Specialty Highlight May 2024: Earth Education and Farming

On the Farm:

Third Grade is enjoying the spring on the farm. The garden is growing very well thanks to the compost which is the result of their fruitful labors to collect, water, and stir in the previous school year as second graders. We have lettuce that is being harvested, strawberries that are being snacked on, and garlic, kale, cabbage, carrots, etc., all growing happily! Besides the usual chores of caring for the animals, the students returned to work on the garden shed.  The “Garden Shed” has been transformed into the “Goat Shed” after the structure was taken over by the goats. The students added windows made from glass jars and plates and are now working on the roof. The students were also exposed to an extremely rare event of a rat snake eating a (dead) rat, another experience that is often a part of farm life and a part of the food chain.

In Earth Education:

First Grade has been finishing up their long-term project of making maracas. The students sawed bamboo stakes, dried the hull, filled it with beans, and sanded their entire piece. The students also have helped weed the garden, a task that is helpful for our garden’s success.

In Second Grade, the class continues to collect, moisten as needed, and turn the compost they collected throughout the school year.  These chores will create healthy compost for them to use in their Third Grade year.  Additionally, the students dug a hole and fired clay pots made last year.

Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Grade continued their year-long project of building a water wheel. The water wheel has now been assembled, painted, established as a structure in the creek, and has been attached. Wonderful work!

Warmly,

Matan

Specialty Highlight May 2024: Music

Greetings from the Music Room. We are wrapping up a fun and successful year of playing, singing, and learning. 

First, Second, and Third Grade students have done exceptionally well at their pennywhistles this year. Continuing to play for the joy of it over the summer is a great idea. Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Grade students have also grown with their instruments. The Fourth and Fifth graders learned, reviewed, and extended their skills with the ukulele, while the Sixth graders were introduced to the drums and guitar this year. 

As we wrap up the school year, all classes have explored the feeling created by placing the different notes of the major scale over the home tone. For the last week or so, we have been exploring the music of Peter and the Wolf and Pictures at an Exhibition. The students in all the Grade classes truly enjoyed thinking about the scenes the music created and acting out those scenes.

Wishing you all a fun summer break!

 ‘Till next year,

Ben

Specialty Class Highlight February 2024: Handwork

First Grade

First Grade took a short break from knitting as the students started working on sewing flute holders to transport their flutes to and from music classes. Every student was given a length of felt, which they decorated with wool scraps. Those who have finished the flute holder have moved back to knitting. Our next knitting effort is our rainbow ball project. This project will teach students to change colors and count the rows as they knit.

Second Grade

Our Second Grade students are finishing their horse projects. The students learn how to knit and purl for our gnome and fingerless gloves projects. We look at the difference it makes when you knit one row and purl one row. Each student starts with the fingerless gloves project, which allows them to reinforce their new skills. Knitting both gloves also helps build a student’s inner will. The students who finish their glove project then move to knitting the gnome. 

This time of the year, we also do a mini-project sewing lavender hearts from felted wool scraps. We did this project last year, and the students are excited to do it again this year. The lavender was collected from our school’s garden!

Third Grade

In addition to our ongoing handwork projects, the Third grade continues with their Fiber Block. On Tuesdays, we learn to card and spin wool as we prepare it for weaving. This week, students learned to card the wool scraps for reuse. Similar to last year’s tradition, fiber study has a field trip to visit Angora goats. We are planning to have this trip in March. On Wednesdays, the students work on their crochet pot holders and pencil case projects. Some students have moved on to crocheting water bottle holders. 

As they did in second grade, students sewed mini hearts from felted wool scraps and filled them with lavender collected from our school garden. 

Fourth and Fifth Grade

All Fourth and Fifth students were busily working on the Chinese New Year puppet show. Each student made their animal and helped each other finish them. It presented a wonderful opportunity to practice sewing skills. At the start of February, we had a puppet show where we could showcase our work. It was a valuable and fun experience from start to finish! Once they had finished their puppet show animals, they continued working on their class projects.

The students were also happy to sew mini lavender hearts, a seasonal tradition that started this time last year. The hearts were made from scraps of wool and scented by lavender collected from our garden. 

Sixth Grade

The Sixth Grade students continue to work on the heavy babies they are making for our Early Childhood students to use for playing in their classes. The students are in different stages of completing their dolls. This is a significant project that takes a lot of effort and attention. Many of them would like to make one for themselves, too!

