About Erik & Melisa

Who are we? We are weird and wacky, attached, no nonsense parents of five amazing children. Three are grown and living on their own and we are here parenting and raising the youngest two. We love spending time together and we love teaching families how to enjoy spending time together - like REALLY enjoy it. Our desire is to send children into the world that other people will enjoy being around and all that begins with us.

Chances are we are not too different than you, we've just been around the block a few times and know what works and what doesn't. Parenting and partnering can be tricky so we hope you'll enjoy walking this path with us.

Erik and Melisa are also the owners of Waldorf Essentials, a homeschooling company that provides homeschool curriculum, training and mentoring to families that want to homeschool with the Waldorf method.

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How's your family rhythm?

When things feel like they are going to hell in a hand basket, it might feel like it is all about Johnny's 10th tantrum for today, I will bet you it isn't. Things don't happen in a vacuum. Johnny's tantrum is likely the after effect of something else. If things are truly going to hell in a hand basket then I bet there are a lot of things that feel off. I like to do a little check in and really take a look at how our family rhythm is going. Family rhythm? What in the heck is that? Rhythm is often confused with schedule, and while they can look similar, rhythm is a bit different. Rhythm flows like a river. It flows around stones and boulders and might even meet a delta, but it flows. Schedule is more like something that floats down that river. If you don't pay attention to the bends in the river then the schedule can feel like it is screeching to a giant halt and everything is just plain off. Rhythm has to be tended and...

Media Use

On a quiet Saturday afternoon at a mall restaurant, we observed two children with their grandparents. During the entire meal, each child wore headphones as they played games on a tablet. I’m not sure how old they were perhaps under 10 years old. Neither of them looked up from their devices and the grandparents looked lost, confused and very much isolated. They couldn’t even peel their eyes away to look at their food. We see children often, who are literally plugged into the Matrix now, missing out on the world around them. By plugging in they are not settling into their bodies or being aware of how their bodies feel. Years ago, we were on a car trip and our son was embroiled in a handheld video game. When the battery died, he was in a panic, he had no idea he needed to go to the bathroom quite so bad. It was as if during the game he had unplugged himself from his body. It can be easy to simply demonize screen time and media usage. It’s so pervasive in our society that the idea...

A bunny in the grass...

A few weeks ago we were leaving our favorite amusement park. The park sits in the center of a fairly busy city and we are always amused at the wildlife we see, whether it be grasshoppers in the greenery or cats that live on the property to keep the mice population down. This evening was a special treat. As we dragged ourselves to the car after a long day of having fun, we were surprised and in awe of a sweet bunny in the grass. As we stood there watching with our kids (7 & 12) we noticed two moms with strollers and children that were probably 3 or 4 years old. I watched as the children tried so hard to get the mom's attention. Both moms were chatting away and more than once asked their children to quiet down. As we waited for the light to change and it to be our turn to cross, Erik and I were struck by the excitement of these sweet little ones. The light turned and we all started walking across the street to head to our cars but I could hear the little boys "M...

Peaceful Foundations

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