Pacific Northwest Regional WECAN Conference

February 14-15, 2026

Portland Waldorf School, Milwaukie, OR

with keynote speakers Nancy Blanning and Tim Bennett

Children come to physical life with fundamental questions. Questions about how to make a home in a body that is foreign to them, how to live a life that matters to the world, how to fulfill their destiny–how to be human.

Play is a child’s pathway to answering these questions. In their dreamy, fluid, and creative consciousness, young children weave their perceptions into a seamless cloth through play. This is especially well-supported in the natural world, where children can directly experience themselves as part of the kingdoms of minerals, plants, and animals beneath a sheltering sky. In this environment, they are reassured that coming to earth was a good choice, and the challenges of modern life are brought into balance.

The human activity that children observe as they navigate the world provides their most potent fodder for play. Children come to earth expecting to be accompanied by adults doing work in the world. They are endlessly fascinated to see workers who dig, shovel, chop, cut, plant, scrub, and sew. These workers serve as models whose engagement, interests, and movements invite children enthusiastically into human life. In their imitative play, children practice becoming contributing members of the earthly world by reenacting the purposeful, intentional actions of their adult companions.

Work is a child’s play, and play is a child’s work. Work and play are inseparable partners that grow children into adulthood and beyond. Come join us as we explore ways in which we can provide both the physical conditions and inspiration for children in their play, so that they can build a foundation of creativity, flexibility, and optimism that will carry them into their adult lives.