Deep vs. Wide: A Waldorf Homeschooling Perspective

Welcome , welcome , my friend , to a new episode here on the podcast . I'm excited to bring this topic today deep versus wide from a Waldorf homeschooling perspective . I have lots of thoughts to share on this , so let's dive in the seed , for this episode comes from two different things a mantra that I repeat often and a question from a homeschooling mom .

The mantra is one that I have shared for years . In describing the Waldorf approach to homeschooling and education , I so often give the advice to go deep , not wide . That's the mantra . I'll talk a little bit more about it in just a moment , and the question comes from a member of the Inspired at Home community .

Here's what she asked I've listened to your seventh grade basket podcast episode talking about going deep into a specific moment in history rather than taking a wide overview of the topic or era . Can you talk more about deep versus wide ?

As we get into this concept of deep versus wide , I want to emphasize that this idea can really help you grasp how to plan the scope of any main lesson block that you're thinking about , and I want to encourage you to consider how this could help you plan any main lesson block , because it gives you a more nuanced understanding of the Waldorf approach as well .

I have a great visual also , a visual image to share with you that's going to bring a lot of clarity . So I can't wait to get there . But first , before I forget , I want to mention here that we've

done a whole series on the podcast , one episode per grade . So be sure to check out the kindergarten basket all the way to the eighth grade basket . Each one is a separate episode and I'll link to those episodes in the show notes for this one , which you can find at artofhomeschoolingcom slash episode 218 .

Okay , here's the full question that prompted this episode . I've just listened to your 7th Grade Basket podcast episode talking about going deep into a specific moment in history and not taking a wide overview of the topic or era .

I have an 8th grader and a 4th grader and we're preparing for early American history , but I'm struggling with what to bring in the block . One curriculum I've looked at which is not a traditional Waldorf curriculum is so comprehensive and detailed one lesson per week that it says it would take two years total to go through the entire program .

Waldorf doesn't feel like it offers the same depth as this other curriculum . So what is deep ? Four to six weeks doesn't feel like enough . Especially as our children get older , I don't feel like I have enough time to go deep .

I feel like there are cultural expectations for them to know certain things and I often come to the end of a block wondering if it was enough . Can you talk more about deep versus wide when you're planning a block ? What a great question .

I'm going to answer this question using history as the example here , because that was what the question was specifically about , but I know that you can extrapolate this into any subject or topic that you're teaching . Okay , here we go . I

know also I know that it can be really hard to trust that we can read a story or one book , perhaps a work of historical fiction , and that that can be enough for one block , because , as our homeschooling mom mentioned in her question , some history curricula could take two years to get through this topic . So here's how you might do this .

I suggest you start by picking maybe six , maybe five , you know whatever number you want but a handful of events and people within your topic or historical time period that you

want to be sure to cover in your lessons . Now that doesn't mean we're going deep on every one of these , okay , but we do want our kiddos to not only have that cultural background piece but also see , we want them to be able to see how different pieces are connected . So I'll get more into that in just a moment .

If you think of your teaching approach as being story-based right , that's what Waldorf sits on , this foundation of stories right Then your job is to provide a thread of memorable stories for how things develop over history during that time period .

Whatever time period you're looking at , you can use biographies , autobiographies and engaging stories of events that happened during that time period . Here is a more specific example . Let's take early American history , as was part of this question .

So first you might start by thinking of different key events like the Louisiana Purchase , the Stamp Act , events leading up to the Revolutionary War . So say you wanted to go deep on a story about the Boston Tea Party and how it escalated into the American

Revolution . That could be a whole four-week main lesson block . You'd be going deep into a moment in time , a moment in history , but relating that moment to what happened before and after more generally , so you want to be able to see how that moment in time really changed the course of history .

Now , I know this can be hard to do , especially because it's not usually the way we were taught ourselves when we were in school , and also because curriculum that's available is so comprehensive that it can feel superficial , like that one that could take two years to complete , like it feels deep in the sense that not in a real sense , but in the sense that it

covers a lot , but it feels superficial in that there's just so there are so many details in there , and that is exactly what we are trying to counteract . We're not teaching a string of detailed facts that don't have any seeming connection to each other , except that they happen during a similar time period .

We want to actually build a block that embodies the significance of the time that you're studying and feels like it has human connection to us and to our children , and to do that we look for stories . We look for stories that will help us feel connected to those humans who lived during that time and the stories will help make

the learning more memorable . The lively arts also do this as well . They help make the learning more memorable by engaging in artistic activity related to the stories that we're reading . So making paintings or drawings , learning some music , memorizing poetry of the time period , acting out the story in some way .

The idea is that we're helping our children create threads of connection in their minds and imaginations so that later on in their studies , when they come back to this topic , they have some foundational knowledge that has gone deep and isn't just a whole bunch of facts about something .

