Parent-Child Classes at Madrona School

What do our youngest students experience at Madrona School? We offer parent-child classes for children and a caregiver, age 12 months (and walking) to 36 months; babies as young as eight weeks can come to our parent-infant class, as well. Many families came to Waldorf education through parent-child classes, and a curiousity about what this type of education might mean for their family and parenting choices. Some simply desire to spend some time in the warmth and beauty of a Waldorf early childhood classroom, and some want to make connections in a community of like-minded families. These classes offer a glimpse into the early childhood rhythms present in preschool and kindergarten when the children move into an independent school experience, where our emphasis on imaginative free play and movement both indoors and out, grows with the child's developing capacities and physical capabilities. 

Our once weekly parent-child classes are taught by Joleen Hollow-Bist and Susie Lockard, both long-time Madrona School teachers. The classes introduce a school setting to a toddler, as well as offering a place of calm and community for caregivers. The classes offer the all important Waldorf early childhood tenet of rhythm, following the same schedule each week of free play, simple circle games, songs and story, bread baking, eating together and outdoor play. The teachers also share readings and invite conversation about parenting successes and challenges. The children have a chance to explore social interactions, they are nourished by a wholesome snack and open-ended play things, and they dig in to bread bun making and dish washing. Songs help frame different activities and offer an idea of carrying similar activities into the home. And, parents can begin to get to know one another, work on simple crafts, explore parenting topics and practice some mindful observation of the children.

We also offer parent-infant classes in shorter sessions, where the emphasis is on mindful parenting and being fully and joyfully present for our children. Parents learn simple songs and lap games to take home, as well as observation exercises and ideas for simple rhythms to shape family time.

New parent-child and parent-infant classes begin in the new year. If you know of anyone with babies or toddlers, please refer them to our website for more information: www.madronaschool.org/parent-child-classes or www.madronaschool.org-parent-infant-classes. Or, have them contact the school office at 206-855-8041.

A Season for Candles and Singing

The Shortest Day, by Susan Cooper, begins: And so the shortest day came and the year died / And everywhere down the centuries of the snow-white world / Came people singing, dancing, / To drive the dark away.... 

December at Madrona School brings candlelight and community singing. We gather together for our Spiral of Light festival, and the second grade brings us an annual Santa Lucia celebration. The classrooms sprout greenery and show off colorful windows, too. Our days are short but packed with a sense of festive anticipation. Enjoy this glimpse into this year's December.

1st Grade at Madrona School

What is 1st grade like at a Waldorf school? The 1st grade year at Madrona School marks the beginning of an eight year school journey. The theme of the year is formation: where the class teacher builds relationships between and amongst the children and parents to grow the all important class community; where the children begin to form the habits that will mark their student lives; where the building blocks of writing, reading and math are planted and nurtured. The class teacher is traditionally at the start of their journey too, looping up through the grades, beginning relationships that will grow and change as the children move through many developmental stages.

The year begins with the Rose Ceremony. The whole of the grade school gathers together to welcome in the new 1st grade class. While everyone looks on, our newest students literally bridge from early childhood to grade school, bringing a flower with them to form a bouquet the represents their new class community. As they walk across a wooden bridge, their new teacher is there to shake their hand and welcome them to 1st grade. We also acknowledge the breadth of the journey they undertake with our 8th grade class, whom, while at the opposite end of their school journey, do remember what it was like to be in 1st grade and are there with welcoming roses and a promise to work with the newest class throughout the year. Once the brief ceremony concludes, the class returns to their classroom with their teacher for their first lesson -- a story, and some form drawing.

There is so much to learn in first grade. It is truly hard work to sit at a desk, to stand in line, to raise your hand before you speak, to care for your own self, and learn to see, hear and care for your classmates. And then there is the academic work, and in first grade we focus on writing, reading and math. Letters and simple words and sentences step children towards independent reading; exploring the qualities of numbers and the four basic processes introduce mathematics; science comes through observing nature on neighborhood walks and in seasonal song. There is time to work at your own pace, to practice careful book work, to learn to listen well.

