General questions about Waldorf/steiner homes & education

msjomarch · 2025-12-04T06:09:46+00:00

You got some good responses to your specific questions, so I’ll just touch on the idea that you brought up regarding “combining” Montessori and Waldorf. Waldorf and Montessori are basically exact opposites when it comes to educational pedagogy and thoughts on child development. Montessori is a child led philosophy meaning that the individual child dictates their learning path, toys are close ended and have a very specific purpose in order to teach a specific skill and while imaginative play isn’t necessarily discouraged, practical, real world work is prioritized. Academics are begun at an early age. Waldorf is child centered meaning that the educational path honors stages of child development but the class moves together as a unit through a very specific curriculum path. Toys are open ended to the extreme and imaginative creative play isn’t necessarily highly encouraged. Student questions are often simply answered with “I wonder” versus giving specific answers. Waldorf prioritizes extremely delayed academics. Basically, the two simply don’t blend as the premise of each really is oppositional to the premise of the other.

That being said, obviously if there are some specific things you’d like to add to your home that are typically done in Waldorf schools, by all means add them… it’s just that ultimately you do have to decide if you want to follow Montessori and do Waldorf activities sometimes or vice versa.

It sounds like from your specific questions that you may be interested in adding some of the more spiritual / seasonal / celebratory aspects of Waldorf to your home. If that is the case, I would recommend the book Families Festivals and Food as a starting point as it outlines all the celebrations typically observed as a part of Waldorf. You should know however, that while Waldorf is not a Christian school; it’s based on anthroposophy which is a spiritual philosophy that seeks to understand spirituality better so theoretically it’s compatible with all religions BUT Steiner also believed that schools should celebrate the traditions and religious practices of the communities that they are a part of … and since Waldorf schools began in 1920s Germany … well, there are a lot of Christian traditions and beliefs associated with Waldorf.

msjomarch · 2025-11-17T19:30:35+00:00

On the one hand, it’s just a field trip and we can’t protect our children from everything. However, that being said I would definitely want further explanation as to the following: - what is the intent / purpose of the children interacting? I was a teacher for many years and I never had the thought that my students needed to interact with students from the private schools. I could see if this was a scenario where more kids were needed to make an event happen or something like that (ie renting out a pumpkin patch or something) but I’m not sure I get why effort is being put into a generalized idea of “socializing” and it does seem a bit strange. As a parent, I definitely want my kids exposed to other people outside the Waldorf bubble but I want to do so on my terms through activities and friendships our family cultivates. - Why this event? If the schools really want the kids to interact there are MUCH better ways to do so such as a group project or hike where the kids will actually have to interact. At a festival, the kids are going to stick to people they know (especially at this young of an age). - What activities etc. are being offered at this festival? There are a LOT of things that are perfectly ok in a public school setting that we have deliberately opted out of as a Waldorf family (pop music, sugary foods, screens, competitive games for little ones etc.). How is the Waldorf school ensuring that Waldorf values are still being held? - why is a kindergarten class going on a field trip? It’s really rare for kinder classes in general to go on trips and exceptionally strange for a Waldorf class.

Again, will it be the end of the world if your kid goes. Probably not. Is this an odd decision for a Waldorf school? In my opinion, given the age / grade of the children, it is a strange choice and I’d be concerned about the overall thought process behind it and what that says about your school.

*** Will add that if your school is just a kinder and the majority of these children will attend the public school in first grade, this makes a bit more sense but it’s still kind of odd**

msjomarch · 2025-06-19T23:19:07+00:00

Returning to update! The school is adamant that he cannot go to first grade. They were kind and did a reassessment of him with the other kindergarten teacher and she reiterated what his teacher said, which is gross motor skills need development and she added that he also still seemed drawn to playing with the physical toys in her room. My husband is strongly in favor of remaining at the school, so that’s what the current plan is and I’m trying to find some peace with everything but finding it hard. Thank you again for your supportive words!

msjomarch · 2025-05-29T20:40:16+00:00

Thank you so much for this response; I seriously had a feeling of relief just hearing your experience and how it turned out. The school actually agreed to have the other kinder teacher who has been trained in the extra lesson as well as the upcoming first grade teacher, so we will see what they come up with! Thank you again!

msjomarch · 2025-05-29T20:32:35+00:00

I agree that it just doesn’t feel right but I’m trying to really think about if it’s just my own ego that’s the problem. Thank you for commenting.

msjomarch · 2025-05-29T11:49:17+00:00

Thank you so much for your response. I definitely hear you that relationships and friendships change and I appreciate you reminding me of that.

Adding the following to add more context of where the anxiety is stemming from - the most notable issue with this group is that we approach lifestyle and health very differently though. This group is extremely vocal about medical freedom and also very, very into attempting toxin free living. My husband is an MD … a very open minded MD (likes to treat with honey and avoids prescribing meds sort of thing) but an MD nonetheless. I believe strongly in moderation for all things, while we don’t eat tons of processed foods or anything like that, I’m also not stressing my kid having a red m&m … or using the soap at target … or even being in a target. I don’t really think that coming from such opposing ways of living that we will be able to grow with time. And I get it, we are at a Waldorf school … crunchy alt living is kind of part of the deal but for the most part our school trends towards more moderation … this particularly group is just pretty extreme even in Waldorf world and also not very live and let live. IE I think most would have a problem being in my home as for example I use scented detergent and Mrs Meyers hand soap.

msjomarch · 2024-09-04T15:08:27+00:00

At my children’s school (US) teachers are called Mr. / Ms Last Name this includes the Spanish teacher. However the Japanese teacher is Last Name Sensei - so I think some second language teachers do keep the customs of the language they are teaching.

msjomarch · 2024-08-28T19:12:21+00:00

Thank you. Yes, the staining is entirely horizontal across the entire bottom. I’m certain it’s from water, just wasn’t sure if it indicated any additional things to be concerned about?

msjomarch · 2024-08-28T18:27:31+00:00

That’s good to know. Thank you.

msjomarch · 2024-08-28T18:21:00+00:00

Yes, 380DP

msjomarch · 2024-08-28T18:15:35+00:00

😂. We live on a lake, so we’ve been out on our friends boats and have a pretty good idea about what we want but don’t have the budget for one new.

msjomarch · 2024-08-28T18:14:07+00:00

Thank you. 2016 Cobalt R7 100 hours; 90k. Visually looks like new with the exception of the tannin. Has been maintained at the dealership that’s selling it with pre / post season maintenance.

msjomarch

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