Parent Handwork

The Parent Handwork is a time available to all of our parents, grandparents, and caregivers. During this time, you are invited to come and learn new skills or work on improving your existing ones. I love working with beginners as they learn the basic skills, as well as with the more advanced parents who often challenge me to learn new things. If you don’t have your own project underway, I always appreciate volunteer help organizing the handwork supplies and helping with other school-related projects. Join us!

January was all about embroidery, cross-stitching, and mending. The plan for February and March is to introduce the parents to knitting and crocheting. During March, we will work on the projects that can be part of the spring auction. We will move to wet felting during the months of April and May. 

Specialty Class Highlight for February 2024: Earth Education and Farming

In Environmental Education, the weather has helpfully allowed the students to be exposed to all the natural elements regularly. After the week of deep freeze, the students were able to walk on the ice in the marsh. They have experienced water freezing, crystalizing, and melting. The sunshine has warmed us here and there. In and around all the weather changes, the students are busy planning and building different projects we are working on.

In First Grade, we are feeding the squirrels with the nuts we collected. The students first count the nuts they are giving to the squirrels one at a time and then two at a time, etc. This is an enjoyable opportunity to practice math. Besides that, we go on hikes to places that to muddy to traverse during the warmer months, opening up our campus more readily for our students. We played some games and went through the obstacle course, as well.  

Second grade continues to work on the school compost. They turned the beautiful, composted soil onto a new spot for a flower garden Ki Ieva is planning with them. These flowers will be used to dye the wool for next year. The highlight is at the end of the lesson when we are finished working and playing some games. 

The Third graders are honorary farmers by now. They do their tasks very quickly and diligently. We started to work on planters that we use to plant seeds. The students divided into pairs, took some scrap wood pieces and figured out how to measure, saw, and hammer the pieces together. We also planted some garlic, and as I’m sure the parents found out at pick-up, the students tried to eat some raw garlic. A healthy lesson learned!

Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth graders are working on the wooden water wheel. This is a very complex project that allows the students to engage in different levels of their development. Sixth Grade is doing geometry in Main Lesson, and during EE class, they are measuring the circle and dividing the planks that will create the circle. Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Grade, then continued to plane the planks. They also started angling the sides using axes and are getting close to starting to connect the pieces. 

 A big thank you to Top Tier Trees Company for allowing us to harvest different varieties of wood from their backyard stockpiles for our different woodworking projects.  We have some amazing cherry, pear, pecan, and hickory wood that the students are using to make spoons, balls, candle holders, etc.

Warmly,

Matan

Specialty Class Highlight January 2024: Music

Greetings from the Music Room!

First Grade:

The first grade has returned from a magical journey to the land of the Peanut Butter Prince to retrieve a peanut butter spoon. Unfortunately, the baker was not home when they returned but rather had been lost in the snowy mountains. We are in the midst of trying to find him. They have also been practicing and refining their understanding of the way pitch moves within a small range of three notes. The penny whistle is our main tool, and the students are progressing well. 

Second Grade:

The second grade has been enlarging their range of pitch understanding and flute playing to an octave. This means they can now play on the entire penny whistle. This can be challenging because one little leak in any of the fingers covering the holes will cause the note not to work, but most of the students are doing very well. 

Third Grade:

In addition to developing their penny whistle skills, the third grade has been working on keyboard geography and transcribing rhythms. We have also done some vocal improvisation work and aleatory composition.

Fourth and Fifth Grade:

The Fourth and Fifth grades have been focusing on the fundamentals of reading music and performing what they read through a group ensemble piece. The class has also done some vocal improvisation work and aleatory composition.


Sixth Grade:

The sixth grade is working on guitars. We have been working on finger-picking patterns and chord shapes. We will be combining the two concepts soon. The students also did some vocal improvisation work and aleatory composition.

Record Time:

I’d like to introduce you to Hiromi Uehara, an amazing pianist, composer, and improviser. It’s hard to pick one album. She has many fantastic offerings, including a collaboration with Chick Corea (piano) and one with Edmar Castañeda (harp). She also has a suite for orchestra and a few jazz fusion albums with her band, but this time, I’ll recommend the solo album Place to Be. She displays some of the best technical abilities I’ve heard on the piano. 


