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Kindergarten, cooking and eating tortillas.
We want to give you a glimpse from our students point of view of a regular day at our kindergarten classroom. Today, our Caracolitos and Caracolitas will be cooking tortillas to be eaten later accompanied with tomato sauce and cheese. Zoe and Carolina will be the journey’s narrators, you will easily realize why Escuela Caracol is the place where children are happy. Become part of our community and help us continue nurturing heads, hearts, and hands of children form the wester region of Lake Atitlán within an environment off love and respect, donate now following the link below: Give Now Learn more about Escuela Caracol here: Our mission and name Learn more about Waldorf Pedagogy here:... read more
Teaching fractions in fourth grade.
Waldorf Pedagogy aims at integrally nurturing its students according to the development stages they are passing through; these stages are divided into septenniums matching with physiological, psychological, and mood changes. The fourth-grade group is currently passing through the second septennium. Some of the students are still on an authority confronting stage, the rest already passed through this and began with a small resting period, showing more interest in new subjects. Overall, boys and girls are on a stage where they look for new knowings and ways to express. They are focussing on doing their jobs in a good way and on being proud of their performance. Fractions are a very important subject in fourth-grade, they include academic teachings that will help develop the intellect, and ethic teachings, like justice; both are basic tools we provide to our students looking for them to holistically develop as human beings. To live fractions as an integral experience teaches that things can be shared and leaves a very important message about justice. When you share, a healthy moral feeling of community and unity arises. Escuela Caracol’s fourth-graders are currently studying their math block; In the classroom, fractions are presented in two ways, a conceptual and a practical way, in both ways, blackboard drawings are an indispensable tool. We can see a beautiful tree drawn on their blackboard representing the units, each of its branches representing a fraction. One way to encourage students into practicing fractions is to use objects that are regularly divided, such as cakes, bread, or pizza; these were the subjects of study for this particular lesson. We deeply appreciate the... read more
First group’s reunion of the year.
From the 24th to the 26th of February, We had the first round of 2020’s grade meetings in Escuela Caracol, in which we had the participation of our Caracolitos’ families. These meetings are the ideal moment for our families to be familiarized about what is currently happening in our school and about the students’ development; these are also ideal occasions to clarify personal topics regarding the school, as well as to grow within the learning of the Waldorf Pedagogy and as a community. Very relevant subjects were covered during each of the meetings, that could be resumed as pedagogical subjects, general group subjects, and coordination and organization subjects for upcoming activities. During each of the grade meetings, the teacher explains de spirit’s and physiological’s development of the group, as well as the pedagogical approach and the best academic contents regarding the current stage. It is also common to have the teachers conducting rhythms that are usually performed in the classroom, and explaining the stage the group’s children are currently crossing, and how this could bring special characteristics that can be perceived by the specific attitudes and conducts presented. We deeply appreciate the constant commitment and support shown towards the school’s labor. If you couldn’t be present during your grades meeting, don’t hesitate and schedule an appointment with your group’s teacher to keep up to date, and don’t forget, Escuela Caracol belongs to all of... read more
2020’s Harvest Festival
Last Saturday, February the 22nd, took place the Harvest Festival, a cultural activity where a good bit of the San Marcos La Laguna’s community and the tourist’s population gather to enjoy a journey packed with music, culture, and fun times. Our staff had the chore of welcoming all the attendants and receiving the donations at the gate; all along the journey, our team had shifts assigned were we shared very special moments and information about the labor Escuela Caracol is doing to benefit the community through education. We also were represented by our dear teachers Carmen, Diego, and Nacho, as they guided a series of activities and games, usually used in our classrooms, with the youngest assistants of the festival. This year’s edition had Escuela Caracol as one of the main beneficiaries. We deeply treasure the constant support of the festival’s heads, Tim Reher and Osnat Rafaeli, towards our school, and the honest concern and actions they constantly manifest for the wellbeing of our dear... read more
What a way to enjoy our free time! (Gallery)
Kindergarten students enjoy a full hour of playtime in the School’s gardens and open spaces every day. During these periods, children have the opportunity to explore their environment and to develop their space and movement senses. During the first septennium, children develop four basic senses: movement, balance, touch, and vital... read more
Teachers and students celebrate the Mayan Solar New Year.
The Mayan Solar New Year, Waqxaquí Toj, was celebrated with a Mayan Ceremony, where every student delivered an offering according to their very own Nahual. All the teachers and students were part of this celebration in which the teachers guided a small but very significative ceremony. When the ceremony ended, everyone enjoyed the local tradition of a delicious cup of hot chocolate and bread. In Escuela Caracol, Mayan Culture and Cosmovision are very important and basic on the classroom’s daily activities with subjects such as the nahuales, being widely known by our group of students. One of many Escuela Caracol’s goals achieved is founding ways to include local culture’s aspects such as the language, stories and tales, and the Mayan Kaqchikel’s customs, as an integral part of the curricula. The solar Mayan Calendar, AB’, has 365 days and is configured based on the earth’s orbit surrounding the sun. Mayan priests, many centuries ago, defined this cycle with a duration of 365.2420 days, current technology determines it in 365.2422 days, the variation between this two numbers is of only two-thousandths of a day; this becomes a very relevant number if you realize the technological differences between the tools and technics used by our ancestors and the current technologies. Something that makes of this fact even more incredible, is knowing that the earth’s orbiting speed is constantly decreasing, this fact could explain the very small variation between back then’s and today’s day length. Become part of our community and help us continue nurturing heads, hearts, and hands of Mayan children from the western region of lake Atitlán. Go to the link... read more
Science is fun!
