Create your own homeschool curriculum plan for main lessons with this outline of the traditional Waldorf block rotation for homeschoolers.
Create your own homeschool curriculum plan for main lessons with this outline of the traditional Waldorf block rotation for homeschoolers.
Create your own homeschool curriculum plan for main lessons with this outline of the traditional Waldorf block rotation for homeschoolers.
Our second block of the fifth grade school year was Ancient Cultures, which combined language arts, history, social studies and geography. As an aside, anytime we are not in a math block we always start our day with some math practice on the board, so that those skills do not get forgotten. Our first area of focus was India and it covered two weeks. As usual, we began by mapping India and studying the indigenous plants and animals. We learned the origin story Manu and the Flood. We found references to Atlantis and compared it to Noah's ark. For any of the myths or history stories, we follow a two day schedule of learning. On the first day I tell the story, usually with a chalk drawing I have prepared, and Jack will make a main lesson page drawing. On the following day he will retell the story, in his own words, while we work on language mechanics. Some days he just writes, but if it is a complicated story I may help him make an outline first to make sure we don't leave out any crucial information. We found a beautiful version of the Ramayana in the book A Year Full of Stories. We really enjoyed learning about the faith of India through the Bhagavad-Gita and comparing it to our own values. \ Since the boys are in the school room together, they often hear parts of their brother's main lessons. Will was halfway paying attention to the story of Rama and Sita when he heard mention of the Monkey King, Hanuman. I guess the idea of a Monkey King proved irresistible to Will and he immediately had to drop his own project and get his vision on paper! This is one of my favorite things about homeschooling: that we have the space for this kind of work. Our third week of study focused on Buddha. Again, we compared our own values and faith with The Eightfold Path and the Noble Truths. For our final week of study, we spent the first day mapping Persia. The following day we covered Zarathustra. Again, this was a great opportunity to compare and contrast all of these world religions with our own. How wonderful to see so many core values in common. Later in the week we looked at Xerxes and the wars with Greece. Jack is excited to get to the Ancient Greece block (thanks, Percy Jackson!), so he was eager to hear mention of Sparta. We may have taken more of a Greek focus than was intended, but it's nice to have the student so eager!
Create your own homeschool curriculum plan for main lessons with this outline of the traditional Waldorf block rotation for homeschoolers.
On Day One of lectures to the first Waldorf teachers, Rudolf Steiner outlines the Waldorf story content for each grade. Here's the list for homeschoolers.
We are continuing our Time and Measurement block with linear and liquid measure. We started off with a story from Live Ed about measuring feet. Then we measured everyone’s feet in our family (incl…
Main lesson blocks are a central feature of Waldorf education. Are you wondering, "what is a main lesson block?" Let me show you what Waldorf homeschooling has looked like over the years in our house with three children.
Main lesson blocks are a central feature of Waldorf education. Are you wondering, "what is a main lesson block?" Let me show you what Waldorf homeschooling has looked like over the years in our house with three children.
Want to know how to plan a main lesson block? Here you can learn which activities to include and how to put lessons all together. #waldorfhomeschooling #mainlessonblocks
Explore fefemangopoppyfreckle's 52 photos on Flickr!
Q: In Waldorf education, main lesson books are used throughout the grades as part of a student’s educational experience: what are they used for? (This post is part of a series in which we answer the most common questions we receive in our inbox re: homeschooling, Waldorf curriculum/pedagogy, an
Q: In Waldorf education, main lesson books are used throughout the grades as part of a student’s educational experience: what are they used for? (This post is part of a series in which we answer the most common questions we receive in our inbox re: homeschooling, Waldorf curriculum/pedagogy, an
The month of December, with all of the holidays and hype, can get crazy for homeschoolers. Here's a simplified homeschooling rhythm for December.
Create your own homeschool curriculum plan for main lessons with this outline of the traditional Waldorf block rotation for homeschoolers.
A fifth grade child is in a very interesting and important part of their development. (Exciting news! Our Botany course is now open for enrollment! Click here to learn more! ) Students in this grade aren’t yet middle schoolers, and they also don’t feel as if they belong in the same space a
BUILDING BLOCKS FOR CHILDREN: 32 Natural Finished Smooth-Sanded Wood Blocks- Different Shapes Made From 100% Wood- Lead and BPA Free to Ensure Safe Play Promotes Creativity, Hand-eye Coordination and Helps Develop Fine Motor Skills MULTIPLE DEVELOPMENTAL BENEFITS: Our blocks for imaginative play are ideal for introducing early math concepts, including shapes, parts-to-whole, and sorting. They also help to develop hand-eye coordination and teach patience. GREAT GIFT FOR AGES 3 TO 8: The Standard Unit Solid-Wood toy blocks with storage crate makes a great gift for kids ages 3 to 8 years.
Q: How should I schedule our Waldorf form drawing lessons? (This post is part of a series in which we answer the most common questions we receive in our inbox re: homeschooling, Waldorf curriculum/pedagogy, and whatever else comes our way! Click here to read more from the series!)
I found a very interesting blog with a wonderful teacher who is very artistic.....my favorite type of teacher! Check him out! You should also check out his wife's blog...she is a handwork teacher. http://thewaldorfway.blogspot.com/2010/02/divine-proportion.html
Main lesson blocks are a central feature of Waldorf education. Are you wondering, "what is a main lesson block?" Let me show you what Waldorf homeschooling has looked like over the years in our house with three children.
