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Looking for a book and can't find it? Please write us at writeus@bobnancy.com |
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Featured Selection
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Waldorf Curriculum Guides
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Will-Developed Intelligence Elementary through High School David Mitchell and Patricia Livingston Softbound $22.00 |
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Mitchell and Livingston examine how working with the hands opens up neurological passageways that establish the foundation of thinking. Copiously illustrated, this book shows how the conscious development and training of the hands in the Waldorf curriculum, from kindergarten through high school, begin with the heart forces to lead the student to enhanced cognition. Additionally, they have created a practical guide to the subjects that make up this curriculum. |
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The Golden Path Alan Whitehead Softbound $22.95
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From my perspective, the most significant and valuable aspect of the book is that Alan brings to life Steiner's intent that Waldorf schools offer both a basic liberal arts education and a basic trades education. This intent is all too often lost in what has become, in my opinion, a misunderstood focus on "handwork" as a balancing tool for all the "headwork". In Alan's approach, the students are taught genuinely useful-to-the-modern-world ways to use the intelligence of the hand, which not only serves to lead them into the world in a more complete and powerful way, but, as modern science has shown, creates the framework for a fully human intelligence. It is his modernization of the curriculum, done while keeping very much to Steiner's intent and without losing any of the more commonly taught subject matter, that is the central gift of this very fine book. A real bonus with The Golden Path the unending stream of color photographs of different projects completed by students in various grades. Alan's recently enhanced printing capacity enables all of us to delight in these handwork victories and study their manifest technic and form. (This is an author, incidentally, who actually produces all his books from writing to printing to binding - no wonder he has such a terrific grasp of the role of the crafts.) I should add that this is not a how-to in terms of learning the techniques of any of these subjects - there are plenty of resources for that available in our bookshop and elsewhere. This is a guide to what to teach, how to teach it, why you and I want children to learn these things, and the joy they bring. Absolutely everything from knitting to gardening to survival training to baking to toymaking to desk building to . . . more and more and more. All of it is presented with wisdom and enthusiasm. Inspiring and wonderful! Don't miss it!! |
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Teaching Practical Activities Roy Wilkinson Stapled booklet $5.95 |
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Nine- and ten-year-olds are at a stage where they feel suddently separated from the greater world of nature. They may feel exhilarated by this fresh breath of indepence, but also a bit lost as the natural world which they previously felt at one with becomes more distant to them. One of the ways Waldorf education meets this developmental change is by introducing practical activities, ways in which we humans, now distant from nature, can nonetheless befriend and work with the natural world. Wilkinson does a lovely job of gifting the teacher or parent with everything needed to sustain the newly-independent 3rd or 4th grader. He includes poetry and prayers that in older days people used to keep themselves at home in the world yet connected to heaven. And of course, he also shows you how to teach the basics of the subjects at hand. This is one of his warmest books. Contents:
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Gardening with Young Children Beatrys Lockie Softbound $27.00
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I have personally been waiting for over 20 years for someone to write this beautiful book. It is a joy to see it and to recognize in it everything I've ever wanted to see on this topic placed between two covers. Beatrys Lockie is a passionate organic gardener who taught in a Waldorf kindergarten for many years and found a seemingly unlimited number of ways to pass along to young children her enthusiasm for gardening. Anyone wanting to do the same will love this book as much as I do. In fact, anyone wanting to learn to garden from a master will love this book, for she includes all the basics of gardening along with her ways of sharing it with our little ones. And, if you already know how to garden, but want to learn how to work with young children, she shows you that, too. The first part of the book is like walking into her kindergarten where she quietly shows us the rhythms and ways of what is to me a sacred space wherein children can blossom. Gardening with Young Children answers so many needs with so much love that it simply brings tears to my eyes to read it. I hope that it becomes the seed to many, many gardens that invite children into the world of nature. |
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Green Fingers and Muddy Boots Includes a CD-ROM with worksheets Ivor Santer Softbound $30.00 |
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Here is a beautiful, wonder-filled introduction to the joys of gardening! Packed with photos and drawings of birds, bees, flowers, vegetables and much, much more, Green Fingers and Muddy Boots is so evocative of the pleasures of working with nature that you'll find yourself setting it down frequently in favor of going out and getting your hands into some soil. Which I know the author would love for you and children everywhere to do. Green Fingers and Muddy Boots—with worksheets on the accompanying
CD—presents practical and fun activities in the garden for every month of the
