We homeschool using a Waldorf inspired methodology. Waldorf addresses history through stories in the early grades and more directly from grades 4 and up. History and social studies are taught from a child development perspective, not chronologically. Here is a link to a chart of what is taught when in Waldorf education. That said, I really loved this post from Jean Miller of Waldorf Inspired Learning, because it is very freeing to the homeschool parent, who cannot address subjects in the same way they are generally taught in Waldorf schools.
With this in mind, this year, with a 2nd grader, we have been covering fables and saints. We are secular, but we are still covering saints for several reasons. Over the course of my kids' education, I want them to be exposed to many different religions and cultures, and Christianity is just one. The stories of pure goodness suit where the 2nd grader is developmentally, and no subject is brought in a heavy handed way in 2nd grade. Little Brown Mouse is getting lots and lots of stories.
For our 5th grader, ancient civilizations make the bulk of history this year. 5th grade can cover a lot of different cultures, so I had to narrow it down. We started with India. I could have stayed on India for months! Hubby's entire work community is Indian, so this was a fun and relevant culture for us to study. We moved into Egypt, which we are finishing up now.
While there are popular Waldorf resources to use, I found it freeing to finally let go of the thought I needed to use those. We are primarily using library books now and that is working well for us.
Beyond Waldorf, we grab opportunities to talk about history as it comes up around us. For example, this year, aspects of history tied to early American history (which is what a typical 5th grader is studying in mainstream education) have popped up here and there and grabbed the interest of Little Brown Mouse, especially, but also Lala Bug, who generally loves history. I have two very inquisitive children, so sometimes, their questions lead us down unexpected paths.
Another way we study history and geography are with "flat friends." My kids made paper dolls of themselves (with photos for the faces) and these paper doll flat friends travel the world, either with family traveling or via mail to friends who live other places. Those family and friends take photos of the flat friends in various places and send them back with questions or stories about where the photo was taken. We find the places on the map/globe/atlas, and learn a little about the place and cultures. My brother works for a science research foundation, so spends a lot of time on research boats traveling all over and the grandparents are all traveling a lot. Right now, we have family in Tahiti, Mexico, and Africa. We are having to make photocopies of the flat friends! Right now, they are in South Africa.
Regardless of what we are studying, we explore it in different ways. We learn through books, discussions, exploration of places, art, culture, food, projects, and more. Sometimes, I am better at some of these parts than others!
A couple of specific, non-Waldorf resources I love are:
All the books by David Macaulay
The DK series A Street Through Time, A Farm Through Time, The Story of the Nile, A Farm Through Time, A Port Through Time.
A Life Like Mine, a DK/Unicef book
Don't Know Much About History (Hubby has read this and it is now sitting on my night table. It is American history.)
A Young People's History of the United States by Howard Zinn
Great post, thank you for sharing!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Alexandra!
DeleteIt is freeing to let go of what we "should" do as a waldorf(ish) family. J is also learning about American history, and we have been enjoying the American girl history series. We read daily from our book basket a la brave writer. 😉 Learning to let go and enjoy the journey!
ReplyDeleteYes yes! Me too.
DeleteHistory - there may be a day that goes by where our family doesn't talk about history, but it is a rare day. Racism is so extreme in our community we talk about slavery and the Native people who lived here before white/pink skinned people came a lot. It isn't a planned thing, it is just stuff that comes up in conversation. I have a lot of respect for Waldorf, but sometimes it just leaves me scratching my head. I can't believe some don't talk about history until 4th grade! We have a picture book all about Salt and it's history, and even Henry the pre-schooler loves it. It is so fun to think about this simple thing, salt, and then realize it really isn't simple at all. Oscar loves the "I survived" history series, but they are kinda scary. I was reading one to him a friend and had to stop because the friend got too scared. Also, kids who know their family history are supposed to be more resilient and secure in themselves when they grow up. So sometimes our night-time stories include childhood tales from my own and my parents lives. Mostly my Dad's life. My mom has never told me much about her childhood.
ReplyDeleteIt isn't that history isn't taught until 4th grade, it is just done in informal ways, through stories. Kids don't need to be introduced to heavy topics when they are super little. They cannot understand and process them the way adults can. We all have to choose our own path and what we think is best for our families, no judgments. I know you have very strong opinions about all of this. The thing is, we are all messing up our kids in some way or another and we are all doing right by them in some way or another. We just do the best we can. ;) Is the Salt book an adult book? Mike has read that. There are several along that line. An Italian blogging acquaintance of mine is married to an American journalist/writer who researched and wrote all about Olive Oil.
DeleteOne more thought, G...if the Waldorf way of history has you scratching your head, read more about it. You don't have to agree or go that route, but it might help you understand it more!
DeleteGreat post, Nicola! I have found with all 3 of my kids that the Waldorf approach to history is so nourishing, interesting, and provides a strong foundation for more in-depth studies later (high school and college). Like you, Nicola, I love finding real-life connections and how great that you have family in so many places (and can share "flat friends"!) I wanted to second your mention of finding great library books. I've found that just one wonderful "reader" for any given block works well! We too have loved The Story of Salt. (I'm guessing this is the book referred to here; same author of the adult book, Salt, but he wrote a version for children.) The thing is that the Waldorf approach doesn't say to stifle children's curiosity - we don't want to stop a child from being interested in a subject! But it's more about what we choose as the focus of the direct instruction that the Waldorf curriculum is referring to. And with so many options (we'll never get it all in!), I've found the Waldorf curriculum to be the most enriching for my own children and others that I've taught. How lucky we are that Steiner encouraged us all to mold that curriculum to fit our own unique situations!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the thoughtful comment, Jean. Yes, I am finding that less is more! We have had vibrant discussions from quality picture books on a topic! Yes, Waldorf is enriching and oh my, how freeing to shape our own way. We have to, really. We are like those first teachers who had short crash-course in Steiner's vision.
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