“Our highest endeavor must be to develop free human beings, who are able of themselves to impart purpose and direction to their lives.”
– Rudolf Steiner
Wellspring School is an educational community committed to the development of the emotional, practical, intellectual and spiritual qualities of the child through the Waldorf model of education. Wellspring strives to build a thriving school community through providing:
• A high-quality Waldorf education for children preschool through grade eight;
• A relationship with parents to build harmony between the school and home. The School strives to establish a common understanding of child development, the tasks of parenting and teaching, and the Waldorf curriculum;
• A contribution to the social, cultural, civic and educational life of our local communities by sponsoring workshops, lectures and concerts as well as actively contributing to local activities in our sending towns;
• Support for the growth of the Waldorf educational movement by our membership and participation in the Association of Waldorf Schools of North America (AWSNA) as a Developing Waldorf School.
School News
Exploring Music Education Opportunities for Gifted Students
For gifted students, music education offers self-fulfilling benefits
When it comes to music education, there are many choices. You could send your child to Music Connection, a Seattle-based non-profit arts organization dedicated to serving the needs of people and performers alike through direct services, strategies, programs, strategies, and materials. For a focus on Music Achievement, select another Seattle-based non-profit arts organization such as SoundStage 3000, focusing on and providing training and opportunities for artists of all ages and skills.
For students in elementary school, a music background can be pivotal. A good teacher with an enriching musical program will engage a child in the curriculum in ways that materials can’t always provide. And a child’s love of music will fuel their creativity as they study music’s many facets – not just playing it once.
Music education opportunities in elementary schools today aren’t limited to those found in Seattle schools. A number of quality programs exist throughout Washington and across the nation, with a substantial number of centers focused on K-12 academic music programs.
Every child deserves the best when it comes to education, but some may need more than others. What are Gifted Schools? How do I know if my child is in Gifted Schools? I have 3 questions I’d like to ask. What does my child look like? Can I help you? And finally, how do I know what Gifted Schools are like where my child will end up? This, I know will help you make a more informed decision.
I feel confident asking these questions because I’ve been in and out of special education for years. I currently have a client with an 18-year-old female student. She’s been “diagnosed” as both gifted and talented (GS), which means she’s IQ is in the top 1/10th percentile and she Often gets top grades. She’s also got two other clients with IQs in the top 1/10th and they also frequently get the top grades.
She’s also been diagnosed with a non-verbal learning disability (which means she’s a left-brain or non-primary language learner. This is why she gets by just fine using the public library. She does however have significant vision issues, and one of her strategies is reading eBooks.
In my experience working with students with disabilities from all over the world, I have found that students in schools with a culture or preference for one of these reading perspectives get a raw deal. Public school systems that are not culturally or preference-based have historically been very successful at getting students to adapt to these reading perspectives. However, schools that are “carefully tailored” to a small student population that is focused on a single perspective (such as Gifted and Talented) can get the most out of individualized techniques and strategies.
Nick’s perspective is not merely the perspective of being a middle schooler, but it is the perspective of being a human. The design of Nick’s schoolwork has been implemented by his non-English speaking teacher and the English teacher at his school. The unique work can focus on NCLB mandated subjects, but allows Nick to pursue areas of interest such as his passion for becoming a public speaker and artist.
The story of “vetting the tutor” illuminates how a person’s background or values can prime or displace their learning. What is the meaning of education?
I answer this question by studying the way in which students are socialized. What experiences do they have with the world? Are they teeing off on the piano like Mozart or wandering around the garden. What do you think makes for a great educational experience?
Public, parochial, and private schools can offer unique curricula or enhanced opportunities in participating students. Parents and students need to be aware that curricular methods are not necessarily the same in non-public and public schools. An agenda-based curriculum may be tougher to get through in public than in private, but there are many subjects and core values that are universal.
In short, educating alone is a perspective that is exclusive to the individual. Without the individualized interventions and strategies that individual students respond to, social education may amount to nothing more than government-mandated activities with a uniform curriculum and a friendly learning environment.
Uniquely Designed Pre-school Curriculum and Teaching Methodologies
I have been designing and preparing preschool curriculum for kids since 1996. I love to be able to reach early childhood students and get them excited about learning. Because each child’s brain is different, I need to capture them differently. Often when a youngster is having a hard time focusing on academics, he or she will have trouble focusing on the non-academic parts as well. It is hard to get all kids to focus on the same thing at the same time.
There are several ways to prepare for this. I have used various approaches as I want to reach my target audience. Many others use more than one approach. I have found that teachers who use different approaches consistently have the most success. There is no one right or wrong way. However, to make sure you are capturing your students’ attention, check out the available resources.
Here are a few approaches:
1. Use books, songs, and interactive play to captivate early childhood classes.
Many pre-school teachers can captivate early childhood classes simply by using books that have positive messages and are written at a level that can be enjoyed by small children.
2. Encourage children to express themselves through repetitive physical gestures and actions.
Early childhood teachers who embrace this concept are teaching skills that will be used throughout their entire school year. I have met children and parents who homeschool because they believe this approach better prepares their children for Kindergarten.
Parents who want to know more about this motivation are encouraged to spend time with their children and read a short book together. I have read many books that have successful ideas for teaching children motivated by color and structure.
3. Teach children to listen carefully and express themselves freely.
The age of the children is a great factor in developing their ability to learn to be quiet and listen carefully. If the children are younger, they will probably only be able to listen to adults in the same way that adults listen to them.
