Form drawing, or Dynamic Drawing, as it was originally termed by Waldorf Education’s founder, Rudolf Steiner, is an interesting and integral part of the Waldorf Curriculum. Starting with the simplest of forms in first grade as a type of pre-writing exercise, WSB students advance to complicated geometric drawings by their middle school years. A recent visit to Ms. Angelie Guilbaud’ s first grade main lesson block finds us at the very beginning of that exciting trajectory with an exploration of straight and curved lines.

Handwork is an important part of the Waldorf curriculum -- for good reason. Far from frivolous, the Waldorf School of Baltimore’s fiber arts program instills powerful personal lessons. Children build confidence as they develop a gradual mastery of skills, learn to problem solve and correct mistakes, and engage in critical thinking and spatial conceptualization.

After weeks of working with Ms. Emmet on an individual exploration, the second half of the eighth grade class presented their self-portrait projects to the community on Thursday, May 13. The other half presented in part one the previous evening.

Ms. Emmet started the second night of presentations off with gratitude and by recalling some of her first meetings with some of the children:

As the Brood X cicadas begin to emerge, our kids are learning about them and being inspired by them. Take a look at how we're using this rare moment for experiential learning.

After weeks of working with Ms. Emmet on an individual exploration, half of the eighth grade class presented their self-portrait projects to the community on Wednesday, May 12. The other half presented in part two the next evening.

Ms. Emmet started this project 20 years ago and the thought of it was born as she was walking in the snow in New Hampshire. Read her introduction to the project:

Each year the eighth grade performs a play in the spring prior to graduation. Due to the global pandemic, the class came up with a creative way to have a performance without an in-person audience.

 With the help of another WSB alumni, Jessie Hughes and Elias Schutzman—now an actor, musician, teacher, and sound expert— Mr. Ciofalo's eighth grade class was able to host a live zoom performance of a radio play. The class set up one camera in the Eurythmy Room and several state-of-the-art microphones for the live performance on  April 18.

Students find inspiration in the newest art exhibit featured in the upstairs gallery space.

WSB has seen lots of Alumni activity lately – the most colorful of which is the latest exhibit in our Community Art Gallery. Natan Lawson is a Baltimore-based artist who graduated from the Waldorf School of Baltimore in 2002.

Lily, in eighth grade said she found the piece titled "Latchkey" the most interesting piece in the collection.

"It could be in an old film," she said. "I like the style of it and how it feels vintage. It really catches my eye."

At the Waldorf School, teachers incorporate current and historical stories and lessons about peoples and cultures around the world, Maryland and the other regions of the United States throughout the year. Children’s lessons will vary based on age, grade, and the class configuration. This last month teachers created meaningful ways to highlight Black History Month. Our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion work has inspired expansion of  our programmatic offerings.

Our middle school students are celebrating historic figures, heroes and icons in many ways this year.

When the student council expressed to the middle school teachers that they'd like to hear more about prominent Black History biographies, the community was able to come together and create a meaningful experience. Each teacher researched interesting biographies to present to their respective classes and then each class had a student present a powerful essay to the entire middle school this week.