waldorf experiences?

Re: waldorf experiences?

• ashleyhuney member

  March 2012

  Where in the Sacramento area? My son went to a Waldorf nursery then preschool while we lived down in Carmichael, now we live in the foothills. There isn't a close enough option for us here. What questions do you have, about Waldorf philosophy in general or about specific schools?

  Warning No formatter is installed for the format bbhtml

  Report0 Reply
• Loading the player...
• cpmich member

  March 2012

  thanks for the replies so far.  we are moving to the sacramento area and there are a few different options for schools.  i have been researching online what i can about the philosophy and love what i have read about movement. outdoor time. art. and music. but would love to hear about others experiences.

  as for sacramento. any insight into the differences between schools would be really helpful. for example both sac waldorf and camellia waldorf look wonderful.  how are they different...

  i am sorry for the formatting.  my droid really will not cooperate. 

  

  Report0 Reply
• jsillyfun member

  March 2012

  I heard from someone who's kid went to the Davis one (near Sac) that they took their kid out because she was in fifth grade and still couldn't read, but honestly that makes me think there had to be some underlying issues. I was reading before I even started school. It's not like you have to learn in class. And I would think the parents would have worked with her. That said, the philosophy sounds interesting to me.

  

  Report0 Reply
• ashleyhuney member

  March 2012

  I don't know anything about the other you mentioned, but Sac Waldorf is wonderful. Absolutely gorgeous campus right on the river in Fair Oaks. SWS is the main Waldorf school in Sacramento, if not the US since Steiner College is right next door and thats the only Waldorf teacher college. I personally knew nothing about Waldorf until moving to the area and meeting the people. It was in fact a group of jr. high age volunteers at my work (with the elderly) that I met first and I was so impressed by them. Kind, thoughtful, creative, just all around special responsible kids, every one of them, got me looking into what kind of school it was. The adult graduates are also pretty special people. One family I know has a child who very successfully designs apps and a child in law school who spent a few years on a professional soccer team in Europe. Yes, there is a spirituality behind it that some, including myself, think is a little odd. That said they do not teach it in schools. Yes, the reason that they don't teach reading until later is based on eye teeth, but it's just become part of the curriculum, they aren't checking for teeth before letting a child crack a book. IMO tipping your nose up at Waldorf because of some things you think are strange are like throwing the baby out with the bath water. There is so much good and beauty, I can deal with a few quirks because there is no perfect school. Let me know if you want nursery or preschool recs.

  Warning No formatter is installed for the format bbhtml

  Report0 Reply
• wheelsonthebus member

  March 2012

  I think Waldorf is fantastic for early childhood. I'm in the northeast so I don't know much about what's on the west coast, but I know some terrific programs out here. :-)

  

  
  

  Report0 Reply
• lanie30 member

  March 2012

  fredalina:

  ashleyhuney:

  IMO tipping your nose up at Waldorf because of some things you think are strange are like throwing the baby out with the bath water. There is so much good and beauty, I can deal with a few quirks because there is no perfect school. Let me know if you want nursery or preschool recs.

  Speaking for myself, I don't find those things "strange". I find them very disturbing. There are no demons in the tv, no gnomes in the copier, and black is not evil, and I wouldn't send my child to an *educational* institution where they teach those things to the children. It's not snobbery, but whatever. FWIW I think you can find all of the good things that Waldorf offers within the Reggio Emilia realm.

  I find waldorf extrordinarily disturbing. I will throw the baby out with the bathwater with this one. It is a sad way of viewing the world and one which limits and denies children solid language and development skills.

  The waldorf education of its "teachers" is especially concerning to me, and limited.  It's a religious (not arts based) curriculum and IMO, pretty messed up. My left handed child would be "corrected" and be unable to create a self portrait. I find that nearly backwards.
  

  Josephine is 4.

  Report0 Reply
• cpmich member

  March 2012

  thanks to all for their opinions.  i am sure schools vary widely on how they interpret the waldorf concepts.  ashleyhuney ... i would really appreciate any nursery or preschool recs you could offer.  feel free to pm me if preferred.  so hard moving to a new area.

   

  sorry again about formatting. 

  

  Report0 Reply
• m_and_m

  March 2012

  DD is in a Waldorf (Lifeways) preschool and totally thrives there. She has a TON of creative energy, and they really cater to that.

  Each school differs in how strict they are with their interpretation. DD is very interested in reading, so while they don't "teach" the kids how to read they do work with her when she asks. I've heard of some schools that actually do disallow/discourage it altogether though, and I'm not cool with that. The whole "milk teeth" thing is based on stages of development, in the same way that BLW has criteria for when a baby is ready to eat solids (sitting up in and of itself has no bearing on whether or not a baby can eat solids, it just goes along with other cues; losing milk teeth is a similar thing according to Waldorf principles). They want kids to focus on other stages of development first, then more academic pursuits like reading. I tend to agree with that, but not to the extent of discouraging kids who are very interested in a particular subject.

   

  Report0 Reply