Early Childhood
Our early childhood children are enjoying the time we all share together on the playground in the morning and afternoon. Visit our blog to view larger images.
1st Grade: Fairy Tales
First graders hard at work with images from fairy tales. From these stories a living image is carried forth into the learning process. Here the "tree with the tricky tailor" will become a lesson on the letter form and sound of T.
1st & 2nd Grades: Baking
Baking bread to share, in celebration of Michaelmas.
2nd Grade: St. George and the Dragon
As we make our way into the cooler days of fall and into the dark winter months, the children are called above to find a sense of bravery and strength. The dragon represents the darker side of humanity that seeks to destroy that which is beautiful or that which lets fear rule one's heart. We must overcome this fear by standing strong and true.
In the story of St. George and the Dragon, St. George takes on a dragon who is set on devouring a princess. But instead of slaying the dragon, he tames it and uses its force for good.
The second graders are studying Saints—beings of light and goodness who connect the children to the spiritual world. As they are still in the celestial realm, they need these beings to guide them. Their first real writing assignment will likely stem from this exploration.
3rd Grade: Hebrew Legends
The 3rd grade has been exploring the birth of the world through the creation stories from Hebrew Scriptures. Here they learned about the first house on earth.
One of the most important themes for the third grade year is focusing on practical projects and what it means to live on the earth. The home, which manifests in various forms of shelter around the world, is an essential part of this focus. Students learn not only about how structures are built and what they are made of, but also about how people live and what is important to them. The home represents not just a place to shield one from the rain, but also a place where a family or community thrives. The blessing, quoted in the above photo, asks for the home to be made safe, but also for all those who dwell and enter it to be guarded from harm.
4th Grade: Norse Mythology
Third grade culminated in in stories that are considered some of the first true historic writings. In the fourth grade we are continuing this adventure into the history of mankind by looking at the relationship people have to the world around them. This theme occurs in almost every block of fourth grade.
The Norse myths bring us tales of heroic deeds, vicious lies, tragedy, fate, and loyalty—all things that are part of the human experience. The stories, and the work that goes along with them, help our students not only become strong writers, readers and speakers, but also connects each child to what it means to be human, and what it means to be true to themselves. Visit our blog to view larger images.
5th & 6th Grades: Field Trip to the Chicago Botanic Garden
In conjunction with, and to enhance their exploration of botany, the fifth and sixth graders took a field trip to the Chicago Botanic Garden this past week. The study of botany begins with the power of observation--the basis for all science. We begin any scientific endeavor by observing how something lives, thrives or works, and so the fifth and sixth graders observed plants in all their different shapes, colors and textures.
Botany in the Waldorf curriculum focuses on not just the function of a plant, but also the Goethean method of observation, which teaches about flexibility, about seeing the nature of things and deriving meaning from looking at things from a different perspective. We want the students to ask themselves "What do I see beyond the physical appearance? How does that relate to the cycle of life?" Visit our blog to view larger images.
7th & 8th Grades: Theater in the Renaissance
Diving deeper into Art and the Renaissance, the seventh and eight graders learned that theater was the great art of the English Renaissance during the reign of Elizabeth I, and that William Shakespeare was its greatest artist.
The Globe Theatre, depicted here, was designed after Roman amphitheaters and was the home of Shakespeare's troupe of players.
