Temperaments in a Waldorf School August 18 2015

The four temperaments are used in Waldorf schools for evaluating the character of each child one is teaching. These temperaments provide the teacher with tools for forging an inner connection, making the child feel that his or her teacher knows with wisdom what is behind each decision made in the classroom. Diagnosing temperaments correctly helps to build trust between teacher and student, teacher and class. Teachers often arrange seating of children so that students with similar temperaments are seated together or near each other. This provides a kind of gentle “homeopathic” experience or mirror to the child that helps the child build balance within his or her character without being heavy-handed, or too didactic.

Waldorf Education is Developmentally Appropriate - What exactly does this mean? July 26 2015

When Waldorf teachers say their curriculum is developmentally appropriate they mean it! But Waldorf educators understand child development in a unique way. Child development in the Waldorf plan is very specific. The decisions about the curriculum are based on exactly what is happening in the child’s physical, and emotional development and also in the development of the child’s consciousness.

Foreign Languages in a Waldorf School July 13 2015

In front of the restaurant, famous for its Quebequoise regional cuisine, a cluster of tourists was gathered examining the menu. As one couple read with excitement the menu, glad to find a place with regional cuisine as part of their experience in the beautiful old cit of Quebec, another couple was heard saying, in loud, harsh despair with a sharp New York, distinctively American accent, “Oh no! The whole menu is in French! Can you see anything on there that looks like it could be a steak?” Couple number one turned and explained that the restaurant’s menu was very specifically not American, but devoted to genuine, Quebequoise cuisine. Couple number two expressed disgust and stalked off, expressing loudly their anger and hunger, to find a “better restaurant”.

What Do Children Learn in a Waldorf Kindergarten? Everything! July 08 2015

The grandmother of the birthday child in the Waldorf Kindergarten was pleased to be invited to her granddaughter’s birthday celebration at the Waldorf kindergarten. She ended up more deeply moved and impressed as she participated in the birthday celebration. When she came to the kindergarten, mid-morning, she noticed the soft beautiful colors of the room and the natural wood finish of the tables and chairs. She also felt the busy hum of the room as children cleaned up after having made bread dough. The aroma of bread baking filled the room. Two children smiled at her and excitedly said, “It’s bread roll day for Michaela’s birthday!” The special guest for the big day was invited to sit in a special chair and watched as her granddaughter was led by two children, holding her hands, to the chair prepared for the child with a rose-colored silken cloth draped over it.

Teaching Cultivates Gratitude –– Why Do We Teach & How Far Can it Reach? June 17 2015

Most teachers of teens have had this experience: One of them might look you in the eye and say, “I will never be a teacher. Too much work!” This is age-appropriate behavior because in our teenage years, the yearning can be very strong to be out in the world. Staying inside a school building for one’s work seems like prison. Inwardly the youngster thinks, “You’ve got to be nuts to put up with us!”

The Waldorf Classroom and the Cycle of Eight Elementary Years with the Same Teacher June 03 2015

One characteristic of Waldorf schools in elementary grades is to keep one “Class Teacher” with a class from first through eighth grades. This practice has been adopted by public and private schools and is known as looping. In Waldorf schools this eight-year cycle could be called “giant looping.” Of course, this eight-year cycle is an ideal that is not always possible. Life, marriage, health, age, can all get in the way of completing this commitment. In some Waldorf schools it is even policy to have the looping go from grades...          READ MORE

The End of Year Report in Waldorf Schools May 30 2015

Assessment is a “hot topic” in the news and in educational debate. In Waldorf schools assessment takes many forms, none of which includes standardized testing.

During the year, concentrated “blocks” of study might include an end-of-block assessment. A block might be three or four weeks long and concentrate study on one topic. After a botany block in the fifth grade an outdoor “treasure” hunt to find, for example, a monocotyledon, a pistil, a tap root, a deciduous conifer branch, a dicotyledon, and so on, might be the "test.” After a block on physiology in grade seven, an essay entitled, “The Diary of a Sandwich,” might be the means of assessment..... READ MORE