Meet a Mama: Waldorf in the home

Meet Erryn the nicest person on the ‘gram! This interview was amazing and we got so wrapped up in talking. You how, sometimes you just meet your people and Erryn is my people! I am so excited to share this interview with you and our conversations all things, parenting, theory and education! What I absolutely loved about our conversation was the range of tangents we took, diving into educational theory, schooling and parenting and the most refreshing part is that Erryn is so focused on doing what is right for your child and your family. She truly embodies the notion of picking from a range of theories to create a clear direction for your family. Erryn uses aspects of Steiner education within her home and blends this with Montessori education and the Reggio Emilia Approach.

You can find Erryn on Instagram, sharing her parenting journey and she weaves her magic! Her daily stories are a joy to watch as they bring the outside in and welcomes art into the home. Erryn is a delight and so supportive of all Mamas, she is easy to talk to with a wealth of knowledge.

Can you tell us a little about yourself, your family and about where you live?

Hi! I’m Erryn, we live in Cairns in Far North Queensland, where it is relaxed and a slower pace of life. I have two children, both who have just had their birthdays and now are 2 and 5. We are a FIFO family and my husband flies in and out regularly for work, and my passion for learning and teaching started with my Grandmother. She was a preschool teacher and she helped raised me. I learn so much from her and then I began exploring education.

With Stiener, I was drawn to the rhythm, with Stiener education rhythm is central. Finding your own personal rhythm and slowing down., not rushing, with lots of unstructured play.

How did you first become interested in Steiner and what is your background with this approach?

I stumbled across it while researching different methods of education, including Montessori and Steiner. From this, I began picking out what resonated with me and what I thought would work well for our family and my particularly active children. I was searching for something that would resonate too with my children and nature does that perfectly.

Those days when you are outside all day, they come home happy, they have filled up their bucket with what they have required and they are the days that have more flow and harmony in the home.

For you, what is Steiner education? 

Outside, unstructured play

Also, creativity and hands work is a repeated theme. Keeping hands busy and hand work are key concepts. Children in Steiner education will do lots of hand knitting, creating with beeswax, modelling wax. Focused on the creative play and process.

There is also a lot of reading at the center of Steiner. When children are sitting down and doing anything there is always a song, poem, or story to go with it. Whether you are doing, baking bread, painting, arts and crafts, clay, any hands on work you will find that there are set readings, poems or stories that they tell as they are making and creating.

Literacy is seen as really important, even though it isn’t formally introduced until the age of seven. Steiner did not believe in bringing it in too early as it prevents the creativity of the brain and the imaginative side developing. Children from ages zero to seven are when children’s creativity is developed and some literacy and numeracy practices can take away from this. So the foundational literacy skills are still there in Steiner, however, they are not completed in a formal learning set. It is about immersion and exposure to language.

As a parent, what 3 key principles do you think define the Steiner approach at home?

• Rhythm. Daily, Weekly, Monthly rhythms. Focusing on the way you start the day. These seasonal changes play heavily here, how the world alters and the rhythm of life and nature. This allows children to feel the change, see the change and notice the impact it has from the foods you eat, the different things you can grow, the different animals that are around. It is being aware of the world and what is in the natural environment.

• Get outside. Anything you can do inside, take outside too. The more time spent in nature the better for everyone. Steiner is all about natural materials, the natural environment, the natural surrounding that you are in.

• Learning in the moment. Focus on finding teachable moments where learning is incidentally and is discovered and child led. Be available and wait for these moments. When you notice an interest and jump on it and run with that. Be in the moment, watch the ants crawling, count them, ponder what they are doing. Slow down so that you see what they see and see it through their eyes. You don’t need to give all the answers though, provide space for them to develop their own ideas about what they see, even if it wrong as that can lead to more investigation and research. Pause, wait and see what ideas they have already formed, they may already have an answer in their head.

When parents first find Waldorf education, it could be overwhelming if they could only do one thing what would it be?

Rhythm and finding what works for your family! Sometimes it is easy to get swept up in what other people are doing and these amazing activities. The trap here is not looking at your own children, their interests and your family.

Observe, watch and wait to find your own family rhythm. This can be difficult when you are running out the door for work and school. It is from this that you can start to find your daily rhythm and develop something that works for you and your family.

But family meals and creating that time for conversation can help build rhythm and connection. We discuss each night at dinner

• one thing we are grateful for

• one kind we did that day.

  If we haven’t done something kind we have until bed time to complete this task. This can be small like taking a plate to the sink but it is evoking the conversation at dinner time.