An ideal situation is to start by teaching ‘wait for me’ skills. By presenting each child with a book or short story and asking them to readjust the first sentence, they learn to ‘see’ the reader’s facial expression and understand what the author is saying. The teacher’s role is to reinforce the child’s ability to hear and to translate what the teacher says in English. This strategy will help them to develop in addition to the skills they have already demonstrated (e.g.: understanding the foreign language conversations).
Children, however, are incredibly busy little beings. Even if they have only one adult in their lives with the skills to teach them, they will be very dependent on that person. Therefore, if the teacher-parent relationship has to be successful, the teacher needs to capture the child’s parent’s attention in a way that will capture the child’s attention. Teach the children, very young, to wait for their teacher. The teacher’s job is to model the ability to wait.
4. Model bridging skills.
Teach children how to use the eye contact you have been teaching them and practice it. Do not be afraid to tell your children how they should use it. I have found that the children will pick up the skills and use them much better than you might have thought.
5. Repeat the eye contact strategies you have been teaching them.
Teachers smile at their students and all teachers or adult will smile at children. Use this fact to cue your students to speak with eye contact.
6. Use humor to help form lessons.
Use humor; it is a great tool for building vocabulary, leadership, communication and fostering fun. Humor is a great way to enhance lessons and is an incredible tool for building relationships.
7. Focus on the interests of early childhood.
Children love to explore their world; their interests provide endless opportunities for students to learn. The names of the scientists and the colors of the rainbow are just a few of the names and colors that capture their attention. When students are allowed to explore their interests, They become hungry to learn.
8. Have a variety of early childhood classes.
Red has always been a favorite; it is visually interesting and hits children’s funny bones. experimentation is a fun activity for young ones. The eye-opening opportunity is in the name – experimentation.
9. immerse them in the preparation process
Prepare for each lesson with care as that will allow you to know exactly what items are going to be covered. This will also allow you to know how to proceed with instruction.
10. Let them apply their knowledge.
Once facts, activities, and exercises are completed, you should make sure that your students know how to effectively use the materials you have provided them.
Important Child Development
Running a child care facility is a full-time job, involving interacting with children to care for them in return for their care being rendered. One of the most neglected areas in children’s care is the child’s relationship with their caregivers and service providers. Children care facilities should have a child care Supervisor and/or Head Start Teacher to oversee the activities and ensure that they are conducted smoothly. However, some staff may be idled by other immediate matters. Hence a provision should be made for their care.
One may wonder why more care is not being rendered to the children attending the various child care facilities. The simple answer is that care is dependent on the individuals who are providing it. The employees running the child care centers should have the required knowledge and skills to conduct activities with the children in a manner that helps to make them develop as individuals. This can be achieved only if the staff communalizes knowledge with the children and their parents.
To this, several skills are required not only for the teachers but for the care providers as well. They include the ability to communicate with the children; the ability to instruct; the ability to motivate; the ability to monitor; and the ability to interact and be with the children in a spirit of forgetfulness and patience.
Josie, a typical elementary school child cared for by three care providers, explains her appreciation of the care providers. “I love the person who is caring for me. I don’t know who did this work, but they are doing a good job of looking after me and learning about me the way my grandparents would have looked at me when they were growing up.”
In a similar vein, Amber, a young junior high school student, shared her observations of a kindergarten teacher: “The most important thing a teacher needs to do is to care about each of his/her students as if they are their own children. They must be able to notice when each child needs help and provide it accordingly. It also helps if the teacher is kind and caring. I remember when my teacher asked me and my friends to gather up and stack chairs instead of putting them back in the same order every time we met. I was so surprised by his kind gesture and his reminder that other people were like me – it reinforced the concept that the world is made up of everybody, regardless of their skin color or how many legs or arms.
These examples may seem trivial, but the situations these children faced inspired them to extremes. Children who feel loved and accepted by their teachers will be more likely to enjoy school and perform at their best. A positive attitude will help accomplish all the goals that a school has set for itself: academic success, improved learning, and development, capacity to provide support to students, and increasing their pride in their work.
The importance of character is manifested in the moral fiber of each child. It is what determines whether a child will be able to overcome many challenges that come at a later point in his or her life. A solid foundation for the character comes from the primary lived experiences of early childhood. Whatever challenges are placed in front of a child, he or she can perform well and overcome them with the help of this solid character foundation.
An important tenet of the Montessori approach is the promotion of values such as love, peace, and respect; the promotion of honesty; integrity; and personal control over one’s self. These values come from the way a child thinks, talks, and acts, and may not be evident to adults. However, they have the most profound effect on the world and all of its members.
When teaching through the Montessori Method, the focus is on the act of learning and doing. This is done in such a way that children are never punished for their lack of understanding. When they do something incorrectly, they are not punished. The Montessori philosophy says that a child’s learning is always more correct than what is taught by the teacher.
The world is a complicated place, and we often make choices that tear down the very things we hold dear. Children are made to transition from home to school, from school to home, from community to community. All this travel through the world crisscrossed by language barriers, economics, politics, changes in values, and new interests breaks many of our children. The job of social workers is to bridge these gaps and help young people embark on the journey to self-determination. Face to face. Sometimes alone.
The child cannot wall off his/her problems. Acceptance, help, and growth are three equally important concepts to any child. So how does the Montessori method fit in with this system? After all, the Montessori method is based on the principle of Entailment or developing the strength and endurance to face life’s challenges and the spirit to overcome them.