As you well know, technology is traditionally limited in the early childhood years and elementary school years in the practice of Waldorf pedagogy; and so, here we find ourselves with an interesting set of circumstances. Our teachers are well-practiced in providing experiential learning in a no or low-tech environment and also have been ramping up a whole new set of their own skills in order to reconcile their dedication to teaching your children in this new online environment.
Despite these exceptional circumstances, we must continue to hold our children’s needs as our top priority. We recognize that when the school building is closed, this poses an extreme burden and strain on parents who have now become virtual employees, at-home parents, and home school teachers. Similarly, the faculty are managing their own family situations, as well as learning a new way of delivering the Waldorf curriculum and holding the parents and students.
We are all in a steep learning curve within a rapidly changing global environment; now, more than ever, we are given the opportunity to demonstrate our Waldorf principles.
Please note that these plans are subject to change without notice as we adapt to government legislation.
Waldorf Academy’s Re-Entry Plan (2020-2021):
Health and Safety:
Drop-Offs:
Aftercare:
Large Group Activities:
Remote Learning:
The early childhood teachers have continued to communicate with the Early Childhood families via email and phone throughout the week. They also have Zoom parent evening conferences. A unique and private website was created by the Kindergarten team and friends. All the stories and songs are recorded by the teachers and all the artwork is drawn by the teachers as well. Hearing the voices of their teachers singing and telling a story are important for maintaining the relationship. Collaborating on a community forum helps to reconnect families and share in their journey.
Lower school teachers are using a schedule to structure the child’s day and will be using two platforms for the delivery of online lessons: Zoom and Google Classroom. The morning time is best dedicated to academic work, while the afternoons can be used for more artistic and creative lessons and activities, such as free play and time in nature. Each Monday, teachers will send out materials in various forms for the coming week. The amount of screen time will be determined in an ongoing manner in consideration of the distinct stages of development and overall needs of classes. The faculty is working on limiting screen time while providing as much structure and engaging content for at-home learning as possible. Individual class teachers will communicate directly to their parent bodies regarding expectations, benchmarks, assessment, check-ins, and office hours.
The team of middle school faculty has been preparing and coordinating a schedule and programs with a combination of engaging, experiential work, and online connection and instruction (through Zoom and Google Classroom). Faculty have arranged a weekly schedule with virtual check-ins to support students in largely independent learning. Students have met with class teachers and prepared a schedule for themselves allotting a segment of their day for Main Lesson and specialist subjects. Using Google Classroom, students will be engaged in online assignments.
(living document as we roll out our remote learning)
