Waldorf in the Home

"Sharing the Joy of Nature"
Keynote address by Joseph Cornell

Joseph Cornell, author of the pioneering works Sharing Nature with Children and Listening to Nature, shares from 30 years of developing inspiring nature activities you can use to deepen your family's experience and relationship with nature. He also incudes stories and insights from the lives of great nature mystics, including John Muir, Henry David Thoreau, and others.

Video recording in DVD format: $20.00

"Developing Healthy Sensory Integration:
Play in the Natural World"
Workshop by Nancy Blanning

Outdoor play in the natural world has supported sensory development for ages, and we need to reclaim this connection. Nancy takes participants on a playful walk and then explores the senses of touch, self-movement and balance, and ways to use the natural world as our playground for children's healthy development.

Video Recording in DVD format: $20.00

"Educating Our Children--Changing the Future" will be the theme of the annual spring parenting conference April 25-26 at Sacramento Waldorf School, sponsored by Informed Family Life.

We are living in times of tremendous change and challenges that call upon us to educate our children to have both new ways of seeing and creative thinking. What do children really need to be able to meet the problems they will be asked to solve as adults? How can we keep their idealism alive and provide the skills and abilities they will need to develop new ways of living sustainably?

This conference will offer more than three dozen workshops on social change, sustainability, parenting, home schooling and Waldorf education, which was founded out of an impulse for social change and cultural renewal. It will bring together keynote speakers from various social impulses:

"The Blessings of Change" will be discussed by Shea Darian, author of the new book Living Passages for the Whole Family, as well as Seven Times the Sun and Sanctuaries of Childhood: Nurturing a Child's Spiritual Life. Shea will explore the transformative power of blessings in family and community life, and how meaningful rites of passage from birth to adulthood help us and our children to live joyfully in the present, heal and celebrate the past, and foster courage and hope for the future. Shea is the mother of two grown daughters who attended Waldorf schools.

Lisa Bennett, Communications Director at The Center for Ecoliteracy, will share the principles and exciting applications of their program "Smart by Nature: Schooling for Sustainability" as it is being taken up by school communities across the country and around the world. Lisa is a researcher and writer, and has spoken at the National Press Club and appeared on the BBC, C-SPAN, Hardball, and many other programs.

John Bloom is Director of Organizational Culture at Rudolf Steiner Foundation Social Finance. He will share from the work he has been developing with the Transforming Money Collaborative as well as other educational programs addressing the intersection of money and spirit in personal and social transformation. RSF Social Finance provides innovative investing, lending, and philanthropic services to promote environmental, social, and economic sustainability.

Focusing on the tremendous changes in adolescence, DeAnna L'am will address the question, "How would our world be different if adolescent children were witnessed, cherished, and celebrated as they transitioned into adulthood?" DeAnna is a Waldorf parent and the founder of Red Moon--Cycles of Women's Wisdom™. She was the first to bring Rites of Passage work to mixed groups of Jewish and Palestinian women in Israel/Palestine, her country of origin. Her work helped participants bond as women beyond all political differences and artificial divides. DeAnna trains Red Tent facilitators, helps reclaim and renew Coming of Age traditions, and works internationally to inspire and equip adults to assume the task of Eldering our children. She is the author of Becoming Peers, Mentoring Girls into Womanhood.

You can join more than 250 like-minded parents for a weekend of inspiration and renewal by clicking on the conference link in the column at the right. It will take you to an information page with links to the complete 8-page brochure and secure online registration. Or you can call Informed Family Life at 303-546-0070 to request a brochure be mailed to you, or if you have any questions.

"Connecting Children and Nature"
Workshop by Jill Dreves

Explore your connection to the natural world and how it impacts your child's. Based on the work of Richard Louv (Last Child in the Woods) and the work of the Wild Bear Center for Nature Discovery in Nederland, Colorado, Jill shares the current trends and research on the importance of connecting children with nature. Participants also make a biodome, a great project to do with your children.

