Waldorf Homeschooling
Some of us who would like to provide a Waldorf experience for our children do not live near an established school; others may not be able to afford tuition fees at a private school, and still others prefer the flexibility, autonomy, and familial togetherness that comes with homeschooling. Waldorf homeschooling is, however, by necessity quite a different experience than attending a Waldorf school. While we homeschooling parents might belabor the fact that we just can not provide the full experience of a "real" Waldorf school, we must remind ourselves that most of us have not studied Waldorf at an Anthroposohical college teacher training program and that unlike many Waldorf schools, we do not have a full staff of special eurythmy, handwork, languages, music etc. teachers on hand. As homeschoolers, however, we are in an ideal position to create a very unique Waldorf-inspired experience tailored to fit the requirements of our individual students and families.
We Waldorf homeschoolers have extraordinary resources available to help us on our homeschooling voyage. There are, of course, the fine materials available through Enchanted Forest Toys. There are also many, many additional resources on the web. Just type "Waldorf" into your search engine, and you will find more sites than you will ever have time to peruse. There is also a wealth of wonderful Waldorf curricula. You don't need a prepared curriculum, but they can be very useful guides. I use Live Education with my children and find it to be very comprehensive and inspiring, but there are also many other great curriculums and private on-line consultants available.
If you are new to Waldorf homeschooling, where should you begin? Well, I would suggest that you begin by reading. Read every good Waldorf book you can find. Even if your children are older, it might be wise to start with a book that focuses on early childhood, just to get a sense of the scheme of things from the very beginning (Heaven on Earth is a nice one). Follow that up with a book that offers the scope of the Waldorf curriculum; one that describes where you are going (try Education Towards Freedom or the Christopherus Waldorf Curriculum Overview for Homeschoolers). You might find some books to be a little too esoteric (or, dare I say, even too flaky) for your taste, but try to muster forth. Others will strike just the right inspirational note, and perhaps those same books that weren't so useful at the beginning will prove to be more meaningful later. Do some research on the web. There are dozens of truly lovely Waldorf homeschooling blogs filled with photos and ideas posted by other parents who are just as excited about Waldorf as you. One thing to beware of, however, is letting yourself feel inadequate by comparing your efforts to the herculean homeschooling feats displayed on some of those blogs. While we all occasionally have truly divine and perfect moments, both in general and within our homeschooling lives, we also all have many, many moments that we don't choose to photograph and/or wax poetically about on the Internet for all to see--including those picture-perfect bloggers! Reading and on-line research are no substitution for real life communities though. Start asking around; there just might be an established Waldorf group, or maybe even an Anthropsophical study group, in your area. If not, I'll bet there are lots of people who would be interested in joining one. A community group can create seasonal festivals, operate an educational co-op, spearhead a Waldorf start-up initiative, or even just get together for a weekly play/chat group.
One thing that I find myself saying again and again to fretful parents who come into the shop seeking homeschooling advice is, "Don't worry. It will all work out." It may take a certain amount of effort to make it all work out, but in the end it will. You and your children will travel a wondrous journey together, all of you learning much along the way. Someday you will have enough time to catch up on all of your half completed projects, not to mention the ever mounting piles of laundry, but until then, every day will bring something new and magical into your lives. Although you may not have had the benefit of a Waldorf education yourself, you will have the opportunity to fill in gaps in your own education and personal development. Your children will grow up to be strong, independent, creative, and content adults who will have the self-confidence to choose a path that is right for them. (Heck, they might even learn how to spell some day!) Perhaps you will choose to homeschool with Waldorf all the way through high school; maybe just a year or two (or a few!) will work out better for your family; possibly your children will attend school part-time, or maybe your children will attend school full-time and you will do Waldorf-inspired enrichment activities at home. Whichever path you choose--it will be ok. Really!
We Waldorf homeschoolers have extraordinary resources available to help us on our homeschooling voyage. There are, of course, the fine materials available through Enchanted Forest Toys. There are also many, many additional resources on the web. Just type "Waldorf" into your search engine, and you will find more sites than you will ever have time to peruse. There is also a wealth of wonderful Waldorf curricula. You don't need a prepared curriculum, but they can be very useful guides. I use Live Education with my children and find it to be very comprehensive and inspiring, but there are also many other great curriculums and private on-line consultants available.
If you are new to Waldorf homeschooling, where should you begin? Well, I would suggest that you begin by reading. Read every good Waldorf book you can find. Even if your children are older, it might be wise to start with a book that focuses on early childhood, just to get a sense of the scheme of things from the very beginning (Heaven on Earth is a nice one). Follow that up with a book that offers the scope of the Waldorf curriculum; one that describes where you are going (try Education Towards Freedom or the Christopherus Waldorf Curriculum Overview for Homeschoolers). You might find some books to be a little too esoteric (or, dare I say, even too flaky) for your taste, but try to muster forth. Others will strike just the right inspirational note, and perhaps those same books that weren't so useful at the beginning will prove to be more meaningful later. Do some research on the web. There are dozens of truly lovely Waldorf homeschooling blogs filled with photos and ideas posted by other parents who are just as excited about Waldorf as you. One thing to beware of, however, is letting yourself feel inadequate by comparing your efforts to the herculean homeschooling feats displayed on some of those blogs. While we all occasionally have truly divine and perfect moments, both in general and within our homeschooling lives, we also all have many, many moments that we don't choose to photograph and/or wax poetically about on the Internet for all to see--including those picture-perfect bloggers! Reading and on-line research are no substitution for real life communities though. Start asking around; there just might be an established Waldorf group, or maybe even an Anthropsophical study group, in your area. If not, I'll bet there are lots of people who would be interested in joining one. A community group can create seasonal festivals, operate an educational co-op, spearhead a Waldorf start-up initiative, or even just get together for a weekly play/chat group.
One thing that I find myself saying again and again to fretful parents who come into the shop seeking homeschooling advice is, "Don't worry. It will all work out." It may take a certain amount of effort to make it all work out, but in the end it will. You and your children will travel a wondrous journey together, all of you learning much along the way. Someday you will have enough time to catch up on all of your half completed projects, not to mention the ever mounting piles of laundry, but until then, every day will bring something new and magical into your lives. Although you may not have had the benefit of a Waldorf education yourself, you will have the opportunity to fill in gaps in your own education and personal development. Your children will grow up to be strong, independent, creative, and content adults who will have the self-confidence to choose a path that is right for them. (Heck, they might even learn how to spell some day!) Perhaps you will choose to homeschool with Waldorf all the way through high school; maybe just a year or two (or a few!) will work out better for your family; possibly your children will attend school part-time, or maybe your children will attend school full-time and you will do Waldorf-inspired enrichment activities at home. Whichever path you choose--it will be ok. Really!
