serendipitous journey Posted January 18, 2013 Share Posted January 18, 2013 I'd like to incorporate some Waldorf-style crafts for the superficial reason that they are so pretty :) , and the slightly more respectable reasons that they are nature-oriented and fairly practical/functional -- it ties in nicely with our CM-ish nature studies and goals for handicrafts. I'm not sure how to best to add on, though, because our schedule is pretty full right now. Granted, "full" includes a generous dose of unstructured and outdoor play; but there isn't a LOT of room for more "structured" activities that require teaching & supervision. This is mainly for Button -- who likes beautiful things, and wants more art & esp. to learn to knit -- and the skills I develop should transfer well to the toddler, who is a Waldorf-friendly kind of guy. Button is very mathy and analytical; the little one is story-oriented and imaginative. At any rate: suggestions? I am thinking my best decision is btw. supplementing with Oak Meadow (but full curriculum, or just the crafts + process manuals?) or Christopherus (same question: go for the whole thing at age-level and pare what I don't want, or do manuals with the nature and skills I'm interested in?). My mental energy is in short supply right now so I am leaning toward something already-organized for me: I don't have the time to really learn how to apply Waldorf flexibly. Oak Meadow is here; Christopherus; Live Ed for other browsing Waldorf, and also A Little Garden Flower. Wee Folk Art has a lovely lesson plan for 3 seasons of work with the 4-6 yos. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deee Posted January 18, 2013 Share Posted January 18, 2013 Wee Folk Art would be the cheapest to implement, otherwise you're paying for a lot of stuff you won't use. Christopherus is quite a rigorous curriculum up to year 5 (we used it from 2-5, there is only a guide and a couple of history units for 6 and 7). Its very easy to implement and there is room for tweaking (eg we changed the two 3rd grade Native American blocks into one Native American block and one Australian Aborigines block very successfully based on the guidance given in the curriculum - its one of the best things we've ever done and the posters still hang on the walls three years on). A Little Garden Flower is another nice, gentle option. Its cheap, too, but you'll have to make up the lessons yourself: its not open and go. Live Ed is full-on, anthroposophy based Steiner. It is visually stunning, but can be a bit esoteric (and quite loopy in some places wrt science). It only covers main lessons ( known as the "head" lessons ) and I think you really want the block lesson (the "hands" lessons). Another possibility is Earthschooling, where you can buy short memberships to check things out. You could buy a book like Earthwise, The Children's Year or Festivals, Family and Food, and add in seasonal craft. Or read Freya Jafke's fabulous book, Work and Play in Early Chidhood. Check out Bob and Nancy's bookshop for loads of Steiner craft books. Try not to fall for all the lovely craft supplies! You will need good watercolour paints (3 primary colours, try Stockmar or Paper, Scissors, Stone) and watercolour paper (cheap paper doesn't work), some fleece, woolen felt (or make it from fleece) and beeswax crayons (Stockmar are worth the money and last forever). A set of Lyra Ferby pencils and some modelling beeswax and you're done. D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
birchbark Posted January 18, 2013 Share Posted January 18, 2013 We had a hard time getting to art-type stuff in our first few years of homeschooling. There's only so much time in a day! What worked for us was clearing Fridays of most of our school activities and using it for "things we never got to." Art/handwork is one of those things. You and the kids really need to be relaxed to benefit from them. It just never worked for us to tack them onto an already full day. Even now, our Fridays are lighter days and my 6th-grader does art and baking then. It gives that relaxed, Waldorfy or CM feel but I don't feel guilty for neglecting more academic subjects, if that makes sense. I'm doing Wee Folk Art for Kindergarten this year, and love it. Thinking about doing a little Oak Meadow next year. However you don't need a Waldorf curriculum to add in their type of handcrafts. There are now oodles of posts/articles on Pinterest that have all kinds of how-to on Waldorf crafts. It's one of the best resources I've found on the subject, and it's free. I also came across this book, but have not seen it in person (yet) :). Heaven on Earth also has a chapter on Waldorfy arts for younger children. I was able to get it through ILL. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2squared Posted January 18, 2013 Share Posted January 18, 2013 You could also look for community groups to facilitate crafts/handiwork. My 10yo is in a knitting group that meets Wednesday afternoons. She goes about 2x/month, but she loves it. It's just her and a handful of senior citizens, but the ladies have taken her under their wing. They were a little surprised when she showed up since they clearly didn't expect school aged kids to come at 1:00 in the afternoon, but I think they like having her in the group. They coach her through knitting projects, and I love, love, love that she gets their viewpoints on life. They fill her little head with life wisdom, and she doesn't even realize it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ecclecticmum Posted January 18, 2013 Share Posted January 18, 2013 Hmm....what about just creating a Pinterest board and linking to interesting crafts? That way you have a folder of items that cost you nothing, and you got to choose it. My Pinterest board (look in the DIY & the Enrichment/Ideas folders): http://pinterest.com/missed/ Hawai'ian Dreaming blogs about Oak Meadow, Waldorf etc: http://closeacademy.blogspot.com A blog called Teaching Handwork: http://teachinghandwork.blogspot.com Rockin' Granolas Pinterest Board: http://pinterest.com/simplekids/ Queen's Lace Pinterest Board: http://pinterest.com/queenslace/ Syrendell's blog has all sort of free waldorf lessons: http://syrendell.blogspot.com/ Wee Folk Art's Blog is always filled with lots of Crafts: http://weefolkart.com/ New child Montessori has an Art Manual: http://www.newchildmontessori.com/ Rhythm of the Home is an online digital Waldorf Magazine: http://rhythmofthehomeblog.com/ Magic Onions is a waldorf based blog with lots of crafts: http://www.themagiconions.com/ Crafty Cow is a children's craft collective: http://belladia.typepad.com/crafty_crow/ The Wonder of Childhood: http://thewonderofchildhood.com/ Alphabet Glue E-Mag for Families, has a theme for each mag, book reccs and craft & art ideas (quite a few nature based):http://birdandlittlebird.typepad.com/blog/alphabet-glue.html Ancient Heart Blog has free lessons: http://ancienthearth2.blogspot.com/ Mama Moontime has crafts & tutorials: http://www.mamamoontime.com/ Passengers on a Little Spaceship blog has a lot of cool ideas: http://passengersonalittlespaceship.blogspot.com Theres heaps more, but those were just the accessible ones in my bookmarks to do with art/craft lol. It would only take a few minutes to pin and few crafts, then you have something to do for the next few weeks, instantly and free (except in the case of digital mags & art manual lol) ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
serendipitous journey Posted January 18, 2013 Author Share Posted January 18, 2013 Thank you, everybody! I will be looking over the resources you've suggested. If you know of any particular book that is quite systematic and yet has interesting projects -- so that at the end of it, not only would we have done several crafts, but we would have actually learned a handicraft skill such as knitting -- that would be esp. useful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
serendipitous journey Posted January 19, 2013 Author Share Posted January 19, 2013 Bob and Nancy's Waldorf Manuals/Instruction I just wanted to highlight, and directly link to, Bob and Nancy's Bookshop which was Deee mentioned above. It has several manuals that I've heard are excellent, and links to sister sites that share a common shopping basket. At the Knitter's Bookshelf sister site I found what I'd been looking for, a manual to teach knitting to children (and me!) while making lovely toys. Thanks again, Deee! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Runningmom80 Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 Bob and Nancy's Waldorf Manuals/Instruction I just wanted to highlight, and directly link to, Bob and Nancy's Bookshop which was Deee mentioned above. It has several manuals that I've heard are excellent, and links to sister sites that share a common shopping basket. At the Knitter's Bookshelf sister site I found what I'd been looking for, a manual to teach knitting to children (and me!) while making lovely toys. Thanks again, Deee! Ahhh! Love this! I've been looking for something to teach my son how to knit. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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