year, come rain or shine. Activities range from growing flowers and vegetables to
spotting birds and tracking the weather and keeping a garden diary. We recommend it as wonderful for children of all ages! You can never be too young or too old to get out into the garden. |
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Biodynamic Gardening for Health and Taste Hilary Wright $35.00 |
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What a beautiful, useful, mouthwatering book this is! This is one of the most well-presented gardening books ever to have been printed, and the very clearest explanation of how to garden biodynamically that has ever been written. Truly, this is the book that, whether they know it or not, gardeners all over the world have been waiting for. What captures my heart the most about Hilary Wright's book is that she writes engagingly about biodynamics, the earth's rhythms, gardens, gardening, compost, and while holding your attention as if you were reading a page-turner, she weaves a picture of all of this (and more) being one thing, a whole. She does this in a way that is not just immediately comprehensible (it is most certainly that), it is also crystal clear that gardening within the unity of nature and using biodynamic methods is just not difficult. It's not difficult to make compost (she shows you several ways). It's not difficult to use the preps you need (i.e., the homeopathic preparations used in biodynamics), it's not hard to tend your garden and protect it in wholesome ways, and it's absolutely no problem finding ways to enjoy eating what you grow. In other words, in addition to pulling it all together and making it clear, Hilary Wright has made biodynamics do-able by any gardener who wants to garden. So grab your spade and digging fork, your seed packets and trog baskets, and head out into the world of nature that is your garden, no matter how big or small, whether in the soil itself of containers. The harvest you reap will be so much more than the wonderful vegetables you can grow. |
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Gardening Classes at the Waldorf Schools Compiled and written by Rudolf Krause Spiralbound booklet $7.00 |
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Spring Irmgard Kutsch and Brigitte Walden Hardbound $22.95 |
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It is thrilling to see the second of this vibrant 4-book series in print in English. It is every bit as beautiful and as inspiring as it's companion volume, Autumn, and I expect it will do a great deal to get all of us outdoors and loving our dear world more and more. Spring is the time of creating and cleaning, of building and renewing, and each of the activities suggested here harness our impulses as they connect us and our children with the earth and nature. It's hard to imagine more exhilarating and inspiring activity ideas than these. Here's what's inside: Introduction MARCH
APRIL
MAY
Further reading and resources So - grab your sweaters, put on your shoes and let's go outside! |
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Summer Irmgard Kutsch & Brigitte Walden Hardbound $22.95
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Ahhh! Those lazy, hazy days filled with wonder and adventure and the vibrancy of life. In this sunny book that completes the seasonal Nature Activities series, Irmgard Kutsch and Brigitte Walden take children on a stroll through the wonders of the outdoor world in full bloom. Whether you are fortunate enough to have a rural countryside at your front door, or have window box gardens and city parks as your touchstone to nature, you'll love this book and find hundred's of ways to delight the children in your care with the natural world. Inside you'll find: Foreword JUNE Working with Herbs
Breeding Butterflies
JULY Water
Earth Air
Fire
AUGUST From Grain to Bread
Resources |
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Autumn Irmgard Kutsch & Brigitte Walden Hardbound, full color photos and drawings throughout $22.95 |
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What a wonderful, exciting book! This is one of the best "activities with children" books I've ever been privileged to hold in my hands. Both the authors and publisher deserve a big "Thank you!" from all of us who care for children. The author's experience as teachers at the Children's Nature and Garden Centre in Reichshof just radiates off these pages! Each and every activity suggested within this beautiful book forges a simply tie between those who do the projects and crafts and the world of nature. Here you have everything from harvesting fruits and vegetables, to building houses (including a chapter on house building in the Waldorf 3rd Grade!) to beeswax modelling. The authors exude such an enthusiasm that I think anyone who reads this book will want to get started on one of the crafts right away. Most of the activities can easily be done within cities and towns, also -- you very definitely don't need to live in the country to create with autumn's gifts. There are some, such as extracting honey, that do require knowing someone who works vocationally with nature (and are very much worth pursuing, if possible), but the overwhelming majority of activities are simple and easy to do with materials that are not difficult to come by unless you live in the desert. I should also add that although autumn is the theme of the book, the activites given for late autumn can take you well into winter as well -- they are very suitable for those days when we like to gather in our snug homes and make things Here's what you'll find in between the covers: SEPTEMBER
OCTOBER
NOVEMBER
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Winter Irmgard Kutsch & Brigitte Walden Hardbound $22.95
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Kutsch & Walden's third nature activities book leaves me simply breathless with excitement -- this is the best-ever compendium of winter-y joy! It all but guarantees that gloomy winter days will be a thing of the past, replaced by day after day of discovery, creativity and accomplishment. Just the ticket for home and school - which I predict will take on a warming glow of wonder with the help of these two wonderful ladies. Here's what's inside: Foreword DECEMBER Advent
