problem just because I say so? No! It is problematic because what is being done is out of sync with the developmental needs of children.

Why is all of this important? It is important because if a parent understands why she is doing something with her child, then she is freer to choose and create what her child needs. And that might actually, on the surface, look very little like the usual Waldorf curriculum. Steiner said there were three requirements to being a Waldorf teacher: that they base their work on an anthroposophical understanding of child development; that they understand the needs of the particular children before them; and that they be willing to unceasingly work on their own personal/spiritual development. He didn’t say anything about adhering to the Waldorf curriculum come hell or high water!

And all of this is especially relevant to homeschooling parents as Waldorf education was, of course, designed for the school situation. But an anthroposophical understanding of children is about children, full stop. Children in school, children at home, children of all races, religions, and backgrounds. So it is more than a little useful to work to understand something of the foundations of Waldorf education!

In all our Christopherus publications I try very hard to help parents understand both why and how things are done. Then they are free to see what is or is not relevant to their child and to their family situation. That then is true education.

I also occasionally lead in depth studies of anthroposophical and Waldorf writings on my on-line discussion forum. I have been an anthroposophist for almost 20 years and involved in Waldorf as a student ( k – 12), parent, teacher (all levels), parent educator and homeschooling parent. So I’m in a pretty good position to offer a hand to those seeking to understand more about Waldorf education.

Starting this September, I will be leading a study of The Kingdom of Childhood by Rudolf Steiner on my forum. You can read it online or you can purchase it from the Christopherus Bookstore. This book is a foundational part of Waldorf teacher training and is one of Steiner’s more accessible lecture series. Here is a link to my forum where I describe this study a bit more and what will follow after. Scroll over to the Christopherus News section (which is open to non members) for details  

Hope you join us!

Thank you so much, Donna.  And much love and many blessings to my readers!

Carrie

A Blog I Am Really Enjoying

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Are all of you familiar with Bella Luna Toys and its new owner Sarah Baldwin?  I am really enjoying her blog; for those of you with small children (or without! LOL) and an eye on this first seven year cycle please do check her articles out here:  http://blog.bellalunatoys.com/.  If you would like to learn more about Sarah please see here:  http://blog.bellalunatoys.com/about  (although she doesn’t mention anything about being an author which she is!  Here is a link to her book here:  http://www.waldorfbooks.com/edu/curriculum/kindergarten.htm?zoom_highlight=sarah+baldwin)

Here are a few of my favorite articles from this blog:

http://blog.bellalunatoys.com/2010/waldorf-homeschooling-letting-go-of-perfect.html

and here:

http://blog.bellalunatoys.com/2010/waldorf-dolls.html

Love this and love to you all!

Carrie

The Days of Summer

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Hope your days of Summer are going well!  Here are a few pictures of our favorite Summer activity – thank you to my dear friend Samantha Fogg of Work +Play Dog Training (http://workplaydogs.com/) for taking these shots. 

What you probably cannot tell  is that in the second picture our dog is towing the children back to shore.  Our dog just finished an introductory carting class and will soon be starting water rescue classes.  She is a good dog.  And no one is wearing sun hats in these pictures because no one would keep them on.  Such is the challenge of Summer!

Much love and many blessings,

Carrie

Waldorf In The Home With The Five-Year-Old

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MY CAVEAT TO THIS POST:  I write these posts from the perspective that the one-year-old, the two-year-old, etc is your OLDEST child in your homeschool, without older siblings to carry things… that may help explain my perspective on wet-on-wet painting and other such animals.  You can see the comments below as well…

We talked a bit about planning for fall in a recent post, and I wanted to make sure my mothers with under-7 children didn’t feel left out.  We are up to the five-year-old now!  I still hold some maverick views compared to much of the Waldorf community, so please take what resonates with you and leave the rest from this post.  If you are searching for the other posts in this series, here is the one- and two-year old in the home:  https://theparentingpassageway.com/2010/01/06/waldorf-in-the-home-with-the-one-and-two-year-old/      and here is the three- and four-year-old in the home:  http://www.theparentingpassageway.com/2010/01/13/waldorf-in-the-home-with-the-three-and-four-year-old/ .  If you review those back posts, you can see life is focused on rhythm, bodily care, singing, work around the house, being outside – no curriculums needed, although you may like some sources for verses, Mother Goose rhymes and songs.  I did do a review of one Kindergarten source here:  https://theparentingpassageway.com/2010/02/13/a-review-kindergarten-with-your-three-to-six-year-old-by-donna-simmons/

So here comes five!

