The Homeschool Journey

To Correct or Not to Correct

This is a post I wrote on my yahoo discussion group, Waldorf_At_Home in response to a question a list member had about how to get her reluctant and somewhat perfectionist daughter to do form drawing. She also was interested in the question regarding whether to correct a form or not...

 

Here's a major controversy in the form drawing field - to correct or not to correct. This is one of the gray areas I mention in my form drawing book, a topic which has fierce advocates on either side of the fence. And (as I point out in my book) as form drawing is both an art form and a therapeutic discipline, there is bound to be a variety of ways to work with it and many, many good reasons for people doing it in their different ways. My opinion tends to be that one should NOT correct - neither should a form be drawn, say, in yellow  first. This is because, for me, form drawing is akin to eurythmy - and eurythmy is about movement and gesture, neither of which can be "corrected" but rather need to be worked with.  Eurythmy, unlike some forms of martial art or forms of dance, is not about "getting the position right" - it lives in the dynamic flow of movement. And for me, form drawing can be understood as a moment of eurythmy come to rest on a page. So the point would be to try and try again until one gets satisfactory results - which may sometimes mean leaving go of a form completely for a while, going back to a simpler one and then revisiting the difficult one at a later time.

 

Again, I see eurythmy as a human expression of organic forms found in nature - an example I sometimes give people is of water. If you watch the way water moves (or a leaf gently falls) there is no correction, no sense of a correct form which must be followed. It is as it is. But.... one has to work with the child where she is. So if, as you say, your daughter is being critical, is displaying a streak of perfectionism, is doing her 9 year change thing, then one wants to see how one can work with this (I always suggest to people that they work homeopathically with children, starting with what present and trying to ennoble it - not opposing it with something different).

 

So why don't you and your daughter spend some time watching water move or leaves fall - and draw what you and she see. Let her experiment with  how nature does form drawing - currents, ripples, streams etc. Do non directed form drawing for a while, that which is called for by nature. Let the power of your child's observation - and her desire to do what is true and beautiful, find expression in a way that takes it out of the potential head-to-head conflict with you. Work sideways (there's mantra number three for Christopherus, closely following "not school at home" and "homeschooling is about family"!). Don't get into her stuff or into an unnecessary conflict.

 

Then let form drawing rest for a while. Do none for a time. When you judge the time is right,  spend some time talking about the forms in nature that you two drew and then perhaps let her look through your form drawing book for a for a form that reminds her of the water (or leaves). Let her copy it - and if she's still being a tricky customer, let her copy it directly out of the book - otherwise, I'd suggest you do it in the usual way with you drawing it large on the board and then her copying. Maybe recite a verse about water or leaves while she works - (though some children would prefer not to have a verse, would prefer to remain in the memory of what they experienced in nature) let her work with it in her own way. This might just help break any stalemate that could be forming over this issue between you two. And, assuming all goes well (??!!!) you can see what to do next - "Here's a more complicated form - let's try this".

 

By the way, while usually I recommend that form drawing be done only with first graders and up present, that littlies can destroy the meditative mood so important for form drawing to work deeply on the child doing it, there is no reason why your little guys can't join in with "nature form drawing", drawing, coloring, tracing in sand or just playing about while his sister does her nature drawings. Somehow the mood of being outdoors seems, to me, to make this ok and beneficial for all.

 

Form Drawing with Older Children

Form drawing is a therapeutic art unique to Waldorf education. Often misunderstood to be solely to do with improving or preparing for handwriting, its use goes much deeper. It is a way for the child to orientate himself in space, on a piece of paper, and calls for perseverance, nimbleness in thought and fingers, ability to concentrate and acute observation. It works with a child's innate sense of harmony and balance and by working consistently and patiently with form drawing over a number of years, imbalances and weaknesses can be addressed   and corrected in a relatively painless way. All children can benefit from this art - but those with any sort of midline, visual or dexterity issues will especially benefit.

