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As part of the celebrations of Michael the students had two days for performing the “proofs of courage”. On September 27 it was the turn of the boys and girls of first, second, and third grade. They made an exciting journey worthy of an adventure novel, in which they had to navigate an obstacle course made with tables and chairs to demonstrate their courage. The following day it was the turn of the fourth, fifth, and sixth grade students. The level of difficulty and danger was greater for these students as they had to walk a tightrope with only the help of two poles for balance. They supported their own weight as they crossed a rope of several meters over a pool of mud.

The importance of these challenges is that the children feel valued and courageous, feelings that will help them in the future to overcome difficulties that arise in their paths and to experience the feeling of “I can!”.

It was an amazing and very fun day; all the boys and girls did an incredible job on their challenges. We are proud of the courage of our caracolitos!

During September’s last weekend, we had our first “Viva Caracol”, a day in which our team shared their expertise which teachers and members of Panajachel community. The activity took place  in “Casa de Arte”, three workshops focused on first learning, language and math were imparted.

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The experience acquired as a handcrafts teacher for the last 8 years lets me affirm that by working with their hands, children transform conventional materials like threads into more complex objects (animals, bags, socks, among other things), and do a lot more than just occupy their time doing something “useful”, it is a therapeutic activity that fills children with joy that can’t be explained. But there is a lot more to tell…

Steiner said: Criteria comes from imaginative forces, working through the heart. It is not the head by itself but the whole human being that shapes criteria. Just think about how many senses are used when working on handcrafts –sight, touch, movement, balance, among many others–. Senses receive many impressions from the world and unite to form criteria. Our hands take us to a deeper and closer relationship with the world and, therefore, to a higher understanding of humanity. Manualidades y Artesanías (Hauck, 1968).

For this and many other reasons, handicrafts are a “must” in every classroom, above all at these times of human development (ages 7 to 12) where technology has occupied many moments and spaces of childhood.

In any case, we must be careful about what types of manual activities to perform. It’s quite common to find publications on all kinds of media about handcrafts workshops for children that are basically on cutting, folding and pasting paper, cardboard, fabrics, or even materials that are very harmful both to the child’s health and nature. We should ask ourselves: “Are these really the kinds of handcrafts that should be accompanying the child’s development between 7 and 12 years old? What is the real objective of performing these activities?”

At Escuela Caracol, children learn to comb the wool (from Nahuala’s Sheeps), spin the wool into yarn, and from that weave bracelets, necklaces, etc. with their own hands. They make their own crochet and tricot needles and with them, they make animals, bags, flowers, gnomes, among other things. They embroider with cross-stitch designs and landscapes, weave carpets or mats with tulle; likewise, they weave their own gloves, caps, socks, and maguey backpacks; they carve their nawales in stone. In all grade levels, the students sew and embroider.

To say that it is wonderful and special to be a master of crafts at Escuela Caracol is still selling it short, it is an invaluable gift.

Nazario Ignacio Porón

Ignacio “Nacho” Porón is a tzutujil Waldorf teacher with a specialization and great talent for crafts. He is currently the primary teacher of third grade in Escuela Caracol.

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Knitting is one of the most important exercises for the youngest students at any Waldorf school, It helps them exercise the laterality, develops will, focus, and gives them a space to be creative and to make something with their own hands; for the teacher, it is a useful tool to learn about the children by observing, for example, the preferred hand to make precise movements, sight sharpness, or how hard can it be for the children to focus and control distractions.

 

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It is proven that knitting builds neuronal connections by using both brain hemispheres simultaneously; children must pay attention to instructions, fine movements, colors, interaction with peers, and daydreams at the same time.

Children in Kindergarten are introduced to knitting by telling them tells or rhymes, they are not specifically explained how to do certain movements or knots, they just follow what some of the characters of the story is doing to learn how to begin creating with the colorful strings provided by teachers. Once they get to first grade, children start using needles; the complexity of weaving increases, and so does the process. Knitting is always attached to stories or contents studied in the classroom.

Often, as a pedagogical resource, teachers invite experts to expose topics of great importance to the block being studied. Recently, Diego, 5th grade teacher, invited Julia, experimented secretary and shorthand expert to introduce his students to this way of writing. 

Currently, they are studying dramatics, among which they are learning about script history.

As a creative experiment, students created a script from scratch.

They also studied hieroglyphics, glyphs, Chinese script, Hindu script (Devanagari) and Greek script.

This kind of experiences helps our students develop a better view of history and to be aware of the coincidences between different civilizations and cultures.

 

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