Five can be such  an odd age.  It is the age that is considered a “golden” age by traditional perspectives, but many mothers of five-year-olds tell me they are pulling their hair out over their child’s behavior.  I think this is mainly because some five-year-olds are still in the four-year-old “out of bounds” stage, and some five-year-olds are beginning that six and seven-year transformation.  Here are some back posts about the five-year-old in general if you need some developmental help: https://theparentingpassageway.com/2009/02/10/the-fabulous-five-year-old/ 

Here is what I think a five-year-old should be working on with Waldorf In The Home:

RHYTHM!  Here is a lovely article detailing a rhythm in a Waldorf Kindergarten by Ruth Ker:  http://www.waldorflibrary.org/Journal_Articles/blessingker.pdf

Meal times.  Think unhurried, unrushed, singing, having your child help with preparation and clean-up.  Use your meal time now to  work on things to develop their movement – kneading bread, using a rolling pin, sweeping the kitchen floor, scrubbing a countertop, etc.

Rest Times.  I honestly don’t know many five year olds who still nap, and that is a shame.  If your child is not a  “napper” at this age, you can still have a quiet time each day.  Your child  may not be able to do this well  on his or her own (although some will happily play with a play scenario you have set up), but this may be a time to read a story, a time to tell a story, a time to sing soft songs whilst massaging their hands or feet, and just dim the lights and be together and rock in the rocking chair for a bit.  You may also catch some down time for yourself at this time or during outside time if your child gets engaged.

Bath times.  Singing, finger plays and toe plays, gentle rub downs with the towel (those textures again).

Outside time.  Being outside is of extreme importance and to provide opportunities for physical movement outside.  If your child is a reluctant woodsperson, try the following posts:

https://theparentingpassageway.com/2009/09/25/nature-day-number-8-of-20-days-toward-being-a-more-mindful-mother/  and this one:  https://theparentingpassageway.com/2008/11/24/connecting-your-children-to-nature/

I think really three hours a day outside is not too much, and you could do more.  It is important.  Some homeschooling mothers arrange to hold almost their entire school day

Participation in household life.  Your very gesture is so important, it should not be you rushing around trying to get the whole house clean in one day!  It really  is about  taking each article of laundry and smoothing it out, folding it tenderly, putting it in the pile to be put away with love for your family. What is important is not only that the child sees the work being done, but imitates that gesture of love and care.  That extends into caring for plants and animals, this is the very first “environmental education” that a child gets with you, right at home.

To this we add the thought that physical work is very important, not only outside, but inside as well.  Can your wee one help you wash lettuce?  Peel carrots?  Peel an apple? Grind wheat? Knead bread?  These experiences are the first form of handwork for the young child.

Music – as mentioned many times, music and rhymes and verses should take precedence at this point over any written word. 

Inner Work/Personal Parenting Development:  The most spiritually mature people should be the ones coming into contact with the youngest children.  This is a very important time for your own work and  development.  If you are anxious, practice being calm.  If you are impatient, practice being patient.  If you talk in a stream of conscious way, practice being silent.  This is a time to develop your spiritual and religious beliefs.  It is a time to become more aware of the things unseen. 

We continue to  work on building up the first four of the twelve senses:

The Sense of Touch: Holding, cuddling, taking baths together, swimming, piggy back rides, games that involve holding hands and singing, wrestling and roughhousing, tickling games if your child likes that, rolling around on the floor together,  being outside in nature, natural materials to touch and play with and wear

The Sense of Life:  RHYTHM, humor and joy!

The Sense of Movement:  crawling, any sustained movement over time such as learning to ride a bike or swim,

The Sense of Balance: RHYTHM again, swinging, rolling, and now working toward more complex gross motor skills – riding a bike, trying the monkey bars and climbing structures,   skipping

If you need to know realistic expectations for a five-year-old, please see here: 

https://theparentingpassageway.com/2009/09/29/more-realistic-expectations-day-number-ten-of-20-days-toward-being-a-more-mindful-mother/

PLAY.  In the imitative phase of the first seven year cycle, your child may very well need some help from you in play without a group around to carry it.  You can see the back posts on fostering creative play and the progression of play by age and suggested toys.

People ask about play dates for this age.  I think play dates need to be structured with the adults doing something that requires taking turns and modeling the behavior you would like to see, and then moving into free play with the adults really in tune as to what is going on with the children (not off chatting in a corner ignoring the children).    I think play dates should be kept short.  If you would like to see more about social experiences, here is a post about the four-year-old I like:  https://theparentingpassageway.com/2009/09/09/more-about-social-experiences-for-the-four-year-old/  I think much in this post holds true for the five-year-old.  Five-year-old boys also may really not be ready for group situations until they around are seven years old.

