My dh has had me looking at schools. He wants my kids to go back :cry: I told him I couldn't send my children to the local public school. i told him and the kids when I pulled them out it was for good. I looked at a school which is 27 miles away from my home. I can't drive my kids and the local school won't bus them because they are out of the their 15 mile radius. I thought it would be a good fit. Its sorta like homeschooling they have a 6 to 1 ratio. They use Saxon math and if one child doesn't get something they just cycle there for a bit. Sounded good to me. Today we are going to look at another school that they can get busing to. How we would pay for it I have absolutely no idea. God is bigger than that.... But its the Waldorf School if you know anything about it. This is so incredibly hard for me. But I feel like I would be okay if they went there. Pray HARD please..... I need direction and the funding.
Well we visited Waldorf School and my daughter loved it, my son not so much. I didn't expect that in the least. My son likes the little school in the woods. hmm.... I guess I will be running this by my dh tonight. prayers please....
Thats how we picked one when ds1 went out to school we prayed and God provided the funds needed for the school of His choice.
Well this has to be the Lord, I spent the entire weekend crying. Mad at God and my husband. God has changed my heart a little bit. I told my dh that I would send the kids to school but it wouldn't be our ps. That was horrible. When i went to look at the little school in the woods, it was perfect for my son. They even play paint ball.... But I didn't have a peace about it at all. There are 6 kids to a class and they teach very much like hs. I think that is what he liked most. Waldorf is bigger class rooms, but they stay with the same teacher 1-8. There is good and bad to that. But, I think I like it. It seems more like school and I think that is what stressed my son out. The little school seemed more like hsing and he was excited that they use Saxon math. Silly but good. So our decision is the Waldorf school, now we just need to figure out how to pay. If its the Lords will then it will work out. If not then we will continue another year of hsing. One day at a time. Please pray that we can figure this out rather quickly because sign up for the co-op is May 30th. I really don't want to miss that if they are to stay home
I hope I don't offend anyone (it's totally not my intent), but how much do you now about Waldorf? I have done a little research and also know a family with kiddos there, and that school is very pagan. They also kinda worship the sun. The little girl that I watch sometimes (who goes to Waldorf) said a blessing one night at dinner and it was a blessing that she learned at Waldorf. This whole blessing was all about thanking the sun for giving us many different things (light, life, etc.). It totally creeped me out. I also read a book about the founder of Waldorf and he was a very strange person, who was very "spiritual" and had some interesting spiritual experiences that were not very godly. Again, please don't get offended. I just want to make sure you know where you are putting your kids.
Are they all the same school? I mean seriously one of you is from CA and one from NY? is this a big set of schools?
First off, my husband want the kids back in school because he thinks at their age I can't give them the best education. He says I probably have a year or two left before they are beyond me. Second, I did get that vibe with Waldorf. Mother earth type of thing. But my children have a strong belief and so do I. The unfortunate thing is that the ps here teach the same thing. So we have talking about this since kindergarden. They know where we stand with it. I think the Waldorf way of learning will work with ADD kids. It truly makes them think. We did a little bit of their hs curr. this year and it was fantastic. For example, we did neanderthals, I don't believe in that I believe in creation. My husband said to me but some people do and when they get to college they should have learned it from you. So...... I prayed.... We read creation and then we went into the study. I told the kids some people believe this but I believe in creation. They had so much fun learning the chapter. It didn't shake their belief in the Lord at all. Even though they may get some education that I don't agree with its my job to see that and to teach them how to sort it out. With the Lords help we can do this.....
Christine I understand how you are teaching them. I hope that at the ages of your kids that they can sort it with you. I have taught my kids from the beginning as well the fact that in public schools they teach this an that...and in our school we teach the truth only. This is why I have taught each of the holidays to my kids so they know why we celebrate or do not, even simple Mothers and Fathers day my kids understand that they came from Hallmark for the most part, but we use those to honor our mother and father, for this is right. Anyway I digress, the good thing is if the Lord wants them there He will have a purpose in it and you are praying for Him to provide if He wants them there. Right? You mentioned you are trusting Him to open that door so keep your eyes and ears open and if they start teaching something mystical like the one poster mentioned they do here in Ca the pull them and keep them from getting confused, but I believe each school could be a variation and will go with the teacher teaching it no matter what curric you have, so maybe I am just a run on sentence of rambles? What do i know , just trust the Lord to direct you and follow His lead.
