Waldorf in the Home

How can we nurture ourselves while caring for young children? How can we find happiness and satisfaction in a task that often produces no visible results in any given day? How can we find meaning for ourselves as well as being there for our children?
Rahima responds:

Around the country, many examples exist of groups of Waldorf home schooling families coming together to create community and support for their efforts. The following are offered as examples of a few such Waldorf enrichment groups. Because they are constantly evolving, the information printed here may change, but it is offered to spark your thinking with things you might do in your area.

A mother in a Waldorf parent-child program submitted a question about aggressive behavior from her three-year-old son:
"The struggle we are facing is that our son can be aggressive with the other
kids. Some instances it is a circumstance in which he and another child
both want the same toy and he will try and pull it away- this I can deal
with. Other times it seems as though it is out of nowhere- he will just
push another child or hit them on the top of the head with his hand. The
teahers in our class and the other parents are very supportive to us and
encourage us to let this all play out. My question is "do you have any
suggestions for us to help with this agression?" This situation is not
soley at the mommy and me, it happens with his cousin, who he plays with as
well. What tools can we use to help him control the agression? Any advice is
welcome. Thank you!"

This review of the valuable book The 7 O'Clock Bedtime by Inda Schaenen (Regan Books, 2001) is written by Nancy Foster, a Waldorf early childhood teacher at Acorn Hill Waldorf Kindergarten and Nursery in Silver Spring, Maryland.

"Early to bed, early to rise, makes a child healthy, playful, and wise." Thus reads the cover of The 7 O'Clock Bedtime by Inda Schaenen. As a Waldorf early childhood teacher, I have heard so many parents bemoan the difficulties of getting their children to bed at night, and I have observed so many tired, cranky children who seem obviously sleep-deprived. In this sensible, funny, poignant, and, above all, helpful book, Inda Schaenen goes beyond anecdotal evidence to present studies that document the sleep requirements of infants and children, and also the results of inadequate sleep.