Waldorf in the Home

Rahima Baldwin Dancy

2012-12-08T03:50:00Z

Welcome to my blog, designed for parents who want to bring more Waldorf principles into your homes, either to enrich family life or for home schooling.

After having worked for many years as a midwife and director of Informed Family Life, I now spend most of my time as director/lead teacher of Rainbow Bridge LifeWays Program for 1-5 year olds in Boulder, Colorado. I started this program with my daughter, Faith Baldwin Collins, in 2008 and now run it with help from my husband, Agaf, daughter Jasmine, and Lauren, a Waldorf teacher and midwife.

Right now I'm excited to have finished the 3rd revised edition of You Are Child's First Teacher, which will be out in this coming summer (2012); in the meantime the 2nd edition is still available fro our online store as a resource for parents with children from birth through age six. If you have questions, please use the "Contact" button on the website--I'd love to hear from you!

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Mom's Love Affects Brain Development

2012-02-03T02:14:25Z

When Rudolf Steiner described something in 1909, it can sound as if it's coming from left field: for example, that for the young child, love, "pleasure and delight are the forces which most rightly quicken and call forth the physical forms of the organs."

What does that mean? And then, as with so much leading edge brain imaging today, we hear something that sounds remarkably similar: that the young child's brain is actually measurably different depending upon how much loving nurturing he or she receives.

]]> In this latest research, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis found that when young children get plenty of nurturing from their mothers, they end up with a bigger hippocampus in the brain by the time they reach school age. The hippocampus is an importnat structure related to learning, memory and stress response.

It's an interesting study, whick you can read more about at medicalxpress.com; the research was recently published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Early Edition.
Here's more from Steiner:
"The joy of the child in and with his environment must be reckoned among the forces that build and mould the physical organs. He needs people around him with happy looks and manners and, above all, with an honest unaffected love. A love which fills the physical environment of the child with warmth may literally be said to "hatch out" the forms of the physical organs. The child who lives in such an atmosphere of love and warmth and who has around him really good examples for his imitation is living in his right element. One should therefore strictly guard against anything being done in the child's presence that he must not imitate."

Homebirths Up by 30%!

2012-01-26T21:19:25Z

The number of homebirths reached its highest level since researchers began collecting data 20 years ago. After declining from 1990 to 2004, the percentage of US births that occurred at home rose 29% from 2004 to 2009. The research was released by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics. The numbers are still small--in 2009, 29,650 births, or .72 percent of all births, occurred at home. However, the increase is a rapid change in direction, after declining for 15 years. Home births tend to be more common among non-Hispanic white women who are 35 and older and among women with several previous children.]]> I would imagine one contributing factor was the debut of the film "The Business of Being Born" in 2008 (by Ricki Lake and Abby Epstein). This film by a noted television celebrity addressed today's young professionals who are having babies and presented options in a contemporary way. It engendered enough interest at the time to get the attention of the AMA and motivate them to launch another attack on homebirth. in the meantime, women love it, and Lake and Epsteiner have produced another film "More Business of Being Born" about birth options (released November, 2011). The films can be purchased for download or you can learn more on their website, www.businessofbeingborn.com.

Sharing Longer Stories with Little Ones

2012-01-19T02:52:13Z

I've written a long segment in First Teacher on how to select stories to tell with younger children--they especially like simple stories with repetition, like "The Gingerbread Boy" or "The Three Little Pigs." But what about sharing longer stories, especially if you have a mixed-age group? Our group of 1- to 5-year-olds is a younger mix this year, so when I first told "The Snow Maiden" after Christmas break, I was losing them. Even using the adaptation by Bronja Zahligen in the WECAN book Plays for Puppets, this is still a fairly complex Russian tale.]]>

Toddlers Need Naps, Study Shows!

2012-01-08T18:35:26Z

[Note: LifeWays offers a video of putting children down for nap in a childcare setting.] It's always nice when science and academia support what we already know: toddlers need naps! A recent study at the University of Colorado showed that missing just one nap can cause toddlers to be more anxious and frustrated when faced with a challenge. Children in the study were 2-1/2 to 3 years old, and missing just 90 minutes of sleep brought similar results to what adults experience when they pull an all-nighter.]]> Boulder Daily Camera from Jan. 4 2012. LeBourgeois is now recruiting 40 toddlers born between March 2009 and October 2011 to study how sleep restriction may affect emotions and cognitive abilities; the study will take place over four years.

