Embracing the Montessori approach, we provide a carefully prepared environment that promotes hands-on learning, allowing our children to engage with educational materials at their own pace and discover knowledge through meaningful experiences. Focusing on self-directed learning, we encourage our children to follow their interests and passions, enabling them to take an active role in shaping their educational journey. By providing a wide range of age-appropriate materials and activities, we cater to our children’s individual needs and learning styles, empowering them to become confident and independent learners.

From the Waldorf philosophy, we embrace the profound impact of nature on a child’s holistic development. Nature becomes an integral part of our curriculum, and we regularly venture outdoors to immerse ourselves in the beauty of the natural world. We encourage our children to connect with the natural world, fostering a sense of wonder and appreciation for the environment.

Incorporating the principles of the Charlotte Mason method, we embrace the idea of “living education” and the use of living books to engage and inspire our children’s learning. We believe in the power of quality literature and its ability to connect our children with ideas, stories, and characters, fostering a love for reading and a genuine interest in learning.

At the heart of our homeschool philosophy lies the belief in cultivating problem-solving skills and nurturing independent thinking. We strive to provide our children with opportunities to think critically, analyze situations, and devise innovative solutions, empowering them to face challenges with creativity and resilience.

In combining the principles of Montessori, Waldorf, and Charlotte Mason, our ultimate goal is to create an enriching and flexible learning environment where our children’s unique strengths and interests can flourish. By embracing this diverse educational approach and encouraging outdoor exploration, we seek to nurture well-rounded individuals who are academically capable, compassionate, curious, and equipped to positively impact the world around them.

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One of the first posts I wrote on this blog was about How To Incorporate Montessori in Your Homeschool. Perhaps unsurprisingly, if you’ve read anything about early childhood education, the first response I got about it was, “What about Waldorf?” Both Montessori and Waldorf have gained popularity in homeschooling. So, to answer that question, join me as we explore the world of Waldorf education together and provide details on how to incorporate Waldorf into homeschooling today.

What is Waldorf?

Waldorf education is a holistic approach to education that focuses on intellectually, emotionally, and physically developing the child. Based on the teachings of Austrian philosopher and educator Rudolf Steiner, its advocates believe that children learn best through hands-on experiences, imaginative play, and creativity.

“The heart of the Waldorf method is that education is an art-it must speak to the child’s experience. To educate the whole child, his heart and his will must be reached, as well as the mind.”

Rudolf Steiner

In Waldorf education, parents create a warm and nurturing learning environment. Natural materials and art are incorporated into all areas of education, and children are encouraged to participate in practical life activities like cooking, gardening, and handiwork. There are no textbooks or exams. Instead, a parent works with their child to develop a customized curriculum based on their strengths and interests. Each lesson is turned into illustrations, which helps your child process information.

Storytelling

One of the unique features of Waldorf homeschooling is the use of storytelling, puppetry, and drama. By engaging a child’s imagination and creativity, academic subjects are brought to life. Through storytelling, children learn about the world around them, fostering a love for learning and a sense of wonder.

In early education, stories are told to teach basic concepts. Fairy tales explain moral lessons, often with a hero and a villain. Nature stories teach children about plants and animals, creating an appreciation for the natural world. Fables help children understand complex ideas. Further, through telling stories, children work on language skills that carry them through life.

Eurythmy: The art of movement

Another unique aspect of Waldorf education is eurythmy, often called the art of movement. Eurythmy is based on rhythm, harmony, and gesture and encourages creativity and self-exploration. At a basic level, movement helps children develop coordination, balance, and spatial awareness. However, this higher-level form also helps connect children to themselves and the world around them, express ideas nonverbally, and get in touch with their emotions.

To see eurythmy in action, watch this video.

Benefits of Waldorf education

There are many benefits of Waldorf education, including:

• Reduced stress. Waldorf education is designed to be a stress-free environment. Studies go at the child’s pace, there is a lot of outdoor time in nature, and there are no exams or traditional grades.
• Better physical health: Waldorf students have significantly fewer physical ailments, such as headaches, stomach aches, or disrupted sleep. Some of this may be attributed to the slower pace of learning.
• Better social and emotional development. About 3/4 of graduates could envision positive environmental and human development changes. They focused on solving problems through improved communication and conflict resolution.

Getting started with Waldorf at home

Does Waldorf sound interesting? Here are four activities to try at home today:

1. Take a nature walk and create art. Collect natural materials such as leaves, flowers, and sticks as you walk. When you get home, use these materials to make a piece of art, such as a mandala.
2. Have a puppet show. Make puppets with your child, then encourage your child to make up a story with them and act it out.
3. Build a dance routine to a favorite song. In Waldorf, movement and music go hand in hand. What better way to show your creativity than by coming up with a dance? Get involved with your child and have them teach you.
4. Bake a cake. Not only does this focus on practical life skills, but it allows you to talk about math and science. It can be great to explain fractions or the chemistry of how the dough rises.

The post 4 Ways to Incorporate Waldorf in Your Homeschool appeared first on Mommy on the Spectrum.

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As mentioned in the How to incorporate Montessori in your homeschool post, the word “Montessori” is not copyrighted or trademarked. I can create any number of activities and say they are Montessori. So, what are the main components of a Montessori activity?

Single Isolated Focus

Each activity must focus on a single skill. This allows the child to work on their attention and avoid becoming overwhelmed. Instead of teaching numbers, colors, stacking, and sorting all at once, we would focus on each one individually.

