Listado de la etiqueta: waldorf curriculum

Ideas on appropriate behavior rewards

by Carrie Riley

There comes a time in every parent or educator´s day experience and routine where we have a golden opportunity to encourage the right kind of behavior we strive for in our homes or classes. There are many daily examples. Your child eats their meal. They use the bathroom. They clean up their toys. They follow your instructions. And when they decide to insert their own will, wants, and desires it is often the very opposite of what we wanted them to do in the first place. Now what?!

I’ve seen parents reward with cookies, candy, ice cream, donuts, cake, soda pop, fast food, money, toys, and the list goes on. You know. We’ve all been there at one time or another.

Sadly the things our children may respond to the most are sugar rewards. Do you want to know why? It’s not just the obvious answer, sugar is yummy, but more complex. Sugar is addictive. It is so addictive that it is considered more addictive than drugs! And once we lovingly introduce this into their system, it is a hard addiction to break. It seems so innocent. I mean we all grew up with sweet treats and we turned out okay for the most part, right? Here’s the thing. Sugar was not the same 30 years ago as it is now and was not as big of a problem as it is now. It is highly processed in some foods and full of chemicals as well. Not only is there sugar in the treats we give, but hidden sugar is everywhere! Did you know one yogurt has the same amount of sugar as a candy bar? Or a peanut butter and jelly sandwich have as much sugar as a slice of iced chocolate cake? The food you buy at the store has many ways to sneak sugar into your diet and your child’s. Most kids’ cereals are packed with sugar too. “Sugar fuels every cell in the brain. Your brain also sees sugar as a reward, which makes you keep wanting more of it. If you often eat a lot of sugar, you’re reinforcing that reward, which can make it tough to break the habit.” (The truth about sugar addiction, Webmd.com)  And that is one reason food companies add sugar to unnecessary products they know how addictive it is! It is comparable to a cocaine addiction.

Rewarding behavior with food is also linked to eating disorders, weight issues, dental decay, and behavior issues. Studies have found that when parents use food as a reward or punishment, kids are more likely to prefer high-fat, high-sugar foods (like the ones often used as rewards). The bottom line is rewarding wanted behaviors with food will most likely backfire in the long run.

So what is a good incentive to get our children to do what we want?

What our goal should be is to get our children to want to do the right thing! We want them to feel a part of our family, classroom, and ultimately a good citizen of the earth. We can do that at any age but starting off with helping our children to develop healthy habits from the beginning is the best way to ensure a child will want to do what is expected of them.

Start off by not over-praising your child. The more you praise, the more they seek approval from outside forces. Not from themselves. Just notice them. Let them know you see them doing something from coloring “ Oh! I see you really like to color green today!” Or “Wow Mary! You really cleaned up your blocks and that makes your room look so nice!” 

Make “I”  statements when you can “ I see you tried your beans!” or “Mary, I like when you help your brother clean up!” this helps the child know they are seen and will make them feel proud to do the right things. They will know by your tone and the fact you’re not following them around smothering them with praise.

If you must do something as a reward, try these ideas:

  • Sticker
  • A new book ( not toys)
  • New crayons and paper
  • Extra time with you
  • An extra book/ story at bedtime
  • Time outdoors together
  • Craft project with you
  • Helping you make a meal

Now all of these ideas work well if you have implemented a family daily schedule ( daily rhythm). Children’s behaviors are greatly improved if they know what to expect and the consistency of their boundaries.

Another aspect of nurturing our children’s good behavior is getting enough sleep. This is huge! Children under age 6 need 12 hours a day. 

Good nutrition is also key! Instead of all the sugary sweets we give our children, how about frozen fruits? Sliced bananas with cinnamon on top? Make your own frozen ( unsweetened) yogurt with natural sweeteners like fruit and mix and freeze.

To summarize this article let me highlight the points.

In order to get our children in our care to cooperate we can try the following:

  • Create and maintain a daily rhythm
  • Be consistent
  • Proper sleep
  • No screen time for children under age 5 or very little
  • Never allow screen time during meals and snacks!
  • Healthy eating practices 
  • Try a new food at least once a week

Remember, reinforce the good behavior in a neutral way and consistently.

The unwanted behavior must have a consistent consequence. That can be a favorite toy to be taken away for the day, no books at bedtime, no screen time, No sticker if using a chart. Keep exploring for a way to reach your child. Not all children react the same to these ideas. You have to find what works for your family.

Being a parent is a challenge. So is being a brand new human on this earth! Let’s help guide our children into courteous, helpful, and happy children. They want us to be happy with them. But here’s the thing. It is up to the adults in your child’s life to make sure they learn how to do this. Giving into your child’s every want is setting up your child and your family up for disappointment and frustration. They crave rhythm, love, consistency,  positive attention and our time. Let’s set our children up for success!

Here is a visual example of a chart to track healthy new foods they try:

Try new Foods Chart

Photo in Parents.com by Sally Kuzemchak

Try these tips and you will see the change in your children.

