Our series of interactive sessions deepen your understanding while fostering new insights into the foundations of human development. You’ll learn practical pedagogical approaches to classroom learning support to meet the varied developmental needs of modern students.
” The obstacle that prevents us from doing what we should is usually very obscure, but it is always a condition of the physical organism…If we realize the full significance of this, we might tell ourselves that a teacher’s primary task is to nurture the body to be as healthy as possible. This means that we use every spiritual measure to ensure that in later life a person’s body will be the least possible hindrance to the will of one’s spirit. If we make this our purpose in school, we can develop forces that lead to education for freedom.” ~ Rudolf Steiner, 1922
Building the House: Supporting the Physical Body to Learn & Develop In Order for the Soul to Develop Well.
Joep & erica eikenboom, ingun schneider M.A. & kris boshell M.A. July 27-30, 2020
Rudolf Steiner and Audrey McAllen explain how development of the physical body is essential in forming the vessel for the incarnating soul and spirit. Audrey told us that the “house” needs its “furniture” and neither works without the other. Joep will clarify how development of the individual structural physical body—universal in its form and function—provides the foundations essential for development of full human consciousness (Consciousness Soul). The difference of this structural in contrast to the constitutional physical body and our roles as teachers in relation to these aspects will be explored. Steiner’s twofold picture of head and body explicitly describes pictures of the head as “passenger” while the body works through reckoning, spiritual work and learning. McAllen developed this image further for teachers—she described the importance for teachers to bring archetypal movements and gestures to the children in order to develop this “house” for mature human consciousness. These archetypal motions—seen in Extra Lesson movement, painting and drawing exercises—support children’s work to incarnate through an imprinting process that allows unfolding of the mirroring involved in bringing balance between the sheaths. This balance is needed for children to learn with ease. To embody—incarnate—refers to entering into and using the physical body (house) in the way for which it was developed. As this process unfolds, each individual child can strive to fulfil her/his pre-birth intentions for this life at this time and in this place chosen by the child. Joep will bring a deepened understanding of this process that allows each child to learn and develop with confidence and ease as identified hindrances are addressed. Erica will take us through a hygienic process for painting with magenta, viridian green and black. She will share in this artistic variation the archetypal movements of these colors.
Nourishing the Tree – Part 1: Memory & the Rhythmic System
Joep eikenboom, ingun schneider M.A. & kris boshell M.A.July 24-25, 2021
Part 1: As teachers we meet many children who have various difficulties with memory—kinesthetic, visual, auditory; long-term &/or short-term, working memory. Difficulties with memory commonly show up as challenges in math, reading, writing, spelling and more. In part 1 of this topic during this 2-day intensive, we will start our exploration of memory with insights from Rudolf Steiner’s indications and share practical classroom activities that focus on identifying gaps/delays, their origins, and interventions to nurture continuing development.
Nourishing the Tree – Part 2: Memory & the Rhythmic System
Joep eikenboom, erica eikenboom, ingun schneider M.A. & kris boshell M.A July 23-24, 2021
As teachers, we encounter student difficulties with memory presenting as challenges in math, reading, writing, spelling and more. Memory difficulties may vary--they may be kinesthetic, visual, auditory; long-term &/or short-term or working memory. Rudolf Steiner said that the rhythmic system is the healing element in the human being. If we do not consider the rhythmic system in our approach, our pedagogical work is in vain. Understanding and addressing the rhythmic system is vitally important for building memory. In part 2, our two-day intensive continues exploring practical classroom activities moving up through the grades, including specific memory painting exercises with Collot d'Herbois art therapist Erica Eikenboom. We will continue to explore how to identify gaps/delays and origins of memory challenges. Interventions that nurture the continuing development of memory, including the importance of sleep in memory consolidation, will be covered.
Strengthening the Person: Supporting Archetypal Movement Development
JOEP EIKENBOOM, INGUN SCHNEIDER M.A. & KRIS BOSHELL M.A. July 22-23, 2023
Children spontaneously draw figures that reflect their experience of their physical condition: after having broken a leg, the figure's leg will be at a strange angle, or the arms as if they are coming out of the head of the person if there is stiffness/discomfort in the neck-shoulder area, or no hands when there are fine motor challenges. These examples reveal images of children's experience of their "body geography": how the results of their sensory and movement development of the first seven years have imprinted into the habit body to become an unconscious awareness of their relationship to the body and its parts. It is mainly through the senses of self-movement--proprioception--that this subconscious experience of one's body is developed. The other three foundational senses--touch, life and balance--also contribute. When movements are archetypal--following a universal developmental process--imprinting takes place in a way that the incarnating individual soul recognizes. With efficient imprinting, the child feels at home in the body so can sit, stand and move with ease while learning new gross and fine motor skills on a daily basis. This development is dependent upon the opportunities the child has to move freely in an environment that encourages exploration, thus furthering opportunities to attempt new activity. Today there are many situations where development is hampered by lack of sufficient protection from too strong sensory impressions. This two-day WLS DEEPENINGS conference reviews important steps in this universal process, examines common hindrances for today's children and looks at effective interventions in support of healthy imprinting towards complete development.
July 20-21, 2024
As a conclusion to our series on the person, house and tree motifs in children's drawings, we now present the fifth and final of the series on this important topic. The focus will be how to perform and interpret the PHT drawing. We will present the process of using these drawings with students in our classes--from first grade entry through all ages. How are students prepared for this drawing? How do we read the drawings? What do the drawings reveal in what the student is attempting to share about their development? What do the color choices indicate? ...and more. Presented on Zoom by: Kris Boshell, M.A. Co-Manager of WLS, LLC Ingun Schneider, M.A. Co-Manager of WLS, LLC Joep Eikenboom, Core Instructor of WLS, LLC; retired Dutch Waldorf teacher & author of Foundations of the Extra Lesson
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