A Quick Autumn Craft

Posted by Donna Simmons

I rarely put craft ideas on to my blog—there are so many other folks out there who are so creative and ‘crafty’ I generally leave it to them—but this craft has always been one of my favorites. It is so…

A Few Tips for Staying Sane During Breaks from Homeschool

Posted by Donna Simmons

Following on from my exuberant plea to let children be children I do of course realize that many parents find the near-chaos (and sometimes, downright chaos) of the summer months to be, well, unsettling, to say the least. What happens…

No School During the Summer!

Posted by Donna Simmons

Here in the US we are blessed with the phenomena of a wonderful loooong summer break from school. (Throughout this blog post, when I refer to ‘children’, I mean age 7 and up—school children. Tiny ones do not need a…

Empathy and the teen

Posted by Donna Simmons

The following is an excerpt from the magnificent book Loving the Stranger: Studies in Adolescence, Empathy and the Human Heart edited by Michael Luxford. This book comes out of the work of the Camphill Communities (curative communties where people of…

Candlemas

Posted by Donna Simmons

Here is a rather old post from – yikes!! – 10 years ago about the festival of Candlemas. I have been more focused on videos and talks than on my blog – I save my writing for the creation of…

Unlined paper, handwriting and the development of inner freedom

Posted by Donna Simmons

Waldorf education, because it has been developed out of a profound understanding of how human beings develop, is at essence a healing art of education. We all come to this earth with challenges and flaws—physical, mental, emotional and so on….

The Christopherus Geography Curriculum

Posted by Donna Simmons

From one point of view, you could say that a study of geography is the heart of the Waldorf curriculum—it is the discipline that connects and enlivens much of the rest of the curriculum. History, science and literature to name…

Art and Crafts as a Foundation to the Healing of the Human Being

Posted by Donna Simmons

An excerpt from our Second Grade Syllabus  by Donna Simmons.  He who works with his hands is a laborer; He who works with his hands and his head is a craftsman; He who works with his hands, head and heart…

The Tyranny of the Main Lesson Book

Posted 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 its current main…

Five Things Every Waldorf Homeschooler Should Stop and Consider…

Posted by Donna Simmons

I think there must be times in every homeschooler’s life when she (or he) wishes that she could just put the children on the couch and freeze them there for a year or two while she catches up, re-groups, consolidates…