Enjoy, 

Ben

Specialty Highlight January 2024: Handwork

First Grade:

Almost all students in the First Grade are knitting independently! Following our knitting rhyme, the students look carefully as they go along so as not to lose any sheep (stitches) or accidentally get some from neighboring pastures (keep needles in the correct next stitch). It is fun to hear any of the students say,  “Where is my sheep?”  when they lose a stitch, or “How did I get this neighbor's sheep?” when they accidentally gain stitches.

Before the winter break, the class completed the first knitting project. In our school tradition, an older grade handcrafts something special for the first grader’s first project, a knitted pocket with a strap. This year, the Sixth Grade class hand-sewed small pocket babies.  Each Sixth grader gave one to a First grader. This tradition is special to both the students and the teachers. It also deepens our connection and feelings of community in the grades.  Next, we are taking a short break from knitting, and the students are sewing flute holders for their flutes used in Music class.

Second Grade:

The Second Grade class is working hard, and all are establishing their knitting skills, learning new stitches, and making new projects.  With our gnome and fingerless gloves projects, students develop their knitting skills and learn the purl stitch. We look at the difference it makes when you knit one row and purl one row, creating a flatter pattern like in many machine-knitted products.

Before winter break, the class took a break from knitting, and the students were busy sewing finger puppets. They really enjoyed this project. In early January, we found lots of yarn that were all tangled up after the tangle fairies had a party! All students were excitedly helping to untangle the mess. Now we have happily moved back to knitting gnomes and gloves.

Third Grade:

Most Third Grade students are now crocheting our circle-shaped projects while other students continue to work on finishing last year's knitting project. Each student has developed their own work rhythm. They will work at their individual paces as they progress through the class projects: pot holder, pencil case, water bottle holder, and indoor frisbee.

During December, we paused our main projects and dedicated time to learning all about fibers. Each year, to complement our fiber study block, the Third Grade class takes a field trip to visit Angora goats on a farm. We are planning to have this trip in March; details to follow as we get closer to the spring. 

Fourth Grade:

All our Fourth Grade students work so effortlessly that our lesson speeds past us, and we can not believe it is time to end. The students have all finished sewing and decorating their scissor holders and needle books and are now working on their handwork bags. For their handwork bags, they have to design their monogram or initials, which they will have to transfer onto their bags and finish the project by embroidering them. After our handwork bags, we will move to our cross-stitch projects.

Fifth Grade:

It is the time of year when the Fifth graders take a break from our main handwork projects and sew puppets from felted wool for our school’s annual Chinese New Year puppet show. Each student made their animal and helped each other finish them. It is a great opportunity to practice sewing skills. At the start of February, the Fifth graders will showcase their work as they present their puppet show written by them and spoken in Mandarin to the students at school.

In addition to their work on puppets, each student has now finished refreshing their knitting skills with their mini-me project. Many of them have started knitting socks. This project will last until the end of the school year. For some students, this complex project of knitting two socks may extend into the next school year. 


Sixth Grade:

For the last few years, our school has had a tradition of an older grade’s class making a special knitting project gift for the First Grade class as they finish their first school knitting project of a pocket with a strap. This year the Sixth grade students made pocket babies, each making one for a first grade student. While this is the second year that they have made pocket babies for our younger students, we plan for it to be a gift from each Sixth Grade class moving forward. Thank you (twice), Sixth graders! 

Students have also finished sewing a set of juggling balls which they are learning to use during their morning circle. The balls are formed from four triangles that, when sewn together, form a sphere. Some of the students also sewed a special bag to hold these juggling balls. 

Currently, the students are working on sewing heavy babies (weighted dolls) to give to our Early Childhood classes. Many of them would like to make one for themselves, too! During the periods when we have some free time, the students work to finish the socks from our Fifth Grade year. Some students have completed knitting both socks! They were rewarded with a sense of achievement and a cute handwork sticker to acknowledge this important Handwork milestone. 

Specialty Highlight December 2023: Games

In Games class, Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Grade are exploring new games that involve quick reaction time, teamwork, strategic thinking, and more. The students also enjoy revisiting and playing some games they previously learned.

Games are like a form of medicine for the social and emotional health of the group. With all grades, we play games to get energy out, especially this time of the year, when the excitement and sugar levels are high.  On a deeper level, cooperative and competitive games also help students to develop skills in following instructions and working together.  It is easy to see how having set rules allows games to be played successfully and not end up in chaos. Playing together also allows students to work on social issues in the group and, of course, to have fun together.

