Starting to Homeschool with Waldorf Mid-Year

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I guess because I am wrapped up in Babyland, I forgot that this is the time of year our homeschooling group gets calls from parents who have just pulled their children from school over Christmas break and need information fast!  I quickly remembered this, however, when I got calls from several parents at the end of last week.

Here are a few tips I have for this transition period from my experiences with families:

1.  Plan some time for de-schooling.  I had one mother come over to my house over the weekend so we could discuss a plan for her children and I advised her that starting with very simple things such as crafting, baking, cooking, being outside,  even taking a few field trips for the children in the grades, would be a good start without jumping right into Main Lesson Books and such. 

We have to not only deschool the children from the “worksheet” mentality that seems to so frequently pervade schools these days and show them that life at school is not life at home, but we have to deschool ourselves.  We have to let go of our own ideas and preconceived notions from our own schooling experience.  This takes time, and more time.  I have heard some mothers tell me that it took at least a year to really feel comfortable in their own skin and home learning after taking their child out of school.

The most important piece of any homeschooling is spending time with your children in love.  That’s the bottom line, and the rest will come.  Learn to slow down and enjoy each other and some  of the simpler things in life.

2.  Look at your child’s age to determine what year of Waldorf school they should be in.  Remember, a child should be 7 for most of Grade One, 8 for most of Grade Two, etc.  Waldorf at home is different than Waldorf at school, and in my experience these are the ages that work best.

3.  Hopefully you are familiar with the Waldorf curriculum if you are planning to school this way!   If not, take time to familiarize yourself with the essential components of each grade, the three-day rhythm, and consider scheduling a consultation with one of the national Waldorf Consultants.  I typically recommend Melisa Nielsen, Barbara Dewey and Donna Simmons.  Find whose voice speaks to you, start there, and stick with their products if you need a curriculum to follow to start.  Also be sure to check out Marsha Johnson’s free files at her Yahoo!Group www.waldorfhomeeducators.com’

4.  See where your child is.  I found the place where many public school children are lacking when they come to Waldorf homeschooling is form drawing and math. For example, a second grade math student in public school in my area is typically learning carrying and borrowing with addition and subtraction, but have never tackled division or multiplication or Roman Numerals and most of all, they have NEVER been taught math from whole to parts.

Parents always ask about well, with my second or third grader should I go back and do Main Lesson Blocks on the things we missed, such as fairy tales from the first grade or stories of saints and heroes from the second grade?  You could tell those stories at bedtime or before quiet time, but don’t go backward with school.   The only exception I would consider is a block to introduce all four math processes together and whole to parts.   Meet the child with the food their soul needs for their grade.

5.  Make a short list of what resources you will need right away.  This may include essentials such as Main Lesson Books,  beeswax crayons (block and stick), beeswax modeling material, a blowing instrument, knitting needles and yarn, wet on wet painting materials.   Add in what curriculum books you will need right away – perhaps a form drawing book, and other products.  At this point in the year though, consider your finances.  You will want to order products for fall homeschooling around April so you have time to work with it over the summer (if you don’t write your own), so consider what you will need now and what you will need for fall and plan  your budget accordingly.

6.  Consider how your day will flow.  Map it out, choose some verses for opening and closing, think about breaks and how you will incorporate movement and activity into your homeschool and main lessons.  Think strongly about carving an hour or even hour and a half break in the middle of the day for your grades children where you eat lunch and have quiet time.  Everyone needs the rest by the middle of the day, and the grades children can use this time to draw, rest, read, or knit.

7.  Think about where you are in your inner work and how you want to progress with that.  I recommend you start by reading some Steiner.

Melisa Nielsen had a good post that really broke things down for entering Waldorf at each grade and I encourage you to check it out: 

 http://waldorfjourney.typepad.com/a_journey_through_waldorf/2010/01/coming-to-waldorf-midyear.html

Most of all, home is not school.  Use your home to your advantage; hike during the week, enjoy the fact your Main Lesson can be completed in 90 minutes or so, work on things as a family such as gardening and cooking.

Homeschooling is a joy!

