The Virtual Experiance
Friday, January 16th- January 18th 2026
The Virtual Experiance
Friday, January 16th- January 18th 2026
Virtual Conference Schedule
4:00-4:15 pm PT/ 7:00-7:15pm EST
4:15- 5:45 pm PT / 7:15- 8:45pm EST
7:45-8:00 am PT/ 10:45-11:00 am EST
8:00–9:30 am PT/11:00–12:30 pm ET
9:30-10:00 am PT/12:30–1:00 pm ET
10:00–11:30 pm PT/1:00–2:30 pm ET
11:30–12:30 pm PT/ 2:30–3:30 pm ET
12:30–1:30 pm PT / 3:30–4:30 pm ET
1:30–2:00 pm PT / 4:30–5:00 pm ET
7:45-8:00 am PT/ 10:45-11:00 am EST
8:00- 9:30 am PT / 11:00-12:30 pm ET
9:30-10:00 am PT/ 12:30–1:00 pm ET
10:00 –11:30 am PT / 1:30–2:30 pm ET
(Live stream from in-person)
2:00 pm PT -3:00 pm PT
Meet Your 2026 Keynote Speaker
Over the course of three keynote sessions, David will lead our virtual conference participants through examples, modeling, and reminders of the power of storytelling in any classroom - or school - to build connections and community. He was a Waldorf classroom teacher and has his doctorate in education, which was focused on professional practice in Waldorf schools.
Keynote Presentations:
Friday Session: How to be a Confident Storyteller: Using Storytelling Presence and Nonverbal Cues
In our opening session David will offer a road map toward storytelling confidence by way of the presence and body language of the storyteller. We begin by becoming aware of the storyteller’s inner experience, and by waking this consciousness, we also learn how to control and change our presence. This is not only effective—it is also nourishing for the storyteller. We then connect presence to gesture and vocality: the three most important storytelling tools in the Restorative Storytelling™ method.
Saturday Session: How to be an Effective Storyteller
In this second session, David will show how to leverage our new-found confidence and use it to become effective and productive with our classroom storytelling. This is done through “containment” or a recognition of what story you are telling, who you are telling it to, and why you are telling it. Once we learn how to efficiently contain the story, we can build productivity in not only the main lesson story, but all our classroom preparation. This might be the most effective preparation hack ever!
Sunday Session: Identifying Your Unique Storytelling Signature
In this final session, David introduces the 12 storytelling strategies of Restorative Storytelling which include the 3 thinking strategies, the 3 feeling strategies, the 3 action strategies, and the 3 formal strategies. We engage in exercises for all 12 while noticing which strategies feel familiar and how we feel motivated to master others. This combination of comfort and striving shows us our unique storytelling signature, or our personal approach to storytelling. Awareness of our signature can be reassuring and help us appreciate what we already have while identifying how we wish to improve.
Introduction to the 12 strategies
Brief exercises for each
An encouragement to note how you respond
Choosing 3 volunteers to identify their storytelling signature
Morning Movement
Thematic Workshops
Keynote Speaker/Storytelling: Restorative Dialogue: Storytelling Practice
Description: Part One of this workshop focuses on Story Listening, a Restorative Storytelling tool used to “read the room” and notice subtle cues from the listener. We use the four directions of Up (peripheral attention), Down (somatic awareness), Forward (targeted content), and Back (signaling the emergent) to receive massive amounts of important information while remaining calm and present to what is happening in the room.
Part Two introduces Open Response, a Restorative Storytelling tool used to effectively respond to what we have learned through Story Listening. This makes the experience a dialogue, where the speaker and listener work together toward a common goal. This goal might be to teach a particular lesson, bring calm to the room, highlight a pedagogical impulse, or motivate the listeners into action.
Myth-Busting Waldorf Literacy and Language Arts K-8 with
The Roadmap to Literacy Books
Descriptions:
Myth-Busting Unhealthy Narratives about Waldorf Literacy
There are ways to get up to 95% of students reading fluently, but the stories we tell about Waldorf education all too often prevent teachers, administrators, and schools from adopting them. This workshop shines the light of consciousness on Waldorf myths (e.g., sacred nothings) and Waldorf Truths so participants can learn what Rudolf Steiner and The Roadmap to Literacy really say about how to teach and how to assess. It presents best practices so schools can meet the academic needs of all students. See what is possible when teachers and schools embrace new narratives about Waldorf literacy instruction.
Secrets to the Steiner-Waldorf Storytelling Curriculum
The original Steiner-Waldorf storytelling curriculum lies dormant, buried under conflicting narratives about which stories to tell and why to tell them. Teachers who understand the original indications have a powerful tool for revitalizing the Steiner-Waldorf curriculum K-8 and for working with the children in the class. Learn how to work with the original storytelling curriculum and economy in teaching to renew all aspects of education (academic, social, moral, and environmental), including ways to bring diversity and inclusivity in a powerful way.
