How to Support Healthy Brain Development for the Homeschool Student

Imagine lessons that begin with a story, rather than a lecture.  Envision a world where every child is encouraged to create art, regardless of his or her natural ability.  Imagine a school where math, grammar, language arts, history, and science are brought to the students through stories, hands-on experiments, songs, painting, drawing, drama, building, and movement – the arts!  Imagine a school where students experience the academic content through positive personal experiences that nurture a lifelong love of learning.  Enter Waldorf pedagogy.  Children don’t just create art; they experience it on a deeper level. 

It is well-known that the Waldorf approach calls for the arts to be incorporated into every lesson. Yes, even into math and science lessons.  The arts include drawing, painting, music, drama, storytelling, sculpting, creative building/handwork, crafting, poetry, etc. 

A common misconception about an arts-based curriculum is that it is for students who have previously shown giftedness or interest in art.  While those students would certainly find the Waldorf curriculum appealing, an arts-based curriculum should be considered for all students, as it supports and enriches optimal brain development and a sense of well-being.

Children in their late elementary and middle school years are still in the heart of the brain development process.  Neuroscientists agree that brain development is not complete until a person reaches their 20s, sometimes late into their 20s. 

According to an article published by the Waldorf Research Institute entitled Waldorf Education is Developmentally Appropriate – What Exactly Does this Mean?, “Recent MRI equipment has illuminated the fact that in young children, artistic work, full body playing, and sensory stimulation all light up the whole brain. Focused academic work, on the other hand, only lights up small parts of the brain. That ‘lighting’ up points to the development of neurons, making the child’s brain replete with neurons which end up looking, at their best, like a gorgeous, mature tree crown. Once myelinated, these neurons communicate for clear thinking, flexible problem solving, executive function, and creativity.”  (https://www.waldorflibrary.org/articles/1249-waldorf-education-is-developmentally-appropriate-what-exactly-does-this-mean)

Cutting-edge studies by neuroscientists and educators at the Learning & Brain conference in San Francisco, California in 2015 found that students in arts-integrated classrooms are more creative, positively challenged, and more engaged in their schoolwork than those not in arts-integrated classrooms.  After a decade of studying the human brain, scientists at this conference were able to confirm that “the arts enhance math and science comprehension.”

Research presented at the Learning & Brain conference highlight how the arts:  

·       encourage joyful, active learning.

·       help students make and express personal connections to content.

·       help students understand and express abstract concepts.

·       stimulate higher level thinking.

·       connect students to authentic learning that matters to them.

·       provide opportunities for all learners—even struggling learners—to be successful.

·       develop feelings of self-efficacy.

·       increase intrinsic motivation to learn.

·       develop students’ abilities to apply learning to new situations and experiences.

·       motivate students to engage more fully with the related subject area.

·       extend how learners process and retain information because it combines several learning modalities (visual, aural, and kinesthetic) and thus reach a wider range of students.

·       (focused on drama and storytelling) “strengthen students’ visualization of the text and their emotional engagement with it, both of which contribute to greater retention and understanding.”

·       naturally involve several ways of processing information that may have positive effects on long-term memory.

Research from the Kennedy Center was presented at this same conference and one can find a lot more about the science behind arts-infused curriculum here:  https://www.kennedy-center.org/education/resources-for-educators/classroom-resources/articles-and-hot-tos/articles/collections/arts-integration-resources/.  

At Lotus & Ivy, our teachers integrate the arts into every academic lesson.  Just to name a few examples -- we create main lesson books full of carefully-rendered illustrations and diagrams, we paint, we sculpt, we build models, we craft, we hear stories, we play games, we sing, we act out historical events or scenes from literature, and we learn poetry.  All of these activities allow the student to experience the lessons in meaningful ways.  When students feel like they had a positive personal experience with a subject or content, retention, understanding, and skills are enhanced along with an increased love and joy for a lifetime of learning. 

Lotus & Ivy supports homeschooling families by bringing the arts to children on a consistent basis as part of the full academic curriculum.  Main Lesson blocks, Complete Year Math, and Complements are available in a live virtual format for grades K-8.  Our curriculum and our teachers will play a key role in students’ brain development reaching its full potential.  

To learn more, visit our website at http://www.lotusandivy.com or email us at lotusandivyvirtualclasses@gmail.com.

The Waldorf approach to science, used by Lotus & Ivy teachers, contrasts the conventional approach in several ways. In the early years, Classes K-3, Waldorf science is centered on promoting wonder and developing keen observation skills.  The natural world and the practical sciences, such as gardening & agriculture, farming, housebuilding, and textiles, are presented to the student through the arts, stories, and experiences. Teachings avoid abstract concepts at this age and present what is relatable and meaningful to the child.

Formal science lessons begin in Class 4 with the study of animals, something dear to the heart of the 9- and 10-year-old child.  In Class 5, we present a formal study of botany.  The middle school years are significantly science-heavy offering Astronomy (Classes 6 and 7), Physics (Classes 6, 7, & 8) Chemistry (Classes 7 & 8), Rocks & Minerals or Geology (Classes 6), and Human Anatomy (Class 8).  (Some Waldorf curricula also include the study of aviation and meteorology.) See our Gallery of Science Main Lesson Book pages at the bottom of this page.

What Makes the Waldorf Approach to Science So Effective?

 ·        Each lesson is developed with the whole child in mind.  Education must be a balance of learning for the head, heart, and hands.  The gifts each child has go beyond the limits of their logical thoughts and analytical reasoning.  The Waldorf approach helps to call forth all the child’s gifts, supporting both sides of the brain to their fullest potential. A student’s creative and innovative capacities come from nurturing both hemispheres of the brain, and an optimal brain needs movement, art, music, analytical thinking, stories about real scientists that call on feelings, logical reasoning, and more.  After all, Einstein said, “The greatest scientists are artists as well.”

 ·        “Experience before explanation” refers to the idea of performing a science experiment with the student, or letting them experience a phenomenon, without giving any facts or explanations for at least 24 hours.  This gives the student an invaluable opportunity to absorb and ponder the phenomena and start to formulate ideas and questions independently.  This philosophy is often called the phenomenological approach and is the core of the Waldorf approach to teaching science.

So often in conventional science lessons, we give the explanation without giving the student time to fully process what they have observed in order to form questions for themselves. Allowing the questions to form and live in the student is the root of critical and creative thinking and is instrumental in developing deep thinkers.  

Remember learning about osmosis, planetary retrograde motion, Newton’s Laws, isotopes, or the immune system in your science classes years ago?  Were you able to experience these concepts in meaningful ways so that you remember and understand them years later?  Did you have a positive personal experience with each one that fostered a love of learning?  Sometimes students do not even get to experience the phenomena – it is solely presented lecture-style or as words on paper.

The Waldorf approach to science gives students the opportunity to experience the phenomena in meaningful ways through the arts, science experiments, hands-on engineering activities, and more.  Giving students a positive personal experience with the content fosters their love of learning.

·         The concept of teaching from “whole to parts” also comes from Waldorf pedagogy.  The idea is to bring the big picture to students first, then dive deeper into the detailed parts from there.  When introducing a concept, it is important to start from a place of familiarity for the student.  When bringing new concepts to students, help them build a foundation that is familiar and then build from there.  

For example, in Chemistry in Class 7, we present oxygen and nitrogen as elements.  We start out by discussing the air we breathe.  We muse about the fact that we cannot see the air with our naked eye, but we know it is there.  We will continue our discussion with questions like, “How do we know it’s there?” or “What do you already know about our air?”  This would lead to the discussion of gases, and to the question, “What other gases are you familiar with?”  

There is an interesting story I love to tell students about a man who did not realize propane gas was denser than the air we breathe.  He released propane from his gas grill into his back yard thinking it would dissipate into the upper atmosphere.  Unfortunately, it settled along the grass below the air we breathe and made its way to the pilot light on his hot water heater adjacent to his home.  The result was an explosion!  (This story is always popular, and they never forget it.)  By telling this story, I can connect the concept of density to something they can relate to well – the air we breathe.

From here, we start our study of the elements (the parts) that make up the air we breathe (the whole).  We bring in the periodic table and eventually compare the elements in the air we breathe to the elements that make up propane.  Of course, this will eventually lead to a hands-on density experiment with liquids that will layer upon each other.

Now imagine if this lesson started with the periodic table and dove right into elements.  It would have been abstract and not nearly as meaningful to the student.  Going from whole to parts, we give students a foundation from which to make connections with the learning.  When we connect the dots in a meaningful way it allows the new and abstract content to be remembered and relatable.   

While academic success is very important, the Waldorf approach recognizes that graduates who develop a love for lifelong learning, a passion for their work, a natural generosity, and a high level of emotional intelligence are more likely to grow into fulfilled and happy adults.  This is our overarching goal and why Lotus & Ivy teachers plan lessons that are meaningful.  When students have a positive personal experience with the lesson, they want to learn more.  As Rudolf Steiner says, “Our highest endeavor must be to develop free human beings who are able of themselves to impart purpose and direction to their lives. The need for imagination, a sense of truth, and a feeling of responsibility—these three forces are the very nerve of education.”

Lotus & Ivy offers main lesson, math, Spanish, German, handwork, and music for grades K-8.  To learn more about how your child can join a live, interactive virtual class taught by a Waldorf-trained teacher, visit our website at www.lotusandivy.com or contact us at lotusandivyvirtualclasses@gmail.com.

 

 Sample Science Main Lesson Book Pages

Waldorf education is so abundant and full it is impossible to sufficiently describe it in a 300-page book, much less in a blog post; however, these ABCs of Waldorf Homeschooling will provide newcomers with a good starting point from which to dive in deeper, and will provide inspiration to Waldorf homeschool veterans.

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A picture is worth a thousand words.  Through main lesson books, Waldorf students learn to present his/her learning in beautiful and compelling ways to engage an audience thereby practicing effective presentation skills from a very young age.  Textbooks and worksheets are rare.

Beeswax, block & stick crayons, wooden toys, & play silks.  Waldorf materials are made of natural materials to awaken the imagination and to surround the child with warmth and beauty. 

Careful consideration of screen time is important to Waldorf families because screen time that is passive and one-sided is cognitively harmful.  Waldorf virtual classes must be live and collaborative, and the screen time limited, to foster meaningful connection between the teacher and students, real time interaction, and good use of technology.  Making Waldorf available to every family with internet access is a wonderful thing!

Diversity is necessary for a complete education. Maya Angelou stated, “…in diversity, there is beauty and there is strength.”  Twenty-first century Waldorf families are committed to diversifying the original Euro-centric and patriarchal stories in our main lessons. We consider racism and any form of discrimination to be unacceptable. We fundamentally reject any view which questions the equal value of every individual. We explicitly reject any racial doctrine attributed to or inferred from the ideas of Rudolf Steiner or any other person.

Experience the seasons and festivals with reverence. Waldorf schools incorporate special festivals, or holidays, which are integral to the rhythm of life and passing of the seasons. In celebrating seasonal holidays, the goal is to develop in the child (and adult) a sense of the rhythm of the seasons and the passage of time, and a sense that there is something bigger than herself. Our lives are seasonal as we go through ups and downs and it’s important for us to remember that seasons change, and time passes so we are never in a “down season” forever. Celebrating the rhythm of the year helps us to remember, and live out, this truth.

Follow a rhythm at home and in your school lessons.  The Waldorf idea of rhythm refers to a repeated routine, whether it be daily, weekly, or yearly that mimics the natural rhythms of the body, like breathing in and breathing out.  “Breathing in” activities include things that draw us inward, like rest and listening to a story or lesson. “Breathing out” activities include outward activities like playing, exercising, and helping with chores. The rhythm in and of itself enables children to participate successfully.  Arranging the day so that it is a sequence of in-breaths and out-breaths is comforting to human beings, and when children know what to expect, they can relax, and you can see the peacefulness it brings to their body.  We all know how it feels when a day is a-rhythmic, right?!? No one can learn in a stressful environment. 

Geometry and math are brought to the students in a threefold approach.
1.   Through rhythmic and mental math during the morning warm-up or circle time
2.   Through daily practice similar to what we are used to in traditional schooling
3.   And through math main lessons once, twice, or three times a year. 
In Waldorf math, blind procedures are never given, rather students are led to discover math concepts for themselves.  Arts and hands-on activities are consistently infused into the lessons.

Head, Heart, and Hands – the three components to every Waldorf lesson.  When students have engaged their heads through cognitive stimulation, their heart through feelings, and their hands through artistic or creative expression, the learning is complete, meaningful, engaging, and it sticks! 

Inner work is the consistent practice of the teacher or homeschool parent toward personal growth and well-being.  Rudolf Steiner said, ”You will not be good teachers if you focus only on what you do and not upon who you are.”  Lotus & Ivy teacher, Karen Smith, says, “The care with which an item is placed on a shelf, a door closed, or a chair moved is noticed and replicated by our young students.” Every action and reaction we make is teaching our children, even into adulthood.

Join a Facebook community like Waldorf-Inspired Virtual Classes: Lotus & Ivy for support.

Knitting is an artistic and mathematical medium. In the early years, knitting reinforces counting and pattern recognition. The counting and patterns grow in complexity as the child becomes more proficient. As an engineer, I noticed my daughter’s knitting instructions in 6th and 7th grade looked very much like the computer code I learned in engineering school! If you need more convincing as to why you should include knitting as a critical piece of your child’s homeschool curriculum, here is a wonderful article describing in more detail the brain work required during knitting.

Lotus & Ivy provides key elements of Waldorf education to English-speaking homeschoolers worldwide.  We provide Main Lessons for K-8 and Complete Year Math, Spanish, German, Handwork, and Music in a live, interactive format for grades 1-8. For families who do not have access to a brick and mortar Waldorf school and desire instruction by a trained Waldorf teacher, Lotus & Ivy brings the teachers to your home.

Many hands make light work. This phrase refers to the meaningful work Waldorf students learn, as early as Kindergarten with Lotus & Ivy, so they can contribute to the family in helpful ways. For example, students learn to garden, cook, knit, make gifts like candles, gloves, and birdhouses — all of which help at home and give students lifelong skills and a feeling of pride, shared responsibility, and belonging.

Nature is the best classroom. On a recent trip out West, my family and I made stops at Yellowstone National Park, Carlsbad Caverns, Arches National Park, Grand Teton National Park, White Sands National Park, and The Grand Canyon. My head is spinning as I am writing this because I want to share so much incredible information here, but I’ll only share one cool fact and then let you explore these amazing places on your own. Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico is located in the middle of the desert. When it does rain there, it takes 8 months for the water to seep through the rock down 700 feet to reach the cave. Think about that for a minute… One of the best ways to enjoy nature is with loved ones or friends. Learning can occur in your backyard, at the neighborhood park, or at one of the 423 national park sites. Enjoy nature. Love nature. Respect nature. It is wonderous.

Optimal brain development occurs when both sides of the brain are working simultaneously.  According to an article published by the Waldorf Research Institute entitled Waldorf Education is Developmentally Appropriate – What Exactly Does this Mean?, “recent MRI equipment has illuminated the fact that in young children, artistic work, full body playing, and sensory stimulation all light up the whole brain. Focused academic work, on the other hand, only lights up small parts of the brain. That ‘lighting’ up points to the development of neurons, making the child’s brain replete with neurons which end up looking, at their best, like a gorgeous, mature tree crown. Once myelinated, these neurons communicate for clear thinking, flexible problem solving, executive function, and creativity.”  (https://www.waldorflibrary.org/articles/1249-waldorf-education-is-developmentally-appropriate-what-exactly-does-this-mean)

Practice, not perfection. One of the main tenets of Waldorf education is to educate the whole child, head, heart, and hands. The focus in on inspiring the child, not teaching them how to pass tests or make A’s. One of our Lotus & Ivy teachers said, “The stories throughout the curriculum are so rich and inspiring that the grammar, spelling lessons are just side effects.” Your children will be given many experiences to “practice” creating, learning, and discovering, and should never be pressured into fitting some synthetic standard of perfection.

Questions need not be answered before they are asked.  “Experience before explanation” refers to the idea of performing a science experiment with the student, or letting them experience a phenomenon, without giving any facts or explanations for at least 24 hours.  This gives the student an invaluable opportunity to absorb and ponder the phenomena and start to formulate ideas and questions independently.  This philosophy is often called the phenomenological approach. So often in conventional science lessons, we give the explanation without giving the student time to fully process what they have observed and form questions for themselves. Sometimes students do not even get to experience the phenomena – it is solely presented lecture-style or as words on paper. Allowing the questions to form and live in the student is the root of critical and creative thinking, and is instrumental in developing deep thinkers.  

Rudolf Steiner is credited with saying this quote, but it was actually Caroline von Heydebrand who said it. She was one of the first teachers whom Steiner trained in 1919 and she deserves the credit for this quote that gives Waldorf teachers a beautiful vision of education, “Our highest endeavor must be to develop free human beings who are able of themselves to impart purpose and direction to their lives. The need for imagination, a sense of truth, and a feeling of responsibility — these three forces are the very nerve of education.”

“Since it is so likely that (children) will meet cruel enemies, let them at least have heard of brave knights and heroic courage.” (CS Lewis)  Storytelling is one of the most beloved facets of the Waldorf approach. Telling children a story in your own words is a warm, earnest, and engaging experience for the teacher/parent and child.  In addition, storytelling has many cognitive benefits. Storytelling strengthens the students’ visualization capacity and their emotional engagement with the story, both of which contribute to greater retention and understanding. Their ability to create a picture in their “mind’s eye,” is an essential skill for creative thinking later in life.  

Stories are an effective teaching method. Think back on stories from your childhood.  Some of the greatest truths and lasting impacts came from stories we heard as children.  Remember Dorothy?  It turned out she always had the power within herself – she didn’t need a wizard.  

There is no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing.  No matter what, go outdoors every day.  (See Letter N above.) Let your kids get messy, Mama! It’s okay! Little ones making mud pies from fresh rainwater, while it’s still drizzling…there’s just nothing like it. The smell right before and after a rain. Yes! The feeling of cool red clay between your toes, oh, there’s just something organically wonderful about the minerally, naturalness of red clay. Allowing students to experience nature no matter the weater gives them more opportunities to experience the wonder and beauty of their world, a perspective they will carry into adulthood and throughout their lives.

Understanding of math and science is enhanced by the arts.  After a decade of studying the human brain, scientists at the 2015 Learning and Brain conference in San Francisco were able to confirm that the arts:  

·        encourage joyful, active learning.

·        help students make and express personal connections to content.

·        help students understand and express abstract concepts.

·        stimulate higher level thinking.

·        connect students to authentic learning that matters to them.

·        provide opportunities for all learners—even struggling learners—to be successful.

·        develop feelings of self-efficacy.

·        increase intrinsic motivation to learn.

·        develop students’ abilities to apply learning to new situations and experiences.

·        motivate students to engage more fully with the related subject area.

·        extend how learners process and retain information because it combines several learning modalities (visual, aural, and kinesthetic) and thus reach a wider range of students.

·        (focused on drama and storytelling) “strengthen students’ visualization of the text and their emotional engagement with it, both of which contribute to greater retention and understanding.”

·        naturally involve several ways of processing information that may have positive effects on long-term memory.

Wow!  That is some list of benefits!

Verses in Waldorf education help contribute to the rhythm of the day by marking the beginning and end of moments or tasks.  They also consist of beautiful verbiage and are often poems. Research has shown that introducing poetry to children at earlier ages, and encouraging them to memorize it, has significant benefits.  Not only will it help instill an intrinsic appreciation for rhythm and melody, but it will challenge the brain and train the brain to improve memory.  Research has shown that memorization makes the brain stronger, more capable of critical thinking, and better able to focus.  Poetry memorization helps with articulation and provides students with a more eloquent vocabulary.  All these benefits will give the student an advantage as they progress through schooling and beyond.  

Waldorf education is a developmentally appropriate, academically rigorous approach to education in which the arts and creative thinking play a major role in all subjects.  If I had to sum it up in one sentence, that would be it.

Exams, tests, assessments, oh my!  How do Waldorf students perform?  Stanford study

You are Waldorf enough! What are you waiting for? We hear parents say they aren’t sure if they can homeschool using Waldorf methods because it’s just too perfect, too beautiful, too complicated, or because their children watch TV, play video games, or play with plastic toys. It is not about who you are as a parent or what your family does. It is about what you want for your children.

From Zeus to Zarathustra, ziggurat to zenith, zygote to zinc, zoology to zodiac, the zygomatic process, zigzag forms, and atmospheric zones, Waldorf education brings learning with imagination, stories, art and experience like no other educational approach.

Many blessings to you on your Waldorf journey from the faculty and staff of Lotus & Ivy.

By Sarah Barrett

Welcome to the BRAND NEW Lotus & Ivy blog! We are looking forward to being a premier resource for Waldorf homeschooling families in the years ahead. Upcoming blog topics include Teaching Waldorf Math, the ABCs of Waldorf Homeschooling, Microgreens Gardening, Mother’s Day Gift Ideas, and so much more. We will have a few guest bloggers too! ;)

Our first blog is special because it addresses a question we hear a lot in Waldorf homeschooling groups and programs. It’s a question people are hesitant to ask out loud at first, but I’m willing to bet we’ve all wondered, “Am I Waldorf Enough?” before.

Waldorf education is so beautiful, robust, and complete that it can often feel intimidating to newcomers.  

I have met with dozens of families over the years who didn’t start out on their homeschooling journey with Waldorf curriculum, but, for a number of reasons, found themselves drawn to Waldorf education after homeschooling for a while. One thing I have noticed that is common to many families in this boat is the concern that they aren’t Waldorf enough. Are you Waldorf enough? I want to address this question today by starting out with a story about a girl named Clara.

Please click the link to hear Sarah’s 13-minute talk: “Are You Waldorf Enough?” (You will be able to download an mp3 file and play it whenever you like.)

by Heather Parrish

April showers bring May flowers and moms love flowers! Moms also love spending quality time with their families and making memories that will last a lifetime. Moms are so often the center of the family, the glue that holds all the pieces together. This Mother’s Day, we are offering some unique gift ideas for the Waldorf homeschooling mom. Click the photos below for a direct link to that product.

Lotus & Ivy does not benefit in any way from the sale of these products. Most of the products are sustainable and ethical products, and all are from women-owned businesses.

For clothing and jewelry, we suggest organic and/or sustainable materials. Here are a few to choose from (the pictures are linked):

1. ffc.eco- Original Cotton ”Elephantasia” Crewneck, was $100, now $50, made from organic cotton

2. shopwearwell.com- A gift that keeps on giving to Mom as a subscription for sustainable clothing. The monthly membership fee of $8.50 goes toward the monthly purchase, allowing Mom to keep the items she loves and return the ones that aren’t her style.

3. vivaiacollection.com- These shoes are made from plastic bottles and other recycled materials, are incredibly stylish, and are comfortable to wear.

4. thecuraco.com- The Cura Collective focuses on artful, ethical, and mindful products. The collection of beautiful jewelry and other items have been sustainably sourced. One we love: Aiko Gold Vermeil Hoop Earring by Boma, $20

For gifts for the home, Mom may enjoy making her own beeswax candles (meadowsweetnaturals.com, Beeswax Candle Making Set, $47.95) or pampering herself with some skin care products from MyChelle. “MyChelle products transformed the natural beauty industry by being the first to use anti-aging peptides, plant stem cells, and clinically proven dermatological ingredients.” (pharmica.com) You can save 10% by using code WELLNESS10 and there’s free shipping for orders over $45. We recommend MyChelle Sun Shield Liquid Tint SPF 50 Sunscreen. It comes in different tints so you you can find one that’s perfect for Mom. This sunscreen doubles as a non-greasy foundation for all day sun protection.

Perhaps you are heading to the lake or beach soon and Mom could use a new fashionable tote. We love this one from Orange Blossom Threads, Hello Sunshine Tote, $24. Orange Blossom Threads is an online clothing/fashion store owned and run by a homeschooling Mama of 4, breast cancer survivor, and friend. OBT takes styling appointments and will host a virtual trunk party for Mom and her Momfriends. Contact her at orangeblossomthreads.com/pages/contact-us.

Maybe Mom loves crystals - shopaquariansoul.com has ethically sourced crystals and stones. One we love: Jade Facial Massage Tool. Not only is this jade a calming stone, it is also heart-shaped, representing the love Mom shares everyday.

Some people love their digital calendar. For others, a daily planner helps them stay organized. If Mom prefers to use paper & pen, rather than a device, this Around the Day Waldorf-Inspired Planner, will keep her errands, chores, and children in order. The 2021-2022 Academic Year Calendar is on Pre-Order Status only so go to aroundthedayplanner.com to be on the list to be notified when it becomes available.

At Lotus & Ivy, we understand and appreciate all Moms (step-moms, aunts, girlfriends, and grandmothers) for being strong role models for your children, for being pillars of unconditional love, and for being there when you are needed most. Lotus & Ivy is a women-run business. Both Sarah Barrett and Heather Parrish are homeschool moms and entrepreneurs who strive to make the world their children live in a little better each day. We hope this list leads you to a new product that improves the life of the woman you call Mom.

Happy Mother’s Day!

by Sarah Barrett

We all find ourselves at a point (every year at least once, I think!) when we feel like things are not going as well as we would like with our homeschooling.  Somewhere along the way, we seem to have taken a wrong turn.  Maybe the kids seem bored or uninterested.  Maybe they are acting out or in tears. Maybe you are burned out and just don’t feel like preparing for the week’s lessons yet again.  Or maybe something just hasn’t felt “warm and fuzzy” in a long time.  It seems those special moments of connection with your children and with the curriculum hasn’t happened in a while, and everyone seems to be moving in a direction further and further away from connection.

The good news is that being aware that your homeschool is not where you would like for it to be allows you the opportunity to shift back into those moments of “flow”.  Being in flow means having a conscious feeling of inner harmony for whatever you are doing.  When you are in flow, you feel at peace.  When you are in flow, you feel like you are exactly where you need to be, and from this place comes more creativity, more productivity, and more contentment. 

Bringing your homeschool back to flow, starts with the homeschooling parent, of course.  But once you make the shift, the kids follow your lead.  It’s during these times of “flow” when the kids feel at peace with the lessons, and when they know, and you know, that the learning is meaningful and engaging.

So how do we make that shift back into flow from a place that is so far from it? 

Five Things You Can Do TODAY to Bring Your Waldorf Homeschool Days Back Into “Flow”

1.      Find a quiet place where you can spend 20-30 minutes uninterrupted.  Take a few breaths, close your eyes, and ask yourself, “What is not working well?”  Focus your mind on this question. You may come up with a list of several things that are not working well, and that is great!  Take a break from all of that this week.  Taking time off will bring solutions. 

My family is a Waldorf homeschooling family, and we came to a place when my oldest daughter just needed a break from main lesson book pages.  I had always been careful not to make the main lesson pages monotonous, but still, by the end of 5th grade, she needed a break.  So we didn’t make a main lesson book for Ancient Greece.  Instead, we just discussed the history and the lives of notable Greeks, and I told the Greek myths to her.  Taking this break from the main lesson book resulted in what felt like a renewal. 

During that block, she had so much creative energy and excitement toward the lessons.  She and my son made a movie about The Twelve Tasks of Heracles.  We had movie night a few times with whoever came to visit during that time.  The “movie theater” was complete with snacks, tickets, program brochures, and even a souvenir shop of Heracles-related items like homemade trading cards and beeswax monsters for purchase after the movie.  They drew a room-size map of Heracles travels.  They made a shadow puppet show for the Trojan War, and a life size diorama of Odysseus’ adventures. It turned out to be a really fun block!

2.      Once you determine what is not working, and set the intention to take a break from all of those things for a the week, take a few minutes to think of something YOU would really love to do with your kids, or something you would really like to teach them.  Do that this week.  Maybe it’s a new read-aloud.  Maybe it’s a trip to the beach or a local hike.  Kayaking, baking, gardening, movies, crafting, biking, birdwatching.  Whatever it is you would really love to do, DO IT.  And this can be several things, not just one

3.      Finally, make a list of 10 things you are doing exceptionally well or that went exceptionally well this week. Do not stop until you reach 10.  The list can be reflective of homeschool life or parenting and homelife.  When you homeschool, life is a conglomeration of all its parts.  Each piece affects the other, so everything counts here, even if not specific to homeschooling. 

Here are some ideas to get you started.

·        I hug my kids and tell them I love them every day.

·        I express enthusiasm about our learning.

·        They know I love to teach them.

·        My son enjoyed his art classes this week.

·        My daughter enjoyed her playdate on Sunday.

·        We went mural hunting downtown and everyone enjoyed it.

·        My daughter and I had a connected conversation on Saturday.

·        Family movie night

·        We biked to the river three times this week.

·        I averaged 8 hours of sleep this week.

·        I introduced a brand new math concept, and I thought of a great story to go with it.

This list should make you feel good, and these are things to keep doing. Maybe this list inspires new ideas.

