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Rahima Baldwin Dancy

Goodreads Author

Born

in The United States

Website

http://www.waldorfinthehome.org

Genre

Parenting & Families, Nonfiction

Member Since

December 2011

URL

https://www.goodreads.com/rahimabaldwindancy

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I tell parents, "I made every mistake in the book--which is why I wrote the book": to share how the insights of Rudolf Steiner revolutionized my home life and my ability to meet the needs of my growing children--and the children I cared for, first as a Waldorf kindergarten teacher in the 1980s and then as director of Rainbow Bridge LifeWays Program from 2007 to the present.
In the1970s I wrote "Special Delivery" and became a homebirth midwife and childbirth activist, dedicated to protecting natural birth and its transformative power for families and society. At the same time I first discovered Waldorf education in response to the question, "What now? What do we do with these amazing children who are so full of life?" Like most parents, I w I tell parents, "I made every mistake in the book--which is why I wrote the book": to share how the insights of Rudolf Steiner revolutionized my home life and my ability to meet the needs of my growing children--and the children I cared for, first as a Waldorf kindergarten teacher in the 1980s and then as director of Rainbow Bridge LifeWays Program from 2007 to the present.
In the1970s I wrote "Special Delivery" and became a homebirth midwife and childbirth activist, dedicated to protecting natural birth and its transformative power for families and society. At the same time I first discovered Waldorf education in response to the question, "What now? What do we do with these amazing children who are so full of life?" Like most parents, I was clueless, and I knew there had to be someone who could provide a coherent picture.
I remind parents that Rudolf Steiner never had any children; nonetheless, his insights into human development resulted in his formulation of an educational approach that took into account the whole human being--thinking, feeling and willing--while acknowledging the spiritual nature of the human being. My husband and I completed the Waldorf teacher training and were transformed. Home life with four children suddenly became sane and supportive, and I was able to become an early childhood teacher--something I had always wanted to do, but didn't think I would be a good fit. In 1982 I taught the first kindergarten at the Rudolf Steiner School of Ann Arbor while Agaf took a first grade class. While he stayed with his class from grades 1-8, I taught kindergarten for a few years and then started an in-home program in 1984. During that time I completed writing "Pregnant Feelings" (with Terra Richardson) and began writing the first edition of "You Are Your Child's First Teacher," which was published by Celestial Arts in 1989.
During the intervening years the book has been revised several times, and I returned to midwifery as co-director of The Birth Center in Dearborn, Michigan. Over the nine years we were in Michigan, my midwifery partner, Valerie El Halta, and I served couples from 43 different countries! Then Agaf and I--our children grown and out of the house--moved to California and I found myself caring for his mother and my mother in our home for six years. During that time I got a Masters in "Gerontology and Organizational Change" from California State University Sacramento, before we returned to Boulder, Colorado, in 2003. During all these years I continued offering "Magical Years" and "Waldorf in the Home" conferences for parents and became a founding board member of LifeWays North America.
Returning to Boulder, the wheel had come almost full circle, as this was where I had started midwifing in 1977. Then I returned to early childhood when my daughter, Faith Baldwin (now Collins) and I opened Rainbow Bridge together in 2007. After three years, my husband took Faith's place after she married and joined me in caring for twelve children from ages 1-5. What a gift to be "Oma" ("Grandma" in German) and "Grandpa Agaf" to these wonderful children and their families and to provide them with the LifeWays family-model of relationship-based, mixed-age care!
So when Celestial Arts asked if I wanted to do a Revised Edition of "First Teacher," I jumped at the chance because there was so much more I wanted to share with you! I'm so glad we're able to continue the journey together. ...more

45 posts
Rahima Baldwin Dancy's Blog

Crafting in the "Maker Culture"

A recent article in our local paper referred to Kevin Kelly as saying that a "third industrial revolution is stirring." Kelly, editor of the 472-page book, Cool Tools: A Catalog of Possibilities," sees an increasing number of self-educateds and do-it-yourselfers who are building things in wood, metal and other materials. David Carr, who interviewed Kelly in the the New York Times, referred to Read more of this blog post »

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Published on January 09, 2014 16:05

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Rahima Baldwin Dancy’s books

Average rating: 4.02 · 1,896 ratings · 196 reviews · 5 distinct works • Similar authors

	You Are Your Child's First Teacher: What Parents Can Do With and For Their Chlldren from Birth to Age Six 4.01 avg rating — 1,822 ratings — published 1989 — 24 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Special Delivery 4.16 avg rating — 68 ratings — published 1990 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Pregnant Feelings: Developing Trust in Birth 4.33 avg rating — 6 ratings — published 1986 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	親だからできる赤ちゃんからのシュタイナー教育―子どもの魂の、夢見るような深みから 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Informed Homebirth 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Quotes by Rahima Baldwin Dancy (?)

“Imitation and repetition are the keys to discipline
with the young child, not reasoning or punishment.”
― Rahima Baldwin Dancy, You Are Your Child's First Teacher: What Parents Can Do With and For Their Chlldren from Birth to Age Six

tags: parenting, pedagogy

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“Children enter the world with a great deal of love and trust. They are not yet able to perceive good and bad, but they take everything as good and appropriate to absorb and unconsciously imitate.”
― Rahima Baldwin Dancy, You Are Your Child's First Teacher: Encouraging Your Child's Natural Development from Birth to Age Six

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“real difficulty comes when we are doing something that we don’t want to be doing. For example, if we must work when we want to be home, or if we are staying home when it is driving us crazy, then our parenting will tend to be influenced by guilt, resentment, and a whole range of other negative emotions. We need to make our best choices at each moment. We can’t always have what we feel would be ideal, but we can actively do the best with the options as we see them.”
― Rahima Baldwin Dancy, You Are Your Child's First Teacher: Encouraging Your Child's Natural Development from Birth to Age Six

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