Letter Three
Dear parents, A little peek into our classroom…. In the first two weeks we spent our time just getting used to our space, building relationships, learning what it means to be at big school (tidying our work spaces, pushing our chairs back when we get up, put up our hand to speak, lining up at the start and the end of the day), learning the opening schedule of lighting the candle, saying our verses, greeting, doing the register and practising listening skills – all these to help bring structure, rhythm, routine and FORM. These in turn build confidence, resilience and a feeling of safety. And slowly, very slowly a growing capacity to persevere and extend the attention span and interest. In Week 1 & 2 our Main Lesson was Form Drawing. Waldorf education brought two very distinct artistic activities to education: eurythmy, a new art of dance movement, and form drawing, an active form of geometry for children. Form drawing is done in preparation for writing the Letters, to build a sense of form and line, strengthen the upper body to be ready for writing and reading and to develop a deeper understanding and sense of line as captured movement. The very first forms the children do in Class One are the straight line and the curved line. These forms are drawn out of the very first story. One the first day, the children were asked to think about the Quest of Courage and to imagine what could have been a straight line in the story. So, through a recall process, they say the spear and the walking stick. They are asked what these objects were used for, why they were important, what the special qualities were. They are asked to stand as straight as a spear. We do the verse. Then they are asked what a straight line feels like… Their comments are; “It feels strong, it feels straight, it feels upright...” They have experienced the quality of the line. They then go through a process of embodying the form. How can we be straight? What does it feel like? Where in nature do we see straight lines, etc..? Then for the curved line they go through the same process, and they find the curved line in the singing bowl, the cow bell, the dreamcatcher…. Their comments; “It feels warm, it feels round, it feels safe, it feels kind… We walk the lines, we do them as big as we can in the air, then on each other’s backs, and tiny, tiny forms on our finger nails, we curl up on the floor, until we finally write in our books. We have captured the movement and the feeling onto our page and it becomes a recognisable form. And so it goes for the leaning (diagonal) line, the cross, the circle, the tree lines (concentric circles), the spirals – we walk spirals on the lawn, on the classroom carpet, etc…. And in all of this it is about the process, not the product. Each child goes through her/his own struggle and triumph, until they finally learn to love the form and the line. And this work, which may seem so simple to the outsider, is all about releasing the power of pure line. And the line and form, done in this way resonates formatively in the soul, nervous system and brain of the child doing it. It builds the neural foundation of flexible thinking that can grasp process, metamorphosis and whole systems. It is geometry in action – an excellent non-intellectual preparation of the inner physical and mental capacities of the young child for later intellectual work to create geometric forms and strengthen higher cortical function of cognition, attention and memory. So building not only their mathematical skills and understanding of forms and shape, but also speaking, reading and writing. It is hard work, needs concentration, but it is also lots of fun! All the best. Teacher Beulah 8th February 2021
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Letter Two – 26, 27, 28 January 2021
Dear parents, We have been very happy to celebrate three class birthdays in two weeks - Annabella, Teacher Beulah and Samson. What a lovely way to start our year together. Class birthdays are very special moments in a Waldorf Classroom. The birthday child chooses two friends as her/his guardian angels, who will care for the her/him for the day. The children are all part of preparing the birthday table, beautifying the room and decorating the cake. The birthday cake is preferably homemade, and as simple and wholesome as possible, with no artificial colours, generally round for easy cutting and sharing and without sweets or other decorations. The birthday child wears a special cloak and birthday crown and the guardian angels dress up too in cloaks and headbands. This is a class celebration for the children only and unlike Kindergarten, parents are not part of the ceremony. It is a moment for the children to bond as a social group, to learn to create a ceremony together, to give each other wishes and to manage and arrange the space as they would like it to be. The same birthday story is told to each child, with some minor changes and additions, specific to the child: The child, as a human soul comes down through the star kingdoms and is given seven special gifts by the star spirits - the gifts of memory, wisdom and thinking, courage of the heart and speech, goodness, beauty, movement, and imagination, The children love the story and listen to it intently. It is something that resonates beautifully with them. It is a privilege to go through this beautiful process with them. Thank you for my lovely birthday surprise and gifts. I really appreciate your love and warmth. All the best. 2nd February 2021 |
AuthorTeacher Beulah's 'Letter to the Parents' Archives
February 2023
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