The Waldorf Method

The Waldorf Method
updated January 1, 2023

What is Waldorf?

Discovering a Genius: Rudolf Steiner at 150 article by Frederick Amrine (PDF)

Why Waldorf Works
Wonderful website to start with from the Association of Waldorf Schools of North America (AWSNA)

Waldorf Early Childhood Association of North America (WECAN)

Waldorf World List

*NEW* First Steps Towards Founding a Waldorf Initiative - Questions and Answers
by Waldorf Worldwide

Young Schools' Guide: A Working Guide for the Development of Healthy Waldorf Schools
A Work in Process: For Members of the Association of Waldorf Schools of North America

Painting with Children in Waldorf Schools
article by Gail McManus, my watercolor painting teacher

What is Education? The Distance Between an Education for a Job in the Real World and an Education That Aims to Help Students
wonderful blog by Stephen Sagarin with many helpful articles on Waldorf Education!

Interview with Author Stephen Keith Sagarin
blog post - The Wonder of Childhood

*NEW* You and Your Child's Health -- a wonderful website from Susan Johnson, MD

"So, You've Decided to Become a Waldorf Family"
blog post - Happy Hedgehog Post

Creating a Waldorf-Inspired Home
blog post - The Magic Onions

a really helpful and FREE resource is the Parenting Passageway blog -- follow it!

blog post from Momma Skyla explains why content sticks when you share it through storytelling!

Doodle Notes: What's the Fuss All About?
my blog post to explain why Main Lesson Books are so fabulous!

The Benefits of Looping
blog post on Switzerite - my blog

Waldorf Education: Looking into the educational system developed by Rudolf Steiner
an interview with Caroline Ostheimer

*NEW* free 50 minute webinar with Torin Finser
"The Human Encounter: Parent-Teacher Relationships in a Waldorf School"

Kate Gould: A Journey through the Grades Waldorf Style
essay

Montessori and Waldorf: A Comparison

Coming to Know the World Through Waldorf Education (PDF)
article by P. Bruce Uhrmacher, published in the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD)
Journal of Curriculum and Supervision Fall 1993 | Volume 9 | Number 1

A Silicon Valley School That Doesnt Compute
article in the New York Times, 2011


Waldorf in the Home: Resources for Nourishing Family Life
Rahima Baldwin Dancy's website

Simplicity Parenting
Kim John Payne's website

Juniper Tree School of Puppetry Arts
Suzanne Down's website

Teaching Handwork blog

Waldorf Today
I ALWAYS recommend that families visit this site and subscribe to the free weekly newsletter

Richard Louv's website, author of Last Child in the Woods: Saving our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder

Waldorf Homeschoolers: Parenting with Purpose and Passion

Rudolf Steiner College - Fair Oaks, CA

Rudolf Steiner Web - informative site about Steiner's multi-faceted contributions to a wide variety of fields, including biodynamic agriculture, architecture, and medicine

You may also be interested in: The Christian Community: Movement for Religious Renewal
a group of churches whose religious study is based on the work of Rudolf Steiner

    "The Christian Community is part of an international movement for the renewal of religion, founded in 1922 in Switzerland by the eminent Lutheran theologian and minister Friedrich Rittlemeyer, with the help of Rudolf Steiner, Austrian thinker and mystic....

    In keeping with the spirit of freedom, members are not required to sign articles of faith, and are encouraged to form independent judgments in religious matters. Nor do we have any formal written dogma. Each priest has the freedom to teach anything which does not contradict the content of the sacraments whose texts form the "bedrock" of The Christian Community. As a result, the teachings are rich, varied and evolving. They are inspired by traditional Christian theology, the original work of Rudolf Steiner and by independent research and insights of priests and members."


Grades Curriculum

I recommend two essential resources for every homeschooling family who is using, or researching, Waldorf. These materials, in and of themselves, are enough to help you plan and organize your entire homeschool journey through the grades. There are also plenty of free resources on this website (click on a grade level, above). I spend all my time creating loads of lists, links, and recommendations to help you fill out your plan with "what does it look like" in action.

1) the AWSNA curriculum chart, available from the Waldorf Publications bookstore for $8.00


2) The Tasks and Content of the Steiner-Waldorf Curriculum, ed. Martyn Rawson and Kevin Avison


The Tasks and Content of the Steiner-Waldorf Curriculum


Optional:
3) If you are a "what does it look like" type of thinker and want to supplement these two excellent with a narrative description of the curriculum, you can do no better than Torin Finser's wonderful School as a Journey: The Eight-Year Odyssey of a Waldorf Teacher and His Class.


