Waldorfish

Waldorfish was founded by Brian and Robyn Wolfe, two seasoned Waldorf teachers with extensive experience in art and education. Launched to meet a specific need within the homeschooling community, Waldorfish offers a rich curriculum rooted in Waldorf principles but tailored for the home education setting. The program is designed to be easily integrated into homeschooling, emphasizing art and creativity. The founders' dedication is reflected in their personalized approach and the program's adaptation to homeschooling needs.

Differentiation

What sets Waldorfish apart is its specific focus on Waldorf art education through an online platform, making traditional and often inaccessible Waldorf art techniques available to a broader audience. The curriculum is comprehensive, offering courses in drawing, painting, and form drawing, suited for various age groups and skill levels. Its uniqueness lies in the blend of professional art education with the flexibility required for successful homeschooling.

How to Get Started

Getting started with Waldorfish involves choosing the appropriate course from their offerings, ranging from beginner to advanced levels. The program is structured to allow for weekly lessons, which means families can integrate art education smoothly into their regular schooling schedule. Each course is clearly outlined on their website, making enrollment straightforward.

How It Works

Waldorfish operates predominantly online, with courses designed to be both open-and-go and parent-led, depending on the family’s preference. Each course typically requires a few hours per week, providing a mix of instructional videos and practical assignments. This setup helps accommodate different learning speeds and schedules, making it versatile for various homeschooling dynamics.

Educational Content

  • Drawing: Pencil, charcoal, crayon, and watercolor pencil techniques.

  • Painting: Watercolor (wet-on-wet and dry), acrylics.

  • Additional Techniques: Chalk drawing, form drawing.

  • Integrative Arts: Combining art with other subjects like geometry.

What’s Good About It

Users appreciate Waldorfish for its thorough approach to art education, which is not only about learning techniques but also about integrating art into daily learning and personal expression. The quality of instruction and the ease of access to materials make it a preferred choice for many homeschooling families looking to enrich their art education at home.

What Could Be Improved

While Waldorfish offers a robust curriculum, some users feel that the courses could benefit from more varied levels of difficulty within the same course to cater to different skill levels simultaneously. Additionally, while the online format is generally praised, some users miss the interactive element that face-to-face teaching can provide.

Advice from Parents

Parents recommend setting a consistent weekly schedule to make the most of the Waldorfish curriculum. Engaging with the community through forums and sharing artwork with peers can enhance the learning experience, providing feedback and encouragement that enriches the educational journey.

Ideal Fit

Waldorfish is ideal for families deeply invested in incorporating artistic education into their homeschooling routine who value the Waldorf education philosophy. It suits those looking for a structured yet flexible curriculum that emphasizes creative expression and personal growth through art.

Probably Not a Fit For

Families looking for a less structured, more exploratory approach to art might find Waldorfish too rigid. Those who prefer direct, hands-on teaching methods might also find the online format less engaging than traditional classroom settings.

Grades

Waldorfish is suitable for a wide range of grades, typically from early elementary through middle school.

Cost

The cost of Waldorfish courses varies, but most fall within the range of $30 to $200, depending on the course length and content.

Ways to Get It

Courses can be directly purchased and accessed through the Waldorfish website, which offers detailed descriptions and the ability to enroll online.

Explore more High Quality Art Curricula

Manisha Snoyer (co-founder of Modulo)

For the last 20 years, I’ve taught over 2000 children in 3 countries (of all socio-economic backgrounds). I pioneered an English language program in a conflict region in the Middle East. I’ve worked as a bilingual public school teacher at some of the highest and lowest performing public schools and in all five boroughs of NYC. I’ve tutored 18 subjects in three languages to some of the wealthiest families in NYC, San Francisco and Paris to make up for shortcomings in private schools they were paying up to $60,000 a year to attend.

Since 2015, I’ve helped hundreds of parents start microschools (way before this was a household buzzword). I founded CottageClass, the first marketplace for microschools and learning pods that was part of the Techstars 2018 class. In 2019, I created a virtual learning program to help families through the pandemic, a free online math tutoring program (masteryhour.org), and schoolclosures.org, a hotline developed in collaboration with Twilio and 80 other partners including Khan Academy, Revolution Foods and the Crisis Text Line, that served 100,000 families impacted by school closures.

I’ve climbed trees with children in forest schools in San Francisco, and tested new digital apps with kids in seven countries.

I’ve also coached dozens of families at different stages in their homeschooling journey. Most recently, I founded Modulo with homeschooling dad, best-selling author and tech entrepreneur Eric Ries, to help families curate their children’s education, social and childcare experiences drawing from a diverse array of in-person and online resources.


During the last three years, I’ve devoted much of my time to reviewing and testing secular homeschooling curriculum and other resource. I’ve spent the last three years talking to thousands of secular homeschooling families, and poring over tens of thousands of secular curriculum reviews and testing physical curriculum and digital apps for with hundreds of students to find the highest quality, most engaging, personalized learning materials for every type of learner.

I’ve spoken about homeschooling and modular learning at multiple venues including SXSW EDU, NY Tech Meetup, and on the LiberatedEd podcast.

In 2022, Modulo was one of 8 organizations who were awarded the Bridge Grant from the Vela Education Fund to expand access to homeschooling and modular learning to under-resourced communities.

My experience in education and homeschooling has led me to believe that there is no perfect education for every child, but families have an extraordinary amount of wisdom they can apply to building the perfect education for their individual child.

My goal with Modulo is to make it possible for any family to easily build a customized education that their child will love, and that will empower the whole family to thrive, taking into account, social, emotional and academic needs.

I love to answer questions from parents and receive feedback on how we can improve Modulo, so feel free to reach out anytime! I personally answer all the questions and comments readers leave on my blogs.

In my free time, I like hiking, traveling the world, tasting ceremonial grade matcha, enjoying dark chocolate.

I graduated Summa Cum Laude from Brandeis University with highest honors, with a double degree in French Literature and American Studies and minors in Environmental Studies and Peace & Conflict Studies.

And I love to learn!

https://www.linkedin.com/in/manisha-snoyer-5042298/
Previous
Previous

Art History Kids

Next
Next

Vincent's Starry Night and Other Stories: A Children's History of Art