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Waldorf Handwork Educators Blog
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Shellie Smith
4 min read
To Be a Teacher You Need to Be a Learner!
As we work to support the healthy development of our children & young people, we also work on ourselves.
155 views0 comments
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Patty Urda
4 min read
African Mud Cloth
We appreciate the artisans of Mali and their willingness to share techniques with us. May our hands unite in the joy of making.
329 views0 comments
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Kevin Avison
6 min read
Seeing & Saying! The Words we Choose
The question is not what you look at, but what you see. Henry Thoreaux
296 views0 comments
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Kevin Avison
5 min read
An Attentive Teacher?
To teach children, it is essential to see & experience, to attend, to them.
398 views0 comments
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Shellie Smith
7 min read
Educate, Participate, Advocate
Teachers spend most of their time preparing for the classroom; prepping lesson plans, materials, and contemplating the needs of the...
246 views0 comments
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Shellie Smith
3 min read
How Handwork Supports Each Child's Growth and Development
Handwork is an integral part of the Waldorf educational curriculum and philosophy which is based on educating the whole child: head,...
404 views0 comments
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elizabeth
4 min read
Handwork: Foundation for the 12 Senses
Taking handwork to a deeper level by engaging the 12 senses
420 views0 comments
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Shellie Smith
4 min read
What is Our REAL Work as Handwork Teachers?
Is it to ensure that every child is capable of knitting a square? No, it is so much more than that.
482 views2 comments
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Shellie Smith
4 min read
How Does Handwork Support Healthy Sensory Development?
Rudolf Steiner mentioned that handwork is gymnastics in miniature. He also spoke of the hands as the eyes of the rhythmic system. What...
407 views0 comments
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elizabeth
1 min read
A Picture is worth 1,000 words
We are so pleased and delighted to be doing this work, and so grateful to our participants for joining us, and for sharing photos of some...
218 views0 comments
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Shellie Smith
3 min read
Our Oceans, Our Air, Our Clothes
We have all heard about the problem of microplastics in our oceans. Tragic images of whales caught in plastic fishing nets or turtles...
228 views1 comment
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elizabeth
5 min read
Mending - why bother?
We hear a lot about mending these days, it seems to be a moral imperative – “Mend that hole, save the world!” But how many of us really...
290 views1 comment
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elizabeth
5 min read
WHERE CAN I GET A WALDORF KIT? Not Here! The Curriculum? Maybe
Waldorf education is not something you can buy, plug in, or put on a table with a lovely plant-dyed silk. It’s a daily practice, and an...
410 views0 comments
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elizabeth
2 min read
SOMETIMES, it’s nice to be getting older.
I can look back on the seeds I have sown by teaching basic handwork skills to children, teachers, and parents, I can see how they have...
189 views0 comments
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Shellie Smith
3 min read
Developing a Child’s Sense of Touch - the Value of Natural Materials
Our sense of touch connects our bodies to the outside world. Humans use this sense to gather information about our surroundings and as a...
479 views0 comments
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elizabeth
1 min read
CRAFTIVISM AND CROSS STITCH
Textiles convey meaning in a strong and enduring way that can impact us in a silent, subtle way. So much in our work as handwork teachers...
607 views3 comments
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elizabeth
3 min read
Stories, Handwork, and More Neuroscience
Listening to stories together can synchronize heart rhythms in the listeners; this is more effective when the listeners are able to...
439 views0 comments
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Michael Howard
1 min read
WHY DO WE DO WHAT WE DO? What does this have to do with wooden spoons?
Michael Howard was a guest teacher at our Summer Handwork Teacher Conference, July 2021, and has written up and expanded his presentation...
872 views0 comments
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Shellie Smith
14 min read
Craft, Flow, and Cognitive Styles
Originally a talk to the Waldorf Handwork Educators Teacher Conference on the 15th of July, 2021. Watch a video here. Hopefully this is...
295 views1 comment
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elizabeth
3 min read
Questions, questions
Have you ever had a day when nothing seems to go right, when nothing seems interesting or engaging? I had one of those days recently. My...
174 views0 comments
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