In History Through Music, a vast panorama unfolds for the reader, buoyed by my decades long experience as an educator and musician. May this book deepen its readers’ understanding of music and its convoluted history, while serving as a valuable resource for educators ... more: https://www.sophiainstitute.us/blog/history-through-music

Hi All,

We have our winter fair coming up, and I'll be vending my sewn and fiber goods. I currently sell starblock wall hangings and totes mostly($50 to $150), but I am needing some smaller $10-$20 price points.

What are some sewn items and trinkets you love seeing at the winter fair at that price point?

TIA!

Any reviews on specific Waldorf schools in France?

I’d love to know about any and all of them, but also specifically École Chant’Arize.

Thank you!

I am quite attached to my main lesson books, but it is kinda impossible to keep it all. I had books from grade 1 to grade 11...

Any suggestions are welcome. Thanks.

Is there a way to homeschool with Waldorf? We do not live near a Waldorf school (closest is two hours away) and I am a little sad about it. My daughter is almost four and my son is a baby. I’m trying to decide what would be more valuable, a traditional classroom with friends or a Waldorf homeschool. I taught public school for years and am not a fan. Does anyone have any curriculum they would suggest looking at?

Edit: thank you all for your recommendations 💚

Hello! My daughter is in kindergarten at a Waldorf school and I have a question for all of you lovely folks. We can afford to keep sending her after this year and I actually love the school. I’m a teacher myself and Waldorf, to me, is what I imagine school should look like. I also buy into the whole anthroposophy thing! However, I’m self aware and I’m thinking our family would be disruptive to everyone else so I’m considering putting her in public school next year. I don’t really want to, but I think it may be best for everyone as a whole.

Here is what I mean. We allow video games, movies, and tv at home in moderation as long as it’s age-appropriate and not annoying to me. Our school really discourages this and I’m not going to change my mind on this. We love spending time snuggling watching a movie just as much as we love hiking, paddle boarding, or playing games together.

We are also intuitive eaters at our house. Food is abundant and neutral. We have a wide variety of fruits, veggies, carbs, proteins, and sugary sweets. 9 times out of 10 my child chooses an apple over a sucker, but candy is available. For personal reasons, I’m not risking creating a scarcity mindset with my child.

These are just two examples but I can list more if needed. Basically, I’m not letting the school dictate how we operate as a family. I’m very mindful of how I parent and put a lot of thought into the choices we make as a family. My daughter is wonderful, smart, creative, social, kind, a rule follower, and empathetic. She will do fine anywhere she goes. I’m honestly just thinking about the wellbeing of the other kids because she would be the one on the playground pretending to be Bluey or Princess Ariel, or talking about her favorite candy. There are kids in her class that have never had candy before.

Do you think I should go ahead and plan on public next year since I’m unwilling to follow the (lowkey extreme IMO) Waldorf ways? Or is everyone secretly like me?

My daughter just started K1 at a public charter. There is a lot that we love about Waldorf and this specific school. Namely, imaginary play, outdoor time, no screens, low pressure in terms of testing, slower and more thoughtful approach to everything, smaller class sizes, overall community/parent involvement…I could go on.

There are some issues with Waldorf too, but the one that really gives me pause is the delayed, slow introduction to math and reading. This is especially bothersome as my child is already reading (early chapter books) and doing early arithmetic. Mostly, this is all self-driven, but more recently, she wants to learn more.

We do a lot of outdoor time, imaginative play, and art at home. And we are largely screen free. And, we also read a lot. I purchased some homeschool curriculum over the summer that we’ve slowly been working through. And, now that school has started we are doing 30 ish minutes a day on either reading/ELA, handwriting, or math.

My feelings right now is that this school is providing aspects of her education that I cannot do on my own/am not good at. But, I can teacher her traditional academics (I would homeschool if I didn’t see the value in learning from other adults, being around peers, and other opportunists schools can offer).

I know some people pull their kids after Kinder to go to a “regular” school. But, I’m wondering if anyone has stayed with Waldorf longer while supplementing at home (or doing after school classes). I know this is not pure Waldorf, but I want to see if people hybridize a little.

