Friendly Teens

Posted by Donna Simmons

It always amazes me – and saddens me – when I hear about or read about parents who have no idea who their teens are, who cannot communicate with them or who are at a loss as to how to…

Dependency – Appropriate and Inappropriate

Posted by Donna Simmons

The time has come in my family for us to start looking at Life After Home. Will my eldest (presently 15) go to college? Might he travel and work first? Or might he go back to England to live? We…

What is Waldorf?

Posted by Donna Simmons

Several people have contacted me recently, in private, expressing their concern that a number of individuals are setting themselves up as “Waldorf consultants” or sellers of Waldorf curriculum and that the relationship of these people to Waldorf is unclear. How…

Playing with Language

Posted by Donna Simmons

(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…

A Child Who Hits

Posted by Donna Simmons

(This is a re-worked post from my yahoo group, Waldorf_At_Home. The subject was what to do with a child who hits  her siblings) In a hitting situation – in any situation with little one – under 6/7’s – one first…

Speaking and Reading to Little Ones

Posted by Donna Simmons

(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…

End of Year Wrap Up

Posted by Donna Simmons

It is now mid May. My 6th grader and I are drawing his year’s schooling to an end – next week is our last formal “school week”. I thought I would share a few thoughts on how we have, in…

To Correct or Not to Correct

Posted by Donna Simmons

This is a post I wrote on my yahoo discussion group, Waldorf_At_Home in response to a question a list member had about how to get her reluctant and somewhat perfectionist daughter to do form drawing. She also was interested in…

Form Drawing with Older Children

Posted by Donna Simmons

Form drawing is a therapeutic art unique to Waldorf education. Often misunderstood to be solely to do with improving or preparing for handwriting, its use goes much deeper. It is a way for the child to orientate himself in space,…

Not School at Home

Posted by Donna Simmons

I wrote the following article for Lucie Smoker’s  eclectic and Waldorf-inspired homeschooling website, Wonder Homeschool, which unfortunately no longer exists. Many people are completely bowled over when they first encounter Waldorf education. The truly holistic and spiritual acknowledgement of the…