In the first seven years of life, the child seeks to see that the world is a place of goodness, and will learn primarily by imitation and through activity. In the next developmental phase (through puberty) the child most naturally learns through beauty, from adults who merit being authorities. (This is why storytelling and art are employed as teaching vehicles throughout the elementary curriculum.) Finally, entering into the third developmental stage, and ready at last for true independent thinking: the teenager naturally begins a quest for truth.

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It is our hope that this site will become your favorite resource for your Waldorf home schooling and parenting. This site is updated regularly so bookmark it now and remember to check back again real soon for updates and new inspirations.

Blessings, Peace, Love & Light
Kytka Hilmar-Jezek, Ph.D.

PS – The video you just watched (above) is different than the video to the right under the heading: “Mission & Purpose”. These videos are my gift to you. They are all throughout the site, and are all meant to inspire you and get you into the correct mindset for your parenting journey!

Not too long ago, Michael’s was having a sale and my husband had the afternoon off, so I got to go alone. In their floral section I found little “nests” and birdhouses, which didn’t really look like functioning bird houses, but were made of wood and covered with moss, etc..

I purchased several items and kept the bag hidden in the car until they went to their grandmother’s and I again had some free time. I carefully placed all of the items I had found all over the backyard, into hiding places within the bushes, on branches, etc…

Some they discovered right away, some are still awaiting discovery. It was interesting to watch from my window and see
how they reacted when they suddenly made a discovery – precious!

It was also interesting to see what had happened to the ones who sat in the elements for weeks – how they became a part of the landscape and truly came to look like fairies had moved into them! It was an idea which has brought many hours of joy to my children…

A flow form in the Biodynamic gardens at Rudolf Steiner College

All back yards have the potential for great discovery and activities. You should try to keep the area as natural as possible, and yet have a variety of “tools” on hand. These would include any of the following: a place for digging, a vegetable or flower garden, some wild growing plants (vines, wildflowers) wind chimes, windsocks, wind wands, pinwheels, prisms to catch the sun, gazing balls, a bonfire pit (obviously with supervision), planting sunflower houses or bean tents so children can experiment with light and dark, a water table, watering cans, seeds, potting soil and pots, scraps of wood (no nails!) for building, a long log for a balance beam, a hammock or comfortable chair, tree stumps which could be used for chairs & tables, cotton gauze cloths which could dirty, clothes pins or play clips, ropes, etc…

Simple Garden Magic:

Additionally, keeping a garden is a large part of the Waldorf curriculum. Even if you have an apartment in the city – try to keep a window box of herbs for your children. they will love it. It’s also fun to take a drive out to local farms and farmer’s markets. Steiner said:

“Although it may seem absurd, it must be stated that a person who has not learned to distinguish an ear or rye from an ear of wheat is no complete human being. It can even be said that a person who has learned to distinguish between rye and without having observed them growing in the fields, has not attained the ideal. As teachers we should avoid going on botanical expeditions to collect specimens to be shown in the classroom. The children themselves should be taken out and wherever possible, be brought to understand the plant world in its actual connection with the earth, with the rays of the sun, with life itself. Through this we can find the transition in a quite naive way to something else which is very important.” ~ Rudolf Steiner

Photo credit, Roxie Zwicker, Spirited Woodland Designs.

Biodynamic Seeds!

Biodynamic Seeds for the Home Garden: A Collection of Seeds for Fourteen Vegetables and Flowers All Raised in Biodynamic Gardens Worldwide. click here

Articles & Webs:

Kytka’s Complete List of Biodynamic Gardening Books

• Circle Garden – Lovely article by Anna Rando (.pdf file)
• Feeding the Child’s Soul in Nature (.pdf file)
• The Farmer’s Almanac
• Herb Quarterly

Recommended Reading:

• Roots, Shoots, Buckets & Boots: Gardening Together with Children Green thumbs and non-green thumbs alike will fall in love with Roots, Shoots, Buckets, & Boots, a remarkably fun and informative introduction to the wonderful world of gardening–and more specifically, gardening with children. Learn how to make everything from a pizza garden (pizza-pie-shaped, with herbs and vegetables for a fabulous pizza at harvest time), to a sunflower house (a secret hideaway with stately sunflowers and lovely creeping morning glories), to a moon garden (“Fragrance is the color of night”). Chock full of helpful hints, clever and artistic touches, and intriguing “recipes” (Moth Broth and Compost Sandwich, to name a few), this idea book will spark creativity and a lifelong fascination with gardening. Nine concepts for theme gardens are presented in a clearly defined yet non-rigid manner that is just right for encouraging young gardeners. Sharon Lovejoy, award-winning author and illustrator of several gardening books, including Hollyhock Days: Garden Adventures for the Young at Heart, has a true knack for working with all kinds of living things, including children. She understands how quickly young people will be turned off by inflexible rules, and instead encourages budding green thumbs to experiment and explore, while providing them with useful guidelines and helpful information. Wonderfully earthy watercolors make this cozy book even more welcoming.
• Developing Biodynamic Agriculture: Reflections on Early Research:  Biodynamic agriculture was launched at a conference held on the Koberwitz estate in Germany. Adalbert Count Keyserlingk, the son of the hosts, was present, and this book reflects his life-long absorption in biodynamics. It presents a wide range of material, including the Count’s personal experiences of Rudolf Steiner at work, his reflection on practical research and experimentation (including photographic documentation) and descriptions of biodynamic preparations. More than anything else, however, his words successfully convey the enthusiasm, the exalted feelings and the power of initiative that arose from Rudolf Steiner’s work in this field: to found a method of farming which can provide nutritious and safe food for the future of humanity.
• Hollyhock Days: Garden Adventures for the Young at Heart: This book starts at planning a simple garden for children and adults and closes with a friendly conversation about garden critters. Each section mingles garden memories from children to grandparents, and includes poems, delicate illustrations, lists of plants, and ideas in a gentle and nostalgic way. This book inspires me to plan garden time even after a hard day or a sleepy early morning rising. My family members have always loved beautiful gardens for good, healthy eating, quiet work, or simply to gain pleasure in sweet smells and bright blooms. This book celebrates not only the garden for it’s generous gifts to people, but also the family who loves quiet and gentle times.
• Sunflower Houses: Inspiration from the Garden for Children and Their Grown Ups:  As I thumb through this 10th reprint of Sunflower Houses, I am reminded of the magic right outside our doors. In the author’s words, “May you always remember that the most joyous and important experiences in life are not to be bought, but grown and nurtured in our homes and gardens.” Winter, spring, summer or fall, the outdoors hold grand adventures for us!
• Gardening for Health & Nutrition: An Introduction to the Method of Biodynamic Gardening:  Long out of print, this classic introduction to biodynamic gardening introduces the gardener to an obvious, often forgotten principle: gardening is about living things, life forces, and life as such. In his introduction, John Philbrick talks of how each morning he was in the habit of meditating and communing in his garden at sunrise, until he gradually realized that the important things at work were “the forces of life”—”life is the key to existence on this planet.” He also realized that most gardeners were more concerned with death, with getting rid of things —bugs, weeds, fungi —than with life. Biodynamics is based on the interrelatedness, or the dynamics, of life forces. As Philbrick says: When you become aware of biodynamics, you become aware that everything that is alive is dependent upon everything else that’s alive, and it’s all a marvelous network of living things which are constantly changing. This book provides a simple and practical guide for the beginning gardener. It deals with planning a vegetable garden: how, when, and where to plant seeds and tools and compost making raised beds crop rotation, mulching, and companion plants harvesting, cooking, and preserving There are also sections on flowers, lawns, and home orchards. Gardening for Health & Nutrition concludes with a useful chapter on “most frequently asked questions.” If you are planning a garden—or need a few tips for the one you have, this is the book for you.
• Nature Spirits and Elemental Beings: Working with the Intelligence of Nature:  This book contains a comprehensive education about elemental beings. Call them what you will: elementals, fae folk, or the devic realm, this book introduces the various beings in connection with the author’s work in earth healing. Truly fascinating. Since the author’s native language is not English, and this is such a comprehensive tome, this may not be the best book for an introduction to elementals (Try ‘Summer with the Leprechauns’ first.) But don’t forget about Pogacnik’s books for further study.

I sure do!

Here are a few of our favorite verses, a Sunday Bread story!

Enjoy!

Bread Making Verses:

* * * * * * * *

The farmer gave us golden grain
For us to grind and grind.
Now it’s flour brown and white,
Soft and very fine.
Add the water, yeast and honey,

Mix it with our hands.
When it’s soft and not too runny
Let it stand and stand.
Shape the dough into a loaf.
Put it in to cook.
When it’s crusty, crisp and brown,
We’ll have a look.

* * * * * * * *

Slice, slice, the bread looks nice.
Spread, spread butter on the bread.
On the top put jam so sweet,
Now it’s nice for us to eat.

* * * * * * * *

Bread is a lovely thing to eat.
God Bless the barley and the wheat.
A lovely thing to breathe is air.
God Bless the sunshine everywhere.
Earth is a lovely place to know.
God Bless the folk that come and go.
Alive is a lovely thing to be.
Giver of life we say: Bless Thee.

The Sunday Bread Story

In the town lives the baker. On Saturday he wants to bake. He takes a bowl and from his sack pours flour into it, and then he adds milk. He kneads and leaves it on the table to rise. Then he goes off to the garden to have a rest. He lies down under a tree and soon dreams his sweet baker’s dream.

The dough in the bowl rises, and rises over the edge and looks around and says: “Oh, how large the world is. I want to rise more and see the whole wide world:

I rise and rise, higher and high
I rise and rise to see the sky.”

And the dough rises up the chimney, and to the top of the chimney there he sings:

“I rise and rise, higher and high
I rise and rise to see the sky.”

The song awakens the baker. He looks up, sees the dough on the chimney and says; “What are you doing up there?” – “I want to see the whole wide world.” says the dough. ‘Well, I will help you to see the whole wide world, come down.”

The dough comes down and goes back into the bowl. Then the baker takes the dough, adds raisins and nuts and divides the mixture into pieces. He rolls each piece out and kneads it and kneads it. Then he puts the loaves on the baking tray and pushes them into the oven. When they are baked golden brown and crisp, he lays them into his basket and goes into the street, where he calls out:

“Sunday bread, Sunday bread,
Baked with nuts and raisins red.”

Doors open and children come running along and say: “A Sunday loaf, please.” – “Yes, here you are,” says the baker. “A Sunday loaf please!” – “Yes”, says the baker and shares out the loaves of bread. The children say: “Thank you,” and skip away. Then the baker looks into his basket and says: “And now my dough has gone into the whole wide world!” and he goes home.

Bread Baking Verse

Lads and maidens, fair and strong,
to the baker: come along!
Early in the morning hour
bring the meal and bring the flour,
coarse or fine – corn or wheat,
makes delicious bread to eat.
But whatever you may bring,
don’t forget the seasoning:
put in salt and caraway,
anise seed or sesame,
mix it well to make the dough,
yeast and water make it grow.
Keep it warm and let it rest
For to rise – that is the best.
Now you knead with might and main,
knead it over and over again,
shape a round loaf, roll or bun,
stretch a long loaf – easy done.
Stroke them well with water clear,
gentle hands are welcome here.
In the oven’s steady glow
to be baked the bread must go,
basking there like in the sun,
getting brown until it’s done.

*Special Thanks to Miss Michelle for sharing this story & verse.

Please visit the following pages to learn more…

• Child’s Food for Life – A look at diet in relation to Waldorf Education
• Steiner on Vegetarianism
• Steiner Speaks on Nutrition
• Cooking Measurement Equivalents

Recommended Reading:

• The Tassajara Bread Book:   This book is the Bible of bread books – and all of the Waldorf schools I have been in contact with use the dough recipes from this wonderful little book.   Highly Recommended!
• The Waldorf Book of Breads:  What child doesn’t like to feel and knead bread dough, watch it rise, and then taste it fresh from the oven? Not only is such hands-on sensory experience fun for everyone, it is also invaluable to young children as they continue to incarnate into our world. These recipes have been handed down by grandmothers, mothers, aunts, and friends. They are easy to follow and encourage the baker, young and older alike, to use the best possible ingredients, making bread once again the healthy “staff of life” it once was. The Waldorf Book of Breads includes tasty breads for the daily table and specialty breads for the seasons and special occasions.
• The Waldorf Cookbook: The Waldorf Cookbook is a collection of recipes from Waldorf Schools, teachers, and parents all over the world. These recipes are the most cherished in the Waldorf tradition, and hand selected by Waldorf Schools around the globe. Inside The Waldorf Cookbook you will find wholesome, natural recipes to fill your home with health and harmony. These recipes have been passed down from generation to generation, crossing oceans and mountains to find their way into your family’s home. There is nothing like an old-fashioned recipe, one that has a history and has been nourishing the hearts and minds of the world for ages. This is what the Waldorf Cookbook brings to you.

