Childhood's Garden
Shaping everyday life around the needs of young children

Helle Heckmann

Book and DVD

Softbound

$30.00

I have been basking in the glow of both the film and book that are Childhood's Garden every since reviewing them. My, oh my, what goodness lies within!

First, about the film presented on the DVD: Amazing, warm, wonderful, inspiring - I could go on and on with superlatives. The more people who can see it, the better for the world.

The filmmakers managed to blend into the background so well that the children simply go about their day as though they aren't there. And what a day it is! Helle Heckmann has created a true garden for young children (Nokken): they spend 5 hours of their 8 hour day outdoors, rain or shine (this was a summer day - she doesn't mention in the film what they do on truly frigid winter days). They are given the freedom to imitate the work of the garden and more as their child's heart. The little ones (ages 1-3) take naps in specially made cribs that are also outdoors - this is a Danish tradition which I believe should be looked at closely in other parts of the world where it may also benefit children who spend so much of their life indoors.

Nokken offers the children a midday meal which is made from biodynamic grains, vegetables, oils and syrups. The diet has been chosen to provide the children with types of food they are unlikely to receive at home, thus effecting and overall balance in their diets. I'm a bit less certain as to whether her diet would be effective in balancing children's food intake in the US, as my observation in Waldorf kindergartens has been that many of the parents already eat in similar ways and that offering more of the same might prove to create an overall imbalance. However, this, too, should be examined closely -- Helle's approach is sound and beautiful, but her exact solutions for her area may or may not translate well in other situations. Nonetheless, her food is highly nutritious and looked so good I found myself getting hungry just watching the children eat.

In the small book that comes with it, Helle Heckmann expands on things seen in the movie, but not necessarily described in depth. You'll learn more about the thinking and feeling that has gone into every detail of the life she and her coworkers have created for the children in their care. It is packed, simply packed with valuable ideas that carry so much inspiration that I am confident they will live and grow in this world of ours.

Childhood's Garden is one of the most significant, beautiful, healing works to have emerged in the field of early childhood educaiton. Please watch the DVD (invite your friends, make popcorn!), talk about it, read the book - this is must see/read material!

Creating a Home for Body, Soul, and Spirit
A New Approach to Childcare

Bernadette Raichle

Softbound

$25.00

Creating a Home for Body, Soul, and Spirit answers with beauty and love the needs of children everywhere, and conveys a joyous hope to all adults how care for those children.

Because she took seriously the fact that many homes require the parent(s) to work away from their young children, and because she has such a great love for children and our world, she created one of the most beautiful and life-giving childcare centers anywhere.

In Creating a Home, she shares not only pictures of the life of Awhina (her center), but something more: she goes on to relate clear the developmental needs of the fourfold human being and in the most practical terms discusses how it is that caregivers can meet them within young children. Her's is a stirring, heartwarming account that is at the same time clear and deep.

Anyone who cares for children, particularly other people's children, will want to read this book and commit its wisdom to heart. I truly believe that the future will smile in return.

What Is a Waldorf Kindergarten?

compiled and introduced by Sharifa Oppenheimer

edited by Joan Almon

Softbound, with pages of color photos!

$15.00

What a joy this book is! It has been several years since the only book that had actual photos and descriptions of daily life in a Waldorf kindergarten went out of print -- and the loss as been palpable. This beautiful little book fills that gap in a wonderful way and goes even further in describing the goals and ways of kindergarten education within the Waldorf approach. I am so happy that this book has found its way into print, and am confident that it will find its way into the hearts of parents and teachers and emerge as beautiful environments in which young children will grow and be glad.

Through a compilation of articles originally published in various WECAN newsletters, we adults are invited into the life of the kindergarten, and into a deeper understanding of the rhymes and reasons for things being as they are. Each step of the way, we are also treated to photos that make clear what is being spoken about, and empower us to go forth and do likewise. Prepare to enter the world of delight and wonder!

Contents:

• Foreword by Joan Almon

• Part One: An Overview of the Waldorf Kindergarten

  • Introductions by Sharifa Oppenheimer
  • “A Day in the Life of the Kindergarten” by Ingeborg Schöttner
  • “Handwork in the Kindergarten” by Dora Dolder
  • “Human Development through Art” by Freya Jaffke
  • “Circle Time in the Kindergarten” by Nancy Foster
  • “Fairy Tales and the Image of the Human Being” by Helmut von Kügelglen
  • “Choosing Fairy Tales for Different Ages” by Joan Almon
  • “The Seasons and Their Festivals” by Joan Almon
    
