Waldorf Handwork Educators Teacher Conference
July 12-16, 2021

If you attended the conference click the link below to view the newly updated resources, patterns, and videos.

Click the link below to view the full conference supply list

Join us ONLINE as we enter 3rd grade handwork, the 9 year change, practical arts, and child development. The handwork curriculum is one long continuous thread, leading to and drawing from each stage of child development.

• Examine this turning point of childhood

• Explore how fabric created civilization and how the history of

      plant dyeing transformed it

• Experience hands-on dyeing and spinning from diverse cultures

• Consider how to teach all of this in a neurodiverse classroom

• Finding an artistic balance between the foundations of Waldorf education and the needs of the children we teach here and now

      ...and much more!

Innovative handwork projects in crochet, spinning, dyeing, weaving and more!

Conference Registration $400

Early Bird Discount $360 Before May 23rd
Enter Coupon Code EARLYBIRDTEACHER2021 at checkout!

Indigo Member Discount $340 Before May 23rd
Coupon code will be emailed to You!

We understand this has been a difficult year for many people around the world. We are pleased to be able to offer some financial aid for the conference. Click the link below for more information.




Open to handwork teachers in public and private school settings.

Supply lists will be posted in early June.

Nothing replaces being fully present for the conference but we understand that life happens! The conference will be recorded and shared with registered participants daily.

Exceptional Guest Teachers & Keynote Speakers:

Betty K. Staley - The 9 Year Change

The 9-year change is a critical transition in a child’s life as a path of relationship to the outer world and fostering a sense of self.

Betty Staley has been a long-time Waldorf educator in handwork, elementary, middle school, and high school teaching, as well as teacher education and parent workshops. She is the author of eight books on child and adolescent development, adult psychology, and curriculum. Her website www.Bettykstaley.com invites you to visit her on-going thoughts, photos, and a free biography course.

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Virginia Postrel - The Fabric of Civilization

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1. The Fabric of Civilization: Fiber and Thread

Every textile starts with fiber and thread, whose cultivation and production represent some of humanity's oldest and most influential technological breakthroughs. Explore how humans created "natural" fibers and invented the processes for turning them into the staggering amounts of thread needed to produce cloth.

2. The Fabric of Civilization: Color and Chemistry

Going back thousands of years, dyes demonstrate how much people can learn through trial and error experiments, even without underlying scientific knowledge--and how much time, attention, and effort they're willing to devote to adding beauty and meaning to functional items. Hear some of the fascinating stories behind such biological dyes as indigo, cochineal, and Tyrian purple.

Virginia Postrel is an author, columnist, and independent researcher whose latest book is The Fabric of Civilization: How Textiles Made the World. Her previous books include The Power of Glamour, The Substance of Style, and The Future and Its Enemies. She is currently program co-chair for the Southern California Handweavers' Guild. Visit her website at www.vpostrel.com.

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Heidi Wills - Certified Hand Therapist

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Heidi Wills is an Occupational Therapist and Certified Hand Therapist and is the owner of Authentic Hand Therapy, LLC in Medford, Oregon. She has worked with complicated hand to shoulder injuries and surgeries since 2000 and has a special interest in ergonomics and industrial rehabilitation. She derives fulfillment from helping people return to doing what they love following painful injuries, and appreciates that patient empowerment and good communication are just as important as prescribing the right exercises.

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Heidi lives in Medford, Oregon with her partner and his 2 teenage daughters. She enjoys home improvement projects, creating beautiful gardens, and tending to the chickens, cats, and all other animals the kids rescue. 

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In this presentation Heidi will describe common repetitive strain injuries afflicting handworkers and the best ways to protect your joints, muscles, and tendons, so both teachers and students may anticipate years of pain free crafting. We will discuss seating and ergonomics, prevention and pain relief strategies, tiny behavioral modifications, and identify gadgets and gear that make handwork life easier and more comfortable.

https://authentichandtherapy.com/

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Michael Howard - Why We Do What We Do

Waldorf education is not about following prescribed methods any more than doing what we feel like. It is about extending our own capacities and experience so we come to direct insight and creative impulses for the ways handwork can better serve the development of our children.

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Michael Howard began sculpting at the age of fifteen, studied sculpture at the Ontario College of Art in Toronto and received a BFA from Eastern Michigan University, and a MA in Fine Arts from Columbia Pacific University in CA. He met the work of Rudolf Steiner in 1969 when I attended Emerson College in England. He is an artistic researcher exploring the spiritual in art to better serve the evolving spiritual needs of humankind. This has led him to research the relationship between qualities of movement, sound and form, as well as the nature of metamorphosis. Michael is the author of several books including Educating the Will and Art as Spiritual Activity, Rudolf Steiner’s Contribution to the Visual Arts   www.livingformstudio.org

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Fergus Murray (they/them) - Craft, Flow, and Cognitive Styles
 

Different ways of processing the sensory and social world lead to profoundly different experiences of the classroom. Understanding the roles of cognitive load and flow states in autistic wellbeing can make all the difference.

Minds vary more than a lot of people realize. Some of us process the world very
differently from others, and that does not mean we are broken or wrong. Autism,
dyslexia, dyspraxia and ADHD are developmental differences which can be disabling when needs aren’t met, but which usually come with strengths as well as weaknesses. The diversity of human brains makes us a much more interesting species, but how do we as teachers work with all these different kinds of minds?
 

Fergus Murray is a science teacher at the Edinburgh Steiner School, writer, and occasional puppet-maker. They were formally assessed as autistic about ten years ago, as an adult. They co-founded the Autistic Mutual Aid Society Edinburgh, an autistic community organisation, and works with a notably neurodiverse set of students. Read more about Fergus and the many artricles and videos they have authored at https://oolong.co.uk/on-autism

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And many more!

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Are you in Australia, the Philippines,
or South East Asia?

We are organizing a special hybrid handwork conference just for your time zone! August 14, 21, 28, 2021 (Saturday mornings in your part of the world). 

Handwork teachers in public, private, and homeschool settings are welcome to join! Click the link to Learn More!