Video Recording: DVD, $20

"Can We See with Fresh Eyes? Replacing Habits of Abstract Thought"
Workshop by Craig Holdrege

Do we encourage our children to enjoy the night sky, or do we explain how many light years away those stars are? To help our children have deep experiences of the world, we need to overcome our tendency to over-intellectualize--to explain and define. Can we learn to hold back, provide opportunities for quiet observation, and portray the world with open-ended concepts that can grow as children grow?

Audio Recording: CD, $12.50

"Inner Nature: The Four Elements and the Temperaments"
Workshop by Cheryl Mulholland

The four elements also appear within human nature as our temperament, with each person expressing an affinity towards earth, air, fire and water in how they think, feel and act in life. Understanding the temperaments can improve our relationships and parenting and help us guide our children with their strengths and weaknesses.

Audio Recording: CD, $12.50

"Gardening as a Pathway to Understanding Nature"
Workshop by Chris Korrow

An organic/biodynamic garden is a miniature ecosystem in which the gardener strives to mimic the workings of nature. Gardens vary greatly from location to location, and understanding your specific plot will give you insight as to the best way to deal with its uniqueness. These simple concepts are also a great aid in teaching children about gardening, biodiversity, soil science, the environment and even climate change.

Audio recording: CD, $12.50

"The Sky Starts at your Feet: Nature from a Child's View"
Keynote Address by Sharon Lovejoy

Nationally-known author Sharon Lovejoy (Roots, Shoots, Buckets & Boots, Sunflower Houses, and Trowel & Error) shares ways to enchant and enliven children's relationships with nature through gardens and gardening. Sharon shares a collection of simple techniques for learning with children, not teaching at them as she shares her formula of the Five S's.

Audio: CD recording, $12.50

Storytelling from the Heart
By Cynthia Wand

I believe that one of the greatest contributors to dis-connection from our children today is technology. I feel it is has somewhat replaced one of our most cherished threads of bonding in families, the art of storytelling.

The origins of storytelling are ancient and lost in the mist of time. I imagine one of the first stories told was perhaps around a flickering fire in the gloomy recess of a cave. Maybe a primitive hunter told his family of his successful hunt as they devoured the game that he brought home? Or, more likely, he told of how courageously he fought when a terrible animal tried to steal his kill, adding a little imaginative details to convince his hungry family that he had done all he could but was foiled by cruel fate?

The power of the story has been with us for eons and has definitely taken a back seat in the homes of many families today.

As Waldorf home schoolers for many years, and igniting our creative story telling fires from within, my husband Steven and I realized how much this lost art, brought back into our own home, established a deeper heart connection with our daughters Sophie and Sadie. They also still enjoy hearing stories about our own childhood, youth, and our adult single years.

One of my greatest joys as a mother has been centered around bedtime. Those first precious years of lighting the candle, singing the songs, telling our fairy tale and reciting our favorite bedtime verse are memories I will cherish forever.
As our first daughter Sophie reached about four years of age, my husband Steven and I began taking turns with an occasional alternative form of story telling at bedtime. Jammies were on, teeth were brushed and she anxiously waited on her bed for this weekly ritual.

We didn't start entirely from scratch. Sophie helped us a little with her own creative expression. Each time we asked her to give us three magical objects and slip them into the pockets of our storytelling cloak, where we would then creatively weave them into the story. The more random they were the better. I don't take credit for this style of storytelling. It was given to me from a fellow Waldorf home schooling mother, and is a great way to involve especially a young child in the creative process, as well as make for some very unusual, and inspiring stories.

When our second daughter, Sadie, was around three years of age we began also to include her in the process and asked her for three objects as well. Being over five years apart in age made for some diversity with the objects, and a total of six random objects was about my limit as far as memory was concerned. On some nights when the creativity was waning, or the fatigue waxing, I had to cheat and write them down! So I suggest if you have three or four fairly young children you may want them to contribute only one or two objects each.

