Windows into Waldorf Sept. 17
Dear Waldorf Community,
During the Rose Ceremony at the start of School our Grade 5 Teacher Ms. Carrady talked about math. She said: “In grade three, they planted garlic, and in Grade 4 they harvested it and used the bulbs to learn about fractions. In grade five, she was looking at the seed and how everything that becomes the plant is contained in this little seed.”
Yes, we eat our math.
This ‘cross-pollination’ of studies, painting landscapes en plein air in Botany class, or participating in the ‘Greek Olympics’ with discus and javelin in History Class is second nature to Waldorf Learning. In academic terms this multi-approach weaving a particular topic through different lenses is called ‘holistic learning’. Here, we have found that it is the best way to learn and retain knowledge. And the kids absorb it all with wonder and enthusiasm.
This weeks’ Windows into Waldorf is grade-by-grade snapshot of some of the things we are learning in each of the grades to give you a sense of the intentional ‘laddered learning’ that takes place at Waldorf.
Conor Jones
Director of School
Measuring the volume of water in Art Class
KEY DATES & HAPPENINGS
From Parent info Evenings to Temagami outdoor camping trips, please consult our community calendar for upcoming events: Waldorf Academy Annual Calendar.
Counting stitches in sewing class
DISPATCHES FROM THE CLASSROOM*
Kindergarten - Puppet Show
We have had a beautiful first week of kindergarten with your lovely children. We enjoyed getting to know the children that are new to Star Garden and were very happy to welcome the returning children. For young children coming to school takes a lot of courage - this is no small feat at their age.
The children got a puppet story about The Giant Turnip where they learned a song.
The mouse held onto the cat, the cat held onto the dog, the dog held onto
Grandchild, Grandchild held onto Grandmother and Grandmother held
onto Grandfather, Grandfather took hold of the turnip, and together they pulled and
pulled - and pop! Out came the turnip...
Grade 1 - From Roses, new friends, and Apple Picking
This week has been full of firsts, our first Rose Ceremony, our first recess, our first nature walk, our first painting lesson and many many other wonderful things. Grade One have settled beautifully into the rhythms and routines of our class and have already really inspired all of the subject specialist teachers they have met so far. I think you will agree that the Rose Ceremony on Tuesday was very special. I was so proud of each and every one of our Grade One students as they got up so bravely on the stage in front of the entire community, full of wonder for the year ahead. Just before the ceremony, Grade One had the chance to meet their Grade Eight buddies, who will support them and spend time with them throughout the year. We had another opportunity to spend time with our buddies on Wednesday during our DEAR (Drop Everything And Read) session, when they came and read stories to us.
Grade 2 - On community and gnomes
It was a week of recalling our school routines as well as getting to know new ones. It was also a week to get to know the newest member of our class, Kaya! The children have a wonderful sense of community and easily integrated their new classmate into their routines and games. These were wonderful moments that displayed their trust and support for each other. We also received mail from Alice, who is away on a long trip, all the way from Thailand!
We dove right into our first block of form drawing and language arts to reestablish our rhythms of working in our main lesson books and recalling our stories. The children have returned well-rested and have also returned with greater capacity and interest in details. For this first block, we will explore the world of Aesop’s Fables and the mischief and wisdom portrayed through animals. We will also dedicate some time to the Michaelmas story of St. George and the dragon, a Waldorf favourite that allows us to reflect on courage, transformation and redemption. I have announced the new role that the class will have in the Michaelmas pageant, and the children are very enthusiastic about playing the hard-working gnomes.
Grade 3 - Tea and Honey
This week in Main Lesson, we embarked on our first Language Arts block, in which we are learning the Creation Story according to the Hebrew Scriptures, as is traditional in Waldorf schools in Grade Three. We wrote an entire page of cursive, and the children’s writing was lovely! They really like cursive — it makes them proud! We are also having glimpses into some of our later blocks, including vertical addition and subtraction (including carrying and borrowing), parts of speech (nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs), measurement (time and linear), and reviewing our multiplication tables and sight words, while moving onwards with many new spelling words.
