My Story is Your Story, Your Story is My Story

Posted by Donna Simmons

Perhaps the most important aspects of anthroposophy, the foundation of Waldorf education, are its universalism on the one hand, and its utter respect for the individual on the other. The weaving between these two can seem like a paradox–but therein…

Second Grade Speech and Poetry

Posted by Christopherus

The following is an excerpt from our Christopherus Second Grade Syllabus, from the language arts section. I am very proud of our curriculum materials but I have to say that I am especially proud of the language arts section of all our…

Is She Ready to Read or Not?

Posted by Christopherus

Something that is very important to ponder is the difference between teaching a child who is not ready for something and allowing a strong impulse in a child to unfold. I would hope that no parent who is interested in…

Playing with Language

Posted by Christopherus

(This article first appeared in The Homeschool Journey, December 2003) I’d like to share a poem with you. I’d like you to read aloud the following poem (which many of you will probably know) and just relax into the words. For…

Composition – when?

Posted by Christopherus

Many people ask when is a child old enough/ready to write on his own. The following are some of my thoughts on this, based on a discussion with someone about her 9 year old and writing….. If a child is…

Speaking and Reading to Little Ones

Posted by Christopherus

(Here’s another reworked post of mine from my yahoo group, Waldorf_At_Home) In this thread I have not been saying that we shouldn’t talk to our children!! What I am saying is that there is balance needed – that parents who…

Spelling and Composition

Posted by Christopherus

(this entry originally appeared from me in response to  list members’ question on our Waldorf_At_Home list) It sounds to me like you have done a lot of research on this and that you have a lot of tools to work…

Reading Readiness

Posted by Christopherus

The following is from my yahoo discussion group – it is obviously part of a thread but I thought there is enough that might be of interest here to warrant re-printing it. My experience tells me to be even more…

Creating Good Readers

Posted by Christopherus

Another oldie but goodie which I have recently updated. Much of what follows forms the basis for how I approach language arts throughout our curriculum…so if you relate to what follows, you’ll love our curriculum! One of the most rewarding…