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| watercolor snowflakes |
I shared in this post *Trying about wanting to implement new teaching techniques into our homeschooling, specifically, Waldorf art and rhythm/ritual. My struggle is in finding time to
- 1st- research what I am wanting to learn about
- 2nd- find materials/ methods that would be a good fit for us, or figure out how to adapt them.
- 3rd- find time to gather materials
- 4th -Implement
I had several interested comments, so I am going to blog about the steps I am taking as I explore Waldorf homeschooling.
First, I went to my go-to place for homeschooling advice- The WTM boards. I posted a question about Waldorf rhythm for older kids and about Waldorf art more specifically. Several wonderful replies pointed me to inspiring blogs, a few websites, and a book or two to order.
I ordered "Painting with Children" by B. Muller - on strong recommendation, and then
"Beyond the Rainbow Bridge" - a book I had considered purchasing a few years ago, but decided not to because my children are older...I wish I had ordered this before- it was very helpful.
I really like how Amazon shows you books others have ordered after purchasing the book you are looking at, and how they have lists people make of different book interests. There were several books I am planning on ordering, Seven times the Sun- is one I wanted, but was out of stock.
Heaven on Earth, and Making a Family Home were also recommended, I was going to wait and see if I got them as gifts- my birthday is coming up...but now I don't think I can wait that long, so I will probably order them myself :)
The trail of research led me to the Bearth Institute- a very faceted site that I still haven't fully explored. They offer grade curriculum e-books, something I got overly excited about at first- because I always am tempted with the idea/hope that one curriculum purchase will answer all of my needs...after reading some threads on the WTM boards though, I realized that while the Waldorf homeschool curriculum style might have been fun for K and 1st- we are at a point where I want something that moves along faster and is a bit more rigorous. So, back to adding in art and rhythm to our day... :)
The Bearth Institute does have helpful articles on Waldorf, podcasts, videos and e-books. I ordered their e-book titled Waldorf Rhythm and stages: from preschool to grade 8. They also sell small blocks of their homeschool curriculum, I am seriously thinking of ordering the Grade 4 Geography Block to play with.
The blog Our Little Nature Nest- is a treasure trove detailing the learning days of homeschooling Waldorf. I found this post- Our lessons this week-measuring time really helpful for seeing what Waldorf lessons look like. I really liked this learning block- this is what has tempted me to try a lesson block on for size.
The blog, Hawaiian dreaming- has a great list of Waldorf links- this blogger pointed me to the one above...