Felting Bars of Soap with Children

2011-12-27T16:28:09Z

The children at Rainbow Bridge felted wool coverings for bars of soap--making "soap in a sweater"--as presents for their parents. It becomes soap and washcloth in one, and works best with a soap dish in which it can drain. We used Ivory soap, wool roving for the first layer, and colored wool for the outer layer. Here's a picture of them unwrapping the soap when the felting process was finished.

]]> To make your own, here is what you will need:

Bars of soap. We use Ivory, but scented or rounded soap works well, too.
Wool roving. Wrap the soap with three layers of wool roving (we used white, but colored wool would also work). Wrap in alternating directions.
Colored wool: then let the children add thin layers to form a beautiful package.
Sections of pantyhose, tied at one end. You'll need to help them put it inside and pull it tight, tying off both ends.
Tubs of water, as warm as the children will use. Use a few drops of dish soap (optional) and lather up a bar; let a child play with one as long as possible to felt the fibers. Depending on the age and energy of the child, you may need to rework this yourself so the fibers tighten around the soap and felt together 10-15 minutes?).

Rinse and let air dry. Drying can take a couple of days, depending on the weather.
Remove from the stocking, and voila!

Limiting Screen Time

2011-12-21T03:45:27Z

I was recently interviewed by folks from Michele Obama's initiative for preschools, called "Let's Move!" As part of her program to overcome obesity in children, one of the key points of Let's Move! is limiting screen time. They were interviewing in-home providers who have been succesful in limiting screen time or those that are screen free.

]]> Children want to be in movement. Never having had "screens" as part of our LifeWays/Waldorf program for 1-5 year olds, I had to think about what makes it possible--the differences with conventional programs. Here are some of the key points that make for an enriched program:
~ We are set up for free play--everything invites the children's imaginative play.
~ This makes it easy to do focused activities with smaller groups.
~ We have two 45-minute periods of outside play, which includes not only large-motor activities, but things like gardening, walks, moving wood, and so forth.
~ LifeWays' emphasis on including the children in "The Living Arts" means that they help with food preparation, setting and clearning the table, doing the dishes, folding the laundray, and so forth. We're not trying to "buy time" in which to get things done.
~ There is a dynamic rhythm and daily schedule that breathes with the children.Long periods of movement (free play or outside time) are punctuated by shorter periods of sitting at the table or listening to a story. Activities such as movement game circles are half-way in between--moving, but requiring the children to focus on what we're doing.

When the American Academy of Pediatricians recommended no screen time for children under 2 years of age and limited time for preschoolers, they got a lot of flack from parents who "needed" the time that it bought them. I think this is because they are trying to "on" all the time, entertaining their children. A real key is involving the children in The Living Arts, which include nurturing, domestic, creative and social activities--the stuff of everyday life. I was glad to hear that this government agency was also working to help childcare providers (and parents) limit screen time!

Eight Principles for Inspired Mothering

2011-12-16T04:53:53Z

Eight principles for inspired parenting:

1. We need to accept who we are and build up the support we need.

2. We need fathers to be actively involved with children.

3. We need a true understanding of children and their world.

4. We need to trust the natural process of development and not interfere with it.

5. We need to trust ourselves and our children and to let go of guilt.

6. We need to trust our children as individuals.

7. We need to value our parenting.

8. We need to value our home making.

We are our children's first home, which then expands to include life as it unfolds in the physical house or apartment. When we have children, we are creating a home willy-nilly. The more attention, awareness and creativity we can put into the process, the more home life can become a platform that effectively supports every member of the family, including ourselves.

Cynthia Aldinger

2011-12-08T03:40:00Z

Cynthia Aldinger has contributed many articles to this blog. She is the founder and Director of LifeWays North America and worked for many years as a Waldorf early childhood and parenting educator. She writes:

When I was pregnant with my firstborn son about three decades ago, I developed a passion for learning all I could about Waldorf education and child development. When he and his brother were 9 and 7 years old, his father and I had the privilege of moving to Sussex, England where I completed my Waldorf teacher training at Emerson College.

]]> Since then I have been involved professionally in Waldorf, first as the founding teacher of Prairie Hill Waldorf School in Wisconsin and now as Executive Director of LifeWays North America. You can learn more about LifeWays at www.lifewaysnorthamerica.org. I also served on the Board of the Waldorf Early Childhood Association of North America for fourteen years.

I loved being a kindergarten teacher--especially the nature walks, the stories and the festivals. However, when I was on my sabbatical in England, a good friend, a successful businessman, asked me one of those life-changing questions. The question: "What are you going to do about child care?" He and a number of his business acquaintances were concerned about the quality of child care in Great Britain and the States, feeling that childhood itself was at stake. They felt there was too much emphasis on formal learning and not enough on quality of life and practical life skills.

