March/April 2012

National Screen-Free Week is April 30th through May 6th. Turn off your screens and give your eyes and brains a rest from celluloidal stress!! Each day of Screen-Free Week, AWS will be hosting outdoor and indoor games and activities the whole family can enjoy...

Field Trip Fun, "Down on the Farm" -- The 3^rd grade class recently visited Heron Hollow Farm to try their hand at farming for a day. The children began by mastering the art of milking a goat, which requires a two-part effort of distracting and mollifying the goats by feeding them oats while they are being milked. It takes a firm hand and lots of oats to fill a gallon jar!

Wednesday, November 30th, 2011

Why a Developmental Education Surpasses a Benchmark-Learning Education

"...Dispelling the myth that Waldorf students in the young primary grades are not taught to read is one of my favorite things to take on, ranking right up there with the differences between Waldorf and Montessori schools! It was, however, a real pleasure to have Dr. Ernest, a local professor of child psychology (UAB), and parent of AWS kindergartner Sam and first grader John, plead our case for a change!..."

Who is John Huckestein (aka Mr. Huck) and what does he have in common with our 2012 Gala?

"No, Mr. Huck hasn’t been here longer than Ms. Powell, but he is an AWS 15-year veteran, armed with a great sense of humor, and loved by all children who come under his watchful and loving care...And yes, he is the Guest of Honor at our 2012 gala appropriately named the April Fool's Day Fiesta! Save the date!..."

Friday, April 8th, 2011

One teacher for eight years?! A Response to Concerns about Looping

A Nursery parent kindly commented the other day, “I really love the Waldorf philosophy and can see how it makes sense for my preschool child, but I’m worried about Waldorf elementary school because of the way the teachers loop through the grades...what if my child doesn’t like his teacher and is stuck with him for 8 long years?” As a former Kindergarten through 8^th grade looping teacher, myself, I have much to say on the subject!

AWS Alumni receive top honors!

Congratulations to Janine Mwenja and Alex Kilpatrick on their recent honors! Both Jeanine and Alex were voted into the National Honor Society, and the Spanish National Honor Society. As part of their 11th grade curriculum at the Jefferson Cty Int’l Baccaleureate School, students take advantage of work-study opportunities. Janine has been contributing her talents and skills to the architectural projects at Giattina-Aycock.

Friday, March 11th, 2011

Movement Education

Pentathalon

June 20th, 2011

Personalities in the Classroom, Part II: Working with the Rabbit's and Pooh's

Remember Winnie the Pooh and Rabbit? As promised, we are wrapping up our in-depth look at the temperaments with discussion of the choleric and the phlegmatic.·Using Betty Staley’s chapters on the temperaments in Between Form and Freedom: A Practical Guide to the Teenage Years (easy to find online and through Hawthorn Press), we will gain insights into recognizing and raising the phlegmatic child and the choleric child...

End-of-theYear Letter to Parents -- From Lynda Powell, 2010-11 5th/6th Grade Teacher

As in infancy, when organs and hormones are developing, our students have so much growth occurring every year and often every month it seems, as their toes poke through the sandals they loved so much just a short time ago (or so it seems to those of us who buy the shoes). Arms and legs are so sturdy and coordinated during their 5^th grade year and into their 6^th grade year. I believe it is a tribute to our curriculum and especially our spacial dynamics^TM program (that is, Ms. Cripps!) that AWS adolescents I observe successfully cope with their changing bodies and turn into human beings with grace, poise and beauty...