“We are helping to keep Mother Earth neat and clean”

It is important to mark Earth Day in a way that takes form in the developmental stage of all children who still feel at one with all the elements. Children feel at one with all of nature. 

Listening to a Lakota Story of Mother Earth

Children completely sense nature with all the twelve senses.

Cleaning around their school area

Appreciation and groundwork is laid in the youngest years by just being outside and taking it all in.  Allowing them to be a part of nature and showing them the importance of keeping nature clean. 

Helping each other 

When you model recycling, reducing spending, and reusing things, your child will follow you. This affords the small child a positive way to help keep Mother Earth clean. 

Enjoying this Beautiful Earth day with lunch on the deck.  

Celebrations in Waldorf for small children are about the doing, not so much the words. We had a wonderful time this Earth Day by doing, creating, and being.  

Time for Planting

Gardening  has been a part of the Waldorf School curriculum since the very first Waldorf School in 1923.  This week the children began planting for their school garden. 

First Grade mixing and watering the mulch

Gardening allows the students to develop a deeper appreciation for and awareness of the human being’s relationship to the natural world.

Harlee, Teacher Joyce, Kaia planting seeds

By caring for the garden, experiencing the growth of plants, and harvesting what they give us, the students develop a deeper consciousness and appreciation for the earth.

Gardening allows students to develop a deeper appreciation and understanding for and awareness of the human being’s relationship to the natural world.

By caring for the garden, experiencing the growth of plants, and harvesting what they give us, the students develop a deeper consciousness and appreciation for the earth.

Each year when Easter comes, It is a very special festival for Waldorf Schools. As Easter approaches, the flowers spring up from the ground.  A beautiful time when natures language begins to speak to us.  

The green reminds us of hope in life and what we wish to have from life.  The color of Hope, wishing, and Joy.  

A school of life is what a Waldorf School intends to be.  The fact that life is now beginning to unfold outside makes Easter a festival that has a great impact on the school, on the children, on the teachers, and especially on the parents.  

Easter also marks the time when school is nearing an end.  The teachers, prepare to send the students off on their break after building a wonderful relationship throughout the school year.  

~A lecture from Rudopf Steiner March 27th 1924~  

Daily Chores in Lakota Waldorf School

At Lakota Waldorf School, the children are involved in a number of daily chores as well as their activities.  It would surprise you to know that the chores are a part of their daily curriculum.

 Lunch time is one big activity in itself.  The children do the vegetable cutting, the wiping of tables, cleaning of floor, folding of laundry, and other various chores within their classroom.  

The children are involved in setting the tables.

First Grader Dustie set's the table for lunch

The Children are involved in the washing of their own dishes 

Kindergarten & First Grade 

An outside chore, cleaning the chicken coup, is one of the first grade favorites.

First Grade Students Cleaning the Chicken Coup

Chores create a respect for things in the child’s physical environment. The children learn to be good caretakers of the things they are responsible for. This sense of respect for the physical world remains in a Waldorf education throughout the grades.

Meals and Snack at the Lakota Waldorf School

One of the wonderful things that the Lakota Waldorf School prides themselves in is their dedication to feeding the students healthy organic meals.  That also includes an afternoon snack. 

Pictured here is one of our cooks Mr. Sundown Montileaux as he prepares the afternoon snack for the students of Lakota Waldorf School.  Preparation of each meals is well done.

 

 

All meals are organic, prepared and cooked fresh, no processed food and no candy.  

The children are also involved in the food preparation. The children make their own bread every Wednesday, and pizza on Fridays.

Bread Making

Vegetable Cutting

There are vegetables, fruits, buffalo meat bought from the tribes buffalo herd, oatmeal and cornmeal for breakfast,sweetened with honey and not with sugar. The cooks at LWS work very hard, all day long,  for the children's health and well-being.

Alexandra Hunter (Cook)

Wopila Tanka to our cooks who are dedicated to preparing the wonderful fresh organic meals for our students.  

 

First Grade  

When our first grade students arrive to their classroom in the morning, they begin their day with their morning verse which is in the Lakota Language. 

 

 

 They then move onto their Main lesson which is usually a single subject that they can focus on for 2 weeks to 4 weeks at a time. The first main lesson is painting or drawing where they learn to handle crayons, paint brushes, paints as this handwork, reading, and writing, are all better taught by involving color and design. 

 

  

This image is of one child discovering the alphabets

In Waldorf Education, the teacher meets the specific needs of the class as a whole as well as the individual student.

 

 

 



OUTDOOR FREE PLAY

Here at the Lakota Waldorf School, we have indoor and outdoor free play.  The children in these natural environments are given a wonderful opportunity to transform their experiences and make them their own.  

In Waldorf early childhood education,  outdoor free play is an essential component of their curriculum. Here we share images of some of their outside activities. 

The weather changes suddenly here in the Dakotas. One day the children enjoy a nice cool day jump roping and the next they are busy sledding or shoveling snow.  