One example of a lesson is the first form drawing lesson mentioned above, a seemingly simple exploration of straight lines and curved lines. Students are encouraged to carefully draw both and begin to observe them in the classroom -- the world we can see is, of course, made up of straight and curved lines, an idea that is foundational to art, to writing, to honing our all important observation skills. This first lesson illustrates how we encourage each student to observe the world around them, to mindfully approach their work, and the deceptive simplicity of truly seeing what underpins how we communicate.

Story is an important element of how we deliver material, and we engage a young student's imagination to teach abstract concepts such as letter sounds, and the qualities of numbers. Stories help make these ideas -- the sound a 'p' makes or what is '1', for example -- concrete and visible and memorable. Movement cements ideas too, and you will often see the first graders moving through a counting game or draped on the floor, spelling out words with their bodies. In addition to self-management and academics, the students have handwork, beeswax, painting, music, games and world language classes. The first grade curriculum is varied and interesting and so much fun, and it is no wonder that the children are tired at the end of their day!

Planning work is underway for next year's first grade class. Please help us spread the word about Madrona School's elementary education and the journey these young students begin together. Madrona School first graders begin a journey that is joyful, artistic, and emotionally intelligent, where each of our students prepares for life and learns to rub along together. What could be better?

8th Grade at Madrona School

We talk about 8th grade at Madrona School as a culmination of the grade school journey. Even in Waldorf schools that offer high school, 8th grade marks the end of what has likely been a multi-year relationship between a teacher and his/her class, as well as between the students, some of whom have been together for many years. In our 8th grade this year, there are students who've been classmates since preschool, and others who've joined as recently as last year. Regardless, it feels like a family. 

Our students are eagerly looking ahead to high school and the next step, but they are also nostaglic and may be beginning to reflect on their school journeys (wave a kindergarten bread bun in front of them for a sentimental demonstration, for example). They enjoy the freedom of their basement classroom, set a bit apart from the rest of the school, with its separate entrance and access to an outdoor eating area. They remain connected to the life of the school though, through work with younger grades, morning recess, and a weekly rhythm of choir and strings with the other middle schoolers.

The 8th grade class is engaged in main lesson blocks with their class teacher, Mr. Nottage. They began their year with revolutions -- studying the American and French revolutions, and moving into the foundations and order of our American government that resulted from these historical events. Typically this is a lesson block brought in 8th grade Waldorf classrooms, and teachers emphasize that this study recognizes what is going on internally for an 8th grader as they work through the rich and often radical changes happening as they grow into young adults. 

The class moved into physiology mid-October, examining the skeletal system, and combining science and art, studying the order and beauty that literally carries us around. Organic chemistry and the geometry of solids will also be studied this fall, and after the winter break the class will study hydraulics and aerodynamics, economic geography and civil and labor rights. The curriculum draws on the students' burgeoning capacities for critical thinking, and their ever-increasing sophistication with writing and other forms of communication. The dinner table discussions get ever more interesting, especially as they move into an understanding of current events.

In other class periods, language arts offers more opportunity for self-expression in creative writing, as well as a sampling of biography. Math builds on what has come before, and supports othe theme of transformation, with the class recently exploring number bases beyond base 10, for example. Other specialty classes include handwork (sewing on machines), games, middle school choir and strings ensemble.

Watch for more from our 8th grade as the year develops. Long-term independent projects offer each student a chance to explore something they are interested in and they work with a mentor over several months. The projects end with presentations to the school community (set for April 13th), and you will all be invited, as these students demonstrate a Waldorf education's preparation beyond academics -- with emphasis on self-expression and self-possession. Then, two weeks later, the class play celebrates eight years of creating drama together. Finally, in early June, the week-long class trip offers a final field trip of sorts, this one highlighting the journey and growth of the class as a community. Graduation marks their public celebration of this journey, and you will be invited to come help us send off this amazing group of young people. It's going to be a great year!

--originally published in our October 17 newsletter

Madrona School is a non-profit, tax exempt public charity organization incorporated in the State of Washington. Madrona School does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, gender expression or identity, national and ethnic origin, sexual orientation, or religion in any of its programs, classes or activities.