In Joy,

Carrie

“Discipline Without Distress”, Chapter Five

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(This is such a valuable chapter, focusing on parental anger and how to handle anger in children.  Here is a brief summary of the chapter and some of the tips and some of my thoughts; I encourage you to get the book and read it for yourself.  It is a keeper for the bookshelf, and  covers ages from babyhood through teenagers, so you can use it for many years).

Onto the post:

Ah, you all thought I forgot about this!  I did summaries of the first four chapters, and yes, we are going to finish the book! (You can find summaries of the first four chapters of this book if you use the little search bar and type in “discipline without distress”).    This chapter is entitled, “Good Parents Feel Angry:  Separate Your Anger From Your Discipline”.

Judy Arnall writes,” We need to take responsibility of our actions when we are angry.  Discipline means having the vision to see the long-term picture and keep things in balance.  A Chinese proverb teaches, “If you are patient in one moment of anger, you will escape a hundred days of sorrow.” It’s so much easier to watch what we say in anger than to apologize and try to make amends.”

She lists the reasons parents becomes angry; it is a long list but at the top of the list is “My child doesn’t listen to me”, which, of course, really means “My child doesn’t do as I ask.”  (Their hearing is fine!)

She adds to list anger caused not by the child, but by things going on with US.  Alcohol, stress, our own needs not being met, low tolerance of normal childhood behaviors (remember ALL those posts I did on “realistic expectations” for each age up to age 8??!)

Anger is healthy, it is normal, but the author points out the goal should be to solve a problem.  It alerts us to change, she writes.  Marshall Rosenberg of Nonviolent Communication writes how anger is a sign our needs are not being met. 

Judy Arnall’s method of managing anger is based on the acronym ANGER.  A=Accept it, N=Neutralize it, G=Get Away, E=Examine why, R=Resolve and problem-solve.

She goes through all these steps in this chapter.  There are pages of “calm-down tools” for the adult (that could also work for children).  She talks candidly about avoiding child-time outs when the parent is angry (and if you read this blog, you know I am not for child time-outs period.  I think they essentially teach the child nothing at all.  It does not solve the original problem in any way, shape or form.)

She writes, (and I agree 100 percent):  “When a parent sends a child to time-out, she feels stretched to the limit.  The parent feels upset because she is unable to control the child.  She needs a break from the child and has the power to send the child away.  When the child is gone, she can calm down and she feels more in control of herself, the child and the situation.  It SEEMS to be working.  Parents lose it because they believe they are supposed to be in control. Control is illusionary.  There is no such thing as control when another human being is mixed in the equation. Children have their own control.  The appearance of control is only maintained by our power as long as the children are little.  It’s easier to take a time-out yourself  than to force another person in time-out.”

There is a whole list of ways a parent can take a time-out for themselves even if their child is standing there.  She also has great tips for breaking the yelling habit.

The next section of this chapter is all about dealing with an angry child.  She writes, “We don’t have many role models of adults handling children’s anger.  Most often, we handle it the way our parents handled it.”

She details the ways children express anger: Babies with red faces and crying and grunts of protest; toddlers and preschoolers with hitting, screaming, yelling, crying, tantrums, throwing things, stomping feet; for middle childhood teasing, sarcasm, bullying, hitting, yelling, crying, throwing things, withdrawal and a sulky attitude and for teenagers sulking, teasing, sarcasm, hitting, yelling, throwing things, depression, withdrawal and other things under the heading of “attitude”.  Typically by age 10 or 12, she writes, a child can begin to handle anger without hitting or throwing things.

Children can get frustrated and angry from not having their needs met, by a parent who has completely unrealistic expectations for the age their child is (or the child’s developmental level is my added thought), feeling they have been treated unfairly, etc.

Carrie here:  As the parent, you are not responsible for your child’s feelings.  This can be such a hard thing to not want to own.  We listen to our child’s feelings, but the feeling does not belong to us to solve.  If your child is bored, sad, angry, happy – that belongs to the child.  You can have a rhythm, you can have a calm house and some children are still going to be more wild or more negative or whatever than other children of the same age (even accounting for those realistic expectations for their age!).  The only thing you can control is you.

