I never bought in to Rudolph Steiner’s complete philosophy of education, although I do admit that using a holistic approach in our homeschool when my girls were younger had many benefits for us. The Enki Education curriculum is a curriculum that takes the whole child into consideration. Using it helps you meet their emotional, academic, physical and spiritual needs. We used the Enki curriculum for a couple of years when my girls were very young. We saw some very important benefits from using a holistic approach in our homeschool when my girls were young.
1. Forces You to Slow Down
This curriculum, and the support that came with it, came to us at just the right time, and filled the needs of all of us. It truly changed our lives. My eldest daughter at the time began exhibiting more behaviors that we just knew had to do with her sensory issues, however, there was something more to it. She is a gifted child who has always been a thinker. To help her get “out of her head” and more grounded, we switched things up and began using Enki. She needed a more holistic approach to education which included time for story-telling, crafting and generally just “being”. (We all did!) If you have a child like this, I highly recommend taking a breather and looking at a more nature, play, story-telling-based curriculum.
2. Helps You Remember What’s Important
For me, the Enki principles kept me grounded in my belief that our choice to homeschool our girls was the best for for our kids. Keeping my eyes toward a holistic way of educating at the time really helped me remember what is important in our lives.
Using this approach helped me to remember that family rhythms and the rhythms of nature are the foundation at this point in our homeschooling journey, especially for little ones. It helped me breathe deeply when I wondered if I was doing “enough” with my girls; if they should have been enrolled in all the extra-curricular activities that our friends were doing; if we should have also been joining this, that, or the other group.
3. Family-Centered
The principles of holistic learning and family-centered education can be implemented in any home, at any time regardless of what curriculum you use. It is my belief that incorporating any of the holistic principles in your life and home can only enhance it. For us, it helped us to become deeply rooted in our rich Catholic faith which has its own rhythms and celebrations. It is easy to lose sight of these important things as the academics increase in number and scope. If you have little ones, especially, I invite you to look into a more holistic approach to educating your children.