JANUARY Working with Wool
FEBRUARY (Part 1) Working with Willow
Woodworking
FEBRUARY (Part 2) Working with Clay
Resources
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Zen and the Art of Knitting Bernadette Murphy Softbound $10.95 Contains outstanding descriptions of knitting classes in a Waldorf school! |
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This book has an enormous amount to say about the value to human beings, young and old, of working with our hands. It also happens to contain two wonderful chapters devoted to someone who is an amazing handworker and the best Waldorf crafts teacher it has ever been my privilege to know: Elizabeth Seward.** Bernadette Murphy has given the most detailed, life-filled descriptions I've ever read of knitting classes actually taught to first and fifth graders in a Waldorf school (Highland Hall). Even better, what you'll find in these descriptions is what I have always hoped someone would do for these classes -- Elizabeth presented everything to the children in ways that united their hands with the hearts and heads, and left an opening for spirit and soul to thrive. We can all be inspired by the simple, yet deeply resonant way she guided the children through the techniques and leads them into a loving, caring relationship with the work of their hands. All this, while maintaining an atmosphere of joy along with setting high standards for the outcomes of that work! What she accomplished is truly what we all want for our children. N.B. Contrary to what the title may lead you to believe, it is not a treatise on Buddhist meditation, though Murphy's exploration does include this. It is a heartfelt consideration of the core essence of what knitting evokes in the inner life. Interestingly, about 80% of the people she interviewed or observed are practitioners of Christian prayer and meditation. It is a book whose contents and intents are still living in my heart, well past the reading of it. I think you'll love it, too. **Elizabeth is no longer active as a Crafts Teacher, but does still offer classes and workshops to adults and makes herself available as mentor and guide to Waldorf Crafts teachers. I have known Elizabeth for about 20 years and can think of no one better to call upon in this role. Whether you are involved with a Waldorf School, public or private, that is ready to deepen its crafts program; or are part of a home school cooperative and would like a workshop to help the adults become more skilled at both the crafts and teaching them; or are an adult wishing to enrich your own life with a deeper, more joyful relationship to handwork -- Elizabeth Seward, in my opinion, is some one you could call upon with confidence that your needs will be met and your time and resources more than well-spent. Elizabeth can be reached through her web site: www.workofourhands.net |
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Children's Knitting Special Purchase both A First Book of Knitting for Children and Knitting for Children - A Second Book Regular Price $44.90 Special Price $39.90
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This combination of approaches is sure to help establish any child (or adult!) as a great knitter! |
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A First Book of Knitting for Children - New Edition! Bonnie Gosse and Jill Allerton New photos - 20+ more pages! $19.95
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This charming book is nothing less than the Waldorf approach to knitting captured between two covers. Here is everything - rhymes for each stitch, excellent step-by-step photographs, and the most delightful collection of projects we have seen gathered in one place. With the help of this book and a kind adult, any child can master the basics of knitting and then go on to create more animal and people friends than you can shake a knitting needle at! We are often asked questions about how knitting is taught in a Waldorf school - we are delighted that now we have such a wonderful way to answer them. |
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Knitting for Children Bonnie Gosse & Jill Allerton Softbound $24.95
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Included too are patterns for everything from sweaters and hats to gnomes, frogs, hand dolls and their clothing. This is a great book to have fun with - whether you are a child expanding your knitting horizons or an adult knitting for a beloved youngster. A terrific and inspiring resource! |
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Woolly Thoughts Pat Ashforth and Steve Plummer Softbound $8.95 |
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Here is a book to delight knitters and teachers of mathematics - all at the same time! How do they do this? Well, they are both mathematics teachers, amazing in their ability to make everything clear and fun. Right from the start, they forge a pathway to knitting heaven by having you take out whatever yarn you like, your choice of needles, and a small calculator. What happens next is a guided tour through a mosaic of shapes and colors -- all of them easy, all of them fascinating and beautiful. With Pat and Steve at your side, you can truly forget about conventional knitting patterns and follow your imagination where ever it leads you. Your students will begin absorbing and delighting in geometric and mathematical relationships without even noticing that's what they are doing. They will also being to love the time they spend knitting simply because they can follow their own inspriation so easily. Happily and heavily illustrated throughout, with a section of color plates showcasing some of Pat's creations, Woolly Thoughts brings you everything you need for a lifetime of discovering the joys knitting and mathematics. This is a book that students and teachers will love equally - each will discover their knitting and their mathematical skills just get better and better, one stitch at a time! A beautiful way to unite handwork with mathematics! |
