We recommend the following books:
Early Childhood
You Are Your Child’s First Teacher by Rahima Baldwin
Highly recommended book for all parents, very accessible, packed full of wonderful parenting ideas, insights for different developmental stages, and descriptions of Waldorf education. If you are just going to get one book as an introduction to Waldorf parenting – we suggest this one, and it is being newly revised.
Free to Learn: Introducing Steiner Waldorf Early Childhood Education
by Lynne Oldfield
A guide to the principles and methods of Waldorf Early Childhood education. The author draws on kindergarten experience from around the world, with stories, helpful insights, lively observations and pictures. Here, teachers and parents believe that children’s early learning is profound, that childhood matters and that the early years should be enjoyed, not rushed through.
Beyond the Rainbow Bridge : Nurturing Our Children from Birth to Seven
by Barbara J. Patterson, Pamela Bradley, and Jean Riordan
The author of this book is such a wonderfully calm woman…I wish she had been my own mother!! She really understands children and what they need. Her calm wisdom just flows from every page of this book. This is an easy book to read, a plus for any busy parent. She speaks of the importance of rhythm in the life of chidren, the importance of play , the importance of calmness, and she has a chapter on creative discipline.
What Is A Waldorf Kindergarten by Joan Almon
Describes from experience the numerous aspects of the “Steiner school” approach to early childhood education. Readers will learn what lies behind the Waldorf kindergarten methods and the practical ways in which it is applied by teachers. Given the confusing array of educational approaches available today, this book serves to clarify one of the most dynamic and successful approaches to beginning young children on the path of education and life in the world
Heaven on Earth:
A Handbook for Parents of Young Children
by Sharifa Oppenheimer and Stephanie Gross
Heaven on Earth balances theoretical understanding of child development with practical ideas, resources, and tips that can transform family life. Establish the life rhythms that lay the foundation for all learning; design indoor play environments that allow children the broadest skills development; and create backyard play spaces that encourage vigorous movement and a wide sensory palette.
Waldorf Schools Kindergarten and Early Grades
33 articles from Education as an Art, Bulletin of the Waldorf Schools of North America
Selected and edited by Ruth Pusch
Ruth Pusch has gathered together in this volume 33 of the best articles that focus on kindergarten and the early grades, making them available to a new generation of parents and teachers.
Grades
School As A Journey: The Eight-Year Odyssey of a Waldorf Teacher and His Class by Torin Finser
School As a Journey is a lively, colorful, and absorbing account of a class teacher’s journey with his class, from first grade through the eighth in a Waldorf school. Told in a straightforward humorous style, it is an excellent introduction to the inside of a Waldorf classroom.
Completing the Circle by Thomas Poplawski
Open the book and you’ll step into a world of quiet liveliness, a world at peace and in motion, at once magical and fully apparent. His is a book that will make you fall in love with life and the possibilities of education all over again.
Waldorf Schools Upper Grades and High School
34 Articles from Education as an Art, Bulletin of the Waldorf Schools of North America Selected, edited and with an introduction by Ruth Pusch
As with the first volume, Waldorf Schools (above)—Upper Grades and High School is a rich and powerful gathering of some of the finest teachers to have ever taught in a Waldorf school. Included are several, from the very beginning in Stuttgart along with some still active in the classroom today.
The topics touch on every aspect of the curriculum and class life and offer that rare sort of “insiders view” that can come only from those with a true depth of experience and understanding.
Renewal Magazine http://www.whywaldorfworks.org/
Understanding Waldorf Education by Jack Petrash
This book offers a jargon-free view of Waldorf schools with their philosophy of the importance of a three-dimensional education. Through learning experiences that involve all of the senses, children use a variety of intelligences to develop thought, feeling, and intentional, purposeful activity.
Eugene Schwartz
YouTube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=auPFtjKfqTo
Eugene Schwartz MillennialChild.com
Lifestyle
Lifeways: Working With Family Questions : A Parent’s Anthology (Lifeways) by Gudrun Davy
“Lifeways is about children, about family life and about being a parent. But most of all it is about freedom, and how the tension between personal fulfillment and family life may be resolved.
“These essays affirm that creating a family, even if you are a father on your own, or a working mother, can be a joyful, positive and spiritual work. The first essay is one of the wisest and balanced discussions of women’s roles I have read.” –Fiona Handley
Waldorf Education: A Family Guide
by Pamela J. Fenner and Mary Beth Rapisardo
A compendium of articles on the history and practice of Waldorf education, content of the curriculum, meaning of the festivals, ways to complement the Waldorf school experience at home, understanding of the temperaments, and other topics that should interest current or prospective parents.
While this format doesn’t permit in-depth consideration of any of these topics, this is more than compensated by the wealth of material on the temperaments, multi-culturalism, rhythm and balance, and the role of spirit and religion
LILPOH Magazine
Books by Rudolf Steiner
1. The Child’s Changing Consciousness
2. The Education of the Child in the Light of Anthroposophy
3. The Four Temperaments
4. Education as a Social Problem
5. Education and the Modern Spiritual Life
6. Human Values in Education
7. An Introduction to Waldorf Education
8. The Roots of Education
9. The Renewal of Education
10. Soul Economy and Waldorf Education
11. Deeper Insights into Education
12. Self-Education: Autobiographical Reflections
13. Balance in Teacher
14. Study of Man
15. Practical Advice for Teachers
16. Discussions with Teachers
17. Waldorf Education for Adolescence
18. The Kingdom of Childhood
Waldorf books by other authors
1. Aeppli, Willi: Rudolf Steiner Education and the Developing Child
2. A.W.S.N.A.: Multiculturalism in Waldorf Education
3. Barnes, H., Howard, A., Davy, J.: An Introduction to Waldorf Education
4. Benians, John: The Golden Years
5. Britz-Crecelius, Heidi: Children at Play: Preparation for Life
6. Carlgren, Frans: Education Towards Freedom
7. Edmunds, Francis: Rudolf Steiner Education
8. Edmunds, Francis: Renewing Education
9. Gabert, Erick: Educating the Adolescent: Discipline or Freedom
10. Gardner, John F.: The Experience of Knowledge
11. Grunelius, Elisabeth: Early Childhood Education
12. Haller, Ingeborg: How Children Play
13. Harwood, A.C: The Recovery of Man in Childhood
14. The Way of A Child
15. Koepke, Hermann: On the Threshold of Adolescence
16. Encountering the Self: Transformation and Destiny in the Ninth Year
17. Lievegoed, Bernard: Phases of Childhood