Dear Parents,
We have come to the end our 2nd Term. What a wonderful time of learning and growth it has been. Even though the cold of winter has slowly crept upon us, the children have thrived in the warmth of their relationships with each other and the curriculum, which is so, so right for them at this time. They have been busy with so much and have felt and enjoyed the sense of achievement. We brought this term to a close with our lovely Class Sharing and tonight we will celebrate the Winter Festival together. Festivals are times to reflect and celebrate - not only significant historical or natural events, the change and quality of the seasons and the diversity of feelings they bring, but also the development and growth within ourselves. When we join in these festivals, we help our children feel and experience and celebrate the change of time within the warmth and care of community. Here is a little excerpt about Festivals taken from Michael Mount Waldorf School website. Festivals …celebrating the coming together of earthly and cosmic forces In the words of Sharifa Oppenheimer, Waldorf teacher and author of Heaven on Earth: A handbook for parents of young children: “In earlier times, children were raised within the agricultural calendar. … they knew the steps in a process, and learned the lesson to persist until the goal was attained. From planting a seed and persisting through till harvest … these children had a … sense of sequencing. In our technological lives which are fractured … and [have] a thousand distractions, it can be difficult for children to have a sense of the long rhythms of life, and the step-by-step sequences these rhythms involve. To celebrate seasonal Festivals gives our children an opportunity to live these long rhythms, the rhythms of the earth and sun. These children will begin to know the long, slow sequences of their own human lives.” There is another, deeper reason. Clusters of significant cultural, folk and religious dates on calendars from every corner of the world indicate a universal significance to these dates – even though the meanings assigned to them differ widely. Interestingly, there is an observable relationship between these festival dates and solar alignments, such as the solstices* and equinoxes**. * A solstice is an astronomical event that occurs twice each year, in June and December. The day of the solstice is either the longest day of the year (summer solstice) or the shortest day of the year (winter solstice) for any place outside of the tropics. Alternative terms are June solstice and December solstice, referring to the months of year in which they take place. The word solstice is derived from the Latin sol (sun) and sistere (to stand still) ** An equinox is an astronomical event that occurs twice each year, in March and September, when the tilt of the earth’s axis in inclined neither away from nor towards the sun, with the sun’s centre in the same plane as the equator on earth. On an equinox, day and night are of approximately equal duration all over the planet. The name “equinox” is derived from the Latin ‘aequus’ (equal) and ‘nox’ (night), because around the equinox, the night and day have approximately equal length. There are eight major dates celebrated in the world for one reason or another, and they all fall roughly on solstice or equinox days or on the midpoints between them. These dates mark the beginnings and middles of the four seasons of the yearly cycle. Rudolf Steiner attached particular significance to the celebration of these festivals, because the cycles of nature represent the many inner and outer cycles of human life, birth and death being the most obvious. “Celebrating festivals can bring us consciously to what we all experience instinctively in our daily lives, the changing cycles of the seasons and of life itself. Through various festivals and rituals we acknowledge and celebrate our connection to … each other and the world.” – Marilyn Pelrine St John’s Festival/Winter solstice – celebrated in June (Adapted from article by Michael Mount Waldorf School) In many Waldorf schools in South Africa, the winter festival celebrated is called the St. John’s Festival. The festival takes its name from John the Baptist, known as the prophet Yahya in the Quran. Catholic as well as the Anglican and Lutheran liturgical calendars placed the birth his on June 24, six months before Christmas. John the Baptist was a Jewish itinerant preacher in the early first century AD. It is generally accepted that he baptised Jesus. He is revered as a major religious figure in Christianity, Islam, the Baha’I Faith and Mandaeism. He is called a prophet by all of these traditions, and is honoured as a saint in many Christian traditions. John the Baptist called upon humankind to seek the light. Hence, the festival of St. John’s reminds us to cultivate inner light and warmth. Some schools prefer seasonal rather than ‘religious’ festivals – but ultimately the messages, themes and symbols are the same – a time for us to look at our humanity within the broader world. Children make lanterns – a symbol of the light. Traditionally a great bonfire is built around which the children and the community gather. When the flames die down, students, teachers and parents jump over the ashes to signify leaving behind past troubles. Hot, nourishing bowls of soup and fresh bread is served – warming our bodies and community spirit. Warmly. Teacher Beulah 26th June 2021 Dear parents,
It has been a long while since our last letter. Autumn is coming to an end, winter is just around the corner, and we are coming to the end of our Numberwork Main Lesson for this term. There have been some breaks in the term, children have been sick, and the cold mornings and rainy days are steering us indoors with a greater feeling for hibernation and staying warm and cozy. All this, together with the fact that Numberwork is often a ‘difficult’/challenging Main Lesson, can be trying on the children. In this ML, they are not as wrapped up in the fantasy of story, drawing and writing as they would be with the Letters. Now they are tasked with doing much more; counting and writing numbers, working out ‘sums’ and numberwork problems that require much more concentration and understanding. Now differences in knowledge, experience, skills, levels of interest, perseverance and focus become more apparent, and it takes a lot more to keep them focused and engaged. But they have worked hard and much has been achieved. When we look back at the first term, we remember that we worked on the Quality of Numbers and simple counting and rhythmic work. This term we made great jumps, working with the Bonds of 5, 7 & 10, the Number Line to 80 (we will go to 100 soon). We worked with Odd and Even numbers and introduced the Four Operations/Processes +-×÷. The slow and unhurried approach of the previous term was replaced by a greater immersion into numbers and counting, with children working with counters, drawing (the amount of) objects (tedious for some), arranging objects in number order, playing with number cards - constantly becoming aware of numbers. At this stage the concepts of the WHOLE, EQUALS and the FOUR PROCESSES are important to give them the big picture of mathematics. These are the foundations on which their number concepts and confidence will be built. They are not yet at the stage of working out complicated sums, but through the continued work with movement, concrete, experiential and embodied learning, they are developing a sounder number concept understanding. In all this, the story of the Land of Numbers continued, where Andreas and Mudiki have been on a mission to learn numbers and calculations so that they can help the people in the Land of Confusion. They are slowly getting it, but it is not always easy. They have met Queen Equals, Prince Plus, Princess Minus, Tommy Times the Jester and David Divide the gnome. These characters give the children the quality of each operation; Prince Plus is about making things more, always adding to the store – about abundance. Princess Minus is about giving away – especially to those in need – but she can never give away more than she has. Tommy Times is quick and joyful and multiplies everything in a flash, making counting so much quicker. David Divide is organised and quick tempered, not liking to be disturbed, but when called upon, loves to share things equally. And Queen Equals makes sure that everything is in balance. Numberwork is (still) fun! Soon we start with the VOWELS (class not to be missed!) All the best. Teacher Beulah 1 June 2021 |
AuthorTeacher Beulah's 'Letter to the Parents' Archives
February 2023
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