Woodland Star Charter, a Public Waldorf School, is excited to once again present a Parent Education Series. Connect, learn and grow together, offering guidance and inspiration for parents at every stage.

Session I: Nov. 17, 2025, 6 PM 

What is “Public Waldorf,” and what does it look like at Woodland Star?

With Antje Bojarsky, Pedagogical Director

Join us for a clear, parent-friendly overview of Public Waldorf education—its roots, core principles, and how those principles come alive in a public-school setting. We’ll connect pedagogy to what you see in classrooms, main lesson books, festivals, specialty subjects, and social-emotional learning.

You’ll learn:

• The foundations of Public Waldorf (human development, head-heart-hands, rhythm, arts-integration).
• How a Public Waldorf school aligns with state standards while preserving the integrity of the approach.
• Why practices like main lesson, movement, and blocks support strong academic and executive-function growth.
• How assessment, homework, and technology are approached in a developmentally wise way.
• Practical ways families can support Waldorf learning at home.

Our parent education series is free to attend, but space is limited.

All attendees must have a ticket.

Session II: January 12, 2026, 6 PM

How Does Waldorf Education Help Children Develop Empathy?

With Thea Blair, Music Teacher and Teacher Support

Have you noticed how a Waldorf campus feels different than at other schools? Learn how our daily routines, our curriculum, and our ways of teaching all encourage the development of social connection and empathic thinking.

You will learn:

How the Waldorf curriculum is tailored to the child’s developmental needs

How the Waldorf curriculum is a multi-cultural education

How the Waldorf pedagogy schools the imagination from ideas to ideals

How the classroom routines foster the child’s social development

Tickets will be available Nov. 18th

Session III: March 4, 2026, 6 PM

How Play, Games, and Sports Help Kids Grow, at School and at Home

Movement specialist (and Woodland Star grandmother) Valerie Baadh Garrett returns again this year for a fascinating and fun evening exploring the connection between movement and learning in the years from Kindergarten through the beginning of adolescence.

From a child’s early play and games, we can see a process of growing connections and relationships, testing oneself to take first steps into the world and with others. How does free play, imitative play, nature play, collaborative play, risky play, and competitive play help the child through its phases of childhood?

Join us as we move through the K–8 years ourselves — in just 90 minutes — and experience the progressions and principles of play, games, and sports that form the basis for learning and for life, both at school and at home.

Please come prepared to move in comfortable clothing and shoes.

Valerie is a Waldorf teacher trainer and international movement trainer in Spacial Dynamics®, mentoring schools around the world. She helped found the movement program at the San Francisco Waldorf School and Waldorf High School, and founded the middle school and high school athletics programs. Now in private practice as a movement therapist, she helps people move with ease.

Tickets will be available Jan. 19th

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