Dear friends and colleagues,

Spring, and now summer, are unfolding as expected, even though at times this winter felt as though it might never end. Some communities in the East have experienced a very wet spring—perhaps even too wet at times—while on the West Coast, rain and snow have been scarce, which is unusual. Change seems to be in the wind at every turn, and we are all learning how to navigate the many small and large shifts we face each day.

We have so much to share with you in this newsletter. We hope the year has been a meaningful one for you, and that the summer months will bring renewed forces, rest, and inspiration for your work with the children.

Warmly, 

Meggan Gill and Heather Church, WECAN Co-Directors



WALDORF WORLD EARLY CHILDHOOD CONFERENCE APRIL 2026

Heather Church, WECAN Co-Director

As fate would have it, on the very day I was meant to travel across the ocean to Switzerland for the World Early Childhood Conference, my body had other plans and kept me at home. Not wanting to miss this remarkable gathering, I followed along with over 1000 Waldorf early childhood teachers from around the world via live stream.

For each of the morning events, I found myself waking in the night six hours behind, making my way slowly to the living room, and settling in to listen to every moment of the keynote lectures. I sang with you, followed the verses, and received the talks as though I were sitting quietly in the chair beside you all. It was a strange and beautiful experience—truly like being a fly on the wall, present and yet apart.



Of course, I missed the walk up and down the hill with the trees in bloom, the steps inside the Goetheanum, and, most of all, the living encounters with so many colleagues from around the world.

Click here for more. Click here for lookbook.

JOIN US IN CELEBRATING 100 YEARS OF WALDORF EARLY CHILDHOOD WORLDWIDE

Meggan Gill and Heather Church, WECAN Co-Directors on behalf of the WECAN Board

If you haven’t begun celebrating yet, there’s still plenty of time in the year ahead to join in! We would absolutely love to see glimpses of your celebrations too—please share your photos and moments with us!

Attached is the celebratory 100-year packet featuring our butterfly theme, which we hope you find enlivening and meaningful in your classrooms, schools, and communities. This packet and the butterfly represent our deepest wish that you will help embrace our movement through study, circles, and stories in the classroom, and be inspired to visit with one another, pollinating or spreading small acts of connection, sharing the fruits of our love and labour, and uplifting us all.

Click here for the intro in Spanish.

BOARD REPORT

Anjum Mir, WECAN Board

For the WECAN board, the unfolding new year has affirmed our exploration into the needs of today’s children and the questions that are arising from our colleagues in the movement as we meet the future. The February Conference and the 100 Years conference in Dornach this past April brought opportunities for our board to engage in rich discourse around this work.

Many of our board members were able to travel to Dornach and align with teachers' movement-wide, as we collectively meet the challenges of an ever-changing world and understand how we, as educators, can transform to meet the children we hold in our care. From heightened anxiety and increased neuroexpansiveness, the pervasiveness of screens and digital technology in our human environments, to the overwhelming needs of parents, we were all encouraged to reevaluate our classrooms and our teaching, and most importantly, we were all called to be the initiators and guardians of this task.

Click here to read full article.

SPRING APPEAL 2026

We are grateful for any contribution you can make to support our work as an association.

PUBLICATIONS

Meggan Gill, WECAN Co-Director

WECAN is proud to publish new and relevant resources to serve teachers and families. You may submit manuscripts to publications@waldorfearlychildhood.org. 

Gateways: This twice-annual publication by the Waldorf Early Childhood Association of North America features up-to-date research and pedagogical articles, artistic activities, and practical classroom suggestions that can be easily shared with support teachers and families. Recent articles have covered literacy, imitation, storytelling, festivals, sensory development, and IDEA (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Access). Co-edited by Nancy Blanning (Denver, CO) and Anjum Mir (Los Angeles, CA), Gateways is published in the spring and the fall and is included in all paid memberships.



Stay tuned:

In honor of the Centennial Celebration, Nana Goebel, author of the History of Waldorf Education Worldwide (Waldorf Publications), has turned her attentions to creating an anthology of The Founders of Waldorf Early Childhood Education.  

It will be for sale SOON on our online bookstore.

Excellent Books for summer reading:

• An A-Z Collection of Behaviour $28 
• Parenting Through the Seasons: A Companion for Self-Discovery and Daily Life with Children $16
• Toy Making: Simple Playthings to Make for Children $22
• Nurturing the Senses: The Importance of Authentic Sensory Experiences in Early Childhood $15

GATEWAYS

Nancy Blanning and Anjum Mir, Gateways Co-Editors

The Gateways Spring 2026 issue has been sent off to readers. This issue continues to explore how literacy is fostered and supported in development in the early childhood years in non-academic ways. The issue contains both scholarly, well-researched, well-documented articles and practical, fun, classroom-friendly examples of how we foster literacy development in our early childhood groups. In our anxiety-filled world, when the future is so uncertain, parents and authorities feel worried that classrooms need to begin presenting academics earlier. These two recent issues (Fall 2025 and Spring 2026) provide confirmation of the Waldorf understanding of child development from birth-to-7 and the need for the opportunity for play to digest sensory experiences, for full-body and fine motor movement to mature sensory and motor systems, to allow brain and nervous system maturation without overtaxing the system, and time to consolidate and integrate these growing streams to become confident and secure.



