Work is Play & Play is Work for a toddler until the
change of teeth. This is the motto of our Waldorf Kindergarten.
In the first seven years, the child learns to be comfortable in the
physical body, develops an orientation in space, acquires uprightness, speech
and thought, awareness of the complexity of the mother tongue. All this is
achieved through imitation and example set by adults, that imprints on the
child’s Will and, also through experiential learning, creative self-directed
play, social interaction and Not through didactical teaching.
To nurture the child’s lower senses of Touch, Life, Movement
and Balance, we use three R’s namely Rhythm, Repetition and Reverence to
instill healthy habits in the Etheric body of the child, that later manifest as
discipline or sometimes even as character. Therefore, teachers and other adults
around the children have to be conscious of the influence of their own habits
upon the children. The daily rhythm is structured between times of focused
activity, which provides boundaries and times of Free Play, creating a kind of
a harmonious breathing and helps children find their place in the world and
understand the past, present and future. Repetition helps in creating security,
keeping them away from anxiety and developing memory in children. Reverence
instills a sense of appreciation and acknowledgement for the world around them.
This is done through thanksgiving during fruit time, lunch time and respecting
people and the materials used in the classroom. Kind and melodious voices build
an environment of trust, care, and mutual respect. Learning to share and
working as a team becomes a daily experience. Challenging behaviors of children
are dealt in with creative tools like - healing Stories , creative games , Art,
and other such purposeful work.
The child
learns from life. Domestic tasks like baking, cooking, cleaning, and caring for
the environment and toys form the basis for the daily rhythm. In short, from
birth until the second dentition, the Kindergarten is a community of ‘doers’ of
meaningful work. Work is Play and Play is Work in Waldorf Kindergartens.
Regular activities mark the KG year, week, and day. Seasonal activities like
paper boats in the monsoon puddle or cutting grain during the harvest season
are reinforced through the themes of songs, stories, and poems. Instructions
are usually sung, leading to a repertoire of songs for calling, ending,
clearing up, baking, or painting. Traditional fairy tales, nature stories and
festival celebrations provide rich cultural experiences and awaken joy and
wonder in the little ones.
The teacher
creates an environment for little children of which she is a part. Importance
is given to the colour of walls and curtains and natural materials like wooden
toys, shells, pebbles, or pinecones. A nature table that reflects the changing
seasons of the year, a story table to bring alive the images of the stories, a
doll house with cloth or woolen dolls, an animal farm with wooden animals, a
kitchen with child-sized utensils, crafts’ corner with baskets of wool and
fabric, cubbies, and holes that form hiding spaces and cozy corners, are the
themes for preparing the outer physical classroom environment.
A healthy and
peaceful teacher, who is worthy of imitation, creates the much-needed inner
environment for the KG children.
The overall
objective of our Kindergarten is to help develop vocabulary, body geography,
sense of movement and balance, curiosity, eye-hand co-ordination, cognitive and
social skills, and the habit body of the developing human being.
A typical day
in our Kindergarten:
Q: What syllabus do you cover in your Kindergarten?
A: Rhythm, Reverence and Repetition – education in our Kindergarten is based on this. The day is designed to offer a lot of play time to the children – free play as well as directed play. Simple household chores like dusting, washing, watering plants, folding clothes, peeling/chopping vegetables/fruits, washing vessels - all help create a home-like environment in school, while helping create a rhythm and strengthening the child’s Will. Simple Handwork – finger knitting, needle weaving, paper craft are designed to work on the child’s Fine Motor skills. Finger plays, songs and stories enrich every child’s imagination and help build their vocabulary and communication skills. Thus, all the learning in our Kindergarten happens through creating many sensory impressions that contribute positively towards the development of the children .
Q: My 4.5yr old child eats only in front of the TV. We only show him cartoons and educative channels for about an hour or two each day. We are noticing that the child is becoming a bit aggressive and is not able to hold his attention in other areas of play or any other activities. Can you suggest any activities we could add to his daily routine? At what age do you take admissions for children into your kindergarten?
