The Waldorf in the Home Conference is coming soon! It's April 25-26 in Sacramento, California. I meant to post this a long time ago but forgot. I cannot recommend this conference highly enough. I've been quite a few times and each time have been more than delighted with the speakers and the information I gained. If anyone out there homeschools with a bit of Waldorf and want a little more in depth info- these conferences will pay off many times over in the future years with your children. I still dig out things from a file of mine from a conference I took over 3 years ago. Whether it be learning how to do a wet on wet water color painting like this:
handwork, block crayon coloring, hands on math through the grades, pedagogy, or just meeting other great Waldorf homeschoolers- these are a treat. You will find yourself renewed, refreshed TOTALLY inspired. Really, I LOVE these! Rahima Baldwin, who of course wrote the ol' tried and true standby, You Are Your Child's First Teacher puts on an excellent event.
Also, this year Shea Darian will be at the conference. If you've never had the opportunity to see Shea in person I really recommend it. Sanctuaries of Childhood is the book I usually give as a shower gift to new moms. In it is the nighttime verse and meal time verse that I used with my own children and found that book to make such a huge contribution to my parenting and to our family that have really impacted the way we interact with each other. And Seven Times the Sun was a very well-used book both with my own children and with my preschoolers.
Not to mention that often vendors like Sarah's Silks are often there with highly discounted goods. A few years ago I bought my entire gift stash for the year at less than 50% of retail.
Also, this year Shea Darian will be at the conference. If you've never had the opportunity to see Shea in person I really recommend it. Sanctuaries of Childhood is the book I usually give as a shower gift to new moms. In it is the nighttime verse and meal time verse that I used with my own children and found that book to make such a huge contribution to my parenting and to our family that have really impacted the way we interact with each other. And Seven Times the Sun was a very well-used book both with my own children and with my preschoolers.
I had the great fortune to host Shea in our home a few years ago when she was in town for a conference and I will say she is one of the few authors I've met where I was not disappointed by them in person. She's the real deal. And she even had the flu while with us- and was still great! How many of us can say that? She is what she portrays herself to be. I learn so much from this woman just by listening to her for a few short minutes. When I think about all the people out there and all the books I've read she really stands our from the rest. It is encounters with real people who speak from real experience with their own children that are the ones who have given me the most insight to this things called parenting. Her own children are now grown and out of the house - so she speaks from actual experience- not just theory. I love everything about her.
The two authors of Parenting with Spirit will also be there. I just finished reading this book and truly loved it! There were so many great things about it. It is based on Waldorf methods and focuses primarily on discipline and the practical side or what to do and say. It is simple and eloquent. Spending much of my last few years as a Waldorf-inspired preschool teacher had me quite versed in the young years and I am a huge advocate of parenting in Waldorf methods. But now my youngest is 7 so we are firmly entrenched in the middle years, which run from 7 to 14. We are out of the "hands" phase and into the "heart" phase of "Hands, Heart, Head" education. I was not so clear on how to engage the 'feeling world' of the child when addressing them. I was just kinda confused on the whole thing. The teen years of addressing the intellect I get- finally when we can ask, "What do you think about that?" I can't wait! Oh, wait- yes, I can. But these middle years were a bit of a mystery to me and this book really helped. I should also mention that the book goes into quite a bit of detail on the parent's process in each of these stages. It is not a parenting book on how to get your kid to do what you want, but rather how to become the person your child would want to be with and emulate. Big difference! If I were state-side on April 25-6 I would definitely be attending this conference and attending their session! The book covers all three stages, early, middle and teen- so might as well buy it when they're young because it'll get lots of use.
The best part of attending sessions in person is asking questions! Really specific questions. I like to ask the seemingly most mundane questions to a master Waldorf teacher like, "Based on your experience what is the ideal breakfast?" You wouldn't believe the answers that come out of these teacher's mouths! It usually involves fermenting something, growing something and blessing something. But in any case I have learned SOOO much at these things.
Honestly though, when I went to my first one when the little sister was only months old and I was still newish to Waldorf- it kind of freaked me out. I really didn't understand most of what was said to me but I kept coming back. Eventually I learned what the heck a phlegmatic temperament was, what Anthroposophy meant and what Nourishing Traditions entailed. I learned to needle felt- my first bear was a nightmare- not only was he lumpy and lame- I didn't get why anyone would want to make one of these things. About 3 years later at a Waldorf school May festival I saw a needle felted angel and spring fairy and nearly fell over from its beauty. I sat there with a friend trying to figure out what it was made out of when I suddenly declared, "Oh, I know how to make these." She looked at me stunned, "You do?" And I never stopped. But that was a 3 year lag! So I always try to remember to be patient with people as well as myself. Some things just take longer to absorb. If anyone is in that in between place of thinking about going but wondering if it'll be worth it- I can only say from my own experience that I have found the people presenting at these conferences to be my greatest teachers in parenting. Go! And if you don't, remember to check back to their website and go through the cds afterwards. Get a couple of friends together and each order 1 or 2 and then rotate them. I used to do this all the time with my friends. Pool your resources and build your own local 'conference.' When my kids were still little we'd have a park day where the kids would be happy to be off playing and the moms would have a topic or book to discuss and we'd spend our time growing and improving ourselves rather than sitting around gossiping or talking about where to buy cute clothes on sale. It really made a difference in all of our lives that we're still very grateful for.