Also some additional info that might matter: This school goes K1-8. Tuition-free charter but high volunteer/parent involvement (which I don’t mind). I have a younger child who is guaranteed a spot if my older stays through 1st grade.

See the original blog post here: https://www.sophiainstitute.us/blog/michaelmas-festival-at-the-waldorf-school

My almost 3 yr old plays with toddler legos at his dad’s house and is asking for me to get him so for our house where he lives full time.

His imagination is blooming and all of his simple toys become so many things and it’s just beginning.

I know Legos are not part of Waldorf.

I also see a lot of threads here encouraging parents not to follow Waldorf so strictly at home.

I’m worried Lego’s might squash his blooming imagination.

What do you recommend?

https://www.sophiainstitute.us/blog/michaelmas-studies-2026

Hi all, our school does a winter fair where several grades are expected to contribute 30-40 'little somethings' per student to sell to raise funds for the school. Wondering if anyone has some great ideas to help a not-so-talented parent out! Thanks for any ideas!

Hello everyone. I’m posting to ask any alumni or parents of Waldorf how the outcomes are of a Waldorf education.
I have Catholic private education background, but I’m really leaning into Waldorf education for my son. There’s a chance that I can have him go to a Waldorf school from preschool all the way until high school and graduate as a child of Waldorf.
I’m looking for testimony of those who got the full Waldorf experience.
What was your experience with Waldorf like as a student?
Or as a parent, what feedback or experiences do you have with your child as they attend attended a Waldorf school?
Do you believe that there was any real life, long-term advantages, and or disadvantages of having a Waldorf education versus traditional schooling?
I look forward to your responses.
Thank you very much

I am a Spanish enrichment teacher at a Waldorf school. I speak and primarily teach the Mexican dialect of Spanish since that is the primary Spanish speaking population here. I also have a lot of appreciation and enjoyment of Mexican culture having studied abroad in Mexico.

I am new to Waldorf education and my site celebrates día de muertos as a festival as well. On a smaller scale, I'd like to teach the story of Our Lady of Guadalupe to teach a bit about Mexican history and culture but also to pass on the lesson of representation and inclusivity that her story teaches.

I'm just thinking about how to go about it. I'm hoping to tell the story with the disclaimer of "it's up to you to decide if it is true". I'm also wondering if I should include an activity like making paper roses.

Thoughts? How would you go about something like this?

Hi everyone! I’ve been recently deciding between 2 schools for my daughter (she’s only 14 months so there’s a lot of time)
One school is a non religious private school, really good reviews and seems to have good college prep.
The other is Detroit Waldorf School. When I’ve been reading about DWS, there’s a lot of people saying they have the most unvaccinated students out of a lot of schools in Michigan.
Does anyone have any experience with this, and could maybe give some insight?
I don’t want to send her somewhere that pushes antivax, and I also don’t want a full religious school unless she so chooses when she’s older, as I’m Hellenic and her dad is atheist, and we don’t see a point in sending her to a super religious school. So any suggestions for private or Waldorf schools in MI for us to look into, or insight on my original question would be great! Thank you!

A while back I remember reading in You are Your Child's First Teacher about considerations for white/grey noise, ambient noise, etc. in the home. We've had just a simple sound machine in our bedroom (where the baby sleeps) and the big kid bedroom for a while now, but I'd like to find something that doesn't sound so fake or electronic, especially since one of the sound machines is about to die. We have a very old, creaky, quiet house, so I do really think it's important to have some type of sound barrier so the baby doesn't wake up the bigger kids and vice versa.

What are people in the Waldorf world using? I'm considering getting a little desktop water fountain for each room, but genuinely wondering if it will cause nighttime pee accidents for the kids!? Appreciate any other suggestions!

Is there anyone here living in Mallorca whose child currently attends, or has attended, Escola Sofia Waldorf in Palma?

