Using "Home" as the Model

Using "Home" as the Model
in Your Program

with Rahima Baldwin Dancy

Beginning July 1, 2026 for three weeks

Live Zoom Q & A Saturday, July 18th, 11 am Central

PROGRAM AT A GLANCE:

AMONG THE TOPICS WE’LL COVER:

The importance of elements of home for young children–and throughout the lifespan:

Physical Aspects: What makes a program “homelike,” and ways to incorporate more elements into your work with young children, both indoors and outside.

Rhythmical Aspects: The things you actually do with the children and ways to make these activities more home-like, including snacks and lunches, nap or rest time and activities of bodily care. Ways to “tweak” your rhythms by looking at underlying principles.

Emotional/Relational Aspects: The emotional “tone” of your program and the qualities of relationships—with yourself, the children, colleagues, visitors and parents.

Spiritual/Values Aspects: The highest level of intention, focusing on values that underlie your program and that inform the children’s experience as life together unfolds. We’ll include media and gunplay, dolls and dump trucks, honoring diversity, using teaching stories and developing reverence, gratitude and joy.

Enroll Now!

PROGRAM DETAILS:

This is a self-paced course that takes place on Ruzuku, our online course platform, from which modules will be released every Wednesday. Whether you’re seasoned in the LifeWays approach or new to incorporating these elements into your program, this course is for you!

Each Wednesday you’ll receive two new lessons for looking at your program on four different levels – the physical, rhythmical, relational/emotional and spiritual/values levels.
Learn from Rahima’s experience and photos from Rainbow Bridge and a wealth of other LifeWays and similar programs.
Join the online written discussion and be inspired by hundreds of ways other providers have made their programs more home-like.
Create a plan to bring one or more new elements into your own program.

You are also invited to attend a live Q&A Zoom session with Rahima on Saturday, July 18th at 11:00 am (CT).

In order to cultivate a sense of togetherness and active participation, we warmly insist that your video be turned on during our live sessions. Please do your best to make arrangements so this is possible. The session will be recorded and released to enrolled participants. Please do not share this recording.

Share in the photos and descriptions of what people are doing from various parts of the world! Work at your own pace and return for inspiration at any time–participants will have ongoing access to the course materials.

Tuition:
$150 each and 15% off of tuition for groups of 5 or more.
This course has a minimum enrollment of 15 participants by Tuesday, June 30.

Earn 15 Continuing Education hours and take this course with colleagues! If you need continuing education units, here’s a course that is aligned with your values!

You must contribute to 80% of the discussion questions by July 26

to receive a Certificate of Completion.

Enrich your experience when two or more from the same program enroll in the course so you can study and discuss together. Bring this to your Program Director to take advantage of a 15% discount for groups of five or more.

About the Instructor:

Rahima Baldwin Dancy is internationally known as a midwife and the author of You Are Your Child’s First Teacher, which has been translated into nine languages. She was a Waldorf kindergarten teacher and had an in-home program in the 1980s. Then from 2008-2012 she and her daughter, Faith Collins, ran Rainbow Bridge LifeWays Program for children ages 1-5 years. Rahima was a founding board member of LifeWays North America, where she worked as Training Coordinator and later as Outreach Director.

“It was very nurturing to have a weekly inspiration and reminder about the importance of our work. Thank you! The relational and spiritual parts of this course are the ones that inspired me the most. I have been bringing some of the questions and observations from these lessons back to my early childhood "team" at school and it brought interesting conversations.”

M.P.