These days my inbox is filled with two kinds of questions.

1. Can you give me some advice for writing end-of-year reports?
2. Do you have suggestions for making summer planning easier?

Luckily, I have thoughts on both of those topics. You can find lots of information about them both on the blog. But I mention this just because it points out the dilemma that teachers face right now.

You want to do justice to the end of the school year, write end-of-year reports that are meaningful, at the same time that you need to look ahead to the new school year. There are certain aspects of planning that just can’t wait.

I’m afraid I don’t have any big brilliant words of wisdom to share to make that push-pull any easier, but just the comforting thought that you’re not alone. And that it won’t last forever.

And maybe a little bit of permission to set aside the future for now. Sure, you need to connect with the enrollment person, and think about new families joining your class, but when it’s time to write reports, give your full attention to reflecting on the previous year.

You won’t regret it and you’ll find that you get ideas and inspirations that will make the year ahead even better.

The post Looking Ahead, Looking Back: The June Dilemma appeared first on A Waldorf Journey.

It’s the time of year when we all get a little sentimental and take some time to recognize the tremendous growth and development that has happened at school this year.

I remember when my last class was in eighth grade, they spent the year marking all of the “lasts.”

It’s our last Winter Faire/May Day/Field Trip!

This year’s eighth grade at my school is no different. As much as they are ready and excited to move on to high school, they (and their parents!) are squeezing every last drop out of their Waldorf experience with camping trips, musical performances, and field trips.

And while it’s true that eighth grade is a particularly special time for reflection, throughout the grades, Waldorf schools are pretty incredible at creating events and experiences that mark the passage of time and the development of our students.

Here’s a peek at a few of the ceremonies and celebrations that have marked transitions in my experience at Waldorf schools.

The Rose Ceremony

If you’re familiar with Waldorf schools, you’ve probably heard of the Rose Ceremony. The tradition bookends the year with two ceremonies. At the beginning of the year, the eighth graders present the first graders with a rose to welcome them into the grade school. At the end of the year, the first graders give the eighth graders a rose to acknowledge their transition to high school.

Typically, the two classes have a “buddy” relationship throughout the year, which makes the tradition even more meaningful. Throughout the grades, my students looked forward to having their first grade buddy, and I loved watching them sweetly nurture their new little friends.

The Rose Ceremony is just as significant for teachers. When I looped back and took my first grade class, my closest colleague was in eighth grade. After years of collaborating and supporting each other through the throes of middle school, our relationship transitioned, too.

Every school I have been involved with has some version of the Rose Ceremony, which makes it even more special. When I imagine that Waldorf schools around the world acknowledge their students’ transitions with the giving of a rose, I can’t help but feel a little overwhelmed and honored to be a part of the global Waldorf community.

The Rainbow Bridge Ceremony

Another sweet and sentimental ceremony our school holds is the Rainbow Bridge Ceremony. This event is held at the end of the school year and marks the kindergarten students’ transition into the grade school. Lovingly held by their kindergarten teachers, the students walk over a bridge and then meet their new teacher in the first grade classroom. 

The teacher then tells them a story, welcoming them into the grade school.

Honestly, I remember the Rainbow Bridge Ceremony for my former class like it was yesterday. They seemed so little—especially compared to the eighth graders I had been teaching all year. They sat somewhat nervously in a circle while I told them a story and I remember being amazed at how fully they drank that story in. They’re now in 7th grade and a couple of them told me recently that they STILL remember that story.

That story ultimately became the metaphor that guided our work as a class, including the story I told them when I stepped away from teaching and they received their new teacher. 

(If you’re interested, you can read the story I told my students when I stepped away, which gives a picture of the original story I told on the Rainbow Bridge day.)

There are so many more events that mark the passage of time in a Waldorf school—the festivals, projects, events and field trips—it’s one of the things that many of us love most about Waldorf Education. When we take these moments to reflect, we step out of the everyday stream of time, and hold the past, present, and future at once, recognizing the growth and transformation that is happening around us all the time. These moments elevate the every day, helping us to understand the impact and significance of the accumulation of our day-to-day experiences.