I think the other work for you is to figure out your own “triggers” – does the house being a disaster set you off?  Being hurried?  Not having food or a menu plan going on so you are stressed around dinner time?  If you can figure out your stress triggers, then you can solve it and put a plan in place to make your house a calmer, happier place. 

Judy Arnall’s tips for reducing your child’s anger include using tools of solving problems, having realistic expectations for your child’s age (she is singing my song here!), avoiding hitting because that just shows that hitting  is what we do when we are angry, not to isolate the child if that makes them more angry, not comparing children, listening to your child’s frustration if they can verbalize it without interrupting.  She goes through her ANGER acronym approach for helping children manage their anger. 

She talks about “negating phrases”, which I especially liked because you hear them so much:  “Stop making a fuss”  “It’s no big deal”  “Can’t you be nice?”  “Nice little boys (or girls) don’t act that way.” “You don’t really feel that way.” “What’s wrong with you?”  “You are so ungrateful!” and many more.  It is a sobering list to read and think about how many times we hear parents talk this way to their child. 

The tongue is a powerful ally in parenting but it can also be a terrible weapon.  It is an area where many of us need to learn to be able to relax into silence ourselves, to smile or pat a child on the back, to just breathe a minute before we say something we will completely regret later on.

She has a whole section on temper tantrums, which are most common between the ages of  one and three and a half (although really, a teenager who is running around slamming doors to me is having a temper tantrum of sorts.  Do they ever totally disappear?)  But at any rate, this part of the chapter has tips and techniques for dealing with tantrums.  I do disagree with the author that a way to prevent power struggle temper tantrums is to “give lots of choices”.  I find most small children under 9 are much happier and less prone to tantrums if all the decision-making is not on their shoulders for what they should wear, eat, do.  Time-out is a very ineffective way of dealing with a temper tantrum.

She does detail how to move a tantruming toddler, how to get a tantruming toddler into a car seat (I personally have found it just best to breathe and wait a minute or minutes and not force a child into a car seat as hard as it can be to wait), how to deal with the “spirited child’’s temper tantrums, how to handle public misbehavior (and her number one tip is to have realistic expectations!  A toddler is not going to sit through going out to dinner!), what to do with the older angry child, and what to do about apologies. 

Carrie here:  The trick with temper tantrums is that YOU must remain calm.  YOU must be the rock in the swiftly moving stream! You must show your child how to have self-control!  Let this practice of developing your own inner self-control be YOUR inner work!

The very last part of the chapter involves “Counteracting Parent Stress” and she addresses fatigue and how to deal with it, how to get time for yourself in five, twenty, two hour increments; she has a section for couples and encouragement for spending time together, de-cluttering your life, the cleanliness of your home, and helping children play independently.  For facilitating children’s play she talks about unplugging the TV and other media and packing away many toys, leaving out unstructured play materials.  Sounds Waldorf to me!

Anyway, if gentle parenting and not spanking are new paths for you in you this New Year, I encourage you to check out this book.  I don’t agree with every single thing in it, but it sure would be a good place to start!

Here’s the link:  http://www.amazon.com/Discipline-Without-Distress-responsible-punishment/dp/0978050908/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1262460572&sr=8-1

Much love,

Carrie

Losing The Forest For The Trees?

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Did you ever get the feeling that Waldorf homeschoolers or Waldorf families in general lose the forest for the trees sometimes?  Or that their lives and their children must be absolutely perfect because they have this perfect rhythm in this perfectly peaceful home where every object has a place and there are only natural toys where everyone goes about singing all day long like Maria Von Trapp in “The Sound of Music”?

Humph.

Here is my idea, and see what you all think:

I think Waldorf Education is for everyone.  I think even if you do not agree one hundred percent with what Steiner wrote, elements of Waldorf Education can still work for you and your family.  I still think Steiner was an amazing observer of children, and so many of the ways he thought to bring life and morals and yes, education to children in a school setting was incredible!  Many of his simple observations of children match with what Gesell, Piaget and other child psychologists have also noted in child development.  This curriculum is possibly the best match for what Gesell and Piaget thought.

