Tips & tools to support your homeschooling program.

Birthdays are always cause for celebration, especially in Waldorf education. Traditions and rituals help children to experience the rhythm of the year, and celebrating a birthday honours the child’s place in the family and in the world.   Below are some suggestions for bringing meaningful traditions to your child's birthday at home.

Verse:
You can begin the night before.  Before bed, you could light a candle and share this verse with your child.

When I have climbed into my bed,
And dreams begin swirling in my head,
And Mother/Father turns off the light,
I’ll still be [6] years old tonight.
But from the very break of day,
Before the children rise and play,
Before the darkness turns to gold,
Tomorrow, I’ll be [7] years old!
[7] kisses when I wake,
[7] candles on my cake.

Give the number of kisses for their age for the past year and tell them that when they awake, you’ll give one more kiss in the morning. 

Magical Path:
After your child is asleep, you can 'set the stage' so to speak, for their special day.  Some families create a path from the child's bedroom to the area of celebration.  This could be done with leaves from outside or cut out paper hearts, seashells, balloons or whatever you feel is appropriate for your family.

Birthday Ring:
In the area you wish to celebrate, you can create a 'birthday table.'  This could be as simple as a small table draped with material or silks upon which you can place  a wooden birthday ring. The ring usually has 12 - 16 holes around the circle.  Each year, you light the numbers of candles your child is turning. 

Birthday Crown & Cape:
To make their birthday a royal affair, in the morning, once they have followed the path to the birthday table, you could ceremoniously place a birthday crown on your child’s head, and a birthday cape on their shoulders.  Then you could tell them their birthday story. 

Birthday Story: 
After lighting the candles, you can tell a 'Birthday Story' that is unique to the child you are telling it too.  The story might include a child looking down on the earth from above, seeing their parents and choosing to cross the 'Rainbow Bridge' to join their family on the earth.  Below is an example of a possible story you could tell to your child on their birthday and story details can be changed to fit your unique family.

Another option is to save the lighting of the candles until after this first part of the story in the following way... 

They looked in awe at this new life and said “We shall call him/her/them ____________ “

(Light the first candle) When (name of child) was 1 (tell a bit about what your child was like at 1 years old and continue each year till the year they are turning) ______

(Light the second candle) When (name of child) was 2 they, ____

(Light the third candle) When (name of child) was 3 ____

(Light the fourth candle) When (name of child) was 4 ____

(Light the fifth candle) When (name of child) was 5 ____

(Light the sixth candle) And now (name of child) is 6 ____

(Light the seventh candle) And now (name of child) is 7!!

Then you can sing your traditional birthday song followed by cake and gifts and other birthday traditions your family already has or is now creating.

The Birthday Book by Ann Druitt has wonderful ideas for bringing meaning in the Waldorf tradition to your child’s special day including ideas for games and activities, recipes, decorations and much more. 

There is no right or wrong way to create meaningful birthday celebration so make it your own and have fun!

Daily Wonder recommends that you take time to conduct a baseline assessment when you begin teaching your child each school year. Then, by observing them in everyday activities, you can track their development and become aware of areas that may need extra attention. Below, you will find specific areas to assess, ways to observe your child, and suggested activities to help strengthen particular areas of need. 

It is essential to have healthy habits when it comes to posture and pencil grip.  This will serve your child over the years as the demands for sitting at a desk and writing increase. 

ASSESSMENT ACTIVITIES:

1. Observe your child while they are seated at the work table. Their feet should land on the floor, and their legs should be at a right angle to their body.  Take note of whether they seem very tired or have trouble keeping their spine straight. 
2. At the same time, you can observe their pencil grip. It will be important for them to learn the proper pencil grip to maintain stamina while writing.  Proper pencil grip also includes relaxed shoulders, allowing the non-dominant hand to play the role of stabilizer. 

Eye-tracking is an important foundation skill for reading. It’s important to notice whether your child can move their eyes horizontally while their head stays stationary. It is common to observe a tremor at the centre midline, which may indicate difficulty crossing the midline. ​

​ASSESSMENT ACTIVITIES:

1. Observe your child watch a bird or airplane pass through the sky. Do their eyes move smoothly as they follow? 
2. Tie an object to the end of a string and swing it back and forth. Observe your child’s eyes as they move from left to right while following it.
3. Observe your child as they read a book. Watch for smoothness as they track from left to right.

We use our memory for imaginative thinking. For example, when we remember something we’ve been told or see, we build imaginative pictures in our brains, leading to high-level thinking. The ability to build pictures takes practice, and we can strengthen this skill through memory games.

ASSESSMENT ACTIVITIES:

1. Ask your child to describe their bedroom to you while you are both sitting in the living room. 
   
2. If appropriate, ask them to tell you the days of the week or days of the months.
   
3. Ask them to tell you what they had for breakfast yesterday, or the day before etc.
   
4. Any memory question like; where do we go for summer vacation or who was at Sunday dinner last week? Etc.