 

Form drawing is introduced in the very beginning of first grade in a Waldorf school - this is why it is so often associated with learning to write. And, of course, it is true that by carefully working with form drawing a child will have less difficulties when learning to form her letters. However, it is not merely the cosmetic results that are sought - the reasons why a child's writing slopes, is cramped or misformed, or is reversed can tell us a lot about what's going on inside of her. And form drawing is a gentle and enjoyable way to bring balance to the child so that her handwriting becomes a reflection of her own inner harmony.

 

I am often asked if parents should start form drawing with their kindergarten age children. My answer is emphatically "no!" One of the things characteristic about form drawing is how it helps "wake up" a child and helps him become aware in a new way to who he is, something that the first grader  naturally experiencing.  Kindergarten is a time of dreamy oneness - one shouldn't rush a child out of this very important developmental stage by "waking him up" prematurely. So do wait until you start first grade as close to your child's seventh birthday as possible to introduce form drawing.

 

One thing that I'm rarely asked is whether parents should do form drawing with older children. This is a pity and I assume either that parents of older ones already know how great form drawing is (!!) or else they haven't thought of it. So let's get the word out - form drawing is wonderful for older children! In Waldorf schools its practice usually ends in about 4th grade - after that, freehand geometric drawing usually takes its place. But many older children would benefit from continuing form drawing for a few more years. And if you are new to Waldorf and have never done any form drawing with your child, I certainly recommend you start! My younger son, who is almost 13, is a sixth grader and we did some form drawing this year. He struggles mightily with making forms - we didn't even get to the Celtic knots! But no matter - I can see so quickly how a few sessions of form drawing so obviously calms and centers him. Though he complains strenuously about doing it, once he's gotten over his angst and is immersed in what he's doing, he really enjoys it. He's also old enough now to recognize that it is beneficial to him though usually he expresses this in terms of improving his handwriting! 

 

I have found that doing form drawing 3 or 4 times a week for two or three weeks works best for us. With an older child, one might also just like to slip it in here and there - especially with some of the more beautiful forms which can be used to decorate greeting cards or main lessons books after being carefully practised several times.

 

Adults can also get an awful lot from practicing form drawing. A major part of really penetrating Waldorf education has to do with one's own inner work - and form drawing is an enormously helpful tool for this! A major part of a Waldorf teacher's training is in art and in working with their own inner "stuff" - by working with different arts like form drawing, watercolor painting and modeling, one has a wonderful opportunity to tap into areas of one's being which might otherwise slip past conscious thought.

 

Please go to our bookshop to view our form drawing book. You can look at sample pages and see what form drawing is if this is completely new to you. My next blog entry is a reworked post from my yahoo discussion group which is also about form drawing.

Not School at Home

I wrote the following article for Lucie Smoker's  eclectic and Waldorf-inspired homeschooling website, Wonder Homeschool, which unfortunately no longer exists.

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Many people are completely bowled over when they first encounter Waldorf education. The truly holistic and spiritual acknowledgement of the whole child, the aesthetics and emphasis on natural materials ... For many adults the wish to work with Waldorf education is an expression of their own desire to heal something which might be missing in themselves.

But then a great and potentially damaging paradox can take hold as parents struggle to reconcile their own limitations as mere human beings with the seemingly insurmountable heights of Waldorf Perfection. How can I heal myself and my children with this wonderfully nurturing way of understanding children whilst at the same time staying up till 3am to memorize stories and prepare handwork lessons?!

Waldorf education as created and inspired by Rudolf Steiner was designed for schools - and Steiner himself often spoke about the need to compromise to accommodate the authorities who inspected and licensed school at that time in Germany. Moreover, for various reasons which are beyond the scope of this brief article, much of Waldorf education is focused on the class as a group. At least some of this has to do with destiny questions of a group of children who come together with a teacher for 8 years and much of how this is worked with is via the temperaments and other pedagogical methods. Suffice to say that when I was teaching and training as a Waldorf teacher in England, my mentor, a vastly experienced teacher from Germany who thought nothing of teaching classes of 30 or even 40 children, taught me some of the secrets of successfully orchestrating large groups of children. But few of these methods work at home.