Sometimes I really missed the mark. I would watch the girls as I grasped for a thread or struggled to find some humor, their faces blank, especially as Sophie grew older and more discerning. Other times, however, I felt like Hemingway, or Mark Twain, with the words just pouring from my mind and my daughters' eyes riveted to mine. On several occasions I was so impressed by my stories that I could barely finish them because of my tears.

There were stories of death, courage, love, and stories of mystical, magical enchantment that had my girls hanging on the edge of every word. There were even stories of humor that would take them to a place of kicking their legs in hysteria. There were words like baby stroller, bunny, the sun, gnome, semi-truck and fairy all in the same story.

There were times when it took me nearly ten minutes to begin my story and times when I began with great authority in only 30 seconds.

Those fifteen to thirty minutes with my daughters were precious times. They fueled my creativity and allowed me to connect with them from the heart. Although reading to our children can be a wonderful time as well, telling a story, whether it be fictional or something from our past,bonds us together like an epoxy glue made from love. Story time honors our Spirit by allowing It to flow into the hearts of others.

What greater time than now to tell your children a story! Whether they're two or eighteen, there is a story within you that they will connect with. There is a story about a special Christmas you experienced, a story about a time you really struggled, or there's a story that you'll create from three simple objects.

Whether story time is at bedtime, midday, or around the campfire, it matters not. Stories, face to face, heart to heart, are a powerful antidote to the disease of disconnection. In this day of texting, video games and computers, where children may be feeling more disconnected, stories deserve more than ever to find a place in the home, from your heart, and into theirs.

Share your stories TODAY. Your children will become more attentive, more connected, and more creative, as will you! You will begin a foundation of love and connection in the family that will be with you forever.The recent attraction and draw of technology will NEVER replace the connection established with a mother's or father's gift of the story.
Want your child to thrive? Give yourself to them, and find the time to spread your love, attention and your creativity through stories, and you'll be amazed at the heart connections you will strengthen.

Steven and Cynthia Wand have been Waldorf homeschoolers and are the authors of Living The Heart Life... Letting Go of the Hard Life. They offer transformational mentoring/coaching in the area of relationships and parenting. Visit http://www.livingtheheartlife.com to sign up for their free Love Notes Newsletter.

Joan Almon, Chair of the US Alliance for Childhood shares the following about their important work in promoting play [Note that we have two talks on play available by Joan, The Rebirth of Play and Re-Creating Play.]

Our last update invited you to help us promote the new PBS documentary Where Do the Children Play? by organizing a local screening of the film. You responded with a flood of requests, and we have now sent out more than 250 copies of the film for screenings in the U.S. and abroad. The reports we are getting say that audiences are provoked, moved, and inspired to take action in their communities.

The film is changing people's thinking about the need for more play at home, in nature, and in schools. We will continue to fill requests for community screenings as long as we can. You can also purchase a DVD of the film for $19.95 from Michigan Television, the producer. See their web site: www.wfum.org/childrenplay. The film is now available for airing on PBS stations. Let the program director at your local affiliate know that you would like to see it broadcast in your community.

This month's playwork institute at Sarah Lawrence College in New York, called "Facilitating Play for Young Children," is completely filled, with a waiting list of applicants. We are exploring the idea of creating similar institutes and workshops in other parts of the country.

Penny Wilson, the London playworker who has been helping the Alliance to spread the word about the playwork profession and its principles and practice in the U.S., has inspired many people to see the importance of play in a whole new light. One of those people is Nancy Barthold, the Assistant Commissioner for Recreation and Programming of the New York City Parks Department.

Here's what Barthold writes in the Spring 2008 issue of Outdoors in New York City:

For many of today's children, play opportunities have turned into a world full of electronic games, plastic toys, and structured sports activities. They seem to have forgotten, or never had the chance to experience, the fun of building a fort using rocks and sticks or pretending to be an explorer while trekking through the woods. Get reacquainted with games such as hide-and-seek and scavenger hunts. All one really needs is a vivid imagination. Batteries not included.