Grades 1-8
Why Waldorf Works

A Glimpse through the Grades Curriculum (PDF)
from the Detroit Waldorf School

Linden Waldorf School, Nashville TN

Let There Be Music: The Music Curriculum in the Waldorf School, Grades 1-8
by Andrea Lyman

Association for Waldorf Music Education

Chalkboard Drawing in the Waldorf Classroom (PDF)

Waldorf Essentials
Melisa Nielson's website

Waldorf Without Walls
Barbara Dewey's website


New Webinar Topic Each Month!

Waldorf Inspired Learning
Jean Miller's website

Christopherus Homeschool Resources
Donna Simmons's website

Millennial Child
Eugene Schwartz's website

Live Education!

Waldorf Publications (formerly AWSNA Bookstore)

Waldorf Books (formerly Bob & Nancy's Bookshop)


High School Curriculum

The High School Curriculum (PDF)
from the Austin Waldorf School

A High School Curriculum Overview (PDF)
from the Washington Waldorf School (2005-2006)

Detailed High School Schedule (PDF)
from the Washington Waldorf School (2005-2006)

Grades 9-12 Main Lessons
from the Kimberton Waldorf School

Grade 9
Grade 10
Grade 11
Grade 12
from the Hawthorne Valley Waldorf School

Waldorf High School (PDF)
article by Betty Staley

Colloquium on World History: Symptomatolgy and Shifts in the Evolution of Consciousness (PDF)
Waldorf Research Institute
Sponsored by the AWSNA Waldorf High School Research Project

Colloquium on United States History: Symptomatolgy and Shifts in the Evolution of Consciousness (PDF)
Waldorf Research Institute
Sponsored by the AWSNA Waldorf High School Research Project

Colloquium on English (PDF)
Waldorf Research Institute
Sponsored by the AWSNA Waldorf High School Research Project


The Main Lesson Book

Main Lesson Block Teaching in the Waldorf School: Questions and Considerations (PDF)
article by Roberto Trostli

Pinterest is an excellent source for Waldorf main lesson book images; here are just a few examples:

Native American Legends (Second Grade)
sample lesson from Live Education!

sample pages from Grade 1 through 8

The Gallery at Waldorf Today includes beautiful images of

  • Main Lesson Book Pages
  • Painting
  • Form Drawing
  • Geometric Drawing
  • Black and White Drawing
  • Chalkboard Drawing
  • Transparencies
  • Felt
  • Perspective Drawing
  • Drawing

How Do Waldorf Teachers Train?

Waldorf educational initiatives are just one branch which developed out of Steiner's extensive work in anthroposophy. The Anthroposophical Society was founded on December 28, 1912 in Cologne, Germany, with about 3000 members.


Waldorf Education falls under the Pedagogical Section. "For the Pedagogical Section, education is the foundation of social progress. The seeds of self-determination, tolerance and peace, human rights and international understanding are sown in education. This is the art of Waldorf pedagogy. "

There are a variety of Waldorf Teacher training programs throughout the United States. Some of these include

Find a full directory at Why Waldorf Works


Reading Steiner

The Rudolf Steiner Archive
Many of his books, articles, and lectures are available here free of charge. This is a completely donation-run site so please support it if you find it helpful!

Rudolf Steiner was a particularly prolific writer; if you would like to read some Steiner but don't know where to begin, I absolutely recommend starting with "The Education of the Child in the Light of Anthroposophy".

If you skip reading WHY Waldorf was created the way that it was, you will never truly understand it and you can't really say you are doing Waldorf education. Anthroposophy is important!


Anthroposophical Society in America


If you'd like a "reading list" to follow, here is my list from my personal Waldorf library. This is NOT everything that he wrote! But it is an up-to-date list of what I have read of Steiner's works, and the order in which I am going through them. There are also links to which texts which I have found available online for free.

You may also be interested in my Waldorf Book Group - Anthroposophy and Christianity notes, which I am keeping up-to-date on my blog.

I've also made a complete list of the books in the Foundations of Waldorf Education Series, as well as links to EVERY ONE of the texts, available online for FREE!!!

Steiner, Rudolf. (listed in the order that I read them)


Changing Education Paradigms


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