We have also started a few new social traditions, including a 10-minute settling-in time each morning when the children can relax and chat before the lesson begins promptly at 8:30 a.m. I will be serving tea and honey during this time starting next week.
Grade 4 - Here be Dragons; of Maps and Michaelmas
Our first Main Lesson block is Local Geography. This block is a wonderful introduction to geography and begins with learning about the elements of a map, compasses, bird’s-eye-view perspective, and, of course, map making. As both a fun introduction to map making and a homework activity, the students mapped out their bedrooms using the themes and skills discussed in class.
Once this foundation was established, we added legends to our maps and began creating more complex maps. For us, this took the form of mapping the side yard. Other themes we will explore during this block include an introduction to topography, the Great Lakes, local resources, the Canadian Shield, and even some fascinating facts about how the Ice Age shaped our landscapes.
These topics are taught through a combination of drawings, cursive writing, stories, review lessons, and classroom discussions.
Language Arts
At this time of year, the Grade 4 class begins rehearsals for the Michaelmas play. Our class will play the nobility, the dragon, St. Michael, and St. George. Along with singing songs, learning stage directions, and soon preparing costumes, the Grade 4 class will be given an immense amount of responsibility in this play. Not to mention, the Grade 4 teacher directs the play, so this will be a new experience for all of us!
Math
Through games and speed sheets, the students have been practicing and reviewing the key math concepts they learned last year and will continue to use as they take on new concepts later this year. Our current math work focuses primarily on multiplication, division, and calculations involving money.
It has been wonderful to see how well the students have retained what they learned last year, and this strong foundation bodes well for the new concepts we will explore as the year progresses, including fractions later in the school year.
Grade 5 - What is Life?
We began the year with botany, opening our first lesson with a deceptively simple question: “What is life?”
The question opened up a wide range of thinking:
“Life requires a certain will.” “Life is a cycle — there is birth, growth and death.” “Life is a gift given to certain things so that they can become more than an object — don’t think of it as dying, but more like borrowing life and souls leaving the body.” “Life to me is kind of like there are many things that don’t have life and when the right things come together, it makes life — different combinations make different kinds of life, for example instinctual life versus intelligent life.” “Life is like a time that you are given to be a part of the world — you get to be a part of this world, experience everything, and then your time is up and more people get it.” “Life is kind of space in time when participants feel, love, and help each other; when you die, you still feel those things, but less vibrantly, like a haze.” “Life is awareness — when you’re born, you don’t know where or who you are or what you’re going to be, and as you grow up, you gain knowledge and see the world differently.” “Life is like waiting for you to get to see stuff.” “I also think of life as a cycle, for example, lions eat gazelles, but then, when the lion dies and goes back to the earth, they nourish the grass that the gazelles eat.” “Life destroys and sustains in a cycle.” “There are different kinds of life, for example plant life can’t move or talk; animals are more like humans, but humans are more adaptable and they can change.” And from one of our young scientists: “Scientists agree that life is anything that eats and can reproduce.”
Plants have much to teach us about life: about growth and transformation, dependence and resilience, cycles and relationship, and the particular way each living thing takes its place in the world.
Grade 6 & 7 - Pennies from Heaven
Astronomy
We have begun our study of Astronomy. So far, we have learned many key terms to describe objects in two and three dimensional space. We have used balls and our bodies to model the kinetic relationship between the sun, moon, and earth. Today (the new moon) we learned about Moon Phases and had our first class circle of the year to speak our hopes and intentions for this year together. There will be a block test at the end of this block with many core concepts for students to learn. Students will have the choice between an oral and written test to make sure everyone has the opportunity to represent their knowledge in whichever way works best for them.