• Part Two: A Deeper Understanding of the Waldorf Kindergarten
  
  • Introductions by Sharifa Oppenheimer
  • “Stages of Development in Early Childhood” by Freya Jaffke
  • “Kindergarten Education with Mixed-Age Groups” by Freya Jaffke
  • “The Significance of Imitation in the Development of the Will” by Freya Jaffke
  • “Considerations about Kindergarten Readiness” by Joan Almon
  • Afterword: “Meeting the Needs of the Times” by Cynthia K. Aldinger
    
• Resources

Playing, Learning, Meeting the Other

Lectures from the 2005 International Waldorf Kindergarten Conference

Joan Almon, Michaela Glöckler, Christof Wiechert, Heinz Zimmermann

Softbound

$15.50

This must have been a wonderful conference to attend, for each of the lectures given goes straight to the heart of the matter in the warmest, most interesting way possible. There isn't a one of them that comes off as too academic or too fuzzy - my experience in reading them is that there are nuggets of gold in every lecture that can easily and fruitfully be taken into the world as gifts for young children. This is a powerful little book.

Contents:

• Note from the Editor of the English Edition
• Preface from the German Edition
• Meeting the Other: The Human Encounter - Dr. Heinz Zimmermann
• The Healing Power of Play - Joan Almon
• Acceleration, Retardation, and Healthy Development - Dr. Michaela Glöckler
• The Formative Foreces at the Threshold of the Second Seven-Year Period - Christof Wiechert
• Meeting the Other: The Encounter with Human an Spiritual Beings - Dr. Heinz Zimmermann
• Biographical Notes on the Lecturers

Heaven on Earth
A Handbook for Parents of Young Children

Sharifa Oppenheimer

Softbound

$25.00

I really can't do any better than this review by Carla Hannaford, so I'll just pass it along to you and echo her assessment of Heaven on Earth as a "must read" book for anyone working with or caring for young children.

Sharifa Oppenhiemer has given the world a great gift in the pages of this book. The important child-development information is exquisitely combined with the best ‘How-to’s’ I have seen in any book for parents. Her book, is a ready guide that insures joyful, enthusiastic children who learn easily and contribute to their families and society for a lifetime. I have delighted in every page and feel this is absolutely a must read for parents, grandparents, teachers, and perhaps everyone who will ever touch the life of a child.

—Carla Hannaford, Ph.D., biologist and international educational consultant to 32 countries and author of Smart Moves: Why Learning Is Not All in Your Head and Awakening the Child Heart, Handbook for Global Parenting

A Warm and Gentle Welcome
Nurturing Children from Birth to Age Three

Compiled from the work of the WECAN RIE/Pikler Working Group

The Gateways Series - #5

Softbound

$21.00

The Gateway's Series just gets richer and richer and more and more useful. WECAN's newest offering, A Warm and Gentle Welcome is packed with some of the best articles I've seen addressing the needs of the youngest children and what adults in a wide variety of situations can do to meet them.

I don't think there is anyone who cares about children and about the future of our world who is not deeply troubled and concerned about what I will simply call the general insensitivity and lack of wisdom that seems so widely rampant when it comes to the care of young children.

What I love about A Warm and Gentle Welcome is that rather than simply saying that we must recreate our world from scratch, the authors one by one address modern necessities (for instance, the fact than many mother's quite simply must work outside the home in order to help provide for their family and children), and offer suggestions and approaches for working with them out of their own successful experience. For me, this is an invigorating, health-giving breath of fresh air, one which I believe will serve our children and world very well indeed. In this book is hope, and the direction and help to make it a reality.

Contents:

• Foreword by Susan Weber
• Introduction by Trice Atchison and Margaret Ris
• The Changing Needs of the Family - The Fundamental Needs of the Child
  • Meeting the Needs of the Times by Cynthia Aldinger
  • Do We Know Why We Do What We Do? An Interview with Helle Heckmann by Margaret Ris
• The Developing Child in the First Three Years
  • Emmi Pikler's Trust in the Wise Infant by Jan Swain
  • The Wonder and Complexity of Motor Development in Infants by Vanessa Mitchell Kohlhaas
  • Fostering Healthy Language Development in Young Children: A Journey in Relationships by Susan Weber
  • Thinking and the Consciousness of the Young Child
• Caregiving as an Art
  • The Sacred Art of Observation by Theresa Catlin
  • In Their Shoes: Reflections on Cooperative Caregiving by Kristen Fiegl
  • What's All the Talking About? by Kim Lewis
  • Making Peace with Toddler Conflict by Trice Atchison
  • Tending and Cherishing the Living Spiritual Forces in Childhood by Joyce Gallardo
• Working with Parents
  • Building Bridges: How Infant-Child Classes Can Help Support Families by Donna Stusser
  • A Gradual Transition to the Nursery by Marilyn Pelrine and Kirsten Carr
  • A New Vision for Creating Partnerships with Parents by Margaret Ris
  • In Praise of Simple Joys by Carol Nasr Griset
    

A Journey Through Waldorf Homeschooling
Kindergarten

New Edition - includes CD with illustrations and audio material

Melisa Nielson

Contributions by Kimberly Rivera

Foreword by Alan Whitehead

Softbound

$22.00

Welcome a lively little book that introduces the wonders of Waldorf homeschooling from the heart of someone who has done it. Melisa Nielson originally began her book as a companion to Susan Whitehead's seasonal kindergarten books, but it grew and deepened to the point where it will guide and nurture your efforts through any seasonally themed Waldorf kindergarten suggestions.

