A Waldorf Journey Podcast

Many of us are teaching in ways we never expected before and it's pushing us far beyond our comfort zones. We miss working with our students in person, but the news isn't all bad. I, for one, have been amazed at how much learning and connection is actually happening in our distance learning arrangement.

In this episode we'll talk all about distance learning, some things I've learned and how you can make the most of this medium.

This episode is being brought to you by my free workshop, the 3 classroom management strategies every waldorf teacher needs to know, which is being released the week this episode goes live.

I’m really excited to offer this workshop because I think it is something that isn’t talked about enough in our training courses and it is exactly what Waldorf teachers need to be thinking about right now.

Just head over to www.awaldorfjourney.com/workshop to sign up for the workshop.

Also, registration opens soon for my new course, The Practical Art of the Waldorf Classroom. In this course we’ll talk about some big topics that should be on your mind during the school year.

• Rhythms and Routines
• Classroom management
• Imagination in the classroom
• Working with parents
• Working with students

Content Outline

• Where we've been and where we are now
• Student engagement
• Assessment and feedback
• Self-Care

Links to Things Mentioned

• The Distance Learning Playbook, Grades K-12
• Compassion Fatigue resource
• The Caregiver's Bill of Rights

This week we're talking about feedback and record-keeping for Waldorf teachers. We'll explore the different types of feedback you need to give and who you need to consider when putting together your feedback plan.

Promo
This episode is being brought to you by my course, Feedback and Record-Keeping for Waldorf Teachers. I've offered this course in the past, but it's been updated and brought over to my own platform so it's more available.

I strongly believe that providing feedback and keeping parents, students and administration updated on student progress is a place where Waldorf teachers have fallen short in the past. We want our students to feel good about their work and not have to face criticism. But monitoring progress and having those sometimes difficult conversations helps us keep our teaching relevant and can help inspire confidence in parents and administrators.

This course walks you through a process for providing feedback in a way that is age-appropriate so it will inspire your students to achieve and let them know that their work matters. With audio and written content and 8 lessons pertaining to the different types of feedback you'll provide, I'll talk you through the process. And the course includes all the templates you'll need, wherever you are on the journey.

You can sign up for the course at awaldorfjourney.com/recordkeeping.

Content
Tracking student progress is something Waldorf teachers don't do enough and it's actually a place we could take a cue from our public school counterparts. If we want to be respected as the professionals and authorities we are when it comes to children's development, we need to take it seriously and be responsible about tracking that information and reporting it to parents, students and school administration.

People who need to be considered in your record-keeping plan:

• students
• parents
• administration
• yourself

If this feels overwhelming and you don't like the administrative aspects of this work, consider signing up for my record-keeping course. You'll get guidance through all of the record-keeping requirements of this work, and templates that will help it all come together.

This episode is being brought to you by my free workshop, the 3 classroom management strategies every waldorf teacher needs to know, which will be released in later this month (October 2020.)

I’m really excited to offer this workshop because I think it is something that isn’t talked about enough in our training courses and it is exactly what Waldorf teachers need to be thinking about right now.

Just head over to www.awaldorfjourney.com/strategies to sign up for the workshop.

Also, registration opens soon for my new course, The Practical Art of the Waldorf Classroom. In this course we’ll talk about some big topics that should be on your mind during the school year.

• Rhythms and Routines
• Classroom management
• Imagination in the classroom
• Working with parents
• Working with students

This is my signature course and it's been really popular in the past. I'd love to have you join, though enrollment is open for a limited time. Just head to awaldorfjourney.com/practicalart to get more information.

Episode Content

Read the blog post that goes with this episode.

• parent participation and involvement
• growing independence
• taking responsibility for your education
• realizing the importance of human connection

Ways to connect with me:
email: [email protected]
website
facebook
Instagram

Introduction
This episode is being brought to you by my new course, Feedback and Record-Keeping for Waldorf Teachers. I've offered this course in the past, but it's been updated and brought over to my own platform so it's more available.

I strongly believe that providing feedback and keeping parents, students, and administration updated on student progress is a place where Waldorf teachers have fallen short in the past. We want our students to feel good about their work and not have to face criticism. But monitoring progress and having those sometimes difficult conversations helps us keep our teaching relevant and can help inspire confidence in parents and administrators.

This course walks you through a process for providing feedback in a way that is age-appropriate so it will inspire your students to achieve and let them know that their work matters. With audio and written content and 8 lessons pertaining to the different types of feedback you'll provide, I'll talk you through the process. And the course includes all the templates you'll need, wherever you are on the journey.

You can sign up for the course at awaldorfjourney.com/recordkeeping.

Promos
My Local Geography Curriculum Guide
Green Chef
Butcher Box

Resources
Ali Abdaal Youtube Channel
Ali's great interview about Stoicism with Ryan Holiday
DailyTekk

Current Set-Up
13-inch MacBook Pro with 16GB of RAM and 512GB memory
a 32-inch monitor
MX Keys from Logitech
Trackpad from Apple

Productivity Apps
Notion — check out the blog post all about it
Fantastical
Moom
Alfred
Ulysses
Todoist
Superhuman
Readwise

I taught for a long time before I really became aware of all of the nuances of teaching language arts and I have to say it is the aspect of my teaching that has occupied most of my attention for the past few years. There is so much to think about and I find it endlessly fascinating to consider how students become readers and how they use the English language. So I’m really excited to explore some of that content with you now.

