Waldorf education was started by Rudolph Steiner - the name comes from the Waldorf-Astoria cigarette factory in Germany where he started a school for children of the employees. It uses storytelling in that the teachers are expected to create a story for everything they will teach the children, and while there are guides and sample stories, a good waldorf teacher is expected to create his/her own selection of original stories based on the class of students and what will reach them. It uses lots of fables, Bible stories, myths and fairy tales to teach concepts. It has some very unique spiritual aspects to it which in my opinion do not fit with christianity, but there are some wonderful aspects to Waldorf education and I employ many of these techniques with my kds (mine are very visual, and using art in every area I can greatly improves understanding/retention around here!) As for using oral storytelling - I think it is a wonderful skill. We have just joined a local speech club, and this year the instructor will have each child memorize several scripted pieces (taken from favorite stories such as Brer Rabbit, Just so stories, fables etc). Then over the next few months the kids will practice and develop their delivery of the pieces, working on emotion, intonation etc. This is something that could easily be done at home - by choosing a favorite story, developing a script, then practicing the delivery of the story. Or it could be unscripted - similar to a narration, where the child hears a story, then retells in their own words, practicing until they get it just the way they want. A fun finish would be to video the performance, or perform it live for family or friends. Also, look in your area for local storytelling groups. There are several big events in our area every year where storytellers gather and have conferences and tell stories. When we visited Atlanta a few years ago, we went to the home of Joel Chandler Harris (who first collected and published the Brer Rabbit stories) and they had a storyteller who sat outside and told the Brer Rabbit stories - that was a truly amazing experience! for some examples of some uses of waldorf style education - the Serendipity site is wonderful - the grammar lessons are a great example of how a waldorf lesson would be done. Hope this helps!

I would wait - I started mine about that time, and wish I had waited another year (atleast).

it is designed to be the ONLY thing you need for all your children until Algebra - there are no worksheets, it is manuals with instructions on how to teach all the math concepts to your children, and a series of tracking sheets to help you create a review system where each child works 5 problems daily that review the concepts that child has learned. It is easily tailored to each child, but it will require more work on the part of the parent than the typical math program - we are starting with it this year, and I must say, while I know it is going to require more of me, I think it is a wonderful way to teach math, and a great way to not overload kids with repetitive work.

we are going to be using it this year - and I have to say, it seems wonderful, but it will require more time on my part. I agree with the other poster - the yahoo group is great, lots of help from people who have been using the program and the authors of the program post regularly and answer questions.

my first wordless wednesday post - labor day fun! St. Theophan Academy

I tried to find it used, but couldn't so I went ahead and bought it, though some people complained about his voice on the CD. It does not bother me as much as I thought it would (check him out on youTube to see what I mean) - and it was worth it to have all the poems recorded, and not have to do it myself. I think it is worth the purchase if you have it in the budget :) It is really several years worth of poetry, so I look at it as about $20 per year!

Here is a great blog post with ideas that use geography and Monday night football that you might like to check out - Real Learning

I have not done any how to write poetry studies (she was still struggling to read!) But we do poetry reading several times a week, and usually we select a poem that they like and work on memorizing it by repeating it once or twice every morning. We use a recitation system similar to the Charlotte Mason memory box . Once we have learned several poems, the kids take turns reciting them on different mornings, so we are constantly reviewing them. When I think about poetry in the early years, I look at as an appreciation study, not a mechanics study. Here is a post I wrote in the spring on how we do poetry appreciation in our home.