This spring, our Recreation Division and the Urban Park Rangers will collaborate to bring you new and exciting play opportunities. Playworkers and Rangers will refocus how children look at nature--to see it as a world full of "loose parts."

Nancy Barthold is one of the movers and shakers with whom we are now working as part of the New York Coalition for Play. Our goal is nothing less than to transform the face of childhood in New York by making freely chosen play accessible to every child. And New York is not the only place where these things are happening. Similar coalitions are forming in cities and towns all over the country.

Play is suddenly very much in the news. But we won't be satisfied until we see it on every playground, in every neighborhood, in after-school programs and other out-of-school spaces, in fact everywhere that children gather. And we want every parent to appreciate the importance of play and to feel safe about their children going out to play.

That's why we're focusing on the professional development of playworkers in this country. Playworkers know how to create safe but adventuresome play spaces. They know how to keep an eye on children without intruding and "adulterating" their play. They know how to help when needed and wear a cloak of invisibility at other times. They protect children and reassure adults.

Outdoor play in nature and in parks and playgrounds is important. But so is indoor play, especially for young children. The Alliance is committed to restoring play to kindergarten classrooms and preserving it in preschool programs.

We know it will be a hard sell. Most public kindergartens are now full-day programs and most of their time is devoted to academic instruction. Kindergarten teachers are under pressure to get children ready for standardized tests. Many of them are being told by supervisors that they may not let their children play. Some are forced to follow scripts for hours each day. Many districts expect children to have basic reading skills when they enter kindergarten, so the focus in preschool is also shifting from exploratory learning and play to academic instruction.

All of this flies in the face of what we know about young children. They discover themselves and the world around them through self-initiated, creative play and hands-on exploration. Through such activity they develop oral language, an essential building block for reading. They develop social skills through the negotiation and planning that is part of play.

Children who engage regularly in active outdoor play tend to have healthy bodies and develop a love for nature. And play strengthens imagination and creativity, essential ingredients for the kind of open-ended thinking that the world needs.

In the fall we will issue a new report on early childhood education and launch a campaign to restore play and experiential learning in preschools and kindergartens. Stay tuned.

To continue this vital work we need your support. Our fiscal year ends on June 30 and we must raise $15,000 to end the year with a balanced budget. Your gifts both large and small are deeply appreciated. You can make your tax-deductible donation by mail or online at the Alliance's secure web site: www.allianceforchildhood.org.

For those who can give $100 or more we offer a special bonus: a copy of A Place for Play, a beautiful new volume of play articles and color photographs edited by Elizabeth Goodenough, published by the National Institute for Play and the University of Michigan Press.

To one and all we wish a healthy summer. Our prescription: Use it as a time to relax your body and deepen your thinking. Play accomplishes both.

With all best wishes,
Joan Almon
Chair, U.S. Alliance for Childhood

Becoming Peers: Mentoring Girls into Womanhood
Book by DeAnna L'am

This book provides practical guidelines for mentoring a girl into womanhood. It offers creative ceremonies and activities designed to honor a girl's transition and call her to new levels of maturity. At the same time, it presents the adult woman/mentor with powerful tools for enhancing her inner and outer life. The book is motivated by the belief that for a girl to enter womanhood in a meaningful way, it is essential that her mother and other special women in her life cultivate a new way of relating that will gradually help her to become their peer.

DeAnna will be a keynote speaker at our conference on "Educating Your Children--Changing the Future" April 25-26, 2009 in Fair Oaks, CA. She has been a frequent and popular workshop presenter at many conferences in the past. DeAnna has been teaching in the United States and internationally since 1980 in the fields of team building, conflict resolution, peacemaking, and women's spirituality. Since founding Red Moon Rites of Passage in 1994, she has been leading groups for girls and women throughout California and around the world.

