The Waldorf Main Lesson

**PLEASE NOTE THAT WE ARE DISCUSSING GRADE 1 AND UP. THIS DOES NOT APPLY TO KINDERGARTEN.**

Being attracted to Waldorf's beautiful lessons is a great place to fall in love, but then there is often a gap in translating that to our homes. It takes time and a great deal of practice. When our curriculum gives instruction to tell the story and draw/paint or model on day one and recall and summarize together on day two, what exactly does that mean? What is your planning part and how do you make that happen?

Let's break it down - first, this is NOT a replacement for proper planning, but consider this post a bit of a crash course.  What sets Waldorf apart is that it touches the WHOLE child.  The main lesson drawings are part of this WHOLE child approach.  This means that each main lesson touches the child: THINKING, FEELING and WILLING.  As part of your learning with Waldorf, it should be your goal to fully take in all that Waldorf is so you can bring it to your child. Just do it one step at a time. You can't expect beautiful paintings to arise if you aren't willing to practice and you can't expect to make those pretty block crayon drawings without your practice.  The main lesson should contain the story element and then the drawing/painting/modeling element - or some kind of artistic expression.  Now this element changes through the years and from lesson block to lesson block, but it should be a part of your weekly lessons.

How does that look?  Well you are getting up before your kids to start your day right? One of the things you are doing during that morning planning time is working on your skills.  So when you are planning your lessons for the month, you are mentally thinking about what you are planning to draw (we have sample lesson drawings for our curriculum) and then you are drawing/painting/modeling in advance of the lesson (I like to have these done at least a week in advance so I am rarely behind.) If you are planning a chalk board drawing then it may not be until the morning of your lesson that you are actually drawing it for the first time, but you are doing it BEFORE lesson time and you have already sketched it out on paper and you know what you are going to put on the board. (ALWAYS take a picture afterward so you have it for yourself the next time around.) The idea here is that you know how to draw and paint and you are ready to take it to your child AND you are then in turn doing the lesson with your child - rather than you sitting and watching them - SHOW THEM.  Sometimes by the time I have taken it to my child, I may have drawn or painted that lesson twice or even more.  Why are we doing all of this?  Well these are the elements to smooth lessons. Each lesson has been well thought out, well planned, I know the drawing I plan to do, I know the lesson inside and out. This is my goal.  Beautiful lessons that reach my children and inspire them to love learning.  This does take a lot of work, but once you get in the groove it isn't as taxing as it sounds.

In brief my planning looks a bit like this:

•annual planning over view (once a year)

•semi-annual planning - more in depth, tackling 4-6 months at a time, then the second time around I am refining and adjusting anything that didn't get done the first time around.

•quarterly I look ahead to what is coming, I make sure that any skills I need to acquire are beginning to take shape so I am not caught off guard.

•monthly I look ahead to the month, read through all the lessons I have planned and I think about the art work involved and I start sketching when I have time, I make notes in my plans. I may start drawing or painting practice if I think I will need to try something several times to get it right.

•weekly I go over my upcoming plans, make sure everyone's schedule is set for the week, I meet with Erik and make sure we both are on the same page for the week.  I make sure the kids don't have any commitments they forgot to tell me about.  I also look ahead to what I will be doing in my mornings.  For me, all mornings are a bit of business work - some much more than others, then some mornings are more dedicated inner work than others and some are pure planning, painting, drawing, plain old lesson prep.

This seems like a daunting task, but get into the flow and it is very beautiful.  Often it just takes that first step of DOING. Your lessons will get smoother the more planning you put into them.  If you have several children, then by the time you are working on the second child you will be better at it.  Your first child will have the benefit of your learning and you taking the opportunity to step up and do it - for you and for them.  I often look at Harry, and I think about how much better I have gotten, but I also think about how much he has benefited just from my striving. I am not perfect even now, not even close, I am still striving, still learning, still picking up skills that will benefit all my kids. 

It isn't an easy walk.  Don't get overwhelmed. One step at a time.

So you are new, just starting, DO NOT PANIC.  If you want continual support, become a Thinking Feeling Willing member or join our live support options. You keep going, keep working on your skills, keep learning.  You keep getting up early, even when you don't feel like you know what you are doing. You trust that you were pulled to Waldorf for something deeper than fairies and gnomes.

You can do this, I am here to help.  You will gain the skills and you will get good at this.  Believe in yourself like I do!  Lean on me for support. That is why I am here!

Find support options HERE.