I recently had a chat with a mom new to Waldorf.  She has older children and was worried about the placement of her daughter in grade six.  She was worried about the fact that she wasn't up to speed with her math or writing, and questioned if her daughter should go back to grade five or even four to get the entire curriculum.

This is a good question and one that I get often.  I assured her that Waldorf education is so different than anything else whether in the homeschool or public school arena.  With Waldorf, you can keep a child at grade level developmentally and work independently on their other skills.  The method of presenting subjects and the sequence of presenting them is directly in line with the development of the each child's being.  A child of 12 years could be studying Rome (grade six) and understanding the concepts and stories while working to strengthen their writing and math skills of previous years.  It is as much a journey for them as it is for us.  We must remember t...

Often moms will say that their child doesn't like the review or refuses to do it and so they will let it go.

Let me back up... just which review am I talking about?  In general, we tell a story or discuss theory (for older children) then we do something active or artistic and then allow it to sleep for a night, then reviewing this the next day and including some sort of writing element.  While the whole process doesn't need to be story/draw/sleep/write/move on, there does need to be an element of review. 

This review can come in many forms and the artistic portion can come in many forms.  The early grades, 1st and second especially can seem repetitive if you don't change things up so maybe one week you really focus on drawing skills for your artistic development, another painting, another modeling or another baking - keeping these alive.  Don't forget the review!  I hear moms often say "It is like pulling teeth" or "once I start the review the tears come"  - I am not sure how things ...

If you are like many homeschooling moms, you are looking at what you haven't finished yet for the year and starting to feel a bit frustrated... frustrated at yourself maybe for not staying disciplined enough or frustrated at the events that came up that took you off course or even just frustrated that you want to be done and don't feel like you can be... but that sun calls you to be outside... parks seem to be begging to your children... and popsicles sound much more fun than poetry! 

I totally understand!  Sometimes life gets in the way...one thing I have realized is that even when I plan (and you all know how much I preach about planning!) it can be hard to take all scenarios into consideration!  We had a couple of those this year and so it has me standing at what is the end of the year for many of my homeschooling friends and pouting!

After I decided pouting wouldn't get me very far, I decided to make a plan - something I am good at - a plan that would work for all of us and not h...

I often get questions about whether or not Waldorf can work with unschooling, Charlotte Mason homeschooling or Thomas Jefferson methods at home.  I hope this response is received in the light it was intended.  Blessings.

I have consulted with many families over the years - unschoolers, TJ Ed'ers, Charlotte Mason families and of course Waldorf ones.  I have some background in CM and TJ.  Erik also wrote a research paper for school on a comparative of Steiner, CM and TJ educational methods.  I strongly believe that while CM and TJ have great thoughts about education, no one comes close to Steiner.  People get the idea that following Steiner means you have to follow the Waldorf schools... that's Steiner Waldorf... Steiner's indications stand regardless of the method.  

Do I think you can work these other methods in conjunction with Steiner?  It depends.  On what?  How much more work you want to do!  There are beautiful things in the other methods... Steiner has it all together in one me...

This post is for the masses... for mamas that are contemplating divorce and for those who have to report to the government each year.

First... those contemplating divorce... look at your state laws.  What do you currently have to do for homeschooling?  If you live in a state that requires you to report then you are probably well covered in a divorce situation, the law already requires that you inform the state of your actions, this will likely help you in court, just know the law and be prepared for a judge that doesn't so that you can quote it to him or her should you need to.  This becomes an issue when soon-to-be ex's are getting cranky about homeschooling.  If the state requires you to report, I suggest you just give your ex a copy of everything you are handing in for the state. Make your life easier.

Now if you live in a state where there are no laws, you also need to be ready to let your judge know. Many just assume that homeschooled children take the same tests that their scho...

I have heard this from many over the years. I try hard to not chuckle because when I started down this path there really was very little in the way of support. Eric Fairman's guides were about the only guides out there unless you wanted to spend hundreds of dollars on one of the two big companies. 

