Welcome to our Blog
Visit by the students of el “El Pilar”
It’s been almost a year since our dear friend Juan Pablo Mendez came to visit Escuela Caracol for the first time. He is a well-known Guatemalan photographer and graphic artist who is also currently teaching visual arts to a group of wonderful kids from “El Pilar” school in Quetzaltenango. Since his first visit, Juan Pablo wanted to let everyone surrounding him know how special Escuela Caracol is and to return to our school’s facilities. Recently, the opportunity came and he arrived with his group of students. Everything was new for this group of visiting students, used to traditional education, and that knew nothing about Waldorf Education before this journey. They attended in pairs to each of the classrooms to observe and interact within the daily routine of the groups and received a short talk about Waldorf education, this gave them the chance to get a gplimpse of how wonderful Waldorf pedagogy is. By the end of the journey, the common word between the visits was: I wish I had studied at Escuela Caracol! ... read moreMayan Ceremony for the beginning of the construction of the new classrooms
Last Monday, September the second, we held a very special ceremony celebrating the start of the construction of the new classrooms unit for our students. Every opportunity to show the appreciation we have for our community and friends is priceless. This is why today we thank all the people that, one way or another, supports Escuela Caracol. It is thanks to you that year after year we continue nurturing heads, hearts, and hands of our beloved Caracolitos and Caracolitas, it is also thanks to you that today we are starting this new project with the sole intention of offering a space full of love and respect for each of our Caracolitos and Caracolitas. Thank you, family! Matiox Ajaw!... read more
Winaq ye Kemon (slideshow)
With the background of our beloved song “Matiox Ajaw” we remember all the beautiful moments lived during the Firs International Encounter of the Waldorf Community “Winaq ye Kemon” Enjoy. ... read more
The Numbers Star (Video)
At Escuela Caracol we seek to provide our students with the necessary tools for their comprehensive development, through Waldorf pedagogy.With each of the lessons taught, we seek to nourish our student’s heads, hearts, and hands, so they can, in the near future, become fulfilled human beings.The Numbers Star is a tool used by Waldorf teachers to teach students, visually, the multiplication tables and topics related to logical series while developing their psychomotricity and concentration skills. Enjoy the video.... read more
Extraordinary Assembly, August, 2019.
Last August the 21st, Asociación Caracol held an Extraordinary Assembly, in which, among many points, we highlight the election of the new Board’s Treasurer, Colleen Donovan. The associates also were informed about the achievements of the classroom building fundraising campaign and the immediate plans related to the construction of the new two classrooms unit for our school. We welcome all the new members of the Association, especially our dear Colleen, who is returning to the board after a short absence. We invite all the people interested in becoming part of the association to ask for information at the school’s... read more
Towns cleaning day
The last day before the summer break, the Caracolitos and their teachers had a cleaning day that covered the areas between the town’s lakeshore in Barrio Tres and Escuela Caracol.
read more
Afro Peruvian drumming in Escuela Caracol (video)
During the first week of July we got the visit of Marcos Napa, Peruvian musician based in the USA for the last few years. Marcos is an expert in Afro-Cuban dance and percussion. He arrived at Escuela Caracol as part of Kim d’Angelos wonderful team of volunteers to share with our Caracolitos his musical knowings and culture.
read moreThomas Hartig
After a process that lasted for many months, we can gladly communicate the arrival of a new member of Escuela Caracol’s team. Thomas Hartig, the new person in charge of the fundraising campaigns. Thomas is a German professional with plenty experience on the subject. We wish you nothing but success and the best of lucks on this new... read more
Lights at la Palapa
The “Palapa” is one of those landmarks at Escuela Caracol that everyone knows. There, we hold reunions, assemblies, artistic shows, workshops, among many other activities. During the last few months, our dear Chico has been focusing his efforts to the Palapas renewal. He fixed the surrounding borders and installed the new lights system that includes four reflectors and an electrical outlet. Next time we hold an activity after the sunset at the “Palapa”, you’ll enjoy a bright and well-illuminated... read more
Kim’s annual visit.
A few weeks ago, we received the visit of an exemplary teacher, Kim D’Angelo, who, among an unforgettable group of students, arrives each year at Escuela Caracol to spread lots of love and friendship through workshops, g ames, and joy. The volunteering tasks they perform, go from gardening to imparting artistic workshops to our Caracolitos. You bring so much joy to our school with your visits, Kim! See you next... read more
Winak Ye Kemon, weaving community.
During Augusts second week, Escuela Caracol hosted the First Waldorf International Encounter “Winak Ye Kemon”; On this edition, It had the special participation, as panelists, of our dear friends from “Luis Horacio Gómez School”, from Cali, Colombia. Our Colombian visitors imparted workshops to introduce the participants to the formation process and the overall work of a Waldorf school in Latin America. This slideshow requires JavaScript. ... read more
The New Classrooms:
It has been one month since the Classroom Building Fundraising Campaign ended. The final amount raised equals $27,169.09; enough funds to build the new complex that will be hosting two new classrooms for our students. We reached this amount thanks to the marvelous support of many friends of Escuela Caracol; we want to show our special gratitude to our friends of Freunde and the Comey Family Foundation. Thanks to you, our Caracolitos will have two new classrooms where they will develop holistically in an environment full of love and respect. The construction will begin during the following weeks. Be aware of our social networks and newsletters to enjoy the pictures and videos we will be posting to describe the progress of the... read more
Cuernavaca 2019, Waldorf Pedagogical journeys
As an important part of the permanent pedagogical training, our dear Diego, Emiliana, and Santiago went to Cuernavaca, Mexico, to be part of the annual Waldorf formation journeys. These courses are imparted once a year. Teachers from all over the continent gather during July to share, learn, and grow as tutors. All the staff of teachers is in constant training. Our mid-term goal is to have all of our staff formed by local Mayan teachers with completed Waldorf training. The first Waldorf teacher from our school in culminating the training in Cuernavaca was our dearest Andrea Arrivillaga, and our very own Maribel Mendoza Sancoy, kindergartens lead teacher, is the worlds first Mayan teacher in completing the Waldorf training. This highly beneficial opportunity to our community and our “Caracolitos” is possible thanks to the kind support of our friends from... read more
Weaving time!
(Gallery) The third-grade students had a fun and interesting visit by Dominga, the mother of Morelia, their teacher. She is an expert traditional weaver and came to school to share amazing moments and her knowledge with the third graders. This happened within the block of crafts and... read more
This is for you!
It has been twelve years already since this journey began. It feels like a dream when you realize how many stories have been told and how many lives have been affected positively since this project began, back then, in a small room, and fueled by nothing but a bunch of children playing while their parents were chatting about ways to change the world. Escuela Carcol, Guatemala Back then, the group of students was formed by less than twelve kids, most of them from different cultures. Now, the body of students is formed by more than one hundred children where 85% of them come from local Mayan families from the towns of the western side of Lake Atitlan, who are benefited by the scholarships program that lets them access to quality education on the first and only Waldorf School in Guatemala. We don’t know if anyone thought Escuela Caracol was going to grow as fast as it did, but we are sure that it was built driven by love, with the premise of doing as much as possible to promote positive changes in the lives of children from Lake Atitlan. We remember where does Escuela Caracol comes from, and know where it is heading. What we must never forget is that it is thanks to the dreamers that founded this marvelous project that we have a trail to follow, that will lead us to continue nurturing heads, hearts, and hands of children for many years to come. Today, we have only one word for them, the ones that gave birth to Escuela Caracol, and for all of... read more
Shop to Give
This post is also available in: Spanish