A: Rhythm, Reverence and Repetition – education in our Kindergarten is based on this. The day is designed to offer a lot of play time to the children – free play as well as directed play. Simple household chores like dusting, washing, watering plants, folding clothes, peeling/chopping vegetables/fruits, washing vessels - all help create a home-like environment in school, while helping create a rhythm and strengthening the child’s Will. Simple Handwork – finger knitting, needle weaving, paper craft are designed to work on the child’s Fine Motor skills. Finger plays,
songs and stories enrich every child’s imagination and help build their vocabulary and communication skills. Thus, all the learning in our Kindergarten happens through creating many sensory impressions that contribute positively towards the development of the children .
Q: My child, who is 3yrs of age, speaks only our Mother tongue. Will she be able to join your Kindergarten?
A: Children come into our Kindergarten from various backgrounds. Many of these little ones speak or understand only their Mother tongue. Though our medium of instruction is English, we initially communicate with each child in whichever language the child is comfortable in. Hindi, Kannada, Tamil, Malayalam are some of the languages that we can easily cover in our Kindergarten. Gradually, the child learns English through stories, songs and other activities.
The KOC School Management will be the final authority on the admission of children.
For a child between change of teeth and puberty, the focus
shifts to nurturing the life of feeling, achieved through the Loving Authority
of the teacher. The curriculum follows a 3-fold teaching approach of Willing,
Feeling and Thinking, that nurtures the whole human being. Joy in learning academic
subjects is experienced through intense artistic activities like Knitting,
Painting, Gardening, Music, Movement, Speech & Drama, Games etc.
Waldorf education also emphasizes strong teacher-student
relationships. Ideally, teachers stay with the same class for the first eight
years (from Grades 1 to 8). The daily schedule has an extended Main Lesson,
which may last two hours and is specific to a certain subject/topic
(Mathematics/English etc.). This is followed by Subjects classes of about 40min
each (Hindi, Kannada, Handwork, Music and Movement, Games).
Q: My child is very creative and is not benefitting from her
current environment, which is too rigid for her. On many days, she does not want to go to
school. I feel she is gradually losing interest in learning. She is 8yrs old
and I am looking for a school that will help her in her growth, while keeping
alive her creativity. Can you help?
A: In Upanishad, the Waldorf curriculum addresses the academic needs of children through artistic activities of Music, Painting, Movement, Games. The classroom comes alive with clapping, rhythmic stamping, jumping, reciting verses and poems, as a way of learning and developing Literacy and Numeracy. Wet on wet painting, Drawing, Handwork and Music allow the child to express creatively and beautifully. Since the Waldorf curriculum is designed with a thorough understanding of the developmental stages of a human being, the various elements of this curriculum are able to address the needs of most children.
Q: I have 2 children, 7.5yrs and 9yrs of age. One has difficulty with English and the other is weak in Mathematics. I have sent them to private tuitions and there are extra classes at school. Nothing seems to help. They are simply not interested. How do you teach these subjects in your school?
One subject or another, if your child is normally intelligent (without problems of Dyslexia or Dyscalculia), then there is no reason why your children should not be able to perform. Mathematics and English can be as interesting as Cricket or TV, if projected as the right tools for fun. These subjects should not be delivered from the point of view of only for exams to be passed - then learning can become merely an intellectual exercise, making the subject dry and boring.
We must first learn and understand the nature of a child being. There are at least 3 members to this human being. The Head (Thinking), The Heart (Feeling) and the Hands (Willing). These 3 elements should be a part of planning every subject lesson. If we let English become a tool to express the child’s deepest desires through stories, songs, poems, alliterative and tongue twisting exercises and let Mathematics become a game of Ludo and various group games, each child making a unique balance scale with coconut shells to understand weights, measuring the classroom to understand the idea of length, breath, height etc., every child will begin to develop interest for these and other subjects. This is how the curriculum is delivered in our Upanishad section.
