This is the place to visit for our latest news, classroom teaching gems, and inspirations from far and wide. We would also love to share some of your teaching ideas, when sent our way via our website (submit an idea) . We hope you enjoy this new ‘meeting place of ideas.’
The WI team; Anna, Patti, Tim, and Janet
Dear Class Teachers, Have you noticed that for those students in your class who have not seen each other all summer the first day of school is much more about social interactions among peers than it is about the curriculum? The energy and excitement that surrounds coming together again can often overshadow the form and content that the teacher has ...
This post is for grades 1-8. Your Students Need Integrated Movement Throughout the Day Are your students getting "spring fever?" Are you feeling a bit stale? Well we have an idea for you – add more integrated movement into your lessons! Waldorf teachers know that when we want our students to learn a new concept or skill the best approach is to enga...
Janet Langley & Patti Connolly Blog #2 is for grades 3-8 class teachers. One of the main reasons a family chooses to enroll their child in a Waldorf school is that they love what they see happening in the classroom when they come for a visit. They are impressed with the creative presentations of the lessons, how music and speech are woven into ...
We've come to that point in the summer when it's time to plan your coming year. But where do you begin? One of the first things you want to do is to create your block rotation. Our greatest teacher, Experience, and our mentors and colleagues have given us a number of excellent ideas for developing a yearly plan that supports a healthy academic...
This blog is for Kindergarten-Grade 8 class teachers. Create a Viable System to Effectively Encourage and Engage Parents' Help In and Out of the Classroom Being a Waldorf teacher has its joys and its challenges. Certainly, one of the challenges is the amount of time it takes to prepare our lessons, stay on top of our classroom organization, at...
How can you especially give your gifted students a challenge so that they keep actively engaged in their learning? Challenge Books!
In every class there are always those students who finish their assignments accurately and proficiently prior to the rest of the class. Of course, you first have to verify if they have completed the assignment correctly and that they used the quality of skill (handwriting and/or artistic presentation) that you requested. But then what?
We found that beginning in 3rd grade challenge books can provide an answer. These books are a collection of brainteasers and curriculum exercises that can be copied and made into booklets. These exercises don't teach new skills, but rather give these students the opportunity to use those skills they have already been developing in new ways thus we promote that you give these challenge books to each student in the class.
Blog #1 is for grades 1-8 class teachers. Each time we talk with Waldorf alumni students about their school experience, it doesn't take long for the conversation to come around to their animated, joyful descriptions of their annual class plays. We love listening to them recount this scene or that scene, or the time that so-and-so forgot her lines a...
As one of the student support teachers at the Waldorf School on the Roaring Fork, I can feel the collective energy that all of us Waldorf teachers are creating right now as we think about how to bring our rich, "real world" curriculum to our students and their parents through virtual means. If you are like me, figuring out how to channel the creati...