Warmly,

Matan

Specialty Class Highlight December 2023: Music

Greetings from the music room, where we have been busy singing, playing, and dancing. We had a great time learning, arranging, and rehearsing the Thanksgiving performance. It was a first of its kind in many ways, including having all of the grades’ students collaborate on a single presentation. 

Currently, we are working on our offerings for the Dec. 20th Assembly. There will be several songs composed and/or choreographed by the students, as well as some ukulele and guitars, including a classical guitar rendition of Carol of the Bells. 

Record time: I’d like to share some Christmas music with you that you may not be familiar with. The choral works of Alfred Burt have been a family favorite since before I was born. You can search Spotify and get playlists, but the only place I can find a complete album (the one I grew up with) is YouTube. How would you describe the mood? Here is the link.

Warmly,

Ben

Specialty Class Highlight November 2023: Earth Education

In Earth Education classes, the students are busy moving, building, planning, and preparing for winter.

First Grade

The students built a cobb house made from mud and hay as a shelter for the squirrels and chipmunks. We also collected nuts so we would be able to supply them with food during the winter months. This fortuitously presented an opportunity to practice addition skills when counting the nuts. We also work on developing our balance and coordination at the school's obstacle course and throughout the forest.

Second Grade

The class is busily taking care of the compost. They are always excited when the wheelbarrow is full, so thanks to everyone for your contributions. Please keep it coming! We add games to the lessons, such as Swim, Salmon, Swim, and Mouse, Cat, and House, which help to develop valuable social skills as well as build physical capacities.

Third Grade

Alongside our usual farm chores, the class has started to build a garden shed. The students mix the clay with water and hay, form the bricks, and leave them in place to form the walls. This is a project that will result in a useful storage place for farm tools and supplies. The students benefit not only in that they gain new skills but also from the knowledge of completing a long-term project that benefits the farm for years to come.

Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Grade

The students in these classes are working on the watermill at the creek. When the weather was warmer, the students made a small dam for where the watermill would be positioned. Now, the students are planing planks of tree wood that we will use to build the water wheel. A big thanks to Noah Brunk for bringing his engineering expertise and helping us figure out the right dimensions for the water wheel. The students also help with different tasks at school, such as bringing stumps to the kindergarten classes, building a bridge next to the playground, and more. Projects such as these benefit students in that they learn new skills, expand their feelings of competence, experience starting and completing a project (this is very good for will development), and feel the satisfaction of serving the greater school community. 

Warmly,

Matan

Specialty Class Highlight October 2023: Music

Greetings from the Music Room, Dear Families,

It has been an exciting time as we have begun preparations for both the Lantern Walk and the Thanksgiving Luncheon. By now, most of the students are quite familiar with the Lantern Walk songs, with Fourth and Fifth graders playing on their ukuleles and singing along at the same time. 

The Thanksgiving Luncheon is going to be a lovely experiment. All of the grades will be participating in a Thanksgiving Day song and dance, complete with at least four different types of instruments. We have been working hard, and the student can be proud of all their efforts. 

Second grade through Sixth Grade

Parents, please continue to make sure that your child has the appropriate music-making supplies each week. Also, they should be playing at home on a consistent basis and performing for you on occasion. 

This month’s record time features my favorite hour of classical piano music. The Goldberg Variations by Johann Sebastian Bach are a collection of an aria and 30 variations that are each unique, interesting, and virtuosic. To my mind, the best version is Glen Gould’s 1956 recording. I prefer it to the one he released in 1981. Please share this music with your children. 

Thanks,

Ben

Specialty Class Highlight October 2023: Spanish

Our year in Spanish is going very well!  The students are enjoying our songs and games, and the older students are reading and writing. We have fun in Spanish as we immerse ourselves in the language.

First through Third Grade students continue to learn Spanish vocabulary through songs. As we progress each year, a class will learn a song one year and then come back to it and add more verses the next year.  In this manner, all the students, new and old, benefit from previous lessons, and review is built in for all. We practice the vocabulary by playing games, then use our new words to respond to simple questions. These classes learn greetings, names, school, family, house, fall, and numbers 1-100 with sign language.

 In Fourth and Fifth Grades, we spend much of our time reading and writing in Spanish. We started by learning the alphabet. We practice letter sounds and learn how to spell a variety of words. We work on reading and taking dictation. This class is currently writing out the songs we learned in First through Third Grade. While doing this, the students are learning to identify nouns, pronouns, adjectives, and articles.  They also are counting to 1000 and telling time in Spanish.

