Waldorf Curriculum

Last week I had the opportunity to visit the Waldorf curriculum model!!  I choose to visit Four Winds Waldorf School in Warrenville, Illinois.   As I entered the building I was warmly greeted by the Director of the school!  She was at the door greeting every student, their parents and siblings as they entered the school.  I knew I was in a special place immediately because she knew EVERY name!   I was told to meet the three/four year old class on the playground.  Again, I was warmly greeted by the teacher on the playground and observed as she greeted and shook every child and their parents hand!  This was their way of taking attendance.   

This is one of two protected benches where the teachers sat to greet the students. 

After the children greeted the teacher, they ran onto the playground and played with friends.  The children spent about a half hour playing with each other.  Many played in the sand, some stood by a tree (playing with sticks) and others climbed trees.  There were no disciplinary issues while I observed.  One young many picked up a large, long board with a pointy end on it.  He spent the entire time “writing” in the same with the pointed end of the board.  He played near some girls, but never disturbed them.  It struck me how this behavior would have been immediately stopped in a regular classroom.  Here it was assumed that the child would be responsible and he was! 

 The school is located on 5 acres with one large grassy area surrounded by small hills and the other side is all wooded forest.  Children spend ½ hour as they arrive and ½ hour as they leave provided the weather is good.  As I observed, many of the older grades spent time outside also.  One commented that they were just going for a walk on a beautiful day.  Again, not an occurrence in a regular school!  Within the woods, there were several “creations” such as this located in the forest!  It was obvious that the children were allowed to work in the woods to learn about the properties of materials.

All the materials within the classrooms were natural – there was much wood, stone, yarn, fabric, ribbon, silk throughout the school.  It was arranged aesthetically and was very attractive to the children!  This is a picture of the classroom which is decorated to create a homelike environment.  There are lamps, sofas, soft chairs, plants in each classroom.  A kitchen is in every room so that the teachers’ work is open for the children to view.  The other interesting thing is that no disposables are used because of their focus on the environment.  Each child has a cloth place-mat and napkin, a glass drinking cup, a ceramic dish and a metal utensil.  Children even had fabric aprons to use. 

The children spent a great deal of their time in free play, both inside and outside.  The children spent time preparing food for their snack and doing art projects.    Part of the Waldorf philosophy is that play creates the foundation for future learning.  During my visit, I did not observe any academics being taught to the children.  My first reaction to that was that enough was not being done with the children for them to learn.  But after reflecting....I realized the children were learning about how to get along with each other!!  This is one of children's areas of development - SOCIAL!  These children were all well adjusted.  They said good-bye to their parents and ran off to play.  They had great attention spans during indoor and outdoor play times.  Hmmm....another area of children's development - EMOTIONAL!!  They were running up and down hills, slithering under tables, climbing trees, digging holes and many other activities which were allowing them to develop - PHYSICALLY!!!  Here, I am the proponent of play, the one who touts that we must teach to ALL areas of development, not just cognitive and I was uncomfortable watching children PLAY!  Cognitively, these children were very articulate and had natural curiosity about everything they saw - types of birds, planets, plants, songs, animals and on and on.  This curriculum brought me back to the natural aspects of teaching and learning.

I felt so relaxed and so at peace during my visit.  The children played freely, adults conversed with children and among themselves.  It felt like a home.  Children worked, adults worked and IT worked at this school. 

Multiple Intelligences

For this visit I found a school in Vancouver, Washington called Gardner School! I stayed in Portland, Oregon and drove about 30 minutes through the cities and onto a beautiful country road that lead to the school which is located on 5 acres of land.  When I arrived there were several buildings and I wasn't sure where to go.  A beautiful house was home to the Principal and administrative offices. The main building housed the 3 year old, 4 year old, kindergarten and 1st and 2nd grades classrooms; a large gymnasium; a well stocked music room along with an art classroom; and a classroom dedicated to Spanish instruction.  There were two modular classrooms where the 3/4, 5/6, 7/8 and Science classrooms were located.  The grounds themselves contained several interesting areas: a pond or wetland area, a large open area, a playground set, a large garden with a compost pile, a little house and a large pile of dirt!  I was told that the pile of dirt was extremely popular.

