I offer groups specifically for parents to experience child related issues apart from their children. These groups are typically day sessions, and begin with sensing our own breath movement and exploring how our breath differentiates clarifies and revitalizes our sense of well being.

Out of this we then participate in an activity that parents find nourishing and supportive of the ongoing calls of parenting. Storytelling workshops have proven very popular. In these we explore stories that can heal, nourish, surprise, and teach us. We give attention to how to find a muse in nature for storytelling. Many who believe that they cannot tell stories discover the hidden well of inspiration, and are delighted to bring this enriching talent into the life of their family. Recently we have explored stories that work with a sense of natural rhythm, stories that address particular teaching needs for our children, stories and verses to build the sense of protection, blessing, and healthy sleep rhythm.

Our workshops always include much laughter, excitement, and discussion, helped along by good, nutritious food.

Even before children understand the concept of a circle, they share social particpation and attention within the circle through their parents. The larger group nourishes the child and supports sense based integration, the ground of all learning for this age. By working with free-play and movement, the child is supported gently into participation: a subtle and organic journey into healthy embodiment. For example, lively verses that reflect the seasons and much of what we share, offer warming, and stretching. Rocking and enlivening verses open up our bodies for a deeper and freer flow of the breath and engage the proprioceptive, vestibular functions of the body. Gentle, soothing verses invite the child to experience the sense of repose, of silence and connectedness to the pause in their breath, supporting digestion of what has been taken in, and lulling and calming both children and adults alike!

All of these movements work to foster integration, warmth, and balance. As the parent rests in an increasingly familiar rhythms of the group, so the child has the space also to explore and be with his or her own rhythm within the larger whole. The different rhythms that The Breathing Circle offers, cradle adult and child alike into a greater sense of aliveness, sharpened perception and spaciousnesss, enabling greater flow and ease, a sense of well-being and contentment.

I offer an integrated approach to meet the needs of learning difficulties or imbalances, incorporating the principles and philosophy of Waldorf education: a holistic approach to the developing child. I work with what is developmentally appropriate for each age. Applying the somatic principles of the natural breath, I use sounds, games, and movements to work with ages that range from young children through adolescents. Together we strengthen the student's sense awareness, movement and flow, to support where help can make a positive difference through changes in posture, breathing, and orientation to life. Healthy embodiment supports a balance between creative expression and contained focus.

Deep learning is embodied and like music sings throughout the entire body. Movement which comes out of the breath can enhance oxygenation, improve sensory and neuromuscular integration, and offer a ground and deeper sense of trust and presence. As we unfold we find a level of repose and ease, and learning becomes more available. By inviting the child into a receptive and friendly place, I am able to see what attracts the individual child and where he or she resists and perhaps limits his or her approaches to learning.

The capacity for presence is profoundly related to the natural flow of the breath and this in turn affects the way a child experiences being in his or her body. Breathing and movement together are the ground of life's unfolding. They shape the nervous system, the way in which we meet and assimilate experience, and how we seek to find where we belong within the world.

All of our faculties engage and integrate in breath and movement. Perception and a sense of differentiation and integration can develop out of a sense of movement - all the vital faculties that support learning : kinesthetic, auditory, vestibular and visual are strengthened.

To find one's own breath rhythm is to be in touch with the flow of one's own time. Receptivity to the openness of space and time are essential if we wish to find where we are from moment to moment, and recognize what life brings towards us.

Increasingly, parents consider home schooling for their children. If the child can find sufficient diversity of experience, community, and connection with other children in their world, home schooling can be a good choice. When parents together form networks to share resources and organize ways that their children can share learning experiences, home schooling can accomplish great things.

Often parents learn about Waldorf education and strive to bring this approach into the home schooling process. I offer mentoring and consultation for parents who would like a better sense of how to proceed and who would like to gain confidence in what they bring to their children. Timely advice, in tune with the learning environment and the children's capabilities, can significantly enhance the ease and quality of home schooling.

Programs to support home schooling need to be developed case by case. Components can include consultation, observation, mentoring, and even activities with the children. You may learn more about my own background as a teacher here. Additionally, my husband, Clifford Skoog, is a trained Waldorf science teacher, also with an interest in supporting parent initiatives to educate their own children.