Did you know there are more than 2,000 Waldorf Schools in 60 countries around the world?  When we decided to travel with our children to various countries around the world, Waldorf was the tapestry that connected all of it. It was not an easy task, in fact it was downright impossible at times. As I have learned in life, time and time again, the greatest gifts come from the hardest challenges.  One of the quotes I had on my chalkboard when I was a teacher was “We can’t discover new oceans unless we have the courage to lose sight of the shore”.  Courage we had. Leaving the shore of home challenged us in ways we could not have imagined.  And new oceans we found. 

 

During our trip there were countless stories of struggle and triumph, connection and confusion, but it all ended with a beautiful realization of how one idea, like love, can create a global movement.  I can remember waking up in Bangkok, one of the most exhilarating and incredible cities in the world.  We rode bikes for hours in and out of micro-villages, through floating markets, over bridges, around traffic, noise, pollution, glimpses of beauty and poverty. We ended up in a sanctuary in the middle of the chaos.  The Panyotai Waldorf School. Covered in palms and bamboo, a large open air auditorium filled with global traditional music.  Nature and beauty was shining through the pollution of the larger city surrounding it.  Buddhist temples and traditional statues nestled into surrounding hills. We had arrived at the 100 Year celebration of Waldorf schools around the world.  The school was a breath of fresh air.  Many Asian Waldorf School children from India, Myanmar, Thailand, & Philippines, were all gathered for a week-long celebration we got to experience.  Liam and I participated in a Waldorf 100 year celebratory 12k run, and we played games and enjoyed food from the campus store.  We were welcomed and treated like family.  

 

Our children attended Waldorf schools in Kenya, Myanmar, & Egypt.  We were able to visit the Waldorf schools in Israel, Greece, and Turkey.  Words can not express the amazing immersion we experienced as part of this global family.  We lived with families in Nairobi, shared meals with students  in Myanmar, and explored with families in Israel.  We learned about social justice microcosms in Myanmar, the amazing peace work at the Turkish/Syrian border, and the forward thinking of green energy and sustainability in Egypt.  Waldorf is truly changing the world.

 

The boys made many friends along the way. Our children got to ride the bus every day to the Nairobi Waldorf School.  The first day I rode with them and Peter asked me not to sit with him in case a new friend wanted to sit next to him.  Liam played soccer for 3 hours after school on a very hot Kenyan day.  He never wanted to leave. In Myanmar, Thomas made a friend, Sophia.  Her family also happened to own the hotel where we were staying, and Thomas would sneak over to her father's office every morning to find her.

 

They hiked to waterfalls in Thailand, got lost in the Bazaar in Istanbul, sang familiar Waldorf songs in classrooms in Egypt, made campfires in the African Savannah, ate falafels and cruised on Birds with friends in TelAviv, swam with dolphins in Mombasa, sailed down the Nile river, bathed elephants in Chiang Mai, and rode camels at the Great Pyramids. They are now part of a larger fabric of this world, made even more beautiful because of Waldorf.

 

Waldorf Education is different. It teaches the goodness I want to see in the world.  It challenges our children to think freely and willingly.  To become leaders with a moral compass.  And global innovators in preserving the precious resources on this planet.  These are the kind of humans I want to raise. This is a global school making a difference around the world, and my goal in life is to plant that seed in Vacaville.  It has a spirit without being religious, a heart without fear, and reverence for nature that feels like a timely answer to a war-cry within us all.  

 

Our desire to bring Waldorf to Vacaville comes from a passion steeped in this global connectedness. 

At Ballygrennan Farm, we have a community of families inspired by Waldorf Education, known as Pleasant Valley Roots. This is a place where your child will find themselves lost in play - rock rivers, mud mountains, composting, puppet shows, edible gardens, roaming chickens, sweet pigs, roaming llamas, grazing horses, braying donkeys, monarch habitats, winter spirals, Michaelmas dragons, songs to the earth and sky, poems and rhymes to Mother Nature, music from cultures around the world, gifts from the flowers and trees, and of course, fairy and gnome houses.  But most importantly, you will find a love-based curriculum, part of a global movement, that will teach your child how to “Learn to change the World”.