Discover Waldorf Education: Writing & Reading, Part 1

[Wordtoons]

Hey I really like the idea of teaching kids to draw the shapes without names first as it reflects ideals of language acquisition with not focusing on form and meaning at the same time. I wonder how you may see Wordtoons fitting into this process?.. going from story to letter to word and then taking the word into the image of it's meaning.

[anga10na]

great.

thank you.

[eschwartz1ster]

A good question! Yet remedial experts recognize that letters and words need to be brought into a multi-sensory, kinesthetic experience for children to deeply absorb them. Waldorf tries to provide a variety of sensory and movement experiences, as well as more sedentary ones, because every child will find her connection in a different way. Space is running out - read my book, "Seeing, Hearing, Learning" (Rudolf Steiner College Press).

[madasamattarch]

I don't see the connection between being able to walk around in a circle with a bean bag on your head and being able to read and write? It certainly wasn't a pre-requisite as the narrator states, when I was a child!.

[InformedChoice]

Thank you. I have also enjoyed your foundations lectures.

[InformedChoice]

What are the words a teacher would use to get the children to draw these shapes? IE: today we're going to draw this, copy what I do, put your pen here, everyone together, etc.? How do you keep the children from "free scribbilng", esp. very active children? Where can I find a book that shows how to do this with the drawings? Thank you.

[eschwartz1ster]

@InformedChoice First the teacher tells a story in which a character moves the form, then the children practice moving it through playful games in or outdoors. Once it has been moved with gross motor activity, the children move it in space with their hands. By this time they are RAPT as their teacher draws the form on the chalkboard, and some come up to try it themselves. The drawing on paper is thus only the last step of a long process in which movement becomes form.

[InformedChoice]

@eschwartz1ster Thank you for your response. Could you tell me, how long does a teacher usually spend on one letter and do they only learn one letter at a time?

[eschwartz1ster]

@InformedChoice The teacher generally spends a week each on the first four or five letters that are taught, slowly metamorphosing them from stories and drawings to actual letters. Then the teacher moves much more rapidly -- not all letters are taught in this way -- so that by December most Waldorf 1st graders have learned the letters and their sounds and are ready to write out poems and short narratives.

[Jappevinter]

I really do not get this. Why not practice writing the letters instead of the patterns leading on to the letters? What is the aim here? Being able to draw patterns, or being able to write letters?

[ticklemeoj]

This Waldorf method actually applies to preschoolers between 3 to 5 years old. There is no sense of teaching these children to write the ABC if they are just learning how to hold pencils, so drawing lines are good prerequisite to learning how to write.

[oh2love4love]

I am teaching my son from home, waldorf inspired. it is scary for me though because I worry about meeting his needs.

[morganhodder]

i don't think the narrator could sound more bored.

[eschwartz1ster]

This video shows first graders who are between 6 & 7 at the time they begin to learn letters and second graders who are between 7 & 8.

[kiskosid]

What if the child can read before this age? Does thi present problems?

Is it true that left handed children are told to use their right hand over their left?

[kindytchr]

Thank you for posting these wonderful videos! They are a constant source of inspiration!

[sandspeck]

Was that Mrs. Whistler in the video, from Pineforest Charter School? She inspired me with a vision of true education, it is because of her work that I'm in the path of becoming a Waldorf teacher. Nice to see her again!

[eschwartz1ster]

Yes, that is Bernadette Whistler, a wonderful & inspired teacher!

[sandspeck]

Yes, inspired teachers ARE inspiring. Thanks for replying, it has been refreshing, as it has brought me back to that time filled with awe when I first witnessed a Waldorf lesson, she was my first born's teacher for one academic year. Now I'm on the East Coast, but maybe I'll see her at the RSC this summer?! Blessings.

[sandspeck]

Thanks for your ongoing work, we all draw lots of inspiration and understanding from it. I will be teaching a Waldorf class next year, for the first time, and I constantly visit your website for knowledge and common sense in times of rigidity. Thanks!

[TheDreamAngels]

Another awesome video! Thank you for doing these!

[FaeryComeDraw]

Very interesting.  I wish my daughter could attend a Waldorf school.