Blending Waldorf?

[CrunchyDisciple]

I love all the Christopherus books! I followed the Grade 1 last year with my dd now aged 7 1/2.

I had to 'ditch' Waldorf though as my husband (Waldorf taught till aged 14) hated the slow approach and wanted my daughter be more academic. He thinks she will never catch up and her peers will always be ahead. He wants her to be on the same level as her peers for the 3 R's so we have been working on that. She is now reading really well, though her writing and math are still behind. My husband knows some children who attend a Montessori school and are WAY ahead!

I miss the Waldorf style though, my dd asked me to tell her the story of the squirrels again- she loved it. I long to bring Waldorf things back into our homeschool life, I love the dreamy aspect of it!!! It feeds my soul as much as my children's.

My dd seems to find the math concepts hard (division, halving) and I am tempted to buy the resources- 2nd Grade math, Living Language, Saints Main Lesson and Animal Stories. But I would need to convince dh that she can do these and still appear to be learning lots- science, grammar, spelling, writing composition etc.

What I want to know is- Is it possible to blend the Christopherus books/style with mainstream academic approach for homeschooling?

[Lauri B]

Is your husband willing to do any reading to educate himself on the topic of education? Some fathers' educational philosophies are formed just from his personal school experience or what he thinks of other people's children, LOL. My DH usually recommends John Taylor Gatto to querying fathers. Articles HERE (http://www.preservenet.com/theory/Gatto.html) and HERE (http://www.spinninglobe.net/gattopage.htm). I know it's not easy to think outside the box or to challenge our preconceived ideas about education and such, but it's a good place to start when developing a theory of education. So, if he's willing to read and learn more about education, then you'll be in a better place to find the Middle Way for your particular family. If you're doing all the research and all the homeschooling and trying to explain your ideas and theories to a partner who has the executive/veto power over you... wow! That's tricky!

I've seen so many mothers running themselves and their children ragged because the father expects to see exemplary standardized test scores so he can brag to his friends about the superiority of homeschooling. The Universal Homeschooling Truth is that every other approach (be it Montessori, Waldorf, Classical, etc.) looks better than our current one, and looks like it'll fill every gap in our child's education when we order it. :)

7 1/2 is so young. Have you read any Raymond Moore? He and his wife Dorothy did extensive research on home education in the sixties, seventies and eighties - it's quite proven. They discovered that children who learned academics early fell behind later in real education, but children who did real learning - hands on, life-applicable, etc. were able to learn all the usual "scholastics" in about two years time when they hit their teens.

Best wishes! I hope he's willing to read a bit of JTG and perhaps you can have a good dialogue on theories of education. :)

[mami]

Lauri,

I've spent the last hour or so on the John Taylor Gatto links you posted (and links off them). Interesting ideas about education (and some disturbing comments about adoption) but fascinating nonetheless.

I've recently read an article in Financial Review regarding companies 'deprogramming' recently graduated MBA's because they can't think for themselves...

Thanks for the information.