A fifth grade child is in a very interesting and important part of their development. (Exciting news! Our Botany course is now open for enrollment! Click here to learn more! ) Students in this grade aren’t yet middle schoolers, and they also don’t feel as if they belong in the same space a
A fifth grade child is in a very interesting and important part of their development. (Exciting news! Our Botany course is now open for enrollment! Click here to learn more! ) Students in this grade aren’t yet middle schoolers, and they also don’t feel as if they belong in the same space a
I typed up a routine/rhythm based on the way our days flow. The white band is the new main lesson block from our new Waldorf curriculum. We already started with the stories and forms and it is goi…
Whether you are new to Waldorf or have been inspired by its beauty & depth for some time, these free resources offer support for Waldorf homeschooling.
I'm waiting until after Christmas to post about most of the Christmas gifts I made this year. But I think I can post about these natural wood blocks I made for Henry without fearing that he may read the blog. They're all wrapped up for him now and I love how they turned out. I used a beeswax finish on them which makes them look quite nice I think. Here is a quick run down on how I did them. I'm sure it's mostly obvious but there might be something in here that's useful for someone. The only tools you will need are a handsaw and some sandpaper. I used my table saw and my drill apparatus for sanding because I already own them, definitely don't be put off by thinking you need those tools. I started with 2 branches between 1 and 2 inches in diameter. One has a thick flaky bark that I think was from an evergreen and I'm a bit worried that the bark will continue to flake off. So I cut a block from the other branch that has a thinner less flaky bark. But it just didn't look as beautiful so I mostly used the flaky bark branch. I will have to report back if the flaky bark is a problem. Edited to add: The flakey bark has not been a problem but a few flakes have come off even after all my sanding. And I'm sure a few more will come off in the future. But overall they're ok and I'm glad I used the more beautiful stuff. Advice for choosing wood: Pay attention to the bark, the best stuff would be something with a tight bark that won't flake or peel off but that still has interesting bark. It is possible to get rid of most of the flakes of a flakey bark but not all and it will be more work in the sanding department. I used my table saw like so to make the cylindrical blocks but a hand saw could definitely be used. And I used my table saw like this to make the more rectangular pieces. If you don't have a table saw I can't really think of a good way to make this type of block. Oh that's not really how I did it. That would be TOTALLY UNSAFE. That was to let you see better what was happening. This is how I did it, with the safety shield down and push stick. Here are some blocks that I cut: Next I put all the freshly cut blocks on a baking sheet and put in the oven at 200 F for an hour hoping to kill any bugs that could be in there. Be sure to do this step before sanding because the drying oven might make another layer of bark flake off and will cause more sap to seep out. Next step is to do a bit of sanding. How much sanding you do and how "natural" you want them to look is up to you. I'm not a fan of sanding so I tried to do just enough to get rid of the most flakey outer layer of bark and to get rid of the blobs of sap. Here is a picture of my sanding set up but even I could have handled sanding these by hand. I also own a hand held disc sander but find this easier for small pieces. You can buy sanding discs at Canadian Tire that fit into a regular drill. Warning: the sap from the wood completely wrecked my sanding disc. And here is what they looked like after they were sanded. Next step is finishing. I bought a big block (a little more than 1 lb) from the beekeeper at our local farmer's market for $8.50. And I used 1 oz beeswax and 4 oz olive oil. I ended up with 3/4 cup leftover beeswax polish so you don't use very much. I melted them together in a double boiler. And then let it cool down a bit so I could touch it. And it turned into one semi solid mass. (So I had to reheat it a bit to be able to pour the leftover polish into a glass jar for later.) It was so awesome seeing that little bit of beeswax turn all the oil into a kind of solid mass. I definitely have to try making lip balm some time with all my leftover beeswax. Then I took a rag and used it to rub the mixture into the blocks. At first it just seemed like the blocks had an oily layer on them which I did not like. But I left them to absorb the mixture for 24 hours and then the next day I used the same rag to rub them again. And I was able to remove all the oily residue but the blocks were left looking beautiful and finished. Here are some pictures of the finished products: And now they're all wrapped up for Henry to unwrap on Christmas day. At 10 months I know he is a bit young for them but he does love knocking down towers so he should at least like them for that reason.
I’ve been working hard to get my sixth grade materials organized and ready for all of you, and I’m happy to say that my 6th Grade Geometry Guide is ready!? I love this block so much that I have volunteered to teach it for my colleagues and I have now taught this 6th grade Geometry […]
Step one in the 6 steps to homeschool planning is your block plan. You can do it yourself and plan your own Waldorf homeschooling curriculum.
Want to know how to plan a main lesson block? Here you can learn which activities to include and how to put lessons all together. #waldorfhomeschooling #mainlessonblocks
My kids love to build. Last year I bought them some wooden blocks. They like building more than they like sharing. So I made more. They are getting them for Christmas, so alas, I cannot
Wondering how to learn Waldorf art? The crayon drawings, the watercolor paintings, and oh, those colorful chalkboard drawings! Waldorf Art for Beginners.
Create your own homeschool curriculum plan for main lessons with this outline of the traditional Waldorf block rotation for homeschoolers.
Create your own homeschool curriculum plan for main lessons with this outline of the traditional Waldorf block rotation for homeschoolers.
Create your own homeschool curriculum plan for main lessons with this outline of the traditional Waldorf block rotation for homeschoolers.
Create your own homeschool curriculum plan for main lessons with this outline of the traditional Waldorf block rotation for homeschoolers.
