RainbowSprinkles Posted June 26, 2011 Share Posted June 26, 2011 I decided to use Oak Meadow for ds in grades 1-3 before switching to something more classical/cm-ish. I want to supplement Oak Meadow 1 with OPGTR (which we already use) and add Singapore Math. I will use the rest as is (for now... I have not seen it in person yet.) For dd, who will start 4th grade, we will stick with classical/CM. But I would like to give her education a waldorfy touch. So far, this is what I've been thinking: I want to use main lessons books for history and science. I will have her learn to knit and play the recorder (as ds will be doing in OM1.) I want to add form drawing and do art the waldorf way. I plan on purchasing the Little Acorn seasonal guides and menues and use them with all my dc. This is what I've got for now. Does anyone have any other ideas/suggestions? I'm all ears! :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Robyn Posted June 26, 2011 Share Posted June 26, 2011 I would suggest listening to some of the audio downloads at ALGF, especially the ones about beginning waldorf late. I also recommend a nature table and celebrating a festival or two that you wouldn't normally celebrate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
birchbark Posted June 26, 2011 Share Posted June 26, 2011 I second the nature table. Another idea I'm looking to implement this year is to have a bread-baking day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prairiegirl Posted June 27, 2011 Share Posted June 27, 2011 We dabbled in Waldorf a few years ago. Now that we are back to classical, I have brought with us a few Waldorf things. We try to have a nature table. We use mainlesson books for history and science. We also have mainlesson blocks for the content subjects. I tried to continue on with mainlesson blocks for all of the subjects but it was too stressful for me so we just do it for history and science. This works so much better for my kids rather than doing history and science twice a week each. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
birchbark Posted June 27, 2011 Share Posted June 27, 2011 I would suggest listening to some of the audio downloads at ALGF, especially the ones about beginning waldorf late. Can you link to these? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mazakaal Posted June 27, 2011 Share Posted June 27, 2011 I want to use main lessons books for history and science. I've been curious about Waldorf education because some fellow homeschoolers here are into it. When you say 'main lessons books' are you referring to Baldwin Project online books? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Robyn Posted June 27, 2011 Share Posted June 27, 2011 Can you link to these? Here ya go! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RainbowSprinkles Posted June 27, 2011 Author Share Posted June 27, 2011 I've been curious about Waldorf education because some fellow homeschoolers here are into it. When you say 'main lessons books' are you referring to Baldwin Project online books? No. They are books that are blank (without lines), basically a sketchbook but the child does their writing and everything else in it. Thank you for the suggestions so far. Anyone else have anything to add? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tabrett Posted June 27, 2011 Share Posted June 27, 2011 Anyone ever tried the menus from Little Acorn? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MelanieM Posted June 27, 2011 Share Posted June 27, 2011 Anyone ever tried the menus from Little Acorn? I haven't used the LA guides personally, but I know the woman who writes them (or used to? not sure if she still does) and she used to have a menu planning service that I did subscribe to. The recipes were very good. I would *love* to see pictures of your history and science main lesson books if anyone has any to share. ?? Also, Julia, how long do you schedule for your main lesson blocks? This approach always has appealed to me, and I've been saying for ages I want to give it a try. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
birchbark Posted July 9, 2011 Share Posted July 9, 2011 (edited) A great book to have is Earthways. There are lots of ideas in it for incorporating Waldorf into your school work and a ton of great natural craft ideas. Plus, there are suggestions for the nature table for each season. Thanks for this suggestion. I got it out of the library, like it a lot, and will probably buy it. For those of you who don't consider yourselves big environmentalists, don't be put off by the title/cover. :D The bulk of the book is simple, nature-related crafts and activities organized by season. Edited July 9, 2011 by birchbark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in VA Posted July 9, 2011 Share Posted July 9, 2011 I'm not a fan of all of Waldorf, but I do like their natural materials-- So my suggestion is to look at your schooling and living environment, and strive to get rid of plastic and non-natural materials. This means baskets and wire mesh bins instead of plastic tubs, as much natural light as you can, nontoxic art materials, natural diet, etc. I always tried to forgo as much plastic as I could as a preschool teacher; the school I taught in was all about bright colors and plastic bins--I went for sturdy baskets, natural play materials (Silks instead of a million costumes for dress up--tho we had some, wooden fruits/veggies ala Melissa and Doug, etc), a nature table, more muted colors (though we still went bright for some things--nature isn't all about muted colors! lol), a "softer, gentler" feel in the room. My room was quite peaceful but very interesting. In the homeschool area, I tried, again, to use wooden containers, baskets, wire/metal, etc., and no Dora/Disney-type stuff-- I just liked the absence of commercial "characters" and overstim. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
In The Great White North Posted July 9, 2011 Share Posted July 9, 2011 Here's a picture of a Main Lesson Page from science. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
