misty mama

Eurythmy Basics in Acacia Waldorf School

Educating for Creative Thinking: The Waldorf Approach by Joan Almon

Grades One to Eight

Between the approximate years of seven and fourteen, the intense physical activity of early childhood gives way to the feeling life of the child.  Learning through imitation diminishes, and the child turns to the teacher in a new way, looking to her or him as a loving authority who knows the world.  The preschool child feels, " I can do whatever you can do through imitation."  The elementary child feels, "There is so much I do not know, but you are my teacher and you know and will teach me."  The path to knowledge for the school child is through the relationship with the teacher as a loving authority.

The Waldorf class teacher is faced with a number of challenges in working with the child.  The curriculum is particularly rich and diverse, and the teacher is expected to offer creative presentations on a vast array of subjects over and eight-year period.  The intellectual challenge to the teachers is enormous. Their own thinking is constantly stimulated, as well as their own creativity and love of learning.  Moreover, they have to find the living relationship that they form with their class over the eight-year period.  Relationships with the children and their families are worked on and deepened over these years, and the children benefit tremendously from the continuity of relationship.  At the same time, they learn to relate to a variety of teachers, for they have specialty classes in subjects as varied as foreign languages, arts, handwork, gymnastics, and gardening.

Another aspect new to the school child is the freeing of the memory forces.  Preschool children often amaze us with the details that they remember of past events, but they can rarely call up memory at will.  Rather, something is needed--a sound, smell, or sight--to trigger their memory, which then flows forth in abundance.  By contrast, the school children are able to go into their minds and find the memory that they seek, an essential quality needed for mastering academic subjects.

An additional change in the elementary children is that they are very interested in rules.  One sees this in play, where games with rules now predominate over the creative fantasy play of the younger child.  In learning, too, the child is ready to be guided by rules.  The rules of mathematics or writing make sense to the elementary child in a way that they cannnot make sense to the younger child, for whom rules still have little inner meaning.

There are many other aspects fo consciousness that awaken in the school child.  Many are related to the maturation of the rhythmic system, for heart and lungs now settle into a regular rhythm, whereas in the younger child they are still quite irregular.  With the development of the rhythmic system comes the love of rhythmic games such as jumping rope with verses, rhythmic hand clapping, and throwing balls to the accompaniment of long verses.  Moving in a rhythmic way ( eg. in counting and reciatation) speaks deeply to the school child.

As the rhythmic system develops, the feeling life of the child comes more and more to the fore.  Education can be cool and intellectual and bypass the feelings, or it can stir them deeply.  The teacher approaches the curriculum in artistic ways, bringing to life a wide range of subjects.  The love that the children develp in these years for the subjects that they study ripens into a deeper quest for knowledge in adolescence and beyond.  One of the tasks of the Waldorf elementary teacher is to present the curriculum in such a way that it stirs the imagination and feelings of the students, creating a context in which they can experience sympathy and antipathy, joy and sorrow, anger and tranquility, and much more. Through mythologies, great stories, and stirring biographies, the children's own moral impulses are awakenend, and an idealism begins to grow in them that will flower in adolescence.

"It's Hard not to be Active when it is Personal"

I was reading a fashion magazine lately, skimming through photos, articles, ads, what have you and i saw the quote above--perfect.  It summed up how I have been feeling these past week.  Forgive me if my sentences seem more like ramblings of an unsettled mind. And yes, its true; think i'm in the chaos of something perhaps needing to be born.

My second son, Elias is in the third grade of a Waldorf School here in the Philippines. I think i've mentioned it in previous posts. Hence, some of the topics on Waldorf Education. For those who have not gone through this stage yet;  the third grade is a very special time for a child because of the nine-year change or the "rubicon".  It is a developmental milestone, so to speak when a child slowly senses the duality of an outer and inner life.  Sometimes, there is a clear consciousness about its separateness from others, like its parents. And other times, it is a feeling of sadness, or fear even. Whatever it is, a parent sees these changes happening before their very eyes.  A mother's instinct is always to cushion, to protect and help.  I saw some changes in my son fairly early in the year but I was comforted at the fact that Steiner gave a clear set of main lesson blocks that address these changes--mostly consisting of physical work that would require a bigger community's contributions.

Well, it was pretty important to me that I felt it merited a phone call to his teacher to first ask her what her plans were and how I could help her; to tell her too how important the tasks were for the year ahead. Just so that I could sense that we were on the same page. Looking back now, perhaps it was best to say, nothing?  How can a mother not be concerned when it comes to their son's education?  I believe that one of the reasons we put our children in Waldorf Schools is to get away from the impersonal ways of a traditional school.  I expected communication, concern, knowledge of what goes on between the kids on a daily basis, their strength and weakness et al.  Not that the above were non-existent, but that they were only half done (or half meant if there is such a thing). There are a mountain full of factors for the slew of events that transpired, just like there always is.  But the foremost being that of, Time, like the saying goes,  "half the work is just to show up".  You can't do all of the job if you're only half there.  And from what I hear, it was indeed anticipated. 

Admittedly, I am disappointed.  A questioning of my own intentions and my own ideals are critically in examination at this very moment. But  I understand that the power to make a change are well in the hands of each parent in this class. It is not solely the school's responsibility, (in traditional schools perhaps)  but it does call on the the school as an entity to open the lines of communication to find a solution, together with its parents.  A solution well thought of and considered, however, new or different. 

Turning Twelve

This is the last number before the "Teen" years begin. (though sometimes it feels that we're already there) Twelve years ago, on the 15th of September 1998, my life changed forever.  If someone had said I'd survive all these years past, I never would've believed them, so am glad no one did. Here I am! 

There have been many life changing moments since I began my journey as a Mother but this day marked my official entry into the world of Mothering.   How I lacked in so many ways as a human being, yet this beautiful soul chose me anyway, to be his mother.  I can never forget Tomas' eyes when he stared at me just moments after his birth!  I thought babies opened their eyes much later. He looked at me with such knowing eyes;  serious, clear, yet gentle as a feather.

 

Here he is, in school, as they gather in a circle to acknowledge his birthday. I love this yearly tradition.  Each child has a turn to personally say their birthday wish for the celebrant and at the end, Teacher T. gifts him with a verse she has made,(she gives them one every year) on a beautifully painted background.                               For Tomas at 12                                                          

A Silent ship

Slowly sailing by

In waters deep

Beneath a vast blue sky

To distant shores

Travels my soul serene

To wander free

In hills and pastures green.

And in my search

For Truth that dwells in Love

a sign of Peace

I behold

A snow white dove.

 

Thank you Teacher T.  A Happy Birthday to a special boy indeed.

  

Araw ng Wika

In Acacia School, we recently had a day of celebrating all things Filipino.  There were presentations given by each grade; songs and dances as well as poetry from our Filipino hero, Jose Rizal. There was also a number offered by the teachers of the school singing a beautiful song by Joey Ayala called "Haring Ibon". It was refreshing to hear this. Most of Joey Ayala's songs are about nature and how beautiful this country truly is. After the numbers, each class offered a variety of filipino cuisine from the three different regions, Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.

This is a masked 3rd grader, getting ready for their piece.

 

Class 2 Props

My warrior boy, getting ready for battle

mmmmm..... smelly durian from Davao, a province in Mindanao actually bigger than Manila.

a fruit called marang; also from Davao.  The fruits were courtesy of Class 5/6/7.

  Our flag....waving proudly in the wind.