Business Math
Our next block will be Business Math, culminating in a Business Fair during the day on October 29. At the beginning of next week I will assign the Business project to the students, and I will forward it to you for reference at that time. This will include components of planning, budgeting, creating, promoting, and selling. Students are free to propose whatever type of business they like so long as it can culminate at the Business Fair. I will work with them to plan something achievable. I encourage you to engage your child in conversation to help them imagine something fun and achievable. The timing of the event lines up well for ideas that are associated with Hallowe'en.
Schoolwide D.E.A.R. (Drop Everything and Read)
This year as a school we are returning to our practice of "Drop Everything and Read" for 20 minutes every afternoon. Ms. Gerrard acquired some new novels over the summer, and we have a good selection of fiction and non-fiction options available for students to read from at the school. For now, we will use the options available in the library. Later in the year, students will have a chance to bring reading materials from home.
Grade 8 - Let’s jump right in and Prep for the Musical Shall we? (+ health, handwork and woodwork!)
Grade 8 students have been asked to keep a sleep journal this week in Health class. For simplicity, the journal is kept at school and students are reminded each morning to track their sleep habits. Over the weekend, please remind your child to track their sleep in their agendas. They will know to write down when they fell asleep, when they woke up, where they slept, the quality of their sleep and the environment before they fell asleep.
If your child is with Ms. Grainger for Handwork this term, you should have received an email from me with a shopping list at the end of August. Please take your child with you to choose their fabric this weekend if you haven't already done so, and bring materials to school on Monday. Students who have Woodworking this term will receive the shopping list email from Ms. Grainger before we swap groups at the end of January.
Have an amazing time in Temagami Grade 8!
IN THE COMMUNITY
Community Council
Waldorf Academy is blessed to have the most incredible Community Council, parents who animate our school and bring learning and play to life.
As Class/Grade Representatives are being recruited (thank you!), the Community Council has set up their meeting schedule for everyone keen to engage with the school to make it even better.
Meetings are from 7:00 pm- 8:00 pm (sometimes members with more culinary flare will bring samples of their kitchen artistic creations!)
Thursday, October 8th
Thursday, November 12th
Thursday December 10th
Thursday January 14th
Thursday February 18th
Thursday April 8th
Thursday May 6th
These dates have also been added to the School Calendar.
October Hot Lunch Schedule - Note from Friday Lunch Healthy Kids for Grades 1-8
Reaching out to let you know that the ordering pages for the month of October have been posted on our website (link here).
The deadline for orders is Friday, September 25th.
THURSDAY SEPT. 24 at 6:30 - YOU’RE INVITED! Book Talk - Author Mary Willow coming to Waldorf Academy
What if there was not one child to parent but two? Parenting mentor Mary Willow (nurse, midwife and Waldorf educator) introduces the dramatic difference between the ‘True Child’ and and the child’s ‘Defence System’ - which she calls the ‘Guard Dog’ - in her book:
Breaking Through: How to Rescue Childhood and Heal the Parent-Child Relationship
This dynamic framework for understanding your child’s behaviour and transforming family life covers early childhood through to the teenage years.
Mary’s work is frequently described by parents as ‘life-changing’.
Linda Lee of Paper Pipit will attend this event with books available for purchase.
TUESDAY, OCT. 20th, 6:30 - 8:00 - YOU’RE INVITED to an “UNPLUGGED WORKSHOP” -
NATURE PLAY-Pine Project - Run Wild After School Program - Starting Sept. 28 for 6-13 year olds
If any parents have kids ages 6-13 bursting with pent-up energy after a full day of school, Pine is offering a weekly fast-paced adventure in nature where they play games, explore forests to discover hidden mysteries, and learn new skills like fire-building. By ‘running wild’ and choosing their own adventures, participants form lasting friendships, build physical health, and connect with nature.
This is a year round program with 29 sessions. Sessions occur on a weekly basis between September 28th - June 4th, 2027, with seasonal breaks.
Offered in both the East and West end.
More Info here.
