How Do You Know if You Are Qualified to Homeschool? Posted in: Inner Work, Inner Work, Inner Work, Monday Meditation, Nature Walks, Wildlife Education - Monday Meditation After 19 years of taking nature walks with my children, self and friends I felt like I was a bit of an expert. I had learned how to forage and find herbs and had even taken two years… Read More >>
A Question is a Gem: Free Story Posted in: Stories, Storytelling - Enjoy our free story this week. Stories are not just for kids. I use stories with my children, my students, my friends, family and my clients. We can all find wisdom in stories and share that wisdom with others. One… Read More >>
Appetizers for Vibrant Well-Being Posted in: Cooking, Herbal Healing, Naturopathic Healing Course, Nutritional Healing, Unani Tibb - On Wednesdays we celebrate well-ness with a different healthy tip, recipe, formula or inspiration each week! A student at The Avicenna Institute asked today about raw garlic which inspired me to remember my favorite raw garlic dish. I immediately made… Read More >>
Diversity in Homeschooling Posted in: Aromatherapy, Herbal Healing, Homeopathy, Inner Work, Inner Work, Inner Work, Iridology, Medicine of Avicenna, Meditation, Naturopathic Healing, Naturopathic Healing Course, Nutritional Healing, Organization, Organization, Parenting, Planning, Planning, Reflexology, Space Clearing, Teachers, The Avicenna Institute, The Temperaments, Unani Tibb, Waldorf Philosophy - Start your week with an Inner Work Meditation. Take some time to reflect on the following short essay/blog post and let it inspire you this week as you parent, teach, study and live! DaVinci was a scientist, a philosopher, a… Read More >>How to Cite Sources in Your Assignments Posted in: Assignments and Exams - A few students have asked how they need to cite sources in their assignments. This is a very important part of your work and is essential to presenting a professional image as a practitioner, natural health writer or blogger. In… Read More >>
Waldorf Rhythm Chart Posted in: Cooking, Healthy Meals, Organization, Organization, Parenting, Planning, Planning, Rhythm, Teachers, Waldorf Philosophy - We have updated our "Color and Grain of the Day" Waldorf rhythm chart so it looks pretty for you. If you want to share this please send people to our BLOG here to download it. It is free for anyone… Read More >>
Make an Impression on Your Students: More Effective Homeschooling Posted in: Arabic, Cultural, Guest Blogger, High School, Modeling, Parenting, Sunii - You may never know what makes an impression on a child. As a single mother I can say my life did not turn out as I expected it to, but that I am also extremely pleased with where we all… Read More >>
New Relaxation Techniques and Meditations Posted in: Aromatherapy, Detoxification, Herbal Healing, Homeopathy, Inner Work, Inner Work, Iridology, Legal & Ethical Consultations, Meditation, Naturopathic Healing, Naturopathic Healing Course, Nutritional Healing, Parenting, Reflexology, Teachers - Not many people would jump at the chance to scoop bear feces for a vacation but that is what I found myself doing last week. I was volunteering in the animal husbandry division that morning at the wildlife center. This… Read More >>
How Health Impacts Learning in Your Classroom Posted in: Aromatherapy, Detoxification, Healthy Meals, Herbal Healing, Homeopathy, Iridology, Legal & Ethical Consultations, Medicine of Avicenna, Modeling, Naturopathic Healing, Naturopathic Healing Course, Nutritional Healing, Organization, Parenting, Planning, Planning, Reflexology, Teachers, The Avicenna Institute, The Temperaments, Unani Tibb - What if you were in control of the education your child was receiving and also the factors that could increase the effectiveness of this education? Wouldn’t that be exciting? Not only would you be able to teach your child but… Read More >>
The Value of Online Education Posted in: Aromatherapy, Herbal Healing, Homeopathy, Iridology, Legal & Ethical Consultations, Naturopathic Healing, Naturopathic Healing Course, Nutritional Healing, Reflexology - According to the latest studies, polls and news you should be studying online and working online (full-time or at least part-time). If you are not – you are probably not reaching your earning potential or furthering your career as efficiently… Read More >>
Discipline in Homeschooling Posted in: Inner Work, Parenting - I had to make some hard choices this weekend with my teenage son. He was not taking responsibility for his actions and was blaming the poor results of his actions on other people. It was really hard for me, as… Read More >>Finger Knitting Story for Boys & Girls Posted in: Arts, Crafts & Handwork, Finger-Knitting, Knitted Stories, Stories - Today we planted herb gardens, tasted herbal tea, did a flower form-drawing, made some "story gardens" and enjoyed many stories. During free time the boys all decided to finger-knit so I decided to make up a story for them. They… Read More >>
Earth Day Celebrations! Posted in: Arts, Crafts & Handwork, Earth Day, Nature Walks, Spring, Watercolor - reprinted from old BLOG (we are transferring all entries from the old BLOG before we delete it on the old website) - Earth Day is Tuesday, April 22nd this year (2014)! What a wonderful Earth Day! It is our second… Read More >>
Extend Your Spring Celebrations! Posted in: Easter, Noruz, Persian, Spring, Stories - Well, it is past the days of NoRuz in Persia (a celebration for the first ten days of spring) and spring is close to ending here in the midwest but we are extending our celebration! Here is a sample from our… Read More >>
