A recent post on one of the Waldorf homeschooling email groups I subscribe to reminded me of this wonderful book on teaching chemistry using a Waldorf approach.

Waldorf teachers use a phenomenological approach in teaching the sciences. So rather than reading about a particular concept and then conducting an experiment to prove it true, Waldorf students conduct the demonstrations first, observe them and then see if a conclusion arises.

This approach makes the teaching of chemistry a much simpler task than it seems. We don’t need to abstractly learn concepts and the physical processes behind them. We just need to do things and observe. It’s really lots of fun.

This book by David Mitchell goes through the demonstrations you’ll conduct throughout 7th and 8th grades, along with the conclusions you and your students may come to. His instructions are just clear enough without feeling pedantically step-by-step. I particularly appreciated his instructions for building a lime kiln. Just mentioning it brings back such wonderful memories.

Have fun with chemistry in the upper grades!

Oh, I just realized that my Amazon link sells this book for over $100. Find it here at the Rudolf Steiner Bookstore for $26.95. While I was there checking it our I also found that they sell Mikko Bojarsky’s science handbooks! Mikko’s work is positively golden! The best Waldorf science guides on the planet!

Though there are a lot of great Waldorf math resources, I sometimes found that I needed a little more than what I found there. Waldorf resources are great for detailing how to go about explaining a concept holistically, but when you just need a whole slew of problems for practice, mainstream resources are the way to go. Here are my recommendations.

Elementary and Middle School Mathematics by John van de Walle — Okay, so this isn’t a mainstream book with a whole slew of problems, but it is an incredibly good book that takes a holistic, sensible approach to math, unlike anything I’ve seen in other mainstream resources. It so clearly builds upon knowledge and content that the children already know, helping you, as the teacher, to increase your students’ number sense, rather than simply increasing their dexterity with juggling numbers. As a result, they’ll know why a certain “trick” works, as well as how to implement it with ease. It’s pricey, but it will take you from the very beginning, right up through algebra, so it’s worth it.

Key to Fractions by the Key Curriculum Press — The “Key to . . .” series is really wonderful. Though it does not focus on the content in a holistic, developmental way, it does break down the information in very easily digested chunks and it provides A LOT of practice with each concept. I had my students complete the Key to Fractions series, as well as the Key to Decimals series. We did this work not in the midst of the block but waited until the following year, using these books as review. This way the fresh, imaginative approach to the content held sway during the block while the sometimes tedious practice came later. I used the Key to Algebra books for my own preparation in teaching Algebra in 7th grade. For students who struggle with a concept, these books just can’t be beat. They’re also quite affordable (a little more than $3 per book, there are usually four books in each series.)

Saxon Math — The Saxon Math series of books are great for practice. Each book covers a wide breadth of material and gives LOTS of practice problems. One of the best things is that within each lesson practice problems from the previous lessons’ material is incorporated so your students will not learn something one week and forget it the next. I do sometimes wish these books gave more problems that dealt exclusively with the new material for each lesson, but for staying in practice with many different types of problems, Saxon is great. I have experience with the Saxon books for the older set — from about 4th grade and up. I understand that there are books out there for younger children, too, but look at them carefully. To me, there is nothing more important in those younger years than building strong number sense. Saxon does not do this very well, in my opinion, so I would not use it for presenting new material, particularly with younger children. But this does not discount it’s merit for providing a wealth of material for practice problems.

I guess music is on my mind these days. I’ve been going through my music resources a lot these days and having a lot of fun finding songs I had never discovered before.

This week I was asked to bring some activity to our school’s Parent Council meeting. I taught them one of the songs and dances in this great book.

Singing Games and Playparty Games by Richard Chase – This book has fabulously clear instructions for dances and games that you can do to music with a group. Tonight I taught the parents the first song in the book called “Turn the Glasses Over.” People always enjoy getting together, moving and singing in a coordinated way (even if they may seem reluctant at first.)

The songs in the book are simple, familiar melodies so they’re quick and easy to learn. The dances have really great, clear instructions with good accompanying illustrations. You’ll easily be able to follow them to lead a dance yourself. Bring one to your child’s next birthday party and have fun!

Continuing with my series of story resources for the mythology/history curriculum through the grades, here is my entry for grade seven.

The Waldorf history curriculum for seventh grade centers around the dynamic and enlightening time of the Renaissance. Here are the few resources that I used extensively when I taught this block.

Copernicus by Heinz Sponsel – Using this book, I read and retold the story of Copernicus during our Astronomy block. It has a lovely familiar tone and tells much of the story during the time when Copernicus is the same age as the students are themselves. It was definitely the kind of book I could read through myself and tell directly from the book. It would also make a nice class reader for use during the Astronomy block.

The World Awakes by Polly Schoyer Brooks – If you can get your hands on this out of print book you should grab it, fast. It is absolutely worth its weight in gold and is THE resource to have for teaching the Renaissance in seventh grade. I’ve been keeping my eye our for an affordable copy for awhile now, I borrowed it from a fellow teacher when I taught the block. It lays out the information to teach in a systematic yet beautifully imaginative way. The stories are so imaginative and lovely that they can be told straight from the book. The rich content of the Renaissance can be so overwhelming that it is nice to have a resource that has already sifted through all of that content and brought just the essential points. Definitely a must have.

The Agony and the Ecstasy by Irving Stone – I read this book the summer before seventh grade and I loved how it gave a feeling for the time of the Renaissance. It presents the story of Michaelangelo in a very thorough (and long) but completely engaging way. It is definitely not the kind of book you can read in the midst of teaching the block and hope to teach from it, but read it before the school year begins to capture the feeling for the time. I was grateful to have had this rich window into the personality of Michaelangelo so when it came time to teach his story I felt like I was telling the children about someone I knew personally. If you’re pressed for time it definitely is not the most economical book to read (Michaelangelo would be taught in a one or two day lesson) but because it does such a lovely job of infusing the reader with the spirit of the Renaissance, especially the artistic work that was happening in Italy, it is a good read. And, like I said, I found it completely engaging on those long summer days before the school year properly began.

I’m sure that Kovacs also has a book that addresses the history curriculum of seventh grade, but if he does, I did not use it. I love all of his books, so if you come across one, I can’t help but assume it is to be recommended.

Coming soon, the culmination of the history curriculum in grade eight.

Dear readers, thank you so much for bearing with me through my spotty posting record. Lots has been happening here — visiting schools, watching for the next adventure that looms on the horizon.

I’ve promised (for weeks) to post resources for 7th and 8th grade history stories, but before I do that I wanted to share a book that I absolutely love.

A Little History of the World by E.H. Gombrich

If you are someone like me, who has huge gaps in your own history education, this is the book to read. In about 300 easy-to-read pages it sweeps through the entire course of human history. It definitely  has a European focus, which was something I appreciated as my own education included hardly any history of Europe. The chapters read like little stories and though it is often sparse on detail, it brings the major points of each epoch in a beautifully thought-provoking way.

Because of its lack of detail it is of limited usefulness as a teaching resource  (meaning you likely won’t tell stories straight from it), but it is invaluable for summarizing and capturing the essential points of human history. For this reason I consider it my most essential history resource and I would not want to teach Waldorf history without it. I would recommend reading it at the beginning of your Waldorf journey, so you have a clear picture of where your history studies will take you as you travel through the grades. Then, reread it before beginning fifth grade when the study of history properly begins. Then, before each grade, read the section that pertains to the era of history you’ll be addressing that year. Gombrich’s voice will become a cozy and familiar presence. I found that this book positively shaped my teaching of history and I am infinitely grateful to have discovered it as a resource.