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Single Crochet for Beginners Cindy Crandall-Frazier Softbound $22.99
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Cindy Crandall-Frazier has created the book I've always hoped for to help teach children (and anyone else!) how to crochet (part of the 3rd grade handwork curriculum in Waldorf education). In it you'll find a perfect marriage of joyful enthusiasm with clear instruction featuring creative techniques and new learning approaches. It is fabulous. Cindy's background as a homeschooling mother and Waldorf Kindergarten teacher shines through the book as well: though written for a broader audience, she has incorporated so much of what makes the Waldorf approach to teaching fruitful and beloved:
There's lots more to love, much more - but I'm hoping you'll get a copy, grab your hook and yarn, and discover them for yourself. Your children will come to think of the crochet lesson as one of their favorite parts of the day! |
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Carpentry for Children Simple Step-by-Step Plans for Great Do-It-Yourself Project Lester Walker Preface by David Macaulay Softbound $16.95
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If ever there was a book embued with the power to transform lives, Lester Walker's Carpentry for Children is it. It is absolutely thorough in its task of introducing the world of hammer, saw and wood to children (and the adults who teach them), and is so infused with the joy Walker so clearly finds in this craft that in addition to being a consummate guide to introductory carpentry, it is also just plain good reading. The instruction is designed for children ages 7 through 11 (or so) and the book is written to be read not only by adult teachers, but also by the older student-carpenters. Walker begins with guidance on buying tools that will be of the right size and weight for this age group then proceeds to discuss what materials to buy (and what to look for to make sure you are getting the quality you need). He also devotes an entire chapter to how to use each tool well and safely. As is both necessary and practical, the first project involves creating a workshop, including building a workbench, toolbox and sawhorses! From there, the projects march out, beginning with a tugboat and including a puppet theater, painter's easel, stilts, a raft, and even a coaster car for fast trips to the bottom of your favorite hill. Walker's contribution to putting handwork back into our lives is wonderful - we hope that more and more children can be gifted with the experiences he is sharing. |
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Step-by-Step Guides for Houses Children Can Build Themselves Lester Walker Preface by Nonny Hogrogian Softbound $16.95
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For me, one of the most attractive things about Waldorf Education is that toward the end of 3rd Grade "housebuilding" is part of the curriculum. When I first read this, I could hardly wait for our children to reach 3rd grade so that they could experience some of the joy I had at that age. When I was 8-10, my family lived in a home that backed up to an untended field filled with high-growing grasses. With the help of nocternal creatures we never saw, we children discovered pathways and little "rooms" in the grass, quickly caught on to the process, and set about making house after house that we played in year after year (building them afresh each season by crawling to make paths and lying about to create the "rooms"). Once we had conquered the art of grassy housebuilding, we moved on to large trees where we discovered in our imaginations all manner of houses in the large and leafy branches. This was a period of almost rapturous play and discovery in my life -- and one that I knew could be reflected in the housebuilding blocks of a Waldorf 3rd Grade, even though at the time my children lived far from the wide open spaces I had enjoyed as a child. What I love about Housebuilding for Children is that it is not about creating the perfect playhouse for children to play in, it is about guiding children to build their own houses, with only enough adult supervision to be sure that safety is part of the process. The houses range from ultra-imaginative super-low budget projects (using discarded materials such as a mattress innerspring or an old dresser), to an actual woodframe house whose charm is enhanced by the fact that it really can be built by children, given a bit of instruction. This is a wonderful book that offers children adventure and discovery, and offers the adults who teach them the guidance needed to convey basic building skills to their students. Happily, it is again in print. We are delighted to bring it to you. |
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Hand Bookbinding Aldren A Watson Softbound $12.95
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Rudolf Steiner established Bookbinding as one of the required classes in the high school curriculum of the original Waldorf School. In his day, this was actually an essential skill for anyone wishing to build a personal library: books were sold in unbound signatures; it was up to the buyer to create a protective (and hopefully beautiful) cover. In our day, Bookbinding is still taught in Waldorf high schools, and although it is no longer a necessary skill, it is a richly rewarding one. This is one of those how-to books that has everything you could want in it - it will take you and/or your student(s) step-by-step through the basics of bookbinding, and then introduce you to some very elegant techniques as well. Watson details materials and tools, and even offers some history as well. Everything is illustrated with beautiful and clear drawings and explained clearly and completely. I can't imagine anyone not falling in love with bookbinding by the time they finish looking through the book. |
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