Partnerships of hope - Building a Community

The birth of a Waldorf school has its origins in the deep commitment of one or more individuals to the ideals of Waldorf education. Such a commitment may arise through visiting an existing school, or by reading a book on Waldorf education, or through hearing an inspiring lecture. The ideals of the education light up, and an individual or a small group may say, “!is community needs a Waldorf school and I am going to work on it!” !is lighting up, this moment of conception, happens in a great variety of ways. 

In Jagad Alit - Waldorf, we build the commitment and positive working relationships through many activities. Iden Wildensyah, one of our colleagues kindly taught us to basic woodworking. It's not just about creating something, but moreover it's about togetherness, nurturing our body, soul and spirit!

Waldorf schools and early childhood centers participate in collaborative leadership processes. These take many forms. The freedom for our spiritual work and research arises from within the forms we build together and the leadership wherein we place our trust.

Early-childhood faculty groups can explore 

other ways to collaborate that will build 

positive working relationships. 

Many groups who engage in artistic activity together 

report that this collaboration benefits the social fabric 

of the group, enlivening formerly routine business discussions.

There is much work to be done in a Waldorf kinder. As the calm and steady focal point, the teacher places herself in the center of all the activity, projecting an attitude of purpose and enthusiasm for her work. Preparing the food, dusting, polishing,

repairing toys, folding the laundry, washing the dishes, sewing, and mending are all jobs the children can learn to accomplish.

The purposeful task performed with hand tools and wood parallels the intentional work and responsible laborers of the outside world.

Woodworking begins in grade five when students harvest wood from nature and use hand tools to give it form and function. Students are introduced to botany and the properties inherent in various woods. Their senses are awakened to many experiences: their hands begin to develop strength; hand and eye coordination improves with the repetition of movement; and technique is developed.

From study group/parenting June 11, 2016

This time we had a further discussion of what Horst Hellmann has given us in his public talk at Jagad Alit last month. The topic of reading and writing came up. “How should we do when a child before age of 7, by his/herself, is asking to write/read? Or further, when a child somehow could read because he/she often see the text that written in the book?”

Off course we won’t say “No, you can not read,” but we have to remember from what Horst has said that :

• From age 3 to 6 the children only have the right hemisphere of the brain working. Around 7 of age then the left hemisphere comes toward.   The right hemisphere is more in pictures and the left hemisphere means the sound. When we look at the younger children they have only sight memory. Then when the left hemisphere comes, children can read maybe very nicely but when they asked to tell what they are reading, the content, they just say the words they are reading not the content. They do not understand in the sense of what is really on the text. Then coming up the bridge between both hemispheres. They develop the nerve system between both hemisphere which make children understand the letter and also the sound.
• Adults start learn something from  their head, then they feel it and do it (we listen to the lecture as our thinking process, then we feel that what was in the lecture is the best for our child, then we do that for our child). But children learn something from doing to thinking, through feeling (they play something, then they feel what they play is very interesting, then they think of how to do that better).

The gesture for “O’ is a large rounding of the arms - photo from pinterest

So when the child has already could read before 7, we as a parent should give them activities to strengthen the will and to nourish the feeling.  Hence it makes sense to develop the alphabet using pictures. Human beings had to write something before they could read it. The child is still interested in fantasy and fairy tale, so we develop a picture alphabet using fairy tale stories.  The playful of living alphabet will speak to the heart of children. This will develop the interest of learning.

Draw a butterfly for "B". Tell the butterfly story. Go outside to see butterflies

At our discussion, we also talked about the indications of reading/first grade readiness. Here are some of  them I’ve got from http://www.waldorfinspiredlearning.com/...

Physical development:

• Change of  teeth – Steiner’s theory was that a child was ready for academic learning, including reading when he was getting his second teeth. Throughout history this has happened around age 7. It seems to be occurring earlier in modern children, so it is not necessarily as good a guide as it used to be. There are various theories about this phenomenon. One is the growth hormones to be found in modern foods, mostly milk, which could speed up certain signs of maturity. Another is light exposure. Few children ever experience true darkness in our culture. Farmers speed up the maturity of poultry and cattle by keeping the lights on continuously, so it is supposed that extended light exposure could also speed up signs of maturity.
• Body proportions – Around age seven, again give or take a year or two, a child’s limbs lengthen and the head becomes smaller in relation to the rest of the body. An infant has a ratio of head to body of 1:4. At around age 7 it becomes 1:6.  As a sign of this change, the child becomes able to reach his arm over his head and completely cover his ear with his hand.
• Visible joints, knuckles and kneecaps instead of dimples
• An observable arch in the foot
• Individualized facial features: enlarged chin and nose, loss of fat on cheeks
• S-curve in spine
• Consistent heartbeat of about 60 beats/minute and respiration once for every four heartbeats

Skills:

• Walk a beam forward, maintaining balance
• Catch and throw a large ball
• Climb stairs, alternating feet with each step
• Tie knots and bows, and zip and button clothing
• Hop on either foot
• Skip
• Hop with both feet together
• Habitually walk by swinging opposite arm when stepping out with one foot
• Shake hands by offering hand with thumb outstretched
• Sew, finger knit, play finger games, etc.
• Have established dominance (handedness), although this may not be firm in some children until age 9, and may be a predictor of late reading.
• Have a conscious goal in drawing or painting a picture.

Well, children have their own time for everything they need!  Late readers are not less intelligent children! If you think about it, it makes sense that a better brain might take longer to develop, and therefore late readers may indeed be more intelligent! 