What are some of the transitions and ceremonies that are significant in your Waldorf Education experience? Share in the comments or send me an email with your thoughts. 

The post Waldorf Transitions, Traditions, and Ceremonies appeared first on A Waldorf Journey.

Interested in following me on my new adventure? You can subscribe at:
waldorfatwork.substack.com

Also, in this episode, I talk about the question I hate most: “Am I Waldorf enough?” I talk through the assumptions that are embedded in this question and some of the reasons why they are completely misguided.

Because, newsflash, Waldorf is not about playing the flute, singing songs, or spending lots of time outside. It’s about doing those things out of an understanding of the impact that they have on students. And you can be a great Waldorf teacher, even if you don’t know how to draw a horse.

Read more of my ideas about this in this post on Waldorf at Work.

The post Waldorf at Work, A New Episode appeared first on A Waldorf Journey.

This year, it wasn’t looking like I was going to teach, but due to a last-minute staffing change, I got slotted in to teach mostly geography classes in the upper grades.

Now, ordinarily, geography would not be my first choice of topics to teach summer training teachers. Here’s why.

Teaching geography is complicated.

First, Steiner gave decent indications about geography for fourth grade, but there’s not much for the rest of the grades (other than the statement that geography is the “most important subject”).

Everyone is just figuring it out.

Second, because there is so little to go on, teachers are left to figure it out, and there isn’t general consensus among Waldorf curriculum developers (i.e., teachers) about what should be done in the different grades. This means that if I prepare to talk to seventh-grade teachers about teaching Asian Geography that year, there’s a chance someone will have already done it in sixth grade. What you do each year is highly dependent on what you did the previous year and what you’re going to do next year. So, my message to the poor sixth-grade teachers was to decide now what you’re going to cover in 6th, 7th, and 8th grade. I tried giving them a crash course in 6th-8th grade child development to guide their decision-making, but it’s definitely not ideal.

Teaching geography has changed.

Back when I first started teaching, we quite naturally taught the geography of Africa in connection with our study of the Age of Exploration, calling it “economy of soul”. The very idea of teaching this rich culture through the lens of colonialism is inconceivable to me now. I can’t just pull out those notes and recommend that teachers take that approach. And anyway. . .

My notes are sketchy.

Here’s the thing. Geography is a big outbreath subject, so it’s best taught at the ends of the year—either fall or spring. Almost always, I taught geography in the spring, often as the last block of the year. And you know I try to be diligent about my lesson planning and record-keeping, but spring has its way with the best of us.

Spring is a time when lessons get bumped for plays, field trips, assemblies, and so many other things. And despite my best efforts, often those geography blocks were not my best examples of imaginative, content-rich curricula.

There. I said it.

So, all this to say, though I was excited to talk to teachers about geography, I knew it was going to be work! In the end, the extra prep time was worth it, the classes went great, and I’m happy to share some of what we explored with you.

And I’ll say right off what I told every class I taught this year—geography is a high-prep subject. You don’t get to open the book of Norse Myths and start telling stories. And there’s no linear progression to follow (like with history). In fact, one of the things we talked about was making an effort to remove the geography block from history. Of course, trying to tell stories that transcend time is an exercise in frustration, so ultimately, my best recommendation was to bounce around through history. Tell indigenous and early settler stories from long ago AND from the modern day.

So, to get us ready for that work, here’s a quick peek at what we DO know.

Waldorf Fourth Grade Geography

Rumor has it that this is the grade that Steiner gave the most information about. And it’s true, in my experience, there is some general consensus about what should be taught in fourth-grade geography. The challenge, of course, is that it’s local geography, so still, every teacher is creating content about their local area. So even the fourth-grade teachers aren’t off the hook from doing the big work.

Fourth grade is the year when you start as close to the student as possible and then move out in expanding concentric circles. So, starting with the desk, the classroom, the school, the route from home to school, and eventually covering the town/city and state. There’s a big map-making component to this block that is suddenly age-appropriate for the shifted gaze of the fourth grader. Whereas previously, they were only able to view the world through their own perspective, the fourth grader can now shift and comprehend the bird’s eye view.

