My daughter is only one too but we are going to either waldorf home school her or send her to a waldorf school.

I have watched almost all my friends with kids raise there kids in waldorf and they are so amazing, bright and creative.

I for one love the focus on age appropriate learning. I also love the mythology. I love that the hard facts of science and such are not taught until the later grades, and that reading is delayed.The first years are all about keeping the imagination and creativity flowing.

When a kid asks about why the sky is blue instead of a scientific answer they are given a poetic answer about some astral being painting the colors of nature . A lot of mythology is used to explain science in the early years, again this is to keep the imagination open and flowing.

However, in the higher grades kids are then taught all the facts and will even learn how to BUILD a computer in the ninth grade.

So you see, it;s all about age appropriate learning. Giving a young child a very detailed , scientific account of why the sky is blue would go right over there head and would only serve to take him out of that magical child's world prematurely...

What if your child doesn't want to play a musical instrument?
-She actively plays piano and guitar on her own (well, as best she can, she's only two.)

What if he really wants to read before he reaches the designated age?
-Then I would teach her to read. I was reading by three, she already "reads" on her own. In fact, she would rather do it herself than have me read to her. it's pretty funny. she hands me a book and then climbs beside me with her own to read. I help her when she is receptive.

What if he doesn't want to build a computer?
-Well, I suppose the only way for me to answer this would be = There were quite a great many things I didn't want to do in school. I would have rather done anything artistic. But I had to do the things I didn't necessarily want to do in order to graduate. Sort of like everything else that comes along with life. Sometimes I don't want to do something, but need to - it's for my best or the best of mi familia. Building a computer at least show an interesting aspect of creativity to me. Maybe my daughter will hate it? I can't say. We have to see how she develops. She is intensely creative already - but my husband and I are super creative, so we can see where she gets it :)

Of course it's possible for the child to participate in deciding what they should learn, and when. I don't think anyone is disagreeing with that statement. I guess I have gotten a different impression for the way Waldorf integrates age appropriate activities into the classes. At least at the one here in Austin, they still study the sciences and humanities, but special lessons are built into it that would be intriguing to a person of the general age. Like they study specific eras in history that would be of particular interest to a young blossoming adult, etc. And yes, sure, not all children will enjoy it and it might not be completely on targe† for everyone. What I am looking for is a solid educational foundation for my child that appears to be more enjoyable and inspiring than the one I had. I hated middle school and high school, and perhaps she might have the opportunity to enjoy them? Perhaps she will have instructors that are better equipped to facilitate the learning of subjects that fill her with passion? I hope to help instill the life-long passion for learning that her father and I both possess.

Of course I will listen to her needs. If she got to a point where she didn't want to continue Waldorf, I wouldn't force it. I think it all depends on what you determine is right for your child. I did ponder home schooling (finally, finally finished college May 3rd! After several breaks during college, I am pleased to say I am done with my undergrad studies and finished for the meantime). I have also looked into other private and charter schools in the area. But for our little family, at least right now, Waldorf seems to be the right choice for us.

The t.v. thing - well, yes, I see your point. We don't use one. People keep insisting on giving them to us. "What do you do?!" They ask when we say we don't watch television. The most recent one, my hubby played some video games with it. I am not scared of t.v., I let my daughter watch movies on the computer, as I do sometimes too. Mostly not having television central in the family home means more time for other things. I get a lot done, my child plays in the park with her friends all week long, takes gymnastics and builds her coordination, is about to start a small preschool with me a couple of days a week...there's just a lot to do that I find much more enriching than watching the cw. We are absolutely raising our daughter not to fear...and we do our best not to fear as well. Avoidance of environmental factors that inhibit or negatively affect our growth is different than reacting out of fearing them. I think some people than I've encountered don't understand that I feel that way.

Lastly, your statement "More than anything, I want to model for my son how to live a fearless life, even if that means we bump up against some unpleasantness from time to time," I do truly agree with. But then that goes back to your original questions. Perhaps a child might find building the computer (or other academic pursuits) unpleasant, but I think ultimately you and I are looking towards the same interests. My family does appear to function quite differently from those small units relatively near to me (our friends & acquaintances) but we do what we really believe to be truly best for our offspring. As I am sure everyone else does.