We invite you to sample the following Newsletters and Articles to get even more of the flavor of the LifeWays approach and the LifeWays community of childcare professionals.
Winter 2011 Newsletter In this issue: How LifeWays Meets the Needs of Young Children and Prepares Them for Future Academics. Math and Science in Steiner E.C. Settings; Satisfying Parents about "Progress;" Foundations of Literacy; LifeWays Graduates' Work; Winter Celebrations; All Work and No Play; Singing and Language; Teaching Our Children to Write; Let Preschoolers Play!
Autumn 2011 Newsletter In This Issue LifeWays Celebrates Men & Boys: Celebrating Boy Energy; Dads Give Kids an Edge; The Meaningful Work of Fathering; Growing Healthy Boys; Exploration Activated by Fathers; To GIve and to Get; Gender Roles in Play; Learning from Boys; Letter from Cynthia; LifeWays Trainings; New Videos, CEUs
Summer 2011 Newsletter In This Issue; Letter from Cynthia; Grocery Shopping; Moon time Self-Care; LifeWays Trainings; Featured LifeWays Program; The Pause that Refreshes
Spring 2011 Newsletter In This Issue: Spring is In the Air!; Upcoming LifeWays Events; Sources for Rain Pants; Letter from Cynthia; Mud and Sensory Experiences; Featured LifeWays Program; Hot Cross'd Buns; Reports from LifeWays Trainings; Spring Story/Puppet Show
Fall/Winter 2010 Newsletter In This Issue: Simplicity; Lantern Walk; Butter for Your Bread; Simple Grains; The Joys of Simple Toys; News from the Training Sites
Spring/Summer 2010 Newsletter
In this Issue: News from the Trainings; Home Away From Home; Confessions of a Waldorf Mom; Cleaning and Clearing at Spindlewood; We’re Not Afraid of You!
Fall/Winter 2009 Newsletter In this Issue: News from the Trainings; Rhythm as a Form of Creative Discipline; Sleep Rhythm; Afternoon Rhythm; Why Rhythm?; Creating an Enriched Environment for your Child
Spring/Summer 2009 Newsletter In this Issue: News from the Trainings; Thoughts on Early Learning; Little Teachers; My LifeWays Journey; Winter in the Woods; Warmth: A Hidden Element in a Child’s Healthy Development
Summer 2008 Newsletter In this Issue: Reflections from the Trainings; Forest Kindergarten; Tribute to Mary Schunemann; Nurturing the 12 Senses through Gardening
By Lisa Gromicko
Steiner-based, early childhood settings abound with rich opportunities for the development of math and science concepts. This may be surprising to some who can easily see the beauty, language, and coziness of the Waldorf kindergarten, but not necessarily the mathematical or scientific side. A primary focus of Waldorf early childhood education is on the care and development of the physical body of the child, and that of the child’s environment. Considering the ‘physical’ basis of the early years, it then becomes possible to glimpse the natural mathematical relationships. In reality, all activities of Steiner-based early childhood education are math and science based, including activities of language acquisition and pre-literacy, such as listening and word recognition, patterning, and story sequencing.
By Cynthia Aldinger, Founder and Director of LifeWays
Can daily life really be a curriculum? Can little children truly be prepared for the rigors of academic life through play and through participation in practical activities of the household?
Two informative interviews with Cynthia Aldinger, founder of LifeWays North America, one published in the Norman Transcript and the other in Rhythm in the Home, give valuable insights into the formative process of LifeWays principles and the LifeWays organization.
One of the hallmarks of LifeWays Child Care is the family-style approach. By caring for children in small groups of varying ages, the child's daily experience is much more natural and home-like than the institutionalized and program-oriented care that is prevalent today. Through the inspiration of Steiner's research in child development and current research on brain development and the importance of bonding, we recognize that this model of care supports the healthy development of the child.
Read two anecdotal stories from former students in the LifeWays Child Care and Human Development training in Wisconsin.
--Excerpted from an article by Susan Silverio, LifeWays trainer
No one was more surprised than I to find myself waking up early one morning and saying Yes! to LifeWays. I had cultivated the Waldorf Kindergarten here on the grounds of our home where Ashwood Waldorf School first took root in 1986. As the school grew up and expanded onto a more central campus, this kindergarten continued as on off-site mixed-age kindergarten, now a “branch” of Ashwood. With the help of many parents the tiny cabin was enlarged three times over the years and when it was complete we named it Spindlewood. I held onto the ideal of the Kindergarten, reclaiming the traditional “children’s garden” from the conventional modern academic model of pre-first grade. Friends who taught in the local public school kindergarten and first grade encouraged me to keep the children here as long as possible. The Waldorf Kindergarten morning program seemed to me to be all that was needed for young children.
--excerpted from an article by Mary O’Connell, LifeWays trainer.
We can’t really determine if any childcare program or school benefits our child until we identify what it is that we want for them. If you ask a parent what his or her long-term goal is for their child, often the parent will say, “I want my child to grow up to be happy.” We all want that for our children, but realistically, we can’t really ensure our children’s happiness. Happiness is a very individual thing… So I challenged myself to identify three goals for our children that are attainable, that will impact their lives in a positive way, and that might actually improve their chances at happiness. Here’s my list:
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