This session explores how children in Waldorf Class 3 use practical activities like sheep farming and village construction to build on the economic foundations laid in kindergarten, while also connecting to their local environment.
The session was led by Marie Morton (Waldorf Class 3 Teacher).
Key Points Summarising Session 3
Farming and Shelter Building
Students participate in economic activities appropriate to their developmental stage, including:
- Caring for a small flock of hens (labour and resource management).
- Growing and processing wheat crops (food production).
- Buying sheep fleeces from local farmers and processing the wool into felt pencil cases (interconnected economic processes, including specialised roles such as shearing, product creation and management).
- Designing model village shelters in the classroom (design and planning).
- Constructing a village in the school’s sandpit, including water pipes (infrastructure, natural resources).
- Overall, they learn to grasp basic survival needs and the environmental constraints of the built environment.
Learning Mechanisms and Pedagogical Approaches
- Children organically explore concepts like supply and demand, without ever explicitly mentioning them.
- The focus on real-world skills and processes encourages active participation in their own learning.
- Integrates multiple subjects within lesson blocks, providing holistic educational experiences in art, language, measurement and more.
- Links local experiences to the wider world, highlighting the interdependence of different economic activities.
- Ethical discussions emerge naturally from practical activities, allowing children to reflect on their community roles.
Insights and Impacts
- Spontaneous learning opportunities arise, e.g. resolving planning hiccups.
- Parallel exploration of historical and cultural topics enhances children's understanding of the broader implications of their activities.
- Children learn to recognise the ‘critical path’ of different, interrelated tasks.