The Fall 2026 issue will open up consideration of the many diverse realms we encounter daily in our classes and groups. Every classroom has a mix of different traditional and non-traditional family constellations, cultural traditions and expectations, adopted and fostered children, bi- and multilingual families, neurodiverse and neuro-expansive experiences of the world, to name a few. Gateways invites submissions describing experiences in any and all of these realms.

Sincere gratitude is extended to all who have submitted articles and classroom vignettes. Many new writers are courageously telling about their own studies and experiences. Please keep it up! We look forward to every submission that comes our way.

Submit your articles to gatewayscollection@gmail.com

FROM THE MEMBERSHIP OFFICE

Laura Mason, Membership Coordinator

Thank you to our members and affiliates for your collaboration this year! The spiritual activity generated by our collective human interest is what helps our movement thrive. You’ve visited one another’s programs, hosted and attended gatherings and conferences, engaged in webinar events and workshops, and extended your good thoughts to schools experiencing hardship. Your dues have supported WECAN and IASWECE with research, developing resources, hosting conferences, and visiting programs this school year. Thank you so much for your engagement! 

WECAN currently has 199 active member and affiliate schools, early childhood centers, and home programs! 132 Full Members, 38 Associate Members, and 29 Registered Initiative Affiliates. 

The membership office has worked with 45 programs in a process of self-study and peer review this school year. Their work in self-reflection and hosting visits is significant! 

Click here to read full article.

Lakeside School at Black Kettle Farm in Essex, NY

INCLUSION, DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND ACCESS UPDATE

Laura Mason on behalf of the DEIJ committee

WECAN continues to work to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion through membership, public resources, and our work as a board. Some of the recent activities include: 

• An ongoing review of our 2022 Alma Partners audit. We are in the process of assessing which areas are active and which need renewed attention. 
• A regular board meeting study of The Identity-Conscious Educator: Building Habits and Skills for a More Inclusive School by Liza A. Talusan. We recommend this as a resource for those of you in schools. 
• The completion of Alma Partners DEIJ course designed for our site visitors: Taking Stock, Taking Responsibility, and Taking Action: Inclusive Leadership in Waldorf Education. This was a significant investment for WECAN, and we’re delighted that about 60 site visitors completed the course. Thank you to Alma Partners for their work with us!
• The second annual pre-conference DEIJ meeting in Spring Valley was hosted by the WECAN board and facilitated by Meggan Gill and Anjum Mir was well attended. The focus this year was on sustainability and community relationships, and through group discussion, we reflected and listened to one another about :
• How are we sustaining our communities as we work together to address challenges to our DEIJ work, and how can we sustain ourselves as individuals? 
• How might our specific roles in our schools and our unique identities as individuals impact our own experiences of this work, and what tools might we need to support us as we move forward? 
• We also heard a report on WECAN’s ongoing work in this area. 

The integration of a diversity, equity, and inclusion lens in our everyday work continues to enrich us as an organization and in the Waldorf early childhood across North America.

BIRTH TO THREE

Heather Church and Anjum Mir, on behalf of the Birth to Three Working Group

This winter, the newly formed working group has been developing a NEW Birth-to-Three Resource Book. We hope to include a collection of articles on child development from conception through birth, followed by a focus on teacher development for those working with this age group.

The book will then turn to key areas of practice, including the environment and the many ways of working with the young child. It will offer support for a range of settings, including preschool, childcare, family and caregiver work, and infant/toddler groups. Our hope is that this resource will provide a meaningful overview of the Birth-to-Three work that is taking place within Waldorf programs.

Our other main areas of focus this year have been our Family and Caregiver Events and our newer Professional Development offerings. We are grateful to have had another full and successful year and are already planning for the year ahead.  Next year, Dr. Blanning will return, and among the other topics we are considering are digital media, meeting the needs of the children in our classrooms, diversity, inclusion, and belonging, and more.  As always, we will include at least one Professional Development offering in the Birth to Three area.

We deeply appreciate all who have participated in these offerings, and we extend special thanks to Meggan for her generous and steadfast support throughout the year.

As always, we greatly appreciate each of you working in this vital field, and we warmly welcome your thoughts and suggestions.



The Birth to Three Working Group includes Anjum Mir, Katherine Scharff, Debbie Laurin, and Heather Church.

TEACHER EDUCATION

Ruth Ker, Teacher Education Coordinator

Many of our Early Childhood Teacher Education Institute leaders were present at the Goetheanum in April, when 1,175 Waldorf early childhood teachers, teacher trainers, and other professionals worldwide gathered to take up the topic of the teacher’s inner life. This enriching conference, populated by colleagues of all ages and hosted by IASWECE (International Association for Steiner Waldorf Early Childhood Education), also emphasized welcoming the future into our current times. 

