ABOUT THE SITE
Receive the child with deep respect, raise him with love,
and let him go in freedom. Rudolf Steiner
When I was expecting, I started looking for information about pregnancy, birth, caring for a newborn and the early years of childhood that approached the events with regard for the miracle of a birth, and saw the baby as a human being worthy of care and respect. I wanted to understand the basic principles of development and find out what is helpful to a baby, not only in physical development, but also in social development, and the development of the mind: in body, soul and spirit. How can a child grow to their full potential in all spheres of life? How can we support them, and how can we not hinder them in becoming truly intelligent, caring, independent, healthy and physically confident human beings? And even more importantly, how can we foster a spiritual life that enriches life yet leaves them free? This information was harder to find than I had expected. The large part of the material that answered my questions was by or based on Rudolf Steiner's work.
Rudolf Steiner (1861- 1925) is the founder of Waldorf education, among many other movements. The Waldorf approach respects the major development phases of childhood, introducing each subject at specific ages and in an age appropriate manner. It follows the natural development of a child’s physical, social and mental abilities and aims to provide children with a healthy, nourishing environment that allows the child’s innate character and talents to prosper.
I was grateful, as I began understanding and working with these insights and suggestions, that I had had the time and resources to do all this research. I wondered if other people were looking for this kind of approach, but didn't have the time, energy or resources to do the research I had. So was born the idea for this website.
The material quoted and referred to on this website is either from authors that work with Steiner's principles, or it is material from books, articles, studies and research I found to support and articulate various aspects of an issue, or to emphasize its importance. I have added some health suggestions that are quite easy to find elsewhere but that I found noteworthy.
The site represents my personal views, inspired by and based on research and study. I hope this is helpful. Please feel free to contact me with comments, questions or suggestions,
Julie Le Gal Brodeur
See Contact
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by Elizabeth Keith