a day in the life of laura ingalls.

checked out a private school on monday. it came highly recommended from a friend that has a daughter with autism. noah doesn't have autism, but schools that are accepting of autistic kids are raised a notch or two with me. I knew this school was very different from traditional, public schools. but i really had no idea.

this school is a waldorf school. if you do not know what this is, you soon will.

The school was tiny and looked somewhat old... and it looked like a house. I tried to keep an open mind. while walking up the walkway i noticed most of the adults/teachers had on flowing dresses and aprons. red flag one. then when i went inside i realized it looked very old and outdated (but it is less than 10 years old). Nothing about it said school, but I was okay with that and trying to keep an open mind (still). then the tour began. we started in kindergarten. she explained to me that no academics happen in kindergarten. none. no letters, no numbers. red flag number two. now, i could see where she was coming from, but my sister makes a great point-- kids are sponges at that age and i believe it's a great time for learning. the goal at this school for this age is socialization and the arts. no textbooks. flag three. no tests... okay, that can be a good and bad thing. But there was no tracking of progress that I could see or that she could offer.

as i looked around the room i realized i had stepped back in time. I was surrounded by wood. wooden chairs, tables, toys... everything. She said it was because wood was alive and had energy and plastic (and other materials) were dead. hmmm. Instead of playdough they used bees wax-- everything was natural. I'm pretty surprised I could see anything at all considering it was pretty dark in there. The lights were off and the only light offered was one small bedside table looking light that offered nearly no light at all.

I almost expected them to pull out the slates. They learn to knit with their hands in kindergarten and with needles in first grade. Recess is 1.5 hours total per day because it's important to connect with the outside-- and climbling trees is encouraged.

She admitted to me that they are behind in academics for most of their elementary years (in comparison to public schools). But she says the people that stand by this method think they gain in other areas.

After walking out the front door and back to the year 2008 we talked briefly. I quickly realized that they are not quick to "accept" special needs children. I didn't like much of the process of being "accepted" at all. You need to attend school for a week before they will consider any student. They need to be sure the student will "fit in." And if a child does not fit in? Then what does a parent say to their son/daugher when they ask why they weren't good enough? I didn't like that one bit.

I liked some of their natural processes, but I think it's pretty extreme. For now, we will skip the Little House way of schooling.