Cut one long side from an empty cardboard box. Decorate the box, inside and out, with pictures of vegetables and fruits. Make a table and chairs from twigs and blocks or use furniture from your doll house. Spread twigs and leaves on top of the box to form a roof. Then hang small bunches of fruits (such as grapes of currants) from the ceiling.

Source: Natural Childhood

There are many Thanksgiving celebrations and festivals celebrated all over the world. Most have their roots in the ancient festivals of light. Use this time to celebrate with your children and families and to learn about the festivals and cultural celebrations of your people, your roots.

• Autumn Verses, click here
• Halloween Story for Painting, click here
• Halloween Story: The Little Hobgoblin, click here
• The Hungry Dragon: Story & Recipe for Michaelmas, click here
• The Story of Martin and the Poor Man, click here
• The Lantern, click here
• An Autumn Play, click here
• The Kite Flying Festival, click here

Halloween Costume Suggestions:

Some ideas for non violet, non-Disney and non-TV costumes include: pumpkin, sun, elf, moon, prince/ss, knight, wizard, maiden, fairy, flower, gnome, butter- fly, forest child, honey bee, animals, storybook characters (Nils, Robin Hood, Rapunzel, etc.) or workers (mail delivery, fire fighter, construction, etc) and traditional dress from other countries also make lovely costumes. Of course, there is also my personal favorite:

“My name is Pippilotta Delicatessa Windowshade Mackrelmint Efraim’s Daughter Longstocking formerly the Terror of the Seas Now a Cannibal King!!!” Yes, My son was Pippi Longstocking one year. Some people questioned a boy being a girl, to which he also very knowledgably replied…. “This is Halloween and you can be whom or whatever you wish – and I am being Pippi because she is a wonderful character!”

“I am beginning to suspect all elaborate and special systems of education. They seem to me to be built upon the supposition that every child is a kind of idiot who must be taught to think. Whereas, if the child is left to himself, he will think more and better, if less showily. Let him go and come freely, let him touch real things and combine his impressions for himself, instead of sitting indoors at a little round table, while a sweet-voiced teacher suggests that he build a stone wall with his wooden blocks, or make a rainbow out of strips of colored paper, or plant straw trees in bead flower-pots. Such teaching fills the mind with artificial associations that must be got rid of, before the child can develop independent ideas out of actual experience.” - Anne Sullivan

The Nature Corner: Celebrating the Years Cycle with a Seasonal Table
This book is excellent for the parent or teacher looking for a way to use simple materials and objects found in nature to create little scenes celebrating the seasonal changes and holidays. Beautifully illustrated with very clear instructions and complete patterns, this book encourages a return to genuine imaginative creativity and an awareness of natural beauty.

Festivals, Family and Food
A great resource book, it is organized by Seasons as well as Holidays, with songs, stories, crafts and recipes that relate to the season or holiday. It is very easy to come up with nice additions to your family celebrations with this book.

Mabon: Celebrating the Autumn Equinox
It’s the season of changing colors; crisp air filled with the scent of wood smoke; and festivals offering wine, hot cider, and apple pie. At this time of equal day and night, we give thanks for the harvest that will sustain us through the dark winter months. This book explores the history, legends, and traditions of the season that is honored from the Far East to the Celtic Lands, and from Scandinavia to South America. Create your own Mabon tradition with the help of the book’s many recipes, magical workings, equinox rituals, and crafts for all ages.

I am looking for quality toys at low prices. Any ideas?

Okay, I am going out on a limb here BUT, you asked…

I looked at the links for the toy sites you sent and I saw the “bargain prices” you referred to. Here is a quote from one of their items: “Outfit your dollhouse from top to bottom with this play-packed set. Includes 40 pieces, from beds to barbecue to benches. Sized just right for the Carry Cottage. Ages 3+. #701130 Carry Cottage Furniture $14.00″

I have this food for thought to offer…

Who on earth can manufacture and afford to sell FORTY pieces of furniture for fourteen dollars? — passing along my opinion and/or judgment without knowing the facts — but it seems that this stuff has to be either manufactured in some “slave labor” country or is really just junk…

I don’t know, perhaps I am reacting too strongly but are we not involved with the “Waldorf” way for wanting playthings and materials which speak to the gentle soul of our child? Natural, gentle, simple playthings?

