親だからできる赤ちゃんからのシュタイナー教育―子どもの魂の、夢見るような深みから

by Rahima Baldwin Dancy

Tankobon Hardcover

About the author

I tell parents, "I made every mistake in the book--which is why I wrote the book": to share how the insights of Rudolf Steiner revolutionized my home life and my ability to meet the needs of my growing children--and the children I cared for, first as a Waldorf kindergarten teacher in the 1980s and then as director of Rainbow Bridge LifeWays Program from 2007 to the present.
In the1970s I wrote "Special Delivery" and became a homebirth midwife and childbirth activist, dedicated to protecting natural birth and its transformative power for families and society. At the same time I first discovered Waldorf education in response to the question, "What now? What do we do with these amazing children who are so full of life?" Like most parents, I was clueless, and I knew there had to be someone who could provide a coherent picture.
I remind parents that Rudolf Steiner never had any children; nonetheless, his insights into human development resulted in his formulation of an educational approach that took into account the whole human being--thinking, feeling and willing--while acknowledging the spiritual nature of the human being. My husband and I completed the Waldorf teacher training and were transformed. Home life with four children suddenly became sane and supportive, and I was able to become an early childhood teacher--something I had always wanted to do, but didn't think I would be a good fit. In 1982 I taught the first kindergarten at the Rudolf Steiner School of Ann Arbor while Agaf took a first grade class. While he stayed with his class from grades 1-8, I taught kindergarten for a few years and then started an in-home program in 1984. During that time I completed writing "Pregnant Feelings" (with Terra Richardson) and began writing the first edition of "You Are Your Child's First Teacher," which was published by Celestial Arts in 1989.
During the intervening years the book has been revised several times, and I returned to midwifery as co-director of The Birth Center in Dearborn, Michigan. Over the nine years we were in Michigan, my midwifery partner, Valerie El Halta, and I served couples from 43 different countries! Then Agaf and I--our children grown and out of the house--moved to California and I found myself caring for his mother and my mother in our home for six years. During that time I got a Masters in "Gerontology and Organizational Change" from California State University Sacramento, before we returned to Boulder, Colorado, in 2003. During all these years I continued offering "Magical Years" and "Waldorf in the Home" conferences for parents and became a founding board member of LifeWays North America.
Returning to Boulder, the wheel had come almost full circle, as this was where I had started midwifing in 1977. Then I returned to early childhood when my daughter, Faith Baldwin (now Collins) and I opened Rainbow Bridge together in 2007. After three years, my husband took Faith's place after she married and joined me in caring for twelve children from ages 1-5. What a gift to be "Oma" ("Grandma" in German) and "Grandpa Agaf" to these wonderful children and their families and to provide them with the LifeWays family-model of relationship-based, mixed-age care!
So when Celestial Arts asked if I wanted to do a Revised Edition of "First Teacher," I jumped at the chance because there was so much more I wanted to share with you! I'm so glad we're able to continue the journey together.