A Goethean ‘Sense-Walk’

Posted by Donna Simmons

Our new self-study course is all about looking at the world from new perspectives; nurturing one’s senses and observations; delving into one’s ‘stuckness’ so one can become the homeschooling parent one wants to be. Through self development exercises, artistic work…

The Tyranny of the Main Lesson Book

Posted by Donna Simmons

by Donna Simmons One characteristic of Waldorf education is its focus on the creation of main lesson books throughout all 12 grades. Every day, in every grade, during the first 2 hours of the morning, each class is focused on…

The Goal of Waldorf Education

Posted by Donna Simmons

By Donna Simmons   Greetings All, One of the most important and attractive elements of the Waldorf curriculum is the way children are led through an exploration of subject matter in an ever-deepening way. In accordance with her stage of…

A Mathematics Main Lesson: Geometry in Man and Nature (7th and 8th)

Posted by Christopherus

By Barbara Benson The  primary reference text recommended in A Rough Guide for Seventh Grade  is Mathematics Around Us. The primary text for Eighth Grade is Mathematics  in Nature, Space and Time. These are both great books with wonderful illustrations….

Environmentally Friendly

Posted by Christopherus

Giving the child confidence to “know and love the world” (Reprinted with kind permission from Steiner Education, Vol. 34, No. 1) By Liz Braun Enmeshed in a latticework of brown and cream, caught in a tangle of unbelievably long necks…

Rhythms of Learning

Posted by Christopherus

In Waldorf inspired homeschooling we talk about establishing a good daily weekly, monthly and seasonal rhythm. What do we really mean when we say rhythm? In Donna’s Waldorf Curriculum Overview, Chapter 7, she discusses the daily rhythm of ” active…

Enlivening the Curriculum: Experiential Learning in Steiner-Waldorf Schools

Posted by Christopherus

by Eric Fairman (© Eric K. Fairman. May 2004) Tell me, and I will forget; Show me, and I may remember; Involve me, and I will understand. Confucius Long gone are the days when a teacher could step into a…

School Readiness – the Developmental View

Posted by Christopherus

by Earl J. Ogletree (Reprinted with kind permission from Steiner Education, Vol.24, No.2  – 1990) In this hurry-up society, can anything wait? Apparently not, when it comes to determining the appropriate time your children should begin formal schooling. The majority…

First Grade Readiness by a Homeschooling Mother in Vermont

Posted by Christopherus

Our Story (edited version) She was ready, I knew it. She turned 6 in September, could already read very well, add and subtract. She could jump, follow directions and loved learning. She had lost five teeth. She was definitely ready….

First Grade Readiness : Help Your Child by Getting the Timing Right

Posted by Christopherus

by Alicia Benoit-Clark Studies indicate that children who start school too soon can experience a number of difficulties. Researchers James Uphoff and June Gilmore found that children who started first grade under six years three months tended to have greater…

Teaching Biology in a Human Context

Posted by Christopherus

‘Your body is a space capsule, your head the command module’ so begins the introduction to a 3-D moving pop-up picture book on the human body now available in the U.K. ‘When you reach puberty your hormones switch on’ announces…

Help with Painting

Posted by Christopherus

At the bottom of this post you can see that I wrote it more than 10 years ago. At that time the Third Grade Syllabus was new—it has since been joined by grades 4, 5 and, summer 2019, 6. In…