Preparation for Festivals. This is a great time to help children participate by DOING, not explaining in words.  There are lots of posts on this blog about individual festivals. 

Art/Creative Experiences

  • Painting –  Some five year olds may do well doing wet on wet watercolor painting  and some may have much difficulty in this  area.  I personally like the idea of starting wet on wet painting during the six-year old kindergarten year, as something special and new for that final year of kindergarten.  Wet on wet painting, to me, should have a very quiet, contemplative and meditative quality. 
  • Coloring with crayons  — you can see this book about Drawing with your child here:  https://theparentingpassageway.com/2009/04/04/drawing-with-your-four-to-eleven-year-old/  And here is an article about block or stick crayons in the Kindergarten from the “Gateways” Journal:  http://www.waldorflibrary.org/Journal_Articles/GW3606.pdf
  • Carding wool – can be a hit as it is repetitive sensory movement.  You can buy fleece to wash and dry and card it with little dog brushes.  This is great.   You could also consider dyeing with plants…here is an article from the “Gateways” journal here:  http://www.waldorflibrary.org/Journal_Articles/GW57grant.pdf
  • Sanding wood might be good as well.  Any thoughts?
  • Modeling – I like the idea of modeling with sand, salt dough, snow, kneading bread.  I would save  beeswax modeling  for the six-year-old children myself.  Again, this differs from Waldorf school.
  • Sewing – I disagree strongly with the kindergarten aged child using a needle to penetrate cloth.  I  know that is not especially popular opinion right now, but oh well.   🙂 
  • Wet felting is a fun activity for five year olds.
  • Finger knitting – can try with the OLDER  five and six year old.  
  • Other Arts and Crafts – some can be successful, especially in preparation for a festival, but I think for the  most part recommendations in books such as “Earthways” the age range is always put lower than what I would put it.  Why be in such a rush to do all this? Six, seven and eight are still good ages for crafts.

Storytelling and Puppetry – If you have not had a time where you light a candle and tell a story, now is the time to begin.  Pick a story, memorize it, and tell it at least three days a week for two weeks to a month. 

Here is where you can start bringing in some traditional fairy tales.  See here for a list of recommended fairy tales by age, but pick one that that resonates with you: https://theparentingpassageway.com/2010/03/20/fairy-tales-books-and-storytelling-with-the-little-ones/  and here:   https://theparentingpassageway.com/2008/11/20/the-importance-of-fairy-tales/

You could also make your five year old year your Nature Tales year (there are many on http://www.mainlesson.com ) and then bring in more fairy tales in your true Kindergarten year (your six year old year).  And don’t be afraid to repeat stories from year to year – your children will ask for them!  That repetition is wonderful!

My other thought is to create those stories to address challenging behavior.  There are several examples here in this article from the “Gateways” Journal:  http://www.waldorflibrary.org/Journal_Articles/GW55brooks.pdf

Circle Time is the heart of the Waldorf Kindergarten, but can be a complete flop at home.  I love the book “Movement Journeys and Circle Adventures” (see this post for the review: https://theparentingpassageway.com/2009/12/29/favorite-waldorf-resource-5-three-resources-to-help-you-get-more-movement-into-your-homeschool/ ), but at home it can really flop.  Still, I think it is worth a try if you can convince your five-year-old to “teach” your younger child, LOL.  Still stick to the verses and songs you have in daily life, and add seasonal finger plays and seasonal songs.

Hope this helps you as you plan.  Please do take what resonates with you.

What concerns or challenges are you facing with your five-year-old?  Please do feel free to leave a comment below. 

Many blessings,

Carrie

Some Quick Autumn Ideas For Waldorf Homeschool Kindergarten

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I wrote a post some time back regarding tales for Autumn for Kindergarten here:  https://theparentingpassageway.com/2009/09/03/favorite-fall-tales-for-waldorf-kindergarten/

I was thinking about that post, and thinking about things I personally associate with Autumn.  It seems as if almost every Waldorf-y resource includes squirrels, chipmunks, leaves and acorns.  But here are a few other ideas:

  • How about a mouse and an apple house?  My homeschool group is getting ready to do some wet/dry felting to make a little apple house with two mice.  I also like the verse in Suzanne Down’s “Autumn Tales” book about  a mouse and  a spider who live in a little snug pumpkin house.  How cute is that for October!  You could turn that into a whole story – practice those storytelling skills!
  • How about something to do with deer in the forest?
  • For those of you at the beach, what is changing with the color of the water or the animals you are seeing?  Perhaps you could reflect that in your homeschool tales or nature tables.
  • I love geese and turkey for November, and notions of bears getting ready for a long Winter’s nap.
  • How about a groundhog (woodchuck) eating apples from the orchard and getting ready for Autumn and Winter?  I saw this idea in this sweet little book:  http://www.amazon.com/BLEST-CELEBRATION-Mary-Beth-Owens/dp/0689805462/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1282352427&sr=8-1   There is essentially just a short poem to go with each month of the year.  I think you could easily turn this into a sweet little story. 

