Waldorf methodology is something that has appealed to me for a long time but also something I wasn't sure we could reproduce in a home setting. As I browsed curricula, though, I kept coming back to Waldorf. It's entirely possible that we will never be 100% one label or another, and I'm pretty comfortable with that! But there are many amazing ideas from Steiner that ring true with me and that is why I have chosen to start using this type of curriculum.
From the great source of Wikipedia:
Waldorf education is based on anthroposophy, a spiritual philosophy developed by Rudolf Steiner (1861-1925). Child development is seen as taking place over three seven-year stages, each with its own developmental emphasis on the principles of willing, feeling, and thinking. Throughout, Waldorf education places a strong emphasis on integrating academic, practical and artistic pursuits: the head, the heart, and the hands. The approach emphasizes the role of the imagination in learning. Formative assessment is generally preferred over summative assessment, particularly in the pre-adolescent years.
What really appeals to me is the focus on each child as an individual, the stress of the connection between the child, his parents, and his world, and the importance of child readiness in education. Everything is so rushed in our society. Steiner really believed that the home and education should reflect the child's developmental stage and that children needed to be protected from potentially damaging societal influence. Obviously we realize that our children cannot be contained within a perfect BPA-free plastic bubble, but it also rings very true to me that they need not be exposed to many things that are in the media and news at this age. Why should my 5, 6, or 11 year-old need to be exposed to rudeness, anger, and hatred to toughen up for the world? Why would I want television and mass marketing dictating what my kids want to wear, eat, and do? To me a much better option is to help them to grow and become secure in themselves, our love for them, and their love for each other. Once armed with a strong sense of self-worth, they are automatically tough enough to handle the world and it's challenges.
This was important to us before Waldorf and is why we don't watch TV, listen to the news around our children, or play violent video games. Another huge benefit of limited media was apparent over the Christmas season. Without commercials and media to tell them they needed a whole bunch of stuff, our children simply don't beg for it. They each made a Christmas list, but they included things like trumpet lessons, a handmade nativity set, and a monkey costume.
The house has been generally happier and calmer with our new rhythm. It takes more work and planning ahead than I am used to, but the payout is much better days. The kids know what to expect for their daily lessons, (each evening we write out the next day's agenda for each child), what we will be eating for each meal and snack, and what activities are planned for the evening. Each day is also assigned a special 'task'. Mondays are cleaning and shopping days, Tuesdays we go to the community center for homeschool classes, Wednesdays are baking days, Thursdays we do some sort of handwork, and Fridays we paint. Everyday we go outside. Everyday we have a circle time to focus ourselves for the day. And of course each week so far has thrown us a small loop, like illness or extra field trips, but we work that into the rhythm and have so far been doing really well with it.
Lessons are taught in blocks; right now Sports Nut is working on maps and culture. Each day he also has a small amount of math practice, reading time (we are working up to 5 minutes per age year a day), and journal writing. Drawing Diva's lessons are short and generally include a story, form and letter drawing, drawing or painting about the story, and retelling the story in her own words for me to write down. Because she can already read, we also throw some reading practice in for her as well. Waldorf begins at first grade and age 7. It also begins very slowly with letter introduction, but by the time the kids are Sports Nut's age, the material is up to a level we would expect in public school. So we are slowing down and trusting the method for now.
This was important to us before Waldorf and is why we don't watch TV, listen to the news around our children, or play violent video games. Another huge benefit of limited media was apparent over the Christmas season. Without commercials and media to tell them they needed a whole bunch of stuff, our children simply don't beg for it. They each made a Christmas list, but they included things like trumpet lessons, a handmade nativity set, and a monkey costume.
The house has been generally happier and calmer with our new rhythm. It takes more work and planning ahead than I am used to, but the payout is much better days. The kids know what to expect for their daily lessons, (each evening we write out the next day's agenda for each child), what we will be eating for each meal and snack, and what activities are planned for the evening. Each day is also assigned a special 'task'. Mondays are cleaning and shopping days, Tuesdays we go to the community center for homeschool classes, Wednesdays are baking days, Thursdays we do some sort of handwork, and Fridays we paint. Everyday we go outside. Everyday we have a circle time to focus ourselves for the day. And of course each week so far has thrown us a small loop, like illness or extra field trips, but we work that into the rhythm and have so far been doing really well with it.
Lessons are taught in blocks; right now Sports Nut is working on maps and culture. Each day he also has a small amount of math practice, reading time (we are working up to 5 minutes per age year a day), and journal writing. Drawing Diva's lessons are short and generally include a story, form and letter drawing, drawing or painting about the story, and retelling the story in her own words for me to write down. Because she can already read, we also throw some reading practice in for her as well. Waldorf begins at first grade and age 7. It also begins very slowly with letter introduction, but by the time the kids are Sports Nut's age, the material is up to a level we would expect in public school. So we are slowing down and trusting the method for now.
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