How the Founder of Waldorf Essentials Uses Seasons of Seven

It was about mid-May in 2020. I remember exactly where I was standing.

We were in a hotel room, in the middle of a move out of California, in the middle of the world falling apart.

I had been getting emails from Waldorf teachers all over the world, along with concerned families whose children were attending Waldorf schools. Suddenly, these families were making large tuition payments to schools that had no idea how to handle the online space.

Melanie and I had known each other for a few years. She was a single mom in Florida and had been a leader of a co-op that was using Waldorf Essentials. It wasn't unusual for us to have a chat, but this phone call was different.

"I have a friend who would like me to teach her daughter online," she said.

Something clicked.

We said, “What if we sorted out how to teach the world online?"

That was the beginning.

I quickly realized I couldn't help build a school while living as a nomad, so my family stopped in Arizona and rented a home for a time. Nicole, also a homeschooler, was working for Waldorf Essentials, and each day for the following month (and during many sleepless nights after), piece by piece, we built Seasons of Seven.

From the beginning, we decided as a team that we would only entertain hiring teachers we would trust with our own children. At the same time, we weren't even sure we would put our own kids in the school.

After all, we were homeschoolers through and through.

Super Sam was fourteen years old, and I was beginning to feel that he needed something different from my older children. He was a Waldorf kid through and through, but something was shifting in our family, and I could sense that he needed more than I was giving him.

Looking back now, I can see so much more clearly what I was sensing then. We were in a season of tremendous change, and while I was working hard to listen to God and keep our family grounded, I knew Sam needed other strong, steady influences in his life. He needed people who could meet him where he was, encourage him, and help him find his footing as he moved toward adulthood.

I couldn't have articulated all of that at the time. I just knew.

With his temperament and our family settling into a new town, I started thinking about putting him in our school.

I remember interviewing Ms. Jaia with him in mind.

She was a seasoned Waldorf teacher, and if you know me, you know I am tough. I wasn't about to trust my kid to just anyone.

She was perfect.

All through June, we continued interviewing teachers. My background with Waldorf Essentials brought us a good deal of our first-year staff. Many were teachers who had worked with me or our curriculum in some way.

Dusty, Tory, Julie, Andrea, Maggie, Samantha, Tiffany M., Rebecca, and Tiffany S. were all women I knew personally in one form or another. We were also fortunate to find Gerhard, Mark, Daniela, Nancy, and, of course, Jaia.

Many of these teachers would only be with us for a short time, but they all had a hand in building what we have today.

My life is better for having known these humans.

With Super Sam settled, I started thinking about how much more I wanted for Sariah, my Baby Bird.

We had left Southern California, where we had access to a lot of Waldorf-centered resources, a large co-op and many friends. Where we were in Arizona, those things weren't so plentiful.

Listen, I can knit in my sleep, but Ms. Maggie keeps Sariah on track with handwork. And holy crap, have you seen her beautiful videos?!

I never regained my recorder skills after my stroke thirteen years ago, so Mr. Mark handles that for me. Sariah has studied recorder and ukulele with him, and this year they are composing their own song!

I love eurythmy, but there is something about having Ms. Tiffany teach her that I adore. She's so calm and attentive with Sariah.

And while I can speak German, and Duolingo can help me along, having Mr. Rainer make sure Sariah progresses takes something else off my plate.

Main lesson? Well, that's still my domain.

Not because Ms. Daniela couldn't handle it. On the contrary, she knocks it out of the park, and she was incredibly helpful to me in 2023 while I was ill.

But Sariah still needs me, and she still wants me.

And that makes this mama heart happy.

Somewhere along the way, I realized that having wonderful teachers help educate my children didn't make me any less of a homeschooling mother. It simply meant my children had more people pouring into them, and I had more room to focus on the things they needed most from me.

We built something that wasn't just needed by the community. We built something we wanted to put our own children in.

We found teachers who have become lifelong friends, people we talk to outside of work, people who genuinely care about our children and our families.

At the end of the day, when I look at where we have been and what we have built, I have immense gratitude for all the people who came together to make Seasons of Seven what it is today.

Thank you to all of our current teachers: Ms. Katie, Ms. Jaia, Ms. Tiffany M., Ms. Daniela, Ms. Mandy, Mr. Gerhard, Mr. Mark, Mr. Rainer, Ms. Maggie, Ms. Tiffany S., and Mr. Star.

I'm sharing this not just because November is a wonderful time to discuss gratitude, but because I want families to understand something important.

It doesn't have to be all or nothing.

We have families who rely completely on Seasons of Seven for their lessons. We have families who only take enrichment classes like handwork, music, foreign language, and eurythmy. And we have families who do a mix, even within their own family!

One child might still really need to be taught by Mom, while another, like Super Sam, needs someone else.

Sometimes our children need us to be their teachers. Sometimes they need another voice, another relationship, or an opportunity we simply can't provide on our own.

And sometimes, as mothers, we need a little help, too.

That's the beauty of what we've built.

Waldorf Essentials and Seasons of Seven sit beautifully side by side. One gives families the tools and confidence to teach their own children. The other offers experienced teachers who can come alongside them, whether for a single subject or a full school experience.

You don't have to give up homeschooling to welcome a little help.

If you've been wondering whether Seasons of Seven might be a solution for your family, join us on Mondays when Melanie meets with prospective families and answers their questions.

Come see what we've built and explore how it might fit into your family's homeschooling journey.

I hope to see you there!