Wee Kin

A year into our homeschool journey some good friends asked us if we had ever considered Waldorf homeschooling. We had heard of Waldorf schools, but really didn't know anything about them, and in all of our researching homeschool to date, we had never read anything about Waldorf homeschooling. We talked to our friends about this concept more, we looked into it, and we never looked back. We primarily use the curricula listed below, but sometimes we also do unit study lessons if the kids get really interested in a certain subject, or to learn as much as we can about a region we're traveling to. 

One of the things we love about Walforf is that instead of using text books, waldorf early education relies heavily upon teaching through stories, arts and crafts, and cooking. The kids make their own lesson books for each course of study (typically modeled after examples we provide), so we can refer back to and review earlier lessons together like you might with a standard text book. At the end of the grade, we bind all the lessons together into a book representing what we learned for that grade. This approach is extremely customizable to a child's interests and to the stories, arts and crafts, and cooking of regions one might be traveling to/in.

Other central themes to Waldorf education that we enjoy include:

• working from the whole to the parts;
• lessons geared toward head, heart, and hands and corresponding to morning, midday, and afternoon;
• soul nourishing lessons carefully planned to meet children where they are developmentally;
• mindfulness of daily, weekly, seasonal and other rhythyms;
•  working with beautiful, natural materials and high quality art supplies;
• emphasis on celebrating seasons and holidays (there is a lot of freedom here and we love diving into the rich history behind the holidays as we know them today); and 
• emphasis on connections with nature (including a seasonal nature table for displaying treasures).

We have been learning more about Waldorf as we go through the grades and we love it, but there are some aspects of Waldorf schooling that are difficult if not impossible to emulate at home (e.g., eurythmy), and parts that we simply don't follow (i.e., anthroposophy). We implement what works for our family and stay true to our ideals and beliefs. Our doula (a very wise, patient, homeschooling mom of four and incredible Charlotte Mason homeschool group teacher) once told us that the most important thing we can do for our children is be authentic. 

Rather than further explaining Waldorf ourselves, we'll share with you below some knowledgable resources that we find very insightful. In addition, note that Waldorfy.com has a fantastic podcast and blog all about Waldorf education. As always, we hope that you find inspiration here and we love learning about more resources from our friends and family too.