Waldorf Homeschoolers Thread - Page 20

[pampered_mom]

simplify4balance - You might find this link helpful.

[Past_VNE]

Question for you Waldorfy mamas, how do you do the seasons part when you live somewhere without classic seasons? We have four seasons, sort of, but it would take a lot of attention and also pretending to make them all out. Mostly though, we just have two seasons; wet and raw and cool, and HOT humid and dry as can be.

DS has seen snow a few times, so he understands what it is fine. But, it's not at all the rhythm we lead.

And, that just leaves me confused.

[blumom2boyz]

Originally Posted by Past_VNE

Question for you Waldorfy mamas, how do you do the seasons part when you live somewhere without classic seasons? We have four seasons, sort of, but it would take a lot of attention and also pretending to make them all out. Mostly though, we just have two seasons; wet and raw and cool, and HOT humid and dry as can be.

DS has seen snow a few times, so he understands what it is fine. But, it's not at all the rhythm we lead.

And, that just leaves me confused.

No reason to "make up" the seasons if they don't exist where you live! Use your geographic area as a guide for your own nature stories. Observe and watch what your local animals are doing at certain times of the year, etc. If not much changes, so be it. It is what it is!

Your "season" will also revolve around what festivals you participate in (not sure where you are), so maybe focus more on that then the "snow in winter that never comes".

[blumom2boyz]

Originally Posted by simplify4balance

Hello all!
My DD is about to turn 5.
I love Waldorf... but I wonder if she will truly be learning enough?
She can already read... mostly just from reading cuddled up in my lap. She loves workbooks, though I only do them with her if she asks. It just seems that she could learn so much academically right now... not to mention that she seems like she could happily fall into a solid routine of doing school work everyday. She enjoys practicing writing letters and numbers and always seems to be discovering interesting letter and number facts on her own by being mindful of the world around her.
So I thought that I would purchase some type of Waldorf curriculum (mostly to keep us moving forward with homeschooling in an organized way which makes me feel confident that I am ACTUALLY Doing Something with her) and then supplement it with workbooks and gently teaching her math and reading as she requests it. Or I considered buying a a complimentary academic curriculum to supplement our Waldorf work.
The more I read about Waldorf... the more unsure I am that she should even be working on anything academic? But I am feeling nervous that she won't be exactly on par with her school attending peers as far at the 3 R's go.
Can I really just teach her a Waldorf curriculum and have faith that she will eventually learn all the 'regular' stuff when she is a bit older?
What about when she wants to do more formal learning- eg. workbooks, handwriting practice? Seems silly to discourage her!
Please, please give me some loving and balanced ideas as well as resources.
(I think that the Oak Meadow curriculum includes some academics?)

It sounds to me like you already have your mind made up! If you aren't comfortable with the what's and the why's behind Waldorf (what is introduced at what age and why it is done then), then there is no reason to pursue this for your daughter. Take what you like about Waldorf (I am assuming it is the arts, stories, and large focus on nature) and incorporate that into your life.

Good Luck!

[Nursingnaturalmom]

Anyone have a nice verse for after main lesson or any other transition time in your waldorf homeschool?
Circle time to start our day, but I thought having a verse for each transition might be nice too and then a nice one to end our day

Chandi

[AngelBee]

Read throu alot of this thread and decided to bump :)

[treehugz]

Subbin' ... I have a 2 year old and we're just starting to think about homeschool.  I'll probably find some ideas when I read back through the thread, but I would love some resources for getting started with waldorf homeschool and also for the early years too.  I've looked up some of the book recs I've seen, but the libraries here just don't have them, and I never see any waldorf resources at the used bookstore... is there a used or cheaper option to find these while I'm trying to figure out if this is for me?

[AngelBee]

Originally Posted by treehugz 

Subbin' ... I have a 2 year old and we're just starting to think about homeschool.  I'll probably find some ideas when I read back through the thread, but I would love some resources for getting started with waldorf homeschool and also for the early years too.  I've looked up some of the book recs I've seen, but the libraries here just don't have them, and I never see any waldorf resources at the used bookstore... is there a used or cheaper option to find these while I'm trying to figure out if this is for me?

:hug I am trying to figure this all out as well.  I will try to make a list for you of where I am getting my info from.

http://www.waldorfjourney.typepad.com/ 

This blog has been super helpful. 

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/homeschoolingwaldorf/ 

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/waldorfhomeeducators/ 

Yahoo groups

That is to start. :)

[AngelBee]

Another great blog:

http://theparentingpassageway.com/ 

[mommariffic]

How many pages does it have to be, before it can be a new thread?

[AngelBee]

Originally Posted by mommariffic 

How many pages does it have to be, before it can be a new thread?

Wee could pick a number! :D

[Mittsy]

We're very new to Waldorf, discovered this a bit late. We're starting off our Waldorf homeschool journey using Oak Meadow(Pre-K and K) for DS(4 in Dec) and DD(5), but we're open to looking into either Christopherus or Little Acorn if OM turns out not to be the best fit. I would say our biggest challenge so far is finances, we're in a pretty good financial position but buying all organic/wood/natural stuff as well as new curricula is certainly not cheap. My biggest inspireations are The Parenting Passageway blog, I'm so in love with Carrie, and my DD as she LOVES every aspect of Waldorf it is a really good fit for her.

[Alotufuz]

Originally Posted by Nursingnaturalmom 

Anyone have a nice verse for after main lesson or any other transition time in your waldorf homeschool?
Circle time to start our day, but I thought having a verse for each transition might be nice too and then a nice one to end our day

Chandi

I just received a copy of seven times the sun and it is filled with all those potential verses for transitions.