What I most like about A Journey Through Waldorf Homeschooling is the amount of life on each page -- the ideas and activities that are recounted here clearly came into the world with the full force of the author's creativity and imagination. The wonderful news is that she hands over to us not just a usable description of what she did, but her enthusiasm and joy in the doing of them. It is this latter quality which will nourish any children fortunate enough to be touched by it.

This is a book to be done, not just read. And in the doing, your own life and happiness will spring to life for your child.

Contents:

• Foreword by Alan Whitehead
• Introduction from the author
• Intro to Waldorf and Anthroposophy
• Book resource list
• Supplies list
• The kindergarten years
• Rhythm: Day, Month, Year
• Festivals
• The Nature Table
• Planning your year/ Using main lesson
  blocks/Working with multi aged children
• Using seasonal books and anthologies
• Painting, form drawing, and handwork with young children
• Circle Time
• Week by week schedule
• Favorite verses and circle time songs
• Compiled Waldorf Curriculum
• Recommended Vendors
• In closing
• Appendix: recipes

The Wonder of Childhood
Stepping into Life

René Querido

Softbound

$5.95

This is such a dear little book. René Querido invites us along on two lovely excursions: the first, into the world of the child between ages 0 and 3; the second, into the world of Raphael's Sistine Madonna and then further, to explore what that painting means to a child's eye. Both these edited lectures paint warm and deep pictures that not only deepen our understanding, but evoke a warm caring for young children in our hearts. Wonderful for parents and teachers.

In a Nutshell
Dialogues with Parents at Acorn Hill, A Waldorf Kindergarten

Nancy Foster

Softbound

$18.00

What an absolutely wonderful book! Nancy Foster has not only given us great explanation of just about everything parents new to Waldorf education ever wonder about, but she has gone on to give some of the best parenting advice ever written down. In other words, she has poured over 30 years experience as a Waldorf kindergarten teacher into the most concise, readable and useful wee book every printed on the subject teaching and parenting young children. This is a genuinely must-have book for anyone working with or raising young children.

Table of Contents:

Our Classroom Environment

• Color in the Classroom
• Why Curtains?
• Teachers' Dress
• The Significance of Candles
• Naming the Teacher
• No Cars and Trucks?
• What about Puzzles?
• Musical Instruments in the Classroom

Work and Play at School

• The Rhythm of the Morning
• Saying "You may . . . "
• Ironing in the Classroom: Danger?
• Boys and Waldorf Education
• Playing Cats and Dogs
• Music in the Mood of the Fifth
• Can Energetic Boys Enjoy Handwork?
• Gun Play at School
• Field Trips?
• Fairy Tales for Young Children
• The Challenge of Circle Time
• Puppetry and "Told" Stories

Children at Home

• Colors for a Child's Bedroom
• Older and Younger Siblings
• Boredom
• Telephone
• Bedtime Ritual
• Feeding a Child
• Swords vs. Guns
• TV Away from Home
• Barbie
• Forbidden Words?
• Appropriate Gifts
• "What did you learn in school today?"
• Toys in the Neighborhood
• Helping Children in a Time of Trouble - A Few Thoughts
• Is the World a Good Place?

The First Seven Years
Physiology of Childhood

Edmond Schoorel

Softbound

$24.00

Join Donna Simmons of Christopherus Homeschool Resources for an online study of The First Seven Years. Click here to learn more.

Bob and I have always believed that Steiner delivered the seminar, known in English as Foundations of Human Experience or Study of Man, as information and insights to be used. It is, therefore, deeply exciting to come upon a book such as Schoorel's The First Seven Years, written as it is from someone who has been doing precisely that: using and applying and developing a living understanding for the material Steiner shared with the teachers of the original Waldorf School.

Schoorel's approach is wonderful - he takes a particular topic, describes it thoroughly then moves on to relate it to physiology and environment. So, for instance, when he discusses "the birth of the etheric body", he not only offers a clear and meaningful picture of what that means for the developing human being, but then discusses what physiological changes mark this process as well as how environment affects it.

For anyone interested in or working with young children, this book is a treasure to be turned to again and again. It fosters understanding as it also gives much food for the sort of thought that deepens and enlightens. The First Seven Years is a gift to teachers, parents and most especially to our children.