What do you associate with Autumn in your part of the world and how will your homeschool reflect that?

Many blessings,

Carrie

Some Thoughts on Waldorf Homeschool Scheduling

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One of the things that mothers become the most anxious about with Waldorf homeschooling is how to create Main Lessons for multiple ages, and what to do about outside activities.

I recently saw this post from over at Christopherus regarding “Devising a Schedule That Works”:  http://christopherushomeschool.typepad.com/blog/2010/08/devising-a-schedule-that-works.html

This post was really something I needed to hear (again).  It is very easy to get caught up (at least in my area) with all the wonderful activities available to homeschoolers, plus all the extra things that life brings such as going to a place of worship, running errands, having play dates with friends. 

I am still working it all out for my family and I don’t have all the answers yet, but I wanted to share with you all some of my thoughts as I work through this.

1.  I have thought long and hard about sports.  I personally think around fourth grade that some sports really can begin (and yes, even sports where one loses and one wins on a smaller scale), but some folks put the times to start competitive sports later.  You can see one perspective here:  http://www.movementforchildhood.com/sport.pdf    I do think one thing sports help with is learning not only how to be a gracious winner, but also a gracious loser.  I think it also helps develop the will to not quit the minute you are not perfect at something on the first try!

The other side of sports though, even just sports through the local recreation program,  is that most of the grades-aged sport practices are at dinner time.  In this regard, one has to be really mindful of the trade-off of dinner time as a family, and the drain bringing one child to sport practices and such is on the smaller children.  On the other hand, some nine and ten year olds may be ready to “do something” and I think sports is a nice thing to set up before the twelve-year old change, when children become more heavy and often more sedentary. 

2.  Music typically branches out into a second instrument other than recorder during the Third Grade (typically a stringed instrument).  Steiner talked a bit about picking musical instruments in relation to temperament in “Discussions With Teachers”.  An interesting read there!  Again, the benefits of musical instrument practice has to be weighed against the needs of the whole family. 

3. I have said this before, but will mention it again here:  the nine-year change is a VERY important time for laying a foundation of spiritual practice and for really helping to shape a child’s beliefs as they struggle with the feelings of isolation, of difference, with questions of life and of death at this age.  Please, please, please consider how you will bring this to your child in an active way.

What activities are your children involved in?  How do you balance the needs of  all of your  family members?

Many blessings,

Carrie

Interesting Study Linking ADHD and Maturity

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I caught this yesterday on msn.com’s Science page and thought it was worthy to share with you all (my bolding, not in the original on-line article):

“How mature a child is compared to his peers may partly determine how likely he is to be diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), according to a new study. This finding validates concerns that the condition is misdiagnosed, researchers say.

North Carolina State University researchers found that children born just after the kindergarten eligibility cutoff date were 25 percent less likely to be diagnosed with ADHD than children born just before the cutoff date. Children born just after the cutoff date are among the oldest in their class, and those born just before the cutoff date are among the youngest in their class.

For example, in schools where the cutoff date is Sept. 1, children born on Aug. 31 make the cutoff and are the youngest in their class; children born on Sept. 2 will wait an additional year to enter school and be among the oldest in their class.

Children born just a few days apart should have the same underlying risk of having ADHD, according to the researchers, so this significant difference in diagnosis rates is strong evidence that medically inappropriate diagnoses are being given.

“We believe that younger children may be mistakenly diagnosed as having ADHD, when in fact they are simply less mature,” study researcher Melinda Morrill said in a statement.

The characteristic behaviors associated with ADHD are inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity, according to the National Institutes of Health. Rising rates of ADHD and large differences in diagnosis rates have led to fears that the condition is not accurately diagnosed.

Accurate diagnosing is crucial, the researchers say, because stimulant medications are often prescribed as a treatment for ADHD. The stimulants have side effects, including insomnia, stomachache, headache, dizziness and decreased appetite, and they have been shown to increase heart rates and blood pressure. Little is known about their long-term effects.