In 1998, with the help of many individuals, I opened the first LifeWays Child Care Center in East Troy, Wisconsin, supporting families who needed care for their children from three months to six years old. I also began laying the groundwork for the development of a LifeWays training for parents, grandparents, child care providers, parent educators and preschool teachers. Since that time LifeWays has grown in response to the tremendous need for support for childcare providers and for parents.

In 2000, I moved with my husband back to my birth State of Oklahoma and became an active LifeWays consultant, traveling throughout North America and abroad. We now have trainings in six locations. Recently, I was blessed by the opportunity to live with my parents and my grandmother who is 104. Having the chance to help with the care of my grandmother reminded me of the importance of having predictable routines and rhythms in daily life. They provide a sense of security to both young children and the elderly. In many ways, it truly is the simple things in life that count!

Rhythm in Home Life

2011-12-02T01:54:31Z

A regular lifestyle, like the pattern of life in the womb, offers a stable environment during the rapid growth and changes in rhythm of the body during childhood. Children provided with this regular life feel confident about their world and are not concerned by uncertainty about when the next thing will happen. Rhythm in home life can also help to calm a nervous or difficult child by turning the child's life into a series of events in which he participates, and from which he gains a new sense of security and competency.

]]> Regular mealtimes and regular nap- and bedtimes help to start orienting the child to a natural feeling for the passing of time. They go a long way toward preventing discipline problems, because bedtimes become something that happen as regularly as the sky turning dark--there is no one to argue with or complain to each night.

Elizabeth Grunelius, the teacher in the first Waldorf kindergarten, summarizes, "The rhythm then becomes a habit, is accepted as self-evident and will eliminate many difficulties, struggles and arguments about eating and going to bed. . . . Regularity should prevail in as many of the child's daily activities as possible. It is the key to establishing good habits for life." (from her book, Early Childhood Education and the Waldorf School Plan).

Rhythm is also a blessing for parents, because it enables the daily activity of life to flow more smoothly, require less energy, and become a platform that supports the family, its activities, and interactions. Many mothers don't discover the secrets of rhythm until they have two or more children, and suddenly there isn't enough time not to be organized! Regular meals prevent constant feeding and cleaning up or over-hungry and whiny children; regular bedtimes suddenly free the evening for adult conversation and life again as a couple. The benefits are many, and yet it is often difficult to create rhythm in family life--it requires an inner discipline of its own!

Creating rhythm in one's life doesn't mean being rigid and dogmatic. There is still plenty of room for special activities and surprises (and sometimes the piper to pay the next day when the child has missed a needed nap or had a late, exciting evening--but it's worth it!). But freedom is not without form, and one is truly free when not hampered by a disorganized life. The rhythmic structure imposed on a young child and permeated with the parents' love is a discipline in the most positive sense of the word. And as your children become older, they will transform this outer structure into an inner self-discipline that will be invaluable for homework and getting other jobs done. Putting attention into these areas can help the quality of life for both you and your children from the time they are toddlers until they leave home.

Helle Heckman, the founder of Nokken in Denmark, states: "Everyday chores and rhythms of the day can be the same though a child's first seven years. As a child grows, and because it grows, it will get a more nuanced experience of its surroundings. Therefore, a one-year-old and a seven-year-old will look at everyday life very differently, even if they live in the exact same surroundings. They grow into life and notice how the world becomes larger and larger, but the world becomes larger in a recognizable way. It creates security for children to find out how life affects them if they can do it by themselves and in their own tempo. Children need to seize the world before they can understand it." See the full article.

New Edition of You Are Your Child's First Teacher

2011-11-28T04:10:47Z

We are pleased to announce that a revised and updated edition of You are Your Child's First Teacher will be available in the summer of 2012. (The second edition--with the pink cover--will still be available until then).

In the third edition I've updated all the references (including web addresses) and added two chapters that have grown out of my work with parents and with LifeWays over the past five years. The new chapters are on "Home Life as the Basis for All Learning" and "Rhythm in Home Life."

I'm excited that the editors at Celestial Arts contacted me to do a new edition at a time when I had been working with 1-5 year olds and their families through Rainbow Bridge LifeWays Program in Boulder. I'm excited about reaching an expanded audience with this new version!