The KOC School Management will be the final authority on the admission of children.
English:
Introduction to language: letters, sounds,
simple words, language building through narration of fairy tales (Grimm's), Indian fairy tales,
class recitation and speech exercises
Mathematics:
Quality of numbers, Roman and Arabic numerals,
counting forwards and backwards, 2, 5, 10
tables, 4 processes (Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication and Division)
Languages (Hindi and Kannada) :
familiarizing through
stories, games, conversations, songs
Handwork and Craft: Knitting (with 2
needles)
simple project
Art:
Painting – water colour, wet on wet
painting
Beeswax modeling, crayon drawing
Form Drawing:
Introduction to line and curve
Music:
Festival/season related songs. Introduction
to Recorder towards the end of the year (sometimes
Games and Movement:
All games played in
groups - circle games, practice for skipping.
Gentle and graceful movements
English:
Extending skills, work on reading if not reading yet. Fables - Aesop's, Panchatantra, Saints & legends. Introduction to cursive writing
Mathematics:
4 processes, times tables, odd and even numbers, place value
Languages:
Hindi and Kannada: Stories, games, conversation, introduction to letters
Handwork and Craft:
Knitting and Beeswax modeling
Art:
Painting: water colour, wet on wet, experimenting with more combinations of primary colours. Crayon drawing.
Form Drawing:
Extension of lines and curve, Joint forms and mirror images in form
Music:
Songs of seasons, Festivals, simple songs on Recorder.
Games and Movement:
All games played in groups - circle games, skipping. Gentle and graceful movements.
English:
Introduction to Grammar, letter writing, Creation stories from the Bible. Cursive writing, independent writing and proper sentence formation.
Mathematics:
4 processes, measurement, carrying/borrowing, time & money, tables up to 12
Housing and Shelters:
learn about different housing, build something in the school.
Farming:
visit farm and help plough land, sow seeds. Gardening in school with individual patch of land
Languages:
Hindi and Kannada: conversations, songs, games. Introduction to Grammar. Writing from blackboard
Handwork and Craft:
Crochet, weaving, simple stitches, braiding, introduction to clay
Art:
Painting: working with primary and secondary colours.
Form Drawing:
Mirroring and spatial orientation with Geometric forms
Music:
Songs on Recorder – learning the C major scale and playing and singing in rounds.
Games and Movement:
Organized games, skipping, nature walks, creative movement
English:
Grammar: parts of speech, tenses. Composition, reading aloud and recitation of poems from Norse Mythology
Mathematics:
Four processes, tables, fractions, square numbers
Geography:
Bangalore and Karnataka, maps and directions,
History:
Bangalore and Karnataka, important historical figures
Zoology:
Study of Man in relation to the Animal kingdom, classification of animals and their study
Languages:
Hindi (Dashavatara) and Kannada: reading, written, grammar, poems and stories
Handwork and Craft: Cross stitch. Clay modeling
Art:
Painting: Advanced wet on wet based on the block
Form Drawing:
Complex knots, weaving in and out, under and over.
Music:
Recorder songs,
Games and Movement:
Organized and individual games - running, jumping, skipping. Eurythmy movements in morning circle leading to a play based on curriculum.
Mythology :
Stories, plays based on Norse mythology.
Stories from the Mahabharata
English:
Extended skills, deeper study of Grammar – punctuation, subjects/objects of sentences, active and passive, composition, stories of ancient cultures, Greek myths
Mathematics:
Advanced skills, 4 processes, metric system, decimals, fractions, money, freehand Geometry
Ancient Cultures and History:
India, Persia, Egypt, Mesopotamia and Greece – mythology, culture, art and architecture
Geography:
Physical Geography of India
Plant Study (Botany):
Seasons of the plant, parts of the plant,
lower rung of the plant ladder: bacteria, algae, fungi, lichen, mosses, ferns,
grasses, conifers
Languages:
Hindi and Kannada: higher level of reading, writing, grammar
Handwork and Craft:
cross stitch, knitting of socks. Introduction to woodwork
Art:
Paintings related to Main lesson blocks.