It’s difficult to go on about commercialization, materialism, consumerism here, in this medium of cyberspace… but IMHO, the BEST idea is that less is more and the furniture which parents create for their children out of scrapped branches are probably best… a close second would be a creation from a local artisan, a grandparent or neighbor and/or finally, a cottage industry business where you can actually phone up and speak to the real person who created your child’s toy… all the while supporting a (most likely) stay at home family, struggling to make ends meet… living the simple life.

Okay, I am showing my personal and previous “catalog owner” roots, but this isn’t about “me”… it is about what our children are playing with…and what we are teaching them by the choices we make each and every time we make a purchase and bring something new home… We have a responsibility as parents to introduce them to a better way than the way we we have been programmed to “shop & buy!”

A Parent Shares:

The question isn’t usually what toys to acquire, but what toys to get rid of. Most mainstream programs for children have way too many toys. Besides being messy and disorganized, it sets the kids up for a life-time of materialism. I’d get rid of anything sharp, broken, or ugly. I’d also get rid of things that don’t foster creative play.

Books: I wouldn’t accumulate a lot of books for this age group (toddlers, right?) because their eyes aren’t mature enough to scan them. If you love books, you could have a few of your more beautiful ones around for them to look at the pictures, or maybe a few board books, but toddlers don’t take good care of books, so I’d get rid of them in general, or put them away until later.

Plastics and other synthetics: These don’t promote the healthiest development in children. It’s hard, but purge the plastics. (There are, of course, exceptions – for instance I like plastic slides (outdoors) better than metal ones for safety reasons. I also prefer plastic shovels for outside because they are durable.)

Take your clues from the places where children thrive.

The Beach: Children don’t need toys at the beach. Just water, sand and maybe a shovel and pail – maybe a ball as well. To bring these elements to children, be sure your space has access to water (a large bowl or tub full of water outside is fun) and earth (a sand box or better yet, a hill of sand – or just the dirt in the yard). Water and dirt are difficult in pre-school/day care settings because usually there are too few adults to help clean-up and change clothes, but in parent/child classes you can get away with it. Sand is nice because it’s relatively clean. Have plenty of shovels and pails and stainless steel bowls and such to play with in the water and sand. Kids this age can’t be asked to share constantly, so have lots of the same thing. (Lots of the same shovel, for instance.) Access to the outdoors and this sort of play are essential. Even in cold weather, large amounts of time can be spent outside if the children are dressed well. Yes, and I’d get some balls.

The Woods: No toys needed here either. Kids love to build forts and play imaginative scenarios in the woods. To bring these elements to the children, I like to see programs with all sorts of odd pieces of wood outside. Maybe some logs or stumps. Maybe some planks (well sanded ones are best). Maybe some tree limbs. Things you can help them move around to create castles, or barns, or houses or stores or an endless amount of things.

The Home: Just regular things around the house are used by children for play. Do you remember making huts out of all the couch cushions as a child? Or draping sheets over the table to make a house? To bring these elements to children, I love to see furniture in programs that can be used by the children when they play. Chairs turned on their sides. Tables that aren’t too heavy to move around. Large silk and cotton cloths have endless uses for creative indoor play.

Round it out with items from nature, such as pine cones, stones, feathers, seed pods. Children find endless ways to play with these.

Think Tools rather than Toys: Some of my favorite “tools” for children are: child sized mops (the kids love these – I like the ones with wooden handles and cotton yarns – one source is A Child’s World – it’s a Montessori catalog), rolling pins (lots of the same one so children aren’t asked to wait or share), child-sized baking dishes (real ones) such as pie tins, bread pans, little whisks (I happen to like these, but they aren’t necessary), a washing board.

Just Toys: I happen to like well-made, wooden dump trucks (but I don’t let them go outside). Also things you’ve made, or someone else had made for the children – dolls, doll clothes, ropes (from finger knitting), knitted animals, felt balls, etc.

Suggested Reading:

• Work and Play in Early Childhood
• The Genius of Play: Celebrating the Spirit of Childhood
• Children at Play: Using Waldorf Principles to Foster Childhood Development
• Toymaking with Children (Freya Jaffke).
• Feltcraft: Making Dolls, Gifts and Toys

* Special Thanks to Kim for sharing her views & suggestions.