interested in a waldorf book club of sorts? - Page 2

[mommabeehilly]

alright gals...i have a plan.

i don't have the time to explain it properly....but best to get started by actually getting your hands on a copy of you are your child's first teacher...

i'll be back later tonight after dd is : with the structure i think the book naturally lends itself to.

[LenasMommy]

I am in! I will put in a order for the book tonight.. Can we wait a few days so we can get ahold on the book? I would greatly appreciate it! I am SO excited!

[counterGOPI]

Originally Posted by mommabeehilly

alright gals...i have a plan.

i don't have the time to explain it properly....but best to get started by actually getting your hands on a copy of you are your child's first teacher...

i'll be back later tonight after dd is : with the structure i think the book naturally lends itself to.

yay b/c i have this one!!

[mommabeehilly]

some structure

so here's what i've come up with...

you are your child's first teacher sort of naturally has 3 sections:

1. chapters 1-6 (child development)
2. chapters 7-10 (creativity)
3. chapters 11-14 (home life & school life)

i was thinking we should discuss a section a week (specifically but not exclusively). i think it is reasonable to allow 3 weeks for one book and will have enough time to discuss many topics.

would folks be willing and able to start on monday? i want to make sure to give everyone enough time but i don't want to loose momentum either.

i am hoping this will naturally unfold (and am willing to give it some gentle nudges along the way). i don't think we need to say on this day we will discuss this chapter...but i do think that having some structure will be helpful. what do you think?

[sarahloughmiller]

I will do my best! I don't know what my weekend looks like but hopefully I can get going on it. This book has several versions, right? Are they all pretty similar? I think I have an older version.

[mommabeehilly]

intro...

so i thought i'd be nice too for us to get to know each other a bit (if you are comfortable). it occurred to me that i haven't shared my name yet....

hi i am hillary. i am married to my childhood best friend. we have a daughter, tait, who is 21 months old. we live in nashville, tn. we moved back "home" this summer after living in bozeman, montana : for 5 years.

we are ap parents...and waldorf seems like an organic evolution to many of our values. we cloth diaper (before dd potty-trained herself, yup she keeps me on my toes ), are extended breastfeeding, cosleep, selective vax, non-dairy and very picky meat eaters. i am constantly researching ways to live more naturally and nurture our family.

hmmm....what else?
i am a birth-junkie!!! i love to knit :, i LOVE yoga. i love creating things in the kitchen. i just posted an honesty post on my blog a couple days back, that will probably prove to give you some insight into me. so might go check that out....

i am looking forward to this.
gotta go, dh is home and is vying for my attention

[operamommy]

Sounds great!

I'm Nicole, and my dh and I have 4 children. My ds1 is 13, my dd is 10, my ds2 is 3, and my ds3 is almost 11 months. We live in southern Indiana.

I always describe myself as kinda-sorta-Waldorf. I'm a pick and chooser. I didn't discover Waldorf till my ds2 was born; I really wish I had known about it when my older two were small. There are so many things that I love and appreciate about Waldorf and I'm always trying to learn more.

I love to read and do all kinds of crafty stuff.

Sorry, I don't have much sparkling wit or creativity right now - it's been a loooong day spent with a babe who has a double ear infection.

[kghaffar]

I'm Kayte and I should be finishing up the last details for a birthday party tomorrow morning and be in bed... but instead am on the computer....

I'm 36 and in May will be married to my college sweetheart for 14 years.

Our one and only Arwen turns three on Monday and I have a party for little ones tomorrow (with our Music Together teacher) and family celebration on Monday (we're celebrating her birth and the last day of "w"). (So it will probably Tuesday before I am back here)

We live in Texas.

I love to craft--pretty much every type but am currently in a sewing phase and am learning to knit.

I also love to read--especially child development and early education.

The school we have chosen for Arwen to attend (next fall) is a blend of styles but all the teachers have some Waldorf training.

I can't wait for spring to get our garden going again --placed my order with Seeds of Change last week.

That's kinda a random collection of things about me -- but my brain is scattered with party prep....

I am looking forward to having other people to discuss these ideas with--since it's not most of friends' cup of tea.

[Astrid1024]

Okay, it's my turn!

My name is Sarah, I am the thirty year old mother of Lars Oskar, born at home on 10.17.08. I have two stepdaughters who are 11 and 13, who until recently attended a Montessori school in Madison, WI where we live. My husband, Doug and I have been together for eight years and married for two.

I am excited to get started in our book club!

[jp79]

I'm in!

My name is Jen and I'm 29 years old. DP and I have been together for about eight years. We have two children. E is 28 months old -- a wonderful ball of energy. He keeps me on my toes 24/7. A is 38 weeks in utero. We can't WAIT to finally meet her!

Our family is very new to Waldorf. We're really just barely scratching the surface. I don't know if we will ever fully subscribe to all of the Waldorf concepts, but the parts we've experienced so far have brought us closer together as a family.

I recently acquired You Are Your Child's First Teacher (along with a couple other of the books in the original post) and I'm looking forward to reading along with ya'll.

[LenasMommy]

Hi! My name is Elizabeth and I am 23 years old. I am a single mom to my darling Carolena who will be turning 2 on January 31st. I'm not new to Waldorf, I stumbled upon it when my daughter was about 10 months old and have been hooked ever since.

Right now I am in my senior year for my bachelors degree in Psychology. If all goes to plan, I hope to go into Early Childhood Waldorf teacher training in NH in Summer 2010.

I love this forum and I am really looking forward to the book club with all of you!

