Where is your Waldorf homeschooling sweet spot? Can you find it, or have you lost it somehow along the way?
So often, we limit our understanding of Waldorf methods to what we see in classroom practice. And as homeschoolers, that can be very dangerous!
Because we are left feeling less than.
But the truth is, we are choosing to homeschool our children with these methods. And there are so many benefits that our children gain as a result. Yes, it’s a trade off. (Everything’s a trade off!)
I invite you to think of Waldorf homeschooling as “the best of the best.”
This concept comes from Alan Whitehead, author of the Spiritual Syllabus series. Truthfully, I’ve never really connected with his curriculum guides. However, his little book, A Steiner Homeschool?, has a wonderfully reaffirming opening chapter.
Whitehead states that for sure Waldorf methods are the very best our children can get: with lessons infused with the arts that help to bring the learning alive and make it memorable, with main lesson blocks and the two-day rhythm, with a story-based curriculum.
In addition, Whitehead extols the virtues of homeschooling because it fosters the development of independence and creativity in children.
Therefore, Waldorf homeschooling is the best of the best!
This got me to wondering how we find the right balance within this method for our own families. No one wants to feel second rate. And really, it’s not a good starting point!
So I say, let’s reclaim our conviction that we are doing important work in the world by choosing to be Waldorf homeschoolers. Knowing that we’re offering our children the best of the best.
Our aim is to find our Waldorf homeschooling sweet spot! That place where Steiner’s indications, Waldorf classroom practice, and our particular family’s constellation and needs meet up.
Find your Waldorf Homeschooling sweet spot!
Rudolf Steiner said that we need to be like “plumbers in the dark.” I love this concept.
While there are no easy answers as to how, you can do this. Trust yourself. Look at the children before you and bring them the lessons that they need.
Even the first Waldorf teachers had to work like this. They listened to two weeks of lectures and then opened a new school.
What a wonderful post, food for thought, and the monthly webinar was fantastic, Jean! I love ho encouraging you are. I have really appreciated how simple, yet complete your planning guide is and the reminders that what we are doing at home is not 2nd rate. I think, after 3 years of homeschooling, I have had a chain of aha! moments that have me in a sweet spot (for now). Whew!
Thanks so much, Nicola! So glad to hear that you’re in a sweet spot right now. Whew is right! It does come and go, but I think the most important things to remember are that we are doing important work in the world and that we are enough!