Youngest are 50 percent more likely to get ADHD diagnosis

 
The new findings are consistent with those of another forthcoming study that suggests children born just before the kindergarten cutoff date are 50-percent more likely to be diagnosed with ADHD than those born just after, Morrill and her colleagues write in a forthcoming issue of the Journal of Health Economics.

The findings indicate that there are children who are diagnosed, or who are not diagnosed, because of something other than underlying biological or medical reasons, according to Morrill.

“We are not downplaying the existence or significance of ADHD in children,” Morrill said. “What our research shows is that similar students have significantly different diagnosis rates depending on when their birthday falls in relation to the school year.”

In the study, the researchers examined data from two national health surveys and a national private health insurance claims database to evaluate rates of ADHD diagnosis and treatment in children. The data sources covered different time periods ranging from 1996 to 2006.

The findings will be published in a forthcoming issue of the Journal of Health Economics. “

Interesting find, don’t you all think?

Many blessings,

Carrie

More Regarding Children and Chores In The Waldorf Home

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Some mothers really did not grow up with chores, and are working to develop their own sense of practical work and de-mechanizing their homes so there is actually something else to do besides push the button on the dishwasher, push the button on the vacuum cleaner, etc.  A general reminder for children up to seven years of age is to think about what YOUR rhythm for the nurturing and care of your home is and how you can involve your children in your tasks. Think how you could do some things differently and do them by hand if you do not do that already.  Could you wash dishes by hand?  Hang clothes out to dry?  What part can the children do?

Here is a list of different chores for different ages, perhaps this will provide a starting point for those of you thinking about this topic:

Up to Age Three:  turn off lights whilst being carried, carry in newspaper, an older toddler could get own snack from low pantry shelf if you are comfortable with small child in the pantry, wipe tables and counters with damp sponge, wash vegetables or tear lettuce, help provide water and food for pets, help clean up after play and meals, water plants outside, pick up toys and books, throw things out for you, help clean up spills and messes, help with dusting or sweeping, help setting table…Again, you are doing these things and they can help.  Think about your tasks and how your child can help you, and what would hinder you and not be helpful.

Ages Four to Six:  all of the above, help fold laundry items and put them away, help find items at the grocery store if you bring your children shopping with you, give you a hand or foot massage, help measure ingredients for cooking and help you pour and stir, water plants, help you sort clothes for washing, hang things on a clothesline, help with sweeping and dusting, help plant a garden, put dishes in the dishwasher or help wash or dry dishes by hand, empty dishwasher and stack on counter or do just the silverware tray with no sharp knives if using a dishwasher and not washing by hand, rake leaves, help take care of pets, help wash car, help younger siblings, carry groceries,  set table, clear table after eating

Ages Seven to Ten:  all of the above, get up in the morning on their own, wash dishes, cook light meals or pack snacks, help read recipes, run washer and dryer or hang things out to dry, change sheets, address and stuff envelopes, read to younger siblings if reading, help younger siblings, clean bathroom,

Ages Eleven to Fifteen:  perhaps in the older ages  babysit younger siblings, cook meals, buy groceries from a list, make appointments, mow lawn, help in a parent’s business

Ages Sixteen to Eighteen: run errands for family, balance family check book or their own checkbook, handle their own checking account, help with family budget, maintain car, take care of house and yard, help younger siblings,

All children go at their own pace, most can start to work toward doing a task independently after you work with them around the age of nine. 

Add your own suggestions in the comment box below!

Many blessings,

Carrie

Ideas For Field Trips For Waldorf Third Grade

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I have been tossing around some ideas for field trips for Waldorf Third Grade.  Perhaps my list will spark some of your own ideas for your family!

  • Obviously, working on farms if that is possible is a biggie.  The point with farming is not so much to visit farms but to WORK on them, to have that experience of building the will when you must do something and see it to the end.  So, that is not so much a field trip but an experience to plan…
  • But, for field trips involving farming, I have also been thinking of orchards, cow dairy farms and goat diary farms, beekeeping operations
  • State Agricultural fairs
  • Native American pow-wows or visits to Native American reservations
  • Perhaps a visit to one of those museums where the people dress up and re-enact how things were done in pioneer days
  • Visits to a working quarry, building sites
  • Visit to see wildlife rehabilitator who deals with injured owls, birds or a visit to a falconer  (it seems as if someone I know was telling me they had a family member who was a falconer, if only I could remember who that was!)
  • Thrift shop/fabric store during textile block
  • Sheep shearing to washing to dyeing to making yarn

 

What experiences or trips are you planning for Third Grade?

Many blessings,

Carrie