Check out the new table of contents:

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CHAPTER 1

You Are Your Child's First Teacher

~ A Unique Opportunity ~ Parents' Dilemma Today ~ Cultural Dilemmas ~ Lack of Support for Mothering ~ A Way of Seeing Children's Development: Children Are Not Tiny Adults! ~ The Child's Changing Consciousness ~ Whose Consciousness Is Changing? ~ Our Task as First Teachers ~ Trusting Ourselves ~ Recommended Resources ~

CHAPTER 2

Home Life as the Basis for All Learning

~ Having an Adult Life to Imitate ~ "Homemaking 101 for Busy Parents" ~ Life as the Curriculum for the Young Child ~ Four Levels of Home Life ~ Resources on Conscious Home Making ~

CHAPTER 3

Growing Down and Waking Up

~ Growing into the Body ~ What Is Your Baby Like Between Six Weeks and Eight Months of Age? ~ Learning to Walk ~ The Second Year: Mastering Language ~ The Emergence of Thinking ~ Stimulating and Protecting the Young Child's Senses ~ The Emerging Sense of Self ~ Recommended Reading

CHAPTER 4

Helping Your Baby's Development in the First Year

~ Who Is This "Intimate Stranger?" ~ The Sensitivity of the Newborn ~ What Is It Like Being with a Newborn? ~ What Is It Like from Months 2-12? ~ Physical Development ~ The Development of Intelligence ~ The Development of Intelligence ~ Toys for the First Year ~ Recommended Resources ~

CHAPTER 5

Helping Your Toddler's Development

~ Encouraging Balanced Development ~ De ing with Negative Behavior ~ Encouraging the Development of Language and Understanding ~ The Beginnings of Imaginative Play ~ Providing a Rich Environment for Your Toddler ~ Toys and Equipment ~ Recommended Resources

CHAPTER 6

Rhythm in Home Life

~ Creating Rhythm in Daily Life ~ The Rhythm of the Week ~ The Rhythm of the Year ~ Celebrating Festivals and the Course of the Year ~ Celebrating Birthdays ~ Recommended Resources ~

CHAPTER 7

Discipline and Other Parenting Issues

~ The Question of Discipline ~ Why Does Parenting Take So Much Energy? ~ Can You Work toward Rhythm with an Infant? ~ What About Weaning? ~ Crying Babies ~ What About Going Back to Work? ~ What About Immunizations? ~ Do the Toddler's Senses Still Need Protecting? ~ What Makes Children So Different from One Another? ~ Toilet Training ~ Separation Anxiety and "Helicopter Parenting" ~ Cabin Fever ~ Recommended Resources ~

CHAPTER 8

Nourishing Your Child's Imagination and Creative Play

~ Three Stages of Play ~ Experiencing the World Through Play ~ The Importance of Play ~ Ways to Encourage Your Child's Creative Play ~ Nourishing Your Child's Imagination through Stories ~ Recommended Resources ~

CHAPTER 9

Developing Your Child's Artistic Ability: Coloring, Painting and Beeswax Modeling

~ Understanding Children's Drawings and Development ~ The Experience of Color ~ Watercolor Painting with Young Children ~ Metamorphosis in Later Stages of Life ~ Modeling with Beeswax ~ Making Things with Your Children ~ Freeing Your Own Inner Artist ~ Recommended Resources ~

CHAPTER 10

Your Child's Musical Ability: Songs, Nursery Rhymes and Circle Games

~ Make a Joyful Noise ~ Music and Cognitive Development ~ Singing with Your Child ~ Movement Games and Fingerplays ~ Pentatonic Music and the "Mood of the Fifth" ~ What About Music and Dance Lessons? ~

CHAPTER 11

Cognitive Development and Early Childhood Education

~ Academic vs. Play-Based Approaches ~ Why Not Introduce Academics Early? ~ The Value of Preschool ~ Evaluating Early Childhood Programs ~ LifeWays and Waldorf Early Childhood Programs ~ LifeWays and Waldorf in the Home ~ The Value of Mixed-Age Programs ~ When Is Your Child Ready for First Grade? ~ What Happens Around Age Seven? ~ Beginning Academic Work: The Waldorf Approach ~ What About the Advanced or Gifted Child? ~ Recommended Resources ~

CHAPTER 12

More Parenting Issues

~ Preparation for Life ~ Computers ~ Balanced Development ~ Television ~ Toys ~ Video Games ~ Immunizations and Childhood Illnesses ~ The Sick Child ~ Religion and Young Children ~ Conscious Parenting ~ Recommended Resources ~

Igniting the Inner Life (book)

2010-11-26T22:35:46Z

Igniting the Inner Life Book by Regina Sara Ryan The inner life is the intrinsic spiritual dimension of existence. To ignite it is to make a pilgrimage within--to move from "out there" to "in here" in the orientation of life, work, choices and relationships. This book is immensely practical and is directed to anyone with a focus on spirituality, self-understanding, contemplative prayer, God or the awakening of the heart's knowledge regardless of the religious tradition they follow. ]]> Igniting the Inner Life through Parenting." From the table of contents of Igniting the Inner Life: • Love in the Time of Terror • The Inner Life • Self Observation, First and Always • The Prayer Alternative • The Art of the Heart • Barriers to the Inner Life • Pilgrimage and the Inner Life • Kill Your Darlings--On Attachments • Broken, Everything • Practices and Prayers

