[Cynthia Aldinger is a Waldorf early childhood and parenting educator and Director of LifeWays North America. She wrote this in January, 2005]
When I was pregnant with my firstborn son about three decades ago, I developed a passion for learning all I could about Waldorf education and child development. When he and his brother were 9 and 7 years old, his father and I had the privilege of moving to Sussex, England where I completed my Waldorf teacher training at Emerson College.
Since then I have been involved professionally in Waldorf, first as the founding teacher of Prairie Hill Waldorf School in Wisconsin and now as Executive Director of LifeWays North America. You can learn more about LifeWays at www.lifeways-center.org . I have also served on the Board of the Waldorf Early Childhood Association of North America for ten years.
I loved being a kindergarten teacher--especially the nature walks, the stories and the festivals. However, when I was on my sabbatical in England, a good friend, a successful businessman, asked me one of those life-changing questions. The question: "What are you going to do about child care?" He and a number of his business acquaintances were concerned about the quality of child care in Great Britain and the States, feeling that childhood itself was at stake. They felt there was too much emphasis on formal learning and not enough on quality of life and practical life skills.
In 1998, with the help of many individuals, I opened the first LifeWays Child Care Center in East Troy, Wisconsin, supporting families who needed care for their children from three months to six years old. I also began laying the groundwork for the development of a LifeWays training for parents, grandparents, child care providers, parent educators and preschool teachers.
Now, in addition to nature walks, stories and festivals, I enjoy spending time with children and adults creating "home-ness" through domestic and nurturing activities.
In 2000, I moved with my husband back to my birth State of Oklahoma and became an active LifeWays consultant, traveling throughout North America and abroad. We now have trainings in three locations - Wisconsin, Maine and at Rudolf Steiner College in California.
Recently, I was blessed by the opportunity to live with my parents and my grandmother who is 104. Having the chance to help with the care of my grandmother reminded me of the importance of having predictable routines and rhythms in daily life. It provides a sense of security to both young children and the elderly. In many ways, it truly is the simple things in life that count!
In fact, having just moved back to Wisconsin, I find that the same holds true for me! With the upheaval a cross country move creates, I found that cooking, cleaning, and decorating my home were all I really wanted to do. I knew I needed to get "back to work" on the book Rahima and I are writing and to other important LifeWays business, but in reality, I just wanted to do the things I was writing about!
Returning from an evening walk after a new-fallen snow last week, I heard the church bells begin to ring just as I reached my front door. I listened as I recognized the music - "Ode to Joy" - by Beethoven. It felt like an affirmation. I look forward to working with Rahima and to sharing experiences with all of you about joy in simplicity.