Throughout the block, you tell stories that are meaningful for your area, through both an indigenous and early settler lens. Tell stories from various times throughout history, without pigeonholing the indigenous perspective as “historical.”

I happened to start our fourth-grade year with this block, so I’ve got great notes, and I even put together a curriculum guide. It’s, of course, local to my area (Portland, OR), so I offer it at a pretty steep discount. It might give you an idea of what you can put together for your own area.

Waldorf Fifth Grade Geography

This year continues the expanding circles of fourth grade to include the home continent. We don’t, however, need to limit ourselves to the rigid structure of expanding circles. Basically, at the beginning of the first block, give an overview of the continent, and then explore various regions in a way that makes sense to you.

Steiner’s indications for fifth grade include:

• The relationship between the land and the economy, and how they were shaped by each other.
• Artificial rivers, dams, and canals

That’s it. The rest you get to figure out.

And though I’ve talked a lot about trying to separate geography from history, fifth grade is one place where we can take inspiration from the history curriculum to form our content. Fifth-grade history, which studies human evolution through the cultural epochs of India, Persia, Mesopotamia, Egypt, and Greece, tells the story of how human beings gradually made the earth their home. This seems in keeping with Steiner’s indications for geography above.

So, after giving an overview of the continent (I love to use the story of Paul Bunyan for this), go through the different regions telling stories about how people lived on the land, creating different kinds of maps, and observing climate patterns along the way.

I’ve got a (pretty great, if I do say so myself) North American Geography Curriculum Guide that breaks down how I taught it one year, including great instructions for guiding your students through a state report. But here are a few ideas of stories, just to get your wheels turning.

• The Erie Canal
• Tall Tales and Legends (Old Stormalong)
• The Hudson Bay Beaver Trade
• The Iroquois League
• Steamboats on the Mississippi
• National Parks (great tie in with Botany!)
• The California Gold Rush

By the way, this is a great time to connect with those teachers you meet at summer conferences. Find out what they taught for local geography in fourth grade, and bring those lessons into your regional explorations in fifth grade.

Okay, with fourth and fifth grade outlined a bit, we can start thinking about sixth through eighth. I’m really excited about what we came up with as an approach for these grades, but I’ll cover all that in another post.

The post Geography in the Waldorf School appeared first on A Waldorf Journey.

Many of you have asked me what’s next for me. A lot of my future is still uncertain, but I have some thoughts. And, as usual, if I get my way, I’ll have a full plate with lots of diverse experiences. Here are some of the possibilities.

Copywriting

I shared a while ago that in September I started graduate school for a master’s in strategic communications. Though working through this program for the past six months or so has been TOUGH, it’s been an incredibly enriching experience. I’m thoroughly enjoying my classes and I’m doing well in them! It’s nice to have a little reminder that I have a lot to offer — even in the grown-up world.

The experience (and my increasing age) got me asking questions about the best use of my skills. Teaching has been incredibly personally rewarding, but the truth of the matter is that as I get older, I need to think about doing work that compensates well — in the more traditional sense. Over the past few months it has felt even a little irresponsible to continue doing this work that I love, while putting very little towards my future. I’m a single woman without much of a safety net and my kids are already dreading drawing straws to figure out who’s going to take me in.

For years, I’ve done copywriting work on the side to supplement my teaching and my goal is to transition into doing that work full-time. Though I would love the flexibility of freelance, the stability of a full-time position is probably the more responsible move.

In the past, I’ve done B2B and B2C writing for tech, healthcare, finance, and, of course, education — so if you’ve got any leads, send them my way.

Mentoring and Evaluation

Getting into other teachers’ classrooms has always been one of my favorite things to do and I would LOVE to keep doing this work. I know there are a lot of new teachers out there and schools need to give those teachers as much support as they can to help ensure their success.

I’ve been talking about the importance of mentoring for a long time. Truly, I would have walked away from teaching in my first year if I didn’t have the solid support of a mentor — who wasn’t teaching full-time herself.

A lot of schools can’t afford outside mentors, so they rely on a robust peer mentorship program. Teachers start with the best of intentions, but things inevitably fall apart as everyone gets busy and they just don’t have time to go visit other teachers’ classrooms.

