Waldorf Teaching & Learning

From the Kindergarten Rug to the Third Grade Desk

A reading-based course for homeschooling parents, co-op teachers and teachers in training. Explore the Waldorf way through stories, color, song and the rhythms that bring a school year together.

$597 in full
or 12 monthly payments of $55.

Choosing the payment plan is a commitment to all 12 payments.

Join the Course

All sales are final.

A teacher and children exploring drawing, color and number around a table

A Welcome From Melanie

A circle of adults sharing conversation in a garden with an open chair

Welcome, friend. Come in. There is room for you here.

Perhaps you are preparing for your first year of Waldorf homeschool, gathering ideas for your co-op, or studying to become a teacher. You may be wondering how a story becomes a lesson, how to bring painting and music into your days, or how the work changes as children grow.

Waldorf Teaching & Learning brings those threads together in one course, beginning with the foundations beneath every Waldorf year and continuing through kindergarten, first, second and third grade. We will explore the stories, the arts and the practical work, along with the rhythm of a year, a week and a day.

Take your time. There is no falling behind here.

A Place to Begin, and Room to Grow

You do not need a Waldorf background to begin. This course is for homeschooling parents planning their family’s learning, co-op teachers preparing shared lessons, and teachers in training exploring the foundations of Waldorf teaching.

Read the lessons at your own pace, try the practices, and return to the guidance as you prepare your work with children.

Five Parts, One Connected Path

The course begins with a welcome and closes with a look toward the path ahead. Between them, five parts connect the foundations of Waldorf teaching with the work of each year.

Part 1 · Foundations

The Frog Prince story pictured beside a woodland well

Explore the truths beneath every Waldorf year: beginning with the whole before the parts, the three-day rhythm with sleep between, and allowing a story’s meaning to live in its pictures. Learn about main lesson blocks and the shape of a school year, along with the storyteller’s work with mood, breath, gesture, temperaments, openings and closings.

The foundations also include wet-on-wet painting, drawing, modeling, daily music, handwriting in grades one through three, and the child through the years.

Part 2 · The Kindergarten Year

Children learning through imitation while preparing dough with an adult

Begin with imitation, rhythm and play. Explore a table-top stage, moving the figures, and opening and closing a puppet play. A year of twelve seasonal puppet plays leads from The Little Grey Pony to The Woman Who Outshone the Sun.

Follow the story from puppet play into “people play,” where children act it themselves, and explore songs, first drawing and first modeling.

Part 3 · First Grade

A child practicing handwriting with a teacher at a wooden table

A year of 36 fairy tales and folk tales from around the world provides a place to begin. Explore letters growing from story pictures, math with a living sense of number and daily practice, and the arts of first grade.

Painting, drawing, the first flute and handwriting are woven into the year.

Part 4 · Second Grade

Squirrels among autumn leaves, connecting with animal stories

Explore fables and stories of good people, word families, and math with bags of ten. Continue the work of painting, drawing, music and the arts through the second grade year.

Part 5 · Third Grade

A weaver and child at a loom, connecting with practical work in clothing

Consider the nine-year change and the stories of third grade. Explore the path toward fluent reading and writing, practical work with shelter, clothing and food, and math in the real world.

Bringing It Together

A teacher planning the year with books and a journal

Every grade ends with a year at a glance, a week and a day, and a look toward the next grade. These sections bring the stories, subjects and arts into the rhythm of teaching.

The Whole Course, Ready to Explore

Begin with the Welcome and Foundations, then explore the Kindergarten Year, First Grade, Second Grade and Third Grade at your own pace. Every section, through the Closing, is included from the day you join.

How We Will Learn Together

Written Lessons, at Your Own Pace

Every lesson is written out in full. Read in a quiet hour, revisit an idea while planning, or return to a practice throughout the year. The course is reading-based, with no videos.

Your Teacher’s Journal

Questions in every lesson invite you to reflect in your own teacher’s journal and notice what you want to carry into your teaching.

Conversation in the Circle

Each lesson includes one question to share in the comments with the community—a place to exchange thoughts with other parents and teachers.

Song as Part of the Day

Songs are drawn from Melanie’s own song library in the Mighty community, connecting the course with music you can bring into your teaching.

A teacher and children singing and playing a flute beneath blossom

Stories, Arts & a Rhythm for Real Life

A teacher and child exploring wet-on-wet watercolor painting

The course brings kindergarten through third grade into one place, with foundations you can return to across the years. A full year of kindergarten puppet plays and a year of first grade tales sit alongside guidance in the art of telling.

Painting, drawing, modeling, song and handwriting have their place throughout the course. Written guidance and practical explorations invite you to work with the materials yourself as you prepare to share them with children.

There is room to read, reflect, practice and begin again. The aim is to make the work understandable and approachable, with simple materials and time to find a rhythm that fits your teaching and family life.

About Melanie

Melanie Patterson is a Waldorf early childhood teacher and the founder of Sunflower Story Garden. She brings stories, puppetry, art and song into her work with children and families.

Also From Sunflower Story Garden

Would you like to explore the art of telling stories and bringing figures to life? Discover Waldorf Storytelling & Puppetry, Melanie’s reading-based course in storytelling, voice, movement and staging for young children.

Explore Waldorf Storytelling & Puppetry

Questions You May Be Bringing

Do I Need Waldorf Experience?

No. Homeschooling parents, co-op teachers and teachers in training are welcome, including those beginning with Waldorf education.

Are There Videos?

No. Every lesson is written out in full, so you can read and practice at your own pace.

Which Years Does the Course Cover?

Kindergarten through third grade, with a foundations section that connects the work across the years.

Where Will the Course Live?

The course lives in the Sunflower Story Garden Mighty Networks community.

How Do I Join?

Follow the course button to Mighty to view the course and enrollment details.

Is All of It Open Now?

Yes. The complete course is open, from the Welcome and Foundations through Third Grade and the Closing. Read in the order that supports your teaching and return to the lessons as you need them.

How Much Is It?

$597 in full, or 12 monthly payments of $55. Choosing the payment plan is a commitment to all 12 payments.

Are There Refunds?

No. All sales are final.

A teacher and children exploring a flowering woodland path

Come Join the Circle

If you are looking for a connected path through Waldorf teaching, you are welcome here. Explore Waldorf Teaching & Learning in the Mighty community and find your place in the circle.