Activities such as these, give children the opportunity to enhance and utilize their imaginations, critical thinking skills, gross motor skills and sensory integration skills. There is so much that the children love about their outside play experience.  The school here is surrounded by a large area of an open landscape, so when they get to just explore nature and be free, it gives them a wonderful experience 

Wopila Ikiniciyapi! Tanyan yahi ksto!

please feel free to visit our website Lakota Waldorf School and also our go-fund me campaign Waldorf on the Reservation.  

Lakota Waldorf School

Students

The Lakota Waldorf School students (a few pictured) always enjoy nature time.  The have at least 45 minutes available as their 2nd breath to explore, go on nature walks, they simply enjoy themselves surrounded by the rolling hills of the Lakota home lands, "Pte Oyate" (Buffalo Nation).   

The Lakota Waldorf School would like to Introduce

Larry, Rosalie, and Chayton Tecumseh.

This wonderful Family here lost one of the most precious gifts that could be given.  A baby girl named Dyani.  She was born prematurely and sadly passed on.  Through their grieving period their son Chayton brightened up their lives as he attended school, a Waldorf School in California. 

I will share some of his words:

"when we heard that a Lakota Waldorf School existed in Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota.  We contacted the school, told them our story, It is during that conversation that we were told about the great need of the school.  It became clear to us that we needed to help.  We believe in and are committed to a Waldorf education for Chayton and it’s what we would have given to Dyani.  It feels right to donate Dyani's clothes and toys to such a wonderful place like the Lakota Waldorf School.  We will be traveling to Pine Ridge in December with clothes, toys, and supplies for the school.  The school has given us a wish list with the names and ages of the children.  It is our hope that with your help, we can fulfill this."

In December of 2014, Larry and his family arrived at the Lakota Waldorf School with all of the donations they collected.  We are and will continue to be thankful for beautiful souls such as Larry and his family as well as all those that helped with donations from the great state of California.  

IF this is not such a wonderful and heart touching story, then we are just not quite sure what to tell ya!

Larry, Rosalie, Chayton, and donors of California, WE are extremely Grateful!!

WOPILA! THANK YOU from the bottom of our hearts!

Lakota Waldor School Winter Count

We would like to share with you a few images of the Winter Count that the students and staff of Lakota Waldorf School completed.  We were the only school selected to participate in the TAP Project with Naomi Averle and Sheena Meyers. 

Winter Counts are pictorial calendars that record events in the Lakota Culture as well as other tribes.  On the winter count here we included images of the different events and instruments utilized in the daily Waldorf education.  

Each and every student had a part in the designing and art work of this project.  Here our 1st grade student Ethan careful paints the daily activity of  "Painting".  This was a great project and we are so proud of "The Lakota Waldorf School" winter count.

Lakota Waldorf School has started back to school after the wonderful Holidays!

We have started the week off with some cold weather and very happy and excited children. 

We would like to Share a message from our gofundme campaign leader Truus Geraets:

Dear Friends,

We all dove into the Holiday Spirit and welcomed the New Year. This is the time for me to renew my commitment to the Lakota Waldorf School and the brave people who hope to be able to make a visible statement to the wider Lakota community by building a first class room in form of a TIPI.

We have come a long way to reaching our goal.  I hope that many of you want to pitch in once more, so that our goal can be realized.
I am excited that some 130 people are part of this effort! Thank you so much for this and for your encouraging messages.

 Truus

for more info on this campaign please visit Lakota Waldorf School on the reservation

Thank you!!!

The Lakota Waldorf School 

wishes you all a very festive and humble Christmas Holiday

as well as a very blessed New Year!! 

Children have worked on their special gifts to parents.  

As they are now on Holiday!! 

We are so very thankful to those who have been so kind in donating to our school this year

. We hope that you share our mission and also hope that you inspire others to join in helping our school prosper. Blessings to all!!

If you would like to donate or learn more please visit our website @

http://www.lakotawaldorfschool.org/en/

“Live through deeds of love, and let others live with tolerance for their unique intentions.”

― Rudolf Steiner

Thank You Brooklyn Waldorf School!!

The Lakota Waldorf School has been extremely happy to receive a monetary donation from the Brooklyn Waldorf School. 

Betsy Gimenez and her 8th grade class sponsored a Thanksgiving fundraiser during their assembly on behalf of the Lakota Waldorf School.

Every contribution is greatly appreciated and we send our heartfelt Thank You.

Wopila Tanka for your Support!

www.lakotawaldorfschool.org

The Lakota Waldorf School would like to extend our sincerest gratitude for your donations, blessings, and continued support over the years. 

Because of your generosity, we have been able to move forward in our educational and service goals to the Children here on the Pine Ridge Reservation. We continue to exist because you cared enough to contribute. "Thank You" for your commitment to our students and their education.

As the season of Christmas is upon us, what would have more value than gifting the children with a brighter hopeful future? We do need and wish to have the continued support of donors like you to fund the essential aspects of this initiative. We would not be successful in our mission to increase the effectiveness of our school without your financial contribution.

