I believe more than anything that every little new being on this planet deserves
the most wonderful childhood a parent can possibly offer. Those early
years are the most important investment we, as parents, can
make in our children's future health, happiness, and
success.
My lesson planning and curriculum materials are all available for free because
I really feel that Waldorf/Steiner is an extraordinary method, and learning about Waldorf
curriculum should be free. No parent should struggle with the terrible frustration of
feeling that their financial situation is preventing
them from giving their children everything they want to.
Simply put, these are the most
important years in your child's life. And your child deserves the best. There should be no obstacles to that.
I personally may not be able to change
the world. But I want to
feel that I have done my part to make homeschool materials affordable, to help children
everywhere.
This website is a reflection of that desire and I hope
it enriches your life, and that of your children, as much as it has mine.
Sincerely, Rhoda "Renee" Schwartz
If you wish to voluntarily show your appreciation, and stay within your family's budget, my Wish List is on Amazon.
I do occasionally receive -- and much appreciate --
gifts of items we need for homeschooling.
Here are gathered all the curriculum materials you need to truly understand and teach Waldorf - and they're available for free!
It will never be completely free to homeschool your child, of course, with the
costs of music, art, and handwork materials and the need for basic school supplies such as paper, but you can
certainly do a successful job even on a very tight budget.
The Waldorf Curriculum group is also a place to find used materials for sale; the
Waldorf Inspired Home Education Resource group has a ton of free lesson planning information, shared by a Waldorf classroom teacher, in the Files section.
Don't overlook information in visual form, such as pictures of main lesson book pages, watercolor paintings, chalkboard drawings, and more. This
can serve to be both inspirational and very helpful in a concrete way. I've spent a LOT of time creating Pinterest boards stuffed
with examples of work for dozens of main lesson blocks.
That's It! You're Done! (And if you don't believe me, I'm guessing it's because you skipped reading the article by Steiner
and only skimmed the index of the 50 back issues of the Newsletter. READ THEM.)
Please enjoy your visit to this website and my curriculum notes, but
please always remember that these are my personal notes and that this is not the
Official Waldorf Way because there is no Official Waldorf Way. The curriculum at all times is in response
to the individual child and there IS NO PRESCRIPTION.
In fact, Sieglinde de Francesca writes in the back of her book Teaching with the Fables
the following very good advice for all elementary and middle school ages:
"You will find, no matter what subject you are teaching, that there are basic elements to creating a truly holistic lesson plan for the whole child. These include:
Teaching to the head, heart, and hand
Creating an organic rhythm in the lesson
Conveying a sense of reverence for the material
Including some form of ritual in the lesson
Reviewing work from the previous lesson
Introducing at least one new thing with each lesson
Rendering the material in an artistic medium
Discover ways to apply these elements to the lessons you teach and you will see how alive they become, making teaching and learning a joy. Do be creative and above all, have fun!"
Barbara Dewey of Waldorf Without Walls wrote a wonderful article on preparing for the school year - click here to download.
You can visit her website for more Articles for Waldorf Homeschoolers and to sign up to receive the newsletter.
Pinterest is a great free resource to help you organize your teaching ideas, especially since Waldorf is so visual... but I
also STRONGLY encourage people to keep a blog (these are free at sites such as blogger).
You can make your blog private so it is only searchable by you, you can share it with just a few people, or you can have it open to the public.
This is THE BEST way to save teaching ideas and resources; simply tag them with key words or grade level, then use the Search feature later on. Forget tiny scraps of paper or binders... you'll just forget where you wrote it down! Plus
the links are live, which is incredibly helpful. I use my blog daily to help me
remember what we are doing now, favorite books, recipes and crafts, and my notes of things to do in the future, as I have multiple kids of widely varying ages. I can save a preschool idea
NOW... for my 6 month old to do four years from now!
Affiliate links through Amazon cover domain registration, web hosting, and website backup fees. This allows me to offer
my materials for free. Any
extra revenue is used as our homeschool budget for the month. Thank you for your support!
.
the following very good advice for all elementary and middle school ages:
