By: Rev Bowen This higher being is within, if we strive with an iron will and the light of truth. I wish you all a Blessed Michaelmas Season! We come to one of the great festivals or holy days of the year: Michaelmas. I did not grow up celebrating this. I knew nothing about it, in fact, until I began my training to become a Waldorf teacher. Thus, my reverence and fondness for this holiday is not wrapped in nostalgia or a devotion to tradition. Furthermore, the associations with the Christian Church are not compelling for me either. With Michaelmas, as with all things really, I am far more con ..read more

By: Rev Bowen I am sure that there are many adages from many different cultures that speak to a certain wisdom regarding decision-making, reactions, and perspectives. The one that has echoed in my life came from a collection of Russian Fairy Tales in which one sagacious character or another would speak: "Mornings are wiser than evenings." I find it to be a happy coincidence that this came to me through a set of stories, because the use of stories is one very practical place that I put this wisdom to use. Rudolf Steiner, the founder of Anthroposophy (a foundational, "spiritual philosophy") and ..read more

By: Rev Bowen If you have read my articles or used any of the courses I have developed as resources for educators, or if you have attended any of the courses I have taught in person, you will surely recognize the concept in question: "stretch and stress". I mention it often because it is so very important. I do not claim to be the originator of this concept. In many different settings I have encountered the same basic idea and I have no doubt that you have as well. I bring it up repeatedly, however, because I continue to find that it is a fundamentally important consideration in almost every ..read more

By: Rev Bowen There is a verse that was composed by Rudolf Steiner and offered to teachers. Within this verse there is a line that I have chosen as the inspiration for this article. The verse was composed as an imperative, urging the educator to do what is needed in order to be what the children need. ,"Imbue thyself with the power of Imagination..." On the surface, we might take a moment to feel a vague appreciation for this directive. "Imbue" is a good word, we might reflect. Then there's imagination--that seems like a good thing, right? Yes, I will try to use my imagination a bit more. Tha ..read more

By: Rev Bowen Opening If you have not yet read Parts 1 and 2 of this series, I suggest that it is rather important to do so, unless you are already quite familiar with the models of human development presented by Rudolf Steiner, as well as the tenets of Waldorf pedagogy and curriculum in the Early Childhood programs as well as the first three grades. As I stated before, these are my personal views and suggestions, reached as a trained and certified Waldorf Grades teacher. I taught in a private Waldorf School in North America for 22 years (18 as a class teacher, 2 as a Pedagogical Director, 1 ..read more

By: Rev Bowen Opening If you have not yet read Part 1 of this series, I suggest that it is rather important to do so, unless you are already quite familiar with the models of human development presented by Rudolf Steiner, particularly the threefold model of forces (willing, feeling, and thinking) and the first three seven-year cycles of human development. As I stated before, these are my personal views and suggestions, reached as a trained and certified Waldorf Grades teacher. I taught in a private Waldorf School in North America for 22 years (18 as a class teacher, 2 as a Pedagogical Directo ..read more

By: Rev Bowen It does not take long to encounter some version of this question once one becomes a little bit familiar with Waldorf Education, especially if one has a student in the lower grades of a Waldorf elementary school, or one is homeschooling a child in that grade range. There are a lot of ideas floating around out there, and unfortunately some of them are simply inaccurate. I will name the most blatant inaccuracy: Waldorf does not teach reading until third grade. This is simply false. However, rather than start with a negative position, and attempt to disprove it, I would rather appro ..read more

In my experience, this is not a question that first grade parents ask. Likewise, the second grade parents do not ask it in regards to the fables that are told. I believe there are two reasons for this. First, the fairytales and the fables are fanciful. There are talking animals, supernatural creatures, and events that do not actually occur in our modern-day experiences with our modern-day consciousness. Secondly, there is virtually nothing in those stories that has any religious connection. So, there is just not any worry that the use of fairytales or fables are being used to convince or indoc ..read more

I invite you to take a moment and consider your first memory. I am speaking of the very first thing you remember. How old were you? What do you recall? Is the recollection vivid or blurry. Is it as clear as your memories from adulthood? Does it appear in your mind more like an almost-forgotten dream? How reliable do you think your first memory is? Is it possible that it has changed over time? This is just a simple exercise to look at our own growing consciousness so that we might consider the growing consciousness of the child. It is said that there was a message chiseled above the entryway t ..read more

Perhaps you either attended or viewed the recording of the recent webinar we presented from Simply Waldorf. We explored the role of arts in enhancing neurological, physical, emotional, and cognitive development. The short version is that there is nothing more efficient in activating and developing neural potential than combining the arts with academic education. Or better stated, there is nothing more efficient and effective in activating and developing neural potential that combining artistic activities in any and all kinds of learning. When we do things artistically, we light up and thereby ..read more