Waldorf Family Network is a grassroots initiative serving homeschooling families inspired by Waldorf education. The impulse for the initiative was originally founded in 1999 as a way for our own family to connect with other families on the same journey. Since then, the work of Waldorf Family Network has grown to serve our regional, as well as our global community, in a variety of ways, including helpful web-based services, such as the creation of a comprehensive resource directory for Waldorf homeschooling families.

Over the years, hundreds of families have also  come together in a warm-body way to enjoy countless programs and activities, including festivals, workshops, panel discussions, networking gatherings, and curriculum training. While we coordinate programs and activities on this end, the work itself is a collaborative venture with other parents. We often work out of a donation-based model.

As an initiative, our direction has been to strive to work out of anthroposophy and Steiner's insights on child development, while at the same time, as well as also striving to empower families to help meet the unique, practical needs that arise in working with Waldorf education within the form of a home-based setting. We are committed to bringing forth a grassroots approach to the Waldorf homeschooling path, with an emphasis on Steiner's realization that "teaching is an art".  Rather than asking what appears to now be an automatic question of, "which curriculum should I buy?", we emphasize the development of one's own curricula that is based on an understanding of the intent behind the content, as well as an individual knowing of the needs of one's children. We also strongly encouarge the deepening of a parent-to-parent network.  

Brenda Armstrong-Champ is the founder and director of Waldorf Family Network, and the director of Michaelmas Farm, a working farm and developing center for cultural renewal in north central Massachusetts where she and her family reside. Her background includes formal study and training in the areas of health education, clinical social work, energy healing, and nonprofit management. Since first meeting anthroposophy, Brenda has completed a two-year Foundation Studies in Anthroposophy and the Arts program, and has attended numerous lectures, workshops, conferences, and trainings over the years on various topics related to anthroposophy and the arts, including esoteric subjects, biography work, inner development, and curriculum work. She was part of the summer curriculum training program for Waldorf homeschooling parents sponsored by the Chiron initiative at the Rudolf Steiner Centre in Toronto for 8 years, including training in curriculum work for Gr. 1-8, and 3 years as a faculty member. Brenda completed the one-year Practical Training in Biodynamic Agriculture at Pfeiffer Center at Threefold Community in NY in 2010, and is currently part of an ongoing study group in Biodynamics, and also works with the Farm-Based Educators Inspired by Anthroposophy through the Biodynamic Farming & Gardening Association.

Brenda and her husband are the parents of two inspiring young adults, now ages 19 and 16.5. Both children attended early childhood programs in a Waldorf school community, and were homeschooled based on Steiner's insights on education from "grade one" through the "high school" years. The eldest is currently pursuing a B.F.A. in Dance at a major university, while the younger continues to homeschool for the 2012-2013 academic year.