Isolation of Qualities

Isolation of qualities is similar to a single focus and means only one trait varies at a time. If we want to practice color sorting, we should keep all of the sizes and shapes of the materials the same and only vary the color.

Isolation of Difficulty

Every activity must meet the developmental needs of the child. To do this, we can slowly increase the complexity of what we are asking. We can do this by building upon our previous accomplishments. In practice, this looks like breaking down a goal into small parts. For instance, if we want a child to form a stacked tower, we may start with only one or two blocks and add more as they master it.

Control of Error

The goal of a parent or teacher in Montessori is the guide the child. We aren’t there to correct everything they do. In this regard, the activity needs to be set up so that the child can immediately recognize when something is wrong and fix it. As an example, a stacked tower will fall over if not stacked correctly and puzzle pieces only fit if it is in the right place. This allows the child to build confidence and independence.

Realistic

Until a child reaches the age of 6, they are unable to differentiate between fantasy and reality. Because of this, Montessori toys and activities must be realistic. We use real images for worksheets and realistic figurines (which are often plastic because it allows for detailed expression… see the next section.) If we want to do a phonics exercise, we could use objects found around the house, such as an apple or a hat, or figurines, like this wild animal Toob with an alligator, bear, camel, elephant, lion, panther, and zebra.

A note on materials

Despite what a quick Amazon search would tell you, toys do not have to be made of wood to be Montessori. Instead, they should be simple to minimize distractions. This means no bright colors or loud, unnatural sounds. Wood is popular because of its simplicity. Metal and fabrics like cotton or linen are also popular. These materials have unique textures that aid in concentration by stimulating the senses and helping the child develop an understanding of the natural world.

The post How To Determine If An Activity Is Montessori-aligned appeared first on Mommy on the Spectrum.

As I started my adventure into early childhood education, the word Montessori kept popping up everywhere. When I browse Instagram, I’m delighted to see beautifully prepared shelves and children independently playing while mom drinks a cup of coffee nearby. It sounded like something I needed to learn more about. After quick digging, I discovered that the word Montessori is not copyrighted or trademarked, meaning it could be used to mean all sorts of things. So, what really is Montessori and the prepared environment, and ultimately, how can I incorporate these principles into my homeschool?

What is Montessori?

Founded by Dr. Maria Montessori in the early 1900s, the Montessori Method is a personal approach to education. Emphasizing independence, it believes that children thirst for knowledge and can learn given a supportive environment. As parents, our job, then, is to guide them and provide ample learning opportunities.

Rather than focusing solely on intellectual development like traditional school, Montessori focuses on the whole child — social, emotional, intellectual, and physical. Children take part in real-life activities, like cooking and cleaning. To them, real life and play are the same, and these aren’t chores. Further, children don’t raise their hands to ask permission to go to the bathroom or move around. Movement is a crucial pillar and goes hand-in-hand with intellectual growth.

“Movement, or physical activity, is thus an essential factor in intellectual growth, which depends upon the impressions received from outside. Through movement we come in contact with external reality, and it is through these contacts that we eventually acquire even abstract ideas.”

– Marie Montessori

One of the aspects of Montessori that appeals to me is that it goes at the child’s pace, whatever that may be. This lets a Montessori-based education address the child’s specific strengths and weaknesses. Through it, children develop independence and a love for learning, and parents are there to help as much as needed to “do it on their own.”

The Prepared Environment

Okay, so Montessori sounds cool, but how do I know what toys to put out? How will I know what is developmentally appropriate? How can I guide my child? I’m not an expert. As I started exploring early child development, all these questions stuck in my mind. They made me doubt my ability to homeschool. But then, I realized something. Montessori front loads my work in what is known as the prepared environment.

The main goal of the prepared environment is to provide a child the freedom to choose their daily activities. We provide order and structure while emphasizing the beauty in the materials. Have you ever had difficulty focusing when there is a lot of clutter around? I do, constantly. The same goes for our children. The simpler the better. Instead of putting all of the toys out, we select 6-10 that perfectly match our child’s development. By observing what they work on, we can adjust the materials next week. We replace mastered toys with harder ones while replacing toys that are too difficult with easier ones working on the same skill. Instead of correcting the child, we add activities to help them accomplish it in the future. There are no strict timelines. We simply follow the child. They are the true owners of education.

Montessori materials

Montessori materials focus on a single domain of knowledge and are self-correcting. Let’s use an example. We have a rainbow ring stacker. Instead of providing the entire toy from the start, we break it down into parts. The rainbow stacker forces a child to learn how to put a ring on, recognize the different sizes, and order them. One skill at a time looks like starting with only the biggest ring, allowing the child to learn the fine motor skills to put it on the stick. Then, slowly, we add more rings as size discrimination improves. This toy is self-correcting because the child can easily see when the ring doesn’t go on the stick or if the different sizes are out of order.

Incorporating Montessori into our homeschool

So how can we go about incorporating Montessori into our homeschool? Here’s 4 things to do today:

1. Put the toys away. Only keep 6-10 that the child enjoys. This encourages them to play with the toys more deeply and creatively. It reduces clutter so they can learn and allows them to make independent choices without becoming overwhelmed.
2. Involve the child in real-life activities. Let them help cook or clean. Involve them when putting away dishes or doing the laundry. Utilize step stools and child-sized furniture and tools so they can be equal members of the household.
3. Focus on one skill at a time. Instead of doing everything at once, break down the skill into parts and let the child master each in turn.
4. Go for a nature walk. Movement encourages learning, and the child absorbs everything in the environment. What better way to learn about science than to explore the natural environment around us?

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