<= Return to Chapter Two — The Golden Ribbon (Note to parents about to read this to a child. I included some math in this chapter that might be interesting for a child in first, second or even third grade if they are learning times tables. If you are reading this to a younger child, you might want to skip…
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To Live Out of Pure Trust
A Meaningful Christmas Gift for Less Than $12
Nobody likes text books and instruction manuals. This is why Waldorf teachers tuck their lessons into into engaging stories. So, when I wanted to share the essence of what I had learned as a teacher, I chronicled the true story of leading my class from grade one through six and tucked my epiphanies into it. A Gift of Wonder, A…
Learn How to Help Children Thrive: free lectures this week only
The Festival of the Child is a week long international online summit offering free interviews daily with doctors, teachers and parenting experts. You sign up through this link:https://www.festivalofthechild.com/?fbclid=IwAR2UlV9MGwOxJtyCcvSMpdAN4x0e-6enlCF0I0H04ScakGFJJ6_1SJe1BYE And then watch for a confirmation email, then an email that gives you your free pass to the content. You can watch the interviews posted that day and those released within the…
Why is this post going viral?
As we enter the school year, this. Only this. What you see above is a post on my Facebook page, Growing Children. In 12 days it has reached more than 599,000 people. My page has only about 3,500 followers, so I think this amounts to going viral. And it’s still going. It’s going viral because people know that it’s totally…
A Call to Get Back to the Heart of Teaching
A Gift of Wonder is set in an independent school but written with public school teachers and parents in mind. This review by Desirae Blake is the first of a series of reviews by public school teachers. ## Kim Allsup’s book, “A Gift of Wonder,” is a gently told story with a powerful message. As a public school teacher, I…
Learning About the Waldorf Approach Through Story : a book review by Kimberly Parsons
A Gift of Wonder is a beautiful collection of vignettes chronicling Waldorf teacher and mentor Kim Allsup’s journey with her first class. Each chapter focuses on a key element or trait – Curiosity, Resilience, Nurturing, Responsibility, and Balance to name a few – and the story that follows allows the reader to see how that capacity or quality can emerge…
“A “must-read” Waldorf teaching memoir” : Homeschooling Parents Review A Gift of Wonder
Since retiring from teaching in Waldorf schools, I’ve enjoyed working with a homeschooling second grader who often comes up with an idea for our lesson time than is more engaging than what I planned. “Can we start in the garden today?” And why not? We are both more focused after time in the fresh air where she weeds her fairy…
Read Your Kids Chapter Books by Age Five
Soon the first grader would wave good bye to her four year old brother at my classroom door. But now they both sat in a wooded glade on a hot August day listening intently to my story during a home visit, a tradition in our school. I had been telling the same story at each home and I felt apprehensive…
Our Kids Need to Picture a Future Where We Avert Climate Catastrophe
Have you imagined a future in which we reversed climate change? This video shows such a future. My novel – in – progress also imagines a future in which people take action to avert climate catastrophe. Click here for article with video I started writing Rachel’s Way when my fourth graders started reading dystopian novels. Where, I wondered, could I…
Growing Children 