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…

Working Together

Posted by Donna Simmons

My son Gabriel and I have been busy these past few weeks creating a new unit study publication for sale – this one is on the Middle Ages and follows on from the Roman History unit study we already have….

Maturation of Thought

Posted by Donna Simmons

One of the exciting things about teaching at the Waldorf high school here in town is the opportunity to work with mixed age classes and to observe the differences between the students not only as individuals, but as young people…

A Lovely Day of Nothing

Posted by Donna Simmons

My 12 year came down the stairs this morning at around 10 am, hunted around for cereal and then joined me in the living room where I was sprawled on the couch. “What are we doing today, Mama?” he asked….

Fantasy and Imagination

Posted by Donna Simmons

(the following was written in response to a question I received many years ago on my old yahoo group…)   When working with questions around the existence of fairies, I guess it all depends on how one views the world,…