I am planning to use it this year with my 2nd and 4th graders - but I think my daughter could have done it last year - many of the poems he includes are ones we already memorized last year. So I think you could begin it in 1st, and move at your own pace.

to me the two have totally different purposes - we memorize scripture for moral and spiritual reasons. We memorize poetry for linguistic reasons. If you use King James version for memory, you can get some of the linguistic benefits, but for a young child, memorizing a poem is much easier, and will benefit in the long term in my opinion. So I say do both! We are planning to use IEW poetry plan, but I will continue with scripture memory too. The more they memorize, the greater the capacity they have to memorize more :)

you know, it is scary just how simple it is. I always thought it was a big deal, then I was on someone's blog, clicked the little icon at the top of blogger that said start your own blog, and about three clicks later I had a blog! Anyway, it really is simple - I know nothing about computers, and have managed to do quite a lot. And as for getting bogged down (or "blogged down" :)) - I just remember, this is for me, and a chance to share. It is not an obligation I have to others, so I blog when I feel like it, but never feel guilty when I don't have time. Life comes first, live, then blog about it when you have time :)

CD - no competition :)

thanks - I LOVE the baskets - and what a deal - I am all about good deals, and those were a great find from Old Time Pottery (one of my favorite stores) I think those baskets were less than $5 each

I have gathered them from a number of different sources - a few years ago walm*rt had tons of fine art prints that were the perfect size and only $1 each, so I bought lots of them. Sometimes Mich*els and H*bby Lobby will have reasonably priced ones, but usually they cost more than I want to spend. You can also order some from the National Gallery of Art - if you email they will send you a list with prices (I think they charge $5 each now). Another great place to get them is from Ambleside online. They have prints on the site, and a yahoo group that is nothing but a collection of prints by various artists that you can print off.

that was taken a few weeks ago in Destin FL. No photoshop magic, it was actually taken with my (gasp) FILM camera (yes, I still shoot mostly with film :) but when I get my film developed I always have them put the pix on a cd too now. Digital can be cool, but for me, nothing beats good old fashioned film!

those are my favorite! - one was my mother in laws she gave me and the other belonged to a family friend who was a homeschooler. I have started looking on Craig's list for another on since the 4 year old now wants her own desk :)

here is a link to pix of our school room - now that I finally figured out how to post pix to my blog!

the BOC is just a set of pages with a blank timeline running across the top. It is very flexible, basically you can just mark the date on the timeline and draw a picture. It is just a form of notebooking. I have the pdf, but we have not really used them yet, so can't tell you if my kids liked them :) I think if you have kids that enjoy drawing, they are a great way to put a book together, very affordable and very flexible.

what he said!!! call them, I have always gotten a great response over the phone :)

Worth it, especially since even if you cannot buy it used, I have had great luck in selling my sets after we use them for $80-100. Means I only shelled out $50 for the whole course (and used it with multiple kids). And since around here, a 6 week art class cost $100-$150, I think $150 for 18 classes is a pretty good deal! Another idea, this summer I had my sister in law split the cost with me, and the kids did the class together at my house. Once a week we got together and they did the projects, so I only had to pay $75 and I had 3 kids participating. So, we have loved it so far, and in my mind it is well worth it. Great projects, real art instruction, and some wonderful frameable art work to treasure. In fact, since school started back we have not done it (her kids are not homeschooled) and just today my kids were whining about wanting to have art class.

I have occasionally had a problem with something shipped to the wrong address or not getting shipped, but they have always been great about fixing things. I find the best way to get things cleared up is to contact them by phone. Have you called them, or just emailed?

I know that someone on here has described an accordion fold timeline used by taping file folders together. Then the whole thing can be folded up and stored in a box. Maybe someone else will have a link for a better description of this, but it was basically what you are talking about, just taping the folders together from the back until it is as long as you need.

I have to highly recommend Linguistic Development Through Poetry Memorization - I just got it, and love it. While the author's voice does take a little getting used to, it has not bothered me as much as I thought, and the poem choices are great! The book has the poems, charts for tracking and reviewing, and the CD has every single poem performed. I can't wait to get going with this!

Awesome! I love the table and chair set up with the cabinet space underneath! This looks so cool.

My plan this next year is to have a little end of year celebration and invite the grandparents to come and see art and science projects, hear piano pieces, and listen to memory work (very short and informal). This was my kids idea, and I think it will be fun to have something to look forward to at the end of the year - to show off all we have done!