Public Talk day 4

May 19 (09.00-11.30) 

DISCIPLINE, PUNISHMENT, AWARD, AND GUIDANCE FOR AGE 3-12

Three principles in education: fear, ambition and love. 

Each age in human development is different.

Everything what is misbehaviour is just a field for learning, not only for the child, also for us as adults. We can learn the most. When there is something that the child is very unruly and very rough, then I'm going to think about this, "Wow that is the strength behind this naughtiness. This strength is good but in the wrong place. So where will this fit in the right position? Can I give the child a hint where this kind of strength is welcomed and needed. I'm questioning and opening up for the very different situation. And it's not me who is coming there, I know what is good for you, we are coming into situation where we are becoming a learning community, the child and I or the teacher and the children. Then our reaction will be different.

Learn to see is a positive strength that we can use. When we have dirt in our house, we are taking this dirt out into the garden. There the dirt is oke, but not in the house. So dirt is matter in the wrong place. So the naughtiness is an activity in the wrong place! And we have the task to think it to into the right place. And then we also will always have the situation where the doors to our child is open. When I'm just senselessly scolding the child, then the soul of the child is closing. And then I don't reach the child. So as educators we have to keep the child's soul open. How we can keep itu open?

Public Talk Day 3

May 18 (16.00-18.30)

WRITING, READING, BRAIN DEVELOPMENT

Are the children ready to learn? Are we unconsciously pushing them? The danger of early learning!

We have to wait with writing, reading, and spelling until this brain developed. From age 3 to 6 the children only have the right hemisphere of the brain working. Around 7 of age then the left hemisphere comes toward. So what does it mean that with the right hemisphere they can memorize short pictures. They can memorize very easily words with 3, 4 maybe 5 letters but not more. Then the left brain comes to this, allows the children to see letters as single letters and connected with the sound of it. Before this, they do not understand in spelling. And they have the word and they begin to put letter to letter. That would be think as a reading.

So the right hemisphere is more in pictures and the left hemisphere means the sound. When we look at the younger children they have only sight memory. Then when the left hemisphere comes, children can read maybe very nicely but when they asked to tell what they are reading, the content, they just say the words they are reading not the content. They do not understand in the sense of what is really on the text. Then coming up the bridge between both hemispheres. They develop the nerve system between both hemisphere which make children understand the letter and also the sound.

Public Talk Day 3

May 18 (15.00-16.00) 

SHARING SESSION WITH GOBIND VASHDEV

COMPASSIONATE PARENTING

Kita setuju dg prinsip bahwa dlm kehidupan anak, kita perlu mengajari atau memberikan sesuatu. Tapi kita jg perlu tahu bhw di dunia ini mana yg paling sering terjadi. Keinginan kita tercapai atau keinginan yg tdk tercapai? Tentunya yg tdk tercapai. Artinya kenapa kita tdk belajar jg utk melebarkan penerimaan kita, selain usaha kita menggapai sesuatu. 

Ketika kita melihat seorang anak, kita punya konsep ideal thd anak itu sendiri. Dg konsep ideal itu kita mulai memaksakan kehendak kita agar anak mengikuti apa yg kita mau. Dan biasanya ketika anak mengikuti apa yg kita mau, mulai mucul bentrokan, gesekan, dan luka batin si anak. Contoh sederhana, ketika kita meminta anak utk bersalaman dg org lain dan dia tidak mau, maka ego kita terganggu. Ketika ego org tua terganggu, maka awalnya kita memberi tahu anak, kemudian, membujuk anak, dan akhirnya mengancam anak. "Eh, ayo salam dong...ga boleh gitu ah...eh, lain kali ga diajak lo.."

Ketika anak tdk mau bersalaman dg org lain, apakah org lain tsb sakit hati? Tentunya tdk kan...mereka akan memaklumi. Kita bertemu dg anak kita bisa jd 24 jam, sedangkan bertemu dg org lain tsb hanya bbrp waktu. Apakah kita akan merelakan hubungan kita dg anak kita demi ego kita sbg org tua? Spy org mengatakan bhw anak kita hebat dan tentunya kita sbg org tua dikatakan lebih hebat lg krn telah berhasil mengajarkan anak? Akhirnya kita bisa lihat bahwa yg menjadi masalah bukanlah anak tetapi kita sendiri sebagai org tua. Maka compassionate parenting bukan berbicara mengenai bagaimana memperbaiki anak, tetapi bagaimana memperbaiki org tua.

Public Talk - Day 2

May 17 (09.00-11.30) 

STORYTELLING ENHANCES THE STRENGTH OF THE CHILD'S SOUL 

What kind of stories shall we tell to our kids at what age? 

Choose the right picture books.

All children have a hunger for imagination, not for explanation. When the child is always given an explanation for something he wants to know, the interesting is, he could not feel. He has no feeling at once explanation started. And our head is quite superficial when we are not involving our feelings, because our feelings give us an interest in the world. 

With our head we comprehend but with our feeling we are going deeper with something.

The children will come into the mood of concentration through imagination when we tell a story. Also the children will enhancing their WILL, because they are trying to focus to listen the story.

Fairy tales are so important for children. Fairy tales are describing different situation of problems, struggles, failures, temptations of the human soul. It contains the past, the present and the future. Complete life cycle. When we have many different figures/characters in fairy tales, that's what we face in reality The child will know his own soul capacity.


Fairy tales also create in the soul of the child, the capacity of wonder, that the child can be astonished. It makes the child awakening in love to watch the world, to connect with the world.