[mum21andtwins]

I'd love to join in but I don't think I'll have the book in time.subbing just in case

[redfoxmama]

Hi! I'm Lucy. I'm 28 years old, married to Christian and mama to my 3 1/2 year old son Keenan. We are also ttc #2.

I am an AP mama, extended breastfeeding, co-sleeping, non circ, organic/frugal/green & also feel that Waldorf is just a continuation of my parenting style. I have already read "You are Your Childs First Teacher" but LOVED it!
I can't wait to discuss it with other mamas!


There are no Waldorf schools or parents that I know of in my area, so I turn to the 'net for support. We live in Charleston, WV, but my dh is from Drammen, Norway and we would like to move back at some point.

[luvmybucababy]

I'm in and since I'm new this will be great to get me on the ball! I don't have the book, but I will soon.

I'm Jessica, 31, and I stay at home with our 2 DD's, Ainsley (4.5) and Sierra (2.5). I am definitely new to the Waldorf philosophy...introduced to us within our old AP group in VA and through a wonderful local Waldorf toy shop which we miss dearly (we're now in CO-DH is a doctoral student of sociology here at the university). I wasn't aware of Waldorf or really natural toys, etc...until about a year and a half ago, so I'm really having to unlearn, declutter, and reevaluate EVERYTHING about our lifestyle and parenting (though we were always AP and quite 'crunchy').

We recently visited a beautiful Waldorf school here in town, but decided it wasn't for us. I need to read more on Steiner, but feel as some of you said in another thread I will take what I feel is for us and will just leave the rest. We then stumbled upon a Waldorf inspired charter school that will hopefully prove to be the perfect balance.

Anyway, I'm looking forward to learning all I can here!

[tallulahma]

ill intro myself too!

im jen, 28 wife to jared, 31 and mama to keira 3.5 and olive 8 mo.

im always naking, so please excuse my typos

we are AP/Intuitive parents, cosleep, cd, bf, GD, etc.

we are anti plastic before waldorf & limit media (slacking on this since dd2 was boern before that there was little to none).....

we were scared off from waldorf by some people we knew, so we quit researching, then i started lurking here and am not finding a single thing i really disagree with, whether in theory or practice.... we have always intended on homeschooling though, so im not sure ill send her to our waldorf school.

my dd1 is so bright & sensitive, i feel like waldorf is such a great match. people always think i am over protective (media/plastic/junk food) and i always knew that it was all imprinting on her in a way that maybe no one around me was seeing.... if that makes sense.

waldorf really has confirmed a lot of this.

i donot know anyone irl that is waldorf involved, so this is great for me to find this thread!

[crookedsprout]

For those of you who do not have the book yet, if you go to google book search (http://books.google.com) they have "You Are Your Childs First Teacher' as a limited preview. As far as I can see only page 27 is not available in the first chapter, so the preview is not too limited. It'd be really nice if everyone could read along

[frogautumn]

This is an awesome idea, I'd love to join! We'll be away next week, but I'll bring my copy of YAYCFT and will check in when we get back.

My name is Melissa, I'm 30. I've been married to P for almost 5 years and our son, C will be 2 on St. Patrick's Day. We're definitely an outdoorsy, AP, simple life kind of family.

I've been interested in Waldorf and a more natural way of life for a long, long time, but have really decided to "walk the walk" since DS was born. I look forward to chatting with all of you!

[AutumnMama]

Nak'ing here...

I'm Hannah, I just turned 28 and I live in Idaho. Married to my hs sweetheart for 9 years now; we just welcomed our 4th little one, Ronan.
I am homeschooling our just-turned 7 y/o dd for 1st grade using the Christopherus curriculum, and trying to do preschool with the older boys. DS1 will be 5 in a couple weeks, and ds2 is 2.5.

I've gone back and forth (up and down? ) with crunchiness as dh is pretty mainstream and likes it just fine thankyouverymuch
He has made the kids some great wooden toys/gifts the past few years, and more or less goes along with me because he knows I research the heck out of almost everything.

My personal challenges: Organization - I am great if I'm at a job, but really suck at home for some reason...too much stuff! It really drains me I think, but so hard to overcome.

Rhythm is sort of tied into that, I feel like I shouldn't be doing anything until the house is perfect, so I feel like I'm in a transition phase (that's lasted for several years )

I need to simplify for all of us, I'm hoping to get motivated to do this once and for all!


I found out about Waldorf thru a friend who had taken a parent-tot class at our local W school. I took it 3 times I think with dd, then dd and ds as a baby, then just ds alone.
So goodness, I guess it's been nearly 5 years already! I really should be in a good rhythm by now.

Anyway, enough of 'The Confessions of AutumnMama'

Looking forward to getting to know everyone and delving into these books!

[notwonamesalike]

I feel like I'm in a twelve step program here.

I'm Danita - 31 years old. Married to the hubster for 8 years, together for 10. We have a 20 month old - our one and only.

We're new to Waldorf. Sort of feel like it's an extension of our parenting style. We're pickers and choosers. Some of it we incorporate into our daily lives, other things we choose not to practice.

In my previous life I was a busy student affairs professional. Now I sing funny songs and dance funny dances to keep the LO entertained. It's not much different actually from my old job working with college students.

I'm a watercolorist when I get the time, and crafty in general - although I'm just starting my journey into all things fiber arts.

I already had First Teacher - picked it up from the library last week - so I'll get crackin' on it as soon as I finish 3 Cups of Tea.

[notwonamesalike]

Originally Posted by AutumnMama

Nak'ing here...

I'm Hannah, I just turned 28 and I live in Idaho.

Looking forward to getting to know everyone and delving into these books!

Where in Idaho are you?

I grew up in Boise - you know the bastian of liberalism and crunchiness.