Question: If my child doesn't have their times tables memorized, should I hold him/her back until they do?

Answer: No. In Waldorf, there really is no concept of holding children back like there would be in public school. Of course we always talk about the history & language arts material fitting the child's age, but what about math? I have found that some children pick up math quickly and others are a little poky about it. I firmly stand behind Waldorf math and the way it is laid out and the concepts are introduced. We wrote our math book based on those concepts - all Steiner.

The thought behind it is mastery, but not in the same way that we would in a public school setting.  There are no timed tests. We allow the children to make a times table sheet and we give them the space they need to learn them. Some children are in 4th grade, others in 7th! They will get tired of looking them up and commit them to memory. I have watched it happen with my children at different times....

What is essential? It is a question that Rudolf Steiner tells us to ask of ourselves.  I have been at this a long time and the word essential always stops me… cold.  Of course, like many moms, I love the beauty of a Waldorf home.  Simple, clean lines, beautiful wooden toys, beeswax crayons, soft tones.  The stage is set for such a warming atmosphere – one where we would all love to curl up and stay.   This isn’t Waldorf though – this is materialism. Often when moms can’t have that perfect home they get down, feel depressed or spend every extra dollar on that next wooden toy.  Is this essential?  I say no.  I’ve been at this for many years and yes, we have beautiful play things that we have acquired, we have many of the material desires of the Waldorf heart, but it took me years to obtain them.  Looking back, while I was pining for the look of the...

I have had a lot of questions about how to cultivate mood at home. I think this is one of those things that you take for granted after you've been at this for a while. We can feel if the mood is off or on. It comes from doing. Reading all the books about the school setting or looking at pretty blog posts won't help with the mood.

One night it struck me. I was watching a silly movie after all the kids were in bed. Ramen Girl. It was a great little feel good movie. In the movie, the girl wants to learn the age old tradition of making Ramen (not the cheap stuff you get at the store!) This seems to be a big deal for her teacher as it is more than just a recipe that you put together in a pot. She watches and watches and tries and tries.  She fails time and again. Her teacher tries to help her understand that it isn't the ingredients, it is the Spirit that she is missing. She eventually breaks herself down and becomes humble and then her soup is successful.  Where am I...

I have had a few questions about confidence so I was thinking it may be a hot topic among others. It is also a great topic for those with family events. 

Where does it come from?  It comes from doing something that you know is RIGHT and that you believe in.  It also comes from being well versed enough that you can talk to others about what you are learning - that comes with a bit of time. With our Thinking, Feeling, Willing program, you will have more confidence in how the curriculum is laid out, but it won't be until you see it in action that you will gain a full testimony.  Right now you'll have to lean a bit on my confidence.

For those of you who breastfed or still do, remember back to those first early days of being a Mom for the first time... your breasts were giant from your milk coming in and you were unsure about nursing in public. Maybe you were heckled by others and you just couldn't get comfortable, but you knew this was the right path so you stuck to...

I get this question often. How do we keep a rhythm with the endless breaks we may be taking for family visiting, the baby that is coming or even just the weekend? How do I keep it going without school as the anchor? 

First things first... realize that rhythm is tied to YOU. As Mom, you have to be on top of your game. At this point, if you are new to this and you are still working on getting up before your children, you may not be totally sold on it being all about you, but my hope is that you are starting to see it. When you do your part (WILLING) then things fall into place and you can then be holding the space, being present and your family will do their part. Start with that impulse to get up and connect with the Divine first thing in the morning.  That means actively (vs. passively) connecting... that means addressing the Deity, opening the prayer, etc. That will look different to everyone, but it is consciously opening a dialog - yes, it will feel odd at...

This is a two part post.  Part 1 is HERE.

The first post focused on science through grade 5.  Now we'll tackle what comes next. I do think for homeschoolers, the most important thing to keep in mind is not to be intimidated. Science was never my strong point in school, but I found myself enjoying it so much while I have been preparing for our lessons.  Remember that it is about owning what you do know and blessing it so you can take it to your children - take the time to prepare, not cram, preparation can be as simple as working through the material and letting it sit or it can be actually working through experiments to see the outcome.  So much has to do with how you learn and how you can then transform that learning into a living experience for your child.

Grade 6/Class 6: This year children get a taste of physics with sound, heat, light, magnetism and static electricity. It also digs deeply into geology, minerals of the Earth and their qualities (in...

The topic of “whole to parts” is pretty central to the Waldorf method of teaching – more than just on the math front, as children advance in age the whole to parts theme is evident in their study of zoology and botany as well as other places in the curriculum.  When we teach using whole to parts, it is easy for the children to pick up everything around them as a whole.  For instance the number 12 doesn't stand alone, many things come together to make up 12, and 12 is also a component of many other larger parts.  12 can be 6 X 2, it can be 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2, it can be 4 X 3 - in our story we are looking at 12 as part of 48.  I hope you will enjoy how it comes together.

Today we are focusing on the introduction of math to a child in grade one.  I like to start the introduction with Roman numerals during the tail end of the letter introduction block via the container story I wrote for the grade, and then do a combination...

Ok... I am going to tackle this and try my best to not ruffle feathers, please know that as I write this, I have the purest of intentions and believe that we are all thinking, loving, working beings of Source/God/dess/ Universe. .. what ever you may call it.

As I have worked with Waldorf pedagogy over the years I have noticed a great many things - when I started working with families (first peer counseling and then as a business) I found that our left of the road friends had the same concerns as the right of the road friends when it came to Waldorf and religion.  Non- Christians felt it was too Christian in some areas and Christians often felt like it was too "world view" - but everyone loves the nature stories and the fairies and of course the toys.  Mamas... grade three is the beginning of the nitty gritty... get ready - your child needs YOU to be on top of how you feel about things and needs YOU to be open.  If you are...