Exploring the 7-Year Life Rhythms Through Sharing Our Own Stories
Description: We will listen to events from other people’s life stories as well as sharing episodes from our own in small groups..To do this we will listen deeply, without judgment or questions. In the process we will discover new things about our own biography as well as broadening our interest to extend to other people’s lives. We will practice confidentiality and share only what is comfortable for us..
Becky Taylor, a therapist and teacher certified in Restorative Storytelling™, introduces two powerful tools from the Restorative Storytelling appproach that are particularly effective when teaching young children. “Intuitive navigation” and “Story foraging,”can be used to connect with young children by way of the natural world. Meet and collaborate with the natural world by way of the imagination—the natural home of both the young child and the storyteller.
Finding Balance as a School Leader
Description:Public Waldorf school leaders are asked to navigate the demands and requirements from the district and state and to build a culture that supports Waldorf's (the Alliance's?) Core Principles. They answer to many constituencies; every day is full and often unexpected. Join Delana Hill, one of three principals in the Seaside Charter consortium in Jacksonville, FL to explore the balancing act of leadership. Your questions will be welcome! This workshop is appropriate for anyone in a leadership position in a Public Waldorf school
Building and Maintaining Successful Leadership-Board relationships.
Description: Join Chris Topham, Executive Director of one of our oldest charter schools, Sebastopol Independent Charter School as he shares his expertise and experience in fostering and supporting the key relationship between school leadership and the Board or Charter Council. Chris will outline steps that lead to success and will discuss some common pitfalls - and ways to avoid them. This workshop is paired with (I will fill this in) and is designed for anyone in a leadership and/or Board position in a Public Waldorf school.
Artistic Workshops
Anna Rainville
Singing Games
Singing games are a part of every culture and generation. These story gems provide healthy opportunities for sensory integration and building community. This workshop for early childhood, kindergarten, and grade one teachers will focus on traditional and new singing games that invite the child to feel at home in their body. They are rich in seasonal lore, social graces, storytelling, and mathematical fun. The melodies are easy to learn because of their folk music quality. Singing and moving together in simple or complicated forms and patterns appeals to all ages, whether at home or in a classroom.
Handwork: Weaving a Yarn While Telling a Yarn
Join fiber artist and education administrator Jennifer Tan for a hands-on creative session that blends handwork with the art of storytelling. In this workshop, participants will learn how to construct a simple cardboard loom, learn foundational weaving techniques and vocabulary, and explore how narrative can come alive through handwork. Each participant will weave a small pouch while reviewing pedagogical applications for bringing this meaningful project into the classroom. Perfect for teachers seeking to deepen creativity, connection, and story-rich learning.
Supplies Needed:
Cardboard (approximately 4” x 5” can be cut from a box)
Cotton string or cotton yarn to warp (string) the loom
One or more colored wool yarns for weaving (DK, worsted or bulky weight) = 3 yards
Watercolor Painting: A Story's Moment and Mood
This workshop invites educators into an inspiring, hands-on hour with artist and Waldorf instructor Rick Tan. He demonstrates how wet-on-wet watercolor can illuminate a story’s emotional landscape. Rick will guide participants through two paintings, each capturing a distinct narrative moment, while modeling his practical Five C’s—color, control, content, character, and connection—as tools for intentional artistic decision-making. Teachers will leave with renewed confidence, fresh techniques, and a deeper appreciation of how visual mood-making can enrich imaginative storytelling.
Supplies needed for class:
Paint - Stockmar paints, 250 mL is best for classroom use, available at Mercurius and on Amazon in 50 mL bottles.
Paper - Strathmore, 11 x 15, 140 lb, available on Amazon and Dick Blick, also Strathmore, 90 lb on Amazon and Dick Blick. I prefer the 140 lb weight, but I know students in classrooms will typically will use the 90 lb.
Brushes - if I could use only one brush, it would be a filbert or flat, about 3/4" - it seems the most versatile. Here's an example on Amazon.
Paint pad - anything non-porous and easy to clean, like these artist paint panels from Dick Blick or simple plastic mats from Amazon
Used rag
Mason jars for water, smaller glass jars with lids for the paint like these in ULine
Drawing
Armida Cervantez
Weaving Story and Craft
What is the story of your journey? Presented through an Indigenous lens, Armida will guide you in cultivating your own story and how it serves you in teaching. We will create a wool image tapestry in expression of our own individual journeys.
The Power of Voice
Our voices are our primary instrument in the classroom. Joia Wood, a vocal artist certified in Restorative Storytelling™, will show teachers and storytellers how they can use their voice to inspire, create connection, motivate and calm the listener. There are four directions of the "Wide Vocality" tool which is easy to learn and a lot of fun to practice. Learn how to float up with your voice and invite the listener into a thinking space, or dig down into the earth to build connection and empathy. Learn how to bring heat to your voice and motivate the listener forward into action, and then calm them back into a space of security and nourishing warmth. Learn your most comfortable direction and then try exercises to strengthen the other three.
Meet the Members of the Alliance For Public Waldorf Education