Interestingly enough, in his book, “The Therapeutic Eye: How Rudolf Steiner Observed Children”, Peter Selg writes, “At the Stuttgart teachers’ meetings, Rudolf Steiner would never be abstract, let alone moralistic.”  In another few pages, he quotes Caroline von Heydebrand ( a teacher)  as saying that “Rudolf Steiner was someone “whose wise insight was exceeded only by his kindness.” He asked teachers to approach students from a point of love that came from the deepest  knowledge of the developing human being.

In the first seven years, we work to protect a child’s senses, to develop a child’s imagination, to work with the child’s impulses and will through movement and fantasy and through the child’s body.  Why then, do so many people turn the first seven years into  a  list of “Can Not’s” and “Should Not’s”?

I suggest that these people are looking at the first seven years in Waldorf from a negative perspective; the things Waldorf “won’t let my child do” as opposed to what will best nurture and develop the child in the first seven years.  I have worked with so many children over the years from premature infants up until age twenty-one, in intensive care units, in outpatient facilities, in the home, in breastfeeding clinics, in support groups.  I have worked with children with special needs, children with physical challenges, children with emotional and mental challenges.  I have observed so many children over the years.    We are all human beings.  These children, all of them, would have benefitted from the indications we follow in the first seven years in Waldorf Education.  I feel strongly about Waldorf Education precisely because of my experience and observations.

Do not use Waldorf as an excuse to suck the joy out of your family  life nor to put down the people around you because they do things differently.  Be a light, and a kind light, for those around you.  Perhaps your example, without any words at all, will be powerful to them on their journey.  They are doing the best they can with the information they have at this moment.  And if they are not really thinking, oh dear, that is unfortunate for the children.   But not everyone is interested in being a mindful parent.  And even mindful parents have differences of opinions!

Have joy, keep the very big picture in mind as to what is important – rest, rhythm, outside time, fostering the imagination through music and stories and puppetry, movement, protecting the senses, giving the child a sense of goodness and security in the family and home and the world.  That is the bottom line. It is not that television is evil or that computers are evil or that if your child looks through a magnifying glass before they are nine they are going to die or if they teach themselves to read they are going to be damaged! 

It is, though, about what you as a family make as a priority, how you live consistently, how the younger your child is the more protection of their senses that they need, and how you do need to make some hard choices about what to wait on and what to start now.  As a society we tend to offer the small child everything in one giant lump at an early age and dump it on them – “Here you go!  You are six, right?  Here is Teddy Roosevelt and World War II and Irag and a microscope and a computer and the Internet and oh! don’t forget your cell phone and here, you can watch that movie, no problem and sure, Harry Potter is fine, enjoy the last book especially!  Want to earn some money?  Better get on that fast track now!  Here’s your list of classes and sports and school activities!”

I should hope that even without Waldorf Education, we would figure out that a six- year- old is not the same person as a sixteen –year old and that some things should come later rather than earlier.  I would hope we would stop and ask ourselves if our child really does need to know that, to do that, to be talked to in that way at that age and to stop and think.  What we say and what we do makes our child’s world and their reality.  Think about what kind of world and reality you want it to be!

The world will open up; the right thing at the right time. 

Waldorf Education is for real parents and for real people.  People who have a sense of humor and love and delight in the child.  Are you one of those kinds of people?

Peace,

Carrie

Joy For January!

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I ADORE January!  There is something about the new year, fresh starts, blank calendar pages, the whole lure of cleaning and organizing,  that I just love!  And the gardening catalogs and seed catalogs start to show up!  Did I mention that?!  Another reason to linger extra long over a cup of hot tea!

I invite you to take a look at some focus areas for the month that may help your life run a bit smoother in the New Year.