 The Sixth Grade started the year reviewing the material learned in Fifth Grade, building review skills, and helping new students acclimate to our class. Now we’re practicing the conjugation of regular and irregular verbs in the present tense. Students learn short sentences that allow them to write about themselves and others. Also, we are covering vocabulary about school and verbs associated with this topic.  The students spend much of class reading and writing lessons in Spanish.

  I’m excited to continue teaching your children!

Kindly,

Ki Maria

Specialty Class Highlight October 2023: Woodworking

This year, we are boosting the woodworking program as the children grow. These are the main projects in their curriculum:

Sixth Grade is working on making spoons. Starting with a stump of black walnut, the students split the wood and axed it to the rough dimensions. Now, they are moving to more fine tools like gouges, drawknives, and spokeshaves to shape the spoon. 

Fifth Grade is working on whittling a walking stick from a branch they harvested from the forest. 

We will also add some small projects for some of the younger grades as we go. Right now, Fourth Grade is working on making a wooden path next to the playground. They also made shields for Day of Courage.

Second Grade made swords for Day of Courage. 

Another big project will combine Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Grades in building a watermill, which will involve a lot of woodwork. More on that in the highlight for EE.

Specialty Class Highlight October 2023: Handwork

First Grade

First Grade is an exciting time, akin to planting new seeds in a garden. Although we may not see much progress initially, soon the skills being learned will sprout and flourish. We started the year warming up our hands to the fine motor skills needed to start knitting. We are learning how to make slip-knots and regular knots, practicing finger chaining and finger knitting, learning how to wind a yarn ball, and making knitting needles. All of these skills moved us slowly and steadily toward knitting. A lovely gift idea is to give your child a small basket or box with an assortment of yarn (soft colors and wool or a wool blend are preferable). They can then use their yarn to practice finger chaining or knotting at home.

Second Grade

The Second Grade class is progressing like grounded and steady steam engines. The class is eager to begin their handwork projects. It was a pleasant surprise to find that the students had kept their knitting skills from last year. Our new students quickly picked up the knitting skills we had learned. Some of the students were able to finish their projects from the previous year. We have continued working on practicing and reinforcing basic knitting skills and basic knitting stitches. We look forward to knitting projects when the students apply all these wonderful skills.

Third Grade

We started the year by tidying up our last year's unfinished projects. During the Third Grade, the class will learn to crochet. Their progress has been encouraging. Our initial projects included finger chaining, crochet chaining, and making pot holders. Some students in the class have already started working on their pencil holders. Together, we will learn and explore everything around a variety of fibers during the year.

Fourth Grade

As with other grades, we started the year by finishing projects from the last year. Sewing is the main focus of the Fourth Grade year. As a warmup sewing project, the students are embroidering designs on bean bags they are making themselves. The class has started to learn the basics of embroidery and cross-stitch. Additionally, the students will sew scissor holders, pin cushions, and handwork bags. It is exciting to join them on this learning journey.

Fifth Grade

This year is all about working towards the big Fifth Grade project of knitting socks. The students will learn new knitting terms and develop many more skills this year. This project requires knowledge of all the fundamentals that are needed for knitting.  If you can knit a sock, you can knit anything. We started this year by learning to knit using a different method. This will help us knit a little bit faster. This new way will also make working on more complex projects more accessible. Our first project will help us master knit stitches and purls. Off we go!

Sixth Grade

We started off the Sixth Grade year with our juggling ball project. The students each sewed three balls filled with beans of equal weight and are learning how to juggle with them. Juggling was a “stress test” of their work, with spilled beans helping the students to know if their stitches were tight and sturdy enough. As the class learned about gems and rocks during their geology block, our second handwork project complemented the study as the students' wet felted balls using a variety of colorful layers. Once the balls were finished and we cut them in half, upon opening them the students discovered, as with geodes, a bright inner gem of colorful layers. The opening of each ball was a moment of pleasant surprise. The students will use these as pin cushions. Next, we plan to finish the project we started in the Fifth Grade, knitting socks! 

Specialty Class Highlight September 2023: Games

Dear Community, 

Games are a unique opportunity to help students release energy, work as a team, and develop different capacities, such as movement, balance, coordination, and of course to have fun! Each week, the Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Graders have a combined Games class. They enjoy a variety of games and activities that are designed to encourage cooperation, sportsmanship, and support their physical development.  

