Recent Posts
Categories
Blog Archives
Connect
Daily Rhythm and its Lifelong Relevance
Helle Heckmann is a Waldorf kindergarten teacher in Denmark and a renowned author and lecturer on Waldorf early education. This article is a compassionate introduction to how Waldorf methods can help support the parents, too. http://www.waldorftoday.com/2011/11/daily-rhythm-at-home-and-its-lifelong-relevance-by-helle-heckmann/
In Praise of Slowness: Carl Honore
One-Minute Bedtime Stories, Speed Yoga, Burn-Out, and Other Adventures from the Frontier of Modern Life in the Fast Lane… Journalist Carl Honore believes the Western world’s emphasis on speed erodes health, productivity and quality of life. But there’s a backlash brewing, as everyday people start putting the brakes on their all-too-modern lives. Carl is best known for his advocacy of the Slow Movement. His book In Praise of Slowness dissects our speed-obsessed society and celebrates those who have gotten in touch with their “inner tortoise.” http://www.ted.com/talks/carl_honore_praises_slowness.html (Just after 10 minutes, he speaks directly to the benefits of slowing down for the benefit of our children.)
No More 1950’s: How Simplicity Parenting is the Way to Prepare Kids for a Complex Future
Kim John Payne's visit here to Eugene was incredibily valuable to parents and teachers. The connections he finds between over-stimulated children and playground bullying are insightful and inspiring. Inspiring because he reveals positive action each parent can take to improve the social dynamic of their child's school. Here is an older post that appears on WaldorfToday.com in which he ties the need for slowing down childhood to innovation and competativeness in the job market. He convincingly relates some of the largest societal challenges to what we can do at home for our young children. http://www.waldorftoday.com/2012/09/1964/
One Parent’s Journey to Waldorf Education
I remember so clearly when well meaning friends and family began asking the questions about what school my husband and I had selected for our daughter. She was a mere three years old and I was pregnant with my son. Quite honestly, we had only just weaned her from nursing less than a year beforehand—so how could we be ready for something as big as school? I already felt the pressure mounting about this big decision ahead of us. This sort of cultural panic left us feeling like we were not fulfilling our job as parents if we did not respond. When I approached friends and coworkers about their experiences with early childhood programs, I began to feel growing concerns about what we would do. At a time when we were still new to parenting and feeling quite vulnerable, I wasn’t sure exactly what we were looking for, but I …Read more »
Media and Waldorf Education
Media has definitely been the national topic of Waldorf education this year. Here is an excellent nine-minute film produced for the Marin Waldorf school. http://www.waldorftoday.com/2012/07/media-and-waldorf-education/
The High Price of Materialism
Here is a five minute video from WaldorfToday.com where some of the more subtle aspects of a screen-laden life are illuminated. This piece gives us hope by indicating directions we can take toward a better personal life, as well as a better society and planet. http://www.waldorftoday.com/2012/04/the-high-price-of-materialism/
The Gift of No by Helene McGlauflin
This classic article worth (re)reading. "Fundamentally, the world is not limitless. No matter what a family’s resources or philosophy, there are societal rules that cannot be ignored, unsafe acts that should be avoided, chores that must ultimately be faced, life events that are out of our control. Everyone, even reluctantly, must learn to cope with these natural limits life brings. This gift of “no” teaches children they cannot have everything they want, when they want it." http://thewonderofchildhood.com/2011/07/the-gift-of-no/
School Without Computers: Does it Compute?
Local TV station, KVAL, recently spent a day at the Eugene Waldorf School exploring our no-tech approach to educating children up to 14 years old. The film crew captured the beauty of our school. Here is the footage of that story which aired on February 28, 2012: http://www.kval.com/news/local/140217583.html. The Association of Waldorf Schools of North America (AWSNA) has been compiling the coverage happening nationally and locally since the October 22, 2011 NT Times front page article, "A Silicon Valley School That Doesn't Compute" by Matt Ritchell. Peruse that index here: http://www.whywaldorfworks.org/03_NewsEvents/index.aspTeaching woodworking grades five to eight in a Waldorf school by Atta Turck
Seek the truly practical material life, but seek it in such a way that it does not numb you to the spirit active within it. Seek the spirit, But do not seek it in supersensible lust, Out of supersensible egotism, But seek it, Because you want to apply it selflessly in practical life, in the material world. Apply the old rule: “Spirit never is without matter, matter never without spirit!” in such a way, that you say: We want to do everything material in the light of the spirit, And we want to seek the light of the spirit in that way that it will develop warmth for our practical deeds. The spirit, which is led by us into the material, The material, which is molded by us until it reveals itself, whereby it drives out the spirit from within; The material which receives from us revealed …Read more »
Managing Daylight Savings with Young Children
Alert! Daylight savings is November 6th this year. If your children are still young enough that a 20 minute delay in a meal or a bedtime can, on occasion, result in a complete meltdown, this mini-article may be for you. If, however, your children are older and will completely delight in rolling over for an extra hour on Monday morning the 7th, congratulations and no need to read on! One of the things Waldorf education is known for is the protection of childhood. Being well rested and ready to greet the adventures of the day is a key component of this. As parents, too, we can appreciate a child who sleeps well. It is counterintuitive but experts know and many parents have experienced that the overtired child wakes up too early. As a parent of young children, I find that the "fall back" is much more difficult than the normally …Read more »
