The gesture of inbreath is one of contraction.
In doing so, we are taking in the world, absorbing all that is around us. Inbreath involves listening. It welcomes stillness.
It invites focused and thoughtful attention to one's work. This is a model for our personal lives. It is also a
model for how human beings carry themselves in the world.
We find our best time
for work of an inbreath nature is in the morning. This is when we do our main lessons (or "kitchen table work")
at home. We always start lessons with a verse which we say together, then perhaps some music in accordance with
the season. Because we have children at two distinct levels, two different lessons are prepared. While one
child is working on their own in a self-directed activity (written math practice, composition, etc.), the other
child is engaged in their main lesson, and vice versa.
Typically, we follow a 3-day rhythm in our lessons on a weekly basis.
The first day consists of the introduction of new
material, and often will involve a story of some kind. The second day is used to review
and recall the work of the previous day, with the focus on deepening the content. Steiner believed that deepening
work within children took place overnight while they were sleeping. This is one reason why there is a great emphasis
on providing a restful atmosphere at bedtime. The more restful bedtime is, the more effective this deepening work
can be. The focus of the third day is to do
artistic work. This day is focused on wrapping up the content for the week, usually working in main lesson books and
engaging in artistic work.
This rhythm of new-review-do helps to give a framework
to the week. The process may overlap with consecutive weeks, particularly in working with the same content within the same
main lesson block. We use this rhythm as a structural tool in effectively working with the content of each lesson,
and not as a rigid means of integrating the material. A sense of fluidity is key.
As in the natural world, the focus and the feeling of the afternoon is
different than it is in the morning, thus lending itself to more Outbreath activities. Within the week we also attempt to reserve one
full day (usually Friday) for field trips and/or outside classes, as well as one day for a mixture of activities,
including socialization with other home learners (park, skating, etc.) What we do on the days when we do not have
a main lesson at home depends on the season, festival celebrations, and available resources. We have found
that consciously building in time for relaxation and not overcommitting to activities are pararmount to our success
on this path. (So is a sense of humor!)
The rhythm described here has worked well for us. When we started out, we had
one child in main lesson while the other one (then not yet old enough for academic work) engaged in free play, floating
in and out of the lesson space as needed. Nowadays, lesson work seems to have more of a balance as the children get older.
There is more planning to do, though the children are more self-directed as well.
Here is a small sample of some pages from the childrens' own main lesson books that
is intended to serve as an inspiration for what may do in one's own family. There are some blocks for
which we have chosen not to do main lesson books, and there are also alternative ways in which work has been recorded that
is different from this particular format. The details of each block are not included here. This is simply an opportunity to view an example of main lesson book work.
This first picture below is from a main lesson block on the (Aesop's) Fables. In
a Waldorf school, this block would typically be done in Grade 2 (around age 8). This picture was based on the
fable, "The Mouse and the Lion". The text (with the child's own understanding of the moral of the story) was also
added. Attention to detail with spelling and writing are part of the work. The book becomes a
place for a reflection of literature, language arts, and also artistic work. It is the place where children are asked
to do their best work, which in turn becomes a record of their progress through the lessons. In addition
to the book, beeswax modeling of animals from the fables, as well
as watercolor painting, were also done during this block.
This is a page from a main lesson on Norse Mythology which is typically
done in Grade 4 (or about age 9) in a Waldorf school. Here is a picture of The Tree of Life (reflecting the Nine
Worlds in the Norse myths), as well as some accompanying text. As you can see by the work in this book, it is the
intention that the borders in the books, the drawings, and the content of the text (now usually in cursive writing
vs. printing) grow with the child. In addition to book work, we also visited a museum exhibit with artifacts related
to ancient Norse culture.
This is another page from the same main lesson on Norse Mythology.
This is a page from the Human & Animals main lesson block. The focus
of this block was on the quality of animals and their different systems as they compare to that of human beings. We covered
both the physical characteristics, and the nature of select species (usually one or two per week), and drew illustrations
of each. To complement this block, we took field trips to a zoo, an aquarium, a museum of natural history (that
includes examples of every species on Earth), visited a beekeeper, and also attended a great 2-hour hands-on workshop
related to marine biology targeted for children of this age. This block was one of our most favorite ones to date.
Another example from a main lesson on the Fables. Reflected here is
the story of "The Fox and the Goat", with accompanying text as the moral was understood.
Copyright © 2006 Waldorf Family Network