How about this wonderful home cleaning plan from the Organized Home website?  I plan on following this and thought some of you may be interested as well:  http://organizedhome.com/clean-house/2010-new-year-grand-plan-cleaning-challenge

From the Waldorf end of life, I know January can be a very cold month for many of you and harder to get the children outside for long periods of time.  So, in that spirit, I propose to spruce up the play spaces.  Can you rotate some toys in or out?  Can you set up some play scenes with silks and other natural objects?  Here are some back posts to get you  started if this is new to you:  https://theparentingpassageway.com/2008/10/05/fostering-creative-play/

and here:  https://theparentingpassageway.com/2008/10/29/more-about-fostering-creative-play/

If it is really cold where you are, how can your children get their energy out and their sensory needs met?  Do you have a little trampoline, a small plastic box for tabletop sand play, a swing to hang in a corner, pillows to jump on, creative and active singing games? Will they be kneading bread, rolling out cookie  dough with a rolling pin, crawling under tables like a puppy, jumping like a toad, playing with salt dough?

For my Down Under readers who are in the height of summer, how about this back post?      https://theparentingpassageway.com/2009/07/01/celebrating-summer-with-small-children-a-waldorf-perspective/   

As far as your own work, what new practical skill are you going to learn or work on this January through May time frame?  Knitting, hand sewing, cooking, baking, weaving?  I have some plans for sewing some dolls’ clothes for Valentine’s Day.   Our Waldorf homeschooling group will be making Rose Windows in honor of Valentine’s Day, which I am excited about as I have never done that.  I also am in the mood to knit so I will continue making hats for everyone in the family.  What are doing with your hands this season to show your children work?  Even showing a child ten or fifteen minutes of work is of value!  Start with small time frames when you have wee ones about!

What artistic work are you doing?  Have you tried your hand at wet-on-wet watercolor painting, modeling or drawing?

Where are you with parenting?  This month I will be writing about children and chores, the realities of life with the one and two-year old, more about quiet time, and more, more, more!  What do you need to hear this month?  Leave me a comment and I will be happy to see if I can work it in!

Meditate over your children at night and any challenges you may be facing. Talk about these challenges with your spouse.  Grow in your intimacy as you share your parenting journey together. 

As far as inner work, “Joy for January” is a great title and a great start to the New Year!  What brings you and your family joy?  What can all of you do together, as a family, that will bring you all good memories and lots of joy?  Take that blank calendar and pencil in some dates for fun!  Ice skating, sledding, skiing, hiking, going to the seashore for my Down Under readers – all wonderful!

I think it is a myth that  in Waldorf that “we never play with our children” (um, at least it is a myth in my home!).  I sure do!  I love to play:  board games, card games, make believe with the children’s fairies and fairy house and dollhouse.  If you have a child that is under the age of 7 and they are your oldest, they will need some help with playing as they are at the height of their imitative phase.  They may not spontaneously generate ideas to  play without you to imitate, at least to start!  So brush off your creativity and see what comes up!

This month, in the light of the candlelight and firelight of your warm and snug home, tell your children some stories.  Make up some, tell them stories of when you were little and when your parents and grandparents were little.  Sing and make music.  Play some games.  Snuggle up together and read some books.  Delight in being together, and find the joy in this journey as we go through the cold winter.

Joy for January’s Journey,

Carrie

For Mothers In The New Year

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I hope this is the year you are “good enough”

I hope this is the year you have more joy than ever before.

I hope this is the year you investigate your faith and find a faithful community to join and pray with.

I hope this is the year you have the cleaner, more organized home that you have always wanted.

I hope this is the year you fall in love with your spouse again and again.

I hope this is the year you will enjoy your children and have fun with them.

I hope this is the year you will learn some new skills and enjoy the process.

I hope this is the year you will start telling stories to your kids instead of reading them all.

I hope this is the year you are outside and active as a family in all seasons.

I hope this is the year you sing to your children and teach them singing games.

I hope this is the year you draw closer to your own family; your own parents and siblings.

I  hope this is the year you spend time with the friends you hold dearest.

I hope this is the year you take a vacation, no matter how short and close to home.

I hope this is the year you start a garden.

I hope this is the year you set the tone in your home and become the Queen that you are.

I hope this is the year you will be the most gentle parent you can be.

