June Where did You GO?

Where did the month of June go?  As a farmer, May was so full of weeding, preparing beds, and planting, that I'm impressed that anything got written that month, but June, nothing shared? 

So I went to a Waldorf Teacher Preparation conference in Lawrence, Kansas.  It was so incredible, that I'm still digesting it.

I became a student again, but not a high school, I know everything already student.  I became like a third grader, one that loves school, that loves learning, and with great fascination I became a student again and I learned, and I remembered how much I love to learn. 

As we did science I had a child like enthusiasm as magnets grasped on to metal filings, and as we dropped ink into cold and hot water.  I couldn't believe how things moved around.  And then for the first time I was asked to ask what had happened, and as adults we shared what we observed and what we were surprised by, and we asked more questions and did the experiments over again. It was great to observe and share what we noticed, and we weren't told the hypothesis, and what was going to happen, the end.  Instead we got to experience science.  We formed our own conclusions.  My mind was blown!  Empowering.

We were also taught Eurthmy, the art of movement.  And each day we moved, we walked, as a group we formed shapes and without talking we moved together with others.  Obviously I don't really have words to describe what occured, but I felt it, and it was powerful.

We drew, with big block crayons and we filled pages with beautiful images.  Images that could be letters, images that showed animals in their habitat, images that showed perspective.  Amazingly freeing, large, colorful images that filled the entire paper.  Formerly I was an art teacher, and getting children to use a whole piece of paper is a hard task, but we did it was ease.

I learned how to play the recorder, you all know that instrument from elementary, and perhaps your child has brought one home, much to your annoyance.  With practice we actually sounded good, you could identify the songs as songs and not ducks in distress.

Waldorf education focuses on educating the head, heart, and hands.  I learned with all of my senses, I felt, I moved, I wondered, I discovered......and when it ended I cried, cause I wanted to stay in that environment forever.  Learning, always learning, and participating actively in the process, will help me continue, so that I can learn/teach my boys.  Thank goodness there is another way, so different from what I call Regurgitation-Education.  YIPPIE!!!!!!!