I’m hoping that whatever full-time gig I come up with can allow for some flexibility so I can get into Waldorf classrooms with some frequency.

A Waldorf Journey

I’ve also done a lot of thinking about how NOT spending my days in the classroom will allow me more time to focus on A Waldorf Journey. Of course, the classroom gives me such inspiration for the content I share here, so I’m sure it will be an adjustment. But Waldorf Education is a part of my heart and soul — I think I’ll find plenty of things to write about.

Honestly, there are so many directions this little business could go. I’d love to fill in the gaps of the curriculum resources I offer, get podcasting again, and let more people know about my courses and other resources.

I’ve also had a dream of creating a six-month long mentorship program that provides hand-holding, tools, and one-on-one support through those important first few months of teaching. Maybe I could make it affordable enough to persuade schools to make the investment!

So, in many ways, the world is my oyster. I’m excited about all the possibilities, but also slightly terrified. I’m trusting that the path will make itself clear, and I’m routinely reminding myself that growth follows discomfort. It would be easy to keep teaching forever. But life isn’t always about taking the easy option, I suppose.

The post What Now? Waldorf and Transitions appeared first on A Waldorf Journey.

Once upon a time, there was a beautiful, shining ship. It had golden sails topped with high-flying multi-colored pennants. The rich burgundy wood of the deck was so polished it glimmered in the sun.

But this wasn’t just any ship. This ship held the magical powers of transformation. When everyone on board worked hard and shared a common vision, the ship could become whatever they needed, allowing them to travel wherever they wanted. It could transform into a packet boat that could navigate the waters of smooth-as-glass canals. It could become a kayak that leapt through the rapids of swift rivers. Or it could become a large canoe that traveled down the waters of the Great River thanks to the coordinated paddling of the entire clan.

On this ship, anything was possible with hard work and a common vision.

One day some incredibly fortunate young adventurers boarded this ship with their captain (who, it turned out, was the most fortunate of them all). They got to know each other, packed their bags (with the help of some devoted land-lubbers), made some agreements, and set sail.

As the journey began, those adventurers listened to their captain and followed her every command. They worked together caring for the ship, swabbing the decks, hoisting the sails, and cleaning the galley.

They cared for each other, picking up extra work when someone needed rest, working through disagreements as they arose, making sure everyone had what they needed to continue the adventure.

They quickly found that the magic of the ship was real. When they worked hard and built a common vision, they could go anywhere! On board that ship they traveled to the frigid waters of the North, where rugged Norsemen lived passionate lives and died triumphant deaths. They journeyed to a mysterious land where yellow sands parted to make way for a meandering, life-giving river. They met powerful kings, wise rishis, charismatic monkeys, tempestuous princesses, ladder-climbing fish, humble queens, opinionated gods, clever goddesses, and living, talking trees that shared their wisdom with those quiet enough to listen. (The adventurers quickly learned the importance of listening.)

At times, the ship would pull into port and some adventurers would disembark — waving and smiling and blowing kisses through tears as they continued their journey on another ship. Sometimes new adventurers would join the crew, ready to share stories and enjoy new experiences.

Their adventures brought laughter and tears, joy and sorrow, delight and heartache. And the adventurers may not have realized it, but the ship wasn’t the only thing transforming.

After five glorious years of adventure, the ship came in to port once again, but this time it wasn’t to find new crew members. After many hugs, tears, and well-wishes, the captain herself stepped off the ship, clearing the way for a new leader, who would guide the ship on even greater adventures.

With her feet on solid ground, the captain turned and looked at the wonder that they had created together. Those young adventurers taught just as much as they learned, and now someone new would gain the benefit of their teaching.

She reflected on the beginning of their journey, thinking of her younger self, and that sun-drenched day when she unknowingly stepped onboard for the wildest, most adventurous experience of her life. She had no idea what awaited her.

Then she thought again of that new captain who would soon stand at the helm, taking their own leap into the unknown.

With a nostalgic tremble in her voice she whispered to herself, “They don’t know how lucky they are.”

The post The Adventure Continues appeared first on A Waldorf Journey.