This episode is being brought to you by my series of curriculum guides. If you’re looking for support in teaching your students and would like to see an outline with specific content for individual blocks, my materials are for you.

My content is sold block-by-block, so it’s affordable and you don’t need to purchase an entire year’s curriculum to get the help that you need. Feel confident teaching history but feel a little lost with Astronomy? My materials will help you with just that specific block. There are no other Waldorf curriculum resources that can meet your specific needs, right where and when you need them.

You can check out my resources by heading to www.awaldorfjourney.com/shop. You’ll find materials for all of the grades (grade 3 will be coming soon), presented in a way that can help classroom teachers and homeschoolers alike

When I first started teaching, I remember feeling like the 2 hours of main lesson was an eternity. I thought it would be impossible to fill that time with valuable content.

These days I’m far more likely to run out of time and not get to everything than to have extra time on my hands. The truth is that when you understand the different components of main lesson, you’ll see how the time just flies by and you don’t need to figure out how to fill that 2-hour main lesson from scratch every single day.

Getting connected with a good mentor can really make or break your experience and success as a Waldorf teacher. I had a couple of fantastic mentors early in my career and it made all the difference. I attribute those early mentoring years to my continued success. This episode is all about how to connect with a mentor and make the most of the experience.

Do you have a mentor to support your teaching? A lot goes into making those mentoring relationships successful and there are things you can do to make the most of it. I really want to talk today about what makes a good mentoring relationship, how much teachers should tap into their mentor as a resource, and how a mentor needs to be very clear about his or her role.

This episode is being brought to you by my free workshop, the 3 classroom management strategies every Waldorf teacher needs to know, which goes live in early February.

I’m really excited to offer this workshop because I think it is something that isn’t talked about enough in our training courses and it is exactly what Waldorf teachers need to be thinking about right now.

Just head over to www.awaldorfjourney.com/strategies to sign up for the workshop.

Also, registration opens soon for my new course, The Practical Art of the Waldorf Classroom. In this course, we’ll talk about some big topics that should be on your mind during the school year. 

• Rhythms and Routines
• Classroom management
• Imagination in the classroom
• Working with parents
• Working with students

The course begins on February 16th and you can get more information by going to awaldorfjourney.com/practicalart

Welcome, I’ve been looking forward to recording for a while now and I’m so glad to finally have the time to do it. In this episode, I’m going to share what’s happening in 3rd grade and some of my observations about the highlights and challenges of teaching 3rd grade.

This episode is being brought to you by my free workshop, the 3 classroom management strategies every Waldorf teacher needs to know, which goes live in early February.

I’m really excited to offer this workshop because I think it is something that isn’t talked about enough in our training courses and it is exactly what Waldorf teachers need to be thinking about right now.

Just head over to www.awaldorfjourney.com/strategies to sign up for the workshop.

Also, registration opens soon for my new course, The Practical Art of the Waldorf Classroom. In this course, we’ll talk about some big topics that should be on your mind during the school year. 

• Rhythms and Routines
• Classroom management
• Imagination in the classroom
• Working with parents
• Working with students

The course begins on February 16th and you can get more information by going to awaldorfjourney.com/practicalart

So much is made of delaying reading instruction until after early childhood, that many parents wonder if it's okay to follow their child’s interests and begin reading instruction. Other parents wonder if they should push their child, even when they are not demonstrating any interest at age 7 or 8. I have lots of thoughts about it and am here to help sort it out.

This episode is being brought to you by my free workshop, the 3 Classroom Management Strategies every Waldorf Teacher Needs to Know, which goes live on the same day as this episode.

I’m really excited to offer this workshop because I think it is something that isn’t talked about enough in our training courses and it is exactly what Waldorf teachers need to be thinking about right now.

Just head over to www.awaldorfjourney.com/strategies to sign up for the workshop.

Also, registration opens soon for my new course, The Practical Art of the Waldorf Classroom. In this course we’ll talk about some big topics that should be on your mind during the school year. 

• Rhythms and Routines
• Classroom management
• Imagination in the classroom
• Working with parents
• Working with students

The course begins October 6 and you can get more information by going to www.awaldorfjourney.com/practicalart.

Resources from this episode:

https://www.readingrockets.org/article/helping-your-child-become-reader

Other posts about language arts:

• Planning Your Language Arts Classes
• My 2nd grade language arts block curriculum guide
• 2nd Grade Language Arts Classes

How much screen time is okay?

What about educational shows?

Is it really that bad?

Will the Waldorf police come after me?

Making decisions about media use for your children is one of the most charged issues in Waldorf Education. There are so many shoulds that parents can feel completely unsupported in their decisions. That's what this episode is all about.

This episode is being brought to you by my new course The Practical Art of the Waldorf Classroom. My Summer Productivity Course is winding down and I’m getting ready to lead a new group through a whole new set of topics all about the tasks Waldorf teachers need to think about while they're in the classroom. Topics for my Practical Art course include:

• Rhythms and Routines
• Classroom Management, part 1 — engagement
• Classroom Management, part 2 — discipline
• Imagination in the Classroom
• Working with Parents
• Working with Students

You can also sign up for my free classroom management workshop, which goes live September 10. Just put y0ur email address below and you'll be on the notification list.

• Ben Klocek's Website
• AWJ 12 | Managing Media and Screentime