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 place!

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.

 

 

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 IFH.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

 

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Today, we have only one word for them, the ones that gave birth to Escuela Caracol, and for all of you, the ones keeping this dream alive:

 

Matiox!

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To know and understand the way the natural cycles work is a basic part of becoming a fully developed human being.

Recently, both of our kindergarten groups shared a small frame of land with the purpose of planting seeds. The land was previously prepared by Chico, the head gardener of our school; it was with his guide, that the students learned where and how to perform this task.

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Planting seeds is an excellent exercise to develop some of the multiple dimensions of the students: 

– It lets the children experiment interest in taking care of something they are responsible for. 

– It is the first part of a cycle where the students will witness the cycle of life of a plant, meanwhile developing their will, patience, and concentration as they have to follow specific and concrete instructions.

– It is an exercise that lets students get in touch with the soil, rocks, small bugs, and plants while growing their sensitivity, appreciation, and respect for nature. 

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During this journey,  our kindergarten students learned about natural cycles, they developed their patience and responsibility, they also exercised their motor skills and touch.

How could you not love this little caracolitos?

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