I hope this is the year you forgive yourself.

I hope this is the year you become healthier by exercising and eating healthy foods.

I hope this is the year for all your dreams to come  true.

In 2010, I am committed to encourage and inspire you to do all of the above.  Thank you for reading my words and for all the gifts you bring here and  to your own families.  This blog is only a little over a year old, and has brought me much joy.

In Joy, and Happy New Year!

Love,

Carrie

The Right Tools in Parenting

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This morning as I was preparing breakfast, the two bigger kids (ages 8 and 5)  wanted to build a train track, but the chest of train tracks was in their little brother’s room, and since I had a crying baby I couldn’t lift it and bring it out to the spot they wanted to build the train track on.  Therefore, the oldest decided she could not wait for me to get the train tracks and she would do it little by little herself. After one trip into the bedroom to get tracks, she started saying, “But (little sister) NEVER helps!  She never does ANYTHING to clean up or help!  I guess I will do it all by myself!” and started yelling at her little sister to help her.  In return, her little sister, who just turned five two weeks ago, promptly did a great version of “NANAABOOBOO” and started with the wonderful name-calling that every four and early five year old seems to know how to do.

I actually felt amused, because it provided me this great moment of epiphany:  My oldest was using the wrong tools to try to get her little sister to help!  First of all, yelling at someone never works; second of all, even asking and reasoning with a four or five year old to help is not going to work because they are moving beings not reasoning beings; and third of all, every four or five year old is going to react to being yelled at by their sibling with a version of “nanaabooboo” because that is their level of maturity.

So stop to think!  How many times do we use the WRONG tools in parenting?  When you go to discipline a child, do you ever stop to think if this tool that you are about to use is the right one for the age of your child?  Do you understand where your child is developmentally? 

Or are you flying about with no tools?  Reacting by yelling is essentially flying without a toolbox.  Yelling typically results from frustration, so double check if your expectations are truly in line with your child’s age.  Are they?

The younger child did end up helping her big sister get out the train tracks.  I gave the older one ownership of the problem (she could have waited for me to help her or she could do it herself happily or she could turn it into a game and involve  the younger one in carrying the tracks).   I guided the older one when she got stuck in frustration, and helped involve the younger one.  This is the job of a parent; it is not to say “work it out” until you are certain they have the tools to “work it out”.

Yelling and blaming and spewing frustration at your child are not parenting tools, even though we have all been there and done these things.  Be easy with yourself, and forgive yourself for these things that are reactions and not guiding.   Being a gentle parent is so important, but luckily our children give us many chances to show better sides of ourselves!

Remember movement, games, reasonable expectations, a cheerful attitude on your part, restitution on the child’s part if something did not go well.  There are wonderful tools for a wonderful future adult.

Much love,

Carrie

More About Celebrating The Twelve Days of Christmas

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Reader Juliane from Sweden has a beautiful blog with many activities and stories for The Twelve Days of Christmas.  Here is a link to Day One:  http://frokenskicklig.blogspot.com/2009/12/stars-twelve-days-of-christmas-number.html.  Follow along with me!

Thank you Juliane!

Carrie

Favorite Waldorf Resource #5: Three Resources To Help You Get More Movement Into Your Homeschool

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Okay, so I cheated and decided to put several resources into one favorites slot because I think movement within your homeschool is that important.  I am certain (hopefully) that you have heard about using movement for teaching math actively in the grades for Waldorf, but I wanted to point out some perhaps lesser-known links for movement in the grades.

The first link is for The Association For A Healing Education’s links and articles section:  http://www.healingeducation.org/resources.htm.  There are many great articles regarding development of the twelve senses, including my very favorite article regarding the lower four senses by Nettie Fabrie.

The second resource is this Waldorf-inspired website:  http://www.movementforchildhood.com/index.htm.   There are articles there as diverse as movement standards for Third Grade, what to do about team sports, how to use copper rods, and, my favorite, blocks for the Early Grades for movement:  http://www.movementforchildhood.com/classroom.pdf.  An overall excellent resource.  My only fear is that those without a movement background and without a grounding in Waldorf Education would find this material hard to integrate into their homeschools.  Please let me know if the movement blocks would be usable for those of  you who do not have a movement background and for those of you who do not have the books “Take Time” or “The Extra Lesson.”