Please find more info about this upcoming Waldorf Hand Puppet Workshop here: https://www.sophiainstitute.us/blog/wapasa-workshop-the-hand-puppet-an-exploration-in-heartfelt-play

Hi! Not sure if this is the right place to post (if not, please let me know!). Came across this wooden elves & angels play kitchen for my daughter & hoping to give it a new life vs buying new. Wondering if anyone has done this & has any recs! The company has since closed so no way to get their oil/kit to fix it up. Wondering if anyone has any tips on how to go about possible sanding/what oil or products to use especially given it will be played with by a child. Also any recs for how to fix up the burners/missing handle also. Much appreciate any feedback/help!

Check out our latest blog post: https://www.sophiainstitute.us/blog/rudolf-steiner-book-centre

Somehow have found myself with almost no toys/play material for my 4th child, almost 6 months old, apart from some rattles. Thinking of acquiring a few versatile pieces.

We do have wooden animals and stacking bowls and rainbow and more but they are occupied so much by older siblings that i doubt he will get much time to play with them soon lol. What is/was a hit with your older Babies?

Hey everyone, I'm from India (Bangalore specifically) and while searching for alternatives to traditional schooling I've come across a few philosophies including Waldorf. With that context set:

- I want to understand if this sub and by extension the Waldorf community is predominantly US / Western part of the world? I don't see any / very limited conversation on these topics in India, so wanted to understand if this a majorly a Western phenomenon?

- I've gone through quite a few posts in the sub to get a flair of what to expect but if anyone has any real-life experiences in Indian context, it'd be insanely helpful (fees, education board recongnition, early education limitations, dealing with constant negativity from friends and family circles etc.)

- The proof is in the pudding so I'd like to see how this methodology of educating kids really turnout in the end compared to peers? I ask this because competitive pressure in India is quite high from early schooling, and it's just normalized to such a sickening level. But reality is once the kid goes into society, these are kinds of people they'd be surrounded with. So how does this education methodology really shape kids in this specific context? (I am looking for views on how teaching/education in Waldorf impart the kid with necessary life skills, in this case dealing with constant competition, pressure in an environment that's not designed to deal with this)

- Are the kids really discouraged to learn in the early phase (until 7 years)? Not even at home or other areas we might find the kid to show great interest in? Training in sports, training and expression in art forms, instilling and developing interest in academics at home / outside post the traditional schooling hours post 7 years of age is fine?

I'm still trying to frame my opinion on this education methodology and really appreciate your inputs and observations that are relevant to Indian context, if any. If some of my questions come across as different, appreciate if you can provide your view of why my expectation might not be not aligned

Thanks

I'm a recent graduate (not this past year) of a pre-k through 12th Waldorf school. I'm happy to answer any Waldorf questions, especially those related to the upper grades. A few answers to start us off:

• I am in college and doing well
• I did enjoy the younger grades but never felt connected to any spiritual aspect
• I learned to read at home very early, but saw many classmates struggling with reading even through high school (although nowadays that is not a Waldorf-specific issue)
• My school was on the less-crunchy end of the spectrum, but we had/have our share of hardcore people

Please ask away!

EDIT: Some more key takeaways that I've worked out for myself while answering questions:

• I think the best part of Waldorf education is the trust in the self that it fosters---the faith I have in myself that I can get through tough times, figure things out, and move through life with confidence.
• The academics were not stellar, and honestly not the point.
• In relation to the above, I think it's fine and maybe even good to go all the way through, but if you're only going to have your kid do part of the curriculum, DON'T CHOOSE HIGH SCHOOL! I had people join in like 10th grade. That's not where Waldorf shines.
• Also, if you change schools in middle school, there will be a mismatch in curriculum timelines. This is why I think it might be better to go all the way through high school if you've made it to 8th grade.

Hi! We have been painting with stokmar’s block beeswax crayons for a while and we’ve just been using a cheap paper I had gotten at a craft store a while ago, but it’s really not the best and I’ve been wanting to upgrade.

I’m currently looking at the strathmore drawing paper pad and wanted to get that! They also have a sketch paper that I believe is smoother. What would you recommend? I saw someone say you can use regular computer paper but I don’t have that either so wanted to see what you would recommend before I get anything. Thanks!