Note: all the songs from this book can now be listened to on this website:
see Music to accompany Joyful Movement

Practical Waldorf at Home: Joyful Movement A Resource for Nurturing Balance, Movement and the Senses by Donna Simmons A Treasure trove of ideas and activities, songs and movement games 100+ pages, spiral-bound – $25

This book is not simply another collection of verses, songs and movement exercises. Compiled in the hope of preventing and even possibly correcting challenges a child might have with sensory integration, movement, coordination or other related faculties, this book is a treasure trove of ideas on how to sensitively nurture - not overstimulate - the child's senses and to bring healthy activity to him or her every day.

A huge part of preventing and/or addressing such challenges falls to us as parents. The environment we create for our children, how we parent, choices we make about toys, play and the media all influence our children's development. This book helps pinpoint key elements for parents to consider in the lives of their children from birth to about 9 years of age.

Sections include:

Any parent wishing to bring a more healthy and joyous approach to learning will find plenty here!

The book covers birth to about 9 years old and is also suitable for parents with older children who need to 'make up ground'. This book is also useful for those working with groups of children, whether homeschoolers or not.

Review:

"A new treasure is available to homeschoolers and Waldorf parents in Donna Simmons’ Joyful Movement, A Resource for Nurturing Balance, Movement and the Senses. It is woefully evident that young children are having a harder and harder time developing physical coordination and ease in movement, which normal childhood used to just naturally render. Likewise, more children are nervous and jittery, lacking a sense of comfort and security in the rhythms of their physical bodies and within the environment around them. Donna has addressed these issues in a warm, reassuring, sensible, and very practical way.

"The first part of the book gives a concise overview of development up to age 9. She also clearly describes the principles that Waldorf educators and parents have found to be effective in supporting and protecting the healthy development of young children. Donna’s observations offer a clear foundation for these thoughts. Included as well are suggested resources for further reading to deepen one’s understanding of these critical issues. Practical suggestions for bringing rhythmic activity in the lessons are clearly outlined. The importance of the children having access to the natural world is importantly emphasized. And a guide to creating your own backyard obstacle course is also included.

"More fun comes next. Over half of the book offers a compilation of verses, songs, and movement ideas to use with children. Some are familiar; others will be new to the reader. These contain rich language with good, strong rhythms to carry movement along; plus pictorial imaginations children can easily enter into. To find such material on one’s own would take hours of research in many different sources. Donna has done a real service in collecting these materials to make the task of educating and supporting the healthy development of our children a little easier and lots of fun."

Reviewed by Nancy Blanning, Waldorf kindergarten teacher and therapeutic educator; teacher trainer; and co-author with Laurie Clark of Movement Journeys and Circle Adventures, Movement Enrichment with a Therapeutic Emphasis for Early Childhood.
 

Joyful Movement is a wonderful book written for us for first through third graders. .. Donna's wisdom rings true and comes across clearly as usual... She addresses the senses and how to work with them, calming down a child, getting them into their bodies (a subject close to my heart), hand dominance, math, nature and gardening. Then comes the verses, songs and finger plays organized by time of day, sleep, baking, counting, seasons, fantasy, tongue twisters, and even a chapter on groups of children. I have found the book to be very important for developing circle time activities for my first grader. We do lots of stomping, hopping, jumping, play leap frog to help him get into his body to overcome a slight speech problem (which is pretty much gone now). He is learning clapping games, songs (and he hates to sing, but loves these songs). My 10 year old enjoys circle time too! Oh, and due to this book I am working on teaching both of my children to skip, a lost art as Donna calls it!

I highly recommend Donna's latest book......it's been invaluable for us.

But, I think the most important page in the book is that Donna addresses GUILT! I think the hardest thing for me with Waldorf is all the information I have, the books, the workshops, the songs, emails, etc., etc. where I read what is "supposed" to happen. But it never happens quite that way at my house, and I feel guilty. Seeing someone deep within Waldorf address that we don't need to feel guilty for what we have or haven't done is so refreshing......something I think we all need! Don't waste time feeling guilty, just move forward from where you are!

Karen Petz
www.therapeutichomeschooling.org

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