Community Education
A Community of Lifelong Learners
At Seattle Waldorf School, education doesn’t begin and end with our students.
Community education is an important component of the Seattle Waldorf experience for our families. Our lecture series offers opportunities to learn more about child development, Waldorf education, and other topics that are important to building a better world. We also hold community conversations and book groups that allow for more discussion than a lecture and draw upon expertise within our faculty and caregiver community.
Introducing WE School — a new initiative at Seattle Waldorf School that invites parents, caregivers, staff, and alumni to come together in the spirit of learning, creativity, and connection.
WE School is a gift-based adult education program, created by our community for our community. Classes are offered at no cost and taught by fellow community members who wish to share their knowledge, skills, or passions in a collaborative, welcoming space.
What “WE” Stands For:
- Waldorf Education – Deepening our shared understanding and appreciation of Waldorf philosophy.
- Wellness Experiences – Supporting mind, body, and spirit through movement, reflection, creativity, and connection.
- We, the Community – Celebrating the wisdom and warmth we each bring.
Take a look at all the offerings we have had this year so far!
Equity & Inclusion Virtual Speaker Series
This series is organized by the Northwest Association of Independent schools’ (NWAIS) consortium People of Color in Independent Schools (POCIS) and led by area independent schools to offer our communities an opportunity to connect, learn, and engage around equity, inclusion, and antiracist education and action.
If you’d like to learn about other events in this series, please visit the POCIS website and find their full community calendar here.
This year, SWS will host viewing get-togethers for the POCIS Lecture Series followed by an opportunity for discussion.
If you have a suggestion for a topic or speaker, please send a message to info@seattlewaldorf.org.
Waldorf Early Childhood Association of North America Speaker Series
This series is organized by the Waldorf Early Childhood Association of North America (WECAN), an association that fosters those organizations that work with young children from pre-birth to age seven. Based on an anthroposophical understanding of human development, WECAN is committed to protecting and nurturing childhood as a foundation for renewing human culture. They are hosting a series of speakers this year that are open to the public.
October 22, 2025 | 5:30 p.m. PT
The Arc of Becoming: Support for Parents in the First Phase of Life
Presented by Adam Blanning, M.D. and Debbie Laurin, Ph.D.
Becoming a parent transforms everything. With open hearts, we are called onto this profound journey of becoming—holding hopes and dreams that every child may be received with love and truly feel seen from the very beginning. How do we touch our children with our words and with our hands? How do we shape our gestures and rhythms to meet the child? In these earliest years, such attunement creates an inner foundation of trust and security.
For more information and to register, click here.
January 14, 2026 | 5:30 p.m. PT
Is My Child Ready? Understanding Grade One Readiness in Waldorf Education
Presented by Nancy Blanning
Rising from kindergarten into the grade school years is a big developmental step. How and when this takes place has outcomes and effects that will impact the child’s next twelve years and beyond. Families and teachers want this step to be steady and confident, not a leap forward to uncertainty, or a tippery landing. Waldorf education sees readiness as the culmination of a developmental process. Along with age, physical maturation, social and emotional development, we also consider language skills, gross and fine motor movement, and memory. The child’s state of readiness arises from a collective picture of these various factors. Educators look at the whole picture to ensure that the children will thrive in the coming grade school years. Each human being is always developing and becoming. Waldorf educators look to see where the child is in this developmental adventure. The child’s present and future welfare is always held at the center. This webinar will describe how and why the observations are carried out in a warm and benevolent way.
For more information and to register, click here.
February 25, 2026 | 5:30 p.m. PT
An Unfolding Flower: Spiritual Growth, Development and Biographical Journeys of Families and Caregivers
Presented by Adam Blanning
Human development takes place on multiple levels. The clearly charted outer changes of childhood give way to more subtle, yet equally profound rhythms of adult growth and reorientation. Feel like you are in a phase of big transition—you might be doing exactly the right thing at exactly the right time! We will explore some of the significant stages and qualities of adult development on a soul and spiritual level.
For more information and to register, click here.
Past SWS Lecture Series Topics Include:
- The Soul of Discipline, presented by Kim John Payne
- Sex, Youth, and the Internet, presented by Fred Ingham (MA, LMHC, CSAT)
- Communication in the 21st Century, presented by Christof Wiechert
- Weathering Adolescence, presented by Douglas Gerwin, P.h.D.
- Building Strong Foundations for Life, presented by Christof Wiechert
- Easing Anxiety at any Age, presented by Jenni Pertuset
Resources
Simplicity Parenting: Support for parents in simplifying the home environment, rhythm, and scheduling, and tips for unplugging.
We Nurture Collective: A collection of podcasts rooted in the principles of Waldorf education.
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4919 Woodlawn Ave N Seattle, WA 98103MISSION Daily we strive to inspire learning, courage, and joy in the developing human being.