Form Drawing:
Form Drawing involves architecture and motifs from ancient Greek , Persian and Egyptian cultures. Freehand Geometrical forms of hexagon and triangles set the stage for Grade 6 Geometry
Music:
Recorder music continues. Singing in rounds. Children encouraged to take up private lessons in instrumental music – preferably percussion or string.
Games and Movement:
Practice for Olympics – Javelin, Discus, Long Jump, Running. Continuation of Eurythmic movements
English:
Biographies extended skills and grammar, business letter writing, composition, the conditional mood
Mathematics:
Pre-algebra, percentage, interest, profit/loss, pre-geometry, mensuration. The Geometry Block involves the use of instruments – setsquare, compass
Astronomy:
Sky observation through the naked eye and putting down observations.
Roman and Medieval History:
Roman mythology, history, transformation from Republic to Empire, rise and fall of the Roman empire.
Indian History: Ancient India
Geography:
Physical landscape of Asia.
Mineralogy:
Genesis of rocks – Igneous, Sedimentary, Metamorphic. Erosion. Fossil fuels – coal and petroleum. Precious metals and Crystals
Physics :
Sound. Light, Heat, Magnetism, Electricity
Languages:
Hindi and Kannada: higher level of reading, writing and grammar.
Handwork and Craft:
Dolls/puppets and making stuffed animals. Woodwork
Art:
Painting: water colours, charcoal drawing.
Form Drawing:
Form Drawing moves on to Geometry.
Music:
Continuation of Recorder music. Children encouraged to take up private lessons for instrumental music – preferably percussion or string.
Games and Movement:
More organized and individual games.
English :
Wish, Wonder and Surprise – creative writing
Building up further grammatical skills - direct. Indirect speech, tenses, the conditional, figures of speech.
Mathematics :
Consolidating previous skills
Algebra
Geometry – specially spirals, Fibonacci and Golden Mean
History :
The Renaissance, the Age of Discovery, the Reformation
Indian History :
The Muslim Period from the Slave Dynasty to the end of the Mughals.
Geography :
World Geography Part 1
Astronomy:
The great astronomers, looking at some of the stars
Physics :
Furthering of previous year’s topics with greater emphasis on Electricity.
Mechanics
Chemistry :
Combustion, Acids and Bases, Lime cycle
Biology :
Human Physiology - Life Process , Health and Hygiene
Languages :
Higher level of reading, writing and grammar.
Handwork and craft :
Making shoes/ sandals
Woodwork: carving animals
Art:
Perspective drawing, black and white drawings using the 6B pencil, landscapes, water colours.
Music :
Playing the recorder, singing in rounds, voices, harmony
Games and Movement :
More organized and individual games.
English :
Reports, accounts, serial stories, poetry analysis, debates, newspaper reading, full length play at the end of the year, stories which show or stand for principle, which changed society.
Mathematics :
Equations, Platonic solids and 3D geometry and formulae
History :
The Age of Revolution
Indian History :
British in India with emphasis on the revolt of 1857, freedom movement and Independence
Geography :
World Geography Part 2
Meterology :
The environment – sea and sky
Physics :
Aerodynamics, hydraulics, optics
Chemistry :
Organic,food chemistry
Biology :
Human Anatomy, the skeletal system
Languages :
Higher level of reading, writing and grammar
Handwork and craft :
Making costumes for the end of year play
Woodwork :
Making a box with joints
Art :
Copying artists, maybe those which belong to the same period of history. Water colours, Pencil sketches. Detail oriented work. Self portraits or portraits of each other.
Music :
Recorder, singing in parts, voices, harmony.
