Wednesday, September 4, 2013

A Comparison of Waldorf Homeschool Curriculum/Curricula

Note: this is a compilation of comments and experiences of other people. At the time of this post, I do not have any first hand experience with these. Many of the materials for these can be purchased second-hand, and the cost/prices listed are directly from the curriculum's main website. There are more options out there than are discussed here. Presented below in alphabetical order are thoughts & review notes on BEarth/EarthSchooling, Christopherous, Enki, Live Education, Oak Meadow, Waldorf Essentials, and Wee Folk.







– affordability: $85 ($650 for family membership)
– through 8th grade
– can buy just parts of it, a year's curriculum or just subject blocks, or purchase a lifetime membership
– a lot of information offered and to go through
– offers many additional and supplemental classes, workshops, and skill teaching, and some free online resources and articles
– not pre-prepared for the parent teacher, and at the time of this blog entry the information was hard to sort through because the file name & organization on the site was not consistent 



– affordability: $275-$475
– generally considered very true to the Waldorf method of child developmental stages
– names after the legend of St Christopher who carried the Christ child across the river
– 1st grade through 4th grade available as of this blog post; guides for subsequent grades, and more coming out each year
– written by a Waldorf trained teacher who also homeschooled, and written specifically for the homeschooling environment
– generally considered very true to the Waldorf method of child developmental stages
– simple to follow; laid out in very easy to find and follow blocks
– guide books have a lot of detail
– ways to incorporate the daily activities of the home into learning opportunities




– affordability: $325-$750
– Waldorf-y with a Buddhist bent; name “Enki” after an ancient symbol of flexible wisdom
– as of this blog post, it is only up through grade 3, and adding more each year
– focus and drive behind curriculum choices is to provide a multi-cultural exposure
– moves from teacher-led, to peer-led, to student-led learning
– does not provide a day by day approach to home education, requires additional work by parent
– offers teacher training and consulting packages



– affordability: $420-$480 (note: can't buy just the books without also purchasing consulting)
– very true to the philosophy behind Waldorf education
– kindergarten through 8th grade
– LE is like a bunch of how-to books, or instruction manuals that teach the parent how to teach Waldorf style; like teacher training; similar to what would be done in a school/institutional setting
– comes with a personal consultant to guide & answer questions
– offer a block (3 to 4 weeks) of lessons to present for each block subject. The parent then creates a similar block to rotate into the schedule later in the year. It's not hard because you already have the template and the info to plug into the lesson, but it is more work, more time-consuming that a completely prepared syllabus
– requires additional research, reading, parent-education, organization and preparation; parent has to create additional lessons beyond what is directly/immediately offered
– a flexible, sequential curriculum that can be adapted to the family’s needs
– not a day-by-day syllabus/template, but rather about the subjects and how to approach it, what to cover, presentation of it
– an abundance of add-on material to choose from



– affordability: $130-$450 
– general characterization: Waldorf inspired, quite a bit of Montessori influence
– has a Waldorf flavor, but it's not very true to the philosophy behind Waldorf education, takes aspects of it like crafts and art; does not have all the stories and fairy tales
– preschool through 8th grade
– is fundamentally set up differently and starts academic, alphabet, and reading/literacy work earlier; considered more mainstream
– does not follow the Waldorf/Steiner year-by-year to build upon the child's developmental stages
– well established & lays out day to day lessons
– OM is scheduled out for you by the week
– often considered “too academic" for those following a Waldorf path, or "not academic enough" for those expecting their children to be reading and doing math early
– some say it's labor intensive for the parent teacher, others say it's easy to follow and to dive in as an untrained teacher

WALDORF ESSENTIALS
Waldorf Essentials Logo

- affordability: $40-$550
- purchase individual grade components, notes, and guides, or buy a lifetime membership that gives access to all materials of all grades and includes mentoring and coaching
- very Waldorf authentic
- creator has schooled all her children through all grades
- a lot of parent support and availability to answer questions, includes possible parent guides and parent lessons
- has home rhythms and school rhythms laid out
- main complaint is that requires a lot of inner/personal work on the part of the teacher, which is also a major bonus to a lot of people


Wee Folk's Curriculum Guides
– affordability: free to download
– preschool-kindergarten (4-6 years old)
– four seasonal 12 weekly units laid out by week and not day-by-day
– moves with the seasons; stories and related crafts/activities
– easy to do, no pressure, easily modifiable and does not take large chunks of time nor every single day
– generally kids love it; easy to present at several ages all at once
– easily modifiable, allows a lot of flexibility for the household schedule; go at whatever pace you want/need


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