by Erin Schneider “Now I see the secret of the making of the best person. It is to grow in the open air and to eat and sleep with the Earth.” —Walt Whitman I spent my childhood outside—from playing capture the flag with the neighborhood kids to family camping adventures within our beautiful state and national parks. These experiences shaped …
How do you keep your children healthy this winter? Go outside!
“Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give you strength to body and soul” – John Muir It’s January and chances are (unless you live in Tucson or Tampa), you are not getting outside as much as you were a few short months ago. Going outside – being in …
Sharing Christmas with Children
“The notes I handle no better than many pianists. But the pauses between the notes- Ah, that is where the art resides. -Artur Schnabel, legendary classical pianist Like the rests in a musical score, the Christmas season and its attendant Holy Nights arrive each year, holding out to each of us a mysterious gift: a “pause” from the routine …
The Gift of Letting Go
One of the many things I love about Waldorf education is that ‘coming-of-age’ work is incorporated into the curriculum during the middle-school years (6th – 8th). Coming-of-age work has long been lost in our culture and our teachers and parents are bringing it back little by little. This is tremendously important work because it creates a safe environment for our …
Ask Yourself, “What if…”
Sometimes all you need is a change in perspective. You know what I’m talking about. That moment when you say, “Huh! I never looked at it that way before,” – and suddenly, a new possibility has opened up where – just moments before – all you saw before you was a brick wall. A change in perspective can be liberating. …
“Human Beings are Makers”
The Magic of Creativity in a Child’s Hands: Fostering Confidence and Growth Through Creation Imagine yourself knitting, your fingers moving with precision, creating something beautiful out of a simple strand of yarn. Envision kneading dough, the cool, smooth texture conforming to your hands, filling the air with a smell that invites joy and anticipation. Picture the grit of dirt in …
Goodbye Summer – Hello Spanish!
Ready or not school has started for the 2014-15 year. While, on one hand, I’m happy that school has started, I would like summer to last just a little bit longer. This past summer was very busy at the school with 9 weeks of Summer Camp and Summer Garden. The school was alive and active with all of the smiling faces. I’m …
Engaging Minds. Opening Hearts. Inspiring Confidence.
Waldorf Education has helped to create successful students for over 90 years worldwide. Prairie Hill Waldorf School has been laying a strong foundation for academic success since 1987. Peter Nitze, a Waldorf and Harvard graduate asks so simply, “If you’ve had the experience of binding a book, knitting a sock, playing a recorder, then you feel that you can build …