A unique and wonderful part of Waldorf Education, which speaks to to the beauty and breadth of the philosophy as a whole, is Woodworking. Who better then to quote, then Ms. Edna Emmett who has graced us with her teaching talent as the art/woodwork teacher (as well as board Member, collegium member and past parent) at WSB for an incredible 30 years.

Once upon a time, on a frosty December night, a group of little Fairies huddled in their home deep under the roots of a giant oak tree. They were safe and warm. Outside, the wind blew cold and snow covered the ground. "I saw the Sun King today," the fairy named Rose said "He looked so old and tired as he walked off through the forest.”

"The great oak said he's dying" answered her sister, Daffodil.

The Waldorf School of Baltimore marks and honors an array of beautiful multi-cultural traditions; an essential part of our rich community life. This week we have been busy making our yearly preparations to celebrate Día de los Muertos.

What stands out most from a recent visit to grade four wasn’t the class’s manners, which were exceedingly polite. It wasn’t the dynamic approach to which they were practicing their mathematical equations, which was artistic and lovely. It wasn’t even the excitement of watching the class delve into their pivotal Human-Animal main lesson block, or the stunning chalkboard drawing Ms. Valencia had composed to accompany it.

No, what stands out the most was how ACTIVE the lesson was, how rich and layered the teaching was, and how engaged and enthusiastic the students were

While relishing October’s warm sunny days and cool damp mornings that encourage the trees to don crimson cloaks, it would be wise to remember that early whispers of Autumn soon give way to Jack Frosts earnest howls.

A Traditional Waldorf Story for Fall....

Once upon a time, a very long time ago, the world only had one apple tree.

It was just a baby apple tree, a seedling with small roots and no branches to speak of.

One night, the little apple sprout looked up into the night sky and admired the beautiful stars. The little apple sprout wanted so badly to reach up and touch them, so it stretched and stretched and stretched… until it was a great apple tree.

But as much as the great apple tree stretched, it still could not reach the stars.

It’s the first day of school and a brand new class of kindergarteners are seeing the Waldorf School of Baltimore’s newest classroom for the first time. Fourteen sets of wide, wonder-filled eyes take in the newly constructed space as they are warmly welcomed by their teachers, Ms. Lida Lawrence and Ms. Haley Snyder. In this classroom, students find a beautiful play kitchen (built by a loving grandparent), open ended play materials, child-sized stools, and new wooden tables ready for snack time and art projects. No one can deny this is a beautiful space to learn.

This September, Waldorf students throughout the world will breathe a fiery collective outbreath and come together with their communities in celebration of the powerful themes of strength, courage and bravery. At the Waldorf School of Baltimore, we too will take up this task, though as you may expect, it will look a little different than it has in years past.