Home Away from Home

2010-08-09T13:56:19Z

Home Away from Home. LifeWays Care of Children and Families Book by Cynthia Aldinger and Mary O'Connell Have you heard about LifeWays and want to learn more? The LifeWays approach to childcare could--and should--revolutionize childcare in North America. LifeWays, founded by Cynthia Aldinger and based on the work of Rudolf Steiner and others, fosters relationship-based care that takes home as the model. Children in mixed-age groups stay with the same care giver from infancy through age 5, providing the continuity and caring of an extended family unit. This approach is adaptable to large centers, such as those run by Mary O'Connell in Wisconsin, as well as to small, in-home programs. Because it is based on what children need for healthy development, it also provides many valuable insights for parents. Home Away from Home describes the many nurturing elements of LifeWays programs, including the Living Arts, creating a rich environment, and creating daily and weekly rhythms. Practical aspects of LifeWays training and opening an in-home program or even a center are also considered in detail. Anyone involved in the care of young children should read this book--it is clearly written, well illustrated with photos, and holds the reader's interest throughout. Chapters include: 1. What is LifeWays Child Care? 2. The Many Faces of LifeWays 3. Other Facets of LifeWays (playgroups, forest kindergarten, preschool and parenting) 4. Home Away from Home--Rhythms, Routines and the Living Arts 5. Finding Your Colleagues 6. Protection: The Safety and Health of Children in Relationship-based Care 7. Creating Your Community of Care 8. Regulatory Bodies and Professional Support 9. Business Questions 10. Supporting You in Your Work--LifeWays North America

"Babies" ~ Raising Children in 4 Cultures

2010-05-28T14:47:18Z

Thoughts on the film "Babies" I recently saw the film "Babies" and highly recommend it! There is a book called Birth in Four Cultures, and this film could be called "birth through walking in four cultures." The filmmakers follow four children, in Namibia, Mongolia, Tokyo and San Francisco. Some things that jumped off the screen and caused me to ponder: Namibia: The baby is worn while the mother works, but once the child has learned to walk, the training shifts: he or she (I forget which) is getting tired. The mother, instead of picking him up, leans down and nurses him standing, for a moment of "I care, and here's a shot of energy," and then continues walking with him (you probably often need to keep walking in this culture. And now we know what long, dangling breasts are good for!). I was impressed by the health and vigor (of those who survive high infant mortality rates) in a culture that can't shy away from dirt. The culture of women: the two women seem to be mother and daughter. If so, I wonder about the culture of this tribe, as many women throughout the world must leavve their own women-folk and join their husband's family. The brood of children they tend is probably a mix of both of theirs, as it isn't uncommon for mothers and oldest daughters to be having babies at the same time. The men aren't visible at all--probably off with the older boys and taking care of business. Many interesting questions left unanswered! Mongolia: At the end, we see what this family has probably received for their year of troubles: the family in their yurt, gathered around a computer screen. The brother, perhaps 2-3 years older, takes frequent opportunities to whomp on the baby. Both children often look at at the cameraman as if to say, "Why isn't this adult doing something?" The two boys play with a bucket of water and make a mess on the floor. The mother returns and the older one skips out, leaving the toddler to take the heat. Because we don't understand the language, we are much like the baby, who doesn't have a clue why this source of all love is suddenly angry and rejecting him. The relationship to animals: functional and unsentimental. As in Namibia, the slaughtering of a sheep or goat is matter-of-fact, with the mother doing the work while the toddler plays with the innerds. Tokyo: What a westernized, hip culture! The well-known predicament of trying to talk on the phone or do anything while the baby is around. The role of "classes" in bringing experiences to the children and creating community for the adults. The frustration of the baby at "play time." San Francisco: The emphasis on books. As in Tokyo, the role of classes. When the mother sees her baby is occupied in the jumper, she tries to quietly disappear in the kitchen--the 24-hour-a-dayness of it. If it comes to your area, see it--or catch the Netflix version.

Waldorf-Oriented Teaching Supplies

2010-05-28T14:34:37Z

Art of Learning is a new company by Gayle Griffiths that specializes in Waldorf-oriented teaching supplies, art materials, and so forth. Check them out at www.art-of-learning.com (916/723-4225)