The third resource in this category is the book “Movement Journeys and Circle Adventures” by Nancy Blanning and Laurie Clark.  I included this book here simply because many children in Kindergarten have siblings in the grades, and your Kindergartner can be the back door for your Grades child to experience movement if you can teach them to lead these movement circles.  You have to love the wonderful advantage of homeschooling in this sense; that your older child can experience what the younger child does on a different level!

At any rate, the introduction of this book discusses the difficulties today’s child faces in regard to movement, the twelve senses, the role of pentatonic music in these circle adventures, how to set up the environment and use the book, a listing and description of developmental movement exercises and the equipment list.

There are four movement journeys for Autumn, four for Winter, six for Spring/Summer and two for any season.

This book could provide you with some challenges as the teacher though; the circles are typically four to six pages long; there is music involved so for those of you who cannot read music that would be a challenge; you must work to find the authentic gesture within the characters of these circles.  However, I think these circles and movement themes provide a great chance for you to improve your own skills!  Please see this link to order this resource:  http://www.waldorfbooks.com/edu/curriculum/eurythmy_games_gymnastics.htm

I have already mentioned “Joyful Movement” in this series of blog posts, one can refer to that post here:  https://theparentingpassageway.com/2009/12/17/favorite-waldorf-resource-1-joyful-movement/

Peace,

Carrie

Favorite Waldorf Resource #4: The Files of Marsha Johnson’s Yahoo Group

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Marsha Johnson is a veteran  Waldorf teacher who has put together file after file after file of FREE lesson plans outlining the whole year for each grade, outlining specific day-by-day lessons for certain blocks, and she has whole files devoted to festival preparation and celebration and handwork ideas.

She has a deep anthroposophic understanding and offers so much wisdom and advice for free on her Yahoo!Group.

This is an especially wonderful place to start your Waldorf homeschooling journey as Mrs. Johnson has files specifically devoted to how to start with Waldorf if you are new.  There are also many topics of interest just for parenting in general and discipline from a Waldorf perspective.

I encourage you to utilize this free resource!  To join, please see this link:  http://groups.yahoo.com/group/waldorfhomeeducators/

Many blessings,

Carrie

Favorite Waldorf Resource #3: For Inner Work as A Parent: Melisa Nielsen’s “Be A Beacon Program”

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Okay, this is both a resource for Waldorf homeschooling,  for parenting, and your own inner journey as a human being!   I think ALL parents could benefit from this program and work, not just homeschooling mothers (although there is something wonderful about someone who understands the particular needs of the homeschooling mother!)  Melisa’s Nielsen’s “Be A Beacon” program rolled out this year, and it is a wonderful mix of members-only blog posts, members-only newsletters, members-only blog radio shows, worksheets, meditation exercises.

Essentially, if you do not know where to start with inner work, this is a great place to start!  All the worksheets and radio shows and such are archived for members only, so you have not missed a thing.  This would be a wonderful present for yourself or a friend for the New Year in order to improve your own parenting and teaching.

The topics have covered such diverse things as biography, temperament, marriage, relationships with family and friends, setting boundaries, meditation exercises and setting up an inner work program for yourself. 

It is easy to listen to the Internet radio show whilst you are knitting or doing something else at night, and very inspiring.  Melisa draws on not only Steiner, but across a number of spiritual teachers and world religions and sacred texts.  She is a Christian mother, and I appreciate that in her work, but she has a way of drawing in people of all faiths as we explore how to “Be A Beacon” for our families, how to actually make our house a home, how to be a better wife and mother.

For those of you who are learning how to be “The Queen” of your home (remember that post here? https://theparentingpassageway.com/2009/12/19/cultivating-how-to-hold-the-space-the-inner-work-of-advent/), this might be a wonderful gift to yourself in order to jump-start that process.

Here is the link:  http://site.beaconmama.com/

Many blessings,

Carrie