At our last North American Teacher Education Institute online meeting in April, alongside a rich presentation on offerings for assistants, we shared reports from the conference and agreed to keep the ongoing question of how we continue to awaken our consciousness to what the future is asking of Waldorf teacher educators alive.

Also, many early childhood educator trainers have found support and encouragement in meeting the needs of today’s students through conversations and presentations at the international ITEF (International Teacher Educators Forum) meetings and the IASWECE Teacher Trainers Network meetings. It is inspiring to consider the ways we can continue to support one another as a global community of practice.

Click here to read the full report.

DIGITAL MEDIA WORKING GROUP-WORKSHOP PRESENTATION

Lisa Pitillo, Digital Media Group

As educators and advocates for the rights of childhood, we experience the ever-increasing presence of digital technology in our communities and in the lives of the children in our care. The Digital Media Working Group is considering questions related to this and how to best support children, parents, and teachers working with this very real presence in our world. This year, the group worked with the WECAN board to bring a statement of our intention around digital media in Waldorf EC Education in North America. You can read the WECAN Digital Media Statement here, and it is also found on our website.

As part of their continued work on questions around digital media and early childhood, members of the group presented a two-part workshop at this year's Waldorf Early Childhood Educators Conference: Free To Be… Advocacy for Screen Free Childhood: Observation and Research - Tools of Understanding, and Supporting Parents and Children with Compassionate Presence.

Click here to read the full report.

CONFERENCES

Heather Church, WECAN Co-Director

This year, we collaborated on two conferences: the Birth-to-Three Conference at Sophia’s Hearth and the Pacific Northwest Regional Conference at the Portland Waldorf School. At our Annual February Conference at Green Meadow Waldorf School, we hosted the third and final in a series focused on New Adult Learning and the development of educators, building capacities to learn, understand ourselves better, and become lifelong learners and researchers. We also kicked off the 100 Years of Waldorf Education Celebrations in February, and many North Americans then attended the IASWECE and Pedagogical Section Conference in Dornach. All were rich and inspiring experiences. We thoroughly enjoyed seeing you there

Next year, we will once again collaborate with Sophia’s Hearth, continuing the theme of the Sense of Touch in Birth-to-Three and with the Pacific Northwest; we will announce the theme for that conference soon.

The Annual WECAN Conference in Spring Valley has moved its date for next year and will now take place from March 19-21, 2027 at the Green Meadow Waldorf School. We are so excited to offer the conference at a time of year when there might be less snow or wintry weather. 

Click here to read the full report.

SEEKING WECAN WORKSHOP LEADER CANDIDATES

One important way WECAN conferences inspire early childhood educators and administrators in their work is through workshops. Conference organizers in several regions are actively seeking colleagues who can contribute to the movement through workshops. If you or someone you know has some experience with adult education and a skill, area of expertise, or activity to share, we’d love to hear from you!

Are you a woodworker, fiber artist, musician, or eurythmist with an activity to offer? Do you have a special project that you do with your class, parent body, or faculty that you could share? Participants tell us that they’re eager for practical workshops that leave them with new material, perspectives, or tools to use with their classes and communities. 

Please share a little about yourself or another person you would recommend, in our Workshop Leader Candidate Survey. 

ONLINE EVENTS

Meggan Gill and Heather Church, WECAN Co-Directors

The year’s Online Events have been a voyage into a deeper understanding of the development of literacy, from a child’s physical birth to the etheric birth at six or seven years of age. Debbie Laurin began the year with our professional development event, Communicative Companionship, exploring the early phases of language development, and we concluded with Holly Koteen Soule’s event, Tell Me a Story from Your Mouth: The Journey from Orality to Literacy.

In between, we explored the birth of the etheric through professional development offerings with Dr. Adam Blanning and Ruth Ker, as well as in a Family and Caregiver event with Nancy Blanning. We are deeply grateful for every one of these rich contributions and for your participation throughout the year. It means a great deal to us to feel your appreciation and gratitude for these offerings.

We anticipate a robust and exciting set of offerings for the coming year. Topics in development include digital media, understanding the diversity of needs in our classrooms, and family/caregiver and child programs.

We look forward to seeing all of you there!

CLICK HERE FOR A FULL CALENDAR OF EVENTS

RECENT PUBLICATIONS

DONATE TO SUPPORT WECAN'S ACTIVITIES

Your contribution will help us support our members with additional resources, more ways to connect with colleagues, and inspiration for their ongoing professional development. Your support will also help us collaborate with other organizations to keep a light shining on the ever more critical and precious treasure of the first seven years and protect the young child’s joyful devotion to everyday life and unmitigated hope for the future.

We are grateful for any contribution you are able to make!

JOIN WECAN BY BECOMING AN INDIVIDUAL MEMBER!

Membership benefits include:

• A subscription to the Gateways Journal (includes the Fall 2025 and Spring 2026 issues)
• WECAN News Updates
• A 10% discount on WECAN book sales
• Discounts on registration fees at WECAN conferences
• Regular email messages that include reports on activities, conferences, and events of both WECAN and IASWECE (the International Association of Waldorf/Steiner Waldorf Early Childhood Education).

Click here for more information.