The Fifth Graders are also working on learning the skills for the Pentathlon. For the first half of the year, the Fourth Graders will join them and participate in activities designed to increase stamina and strength. We have started the year with running, balance, and coordination exercises and will continue with more sophisticated movements as the year progresses. Next semester, we will learn and practice the different Pentathlon disciplines such as javelin, long jump, and wrestling in preparation for their participation in the 5th Grade Pentathlon. The 5th Grade Pentathlon is held every April with Waldorf Schools from around the Southeast. Our 6th Grade class went last year and you can read more about it here!

Warmly,

Matan

Specialty Class Highlight September 2023: Music

Greetings, Garden Families,

The music room has been buzzing with voices, dances, drums, flutes, bells, and ukuleles. 

First Grade has been learning about pitch (up and down) and using this concept to sing, dance, and play mallet instruments. We will begin studying the penny whistle soon. 

Second Grade has been revisiting the songs from last year and playing them on their penny whistles. We have begun working on singing in rounds. 

Third Grade has been expanding on their penny whistle repertoire and working on rhythmic dictation.

The Fourth and Fifth Grade music class has been reviewing and expanding their rhythmic dictation skills. They are also spending a lot of time playing the ukulele.

Sixth graders have been playing away on their drum pads. We are working on the basics: grip, stroke, stick control, and rhythm notation. We are also focusing on hearing and singing Tonic and Dominant chords in the minor tonality.

Families who read the music write-up last year will remember “Record Time.” This is my way of taking the opportunity to recommend a song or an album that I think you might enjoy and would be good for children to listen to from a musical perspective. 

This month’s Record Time is Il Fásolo? by Le Poème Harmonique. From the album's website: “Festive songs of the Venetian Carnival and Roman madrigals, bergamascas and chaconnes, refined poetry and songs of the commedia dell’arte are all part of the eclectic works of the composer Fasolo.” 

I hope you enjoy,

Ben

Specialty Class Highlight August 2023: Mandarin

First Grade:

Greetings to our adorable first-grade students as you embark on your journey into the realm of Mandarin. Throughout this semester, we will immerse ourselves in the beauty of Chinese songs and poems. Starting with the enchanting greeting song, we will discover the art of exchanging pleasantries and expressing politeness in Chinese. Through melodious tunes, we'll unravel the names of facial features and body parts in the language. The wisdom of ancient poems will grant us insight into the rich tapestry of Chinese cultures. Moreover, we'll embrace the skill of counting from one to a hundred, unlocking a fundamental aspect of the language.

Second Grade:

Welcome to the second year of Mandarin! In this phase of our journey, we'll revisit and reinforce the songs and poems we acquired during the previous year. Throughout this semester, our focus will shift toward the art of writing Chinese characters, commencing with the exploration of fourteen fundamental strokes. In response to popular demand, we're excited to incorporate more Origami into our activities as well!

Third Grade:

Having thoroughly reviewed numbers ranging from 1 to 100, we are now prepared to delve into the world of the Chinese abacus. Our next focus will be on mastering the multiplication tables using the abacus, beginning with the 2s and 3s. Anticipation builds as we embark on this journey, and we are eager to witness the extent of our progress!

Fourth and Fifth Grade:

At the start of this semester, we engaged in basic conversations to enhance our vocabulary skills. Moving forward, our class will delve into the practice of using the Chinese abacus to master the concept of the timetable.

Sixth Grade:

This marks the commencement of our middle school journey. Throughout this academic year, our class is set to expand our vocabulary and delve into crafting uncomplicated sentences. Through dedicated conversational exercises, we aim to proficiently grasp the material with a focus on enhancing our oral communication abilities. Additionally, we are working towards cultivating the aptitude to compose straightforward sentences in writing.

Specialty Class Highlight May 2023: Woodworking

As the school year comes to a close for us, we celebrate Mr. Matan joining our faculty, bringing his enthusiasm for Waldorf education to our faculty, and sharing his many varied talents and skills with our students. 

First Grade:

During the past weeks, First Grade students were busily hammering the birdhouse together. Once finished hammering, they sanded down rough edges, making it safe for birds and fingers alike. It’s nice to see the sparks in the eyes of the students when they see the transformation between pieces of wood to a birdhouse. They have worked steadily and the results are beautiful.