There are elements of Waldorf education as well which, if adapted as is from the school setting, can be disastrous at home. Circle time comes to mind: many people find it very difficult to do a satisfying circle with the 6 year old, the baby and the dog! Presentation, especially in the older grades, can also be a challenge - and not simply because it is a lot of work, but because it is a form which is not always workable at home. Likewise the strict division of children according to age is something which, whilst absolutely appropriate in a Waldorf school, where all the forms and pedagogy support it, is again often neither feasible nor desirable outside the classroom.

So where does that leave us? Forget Waldorf because it's too hard? Beat ourselves up because we are not doing Waldorf 'properly'? No! What my suggestion is and what lies at the heart of my work with Christopherus Homeschool Resources is the simple premise, unabashedly and blatantly stolen from the unschoolers: Not School at Home.

For a Waldorf homeschooler, Not School at Home means trying to understand what lies behind, what informs, the curriculum and the methods. It is the art of appreciating the beauty of a truly holistic approach to educating children and seeing how that might apply in one's own family situation. And it is about being fearless, honest and joyful as one creates a lifestyle that truly nurtures every family member and does not view homeschooling solely as being about the educational needs of a series of children.

So if Circle Time doesn't work for you, then sing and move as you do chores and work in the garden! Don't just teach your child songs which mime work - do real work and sing as you go. Don't destroy your health and your family harmony by staying up all night memorizing a story or learning about the Norman Conquest - find a way to sometimes tell stories and sometimes read them aloud. Trust that your being together and, especially as your child gets older, that conversation, something which cannot happen in the classroom (even a Waldorf one!) will take the place of presentation.

And as for running between 4 children stationed in different parts of the house so that you can give them each a different main lesson (and I have known women who have done this) - forget it! Penetrate and think about what the essence of each grade is and find how you can give that to each of your children - but also know that it is FINE - it is healthy! - to do much of your homeschooling together, as a family. Find ways to weave back and forth, to sometimes repeat, to sometimes create something new and to strive for joy in being home together.

Blessings on your homeschool journey!

Review - Waldorf in the Home dvd - Watercolor Painting

I watched this dvd with great anticipation, having considered doing a series of dvd's myself to help visually guide people through some of the basic artistic elements of Waldorf education. And as I have great respect for the work of Rahima Baldwin Dancy who sponsors and organizes the Waldorf in the Home conferences in Colorado and California every year, I knew that this would be something good!

 

And it is.  It's a very simple but nicely done film of a workshop on watercolor paining given by Kelly Morrow at one of Rahima's conferences.  I especially like how one can get a nice peek at the beautiful third grade (I presume) classroom - this alone will give food for thought to those parents watching this dvd who have never seen a Waldorf school!

 

Kelly shows parents how to tell a color story and then how to paint a picture following on from the story. The first part of the film is a story for first graders and she tells us a bit about the consciousness of the first grader and what they need  most from painting lessons, ie the pure experience of color. She also addresses the important issues around a child's experience of painting and what might seem, to adults, to be simple copying.

 

I like how Kelly tells her story - it's a usual Waldorf first grade story which a parent could use for a nature lesson. But, of course, Kelly is a teacher, used to standing before more than 20 children, weaving a story to a group. A homeschooling parent might find it an odd experience indeed to try to tell a story using the kind of voice and gestures as these which, whilst absolutely appropriate for the classroom experience, would be very strange to do at home! But I think it will be helpful to parent educators to listen to how she tells her story and see how artfully she crafts the mood she is trying to convey.

 

More serious, I think, is the fact that she tells one story and then uses quite different imagery when doing the actual painting! She does not, as one might expect, say things like "And here are the rain fairies..." She instead switches to quite different imagery based on the temperaments - perfectly good material for a story but this unexplained change could be confusing to parents and certainly would not be recommended to do with ones child!

