Parent Education

The Positive Parenting Thriving Kids Project

We all want to help our kids thrive, but sometimes it's hard to know how. When you run into parenting challenges, having reliable guidance to turn to can make a big difference. The Positive Parenting, Thriving Kids Project is a series of 20 free videos that feature more than 150 caregivers, kids, and experts talking about some of the most pressing, confusing, and challenging questions that parents face. For each video topic, you’ll also find a downloadable learning guide with tips, tools, and suggestions for additional evidence-based resources and programs that may help you and your family.

2023 Parent Enrichment Conference

Thank you all for coming to our Parent Enrichment Night with world-renowned parenting expert and the best-selling author of Simplicity Parenting, Kim John Payne! In case you missed it, you can watch his full talk about The Soul of Discipline below.

Helpful Links

Thank you for attending our Parent Enrichment Night on October 13th.

Stay tuned for information about a Parent Enrichment Weekend in the spring of 2024.

What Is Waldorf Education and What Does It Mean in Our Current Times?
Keynote Talk, April 1, 2022

The 7 Rs of Waldorf Education
Opening Talk, April 1, 2022

  Dr. Liz Beaven, Executive Director, Alliance for Public Waldorf Education

Liz Beaven has over 35 years of experience in Waldorf education, spanning class teaching, school administration, adult education, research, consulting, writing, and public speaking.  Liz was born and raised in New Zealand and is the proud parent of two adult sons (both Waldorf graduates) and a grandparent of five. She first encountered Waldorf education as a young parent in New York City. 

Liz has been involved in Public Waldorf education almost from its beginning, working initially in teacher preparation and professional development. The former Administrator of the Sacramento Waldorf School and former President of Rudolf Steiner College, Liz served as Provost at the California Institute of Integral Studies in San Francisco for the past four years and was Board President for the Alliance for Public Waldorf Education for several years.

 Donald Samson, Pedagogical Coordinator, Mountain Song Community School

Donald Samson has taught both children and adults for over thirty years. He has been teaching the Waldorf curriculum since 1989. He was a grades class teacher for nineteen years. Following that, he taught history, geography and literature in high school. Donald has been mentoring fellow teachers full time since 2013. He was a founding staff member of Juniper Ridge Community School in Grand Junction.

Donald has been with Mountain Song Community School since 2017. When he can steal time out of a week, he writes fantasy novels for young readers that the whole family can enjoy and has recently published a new book. His fantasy chronicle, The Star Trilogy, was inspired from stories he originally told in his class. You can learn more about his books at: www.donaldsamsonbooks.com.

Simplicity Parenting

Mountain Song Community school was thrilled to welcome Kim John Payne in October of 2023!

Simplicity Parenting is an internationally renowned program created by family counselor and former Waldorf teacher, Kim John Payne. The program will help you build a safe, warm and secure family base camp from which a child can launch out into the world with resiliency. The approach helps you in making small doable changes, worry less – and enjoy more. For those who want to balance their children’s lives down but don’t know where to start, Simplicity Parenting offers both inspiration and a blueprint for change.

Learn more by reading his best-selling books or listening to the Simplicity Parenting Podcast.