In The Great White North Posted July 9, 2011 Share Posted July 9, 2011 And another Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
In The Great White North Posted July 9, 2011 Share Posted July 9, 2011 And one from history. Actually, I found science and history to be the easiest to do Main Lesson Books for. Math was the first one we dropped. These are from 7th grade. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeekingSimplicity Posted July 9, 2011 Share Posted July 9, 2011 We used ALGF for 4th. :) 4th grade history is Viking mythology. My dd really liked this. http://www.mainlesson.com/main/displayarticle.php?article=g4_books There's some free resources here. There was also mapping, learning about you local area, state history. Science is the man/animal unit. She loves learning about animals and we checked out tons of library books on them. There's a charles kovacs book I really wish I'd gotten to help me teach it. I'm going to try to get it for my son when he gets to 4th. http://www.amazon.com/Human-Animal-Waldorf-Education-Resources/dp/0863156401/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1310214926&sr=8-4 If you're able to get them, block crayons and prisma colors are wonderful for making waldorf drawings. Get a chalboard and some highly pigmented chalk and try doing a chalkboard drawing of the day's lesson (I'm still working on this one myself) Add in knitting, crochet, weaving and cross stitch/embroider for crafts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeekingSimplicity Posted July 9, 2011 Share Posted July 9, 2011 Here's a picture of a Main Lesson Page from science. That's really nice :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MelanieM Posted July 9, 2011 Share Posted July 9, 2011 Here's a picture of a Main Lesson Page from science. Thanks so much for sharing! I think what I love most about the main lesson book idea is the unique, artsy bits that get integrated, like the border on this page. I wish it was the approach when I was in school... it's like focused doodling! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prairiegirl Posted July 9, 2011 Share Posted July 9, 2011 Also, Julia, how long do you schedule for your main lesson blocks? This approach always has appealed to me, and I've been saying for ages I want to give it a try. Sorry, Melanie, I missed this question first time around. How long we do a block depends on what we are doing. Usually it takes us 3 to 4 weeks for a block. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeekingSimplicity Posted July 9, 2011 Share Posted July 9, 2011 Lesson blocks http://knol.google.com/k/the-waldorf-curriculum-grade-four# Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RainbowSprinkles Posted July 12, 2011 Author Share Posted July 12, 2011 I'm not a fan of all of Waldorf, but I do like their natural materials--So my suggestion is to look at your schooling and living environment, and strive to get rid of plastic and non-natural materials. This means baskets and wire mesh bins instead of plastic tubs, as much natural light as you can, nontoxic art materials, natural diet, etc. I always tried to forgo as much plastic as I could as a preschool teacher; the school I taught in was all about bright colors and plastic bins--I went for sturdy baskets, natural play materials (Silks instead of a million costumes for dress up--tho we had some, wooden fruits/veggies ala Melissa and Doug, etc), a nature table, more muted colors (though we still went bright for some things--nature isn't all about muted colors! lol), a "softer, gentler" feel in the room. My room was quite peaceful but very interesting. In the homeschool area, I tried, again, to use wooden containers, baskets, wire/metal, etc., and no Dora/Disney-type stuff-- I just liked the absence of commercial "characters" and overstim. Thank you! I already am working on replacing our plastics with natural products --- something I would do even if I wasn't interested in waldorf. And I too can't stand character toys/stuff much anymore. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RainbowSprinkles Posted July 12, 2011 Author Share Posted July 12, 2011 We used ALGF for 4th. :) 4th grade history is Viking mythology. My dd really liked this. http://www.mainlesson.com/main/displayarticle.php?article=g4_books There's some free resources here. There was also mapping, learning about you local area, state history. Science is the man/animal unit. She loves learning about animals and we checked out tons of library books on them. There's a charles kovacs book I really wish I'd gotten to help me teach it. I'm going to try to get it for my son when he gets to 4th. http://www.amazon.com/Human-Animal-Waldorf-Education-Resources/dp/0863156401/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1310214926&sr=8-4 If you're able to get them, block crayons and prisma colors are wonderful for making waldorf drawings. Get a chalboard and some highly pigmented chalk and try doing a chalkboard drawing of the day's lesson (I'm still working on this one myself) Add in knitting, crochet, weaving and cross stitch/embroider for crafts. Did you use this for science/history only? Or did you use the complete curriculum? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RainbowSprinkles Posted July 12, 2011 Author Share Posted July 12, 2011 Here's a picture of a Main Lesson Page from science. Thank you for sharing these. They are really nice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RainbowSprinkles Posted July 12, 2011 Author Share Posted July 12, 2011 Lesson blockshttp://knol.google.com/k/the-waldorf-curriculum-grade-four# Great info! Thanks for sharing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terabith Posted July 12, 2011 Share Posted July 12, 2011 You might find some good resources here: http://www.christopherushomeschool.com/Bookstore-For-Waldorf-Homeschooling-s/156.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeekingSimplicity Posted July 12, 2011 Share Posted July 12, 2011 Did you use this for science/history only? Or did you use the complete curriculum? I used the complete curriculum Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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