Kindergarten Education
Freeing children's creative potential

Betty Peck

Softbound

$27.00

What can children gain from the treasured world of childhood that will enrich their adult lives? Educator Betty Peck celebrates the power of Kindergarten to help children find their creativity and imagination, opening the door to a passionate relationship with learning.

Using vivid case studies from her own experience and from the research of Froebel and other early-years pioneers, the author demonstrates how a holistic, loving approach to pre-school education opens the door to:

• Enabling creativity, awareness, wonder and discovery
• Meeting the spiritual and physical growth needs of young children
• Storytelling, movement, ring time and play
• Celebrating festivals and the seasonal round
• Creating play gardens to discover nature’s secrets
• Involving families and communities

This is an essential resource for teachers and parents who want to give their children a more meaningful education.

The Well Balanced Child
Movement and early learning

Sally Goddard Blythe

Softbound

$24.95

Sally Goddard Blythe thoroughly explains why movement is so important for the healthy development of babies and young children. She describes movement, balance, reflexes, learning, and behavior in early education and how music affects brain development. The book includes songs, games and, activities that encourage learning at key stages of development.

Here is a unique and holistic approach to the senses, movement, the brain, play, and movement. It is also a valuable resource for helping parents and professionals assess children with learning difficulties and for dealing with learning and behavioral problems through movement.

This one is highly recommended for all early education teachers and parents of young children.

Sally Goddard Blythe is director of The Institute for Neuro-Physiological Psychology, which researches the effects of neurological dysfunction in specific learning difficulties, and devises effective remedial programs. She is the author of Reflexes Learning and Behaviour as well as numerous professional papers and articles.

On the Play of the Child
Indications by Rudolf Steiner for Working with Young Children

Selected and edited by Freya Jaffke

Softbound

$15.50

Freya Jaffke is one of the world's most beloved, knowledgable and effective Waldorf kindergarten teachers -- a gift to every teacher and child she meets. She has gathered together suggestions and comments by Rudolf Steiner which she has personally found to be the most inspiring and most illuminating. While no collection such as this can ever be complete, this one goes straight to the heart of the matter, lighting the way for anyone who cares for or about young children.

The Young Child in the World Today
The Gateways Series One

Compiled from articles published in the Newsletter of the Waldorf Early Childhood Association of North America

Softbound

$21.00

Wonderful! Some of the best articles published by Gateways on some of the most pressing concerns of the day.

Topics covered include new health problems of children and youth, sexual abuse of children, ADHD, violence and electronic media, TV and ADD, virtual reality and the child's growing mind, and child development and television.

Putting all these article inside one cover is a great idea - thank you, WECAN!

Working with the Angels
The Young Child and the Spiritual World

The Gateways Series - Two

Compiled from articles published in the Newsletter of the Waldorf Early Childhood Association

Softbound

$21.00

Working with the Angels is clearly the result of intense, deep, sustained love: the love of each article's author for children and the world; the love of those responsible for publishing each article in its turn over the years; the love of the current editors in gathering all these remarkable insights and experiences together in one place; and, of course, the love of the angels for us.

This is a collection that is almost palpably alive with love and with love's possibilities. And with that, I'm going to let the contents speak for themselves:

Working with the Angels

• Working with the Angels, Archangels and Archai - Helmut von Kügelgen
• Conversation about Angels and Human Beings - Helmut von Kügelgen
• Finding a Connection to the World of the Angels - Helmut von Kügelgen
• The Meaning of Angels in Education and Self-Education - Michaela Glöckler, M.D.

The Destiny of the Child in Our Times

• Working with the Karma of the Young Child - Margaret Meyerkort
• Walking and the Incarnation of Destiny - Joan Almon
• Continuing the Work of the Hierarchies - Werner Glas
• Early Childhood and the Consciousness Soul - Joan Almon
• Threshold Experiences of Children and Adults - Helmut von Kügelgen
• Religion of the Young Child - Elizabeth Moore-Haas

The Gateway of Birth - the Sistine Madonna

• Raphael's Sistine Madonna - Is It Approriate in the Kindergarten? - René Querido
• The Sistine Madonna in the Waldorf Kindergarten - Joan Almon
• The Sistine Madonna - Symbol of the Eternal in Humanity - Rudolf Steiner

The Gateway of Death - Working with Death in the Kindergarten

• After-Death Care in the Home - Beth Knox
• Helping Children in a Time of Trouble - Nancy Foster
• Helping Our Children and Loved Ones at the Threshold of Death - Nancy Jewel Poer
• A Festival for a Threshold Crossing - Patricia Owens
• Birth into the spiritual World - Nancy Blanning
• A Story for Mia - Louise de Forest
• Grandma's Dream - Sheila Rubin
• For Anastasia and Her Dear Grandmother - Cynthia Aldinger

The Inner Path

• Self-Development as a Basis for the Relationship Between the Child and the Adult - Michaela Glöckler, M.D.
• Through the Eye of the Needle - Felicitas Vogt
• The Path of Inner Schooling - Jorgen Smit
• The Spiritual Foundations of Waldorf Education - Michaela Glöckler, M.D.

