MAY - Author of the Month May 12 2025
25% off the whole month of May!
Manfred von Makensen was a creative experimenter in life, dedicated to Waldorf education and, more specifically, the sciences in Waldorf schools. His three volumes on A Phenomena-Based Physics, one book for each grade: 6, 7, and 8, remain classics in comprehending the challenge and power of teaching Phenomenon-based physics in Waldorf middle and high schools.
Once a teacher comprehends the basis of Goethean or phenomena-based science, the rest of the Waldorf approach will automatically fall into place. Some teachers call this ‘teaching from wonder,” or “a pedagogy of wonder.” Put most simply, this allows students to come to conclusions out of direct experience, not instructed by what a teacher already knows. Waiting for a student to find within herself the question needed to comprehend an experience or an experiment takes remarkable patience. Von Makensen was a master of this waiting — this calling to the observer to wonder to yearn to answer the question of “What just happened?”
These three books give a teacher just enough information (they are not long books) to set them wondering and to demand that the teacher follow her own curiosity before stimulating the curiosity of her students.
Manfred von Makensen loved making things happen in science experiments that caused a ruckus, woke everyone up, and made everyone laugh with surprise. He understood the loneliness of our age and the importance of helping students realize that loneliness is evaporated by community (like a class). “What did we see yesterday in the experiment we did?” likely prompts a solid slump of non-response (I do not want to appear ignorant before my classmates and the teacher). Once someone can no longer bear the silence, a student might point out what she saw. This prompts others to muster courage to state, “Yes, I saw that, too.”
In these books, Manfred von Makensen gave us the keys to understanding the power of Goethean science to reach the whole human being, to the places of heart and soul, so that through the rigor of these science lessons, an engaged, thinking, enthusiastic adult might emerge.
A Phenomena-Based Physics: Volume 1 for Grade 6
This first volume in the Phenomena-Based Physics series introduces physics in a way that speaks directly to the developmental stage of the sixth-grade student. Through hands-on experiences and sensory-rich observations, students are guided through foundational studies in acoustics, optics, heat, magnetism, and electricity. Rather than relying on formulas or abstract explanations, the approach begins with phenomena—sound, light, warmth—and leads students toward conceptual understanding rooted in their own discoveries. With thoughtful pedagogical guidance and practical experiment instructions, this volume equips teachers to bring physics alive in a way that inspires curiosity, attentiveness, and a meaningful connection to the natural world. Sale price $15.75
A Phenomena-Based Physics: Volume 2 for Grade 7
Building on the foundation laid in Grade 6, this second volume deepens the study of physical phenomena with expanded topics including electricity, magnetism, and mechanics, while continuing explorations in acoustics, optics, and heat. As students approach adolescence, the curriculum shifts toward more technical and conceptual work while remaining grounded in experiential learning. Through structured demonstrations and clear teacher commentary, Volume 2 helps educators present physics in a way that aligns with the growing intellectual capacities of seventh graders—inviting them to think, question, and understand while staying connected to direct sensory experience. A trusted guide for teaching science through engagement, reflection, and wonder. Sale price $15.75
A Phenomena-Based Physics: Volume 3 for Grade 8
The final volume in the series completes the middle school physics journey with further explorations in light, heat, and sound, while introducing hydraulics, hydrostatics, aeromechanics, and foundational principles of pressure and flow. In eighth grade, students are ready to grapple with more complex relationships and emerging systems thinking. This volume supports educators in presenting these concepts through carefully crafted experiments and narratives that stay true to the phenomenological method. Each lesson fosters both scientific insight and human connection, encouraging students to see physics not as detached facts but as a living picture of the world around them. A vital resource for teachers committed to cultivating thoughtful, observant, and engaged learners. Sale price $15.75