Our Sixth-grade students, within their mechanical-physics block, have learned many different principles using amusing and fun scientific experiments as tools. On this occasion, within the subject: states of matter, they conducted an experiment using a balloon, a glass bottle, hot and freezing water. The idea was to inflate a balloon taking advantage o the reaction between the gas volume and temperature. This is how, with highly fun and entertaining activities, our students achieve very important knowings, that, by other means could turn into complicated and hard to comprehend subjects. http://escuelacaracol.org/wp-escarweb/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/experimento-globo-sexto-feb-2020.mp4 … Want to become part of our community and help us continue nurturing heads, hearts, and hands of Mayan children from the western region of Lake Atitlán? Click the link and donate or become a monthly sponsor for one of our students, you can also subscribe to our monthly newsletter and share our information with your friends and family.... read more
First assembly of the year, Asociación Caracol.
Recently, we had the Asociación Caracol’s first assembly of the year. During the meeting, the board presented very important information regarding the finances of the school. Colleen Donovan, the treasurer of the board, presented the 2019 financial report as well as Escuela Caracol’s budget for 2020 and the highlights of our recently concluded Annual Campaign. We encourage all the members of the association to attend to all the meetings to keep up to date with the current situation of Escuela Caracol. We warmly invite all the members of our community (parents, friends, supporters, sponsors) to enroll as members of Asociación Caracol; as a member, you will get influence through your voice and vote to define the road our school will take. Stop by the school’s office or ask your class teacher for more information regarding how to become part of Asociación... read more
Pen-Pal exchange with Colombia’s Luis Horacio Gómez Waldorf School.
During last year’s November, the group of Caracolitos that, back then, were in third grade, started a Pen-Pal exchange with the third graders from Luis Horacio Gomez School, in Cáli, Colombia. The letters arrived and were received with joy by the group of Colombian students that almost immediately wrote the responses to be sent back with Gloria Elena Londoño, our Pedagogical Advisor, whom, at the moment, was visiting the mentioned school. A few days ago, the Colombian letters were delivered as a surprise to our students, now, in fourth grade. We want to share with you the pictures where you can see the thrill and happiness of each and all of them as they received the envelopes, signed and adressed by the sender, making of these objects, unforgettable and invaluable treasures. Luis Horacio Gomez School is one of the oldest Waldorf Schools in Colombia and since the arrival of Gloria Elena Londoño, it has become a special part of our community that transcends borders and distance. Want to become part of our community? Don’t hesitate and subscribe to our newsletter and follow our social networks. You can also help us continue nurturing heads, hearts, and hands of Mayan children from Lake Atitlan by making a one-time donation or sponsoring a student, just follow the link below.... read more
I was waiting so anxiously for this day!
Today I gave a huge step forward, along with my parents and friends I must pass through the last test before starting my primary: stepping across the welcoming tunnel where I will receive love and joy from all the bigger Caracolitos. I will surmount the obstacles among the others, but by my very own means. I will learn so many things that will let me see the world with new eyes. And so, the moment arrives. I will go through the tunnel, sing with my friends and arrive at the door that will lead me to the first day of the rest of my life. Want to help us keep making our Caracolitos’ dreams come true? Click on the link and support Escuela Caracol. Give Now... read more
The importance of music in the classroom
“There is no complete spiritual life without music, for the human soul has regions which can be illuminated only by music.” Zoltan Kondaly.
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First family meeting of the year
Recently, we had the first family meeting of the 2020 school year. We all got together to share a fun afternoon where we had the chance to learn about many different subjects regarding our school. We sang, danced, and wrote our most special wishes for the present year. We want to share these pictures with you so you can experience in some way the bright vibes of that unforgettable journey. Let yourself go, enjoy the images and become part of our... read more
Welcome to our community!
January the seventeenth was a special day for everyone at Escuela Caracol, it was the day when we welcomed for the first time all the new families of our community. The spark in the eyes of every parent as they were imagining their happy children being holistically nurtured in our gardens and classrooms was priceless. We welcome you all to our community, to our school, to our home, lets become a family and grow... read more
The girl of the lamp
Here we are presenting you a traditional Waldorf tale, recounted exactly the way it is told in the classroom to our students. We hope you enjoy it.
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Desks and chairs for our new classroom!
German Waldorf teacher Hellen Dorff and her community recently donated a set of desks and chairs for our students. This resumes the real meaning of community.
read moreThis post is also available in: Spanish