Create a vision for your family
Welcome to Day 1 of 30 Days to Waldorf-inspired Preschool at Home! (To start with the introduction, just click here!)
Today I want you to create a vision for your family life. The foundation of healthy development in the preschool years is an environment that allows the child to unfold. The child will learn and grow as long as the healthy environment is there.
In the preschool years, your child is constantly learning from her environment - the space, the people, and the rhythms.
You may have heard that one of the primary goals of a Waldorf kindergarten is to mimic a warm and nurturing home life. It’s true! The setting, the relationships, the rhythms and activities, the warmth of the materials - all are carefully crafted to feel like an old-fashioned home.
Why old-fashioned? Because the traditional rhythms of the home were very accessible to young children. The connection to nature, the rhythms of traditional work, the busy but peaceful hum of maintaining a healthy home all hold the space for young children. They give children an ideal background for playing, working, and interacting with adults.
Most of us who are homeschooling need to balance that old-fashioned flavor with real life and who we really are as individuals and parents. Spending your days pretending to be Ma Ingalls or a Waldorf teacher won’t get you very far with enjoying your family life!
And yes, mama, how much YOU enjoy your family life is very, very important!
Over the next month I’ll be posting each day with practical steps you can take to begin Waldorf-inspired homeschooling for preschool. It’s wonderful to try new things with an open mind, and to really watch how your children react to these different ideas. But at the end of the day, what you choose to do has to be congruent with who your family really is. You are the best teacher for your children.
Your vision for your family life will keep you grounded when you explore new territory. It will help you get back on course when things fall apart. It will remind you of what’s most important if you get lost in the details. It will help you make the best decisions for your family throughout your homeschooling journey.
How to create a vision for your family:
1. Consider the culture that you want to build in your family. What’s most important to you? What do you love to do together? What do you want to share with your children? What do you want your daily life to look and feel like?
2. Write down any words or phrases that come to mind that you want to describe your family life (even if they don’t describe your family life right now).
3. Capture your vision. You could write in your journal, write a more formal mission statement, paint or draw, choose three guiding words, or create a vision board. Create anything that will help you return to your vision as a home base in the future.
Do you have a mission statement or a vision for your family? Is this a new idea for you? How will you implement it? Do you see the big picture of how you want your homeschooling and family life to be?