This course will be taught remotely in real-time. Details here. 

Professional development for Waldorf teachers and home school parents

This course offers you an invaluable opportunity to focus entirely on your upcoming fourth grade school year in five days brimming with discussions, presentations, practical activities, and the arts.

With the insights of anthroposophy, gleaned through a daily look at child development focusing on your class’s age group, you will get to know the fourth grade child in depth as they step into a more objective relationship to learning. Under the guidance of a master class teacher, you’ll discover ways to enliven your teaching and how to approach the blocks so that they may meet the fourth grader in a deep and meaningful way. There will be time and space to consider and hone your skills in such practical matters as main lesson books, block planning, projects and activities, and classroom management.

In addition to inspiration and guidance which will support your teaching throughout the year, you’ll gain many invaluable opportunities for building connections among a community of parallel colleagues from across the country, to carry with you into your teaching.

Your week will be chock-full of such key fourth grade topics as:

• Working with mythological story content for fourth grade literature
• Building skills in language arts
• Teaching local geography
• Discovering the world of fractions

These subjects will be supported by explorations in art and music, giving you practical tools to take into your school year.

Grade-specific resource materials useful for your year, including poems, songs, stories, and main lesson book ideas, will be provided to you electronically.

NOTE: This course is taught with the expectation that you have a background in Waldorf education.

Lead Instructor 

Laura Cox is a class teacher at the Washington Waldorf School where she has been a member of the faculty since 2004, first serving as lower school substitute teacher and then, since 2008, as class teacher; she is also a member of the WWS’s College of Teachers and is one of the School’s AWSNA delegates. Her previous work with young people included teaching public school and working in the mayor’s office of Baltimore City as a juvenile justice planner. Laura earned her BA and MAT from Johns Hopkins University and her Waldorf teaching certificate from Nova Institute, and lives with her family, which includes two cats and a dog, on a boat on the Potomac River.

Summer Series 2021 participants left us these evaluations of Laura:

• I enjoy Laura’s candor, humbleness, reverence and humor. I feel very grounded and less overwhelmed about the upcoming school year after working with her.
• Laura is an outstanding facilitator, with a wonderful blend of experience, curiosity, and humility. I appreciated how she made space for many voices and ideas instead of presenting her point of view as the only way to teach (the) grade.
• Laura brought wonderful enthusiasm, inspiration and wisdom to this course.
• Laura answered all of my questions to my satisfaction and I learned a lot. Laura shared her behind the scenes thought process when it came to choosing literature and preparing lessons, which was invaluable.
• Laura was clear and concise and had the ability to adapt to the needs of the group while still covering the material.
• She knows so much! And doesn’t stop learning!

Your course also includes sessions in art with Kelly Beekman and music with Monika Sutherland.

Schedule

This course takes place July 3-8 in a synchronous online classroom

Sunday evening: 7-7:30pm technical check-in; first session starts promptly at 7:30 and ends at 9
Monday-Thursday: 4.5 hours of formal instruction delivered between 10-4:30
Friday morning: Last session runs 10-12
ALL TIMES LISTED ARE EASTERN (NY) TIME ZONE

NOTE: Participants should be prepared to work on course-related assignments outside of their regularly scheduled instructional sessions (including some that may be assigned in advance), as well as to be available to attend (optional) late afternoon and/or evening facilitator-led discussions.

Cost
$600 includes all resource materials, yearlong access to Kelly Beekman’s art portal and your Sunbridge Grade Four Google Classroom, and a $60 non-refundable deposit. 

See main summer page for discount options.

NOTE: Participants will be expected to procure some materials to use during their course. A materials list will be sent out three weeks prior to your course start date.

Questions?
Please contact Barbara Vitale, admissions and summer coordinator, at [email protected] or 845-425-0055 x20

Sunbridge reserves the right to make faculty substitutions when necessary.