Book, $14.95

Waldorf and Learning to Read
by Barbara Dewey, Waldorf without Walls

Reading is not required in Waldorf schools until the end of grade 3. The Waldorf curriculum is based on the developmental interests of children, rather than skill levels, and does not require reading in the early grades. Material is presented by the teacher in dramatic, interesting ways and the children make use of the material in their play and hands-on dramatic and artistic activities.

These activities are enjoyable learning experiences that allow the child to learn many other things while she is maturing and naturally developing the capacities that will lead to reading, whenever it occurs.

Steiner believed that the child recapitulates human cultural evolution in his development. At age 6-7 he is living through the period when human beings developed a written, pictorial alphabet, so it makes sense to develop the alphabet using pictures. The child is still interested in fantasy and fairy tale, so we develop a picture alphabet using fairy tale stories.

English is a very difficult language to learn. The phonetic and spelling rules are only correct 50% of the time! That means 50% of the words have to be memorized. So how can one learn to read by phonics alone?!

Children learn to read in the same way they learn to potty train or talk. Children learn these things when they are ready and the age of success varies greatly with the child. To me, a child is not really potty trained until she has the skills necessary to take herself into the bathroom, pull down her pants, do it, and re-fasten her clothes. A child learns to talk by listening to others speak and gradually learns by imitation, attaining a huge vocabulary somewhere between ages 1 ½ and 3. The same process occurs when learning to read.

We are fooling ourselves when we think we are teaching a child to read. The child cracks the code, and does a lot of memory work, just as he did when he was learning to speak. If you watch a child who is at the stage where he is ready and wants to learn to read, you will see him repeating words and sounds to himself, memorizing books that are read to him, and suddenly he goes from memorizing to really reading, seemingly overnight! Then he can read everything, including newspapers, and big chapter books. All this will not happen until the child is ready, and forcing it may make him avoid reading for life. What often happens is that the child learns to read the words aloud to please the adults, but never learns to comprehend what he has read. To me, a child is not really a reader until he can voluntarily pick up any piece of written material and read it.

Reading for Waldorf Homeschoolers: This very practical publication explores the theory behind Waldorf reading philosophies and provides the stories and pictures that might be used to develop the alphabet. Also included are enjoyable word and sound games, verses, and tongue twisters. Many color illustrations. To order, http://www.waldorfwithoutwalls.com/books/reading/

A marionette making retreat will be offered in Ashland, Oregon from August 4-8, 2008 with Analuisa Witt, a Waldorf kindergarten teacher who trained with Suzanne Down of Juniper Tree Puppets.
The retreat includes an early morig nature walk, euryhtmy, the theory of "Philosphy of the Gesture," marioneete making with seil and needle felting sulptin, and practice with the marionettes. For more information contact Analuisa at auroraskinder@hotmail.com or call 541-552-0231.

Homeschooling Program in Boulder
with Sage Hamilton, Director

Let us honor spirit that moves in all things and
know ourselves better through
creative expression and community.

Our program integrates the expressive and practical arts,
celebrates seasonal festivals and honors spiritual diversity.
Each year's focus includes block studies in animal stories,
myths, and fairy tales around which our community finds
opportunities for creative expression, including performance.

The magical garden setting on one acre in North Boulder
is the focus for our earth-centered practical arts curriculum
including crafting, gardening, and medicine making.

Morning Activities:
Nature Walk
Recitation
Movement
Rhythmic Activities
Recorder
Story-Art-Drawing-Painting
Creative Writing,
9+ Afternoon Activities
Bee Stewardship
Gardening
Harvesting
Medicine Making
Cooking
Crafting
Handwork

Expanded Program 2008 - 2009
Ages 6 - 8 Wednesdays and Fridays 9 - 3 pm
Ages 9 - 11 Mondays and Thursdays 9 - 3 pm

We now offer flexible scheduling options.

