An Evening Workshop – Thursday, April 11. 6-8pm
with Marg Beard – da Vinci School Mentor
At our last parent meeting we explored what Waldorf Education and Leonardo da Vinci had in common and discovered that they fit beautifully together. Like much of Leonardo da Vinci work, Waldorf education is based on the understanding of the development of the human being as well as having a strong connection to the earth, plants, animals, and the cosmos; it requires the adult to work out of their higher consciousness and develop the capacity for keen, objective observation skills; and that the opportunities for parents and teachers to make discoveries about the children who stand before them comes about through passionate and dedicated endeavours to develop one’s own spiritual forces.
We also explored the basic premise that the Waldorf curriculum is based on Rudolf Steiner’s vision of the 4-fold human being (physical, life forces, astral forces and ego), the path of human development, and how the curriculum meets the developmental phases of the child.
At the beginning of the workshop, we each had the opportunity to share our ‘individuality’ with the group. Upon conclusion of the presentation we discovered, again through an artistic activity, how as individuals we are working towards a common goal – to become Waldorf-inspired parents and educators within an alternative school setting.
We were left with the questions : How do we keep that common vision/goal in front of us? How do we work together as parents to meet the developmental needs of our children and assist in the development of a supportive, encouraging and enriching environment for parents and faculty? How can we develop a strong parent body to move forward? How do solidify our efforts in order to be supportive to the newcomers to our school?
With regards to learning more about the phases of childhood, based on Steiner’s vision of the human being, and ways to meet the developmental needs of our children, Marg offered to the parent body the opportunity for form a study group.
With regards to the remaining questions, come to the workshop on April 11th. Marg will provide us with hands-on activities to explore these questions. To move them from the head to the heart with the hopes of arriving at some creative possibilities………..