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Waldorf Handwork Educators Blog


Seeing & Saying! The Words we Choose
The question is not what you look at, but what you see. Henry Thoreaux

Kevin Avison
6 min read


An Attentive Teacher?
To teach children, it is essential to see & experience, to attend, to them.

Kevin Avison
5 min read


Educate, Participate, Advocate
Teachers spend most of their time preparing for the classroom; prepping lesson plans, materials, and contemplating the needs of the...

Shellie Smith
7 min read


How Handwork Supports Each Child's Growth and Development
Handwork is an integral part of the Waldorf educational curriculum and philosophy which is based on educating the whole child: head,...

Shellie Smith
3 min read


Handwork: Foundation for the 12 Senses
Taking handwork to a deeper level by engaging the 12 senses

elizabeth
4 min read


What is Our REAL Work as Handwork Teachers?
Is it to ensure that every child is capable of knitting a square? No, it is so much more than that.

Shellie Smith
4 min read


How Does Handwork Support Healthy Sensory Development?
Rudolf Steiner mentioned that handwork is gymnastics in miniature. He also spoke of the hands as the eyes of the rhythmic system. What...

Shellie Smith
4 min read


A Picture is worth 1,000 words
We are so pleased and delighted to be doing this work, and so grateful to our participants for joining us, and for sharing photos of some...

elizabeth
1 min read


Our Oceans, Our Air, Our Clothes
We have all heard about the problem of microplastics in our oceans. Tragic images of whales caught in plastic fishing nets or turtles...

Shellie Smith
3 min read


Mending - why bother?
We hear a lot about mending these days, it seems to be a moral imperative – “Mend that hole, save the world!” But how many of us really...

elizabeth
5 min read


WHERE CAN I GET A WALDORF KIT? Not Here! The Curriculum? Maybe
Waldorf education is not something you can buy, plug in, or put on a table with a lovely plant-dyed silk. It’s a daily practice, and an...

elizabeth
5 min read


SOMETIMES, it’s nice to be getting older.
I can look back on the seeds I have sown by teaching basic handwork skills to children, teachers, and parents, I can see how they have...

elizabeth
2 min read


Developing a Child’s Sense of Touch - the Value of Natural Materials
Our sense of touch connects our bodies to the outside world. Humans use this sense to gather information about our surroundings and as a...

Shellie Smith
3 min read


CRAFTIVISM AND CROSS STITCH
Textiles convey meaning in a strong and enduring way that can impact us in a silent, subtle way. So much in our work as handwork teachers...

elizabeth
1 min read


Stories, Handwork, and More Neuroscience
Listening to stories together can synchronize heart rhythms in the listeners; this is more effective when the listeners are able to...

elizabeth
3 min read


WHY DO WE DO WHAT WE DO? What does this have to do with wooden spoons?
Michael Howard was a guest teacher at our Summer Handwork Teacher Conference, July 2021, and has written up and expanded his presentation...
Michael Howard
1 min read


Craft, Flow, and Cognitive Styles
Originally a talk to the Waldorf Handwork Educators Teacher Conference on the 15th of July, 2021. Watch a video here. Hopefully this is...

Shellie Smith
14 min read


Questions, questions
Have you ever had a day when nothing seems to go right, when nothing seems interesting or engaging? I had one of those days recently. My...

elizabeth
3 min read


Exciting review for our 1st grade handwork curriculum for homeschoolers and new teachers
We were so thrilled to read this reflection on our first grade handwork curriculum, we could not wait to share it with you! We were so...

elizabeth
2 min read


Knitting Grannies
Preparing for our next conference, I’ve been thinking a lot about clothing, about how first impressions are made by clothing, how there...

elizabeth
2 min read
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