We encourage you to share our blog and to continue to share our School mission with all. 

The children are our future, and they are better equipped to lead because of your commitment to their Success.

~May my soul bloom in love for all existence. (Rudolf Steiner)~

Painting Day!

 

Kindergarten Teacher Joyce, begins to tell the children a story as she introduces the technique of wet on wet painting for their daily activity. The children patiently wait as she also introduces the colors of red and blue.  Wet-on-wet watercolor is a dreamy, fluid, mostly formless painting method that allows the children to fully experience color. It is perfect for the process-oriented kindergarten age child who of course has quite the imagination.  

 

 

 

This photo captures how focused our children are when painting.  As he begins to use the color blue, we can just imagine the story his teacher told him replaying in his mind. With his full attention he is now captivated and captured by "Blue".  With smiles on their faces, they have completed wonderful art all their own. 

If you are interested or would like to learn more about the Lakota Waldorf School, please feel free to take a look at our website at Lakota Waldorf School.  A dear friend of the school also created a fundraising initiative through the internet on our behalf.  If you would like to donate and help our school here is the link http://www.gofundme.com/g5n4ig.  Also, our school is featured in an article in the Lakota Country Times on who we are and what we do. 

Children at the Lakota Waldorf School are participating in the Teaching Artist Program Residency where local artist Sheena Meyers.  On October 28^th, 2014 the children ventured out to a place called Yellow Bear Damn on the Pine Ridge Reservation.  At the beginning of the trip, they offered water and corn back to mother earth as a gift in return for the gifts they were about to receive.       

During their adventure with nature they collected a variety of plants to utilize as natural paint. They were so excited and focused on what they were looking for.  They found buffalo hair, wild raspberries, red cedar, golden rod, verbanium, cat tails, and elk or deer droppings.  The Lakota Waldorf School will utilize these different plants in a Lakota cultural project called a winter count. We extend a big thank you to Sheena and to Leslie Henry who helped us in finding the plants we needed.

 

 

Children who have experienced wonder and reverence in childhood can have the basis for gifts of spirituality, universality and love of the earth and its peoples as adults.

 

 

 

~Nurturing Love and Reverence for Nature~

 

 

 

The Lakota Waldorf School strives to initiate the educational process while maintaining the Lakota Language and Culture.

Our goal is to empower our Lakota children so they will create positive active futures for themselves and their community.

~Mission Statement~

 

 

 

First Graders eager to learn!

 

 

Receive the Child in reverence, educate the child in love, send him forth in freedom...

 ~  Rudolf Steiner                                   



 

Waldorf teachers introduce the letters, beginning with the consonants in first grade by deriving them from pictures. We introduce the children to certain visual language forms. We have them draw simple round and angular shapes for the sake of the forms.  Through that we are able to introduce the children to writing.  Here is the first grade learning this style in Language Arts. 

 



 First graders hear stories, draw pictures, and discover the letter in the gesture of the picture.  One of our students spells the word "gum" and has been working on three letter words, sounding them out and is very happy that she feels that she can read and write just about anything. 



“Where is the book in which the teacher can read about what teaching is? The children themselves are this book. We should not learn to teach out of any book other than the one lying open before us and consisting of the children themselves.”
― Rudolf Steiner, Rhythms of Learning

 

On October 3, 2014 Lakota Waldorf School 1st graders ventured out into the garden to see what they could find.  After the first frost, we still have tomatoes and green peppers.  Gardening provides an avenue for reconnection as well as an opportunity for meaningful work, healthful exercise, and extremely fresh and nutritious food.

 

 

October 3, 2014 was also

"PIZZA DAY!!"

On pizza day, the children have the daily activity of helping with lunch.  Incorporating food – growing, preparing and eating – in the curriculum from the earliest ages is one way that students’ heads, hands and hearts become engaged.

 

 

“In the universe we have not to do with repetitions, each time that a cycle is passed, something new is added to the world's evolution and too at its human stage of development”
― Rudolf Steiner, Anthroposophy in Everyday Life





In Canwahpe Gi Win - September

Lakota Waldorf Students worked on grinding canpha (choke cherries) and made them into patties that they will be using for the fall and winter months ahead as wojapi (pudding) with their lunch meal. The making of these patties is part of their Lakota Cultural life way in making preparations for the winter months.  They did a wonderful job and as you see enjoyed their daily activity.

 

 

 

The kindergarten students also enjoy their daily activity of painting. Wet-on-wet watercolor painting is a technique taught in Waldorf schools. It’s a satisfying artistic experience with beautiful results.  Because the wet paint is laid on wet paper, the colors flow, blending into one another in beautiful and unexpected ways. Here they are enjoying the colors of blue and yellow.

 

Children who live in an atmosphere of love and warmth, and who have around them truly good examples to imitate, are living in their proper element.
            —Rudolf Steiner, The Education of the Child