Considering Christopherus Resources

[Unregistered]

Hi,
I'm a homeschooling mom of two grown daughters, and an 11 yo son and freshly 9 yo daughter. I am considering a re-integration of Waldorf approaches into our homeschooling, especially for my daughter.

I've examined many options and it looks like Christopherus might offer the blend of specificity and flexibility I seek (a neat trick to achieve!). But I'm not sure which resources will work best for our time and (limited) money. For this fall, I think we may focus our initial explorations of Waldorf ideas in the realm of mathematics for my 9 yo.

A bit of context: Before age 7, our "homeschooling" largely consisted of life-integrated activities inspired by Waldorf ideas, Charlotte Mason, and our own needs/desires (especially our homesteading).

At age 7, I introduced more structured approaches for math (Math-U-See; MUS) and reading (Writing Road to Reading). Both of my children are dyslexic. This approach worked very well for my scientifically minded son. But, my daughter is a very dreamy, artistic, spiritual child who is not academically progressing under those approaches. And she is definitely in the "nine year change".

The MUS program is very sequential; my daughter has only completed Alpha, which is single digit addition/subtraction (including place value & counting by 2, 5, 10; but has not done multiplication/division or carrying/borrowing). She won't want to backtrack too much as I try to bridge from MUS to Waldorf.

I want our Waldorf approach to include integrations of story, art, movement and form drawing. But, I don't know whether to begin with first, second or third grade level math content. I am pretty comfortable adapting resources to our needs, but I'm a bit concerned that the resources you have available containing third grade math information won't give me the amount of detail I need to get a grounded start.

It is difficult buying items online...not being able to page through a whole book to see if it "fits". It is tempting to buy many books, but it would be wiser (financially) for me to make some judicious selections. I am very open to input!

Thank you for considering this long post,
Patty

[Unregistered]

This is Patty again, adding to my own post! After digging further (and pausing to think while I moved the sheep in the pasture...), I'm framing a path and looking for feedback.

I think it might work to purchase the second grade math curriculum and begin my daughter with that. We should be able to move through it fairly quickly as she has covered some of the material?? She will love the stories (I read her a sample and she said...isn't there MORE?). It will be a positive start. I'll also get the form drawing book and introduce that. She will take to that like a duck to water. Modeling/handwork/art are already an integral part of our life; I just need to connect it to the specific second grade math concepts.

She wants to cook/sew/scrapbook this fall/winter. I'll begin integrating experiential third grade level measurement work via this (maybe make it a long main lesson block). I think it will overlap OK with her second grade basic math work. We will also be doing family financial math; another possible bridge.

By late winter/spring she may be ready for written third grade measurement & practical math activities; about the time we are engaging in our annual gardening/animal uprise of work. There is no end to math needed for those practical tasks.

However, I'm unclear as to how one gets from 2nd grade "whole picture" math, through measurement, to the nitty-gritty work of...long division. I hope to be able to afford the Waldorf Curriculum Overview for Homeschoolers to give ME a sense of the big picture. Does this give a really robust sense of how the math unfolds?

Also, I'd like to integrate movement into our math as body awareness is VERY important to my daughter at this time (she is entering early puberty). This fall she is taking creative modern dance and yoga. I think the Joyful Movement may be too young for her?? I wonder if the book Active Arithmetic might be a good fit?

And then...there is the allure of purchasing the Living Language book and shifting over our language arts as well. But, I'll have to go back into the sheep pasture to think about that....Or maybe...sell those sheep and buy books! (LOL)

Any feedback is welcome!
Patty

[Donna]

Hi Patty and Deep End,

Well.... Hmmm.... It can be pretty hard to answer some of these questions...

I'll try you first, Patty, as in some ways your question is more straight forward - and you've answered it in part yourself!!:)

I would recommend the second grade math book as a start. The Overview is only that - an overview. I think you would find the sections on math frustrating because they are only pointers - there is no in-depth discussion. The second grade math book is really clearly laid out and I think it could give you a good place to start in terms of where she is now, what she has done before and where you might intend to go. It is artistic and creative and might also help give you a lot of inspiration for other lessons you might do, now or in the future.

I think I would then recommend the Living Language book - it has specific lesson plans and a whole lot about teaching from a Waldorf perspective - and from my own take on Waldorf in the home arising from my own experience as a teacher and homeschooling mom. I should think there will be a lot in there which you will find useful for your son, as well.

Perhaps next semester, if these two books get you excited about Waldorf at home, you would want to consider the Curriculum Overview.

Back to now... your daughter will be too old for some of Joyful Movement - but not for all of it. It is a hard call to make. But - I really suggest you don't get Active Arithmetic - it is a classroom based book and there is very little that is readily translatable to the home situation.

You might prefer to get the second and third grade Path of Discovery books by Eric Fairman a retired Waldorf teacher. They are written for classroom teachers, but are clearly laid out and provide a relatively easy to follow math (and science and some LA) progression. His math is rather advanced - this might or might not be an advantage to you. You can get his books from Bob & Nancy's www.walfdorfbooks.org (and they're not too expensive).

For both of you, I would also suggest you consider purchasing some of my audio downloads. There are grade specific ones which take an in-depth look at the details of that year's curriculum and parenting issues; and there are some on more general topics, including transitioning to Waldorf.

In the Deep End - you might really want to take some time fully exploring my website - blog entries, articles, links to other resources, first. It could be important for you to decide just how Waldorf you want to be and what truly resonates with you and how you parent and educate your daughter. Wadorf has definite ideas on child development - this might or might not fit with your own views. If the latter, you could still take from Waldorf here and there - but it might be best if you got clear with how deeply Waldorf you wish to go. As Lisa says, it's less about the specifics of the curriculum and more about how you wish to parent and educate your child and how you view the changing developmental needs of the child.

Good luck and both of you, do feel free to come back for more questions if you wish! And don't sell those sheep, Patty!;)