Not to hijack, but... just an aside. Christine, there were some humans with some physical differences than us, like stockier build, heavier bones, and so on. But people. There is evidence they existed, and evidence that they used tools, made art, had some sort of belief in an afterlife and respect for their dead whom they buried with some kind of ritual. They cared for their sick and injured. They lived in the same time periods and locations as "our kind" did, such as in the Holy Land where "their kind" and "our kind" both used caves as dwellings. They may have intermarried with "our kind" and produced viable offspring. Although we have no evidence right now of written language, I believe they did have verbal language, although not everybody believes it was as fully developed as the languages of "our kind". I do "believe in" Neanderthals, but I don't believe in the evolution that most people teach along with it.
Wouldn't it be hysterically funny if it were somehow discovered that Neanderthals built Stonehenge and the pyramids and carved the Sphinx as a derisive depiction of "modern humans"????
This is your family and your decision. It's quite possible that the Lord is calling you to put your children in a Waldorf school and your family to be witnesses in that environment. That said, I looked into Waldorf because my son is creative and energetic and I thought the idea of arts based experiential education sounded good for him. However, the more I read about Waldorf education the less I liked it. It's completely based on pagan sprituality. You might be the type of parents who can help your children process those things at home well, but remember they'll be taught by teachers who believe in that philosophy, not by you. I'd be very cautious about that school if I were you.
Wisdom there Kentuckymom. from reading the original posts it sounded like you wanted the first school anyway.. the waldorf was the one you did not like? maybe I got confused reading it but that's what I thought on as this thread came to mind last night. I will be praying for your hubby and you to make the correct discision for your family. Thank you though for allowing us all to learn about this school, I have seen the name before and never knew what it taught. That's one more thing I like about this Spot it gives us new ideas and opens our eyes to things we never thought about.
A couple more thoughts, which of course you can disregard if you've already been down these roads.... Have you checked into whether there's a university model school relatively close to you? In case you're unfamiliar with this, it's a school that kids attend usually two days a week. They get the formal instruction from teachers there and then do "homework" and reinforcement at home the other three days. It's billed as the best of homeschool and private school put together. Such schools usually (maybe always, but I'm not sure) use some kind of Christian classical curriculum. You can google "association of university model schools" and the website will have a list of associated schools listed by state. Also, have you considered an online school, either private or charter? It seems this might alleviate some of your husband's worries. Finally, have you and your husband taken into the account that fact that, as children grow older, much homeschool curriculum is set up to be self-teaching? Just because, for instance, you don't know algebra or chemistry doesn't necessarily mean your kids can't learn it at home.
My oldest son's girlfriend went to a Waldorf school. She said she liked the arts and crafts focus, but the academics of Waldorf left much to be desired and the environment was "out there" and not necessarily in line with Judeo/Christian beliefs. They expected parents to buy into the no TV, natural art supplies, wooden and cloth toys, and all natural food even at home. Just something to consider.
:lol: *like* cherryridgeline, I wouldn't like to be in your place but I believe God is big enough to bring good things out of this. I also think that the time you spend with your children outside of school hours will still be very important to their overall education.
As far as your husbands concern for the education needs of your children being "beyond" you. I would say this, your kids will be much better off learning whatever they learn from you or on there own because they will truly learn it. Anything learned in high school will most likely be forgotten minutes after taking the test. I like the idea of finding a community college they can take classes at as well. Another option is using a tutor either in person or online to assist them. As my handle implies I am a public school teacher and I happen to teach Biology. When we get to the unit on evolution I often get an objections from students stating that they don't "believe in evolution" to which I confidently respond "neither do I". Once the shock leaves the students faces I explain that science doesn't operate on the basis of belief, it operates on evidence gathered from the observable universe. One doesn't "believe" in scientific theories rather one accepts or rejects them based on evidence. So if you want your children to reject evolution it is important for them to understand the evidence that causes others to accept it. It is also important for them to realize that "science" as a construct will never entertain the idea of God being responsible for creation unless we find a way to empirically prove God exists which science cant really do because God does not seem to operate within the observable universe. That being said I am not trying to spark a whole creation/evolution debate because personally I think it is a false dichotomy. Yes I think God put us here, I just think evolution was how He went about doing it. I am not arrogant enough to presume I know for sure how everything came together I just follow the clues and enjoy the wonder and beauty along the way. You just keep doing what your heart tells you to do and your kids will be just fine.