It's been interesting to experience the different cultures of each of the centers.  This school reflects the west coast culture and had a very laid back feel to it.  I was given permission to visit anywhere and with everyone!  Everyone was very welcoming and interested in learning about what I was doing.  I tried to ask all my questions, but really spent a lot of time just absorbing my surroundings.  I was struck by several things during this visit, but especially how beautifully it touched upon every multiple intelligence!! 
For the linguistic learner - lots of writing, reading books and opportunities to share due to the small class sizes
For the logical mathematical learners - a special classroom for science experiences and lots of opportunities for math.  I observed in the kindergarten classroom a lot during my visit and was impressed with the level of math these children were doing.  Word problems! 
For the spatial learners - an ART room!  But in addition to that many opportunities within the classroom also.
Bodily - kinesthetic learners - I already mentioned the playground equipment, the large grassy areas and the dirt pile and the gymnasium!  The classroom I observed in was also putting on a play for their "culminating event"
Musical learners - an awesome, well-equipped music room.  Eat your heart out when you see this picture.  Also a lot of singing was happening in the classrooms.

Interpersonal learners -  the children all greeted me and introduced themselves.  Whenever any children or teachers from other rooms entered, they also spoke and were greeted.  The children in the kindergarten room where allowed to work in groups for EVERYTHING-math time, snack time, etc.  

Intrapersonal learners - I was witness to the personal journals that each of the children maintain in the kindergarten room!  Children were included in all levels of planning for their culminating event - including evaluating how the dramatic play they were doing should be organized.  They were allowed to choose throughout the time I observed - even what math problems they worked on.

Naturalist learners - Being a naturalist learner myself, I was in heaven!  The outdoor opportunities were abundant and my favorite picture is of the boots lined up - these children are allowed and encouraged to explore their environment.

Every classroom had some type of animal or insect in it, bird feeders hung all around and I even spied a hummingbird during my visit.  The science room located by the wetlands would provide many outdoor adventures for the children.  Another one of my favorites was the telescope pointed out to the nearby field! 

So it was ALL there!  I was struck by the focus on all the strengths for EVERYONE!  Although you might be strong in your Logical-Mathematical intelligence, you were asked to learn about and grow in all of your intelligences.  I happened to have the opportunity to speak with a parent whose son was extremely gifted and they had enrolled their daughter in Gardner School.  She was spoke of how well-rounded her daughter's education was and how they were teaching to ALL of her intelligences, not just the ones she was strong in.  She liked that idea and so did I. 

I was also struck by the similarities in their approach with the project approach.  They do three in-depth studies a year, two in alignment with the rest of the school and one of their own choosing.  They also had the buddy system like Bank Street - I think this would be especially effective here though because as I stated, they are all studying the same topics through most of the year. 

The "culminating event" is done by the entire school.  This, like the project approach, provides the parents with documentation of their learning and the children (interpersonal) can also focus on what they've learned through the project.   This class had done a Russian version of "Caps for Sale" and then compared it to the original version of Caps for Sale and also a Chinese version brought in by a parents.  And then each student provided an area containing representing all the work they'd done in the class such as this one

Each child is asked to self identify their "SMARTS" as they are referred to at the younger ages.  There is a chart in each classroom such as this!  The teacher said they are 95% correct when they identify their smarts! Can we adults say the same thing?

Another awesome visit!  Thank you so much Gardner School!!  

Head Start

Talk about a stark contrast.  I went from a North Shore suburb into Chinatown in the city!  From a very serene, tranquil site while visiting Montessori into the hectic environment of the Head Start program!  The Head Start program is in Bridgeport and has 5 classrooms with children ages 3-5.  Each classroom has three teachers, one lead and at least is bilingual.  The children are 85% Asian and speak three different languages.  The first thing I noticed was the outstanding documentation of the children's learning!  And I also noticed how parent friendly the school was and that EVERYTHING was translated, including hand washing directions!

 This is a copy of the classroom newsletter and its translation, but literally everything posted on the walls was translated.  The school does two home visits and has three conferences with the parents, the parent support staff and the teachers.  There is a lot of communication and support going on.  One of the parent support staff was a male and has been making an effort to get male role models involved in the school.  What a great idea

The other thing I noticed through the documentation on the walls, was that there was emphasis on nutrition and there were several recipes indicating that their cooking revolved around their culture.  One of the classrooms was also looking at two different cultures and their foods.

