I've found myself re-examining how we do things around here. As I've said before, we're kinda sorta Waldorf people. I love Waldorf's emphasis on nature, which has added so much to our family. I also love the emphasis on simplicity, imagination, and open-ended toys made from natural materials. Oh, and rhythm - you gotta love Waldorf's take on creating a rhythm for your home and children's lives. I think in this age of trying to beat the ABCs into our 3-month-olds by Leap Frog WhatHaveYous that delayed academics ain't all that bad. I feel very fortunate to have discovered Waldorf when Short Pants was still a toddler because I've seen the benefits right before my eyes. I mean geez...learning about playsilks ALONE has been worth it. Here he is acting at being a kangaroo with a playsilk tied on as his "pouch":
And take a look at his "joey" - a small silk tied into a square. He played with these 2 silks for a good hour that day:
But...we're kinda sorta Waldorf people instead of just being Waldorf People for a reason. I can't believe that fairies are real. I can't tell my 3-year-old that gnomes create the weather. I don't believe that dressing my little ones in earth colors versus pastels is really going to affect them fundamentally as people. Now, I'm not saying that one can't or shouldn't believe those things - it's just not for me. I just can't buy into the Total Waldorf Package.
So I've started reading about Montessori Methods. Guess what? I can't buy into the Total Montessori Package either.
Huh. I think I'm just not a Total Package kind of person. I think I'm more of the Build Your Own Package variety. Kind of like Build-a-Bear, but with childrearing methods instead of stuffed animals.
Short Pants and I normally do activites from a Waldorfy nature-based curriculum throughout the week, but I think in addition to that I'm going to add some Montessori activities as well. He's been very interested in learning letters lately, and while Waldorf philosophy calls for delaying things like that till he's older, the issue is that he's not going to up and go to a Waldorf school one day. It's good old public school here, folks. Plus, I'm not busting out Nazi Flashcard Mom, know what I mean? I ordered some sandpaper letters so we could follow the Montessori method of teaching letter sounds. We've already started some practical life/motor skill activities, and he's really enjoyed them. Friday he worked on sorting beans:
And then using some small pitchers I bought at Goodwill he practiced pouring them:
The Mister and I have both been working on catching ourselves when we begin to do things for him instead of encouraging him to do for himself. I LOVE the Montessori way of showing a child that work is both necessary and good. A lot of it to me is just common sense; I've always made an effort to include Short Pants as I go about my daily tasks - now I'm just reminded to even more.
So, to wind up this long-winded self-indulgent blog post, I think that combining bits of both philosophies is what's going to work best for our family.
It's amazing to me when I think about it. I've been a parent for almost 14 years, and I still learn something new about parenting each day. I still don't have it all figured out, and I never will.
And that's ok.