Natural Dyeing and Tea Party! Posted in: Arts, Crafts & Handwork, Easter, Spring - Here is a reprint of an article I wrote in 2009 for Easter (we are transferring all old BLOG posts to the new website 🙂 There are so many gems we don't want to lose or for you to miss… Read More >>
Easter Field Trip: Wildlife Education Posted in: Animals, Easter, Spring - One of the ways we are celebrating spring is by doing a unit study on birth and the animal kingdom in general. We visited a goat farm last weekend and learned a lot about caring for baby goats. This week… Read More >>
Spring “Egg” Hunt Posted in: Easter, Nature Walks, Science, Spring - As a healer I always try to find that "perfect herb" that fits the needs of my client's emotions, my clients physical body and my client's spirit. As a teacher I am always trying to find that "perfect task" or… Read More >>
Over the Counter Drugs and Natural Healing Posted in: Herbal Healing - The following information was included in an assignment by a Student at The Avicenna Institute. We share student assignments for the benefit of other students as well as anyone considering taking courses at The Avicenna Institute, or anyone who is… Read More >>How Earthschooling Saved Us $44,000.00 Posted in: College, Parenting, Planning, Planning, Teachers, Waldorf Earthschooling - The unique structure and philosophy of Earthschooling taught my children and I some very important lessons over the years and it turns out those lessons are worth a lot of money! I have to admit that when my children were… Read More >>
The Three-Day Rhythm Posted in: Earthschooling Members, Member Teacher Support, Organization, Planning - As we have described in Waldorf 101 there are many rhythms to Waldorf education that the teacher/parent must be aware of. We have already discussed the rhythm of breathing in and breathing out. We have also discussed the rhythm of balancing… Read More >>
Fast Food, Bacon and Nutrition Posted in: Nutritional Healing - Bacon is healthier… than sausage patties dripping with oil. This is what was going through my mind as I browsed the menu at the fast food restaurant. But how did I get to this place anyway? How did a naturopath… Read More >>Stress Free Parenting with Toddlers Posted in: Inner Work, Inner Work, Parenting, Teachers - When I had younger children (0-7) I often perceived life as being hectic and busy. I talked myself into being stressed about it so many times. However, as a parent who now has teenagers I want to share with you… Read More >>
Why March Has 31 Days – Story Posted in: March, Spring, Stories, Storytelling, The Waldorf Year - In Bulgaria, the month of March is personified as Baba Marta (Grandmother March), a hunched old woman whose unpredictable temper is reflected in the changeable March weather. She is always arguing with her brother, Little Sechko (February), who likes wine… Read More >>
Managing Multiple Ages: What Do I Do With My Toddler? Posted in: Multiple Grades - A very popular question I get is, "What do I do with my toddler(s) when we are homeschooling?" I have have three children and was very happy with the method I learned from our first Waldorf parent-child teacher years ago.… Read More >>
Homeschooling Multiple Ages: Integrating the Ages Posted in: Multiple Grades - Are you teaching multiple grades or ages? In my classes, in general I find that there are certain subjects in any curriculum that are easily integrated. Here are some quick ideas: 1. Storytelling is easily integrated with the two ages.… Read More >>
Gluten Free Breads: Tips from Members Posted in: Cooking - A lot of new members have asked about gluten-free breads so I thought I would copy this wonderful post that Kimberly made last year. It contains some great information and links for gluten-free bread: Thanks again Kimberly! She writes... I… Read More >>
Waldorf Homeschooling Time Management Posted in: Inner Work, Inner Work, Inner Work, Organization, Organization, Parenting, Planning, Planning, Teachers - I want to give you a few free hours this week! Now you are probably wondering how I am going to do that. Perhaps I watched the movie "In Time" too frequently and I actually think I can add time… Read More >>
How Being an Alternative Therapist is Like Living in Saudi Arabia Posted in: Legal & Ethical Consultations, Naturopathic Healing, Naturopathic Healing Course - I lived in Saudi Arabia for a brief period while my husband worked for the Saudi-American (Aramco) oil company. Because things like men and women dancing together and Christian holidays were illegal Expats of some cultures had to use code… Read More >>
Natural Remedies for Menopause and Other Common Ailments Posted in: Consultations, Herbal Healing, Holistic Health, Naturopathic Healing, Nutritional Healing - I was listening to a good friend complain about menopause symptoms the other day when finally I couldn’t resist asking her – why haven’t you done anything to prevent them? She seemed surprised. Even after hearing me talk frequently about… Read More >>Homeschooling, Chores, and Waldorf Parent/Teacher Modeling Posted in: Modeling, Modeling, Organization, Organization, Parenting, Teachers, Waldorf Philosophy - One day during the early years of motherhood I was doing the dishes and realized how, in that moment, I was so happy enjoying the process of creating a beautiful space and feeling so thankful I had a space to… Read More >>
