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...

WHY do we teach what we do for each grade?
WHEN do we place children for their ages?
WHAT about moving ahead and holding back?

Waldorf is much different than anything you have ever experienced.
You must suspend all you know about how the mainstream education system. All you know about grades, what age your child should go to school and whether or not they are gifted (or delayed) EVERYTHING. It is only when you do this that you can be fully ready to understand Waldorf. Ready?

Suppose that you can look beyond the physical being standing before you and really understand your child's development - more than that, suppose you can learn to understand what they need at each stage of your child's development. Many of us are attracted to Waldorf because of early childhood and how gentle it is, how it seems to meet the child just where they are...we stay in love with this model until our neighbor or sister in law gets ready to send their child to preschool at age four...then we start to do the ...

Grade 2 (age 7-8):  In many ways, grade two is an extension of grade one.  Some children are reading well and some are still coming along. When you come to Waldorf at this stage, you will need many of the foundations that we recommend for grade one, the exception being that you will want our grade two curriculum instead.

Grade 3 (age 8-9):  Consider not working on the regular Waldorf festivals this year but rather celebrate Jewish festivals and ease into your year.  Remember to keep any history to an age-appropriate level.  You can skip the fairy tales and the fables at this point unless you want to use them as extra stories.

Grade 4 (age 9-10):  If you begin with Waldorf this year, you will want to be certain you fully understand the man/animal main lesson as this will give you a foundation of what is to come in the upper elementary grades. You may also consider some drawing classes or our block crayon lessons.

Grade 5 (age 10-11):  You should consider doing the 4th grade man...

**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...

Don't assume that because someone has a pretty blog picture of some beautiful brand new Waldorfy wooden bowl or awesome accessory that their whole house is that way. More likely than not, you are seeing this person's favorite spaces in their home. We all have these. We all have things that we have worked really hard for and while they don't mean much to most people, they mean the world to us. Find nooks and crannies like this in your home. Even if your home isn't exactly what you want, find things about it to love. Waldorf can be done anywhere that there are children, from tiny apartments to farms to modest city dwelling. You don't have to have a big set up with a lot of space.  Chalk boards are nice but you can do without.

You have to learn to really love your home. I know that is a tall order, I have rented a good portion of my adult life and I can’t say there were many that I *loved* - but I did decide early on that if I didn’t find  way to love my house, then the children wouldn’t...

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 Waldorf home, I really should have been working on me.  The spirit of Waldorf lies not in the toys, not in the trappings, not in beautiful bl...