Parent-Wise Podcasts
FURTHER RESOURCES ON WALDORF EDUCATION
- Everything you need to know about Waldorf Education
- On the philosophy and practice of Waldorf Education
- Waldorf Education in Canada
- Waldorf resource site
- Letting the Children be Children: Waldorf Early Childhood Education
There are many books published on Waldorf education, including some Waldorf books available as resource material at SWS and at the Squamish Public Library. This is a list of some of the many books on children and Waldorf education:
The Education of the Child in the Light of Anthroposophy – Rudolf Steiner
This is booklet that provides a good introduction to Waldorf pedagogy, as well as to anthroposophy (the philosophy on which Waldorf is founded) in general. It is one of a few lectures Steiner gave in 1909 that he revised for publication as a written work, 10 years before the first Waldorf schoolwas founded. A main theme here is the “birthing” of the “sheaths” of the human individuality. Study of this essay will lead the reader to a rather profound grasp of the essence of the Waldorf impulse –as an “education towards freedom.” Although the content may make for difficult reading as a first look into this field, it should be readily understandable if read as the second or third of these recommended books.
Other titles by Rudolf Steiner: The Kingdom of Childhood (Steiner presents the idea of the three seven-year periods of child development and gives many classroom examples); Man as Symphony of the Creative Word; At the Gates of Spiritual Science; Necessity and Freedom.
Education Towards Freedom: Rudolf Steiner Education, A Survey of the Work of Waldorf Schools Throughout the World – Frans Calgren
This sumptuous, over-sized volume, filled with color and black-and-white images and beautifully designed by Arne Klingborg, is the perfect introduction to Waldorf education. Following an opening section entitled “Rudolf Steiner and His Ideas on Education,” the evolution of the child from the preschool to high school years is described in detail in terms both of psycho-spiritual development and curriculum. A final section on “The School in the Modern World” surveys the work of Waldorf schools throughout the world.
Waldorf Education, A Family Guide – Pamela Fenne & Karen Rivers
This provides an framework of the history, pedagogy, and philosophy of the Waldorf movement. As in any education paradigm, there may be ideas that stir things up for the reader. This is good. It is out of this mixing and stirring that new ideas come. Read, question and wonder.
You are your Child’s First Teacher – Rahina Baldwin
Out of her research and her experience as a Waldorf early childhood educator, Baldwin answers the question: “What can parents do with and for their children from birth to age six that will enhance their development without having negative effects at a later age?
School as a Journey: The Eight-Year Odyssey of a Waldorf Teacher and His Class – Torin Finser
A lively, colourful and absorbing account of one class teacher’s journey from Grade 1-8 in a Waldorf school. Filled with pedagogical gems, tips and resources.
Evolution’s End: Claiming the Potential of our Intelligence – Joseph Chilton Pearce
This book employs both the results of academic research and personal experience to develop his thesis on the evolution of human intelligence. He offers some far-reaching insights into the challenges and obstacles to human development created by our culture. Also by Pearce: The Magical Child Returns.
Beyond The Rainbow Bridge – Barbara Patterson and Pamela Bradley
An enthusiastic parent, wanting to share the value she received from a parenting class given by a seasoned Waldorf kindergarten teacher, transcribedand edited these sessions into this beloved book.The authors are able to impart that which is healthy for children while recognizing the difficulties of achieving it in modern life. The authors do not preach, but manage to inspire.