The Developing Child
The First Seven Years

The Gateways Series 3

Compiled from articles published in the Newsletter of the Waldorf Early Childhood Association of North America

Softbound

$21.00

WECAN has produced another wonderful collection of past Gateways articles, this time focusing on child development from birth to age 7. Some of the best and most insightful experts in the field are now all gathered in one place, offering their wisdom and guidance together. I am especially pleased to see articles explaining kindergarten and first grade readiness guidelines. The Developing Child is an outstanding contribution to the world of early childhood education; and a resource that can bring a wealth of experience right into your living room or classroom.

Contents:

Stages of Development in the First Seven Years

• The Laws of Childhood - Dr. Helmut von Kügelgen
• Stages of Development in Early Childhood - Freya Jaffke
• The Young Child form Birth to Seven - Dennis Klocek

Birth, Infancy and the First Years of Life

• Child Development: Conception to Birth Embryology
• Making Sense of Uprightness - Bonnie & William RiverBento
• The Wonder of Acquiring Speech - Dr. Michaela Glöckler
• Movement, Gesture and Language in the Life of the Young Child - Bronja Zahlingen
• Supporting the Development of the Human Hand - Ingun Schneider
• Toward Human Development: The Physiological Basis of Sleep - Lisa Gromicko
• Laying the Physical Foundation of the Consciousness Soul - Dr. Jenny Josephson

The Development of Consciousness: Imitation, Play and Learning

• Forces of Growth and Forces of Fantasy: Understanding the Dream Consciousness of the Young Child - Dr. Michaela Glöckler
• The Vital Role of Play in Childhood - Joan Almon
• The Genius of Play - Sally Jenkinson
• Understanding Imitation - Joop van Dam

Readiness for Kindergarten and School

• Kindergarten Readiness - Dr. Elizabeth Jacobi
• The Birth of the Etheric: Transformation of Growth Forces into Thinking Forces - Dr. Michaela Glöckler
• First Grade Readiness - Joan Almon
• Some Guidelines for First Grade Readiness - Nancy Foster

You're Not the Boss of Me!
Understanding the Six/Seven-Year-Old Transformation

Ruth Ker, Editor

Spiral Bound

$32.00

There are few parents and, I think, no kindergarten teachers who have not heard the title of this book shouted at them in fury by children between five and seven years old. In fact, some of us can remember, however dimly, our own frustrated rage as we ourselves shouted these words when we were that age. Perhaps there's something on the human genome that over the millenia has imprinted "You're not the boss of me!" as the inconic phrase human beings must utter before leaving their infancy behind.

Of course, in the face of this imperative resistance, we adult teachers and parents are often left perplexed and frustrated ourselves. When the subject was raised at a WECAN conference, it was joined with such acclaimation that a work group was formed to explore the phenomenon and ways of helping children move positively across this threshold.

The result is You're Not the Boss of Me! - a colleciton of articles and excerpts by kindergarten teachers, sensory integration experts, and medical doctors. It is wonderful! Teachers in schools and homeschools will find so much to help them meet the needs of the six-to-seven-year-olds as they also find ways to take joy in those children who stand at this threshhold. Parents can gain new understanding and lots and lots of friently help and highly useful advice.

Thank you to the WECAN work group for bringing us such a needed book!!

Mentoring in Waldorf Early Childhood Education

The Gateways Series Four

Compiled from the workof the WECAN Mentoring Task Force

Spiral Bound

$16.00

When I first saw the title of this book, I confess I expected some fairly dry essays as its content. I am delighted to report that the articles it contains are warm, lively, beautifully and deeply considered and come from a rich selection of those who have mentored in many different settings. In short, if mentoring is something you or your school is ready to explore, you couldn't find a better guide than this one.

Contents:

• Self-Education as the Basis for the Art of Mentoring
• The Role of Mentoring Early Childhood Teachers and Caregivers: Context and Purpose
• Laying the Bass for the Mentoring Visit
• Teh Essentials of Waldorf Early Childhood Education
• The Mentoring Observation: Waht Do We Look For?
• The Art of Fruitful conversation
• Pearls of Wisdom: The Role of Advice in Mentoring
• Accountability: Written Records
• Meeting at the Eye of the Needle: Mentoring on the Path of Adult Learning

The Challenge of the Will
Experiences with Young Children

Margret Meyerkort
Rudi Lissau

$13.95

This book is a feast for the mind and heart. Written by two of the best teachers of both children and adults, it is both a wonderfully descriptive and deep account of what the world of the young child is from the child's perspective, and is at the same time a clear and extremely useful explanation of what Rudolf Steiner meant by some of his less-obvious comments about young children.

