3 Reasons Why Journey Through the Grades is the Can't-Miss Parent Evening of the Year
You’ve probably seen it on the calendar. Or perhaps your child’s teacher has mentioned this fun little evening in January known as Journey Through the Grades. You’ve thought about attending, but life gets busy, weeknights are hectic, and you just kind of forget about it until it’s too late.
Well, I’m here to tell you why you should mark that evening on your calendar IN PEN and set an alert on your phone. It all comes down to three little reasons why you should attend Journey Through the Grades.
1. Live out your elementary school-redo dreams.
Raise your hand if you agree that one of the best things about being a Waldorf parent is that you get to live vicariously through your child and get an elementary school-redo. (And if you’re actually raising your hand right now, you’d fit right in with my third graders. The “raise your hand game” is a BIG favorite.)
Journey Through the Grades is the best place to live out some of that Waldorf magic and experience exactly what your child does in the classroom. You’ll play games, do art, and observe fascinating science demonstrations — just like your kids do every day!
I don’t know about you, but my elementary and middle school experiences pale in comparison.
2. Make a little contribution to the old knowledge bank.
Are you starting to feel like your intelligent, creative-thinking Waldorf child is outsmarting you? Ha. You’re not alone.
This holiday season, I spent some time around the game table with my children and our extended family. When the history, mythology, and literature category came up in the trivia game, my three Waldorf grads completely destroyed the competition. The high fives and eye-rolling (“Duh!”) that accompanied their responses — “Charlemagne!” “Loki!” “King Louis XIV!” — were hilarious sibling-bonding moments.
Until finally Grandma had had enough and exclaimed, “We didn’t ALL go to Waldorf school!”
It was a proud mama moment.
If you want to show these smart Waldorf kids that you know some stuff too, Journey Through the Grades is a good place to get some of that knowledge. And you’ll be able to tell them all about it in their own language.
3. Hang out with the best faculty ever.
If you’ve wondered what Cedarwood teachers are like outside of the school day, Journey Through the Grades is a great place to find out. (Spoiler: We have a lot of fun.)
Seriously, Journey Through the Grades is one of my favorite events of the school year. I get to do something I LOVE doing (teaching!), interact with actual adults, and spend time with my amazing colleagues.
At Journey Through the Grades you might…
Play a math game with Mr. Wooton
Do an art project with Mr. Hayes
Practice movement with Ms. Elmore
Speak Spanish with Maestra Michelle
Where else would you be able to do these things?!
Every year, Journey Through the Grades brings a unique opportunity to experience the incredible gifts and talents that the Cedarwood faculty has to share.
It’s truly not to be missed.
Meredith Floyd-Preston a long-time Cedarwood teacher last led the class of 2025. She discovered Waldorf education when she graduated from UC Santa Cruz and was looking for a school for her young son. After attending the Michaelmas festival at the Santa Cruz Waldorf School, Meredith jumped in with both feet, signing her son up for preschool and enrolling herself in the San Francisco Waldorf teacher training directed by Dorit Winter. Now in her tenth year of class teaching, Meredith credits the past decade with some of the richest experiences of her life. While teaching, she backpacked through the wilderness of northern Idaho, hoisted sails on a historic schooner, discovered how seeds sprout, invented the compass and became Joan of Arc — all accompanied by a robust classroom full of students.