My conversations with the Parent Support staff indicated that they do a lot of support for the parents working their way through the system.  Many of their families are new to the country and many do not speak English.  There were a great deal of parent workshops and activities scheduled throughout the year.  In their initial needs assessment, they are asked if they require referrals and the school has a list of possibilities for them.   

This center has also moved to Creative Curriculum because of the way it is aligned with Head Start, NAEYC and Illinois Early Learning Standards.  It allows them to keep assessments of the children online.  This is only the second year they've used the system so they are still working out the kinks.  A demonstration revealed how it also serves as a resource for curriculum ideas and serves as a planning tool for the classroom. 

In each classroom, in each center of the room, there was documentation describing what was happening there!  One of the classroom had questions in each area so that all the teachers would be asking children the same questions.  I liked that idea a lot. 

The Center, as most Head Start programs do, has several funding streams which always makes my head spin!  This was my second urban visit visit with rooftop play areas!  Although there is little nature available to the children - in both instances the children seem to really enjoy playing and running in the spaces.

I'm on my way this weekend to visit a Multiple Intelligence school in Vancouver, Washington.  I'm anxious to see a school that focuses on this curriculum.  I can't believe my sabbatical is half over!!  It's been so wonderful to really be able to delve into these curricula!  

Montessori

I visited a Montessori School this morning!  What an awesome experience!  I have to admit that before I started by sabbatical, I was not a fan of the Montessori curriculum.  So imagine my surprise as I began reading "Montessori: the science behind the genius" by Angeline Stoll Lillard and found that I totally agree with the majority of the principles of the curriculum!! 

I began reading about how they felt that our current public schools are set up on a factory model.  Students are put through an assembly line with information being "poured" into children at each grade.  I couldn't agree more!!  We divide them by age and by ability while the Montessori classroom has children grouped by three years of age!  Younger children learn by being mentored by older students while older students learn empathy about working with others who are not at their level.  They feel confident in their knowledge and it reinforces their own learning about the topic.  During my visit, I saw many, many examples of students working with each other.  Collaboration is encouraged at the elementary level where children become very social. 

I previously believed that student were moved along as they completed one job onto the next.  I learned that children are allowed to make choices immediately upon entering the room!  This is a skill that our young people are desperately in need of learning!  How do you manage your time, follow your interests, conduct research, collaborate with other people and reach your goals?  Students in this school are learning all of these skills!

No grades???? What?  These students are focused and motivated to learn because they are interested in things?  I'm a life long learner and was never motivated by grades, but I know many of my students are more interested in their grade than what they're learning.  Not surprising when our education system has taught them to work for the grade and to test well.  

When I arrived at the school there were three boys working on this long string in the entrance hallway.  They were quietly working together to complete this line together.  All were focused, motivated and collaborating to get this task completed.  All of the materials are concrete examples for children to understand the concepts!  Hands on all the way up to 8th grade!

Montessori believed that students learned best when they would move around and so her classrooms are set up that way!  Public schools require students to sit for long periods.  Montessori doesn't believe in recess?  What??  It's not required because students are constantly moving in their classrooms, and students can take breaks whenever they wish at the school I observed at.  The amazing thing was that she believed that students could be totally absorbed on a topic for up to three hours and that they should not be interrupted during that time.  Again, I read it and thought it made sense but three hours?  I couldn't believe when I walked into a classroom filled with 3 to 6 year olds.  It was SILENT and children were totally absorbed and remained that way throughout my visit.  Think about it.  When I was a child, I remember spending the entire day playing with my cousin.  I was very focused because I was interested.  These children were interested in what they were doing!

The materials that Maria Montessori created were so well researched! She understood child development and had such a brilliant mind that the materials are inviting and motivating and carefully designed for a progression of learning.  I have always shown my students the pink tower, but when it was shown to me today I was amazed at the variety of information the child could glean from playing with the materials in a certain way.  These materials are all self correcting so children don't need a teacher after they have been introduced to them.  Again the teacher is freed up to observe the children which is a large part of this curriculum.

I'm returning tomorrow to spend the morning in a classroom so I will share more later.  I'm going to a Head Start program in Chinatown next week!  I have to hurry and read my book!