Games and Movement :
More organized and individual games
In Kalpataru, raising the awareness of the child in relationship to his/her environment and finding joy in learning is our goal. The 3-fold approach to teaching the Waldorf Curriculum (Willing, Feeling and Thinking) lends itself beautifully to the development of children with special needs. Subjects like Form Drawing, Literacy, Numeracy, Music, Movement, Handwork can be brought to the children by adapting to their needs.
Rhythm provides an impulse and framework that enables new children, often bewildered and disoriented, to experience a measure of stability, security, and predictability for the first time. Whether it is the rhythm involved in therapies, craft work or the rhythmical nature of human relationships, Rhythm is the living pulse that sustains our work at KOC.
Work and Play, Music and Movement, Food and Sleep, Arts and
Crafts, Farming and Cooking – all these are significant subjects in the
development of our children with special needs. Each of these activities set
within a breathing in and breathing out rhythm and followed consistently day
after day, creates a sense of security and healing in the bodily instrument as
well as the soul expression of the child. Nature walks, Outdoor and Indoor
Play, Weekly activities, Foot baths, Morning Circle with singing and movement
exercises, knitting and painting, cooking, and cleaning are included in our
curriculum.
Therapies that include rhythmical massages and footbaths are
often given either during the beginning or end of the day. These massages,
coupled with fragrant oils, create an opportunity for the misaligned
soul-spirit to permeate harmoniously into the physio-etheric body and create
the body as a fit instrument for the incarnating spirit.
Currently we have 5 groups in Kalpataru. Each group has about 6-7 children with homogenous needs as far as possible, under the tutelage of a class teacher.
Rainbow – Children below 7-8 years are nurtured in this program with a daily rhythm of activities arranged in a breathing in – breathing out way. A morning circle that includes songs and verses, finger plays and beanbag exercises and morning plays help children to understand the world they live in. Activities like finger knitting, painting, washing and cutting fruits and vegetables interspersed with long hours of indoor and outdoor free-play, guided-play , help young children in their developmental milestones and build social behavior. Once the children complete the Kindergarten program, they move to the Twinkling Stars group of Kalpataru.
Twinkling Stars – This is a composite class of children between 7 – 10 years who meet the Waldorf primary school curriculum. Form Drawing, Literacy, Numeracy, along with Handwork, Music, Movement and Games form the essence of the curriculum. Children will continue in this group with their class teacher for 4-5years, before moving to Rainbow.
Blooming Petals – This is a composite class of children between 11 -15 years who meet an average curriculum until the middle school. Science, Mathematics, English, Kannada, along with Handwork, Music, Movement and Games, are taught here. After being with their class teacher for a few years, they will move to the next group, Smiling Pearls, will further address these needs of the children.
Smiling Pearls – A composite class of children between 15 – 18 years who will either continue an academic path or work on a vocational path, based on their individual abilities. There will be a huge focus on life skills so as to equip the children after their school years.
Sparkling Gems: This group consists of children who were unable to cope up with mainstream schools and needed a loving atmosphere and an individualized attention for their academic fulfillment. In a home-schooling environment, these children are being prepared to appear for the Karnataka Board SSLC exam to be conducted in March/April 2022.
Who are the children we can help at Kalpataru?
Children whose spirit and body have not harmoniously integrated, reflecting in the four lower senses of Touch, Life, Movement, and Balance and manifesting as a disability or a special need, are the ones we lovingly and caringly take care of in Kalpataru. Specifically, we can address these needs in any one of the following areas:
Physical Development: not strong enough to hold on to
one’s uprightness on one’s own Will. Movement and Balance should include
standing firmly or sitting on a wheelchair firmly. Children who cannot run or
jump or hang or climb or skip.
- Very Fragile children who can easily be knocked
off by faster children.
- Children with a current history of epileptic
fits.