This is a fascinating, inspiring account - anyone working with or interested in young children will love this book.

Children at Play
Using Waldorf Principles to Foster Childhood Development

Heidi Britz-Crecelius

Foreword by Joan Almon

Softbound

$9.95

For twenty-five years this book has inspired those who care about children. In an age when play is valued less and less, it stands out as a reminder of why play has always been part of childhood and why we must not stand by and allow it to die out.

From the Foreword by Joan Almon
Coordinator, Alliance for Childhood
Past Chairperson, Waldorf Early Childhood Association of North America

Once again available, Children at Play can again inspire and inform! Imaginative play is more vital for a child's future than many parents and educators realize. Children should be allowed free scope in their fantasies since it is through spontaneous creations that they gradually learn how to join the extended game of human society. The more they are allowed to be absorbed in their play, the more fully and effectively they will later take their place in the community as adults. As any parent or teacher knows, a child's development does not follow a strictly chronological pattern and can be enhanced by concerned caregivers.

Drawing on her experiences as a mother and student of Rudolf Steiner's system of education, author Heidi Britz-Crecelius emphasizes the different qualities of play that may extend through more than one phase of games, toys, and art supplies that further the mobility of the mind and the powers of expression without the burden that premature schooling can place on children. Offering many practical suggestions and an extensive, up-to-date list of resources for today's families, Children at Play gives a refreshing and timely warning to a technological society concerned about the welfare of its children.

Free to Learn
Introducing Steiner Waldorf Early Childhood Education

Lynne Oldfield

Softbound

$24.00

This is the most thorough, interesting and inspiring introduction to the Waldorf kindergarten to yet appear in print. The author is to be congratulated indeed!

In the Steiner/Waldorf kindergarten, the teachers' approach stems from a belief that children's early learning is profound, that childhood matters and that the early years should be enjoyed, not rushed through. Free to Learn invites and presents a considered discussion of:

• How do kindergartens enable healthy child development
• What is 'movement based learning'?
• Creative play - why is it so crucial?
• How do children learn through imitation and rhythm?
• Why is nourishing the senses important?
• When are children ready for school?
• Support for parenting and daycare.

This is a unique guide to the principles and methods of Waldorf Early Childhood Education. It comes complete with a wonderful collection of photographs taken inside the kindergarten - those alone make this book a must-have addition to your library. Lynne Oldfield, a master kindergarten teacher, offers an invaluable picture of a stress-free childhood, exciting ways of seeing children, and a heartfelt respect for childhood. A wonderful book!

Ready to Learn
From Birth to School Readiness

Martyn Rawson and Michael Rose

Softbound

$19.95

When are children ready for school? Many parents are concerned about 'too much formal schooling too soon.'

Ready to Learn will help you consider the transition from kindergarten to school. The key is a lively grasp of child development in the first seven years that includes:

• The physical, soul and spiritual aspects of child development
• How children 'grow down' into their bodies
• How language and senses develop
• 'Reading readiness,' and the place of computers
• Simple tests for school readiness

  Ready to Learn is an excellent starting point for both teachers and parents. Here is an understanding of child development and the ever-changing needs of maturing children that is unusually detailed and insightful.

- Dr. John Pearce, Professor Emeritus in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Nottingham University

The Genius of Play
Celebrating the Spirit of Childhood

Sally Jenkinson

Softbound

$25.00

This is essential reading.

Christopher Clouder, Alliance for Childhood

Sally Jenkinson explores the secrets of play through moving stories and research. And what she reveals to all of is that play is essential for children's health, for their future as adults, and for the future of our world.

The author, a mother and former Steiner Waldorf Kindergarten teacher doesn't miss a beat in this extremely inportant book. She asks:

• What do children express in their play?
• How does play help develop empathy and social skills?
• How are children invluenced by inappropriate toys, TV and consumerism?
• How does play develop children's imaginations?
• Why do children need adults who encourage play?
• How lively childhood players become creative adult thinkers.

If you want to enter and understand this world of childhood, or if you want to make considered, healthy choices for your own child, this book is what you've been looking for. Thank you, Sally Jenkinson!!

How Children Play

Ingeborg Haller

$10.95

Ingeborg Haller has a wonderful eye for children - and a heart big enough to really see the worlds that unfold as they play. This little book is a gem, a glass through which we can all look to see the beautiful, health-giving Life that is our children's play. Although there are many passages of deeply insightful commentary, for the most part we are treated to one description after another of different children at play in ways we will all recognize, despite the fact that most of us have forgotten them. Haller descriptions are especially valuable because she has that rare capacity to keep herself out of them, to simply convey what she sees - and she sees so very much.

