But I'll share my comments in response to her post below.
I am fairly new to homeschooling and fairly new to TWTM and Waldorf. But I combine the classical method and the Waldorf method and it works well for my children.
Regarding teaching history in the early grades, I don’t see that much difference as in listening to fairy tale stories / saints stories. It takes the child to another land. Like someone said, a good story is a good story. So if a younger sibling hears a saints story, it is alright (though it will not meet them "developmentally and they will not be "nourished" as much as a 2nd grader per say).
We do memorize a lot of facts but like another commenter says, it does not require the child to understand it and is akin to listening to songs/learning a foreign language. This is to take advantage that the child absorbs and retains the info much easier at this age. When they come to the material again in the higher grades, they will not spend a lot of time on the “vocabulary/grammar” of the material and is ready to delve into the material deeper.
I like that Waldorf is sensitive to “mirroring” the child though stories but honestly had a tough time with it when my daughter was 6 and listening to fairy tales. Now she is 7 1/2, the fairy tales are working out better for her but I have not clearly experienced the stories as "mirroring" of her development. (We've tried saints stories and she didn't really care for them so it'll be interesting to see if they will when she turns 8).
I don’t feel it is necessary to wait until a child is 7 years old to start academics. (I think) it should depends on the particular child though in China, formal academics also starts when the child is 7. (Though I will say, once they start, it is intense which is why Waldorf is attractive to me because it is more balanced). I think this is especially true in homeschool where the education can be more tailored to your own children.
I also like that Waldorf is “holistic” and is concerned with the whole child and not just academics. I think the math stories (in Waldorf methods) are fantastic and makes math much more fun and alive for everyone. (Though from what I know about Waldorf math, I don't feel it is necessarily wide enough and don't look at it necessarily from many angles. ) The emphasis on hand work in Waldorf is another reason I appreciate this method of education. (I firmly believe there is a brain/hand/physical connection).