- Children with assistive devices like wheelchairs
or other prosthetic orthotic equipments . (Please note that currently KOC does
not have lifts, ramps, or other accessibility features.)
- Partially blind children or even children with
hearing aids.
- Children with sensory issues, especially of the
first four lower senses, can be included in a KG like program where the focus
is on correcting primal reflexes and milestones of development.
Cognitive Development: not able to comprehend
instructions, follow a story and recall at least a few images, unable to copy a
drawing or writing from the blackboard, attempt reading, talk to peers even in
monosyllables or play in harmony with them, etc.
- unable
to speak, write and read to some extent, in that order.
- unable
to move grossly, finely or sing to some extent, in that order through imitation
or instruction .
Social Development:
disrupt the classwork or the attention of other children through crying,
screaming, attention deficit hyperactivity either in the limbs or in the
speech, self-injurious or violent behaviours.
- unable to participate in a circle
to a reasonable degree of harmony.
- unable to have a sitting tolerance
of at least 20-30 minutes in each of the lessons.
- unable to follow rules of the
class, good habits and social harmony in
sport, art, and craft classes.
-unable to relate what happened at
school back home with reasonable interest & memory.
Speech and Language Development: (Listening,
Comprehension and Speaking are the 3 pillars of language. Poetry, Prose and
Grammar are the 3 jewels of a language.) Non-verbal children must be helped
carefully for their comprehension and writing skills. Children who are
stammering or stuttering must be held by the teacher from being bullied by
other children.
- Unable to reply meaningfully to generic
questions
- unable to sing along in the circle time
- unable to have conversations with friends
- unable to communicate to parents what happened
at school.
Activities of Daily Living: dependent in daily activities at school
like eating, drinking, keeping things
back in place and care for belongings, participate in school activities like
cutting fruits, painting, clearing, etc. There is dependence for dressing and
undressing oneself and toilet needs. Because these primal reflexes for toilet
awareness relates to many of the above development.
Academic Development: Children who are unable to cope up in regular mainstream
schools and fail due to lack of an intimate environment conducive for the
child’s academic growth. Given the right pace and a one-to-one attention, many
of these children complete their board exams (SSLC, NIOS) and go on to universities.
Children who need functional academics to engage in the
world but may not reach examination levels. In any which case, as always, the
Waldorf Curriculum does not fit the child to a standardized curriculum but
designs a curriculum that suits the needs of every individual child.
Q: I have a child who has milestone delays, is on the lower end of the Autistic spectrum. She is 9yrs old. Will KOC be able to take her?
A: Yes. Our Twinkling Stars group can address the child’s needs. Children are divided into small groups and the curriculum comprises largely of Physical Movement (Gross and Fine motor skills), Cognitive/Intellectual development, Speech and Language, Self Help Skills, Social skills. Movement and Music play a great role in these therapeutic classrooms.
Q: My child is currently in a mainstream school and is to appear for the Karnataka State Board exam in March 2022. However, he is having difficulty coping with the syllabus. There are 45 children in his class and the teachers are not able to give him attention and clear his doubts. Can he join KOC?
A: Yes. Sparkling Gems a small group of about 4-6 children in the age group of 14yrs-16yrs, who are going to appear for the Karnataka State Board exam in March 2022. A dedicated Class Teacher, with support from Language and Movement teachers, will give individual attention to each child and will work with them to help them get through the exam.
Q: I have a 5yr old who has delayed speech and is unable to focus on any activity. He has not been to any school until now. Will you be able to take him in?
A: Children younger than 7.5yrs of age, who may be on the Autism spectrum, show signs of delayed development or who have other such challenges, will benefit from the beautiful daily rhythm of our Steiner/Waldorf Kalpataru Kindergarten group. A stress-free environment is created, where learning happens through activities that are designed to help each child overcome his/her challenge. The KOC School Management will be the final authority on the admission of children.
The KOC School Management will be the final authority on the admission of children.
Admissions to Kalpataru are now CLOSED.
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