By Lisa Harrison, 1st Grade Bridge Teacher
When the golden rod grows heavy with seeded heads, and the Michaelmas Daisy graces us with her fullest indigo glow, it is time to gather last herbs for medicine, bundle kindling, and split firewood for our forest cottages. The Lower Grade Students have noticed these signs informing us of colder days ahead. The chickens have slowed down egg production and are beginning to molt. The vines in the garden are drying up reminding us to harvest the pumpkins, feed the land with cover crops, and blanket each bed for the winter with straw.
Welcome to the Sanctuary of Living Arts, where the students find belonging through nurturing teachers, rich community, a Waldorf-Inspired/Holistic Education, skill based instruction, and an abundance of sacred land that fosters inquiry, risk taking, nervous system regulation, understanding of purpose, service and responsibility, and activates “Wildness”. Thomas Berry stated it beautifully when he referred to wildness as the authentic spontaneity of any being; the wellspringing of creativity that activates humans to met their basic needs, to know their capacities, and to self express artistically. Berry further stated that this “wildness” is best cultivated through communion with the natural world as it awakens an essential source of vitality.
At SOLA, our Lower School program is designed to support this nature connection, building resiliency, empathy, and practical skills which are introduced through developmentally appropriate stories, myths and histories. Utilizing the indications of Rudolf Steiner and Waldorf Education, our teachers connect the curriculum to our forest home, engaging the students in place-based activities that complement the academics.
Examples of this in practice include:
Grade 1 - Collecting and counting eggs from the chickens based on the story, The Golden Hen, during a math block.
Grade 2 - Making a lion’s paw salve with plantain just as Saint Jerome did during a Saints and Fables block.
Grade 3 - Cleaning, carding, and spinning wool as part of their farming and fiber block gifted from our sheep on the farm. Building shelters and fire starting with friction fire during a shelters block.
Grade 4 - Creating different types of rope with Snodgaffel’s and Nordic slinging used by the Vikings during the Norse Mythology block. Processing acorns into flour, building wattle walls, and making baskets with invasive vines just like the Cherokee People once did during a local history block.
Grade 5 - Beekeeping through observation and building a pollinator hotel during an Ancient Egypt block.
Grade 6 - Making Mullein torches and elderberry branch flutes during a Roman history block.
Through these experiences the students not only build relationship with the land but with themselves and each other. Much of the practical skills learned through the curriculum is balanced with free exploration where the students choose and move mindfully and freely in our outdoor classroom. They may spend time exploring Medicine Creek or the Forest Cathedral, requiring challenging hikes, cooperatively carrying large branches, whittling around the fire, or water play in the creek. SOLA’s holistic nature- based practices open the Lower School Students to a deeper understanding of what it means to be human and live on this Earth in harmony, recognizing that everything we will ever need exists right outside our front door.
If you’re interested in having your child experience this natural connection throughout their education contact us via our Enrollment Inquiry form.