Sage Hamilton, Director
30 years experience - conventional, Waldorf and Alternative Education
303 938-8867 sagehamilton.com

A mother inquired:
Hi, we have a Waldorf co-op and have been faced with some differing views regarding colds, sickness and when to bring and not bring your children. Do you have any waldorf guidelines for colds and sickness to protect or children or philosophies around protecting them I could share with the group?
We have a few of us that feel it is very important to keep our children home to heal when they are sick, keep them bundled and conserve there energy. There are the others who feel like it's important to build the immune system by being sick and feel very comfortable bringing their sick kids to co-op. Any thoughts? We could really use some waldorf mama help! Blessings -JH
ps. Love the Homemaking 101 video you recommended!

Rahima responded:
Thank you for your question! Any time children come together in childcare (or co-ops) there will be increased colds/illness (spreading to the adults as well--bleh). When children are sick they need homecare that nurtures their etheric (life) forces and gives them the calm and support they need to muster their forces.

It sounds to me as if some people are misinterpreting an idea from "Waldorf" that it can be good for children to have the childhood illnesses (chickenpox, measles, etc), because they can strengthen the individual "I" forces as the child's body and spirit fight and overcome the disease. But with these illnesses it is even more importance that the parents be prepared to nurse the child at home (potentially for 8 weeks with whooping cough) and to provide professional help (homeopathics, Anthroposophical compounds, etc) if the child needs help in overcoming the onslaught.

Parents would do well to start practicing up on their homecare skills with minor illnesses, rather than making their children work twice as hard by continuing to take them out when they are sick. There is no advantage to exposing others to colds and flus--everyone has more than enough opportunity for this through daily life.

Our instincts are lacking about what supports the etheric when a child or adult is ill--we tend to go on with "business as usual." This can be a disastrous pattern if the child actually contracts measles, etc. Care during illnesses involves seeing with new eyes and being willing to interrupt our lives long enough to give space for healing. A rule of thumb used to be "an extra day in bed/at home for every day there was fever"--not take antibiotics and return to work or school after 24 hours because you're no longer contagious.

It's not easy to stay home with a sick child--the society and economics work against it. But please don't use "Waldorf" as a reason to bring your children to school/groups when they are ill!
Rahima

The annual fall Waldorf parenting conferences will be happening only in Boulder this year: "Children, Nature and Us" will take place at Shining Mountain Waldorf School Oct. 25-26, 2008.

The next conference in Fair Oaks will be in Spring 2009, and will feature Shea Darian around the themes in her new book Living Passages for the Whole Family (available from our online store at the right). DeAnna L'am will also be doing a keynote presentation relating to welcoming our daughters into womanhood. Both promise to be exciting conferences!

The reason I'm unable to travel to California in the fall is that my daughter, Faith, and I will be busy opening the Rainbow Bridge LifeWays Program in North Boulder (I am taking a break from working with elders and returning to early childhood for a while). Faith has been leading the toddler class at Boulder Waldorf Kindergarten for the past three years and has completed the LifeWays training. We're looking forward to working together with young children! If you live in or around Boulder and have children from 1-5 years, you can learn more about the program by clicking on the information at right.

"Children, Nature & Us" (Oct. 25-26 in Boulder) will feature Joseph Cornell, whose books on Sharing Nature with Children have been a classic resource for parents and teachers (if you can't attend the conference--or to get a preview of how creative and sparkly Joseph his--we are pleased to be able to offer his DVD "Sharing the Joy of Nature and Flow Learning." Just click on our online-store on the right, or enter Joseph Cornell into the search engine on the site.
Chris Korrow will also be joining us and sharing his wisdom from bio-dynamic farming; Chris is also a filmmaker, and his award-winning film on garden insects was recently shown on PBS.
We are also delighted to welcome Sharon Lovejoy, who is an internationally acclaimed author on gardening. She has written several books on gardening with children, including Roots, Shoots, Buckets & Boots, Sunflower Houses, and Hollyhock Days.
And we will be joined by Craig Holdrege, Director of The Nature Institute in Ghent, NY and a frequent lecturer on biodynamic agriculture and the Goethean approach to the natural world.
In addition, there will be three dozen workshops on various aspects of the Waldorf curriculum, parenting, and ways to nurture children--and ourselves--in the living forces of nature.

