Thank You

We had an incredible turnout for our All School Meeting and presentation with Kim John Payne.

Kim brings rich content based on his extensive experience and scientific research. His approach is very accessible, warm, and engaging. His presentation was taken mostly from his book, The Soul of Discipline.

Kim shared a great deal of helpful information during the evening. One theme he spoke of was around the three different approaches to discipline based on developmental stages. Here is an overview (by Meredith Floyd-Preston of A Waldorf Journey) of his view of the first phase:

The Governor: Early Childhood

What the youngest child needs is for her parent to be her governor. At this stage parents are "benevolent dictators." We decide what the children need and act accordingly. In order to do this, we need to avoid asking endless questions. "What do you want for breakfast?" "Do you want to go to the park today?" "What do you feel like wearing today?" If you listen to parents that you encounter, you'll realize that this tendency to ask questions is an absolute epidemic! We ask questions even when we're not intending to give the child a choice. "Do you want to get in the car now?" Many parents have learned a hard lesson when a child answers with a resounding, "NO!" to an option we never intended to offer. We need to realize that children of this age just don't have the capacity to make decisions for themselves, and even worse, being given the responsibility unnecessarily burdens them. How many of us have felt overwhelmed by the choices that are offered to us and simply wished someone else would make the decision?

Similarly, we don't need to offer our children countless reasons why they should comply with our given instructions. The ability to see the world through the lens of cause and effect simply does not kick in until age twelve or so. Hoping that a child will comply with our instructions because he or she understands the reasons why it is important is really not approaching him or her with an understanding of her developmental stage. It is the parent's job to be the authority; it is the child's job to comply. We give instructions, not requests. We don't justify our instructions. We don't plead for cooperation. We issue instructions and expect compliance. Ensuring that compliance can take work, though. We can't just tell our child to put on her jacket, watch her toddle off and hope it gets done. We must take her by the hand and make sure it happens. Follow through is essential so that eventually the child will consistently follow through on her own.

Some of the slides that were shared on Monday evening are attached to this newsletter. We will be posting the recording of the event on our website soon. Next week we will review the next stage in Kim's approach: The Gardener.

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

The Grade 7 & 8 students presented today at our annual Martin Luther King, Jr. assembly. To honor this spokesperson for nonviolent activism of the Civil Rights Movement, the students shared an inspirational overview of King's life and work, recited a portion of the I Have a Dream speech, and sang a moving rendition of We Shall Overcome.

This is an important theme of the middle school curriculum and is one of the inspirational biographies they are studying along with Benjamin Franklin, John Brown, Harriet Tubman, and Mother Jones.

Annual Giving Campaign

We share our most heartfelt gratitude to everyone who has generously donated to our Annual Giving Campaign. Your generosity nurtures an environment where children can thrive – physically, emotionally, and academically. Together, we can build and sustain classrooms that are vibrant, positive learning environment that remain inclusive and accessible to families who believe in the value of a Waldorf education.

Every contribution helps us strengthen our commitment to educating the whole child – head, heart, and hands – while ensuring that this education remains within reach for our community. Your support not only enriches today’s classrooms but also invests in a sustainable future for our beloved school.

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