 

Lastly, there simply isn't enough basic how-do-you-get-the-paint-on-the-brush information to make this video of much use to very new Waldorf parents or homeschoolers.

 

I should say that this dvd is in two parts - the second part is for third grade and she tells a story about Lucifer's expulsion from Heaven. She then goes on to do a Creation painting based on this - please know that there are many ways that Creation stories are presented in Waldorf education and this is only one!

 

Unfortunately, my dvd broke up during this part of the film - hopefully, that was a glitch only in my dvd!

 

Last comment - Kelly also painted a tree growing while she spoke. I hesitate to add yet another grumble here... but as she specifically mentions in the film how important it is to mirror reality in the painting as one shows the growth of the tree, I have to say then that she should have showed her seed first growing down into the earth and THEN up toward the Heavens as that is how seeds grow. There are no roots on her tree either..... This might sound trivial but I also think it is extremely important that one show truths to young children during their lessons (nature lesson in this case).

 

Anyway, I do think that this is a valuable dvd - but I would not recommend it for someone very new to Waldorf. I think an old hand who has had a few watercolor painting lessons and who is familiar with the pedagogy might get a lot from this, though!

 

Please go to www.informedfamilylife.org to find out more about this and other dvd's Rahima has for sale.

Working Together

My son Gabriel and I have been busy these past few weeks creating a new unit study publication for sale - this one is on the Middle Ages and follows on from the Roman History unit study we already have. As Gabriel is a 6th grader and as I am always looking for innovative ways to ensure we never "go stale", I decided, this block, to consciously work with my son on the creation of a new publication and not, as I've done before, simply adapt things I'd done with him or his brother. Gabriel, who is very interested in our business, has really been enjoying this process.

[Note: since this blog post was written the book has been published]

 

So we looked at the Roman History unit study and talked about what this new one would look like - we discussed what to do about the color pictures. He knows, from listening in on many agonizing discussions his father and I have had about color photos (use them and raise the price considerably, don't use them and lose a lot of the aesthetics of the book) that there are important issues here. We decided on a strategy based on what we've done with our kindergarten book - print black and white in the book and put the color originals on the web site.

 

Then we discussed content - as an avid history fan, he already knows a lot about this historical time period, but we have had many interesting discussions: what would have happened if the Vikings had stayed in Scandinavia? Why did Christianity almost fade away in Europe in the Dark Ages? What does the term "Dark Ages" refer to? What was Europe like during this time? What was it like in the Middle East? What happened when these two cultures met? And, of course, as Gabriel is only 12, only a 6th grader, this wasn't heavy duty analysis - mainly I seek to give broad brush strokes of pictures of life during this time - and then gently raise questions. And purposefully not find answers to all of them - Gabriel knows that as he gets older he will find more answers, deeper answers.

 

So Gabriel has made a beautiful main lesson book - then we decided which pictures he needed to photograph with the digital camera and put on the computer - his Dad will show him how to put them on the web site and write appropriate captions. Gabriel so got into the photographing that he also took lots of pictures from other books he and his brother have created in the past - so at some point soon there will be a lot more to see on the Homeschooler's Work page on our web site!

 

Written work by Gabriel will also go into the unit study - a short piece about a messenger bringing the news to Saladin of the arrival of the latest wave of Crusaders and a review of several books he read. We haven't quite worked out this latter project - I think I will ask him to read or at least look at various books about Joan of Arc which I have gotten from the library  and think about which ones he'd recommend to students using this unit study. He's a voracious reader, so that's quite a good assignment for him. And he has strong but balanced opinions about things like how useful or well written books are.

 

Well, we're almost finished with this project - our next block is on physics and I'm toying with the idea of doing a booklet on that - notes, really on what we did and what did or didn't work. And Gabriel and his Dad will be working on our Christopherus accounts, learning how to use our new software. Waldorf sixth grade math is based on business math so what better way to do it than to directly involve our boy in the our business?!