Threefold Central Florida homeschool co-operative was created out of the desire to have a community where children’s developmental stages and the whole aspects of humanity are honored. We found this to be true in Waldorf educational approach, which this homeschool group is rooted in.

In a world that emphasizes academic content earlier and earlier, this philosophy runs against the mainstream educational approach. This approach may look too gentle in the early stages of childhood, but it gradually progresses toward a rich academic content as the child matures. This is made possible by placing first things first. There are many foundational skills that need to be mastered before a child can receive more rigorous academic content. Those skills are built through imaginative play, hands-on work, artistic activities, and outdoor explorations, which are the things that our co-op does on a regular basis.

In the typical Waldorf grades, academic content is placed purposefully to support the development of a child’s individuality. However, our group is segmented into age groups, not grade levels. Therefore, it requires a translation of individual grade’s indications to the mixed-aged environment. We still maintain the experiential aspect of learning before bringing it to a more abstract understanding.

The invisible string that ties the dynamics of the group together is rhythm. We anchor our activities around the year through festival celebrations. Some festivals have more cultural backgrounds, some others have more religious backgrounds, but they all correspond to the seasons and times of year. This is our big rhythm. Our finer rhythm lays in the sequence of our activities.