4.      By taking time this week to step back from your recent routine, it opens space to let go of what is not working and invite in new options that feel in flow.  I think once we take a moment to be aware, it’s often obvious what isn’t working and what needs to be let go.  It’s more of a challenge to discern what to invite in. 

One thing that always helps me determine what to invite in is asking myself “What does (child’s name) need right now?”  Asking this question during my walk or during a quiet time alone once a week, or once a month, has been so helpful.  Our intuition as mothers is so powerful.  

Sometimes “stuff” sneaks into our homeschool routine from places of comparison with other families or fear that we are not doing enough.  Anything that comes from these places never turn into true opportunities for growth and learning for the kids.  Be aware of why you are inviting new activities in, and make sure it comes from a place of authentic support for your child and is alignment with their needs. 

Set aside time this week to think about what to invite in, but don’t feel hurried to add new activities right away. Maybe you just need to let go of things for awhile.

5. Keep in mind the old saying that “less is more”.  When it comes to homeschooling, covering several subjects each day means you only have enough time to touch the surface of several topics, and they are often disjointed and hurried.  When you deep-dive into one or two subjects, the learning becomes more meaningful and effective, and the learning tends to “stick” more. 

I like to think in threes each day.  This means there are three academic areas where we put our focus today.  The first two are always main lesson and math.  The third is dependent on the day of the week and my children’s interests now that they are older.  Maybe once or twice a week it is music, foreign language, handwork, sports, STEM club, or art.  Keep in mind, for example, that you can do handwork for a couple months and then switch to something else during that time slot.  Then, over the course of the year, you have covered more than you expected, and it never felt like overwhelm or overscheduling.

As kids get older, you may consider adding more than one afternoon activity some days, but make sure it doesn’t feel like too much.

Being in “flow” while you are homeschooling is one of the best feelings in the world. This time with our children is so precious. Wishing you moments of quiet contemplation as you discern what is best for your children on your homeschooling journey.

If you would like to join an authentic Waldorf community online for support and virtual classes, check out what Lotus & Ivy has to offer.  Enrollment is open at the end of each main lesson block. 

For a virtual Zoom Q&A session with one of our directors, please contact us.   For more blog posts like these, be sure to join our mailing list.

by Heather Parrish

So when I say I garden on a small scale, I mean it. I have one spot along the fence line on the right side of my property that’s about 8 inches wide by 10 feet long. In this space, my youngest and I have planted parsley, basil, thyme, mint, rosemary, carrots, eggplant, sunflowers, and pineapple crowns from 5-6 pineapples. We also have tomato plants and serrano peppers growing in old flower pots. We share a love of planting seeds and watching and waiting for them to sprout. There’s something magical about the day a seed sprouts. It’s new and just beginning.

I picked up a couple of packets of microgreens seeds a few weeks back. I’ve never grown microgreens before, but our family is trying to eat more healthy foods and I thought this would not only give us some extra fiber and nutrients but would also be fun to try. After perusing the internet for the correct way to grow microgreens, I decided to try it the “Heather Way.” I’m all about reduce, reuse, recycle so I had some reuseable plastic containers from my mail order food service that I washed out and took the label off. This container was the perfect size for one package of seeds, about 3 inches by 4 inches.

The wise ole internet said there needed to be something for the seeds to sit on that would absorb water but not too much or too little and suggested a coconut mat, but I was straight out of coconut mats, so I opted for a paper towel. Of course, the unbleached recycled ones are optimal for this project, but any paper towel or paper napkin will do.

So here’s what you need: a small container that will fit in your windowsill (preferably one that gets some sun), a paper towel or paper napkin, a package of microgreens seeds ( I used red and green mustard microgreens seeds.), a sprayer filled with filtered water, and an additional container for soaking.

And here’s what you do:

1. Fold the paper towel or paper napkin to fit nicely into the bottom of your container. Spray the paper towel with water so that it is wet but not soaked.

2. Soak the seeds in filtered water for at least 30 minutes, but not longer than 1 hour.

3. Spread the seeds out evenly on the paper towel or paper napkin and place container in the windowsill.

4. Water the seeds each day several times. Try not to let the seeds dry out. Once the plants sprout, spray the sprouts each day.

5. Wait.

The microgreens had a very mild taste, were extremely tender, and provided extra crunch and color to the plate. Growing microgreens this way is easy and fun!