Category Archives: Waldorf 101

Waldorf in the News & Scientific Studies About Waldorf Education

First Grade and the Seven Year Old

Posted on by in First Grade, Guest Blogger, Planning, Teachers, Waldorf 101, Waldorf Earthschooling
By Waldorf Teacher, Diane Power This article is exclusive to and copyright Earthschooling.com I sincerely believe that for the child, and for the parents seeking to guide him, it is not half so important to “know” as to “feel.” If facts are the seeds that later produce knowledge and wisdom,...
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First Grade Readiness – Are We Asking the Right Questions?

Posted on by in First Grade, Inner Work, Inner Work, Organization, Organization, Parenting, Planning, Planning, Teachers, Waldorf 101, Waldorf Philosophy
Looking back on my children’s education I can honestly say that the question, “When are they ready for first grade?” was one of the hardest issues I had to deal with during their entire educational career. But why did I struggle so much with this question and why is it...
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Waldorf 101: Syllabus

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Would you like to convert your classroom or home to a Waldorf home or classroom? Would you like to know the meaning behind some of the Waldorf activities? I created a packet for the Waldorf parents at my school ten years ago to help them understand what the essence of...
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Bedtime Verses

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These verses were all shared by members on the Waldorf School Online list HERE Original question from a member: My son’s teacher recommended we say a verse before bed to signal getting ready for sleep time. My son’s are 4 and 7. Any suggestions? 1. Guardian Angels who we love...
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Waldorf Television

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What Does Waldorf Education Say About TV? References for this article are listed below the article. As a naturopath, writer, and teacher this is one of my favorite projects to take on. I enjoy researching the historical uses of herbs and healing therapies and then tracing their usage up until the...
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Meditation and Inner Work

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One thing that Steiner saw as very important for Waldorf parents and educators was to maintain a constant awareness of ourselves through meditation and self-reflection. The beginning of his work,The Foundation Meditation, expresses his thought the best when he says, Soul of man! You live in the limbs That carry...
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Temperaments in Education

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Even Samuel Hahnneman, the father of homeopathy recognized the importance of type and related that it was important to know a persons type to discover the different ways they would exhibit the same disease and the different ways they would react to similar medicines. In his essay, Suppression in the...
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Basic Waldorf Verses

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You can hear these verses being sung in the video below: Good Morning Song Traditional Waldorf Good Morning Dear Earth (hands as if holding earth on abdomen) Good Morning Dear Sun (stretch arms above head in a circular arc) Good Morning Dear Trees (stretch arms to side, like tree branches)...
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The Waldorf Birthday Story

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Invoke a sense of the sacred on a child’s birth and are performed with the teacher reading, the child acting and the parent watching. Once upon a time there was a little child named____________ who was still with the angles in heaven and he/she was very happy there. He looked at the...
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Waldorf Celebrations

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One of the celebrations we celebrate during the Waldorf Earthschooling year is Advent. However, contrary to popular belief, the Advent spiral done at Waldorf schools is not inherently Christian. It can be celebrated to honor a number of religious or spiritual traditions – depending on your family or students participating....
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Waldorf & Spirituality

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The Waldorf Curriculum for children actually does not teach Anthroposophy. However, Waldorf School’s in general are either Christian, Jewish, Muslim or very broadly spiritually based. Each day begins with a prayer and ends with a parting prayer. Each meal begins with a prayer and the notion of “God” is prevalent...
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Waldorf Art

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Central to Waldorf principles is the need to surround children with beauty. Watercolors and beeswax crayons (when used with teacher guidance and purpose) naturally create very beautiful works without technical talent. You will notice that the teachers use care not to allow the children to muddle their colors into a...
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The Wisdom of Fairytales

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“Parents frequently express concern about violent, even bloody incidents that occur in Grimm’s fairy tales. Today, we often see these tales edited to remove or soften these aspects. This results in a kind of deprivation of our children’s sense of life that is similar to the effects of painkillers and can dull...
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Natural Toys and Materials

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This article is from an old Waldorf school newsletter. If anyone knows the source please let me know 🙂 Anyone well acquainted with our school will have had their attention drawn at some time to the fact that when its a matter of cloth being put to use – in...
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Breathing In and Breathing Out

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This is a sample class schedule that incorporates the principles of “Breathing in and Breathing Out”. I have also explained some of the wisdom behind the baking of the bread below. Shaping Bread: “Breathing In”. This is the beginning of EVERY Waldorf day. The children are allowed to slowly ease into the day...
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Rhythm of the Year

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Here is a sample of some Earthschooling activities I scheduled over the year based on seasonal, holiday and other themes. Earthschooling includes holiday and seasonal themes but is not dependent on those themes and includes many other themes each month as well. This makes Earthschooling suitable for parents and teachers...
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Lesson Blocks in Waldorf Education

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When Rudolf Steiner started the first Waldorf school, he established the “main lesson”—a two-hour class during which all academic subjects except for foreign languages would be taught.The subjects taught in the main lesson were studied for block of time lasting from three weeks to three months. There are many activities...
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