Waldorf in the Home

"The Greening of Story"
Keynote address with 2 puppet shows by Suzanne Down

When we trust the depths of goodness living in nature's stories and share them with our children when they are young, we build skills and understanding for them to want to become the future earth healers in a challenging world. Suzanne shares practical suggestions and some of her puppetry.

"Creating a 'KinderGarden' for Young Children"
Keynote address with slides by Betty Peck

With over 50 years' experience working with young children and nature, Betty Peck has been called a national treasure. Program includes slides of her garden-centered program for young children. You'll be inspired whether you're at home or teaching in a program for young children!

Gardening with Children: The Waldorf Curriculum
Workshop by Carolyn Brown

Home schooling or just gardening with your child? Carolyn shares how the gardening curriculum she developed at Waldorf School of the Peninsula relates to and strengthens the development of the school-aged child and the main lesson curriculum.

Sharing Nature with Others
Workshop by Joseph Cornell

Experience many nature awareness games from Joseph Cornell's Sharing Nature books. These innovative nature activities make learning fun, meaningful and deeply inspiring. Activities from the Earth Stewardship program, Journey to the Heart of Nature, and from Flow Learning (TM) can encourage individuals in group-settings to have their own profound experience of nature.

Nurturing Love and Reverence for Nature with Our Children
Workshop by Nancy Poer

Children who have experienced wonder and reverence in childhood can have the basis for gifts of spirituality, universality and love of the earth and its peoples as adults. However, in today's culture, these soul capacities require special nurturing. With spiritual insight, we will look at imaginative, practical ways to nurture thankfulness in the children for our blessed Mother Earth.

"Sharing the Joy of Nature and Flow Learning"

Video by Joseph CornellJoseph Cornell, author of the pioneering works Sharing Nature with Children and Listening to Nature, shares from 25 years of developing inspiring nature activities you can use to deepen your family's experience and relationship with nature. Professionally filmed in the Sierras, this beautiful video also reviews the steps of Flow Learning(TM): Awaken Enthusiasm, Focus Attention, Direct Experience and Share Inspiration. There are many examples, outdoors in nature, of teaching exercises described in Joseph's books an recorded presentaitons. Practical as well as inspirational--don't miss it!

Workshop by Cook Rodgers (Audio in CD format)
Practical and playful ideas for working with the nature spirits and helping your child tune into the natural world. Help develop a relationship with nature that will provide a source of comfort, joy and healing throughout your child's life and nurture his or her role as a future caretaker of our Mother Earth.

"The Sky Starts at your Feet: Nature from a Child's View"
Keynote Address by Sharon Lovejoy

Nationally-known author Sharon Lovejoy (Roots, Shoots, Buckets & Boots, Sunflower Houses, and Trowel & Error) shares ways to enchant and enliven children's relationships with nature through gardens and gardening. Sharon shares a collection of simple techniques for learning with children, not teaching at them as she shares her formula of the Five S's.

"Gardening as a Pathway to Understanding Nature"
Workshop by Chris Korrow

An organic/biodynamic garden is a miniature ecosystem in which the gardener strives to mimic the workings of nature. Gardens vary greatly from location to location, and understanding your specific plot will give you insight as to the best way to deal with its uniqueness. These simple concepts are also a great aid in teaching children about gardening, biodiversity, soil science, the environment and even climate change.

"Can We See with Fresh Eyes? Replacing Habits of Abstract Thought"
Workshop by Craig Holdrege

Do we encourage our children to enjoy the night sky, or do we explain how many light years away those stars are? To help our children have deep experiences of the world, we need to overcome our tendency to over-intellectualize--to explain and define. Can we learn to hold back, provide opportunities for quiet observation, and portray the world with open-ended concepts that can grow as children grow?

"Connecting Children and Nature"
Workshop by Jill Dreves

Explore your connection to the natural world and how it impacts your child's. Based on the work of Richard Louv (Last Child in the Woods) and the work of the Wild Bear Center for Nature Discovery in Nederland, Colorado, Jill shares the current trends and research on the importance of connecting children with nature. Participants also make a biodome, a great project to do with your children.

"Developing Healthy Sensory Integration
through Outdoor Play"
Workshop by Nancy Blanning

Outdoor play in the natural world has supported sensory development for ages, and we need to reclaim this connection. Nancy takes participants on a playful walk and then explores the senses of touch, self-movement and balance, and ways to use the natural world as our playground for children's healthy development.

"Sharing the Joy of Nature"
Keynote address by Joseph Cornell

This recording of Joseph Cornell's keynote address at the "Children, Nature and Us" Conference provides many nature activities you can use with children and adults to increase awareness and enjoyment in nature. He demonstrates how to attract birds, how to one the senses by "being a camera," and many other enjoyable activities. Joseph also includes uplifting stories and insights from the lives of great nature mystics, including John Muir, Henry David Thoreau, and others. Lively and entertaining, with many practical applications.

"Smart by Nature: Schooling for Sustainability"
Keynote Address by Lisa Bennett

Lisa Bennett, communications director for the Center for Ecoliteracy, discusses the hopeful new movement that is rising in schools across North America in response to the environmental challenges we are facing . Addressing these issues will require leaders and citizens who can think ecologically, which means: Schools need to prepare students who understand the principles by which nature sustains life and have the values, ability, and courage to act on that understanding. Lisa also discusses ways in which Waldorf parents and educators can participate in (and already are advancing) this important new movement in education.