. : MatthewDallman.com : . The Official Site for Matthew Dallman's Music, Art, & Writing

As I've indicated previously (and often), our plan right now is to educate Twyla via the classical education approach, and do so at home (not in a public school). This is the approach with clear emphasis on reading, writing, and reckoning, through classic works of literature/history eventually read in their original language, plenty of science, world history, languages, and more.

The template is, of course, the time-tested "trivium", a broadly developmental approach through three stages that goes through high school (at which point it gives way to the "quadrivium", if we/Twyla choose that). If you are curious, a great book about all this is The Well-Trained Mind: A Guide to Classical Education at Home.

Anyway, Hannah has suggested the possibility of incorporating the Waldorf approach to education within the classical approach. She specificallly wonders if certain fundamental principles of Waldorf can be integrated and woven into the mix. Today she found this Waldorf site, specific to home education. It seems promising to me.

So whether such an integration is possible is basically where we are at with Twyla's education. Which, of course, won't formally start for a couple years, but informally began, well, when her life began in Hannah's womb. Waldorf values, amongst other things, include emphasis on seasons of nature, of rhythmic/bodily play, of fairytales, the importance of the arts, exploration/following of curiousity, involvement with nature, and lots of activities in and out of the home. I see absolutely no reason why Waldorf-inspired activities can be some of the main "meat" we put on the "bones" of the classical skeleton. But stay tuned.