I will miss seeing many of you in California until Spring of '09, and I hope that the year brings blessings and growth for you and your families.
Warmly, Rahima

LIFEWAYS PRINCIPLES FOR CARING for YOUNG CHILDREN AT HOME AND IN CHILDCARE

1. Young children thrive in the presence of parents and other devoted caregivers who enjoy life and caring for children. They learn primarily through imitation/empathy and, therefore, need to be cared for by people with integrity and warmth who are worthy of being imitated. This is the foundation for learning and healthy development.

2. Having consistent caregivers, especially from birth to three years old and, preferably, up to primary school age, is essential for establishing a sense of trust and well-being.

3. Children need relationship with people of all ages. Infants and toddlers thrive in family-style blended-age care, while older children see nurturing modeled by the adults and experience their own place in the continuum of growing up. Children of all ages can both give and receive special blessing when in the company of elders and youth who enjoy children.

4. Each person is uniquely valuable, gifted with purpose and worthy of respect throughout all phases of his or her life's journey.

5. Human relationship and activity are the essential tools for teaching the young child all foundational skills for life. Infants and toddlers develop most healthily when allowed to have freedom of movement in a safe environment. For three- to six-yea-olds, creative play, not technology or early academics, forms the best foundation for school work and for life-long learning.

6. In infancy and early childhood, daily life experience is the "curriculum." The child's relationships to the caregivers and to the environment are the two most important aspects through which the child can experience healthy life rhythms/routines. These include the "nurturing arts" of rest and play, regular meal times, exploring nature, practical/domestic activities, social creativity, music and simple artistic activities.

7. Young children thrive in a home or home-like environment that offers beauty, comfort and security, and connection to the living world of nature. Healthy sense development is fostered when most of their clothing and playthings are of non-synthetic materials and their toys allow for open-ended, imaginative play.

8. Childhood is a valid and authentic time unto itself and not just a preparation for schooling. Skipping or hurrying developmental phases can undermine a child's healthy and balanced development.

9. Parents of young children need and deserve support in their path of parenting--from professionals, family, and one another. They thrive in a setting where they are loved, respected and helped to feel love and understanding for their children.

10. Caregivers also have an intrinsic purpose and need to be recognized and appropriately compensated for the value of their work. They need an environment where they can create an atmosphere of "home," build true relationship to the children, and feel autonomous and appreciated.

Waldorf parenting and home schooling conferences this year include:

"Children, Nature & Us," October 25-26, 2008 at Shining Mountain Waldorf School in Boulder, CO. Information and secure online registation will be available starting in late May by clicking on the information on the right.

Keynotes speakers will feature Joseph Cornell, whose books on Sharing Nature with Children have been a classic resource for parents and teachers. Chris Korrow,a bio-dynamic farmer and film maker, will be joining us from Kentucky. And we are also delighted to welcome Sharon Lovejoy, who is an internationally acclaimed author on gardening. She has written several books on gardening with children, including Roots, Shoots, Buckets & Boots, Sunflower Houses, and Hollyhock Days. And we will be joined by Craig Holdrege, Director of The Nature Institute in Ghent, NY and a frequent lecturer on biodynamic agriculture and the Goethean approach to the natural world. In addition, there will be three dozen workshops on various aspects of the Waldorf curriculum, parenting, and ways to nurture children--and ourselves--in the living forces of nature.

"Waldorf at Home" with Donna Simmons, July 18-20, 2008 in Grand Junction, Colorado. Topics include the young child at home, self development as a parent, language arts and storytelling, form drawing, Waldorf curriculum for grades 1-3, anthroposophy, science, and discipline. For more information and registration forms, please email darcieperkins@gmail.com.

