Author Archives: Carrie

Freedom Versus Form

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This has been a season where the theme of freedom versus form has been coming up repeatedly in my life, and as usual, I took this as a sign that I should write about this subject for my readers.

During one of the first few weeks on her Yahoo Group for homeschool planning called “Sketching It Out” that in homeschooling, Lisa Boisvert Mackenzie wrote something to the effect that we have a freedom so different than what is found in the Waldorf schools in bringing the impulses of Waldorf Education to the home, but then we have to create the form.  I have been mulling this thought around for several weeks now, where it has been germinating in my heart.  I  know from my own experiences in talking to  so many mothers and families that creating the form seems to be the most challenging part for families not just in homeschooling, but in parenting.

A small example in  parenting, for example,  Continue reading →

Lovely Links to Ponder

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I have been mulling this post by Becca over at Cedar Ring for quite some time now; in it she wrestles with “Holding The Image” after a childhood of being told she was riddled with sin.  In a summer where most of my reading has been Continue reading →

A Fisherman Circle

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The last circle I posted was here:  https://theparentingpassageway.com/2013/06/22/circle-and-activities-for-st-johns-tide/.  Right now I am working up to Labor Day with the theme of the archetypal fisherman in mind.

Here are some circle activities to enjoy: Continue reading →

Games Children (Should) Play

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A large part of Waldorf Education includes an actual curriculum for games, that leads into sports in the middle school years.  There is a wonderful book called, “Child’s Play 1 &2” by Wil van Haren and Rudolf Kischnick that goes through what games correspond developmentally with what ages, and I thought I would detail some of this for those of you planning your homeschooling year, or even just for parents who don’t remember many childhood games or what ages they played certain games!

I love this quote from page 114 of this book:  True games are a source of health in which the child’s soul is repeatedly submerged, if he is not to miss our on the most valuable things.  However, this is not the only requirement.  In order to build up and play games and activities which are close to real life, it is important to have a thorough knowledge of the child’s essential core, on the one hand, and the moral value of the game relating to the particular stage of the child’s development, on the other.  The metamorphoses in the child’s development sometimes require one thing, sometimes another.  We should not lose sight of the child and his experiences of the world around him.  In themselves, games are worthless if they are not played at the right time and with the appropriate spiritual attitude.

From about ages four to seven, Continue reading →

“The No-Cry Discipline Solution: Gentle Ways To Encourage Good Behavior Without Whining, Tantrums & Tears”

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Author Elizabeth Pantley recently contacted me and offered to send a copy of one of her books to review on my blog.  I immediately thought of the “No-Cry Discipline Solution” for my readers.

Many of you coming from a background of attachment parenting are probably familiar with Elizabeth Pantley’s work.  Her books on the Continue reading →

Simplicity Monday: Too Much Stuff

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This was a great post over at the Simplicity Parenting blog regarding the effects of de-cluttering a child’s room and eliminating the “too much stuff” syndrome:  http://www.simplicityparenting.com/what-happened-when-i-simplified-our-lives/

In the United States, particularly here in the Deep South, children Continue reading →

Sunday Books: Last Chapter of “Completing The Circle”

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This chapter is entitled, “A Modern Path of Meditation and Inner Development”, which talks about the two worlds that Rudolf Steiner perceived – one a physical world of things we can see, feel and touch, and a second world of spiritual realms.  Steiner felt that each of us held inside us a dormant capacity to be in touch with this spiritual world. He developed a series of exercises and meditations for this purpose.

Although Steiner did acknowledge the meditative traditions of the Far East, he saw his exercises as not a way to attain an enlightenment to escape suffering or the cycle of birth, life, death but as a way to assist the further development of all of humanity by using new creativity and new insights to help all of humanity.  Therefore, Steiner’s view on inner development was not just for the person doing this, but a way to assist others.  I feel this moral and social component driving Steiner’s insights into inner development uniquely reflects his time and place in the world.

In order to be ready to begin spiritual work in Steiner’s view, one had to Continue reading →

The Five Things About Waldorf Homeschooling I Want You To Know

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I hear from many families who are interested in Waldorf homeschooling.  I do think the home environment is much different than the Waldorf school environment; it is much like comparing oranges and grapefruit in a way. A Waldorf school and Waldorf homeschooling are related with Waldorf Schools giving us a model of the curriculum for the school environment but homeschooling has a different flavor!

It is also different because it is up to us, as homeschooling parents, to hold things – to really create that form for the day, the month and the year.  Parents often become interested in Waldorf homeschooling because it is perceived as gentle, based in nature, the better-late-than-early category. It is those things, but there is more. We often hear how we take Waldorf homeschooling and what resonates about this with us and then it is Waldorf education.  However, I think there is more than this.

Actually, I think there are five essential truths that should be worked with regarding Waldorf homeschooling.  If you can get through these five things and feel like it resonates with you, then I think Waldorf homeschooling could be a success for you! Continue reading →

Monthly Anchor Points: August

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Anchor:  a person or thing that can be relied on for support, stability, or security; mainstay: Hope was his only anchor.

When we work to become the author of own family life, we take on the authority to provide our spouse and children and ourselves stability.  An effective way to do this is through the use of rhythm.  If you have small children, it takes time to build a family rhythm that encompasses the year.  If you are homeschooling older children and also have younger children not ready for formal learning, the cycle of the year becomes the number one tool you have for family unity, for family identity, for stability.

I talked awhile ago about taking a Continue reading →

Authority: The Challenge of Our Times

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Authority is so necessary for parenting in  today ‘s fast-paced world.  Authority, sharing its root with words such as authentic and author, gives us the number one way to guide our children into peace.

It is not a big house, or a small house.

It is not the amount of money we have or don’t have.

It is not what activities our children are enrolled in or not.
It is how we connect to our children through authority.

Authority is a special way of holding the space for our children in such a way that the child can enter fully and wholly into the world without anxiety, worry or distress.  They do not have to enter into the adult world but can be an innocent in childhood play and the childhood repetition of play, work, being outside, submersed in the rhythm of the year.

The challenge of our times is that so many of us grew up in homes where Continue reading →