The age in which we are now living is one that believes play is a luxury, an unimportant one at that. The portrait that How Children Play paints is a loving antidote to just this malais - and a warm, rejuvenating delight to read.

The Future of Childhood
Alliance for Childhood
Articles for the Brussels Conference
October 2000

Edited by Christopher Clouder, Sally Jenkinson and Martin Large

Softbound

$16.95

Children create our future with their gifts and talents, yet what does childhood mean for us today? Is childhood vanishing under the impact of poverty, commercialism, stress, social breakdown and hot housing? The experience of childhood is influenced by changing cultural patterns and trends. How can we then ensure that all children are given a good foundation for their future life.

The Alliance for Childhood is a forum where individuals and organizations can work together out of respect for childhood, in a world wide effort to improve children's lives. The Alliance convened this Brussels Conference to explore the following questions:

• What is childhood to today's children?
• What rights do children have?
• How are parents, professionals and policy makers shaping children's lives?
• How are commercialism and the media affecting children?
• What is the impact of hunger, violence, discrimination and abuse?
• What guidelines will help form a better environment for childhood?

This lively collection of articles by Conference presenters offers stimulating insight for dialogue about how we can give due respect to children. Contains useful references, contacts and resources for networking.

Working with Anxious, Nervous and Depressed Children
A Spiritual Perspective to Guide Parents

Henning Köhler

Introduction by Philip Incao, MD

Softbound

$18.00

Henning Köhler courageously presents parents and teachers with a practical path of schooling the thinking, heart, and will in selfless devotion to the individual destiny of each child. This is a book every teacher, parent and friend of children will want to read and consider - it offers a way of receiving troubled children into our hearts, into the stream of our love such that healing and forward movement become possible.

Helping Children to Overcome Fear
The Healing Power of Play

Russell Evans

$19.95

Helping Children to Overcome Fear is one of those books that is itself a legacy, reaching out beyond the threshold of death to those of us still working with others on this teeming planet of ours. Jean Evans was a hospital play leader whose life work was with sick children. Her husband, Russell, has gathered together her stories and pictures that illustrate and teach so beautifully how the healing power of play can help children suffering illness to give voice to their feelings and find security.

Actually, I feel strongly that almost all children can benefit from Jean's wisdom and creativity. In my experience, almost all the young children I meet - and many, many I have known in the past - come into the world afraid. Or perhaps I should say, they come into the world acutely aware that the adults who love them are anxious about . . . well, the children don't know just what the adults are anxious about [you and I do, though], but they feel it and live it. And this is where Jean Evan's shining legacy can do so very much good. As we learn how to heal children's fears through play, we can find ourselves healing; as we also heal from our fears, the world our children live in shines ever more brightly.

This is a powerful, graceful book. I hope it reaches millions of hearts. It is a reminder of what is true, what is everlasting - and it is a pathway toward learning to live within that glorious truth.

Toymaking with Children

Freya Jaffke

$17.95

Freya Jaffke managed to breathe her many years experience as a master Waldorf kindergarten teacher into a volume capable of inspiring, guiding and reassuring new parents toward a balanced, beautiful life with their children. This is a hands-on approach that is deeply suited to working with and understanding young children. This is a book to enjoy in the deepest sense of the word, and makes an excellent companion to Work and Play in Early Childhood.

The new edition adds color photographs, more toys to make (more joy to bring!), and wonderful discussions of which toys to give to children at what ages, how to create a beautiful, nurturing environment, even tips for clean-up! I have loved this book since it was first published - this most recent incarnation elevates it from "wonderful" to "must have."

Understanding Young Children

Excerpts from Lectures by Rudolf Steiner

Compiled for the Use of Kindergarten Teachers

Softbound

$15.50

At last in a modern translation, this has long been one of the best resource books available for contemplating the needs of young children. Originally compiled for use by Waldorf Kindergarten teachers and available only through teaching organizations, this retranslation is now available to anyone who cares for or about young children and wants to learn more.

An Overview of the Waldorf Kindergarten
Articles from the Waldorf Kindergarten Newsletter
1981-1992

Waldorf Kindergarten Association

$19.95

An Overview gathers together articles that both explain and seek to share the Waldorf Kindergarten experience. In it you will find information ranging from snacks to music to working with young children with a variety of behavioral and learning difficulties. The breadth of the topics and the liveliness of the discussions makes it one of the most valuable resources for our work with young children. There is practically no aspect of daily life in a Waldorf Early Childhood class that is not addressed. An invaluable resource!

