A Baltimore parent shares simple, screen-free practices from her children’s school that any family can try this season.

As fall settles in and the holiday season comes into view, I suspect many of us are feeling worn thin. The world feels heavy right now: in the headlines, here in Baltimore, and for plenty of us, closer to home. When life feels overwhelming, I lean on a handful of practices I picked up at my children’s school, the Waldorf School of Baltimore.

Waldorf education is more than a hundred years old, and it was never meant to stay inside a classroom. It’s a way of teaching, and also a way of living with children, rooted in close attention to how they grow.

At its heart is a simple idea: care for the whole child (mind, body, spirit) and to meet each child where they are. The world has changed a great deal in a century. What children need has not. That’s why these ideas still work, and why you can bring them home whether or not your child ever sets foot in a Waldorf classroom.

Here are six to start with. Think of them as a little balm for a busy season.

Simplify your space

Everything in a Waldorf classroom is there because it’s useful or beautiful. With less clutter competing for their attention, children sink into deep, imaginative play. Start with a single shelf. Box up some toys and books, then rotate them with the seasons. Choose open-ended objects like a basket of smooth stones or a length of silk that can become a cape, a river, or a roof. As Joan Almon, one of our school’s founding teachers, liked to say, “A good toy is 90% child and 10% toy.”

Tell stories

Telling a story instead of reading one sounds intimidating, but it comes more easily than you’d think. Little ones love simple nature tales (“Once there was a squirrel who couldn’t remember where she buried her acorns...”). Older kids love hearing about your childhood or theirs. Don’t worry about telling the same story twice. My children love repetition. Pick a regular time and place and enjoy the closeness that follows.

Light a dinner candle

At snack time in a Waldorf classroom, you’ll find a candle lit with care. At home, a candle at dinner creates a moment of cozy calm in one of the most hectic parts of the day. Repeated night after night, a small ritual like this brings meaning to the ordinary and sends a quiet message: this time together matters. One night I couldn’t find the matches anywhere, and to my surprise, my kids waited patiently until the candle was lit before digging in. In our home, it’s opened the door to reverence and gratitude. If you try only one of these suggestions at home, I hope this is the one.

Find your rhythm

In a Waldorf classroom, rhythm is the backbone of the day, the week, and the year, from baking bread on Mondays to dancing around the maypole each spring. Knowing what comes next helps children feel secure. At home, start by anchoring meals, quiet time, and bedtime. Then add the traditions that make a week or a year feel like yours. Maybe it’s Taco Tuesday. Maybe it’s apple picking in the fall, on your calendar right alongside WSB’s free community fair on November 15.

Say it with a song

Waldorf teachers often use a simple song or verse to smooth transitions. In my house, a sung “come to the table” works far better than a dinnertime shout, and “line them up, two by two” beats nagging about shoes. Make up the tune as you go. Children care much more about the warmth in your voice than perfect pitch.

Get outside

Rain, snow, or shine, Waldorf students spend time outdoors every single day. As the saying goes, children can’t bounce off the walls when there are no walls. The hard part is making room for it. Even twenty minutes after school, a puddle walk in rain boots or a visit to a nearby park, counts. The calmer kids who come back inside make it worth the effort.

Come see for yourself

These small practices are just a glimpse of what my family has found at the Waldorf School of Baltimore. The Waldorf Fair on November 15 is a free, joyful first taste of the school community. For a closer look, consider joining a parent-lead Open House tour of preschool and kindergarten, or grades 1-8. Register here.