If there is one book that has been referred to most on the various online Waldorf resources I try to keep up with it is Rhythms of Learning by Roberto Trostli.

Trostli wrote the Waldorf science bible called Physics is Fun — a book that I am very familiar with — so though I haven’t read Rhythms of Learning myself, based on the recommendations of others and my familiarity with Trostli’s other work, I have no qualms recommending it.

From the book description:

In each chapter, Trostli explains Steiner’s concepts and describes how they work in the contemporary Waldorf classroom. We learn how the teacher-child relationship and the Waldorf school curriculum changes as the students progress from kindergarten through high-school. This book will serve as an excellent resource for parents who want to understand how their child is learning. Parents will be better prepared to discuss their child’s education with teachers, and teachers will find it a valuable reference source and communication tool.

Definitely a must-have resource.

The artistic realm is an area of my teaching that I have always had to work hard at to bring to my students. Though I enjoy painting, drawing and working with clay, it is not something that has come naturally in my teaching. Because of this I am grateful when I discover a good resource for bringing the arts to my students.

Learning About the World Through Modeling by Arthur Auer is just one of these resources. In this book Auer goes through the grades and suggests lessons for modeling with clay that come from the curriculum. He not only gives an idea for what the students and teacher can create, but he indicates how to build up the object, step by step. With his instructions, a hen evolves quite naturally beginning with an egg and then slowly transforming, step by step, into a chicken.

There are about five projects per grade — enough to create a small block of clay modeling to replace the weekly painting class for a block. I’m finding late January, the doldrums of winter, a perfect time to liven up our lessons with this new content.

One word of caution: I believe that Auer suggests not working with clay until fourth grade and keeping the modeling work with beeswax until after the nine-year-change. Because of this, I’m not sure that his book gives indications for modeling before grade four. I’ll keep my recommendation here for grade four and up.

I’m in the middle of a language arts block, so my mind is all about grammar these days. I recently posted on my teaching blog a summary of the Waldorf grammar curriculum. Read that post here. It’s pretty informative, if I do say so myself. In that post I mention that there are very few Waldorf resources for grammar, for all of language arts, in fact. I’ve managed to find a few that I’ve found useful, though.

There is something I just like about the “Painless” series. I’ve used Painless Spelling and I think Painless Grammar is just as accessible. The best we can do as far as grammar resources is find something that spells the rules out very simply. It is then up to each teacher to enliven it in his or her own way. Painless Grammar is one of those resources that gives the facts very clearly.

If you’re looking for a book that will entertain YOU while you prepare to teach  your class, this is the one. The Deluxe Transitive Vampire is an amusing look at grammar through a somewhat dark, gothic lens. The examples Karen Elizabeth Gordon uses throughout the book will give you a chuckle the whole way through. Now, to be clear, I am not recommending that you use Gordon’s offbeat examples in your work with the children. High schoolers might appreciate the humor but anyone younger just wouldn’t get it. Offbeat humor aside, the grammar presented in the book is right on and very clear.

In my post on my teaching blog I mention that I resorted to using the book my own teachers used when I was in grammar school. Warriner’s English Grammar and Composition is that book. Though it’s a bit dull and lifeless, I’ve been grateful to have a book that was chock-full of exercise sentences that I could tweak to make relevant to my students. This book goes through most aspects of English grammar in a clear, no-nonsense way. I seriously could not do without it.

Okay, are you ready to have your math teaching become a thousand times easier? These resources are so good I can’t believe I haven’t mentioned them before!

These workbooks are the Key to Fractions series. The Key Curriculum Press publishes similar workbooks for decimals, algebra, percents, geometry, you name it. These books go through the material in such a systematic, thorough way I don’t know a single kid who did not completely understand fractions after working through these books. They are also generally free from colorful, distracting drawings. The best word to describe these books is “clear.”

In the fractions series the first book goes through the concepts of fractions, the second goes through multiplying and dividing, the third covers addition and subtraction and the fourth covers mixed numbers. I used these books as review and I found that the first book was overly simple. But if you’re using them to teach from scratch you should definitely use that first book.

At about $3.25 per book it doesn’t hurt too much to pay that little bit extra to have the whole set.

I used the decimals and algebra books a bit for inspiration in teaching those later blocks but I’m not as familiar with them. I found that my students really needed the thorough review of fractions while decimals and algebra did not require as careful and systematic a review.

I just cannot recommend these books enough!