That money was never in my budget so I would each summer buy Fairman's newest book and write what we would do for the school year - it would take me a good two months to get it all in place but then I was set. I remember being so thankful for what was there. I also took this time to really get to know me, I was on a spiritual journey and I realized that Waldorf was as much about healing myself as it was about educating my children. I took the time to read Steiner and to formulate what would later become our books.

Waldorf isn't supposed to be easy, but it is WORTH IT. 

With anything in our lives that is worth having, it is worth working for. 

You were drawn to Waldorf for a reason - my g...

I tend to get a fair amount of emails this time of year that sound a little frantic.

"We got off track and there is no way I will finish!"

"I am stuck!  We all just want to play and we are not finished."

Sound familiar at all? Or maybe you just didn't intend to have as many sick bugs as you were struck with...or maybe you have a little one that gave you more fits than you expected? So many reasons that we get off track.  The important thing isn't to sit and dwell on the WHY. Now is the time to take stock and think about how you can spend the next 6-8 weeks getting finished up.

Something I always do is look at my original plan, exactly how far off am I?

a week?

a month?

WHAT? You didn't make a plan?

ok, that means you need to email me and set up a consult! I can't fix that in a blog post. I can help you fix a week or a month though. GET SUPPORT HERE

Grade 1: What are you behind on? Letter introduction  How is the process of learning going?  Remember that it is a process and it ...

Years ago, we went through our old house with our sweet landlady. She hugged me and said we were the best renters she ever had - and she had MAJOR reservations in the beginning because of the size of our family. She gave me the biggest compliment... she said... "You and Erik are such pioneers. When the Spirit calls you to something you answer right away. I admire that."

I thought about that for a bit... I pondered our lives, what we do, how we do it and what our family means to each other.

I really did think about her words... that we were pioneers. What does that even mean? 
I guess I am one. 

People used to call it being wacky or weird or just plain odd. In my younger days I probably would have just been labeled or given myself a label of "alternative" and that is a fine label if you want to carry it. But pioneering means so much more. I think I had to fully stand in my own biography to grasp it all. When I started out breastfeeding and cloth diapering, I wasn't looking for a label,...

I had a client ask this question and I pondered it a bit. As I have been working through my own planning and also reflecting on my career as a homeschooling mom.

What makes us fail?

All of us have an off year here and there - some of us have several years that are not what we'd like, whether it is a birth, death, divorce, illness... or even just an off time for us as Mom, it happens to us all.  What separates those who fail (or think they fail) from those who don't is one thing...
WILL.

Often those seeming *failed* years aren't - especially if you had a plan. To have a plan, you have to have will. To execute your plan you have to have even more will. To execute your plan in the face of adversity and trials takes a mountain of will. We've had a few gnarly years ourselves and my planning saved me - when I was ill before Sariah was born and on bedrest, that plan kept me sane - when we went through legal battles with my former husband and I wanted to melt into a heep on the floor, those ...

**PLEASE NOTE THAT WE ARE DISCUSSING GRADE 1 AND UP. THIS DOES NOT APPLY TO KINDERGARTEN.**

Being attracted to Waldorf's beautiful lessons is a great place to fall in love, but then there is often a gap in translating that to our homes. It takes time and a great deal of practice. When our curriculum gives instruction to tell the story and draw/paint or model on day one and recall and summarize together on day two, what exactly does that mean? What is your planning part and how do you make that happen?

Let's break it down - first, this is NOT a replacement for proper planning, but consider this post a bit of a crash course.  What sets Waldorf apart is that it touches the WHOLE child.  The main lesson drawings are part of this WHOLE child approach.  This means that each main lesson touches the child: THINKING, FEELING and WILLING.  As part of your learning with Waldorf, it should be your goal to fully take in all that Waldorf is so you can bring it to your child. Just do it one step at...