Bringing this kind of learning to life is easier said than done , I know , because what ends up happening to many of us most of us , I would say is that we have such a long list of just the details of what we think we're supposed to cover , quote , unquote or explain , right before we can move on to the next thing , before we even get to the event that

we're trying to focus on , and little details that we feel like we can't skip before we get to that big event or the story that we're looking at . But I will tell you .

Here's what I've seen over and over again through many years , over 30 years of teaching and I've seen this in the way that we teach our children , in the way that children learn , that children really do need to connect somehow with the material to retain what they're learning . I've seen this in school settings . I've seen this in homeschooling .

We really can go deep while still bringing in overarching details in a lighter way that are going to connect those deeper stories , and I'm going to give you this visual in just a moment .

So much of what we're exploring with our children in elementary years they're going to come back to later , right Later in the year , later next year , in high school and post-secondary studies . So it is not our job to quote , unquote , cover every detail . That's the part I think we need to let go of .

So , instead of feeling stressed that you're not covering enough , I want to invite you to shift to this thought instead , just cover what you choose to cover and let go of the rest . I know it's a little scary , it's because the rest

it may come back around and it may not come back around in future years . But just think about it . You know American history is a whole year in high school . We do not need to cover it all in a main lesson block in , you know , seventh or eighth grade . It's better for our children to make a connection to something than it is to go really , really broad .

All right , here's how you can think about a main lesson block , and here is my visual for you . I want you to picture a horizontal line that represents your main lesson block from beginning to end , for whatever time period you're choosing to cover or whatever topic , if it's not a history topic .

Now , starting on the left-hand side , you begin by giving a small amount of background information , some context , before you introduce the event or the story or the person or people that you're going to tell a story about .

So you give a little bit of context , a little bit of background information , and then , as you move along the line , at some point you're going to dip deep down into one person's story or one significant event through story , and when you're finished going deep , you come back up to the surface and you summarize a little bit more , connecting that story to the

next one . And then you perhaps you go deep again on a second story in that main lesson block and come back up to the surface and then finish it out . So perhaps you've only covered one or two significant stories in a deeper way during this block , while providing some connecting context , and that's okay . This represents the stories and connection

with like a timeline of sorts , right ? So I want you to keep this image in your mind as you're planning your blocks , because in this way we can go deep rather than wide . We go wide some , but we aren't going wide for a huge extended periods of time . We're just going wide to connect those deeper stories .

Here are a few more thoughts about educational approaches generally . You might be familiar with this concept of a unit study or how a unit study works for homeschooling . A unit study is sometimes called a thematic unit or an integrated study , and unit studies tend to be hands-on and focused on one particular topic .

So in that way they're similar to main lesson blocks . The child might learn by reading real books , often referred to as living books . That is something we like doing in main lesson blocks as well , and experiencing or discovering about a topic through activities rather than reading a chapter from a textbook .

So think of a main lesson block as a specific type of unit study .

Right , they have those similarities , and then to me , the biggest difference is that with a main lesson block you can go deeper than wide , because I would describe most unit studies as going wide , meaning the goal is to weave in as many different activities , subjects , resources , details , really , as possible .

But , in contrast , a main lesson block incorporates the activities in a particular rhythm , as I've described , and it focuses on stories and we go deep into one story at a time . This helps students learn in a very economical way . Actually , that takes less time overall and makes the learning more memorable .

Mean lesson block learning works because it allows for extended time on a given subject , it gives children an opportunity to use their thinking in a concentrated manner , it uses the concept of rhythm to carry the learning energy forward .

It integrates many subjects into one topic that speak to the interest and developmental stage of a child in different ages and stages or grades , and it helps us connect human to human through stories . And that , my friend , is how we go deep , not wide , with Waldorf homeschooling .

I hope you enjoyed this episode and it's helped to clarify some of the nuances of the Waldorf approach . I really enjoyed taking a homeschooler's question and expanding it into a podcast episode .

Recently in my Inspired at Home community , I offered a jumpstart coaching day on Voxer , which is a voice messaging app for all members of the community , and it was just so much fun . This was just one of the questions . We'll be doing this again soon ,

just as an added bonus for members who , of course , already have access to a full library of masterclasses , group coaching calls and a community of heart-centered homeschoolers from all over the world . Come join us if this is something you'd like to be a part of , and who knows , maybe one of your questions will spark an upcoming podcast episode in the future .

Here are just a few of my thoughts in closing . You do get better at trusting that you're doing enough and the self doubt diminishes , but the honest truth is it never really totally goes away . We need each other , we need reassurance .

The window of how long we feel the doubt gets shorter and it gets less intense , for sure , but hearing from others who have walked the path before you is crucial , and that's what I'm here to offer you with this podcast . I encourage you to check out the show notes for this episode at artofhomeschoolingcom slash episode 218 . Thanks so much for tuning in today .

Have a great week and I'll see you in another episode of the Art of Homeschooling podcast . That's all for today , my friend , but here's what I want you to remember Rather than perfection , let's focus on connection . Thanks so much for listening and I'll see you on the next episode of the Art of Homeschooling podcast .