Specials In Waldorf education, the “Specials” refer to the activities outside of the main lesson blocks. This includes both the before lesson activities – such as songs, verses, movement, and form drawing– as well as late morning or afternoon activities – such as recorder and handwork. Begin slowly with these specials, and you will gradually find ways of…
I’ve been feeling a bit untethered lately because I am so scattered. This always happens to me mid-summer! So I’ve decided to own it, and speak it out loud. Waldorf homeschool planning and organizing often makes things messier before everything gets pulled together. In the spirit of acknowledging this, here is a photo of my…
Steiner discusses all three of these topics on Day Five in his Discussions with Teachers: speech, temperaments, and misbehavior. We want to “cultivate clear articulation” through constant practice to make our speech organs flexible. Rudolf Steiner asks Mrs. Steiner to say certain sentences artistically first (they are tongue twisters and sentences without any real meaning)…
“Now it is really very important, particularly for those who want to work as teachers, to get rid of the habit of unnecessary criticism…it is not a question of always trying to improve on what has already been done. A thing can be good in a variety of ways.” Rudolf Steiner spoke these words to…
I love this series of books – One Small Square. The series includes a variety of titles like Backyard, Woods, Pond, and Seashore. I encourage you to try nature study with one small square. The concept in these books is to measure off a yardstick square of outdoor space and observe it closely over time. Each…
It is 9:00 am on August 22, 1919, day two of the lectures to prepare the teachers in the very first Waldorf School. Picture a group of a dozen adults, only one of whom had every taught in a classroom before, gathered in a Stuttgart cafe which Emil Molt of the cigarette factory had purchased…
Rhythm allows us to get in sync with one another. And what exactly is rhythm? It’s an easily recognized, regular pattern. Poems and verses contain rhythm within, and they are great tools to help us bring rhythm to our days. They provide a way to build both rhythm and ritual. Here are some verses for lessons,…
It is Day One of Steiner’s lectures to the teachers in the very first Waldorf School, August of 1919, now published as Practical Advice to Teachers. Steiner emphasized that these afternoon talks deal specifically with teaching methods. Here are some highlights from Day One: We permeate the whole of teaching with the artistic element. We…
Many thanks to my friend Alison who is joining me on this adventure! It’s great to have a partner on this project and we’re hoping you’ll join us by leaving comments. Today we’re acknowledging the moral and spiritual task of teaching. Remember the structure of each day during the Seminar Course was threefold: Foundations lectures…
February 2nd is the halfway point. Here in the northern hemisphere, it’s halfway between the winter solstice and the spring equinox. The rhythm of the seasons is a very real and natural phenomenon. One of the things I appreciate the most about seasonal rhythms is that the changes are noticeable! Every year, within a week…
