Welcome to Waldorf Curriculum!
updated March 8, 2010

Once there was a man... and he was tired. He had been talking all day, teaching the people who came to him for advice. He decided to take a long walk to find some peace and quiet. In fact, he decided to walk all the way to the other side of the lake. But when he reached the other side of the lake, he found that the crowd of people had, unbeknownst to him, noticed where he was headed and had gone around the lake in the other direction in order to meet him on the far end. So the man did not get his rest. He did not get his peace and quiet. He kept talking to the people and teaching them. As the day wore on, the man began to think that perhaps the crowd of people might get hungry. So he called some of his helpers to him and directed them to go back around the lake to the town to get some food for the crowd. His helpers argued that there was not enough time to walk all the way to town and return before dark. So the man asked them to turn out their pockets and so see what each person had. When all was tallied up, it was three little dried fish and some loaves of bread. The man said, well, let's share what we have... and he began to distribute the food among the members of the crowd. And when the feast was over, not only had everyone been fed, but there were baskets and baskets of food left over!

This is a very old story and there are many interpretations of it. Some say that it was a miracle of multiplication, that the bread and fish were multiplied many times over so that there was enough food to feed the crowd. But I have also heard another interpretation. Many of the crowd were women and children (who were not counted in those days, so we know little about them). And if you are a mother you know that you don't embark on a journey that will take the entire day without packing a little something for your children in case they get hungry. It is an instinctive act of nurturing.

But, there is also a side to human nature which is not so generous. And that is, for example, when you have a chocolate bar in your purse and you're sitting around a table at a conference with a bunch of other people. You think to yourself, I would really love to have that chocolate bar right now. But you know that if you get it out, etiquette would require that you share it with all the people around you and instead of getting the whole bar you might only receive a tiny portion. So it is possible that, among that crowd of people at the lake that day, many of them had food in their pockets. And when the man led by example -- sharing freely of what he had even though it was only a little bit -- perhaps each person in the crowd opened up their hearts and their pockets and began to share with their neighbors. And there was such a bounty there that not only did all go away satisfied, but there was more left over.

In this case, the miracle was not one of multiplication; it was the miracle of turning selfish people into generous ones.

This is my goal with this website. I want us each to share what we know about Waldorf and about homeschooling, our own experiences, our own resources from our homes and our families, with each other. Through this collaborative effort we will support and nourish each other and all will find what they seek. I don't have all the answers, I don't have enough to feed the crowd, but I'll turn out my pockets and share what I've got. Won't you join me? Consider being a contributor today!