Sunbridge Summer Series Approaching the Grades courses are designed for Waldorf class teachers looking ahead to the coming school year. Our focus is on building skills, and deepening knowledge of child development. Under the guidance of an experienced class teacher, you will journey through your grade’s subjects and explore ways to approach the blocks so that they may be imbued with depth and meaning.

There will be time and space to consider and hone your skills in such practical matters as main lesson books, circle activities, classroom management, block planning, and projects. Each course also includes a daily in-depth look at child development in light of anthroposophy, focusing specifically on the age group you will be teaching. This study is intended to serve as the wellspring of inspiration for the guiding thoughts and themes that will support your teaching throughout the year.

In addition to inspiration and guidance for your upcoming year, your course will give you many opportunities to build connections among a community of parallel colleagues from across the country, to carry with you into your teaching.

A highly-useful grade-specific Resource Notebook, including poems, songs, stories, and main lesson book ideas, will be provided to you when you arrive on campus.

This course offers you an invaluable opportunity to focus entirely on your upcoming first grade school year, in five full days filled with discussions, lectures, practical activities, and the arts. With the insights of anthroposophy, you will get to know the first grade child as he or she crosses the bridge into elementary school. In addition to child development, you’ll discover ways to enliven your teaching so that it meets the first grader in a meaningful and lively way.  Your course will include such key first grade topics as the telling of fairy tales and nature stories, teaching form drawing, and introducing consonants and vowels, as well as the qualities of numbers and the four processes in arithmetic. These subjects will be supported by explorations in art, movement, and singing, giving you practical tools to take into your school year.

A highly-useful grade-specific Resource Notebook, including poems, songs, stories, and main lesson book ideas, will be provided to you when you arrive on campus.

Margot Amrine is currently second grade class teacher at the Rudolf Steiner School of Ann Arbor (MI), her third lower school class since joining the School’s faculty in 1989. She is also the School’s College chair and was a founding teacher of their high school. Margot recently retired as Director of the Waldorf Institute of Southeastern Michigan; in addition to teaching, she also mentors Waldorf teachers in the Midwest area. Previously, she taught at the Waldorf School of Lexington (MA) and before that, was a kindergarten teacher at public schools in Ohio and Vermont. A member of the Anthroposophical Society since 1981, Margot holds a BMA in Music/Art History from the University of Michigan School of Music; she has a particular interest in language arts and in working with parents, and enjoys traveling and playing the cello.

Course Schedule
Sunday: 5:30-6:30pm registration; 6:30-7pm optional campus tour; 7pm opening session/first class.

Monday-Thursday: Classes begin each day between 8-8:30am and run through 5:30-6pm, with times for break and lunch. Each day includes a balanced mix of content-based work, artistic work, and discussions. Community-wide evening events are offered weekly.

Friday: Classes end early afternoon.

Course Fee
$750 (includes all materials and non-refundable $50 registration fee)

Note: This course is taught with the expectation that you have a background in Waldorf Education. If you are new to Waldorf Education, we strongly recommend also registering for a Waldorf Weekend workshop (February 13-14 / June 26-28 / July 17-19) or our Exploring Waldorf Elementary Class Teaching course (June 21-24) as a complement to your Grades course. To further enrich your experience and expand your knowledge, we  recommend registering for our Eurythmy and the Growing Child workshop (June 28).

Registration: Click here to register.

Sunbridge Institute reserves the right to cancel any offering at any time. If Sunbridge cancels, all registrants will be notified and will receive a full refund. If the registrant cancels, he or she will receive a full refund less the non-refundable registration fee.  Sunbridge reserves the right to make faculty substitutions when necessary.