Simplicity Parenting – Kim John Payne
Essentially a Waldorf guide to homelife: Today’s busier, faster society is waging an undeclared war on childhood. With too much stuff, too many choices, and too little time, children can become anxious, have trouble with friends and school, or even be diagnosed with behavioural problems. Internationally renowned family consultant Kim John Payne helps parents reclaim for their children the space and freedom that all kids need for their attention to deepen and their individuality to flourish. Simplicity Parenting offers inspiration, ideas, and a blueprint for change. Also by Kim John Payne: The Soul of Discipline: The Simplicity Parenting Approach to Warm, Firm, and Calm Guidance-From Toddlers to Teens
Hold Onto Your Kids – Dr. Gordon Neufeld and Dr. Gabor Mate
This book is about the pivotal importance of children’s relationships to those responsible for them and the devastating impact in today’s society of competing attachments with peers. However it is much more than a book on peer orientation: it is about parenting with relationship in mind. This book restores parents to their natural intuition, confronting such relationship devastating devices as time-outs and using what children care about against them. Offering effective strategies for preserving and restoring the child-to-parent relationship, this book provides refreshing natural alternatives to today’s contrived methods of behaviour control. The content is relevant to parents of children of any age, from infancy right through to adult children. Readers have commonly commented on how much hardship and confusion they could have avoided had this material been available to them right from the beginning. Re-released in 2013 with chapters on raising children in a digital world.
Growing up Too Fast Too Soon –David Elkind
Elkind makes a detailed examination of the world of today’s children to see where the hurrying occurs and why. He gives parents and teachers insight and hope for encouraging healthy development while protecting the joy and freedom of childhood.
Other books by David Elkind: The Hurried Child, The Ties that Stress, The New Family Imbalance.
Endangered Minds: Why Children Don’t Think And What We Can do About It –Jane Healy, MD
Healy explores the relationship between language, learning and brain development. She explains how present-day lifestyles sabotage language acquisition and thinking. Proving that the basic intelligence of children is not an issue, she then shows how parents and teachers can make a positive difference in children’s development.
Childhood –Caroline von Heydebrand
This is the classic work on the Waldorf kindergarten. Heydebrand worked with Rudolf Steiner at the first Waldorf schoolin Stuttgart and her book contains a wealth of insights about working with preschoolers.
Festivals, Family, and Food – Diana Carey and Judy Large
This is a resource book for exploring the festivals –those “feast days” scattered round the year which children love celebrating. It was written in response to children and busy parents asking, “What can we do at Easter and Christmas? What games can we play? What can we make? How can we prepare for the festivals as centres of stability in our family life?” This book is written with families, and especially children very much in mind —for children can remind us of the wonders we might otherwise forget. The underlying theme is a simple but bold suggestion –that if celebrating festivals was formerly the focus of community life, then rediscovered in the modern context, such seasonal activities may enrich family life.
Phases of Childhood– B. C. J. Lievegoed
The author describes the development of the child in phases of around seven years, each phase having its own character. The changes in the body are well known: for instance, change of teeth, puberty, and completion of physical growth. The psychological development runs parallel with the physical and is at least as important. Examining the relationship of children to the world around them, Lievegoed describes the experience of the preschooler, school child, and teenager in a clear and concise way. The latter part of the book is concerned with the practical application of these insights, allowing a method of education in harmony with the stages of development.
The Way of the Child – A.C. Harwood
Harwood provides an excellent and surprisingly deep and thorough introduction to this “new” approach to child psychology. Several of the themes discussed in the book were first brought by Steiner to the group of teachers he trained in his rigorous 1919 lectures entitled Study of Man. Here the same themes are made remarkably transparent by Harwood, arising from his obvious love for children, long years of experience, and facility of expression in the written word.
Creativity in Education: The Waldorf Approach –Rene Querido
The First Three Years of the Child – Karl Konig
Our Twelve Senses – Albert Soesman
Conscious Parenting – Dr. Shefali Tsabury
Peaceful Parent, Happy Kids: How to Stop Yelling and Start Connecting – Dr.Laura Markham
Unconditional Parenting – Alfie Kohn
How to Talk So Kids Will Listen & Listen So Kids Will Talkby Adele Faber, Elaine Mazlich
Siblings Without Rivalry – Adele Faber, Elaine Mazlich
Kids Are Worth It: Raising Resilient Responsible Compassionate Kids – Barbara Coloroso
All Year Round – Ann Druitt, Christine Fynes-Clinton, Marije Rowling
Festivals With Children – Brigitte Barz