Third Grade:

Third Grade continues the work on the wooden house near their classroom that they are building as part of the third grade Waldorf curriculum which aims to help the students develop their feeling of confidence as they wake up from their dreamy childhood slumber to the greater  world around them. Now that the structure is solid, the students are completely independent, sawing pieces of wood and hammering them onto the house. For extra fun, Ki Derek added a big swing next to the third-fourth grade outdoor classroom. The students are taking turns flying to the sky. It’s a good opportunity to work on developing proprioceptive skills and conquering the skies!

Fourth Grade:

The rabbits’ new abode and area is nearing completion.  Fourth Grade students finished the enclosure by completing the fencing and the floor of the bunny cage. The class will complete their final tasks of fencing by securing the sides as they connect the different wires at the corners to create a seal that keeps the bunnies safely inside and other farm animals and predators out!  

Warmly,

Matan


Specialty Class Highlight May 2023: Handwork

First grade

Students are working on various projects. Some have finished their animal project, while others are still working on it. The new project is a rainbow ball where we learn to switch colors, count the rows, and keep track of the stitches. We are also learning to tell the difference between rows and ridges. 

Second grade

We took a break from our class projects to help with the auction. Students knitted the squares for the class blanket. After working hard on the auction, we sewed small finger puppets from the felt. Now we have restarted our main class projects. Some are finishing their gnome project, while others have completed the hat. The fastest workers have started working on a hamster project. 

Third and fourth grade

We went on a field trip to AB farms and visited Angora goats. We watched how the farmers sheared the goat to get the wool. We also planted a tomato plant in a pot, and everyone could bring their tomato plant back home. The farmer said she now expects to see the photos of how the tomato plants are doing! The farm had so many things to see and do that we didn’t have enough time for all the activities. Let’s hope that we can go back there for some more fun!

More on third grade

We are learning all about fibers. Students started first by washing the fiber to prepare it for cleaning. After cleaning, we dyed the wool in various colors using an avocado pit, onion skins, and indigo. We carded and spun the dyed wool into the string. Now we are using our prepared yarn for a weaving project. In parallel, we continue crocheting hats, frisbee, or slippers. 

More on fourth grade

We are working on the final touches for their embroidered handwork bags. We are now starting to work on a cross-stitch project. Students will pick two colors and three gradations of those colors. We aim to make a bookmark with a mirror image of these color gradations. 

Fifth grade

We are working on our knitting project - socks. Knitting socks is a large project that teaches many skills and takes time and effort. We are taking a small break to sew small animals to refresh ourselves. After this break, we will continue with the socks.

Parents

This year, we have started with the handwork class for our parents. We are trying to meet once a week at the school premises. In the class, we learn crocheting, knitting, wet felting, needle felting, and hand-sewing techniques. We welcome every parent with open arms, regardless of whether you're a seasoned crafter or a complete beginner. We have a range of fun and engaging projects, so everyone can find something to suit their interests and skill level. I am so proud of all the parents who keep their learning spirit fresh. 



Pentathlon April 2023

What an amazing experience our Fifth Grade class shared this past week at the Southeastern Waldorf School Pentathlon.  Eight Waldorf schools from the Southeast joined together at Camp Twin Lakes in Rutledge, GA for 3 days and participated in an authentic Greek pentathlon experience.  

The students came together Tuesday afternoon, met as eight separate schools, and by the evening's end, were combined into four, independent city-states representing Athens, Sparta, Corinth, and Thebes. Students from all eight schools reformed into these four city-states stayed in city-state cabins, ate, trained, and competed together.  Additionally, our school presented two songs to an audience of approximately 150 students and adults, as did each of the eight fifth-grade classes.  Each student was able to experience being a part of something new and bigger than simply representing their school.  The inner confidence gained from this experience is priceless and timed beautifully as they transition from elementary to becoming middle school students.

A special and tremendous thank you to Mr. Matan for the excellent training year, and for supporting all the student-athletes at the games, Ki Ben for preparing the students to shine at their presentation, Asher’s mom, Heather, for chaperoning, Rory’s dad, Zach, for being a judge, Christopher’s mom, Debbie, for helping to support the dissemination of information, and a special thank you to our fifth-grade student Violet, who read her Ode to Aphrodite in front of close to 100 students, plus all the supporting adults and families in attendance from 8 different schools! Thank you, also, to all the Fifth Grade parents for your constant support, patience, and understanding as we shared this journey to the Pentathlon.