Barbara Dewey (Waldorf without Walls) will be offering two sessions at her farm in Ohio: Homeschool Kindergarten Training June 27-29, 2008 and Homeschool Teacher Training for Grades 106, august 15-17. See www.waldorfwithoutwalls/seminars.

June 22-July 5, 2008, The Art of Teaching, at Rudolf Steiner College, Fair Oaks, California. Offering one-week sessions on teaching each grade (1-8), plus 3-4 year olds, and Fundamentals of the Waldorf Kindergarten. www.steinercollege.edu or 916-961-8727 for a catalog.

Rudolf Steiner Institute, July 6-26 at Green Mountain College in Vermont. One- and two-week sessions including "The Essentials of Waldorf Education" with Jack Petrash and "The Spirit of Early Childhood" with Joan Almon. www.steinerinstitute.org

Gene Campbell (Chiron) offers early childhood intensives (July 19-20) and grades 1-8 (July 22-24) for home schoolers. The conferences are at the Rudolf Steiner Centre in Toronto, Ontario. See www.chiron.ca

"Bringing Waldorf Home" is the annual conference in the Mid-Atlantic area, produced by Nicole Correri. Dates are Aug 29-31, and further information is available from clarityskr@yahoo.com.

Initiation and Ritual for Young Adults:
"Surfing the Creative" summer camp with Melissa Michaels and staff

I strongly recommend Melissa Michael's two-week summer program for young people aged 16-18. It will take place June 22 to July 6, 2008 at a retreat center near Boulder, Colorado. Melissa's leading-edge work brings together practitioners and young people from all over the world to accompany youth in the transition into adulthood through embodiment practices and contemporary ritual adapted for young people today. To learn more, see www.goldenbridge.org. I've been privileged to be studying with Melissa for the past several years and continue to be impressed with all that she's doing.--Rahima

Creative Therapy for Children with Autism, ADD, and Asperger's -
Using Artistic Creativity to Reach, Teach, and Touch Our Children
By Janet Tubbs

323 pages from Square One Publishers; $18.95
www.childrensresources.com

The statistics are staggering: one in every 84 children is now diagnosed with autism. The number of children with ADD, ADHD and Asperger's Syndrome continue to grow as well. This is a global event that deserves our attention and introspection if we are to understand the cause and treatment of this "disorder."

It is no easy task to find a teaching technique that can truly change the course of a child with special needs. Thirty years ago, Janet Tubbs developed a successful arts-based program for children who had low self-esteem and behavioral problems. The autism explosion was just beginning when Janet was introduced to the works of Rudolf Steiner. Believing that unconventional children required unconventional therapies, she then took her program one step further and based on Steiner's insights she applied it to children who had autism, ADD/ADHD and Asperger's Syndrome.

Her innovative methods and strategies not only worked, but they actually defied the experts. In this new book, Janet Tubbs has put together a powerful teaching tool to help parents, therapists, and teachers work with their children.

The book is divided into two parts. Part One provides an overview of Autism Spectrum Disorders and introduces and explains Janet's novel approach to teaching. Her goal is to balance the child's body, mind, and spirit through proven techniques. Part Two provides a wide variety of exercises, activities, and games that are both fun and effective. Each is designed to reduce hyperactivity, increase and prolong focus, decrease anger, and develop fine motor skills or improve social and verbal skills. All are part of a program created to hep these children relate to their environment without fear, anxiety, or discomfort.

A child may appear stubborn and difficult, but that doesn't mean the child isn't intelligent, curious, or creative. With the right treatment, such a child an be reached, taught and set on the road to improvement. The lessons provided in this book may be just what you and your child have been waiting for.

Janet works out of the principles of Rudolf Steiner/Anthroposophy/Waldorf Education. She can be contacted at janet@childrensresources.com