Welcome to Moon Child
I’m Sarah Baldwin, a Waldorf early childhood educator, author, and owner of Bella Luna Toys, an online shop selling Waldorf toys, wooden toys and natural toys, chosen to nourish a child’s senses and inspire imaginative play. I am also the author of Nurturing Children and Families, a book for teachers and leaders of Waldorf parent/child playgroups.
My husband, Max Alexander, is a journalist and author who shares an office with me upstairs in the barn next to our home. Max and I live on the beautiful midcoast of Maine on Buttermilk Lane (no, I didn’t make that name up!) in the small town of South Thomaston, minutes from the coastal city of Rockland and its working harbor. If you know Maine at all, we’re about half-way between Portland and Bar Harbor on Penobscot Bay.
Our two grown sons, Harper and William, live together in Los Angeles. Harper is a young filmmaker (cinematographer) and Will is finishing up his education in computer science at the University of Southern California.
In addition to being passionate about children and Waldorf education, I’m also wild about traditional music and learning to play fiddle. As a family, we love to spend our winters skiing and our summers sailing, making Maine an ideal place for us to be.
When I made the decision to take ownership of Bella Luna Toys in September 2009, I knew from the start that I didn’t just want to have a retail website. While I truly love the toys I sell, I envisioned Bella Luna Toys becoming a forum where I could share my knowledge of children and my love for Waldorf education. I wanted it to be a site where I could answer families’ questions and interact with them. And, most importantly, I wanted it to be a place where I could support the magic of childhood and the importance of play — helping children and families find joy in life and learning.
I hope that you will find my blog, “Moon Child,” to be such a place. I’m so glad you found your way here. Leave a comment. Don’t be shy!
Warmly,
21 Comments
Sarah, Glad to see that Moon Child has finally been born. Hooray!
What a great idea! You have so much experience and wisdom to share and this seems like a perfect venue in which to do it! I love the name too. Congratulations!
Beautiful beginning! Best wishes on the new blog!
Sarah,
What a lovely idea. Thank you for always bringing us such wonderful resources for my girls!
Sarah ~ I see you’ve chosen Christopherus home school curriculum. We are using Oak Meadow; have you any experience with it?
I am familiar with Oak Meadow, Cindie. During the two years I homeschooled my boys, I first looked at Oak Meadow and Live Education. I bought books from both companies and started using them. Oak Meadow has a Waldorf flavor, but with my background as a teacher (and being a Waldorf purist), I recognized that many aspects of their curriculum were quite different from what a student would receive in a Waldorf school. It struck me as watered-down Waldorf. Live Ed’s materials are BEAUTIFUL and very true to Waldorf (the authors are former Waldorf class teachers), but their program didn’t address the realities of homeschooling and mothering . The creators of Live Ed are men without children of their own, and the program they outline doesn’t address what it’s like to juggle the laundry, dealing with a sick baby, getting dinner on the table and so on, while attempting to educate multiple children.
Then I discovered Donna Simmons, who started Christopherus the first year we were homeschooling. I was part of an on-line discussion group that Donna moderated and was impressed by her deep understanding of Waldorf education (she is a trained Waldorf teacher who actually homeschooled her two boys) and how articulate she is. I ordered her Curriculum Overview, and was really impressed with the thoroughness of the materials, and most importantly, she understood what it’s like for a homeschooling mom to juggle the realities of daily life along while homeschooling. In fact, Donna finds ways to make real life — chores and practical activities — part of the homeschool experience. In the years since, she has expanded her curriculum offerings greatly and now offers complete curriculum guides through Grade Four (and working on adding each subsequent grade).
I was lucky enough to meet Donna when she and I were co-presenters at the Waldorf in the Home Conference in Fair Oaks, CA a number of years ago and we stayed in touch long after my children and I returned to our local Waldorf school. In fact she and I have been exploring ways that Bella Luna and Christopherus might partner together in the area of parent education.
Now all that said, I know homeschoolers who use Oak Meadow and are very happy with it. Homeschoolers are lucky that there are so many good choices out there, and choice is a very individual thing. But for anyone hoping to give their child the closest education to one they would receive in a Waldorf school, I would urge her to take a look at Christopherus’s offerings. More info about Christopherus can be found at http://www.christopherushomeschool.org.
This is lovely, Sarah! I’ll look forward to reading what you have to share. That is a lovely photo above. I think I just might know who it is, too. Funny what a small world it is. Happy blogging. I hope to follow in your footsteps soon. 🙂
Dena pointed me to your blog and its just beautiful! I am a teacher’s assistant in a Waldorf inspired preschool so I am very excited to explore what you have to share. Good luck!
The photo above made me remember how much we miss you. I wish you all the best with this new venture. You have a lot to share, and this seems a wonderful venue. You are off to a terrific start!
HI Kathy! I’ve missed you and your family so much, too! I’ll be in touch to catch up. So glad you found me here.
I am so glad you finally have your site up and running. Like you, it is lovely. I am looking forward to seeing the site become all you would have it be, because as you succeed, we will all reap the benefits. My very best…
Sarah – your blog looks lovely and I know your business will be a great success.
Hi Sarah! Looks awesome!
I’ve linked you on my blog too 😀
Jennifer
Thanks so much for the link, Jennifer!
I’m looking forward to reading more on your blog as I’m planning to homeschool my children with a Waldorf-inspired curriculum.
Thanks, Sarah. I found a used copy of Christopherus’ Kindergarten with your 3-6 year old and Joyful Movement. I think the best way for me to see the difference is to look at them side-by-side. I “backed into” Waldorf via Oak Meadow, so it’s really the only exposure to Waldorf I’ve had other than other blogs and your website. Thank you! We actually did a toy toss last October and have been gathering materials since.
Your blog is as beautiful as the objects in your store. Congratulations on your new blog
Hi Sarah-As I close out my final books for Bella Luna, it makes smile to see how far you have already taken Bella Luna! You are doing a fabulous job and I am so proud of what you have already done!
Hi Sarah-As I close out my final books for Bella Luna, it makes smile to see how far you have already taken Bella Luna! You are doing a fabulous job and I am so proud of what you have already done!
Oh, Miaja, your comment brought a tear to my eye. I am so grateful to you for establishing Bella Luna Toys and honored that you chose to entrust its future to me. I couldn’t be happier doing what I’m doing right now, and it’s all thanks to you. So happy you approve!
How lovely! I will look forward to returning!!
–Donna Jo, in Iowa, wanting to discover Maine!