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Jocotes and Barriletes Festival.
The school is charged with color and laughter once again! The colorful kites dancing through the air revealing the careful work of the children. The trees, with an abundance of jocotes showing all the colors, from a strong green to a red-orange, inviting to climb along the branches. This is the reason for the joyful meeting of families, friends, and children, inviting to share happiness, smiles, and delicious recipes prepared by each of the grade families. Let’s enjoy all together! G.... read more
Waldorf workshops in Quetzaltenango
Last 18th and 19th of October, Escuela Caracol had an experience of brothership with 32 Volcanes, an Institution that is currently developing social projects in Quetzaltenango. On Friday the 18th, we shared with a group of women that were invited to participate in the Red Moon workshop, that was developed to deliver on a ritual way the gifts sheltered by the menstruation and the deep connection it has with the moon cycles. On Saturday the 19th, the journey developed by surrounding an approach to the reading-writing process and the mathematics initiation from the guidelines of Waldorf Pedagogy. Both subjects were presented by following a structure established by the Pedagogy where the student is nurtured from the feet to the head passing through the heart. G. Londoño This slideshow requires... read more
Dreams come true.
Everything comes from the dream of providing education through Waldorf Pedagogy to children from Lake Atitlán, a dream that has grown until reaching what we know today as Escuela Caracol. This slideshow requires JavaScript. From starting in a small room with only a few students, today Escuela Caracol has enough space to receive more than 90 students, whom, with lots of love and respect, we call Caracolitos. It was due to this growth that the need for more space manifested, which led us to embrace the project of building two new classrooms. Up to this date, the construction is almost finished. This construction has been possible thanks to the kind donations of friends and supporters of our school and the work of our dear architect and mother of the school, Rocío Araujo. During the construction process, we have made choices driven to have two new classrooms with the ideal conditions for our Caracolitos to be holistically nurtured and developed as human beings. These choices were strictly related to construction materials, which made our initial numbers grew in $2500. This difference in the budget won’t stop us. soon we will finish the construction and will have two new classrooms ready for our Caracolitos to fully develop under conditions of love and respect. If you are interested in helping us with this specific subject write a message to admin@escuelacaracolorg, Enrique Pérez will guide you into helping us turn this dream into a reality.... read more
Thomas Wildgruber’s annual visit.
Having Thomas visiting our school has become a tradition at Escuela Caracol. Year after year and thanks to the support of SES (Senior Experten Services), Thomas arrives with the energy and ideas ready to help our teachers to continue nurturing the mind, soul, and bodies of our students. Enjoy the video of an interview we made and the pictures from a workshop held with Escuela Caracol’s teachers.... read moreMichaelmas: Activities of courage; first, second, and third grades. (gallery)
... read moreMichaelmas: Activities of courage, fourth, fifth and sixth grades. (Gallery)
... read moreWaldorf100 celebration at Escuela Caracol
Our celebration of the 100 years of the Waldorf Pedagogy was of great fun and learning.
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– Waldorf100 –
– 100 years of Waldorf – Waldorf Pedagogy can be seen as a learning approach with a system based on respecting the natural developmental stages of the human being, looking to develop the abilities and individual talents in an integral way, within an environment of freedom, full of love and respect. The first Waldorf School was founded by Rudolf Steiner in 1919 in Stuttgart, Germany, as a branch of the Anthroposophical movement. At that time, right after the end of the World War I, Waldorf Pedagogy was seen as a possible way to transform the world into a more human place, with sensitive and more responsible people fully developed from their essence, and thus, a world of peace. The pedagogy grew all over the world rapidly. By 1930, there were Waldorf schools in many countries of America and Europe. With the arrival of the Nazi regime, many of the Waldorf schools in Germany and the occupied countries were shut. These, except for the ones located in countries occupied by the Soviet Union, were reopened after the end of World War II. Today, there are many Waldorf Schools all over the world, that are continuously growing in numbers as in students within their classrooms. So, this is how in 2019 we are celebrating 100 years of the Waldorf Pedagogy. A worldwide community sharing, as bees on a hive, of this marvelous way of learning and teaching. Within this wonderful event, we can proudly say: “¡Caracol está presente!” Enjoy this video made for you with deep appreciation and share it with the whole world.... read more
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.
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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.
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