A Deeper Understanding of the Waldorf Kindergarten
Articles from the Waldorf Kindergarten Newsletter 1981 to 1992

Waldorf Kindergarten Association

$19.95

The deeper wisdom of the Waldorf approach to early childhood education is the subject of this collection of articles found in the Waldorf Kindergarten Association Newsletters between 1981 and 1992. The breadth of the topics and the depth of the discussions can enrich and enliven both your understanding and your work with young children. Here is an opportunity to discover some of the most successful approaches to working with children with learning and behavioral challenges, to coping with the effects of the multiple strains families are subject to, and to nourish your own inner life so that you have a richness of soul to offer the children in your care. Most highly recommended.

Waldorf Kindergarten Special

Purchase both An Overview of the Waldorf Kindergarten and A Deeper Understanding of the Waldorf Kindergarten

Regular Price for both: $39.90

Special Price:
$35.95

The First Three Years of the Child

Karl König

$16.95

Karl König was a man of great heart. Although he is best remembered as the founder of the Camphill Movement in Scotland - residential villages for children and adults with special needs - he was also a physician whose deep insights into human development offer a legacy of understanding and direction that those who work with children have turned to time and again. The First Three Years of the Child is such a work. In it, König unveils the hallmarks of those years in terms of the three great achievements that dominate them: Learning to walk, to speak and to think. It is these three distinct faculties that make us truly human and König offers us a detailed analysis of the "act of grace" that allows their acquisition. Highly recommended.

You are Your Child's First Teacher

Rahima Baldwin

$16.95

This book beautifully covers just about everything I remember experiencing as the mother of three young children (who are now all teenagers). Unfortunately for me, I didn't have this book to help balance my perspective and offer one creative suggestion after another. If you feel somewhat alone and maybe a bit confused about how to sensitively raise your children, I really think Rahima's insights will help you find your own positive direction. It would be wonderful if we all arrived at parenthood knowing everything we need to know, but many of us do not-that's why this book is such a gem.

The Incarnating Child

Joan Salter

Sorry - Out of Print

We all stand in awe and wonder before the mysteries and miracles of conception, pregnancy, birth, and the growth of our children. Joan Salter examines this unfolding mystery all the way through to adolescence in a way that warms parents hearts while offering much practical advice. I know many parents who have said that they didn't know how they could have managed without Joan's help. This is one of those guides that can rightly be called "indispensable."

Mothering with Soul
Raising Children as Special Work

Joan Salter

$16.95

This portrait of motherhood and its gifts is at one and the same time both an affirmation of value and a guidepost for those wishing to find their way out of society's conflicting viewpoints. The soul of the child, the heart of the family, the vocation of Mother are all portrayed through real life stories enhanced by Joan Salter's special quality of understanding. Topics covered are pregnancy, birthing, mothering, breast feeding, milks for weaning, daily rhythms, development of consciousness, work outside the family, childcare, love, grandmothers. A warm, heartfelt presentation.

The Good Sleep Guide
for you and your baby

Angela Henderson

Softbound

$12.95

After my first child was born I was astonished at how little sleep I got because she slept so fitfully. At that time the available advice on the subject ranged from "just let the baby cry" (with the "guarantee" that babies could cry for at most 45 minutes - something my baby disproved absolutely when I tried this in desparation) to "just sleep with the child, then everything will be alright" (unless you have a child who would literally nurse non-stop all night long . . . and did I mention restless?).

Anyway, it was months and months before anything that resembled a real night's sleep came my way (or hers). Having reviewed this book and Sound Sleep (see below), I have to say that had I known these techniques, and had these balanced voices in my life, we would have been sleeping long before.

This book has been available throughout Europe for quite a while - in fact our grandson benefited from it a few years ago. It's a gem and covers everything from the techniques that sooth babies into a sound sleep to diet considerations to room temperature - and at each turn there is an assessment you can apply to discover if your baby is really having trouble sleeping or if you are (both) merely going through a normal period of intermittant sleep.

A wonderful, welcome contribution to the good health babies and the good rest of mothers!

Sound Sleep
Calming and helping your baby or child to sleep

Sarah Woodhouse

Softbound

$16.95

I just love this book - it is so wise and so warm! And, it addresses the different sleep concerns that a parent might encounter with different aged children. Truly a beautiful work from a warm soul.

This well-researched guide is for parents with babies, toddles or older children. There are useful insights, inspiring stories, handy checklists and a variety of easy to use methods for you to draw on as needed. Woodhouse offers practical tips for:

• soothing your new baby to sleep with touch, warmth and settling routines
• understanding crying and screaming - so you can cope and know what to do
• using timed settling for getting older babies into the habit of sleeping through the night
• tackling toddlers' and older children's sleep problems
• contacts, information and finding support

The author is commited to the reality that every baby and every parent is different - and that we all change from one time to the next. Her advice: choose what works for you - and get a good night's sleep!

House of 3 Froggies
A Teacher/Parent Manual on Health and Nutrition

Alan Whitehead

$22.95

House of 3 Froggies is not only an excellent presentation of basic nutrition and health for our children (and ourselves!),