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George Lilly
O f t e n t i me s o n e s ma l l e v e n t c a n a lt
e r t he l i f e o f a co m mu n it y.
Ge o r g e m id w if e d W a ld o r f i d e a s f o r
so m e of t h e f o u n d i ng p a r e n t s .
organic interaction with the earth
into our “lessons.” When birth
clients asked about my thoughts on
schooling, I told them about Wal-
dorf education and shared my belief
that it seemed to be the best system.
CP Kanipe and Karinjo DeVore were
among those who asked, and they
went on to become two founders of
the school. And, as it turned out, as
a midwife I had caught the baby
who became the very first graduate
of WSRF!
My youngest son, Teva, started
school as a first grader in Frances
Lewis’ class at the Yellow Brick in
Aspen, and his class recited a poem
by Alfred, Lord Tennyson at that
first graduation for lone gradu-
ate Marina Kanipe. I was thrilled
that the school had finally mani-
fested and that at least one of my
sons would receive a true Waldorf
education. He graduated from
WSRF in 2004. Now I am the Office
Coordinator at the school and am
involved daily with what was once
only an inspiration.
“Waldorf ideas
steeped in my soul
for years.”
I was introduced to Waldorf educa-
tion while attending a healing arts
festival in Boulder. A veil painting
class was offered in addition to work-
shops on acupuncture, homeopathy,
macrobiotics, and other topics for
those with an alternative bent. I’d
always enjoyed art and found it ver y
exciting to be engaged in the chal-
lenge of watercolor painting using
a technique of creating veils of color
and light. In the workshop I learned
that veil painting was an expression
of anthroposophical philosophy and
part of the Waldorf school curricu-
lum, and it was then that I realized
how profound a Waldorf education
must be. Although I didn’t have
children at the time nor was I yet a
midwife, I found the concepts of a
gentle, developmental approach to
learning very compelling.
Several years later, when I was a
mother and a midwife, there was not
yet a Waldorf school in the valley,
so I homeschooled my first two boys
until they were ten, using Waldorf
principles as a model. I wove art and
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