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Learning to Write Using the Waldorf Approach

Waldorf schools encompass the whole human experience in literacy when teaching reading and writing to students in Class One.  Social, emotional, and communication skills are developed in Waldorf Kindergartens, as well as healthy habits for a child’s physical well-being. Academics are left entirely for Class One.  It is in Class One that Rudolf Steiner, founder of Waldorf Education, indicates students are developmentally ready and able to turn their attention to academics and learning to read and write.

According to Rudolf Steiner, children’s eyes, before the age of 6 or 7, are not sufficiently developed to focus on printed text in a healthy way. Healthline.com confirms that our eyes are constantly growing and are not fully developed until age 19 or 20(1). First Grade therefore becomes the best time to start training our eyes in a healthy way to track text and assign meaning to that text.

In Waldorf schools, children in Class One are introduced to text in a pictorial way.  A story is told with strong imagery, from which a capital letter can be developed. Therefore, children have an emotional experience with an image from the story. Their emotional attachment is transferred to their recreating that picture with the guidance of a teacher.  These first pictures are akin to symbolic drawings from early human cultures which can now be found in caves or other rock surfaces of ancient places. The pictures are a symbol with special meaning.

Over a few days or a week, the teacher guides students to find the Roman capital letter contained in the image and the letter itself is practiced. Rather than doing this by having children make a large number of repetitions of the letter on lined paper, children are guided in the form of the letter and method of drawing.  A single letter takes up a whole page in children’s main lesson books, which is a sort of textbook students create themselves over the years and which documents their progress.

Through modeling, demonstration, practicing the letter in the air, on the floor, in small sandboxes, and then finally on a sheet of paper, children can move the letter from the image they held in their minds, to a whole-body, gross motor skills, motion, and then finally to a fine-motor skills activity putting it on paper.  Though it may seem slow to outsiders to take up to a week to introduce the first consonant to children in this way, it is building skills that will transfer and improve student handwriting and future literacy.

Having taught in both Waldorf schools and public schools in the United States I can affirm that students who have letters introduced slowly, artistically, and as a whole body experience, have greater mastery of spelling, reading, and penmanship than students who are not given guidance and time to build this strong foundation. Experiencing the history of imagery and symbolism in text and engendering meaning into these symbols at the appropriate time for children’s development is a crucial foundation presented in Waldorf schools worldwide.

(1) https://www.healthline.com/health/do-your-eyes-grow#change-in-eye-appearance

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Dyslexia can be overcome with nursery rhymes and music

In Trinus, our children learn the multiplication tables by moving and clapping, by stepping in a rhythmical way. We integrate music in all the subjects, it is not treated as a separate subject. This benefits all children but particularly children with dyslexia. In the following article written by Sarah Knapton, she mentions how rhymes and music can help overcome dyslexia.

Children can overcome dyslexia by learning nursery rhymes, dancing, and singing because the condition is caused by a lack of rhythm in the brain, a leading neuroscientist has suggested.

Usha Goswami, professor of Cognitive Developmental Neuroscience at Cambridge has spent the last 10 years testing the brains of youngsters to find out what was driving the learning problem.

She found that dyslexia is not caused by children reading words incorrectly, but instead by their inability to hear the rhythm of words when they are being spoken.

Brain scans showed that the meter of words was out of phase with internal rhythms in the brain, meaning that youngsters struggled to encode the patterns, and therefore memorize speech.

However, keeping up rhythmic practice will eventually allow children to read properly.

“Children who are dyslexic struggle with speech rhythm,” Prof Goswami told The Hay Festival.

“We realised that children are struggling in tasks which are not related to learning or reading but are related to rhythm. So we began to think that rhythm and these problems found in children with dyslexia might be related.”

Dyslexia is thought to be one of the most common learning difficulties. It’s estimated that up to 1 in every 10 people in the UK has a certain degree of dyslexia and Britain has one of the worst rates because the language is so difficult to learn.

Prof Goswami recommended clapping games, music, nursery rhymes, and marching to The Grand Old Duke of York. “All kinds of rhythmic experiences can be helpful, nursery rhymes, dancing, and music as long as the beat is matched to language,” she said. “Playground clapping and games may be very important to stopping dyslexia. You could start to remediate it before children even start school.

“If children keep it up they will learn to read. It will definitely happen. The brain just needs more training. These children need to know that their brain just works a bit differently and reading is going to be harder for them.”

Usha Goswami is a researcher and professor of Cognitive Developmental Neuroscience at the University of Cambridge and the director of the Centre for Neuroscience in Education at St. John’s College, Cambridge. She obtained her Ph.D. in developmental psychology from the University of Oxford before becoming a professor of cognitive developmental psychology at the University College London. Goswami’s work is primarily in educational neuroscience with major focuses on reading development and developmental dyslexia. Some of her current research projects include the neural basis of developmental dyslexia, the neural basis of speech and language impairments, and the neural basis of rhythmic motor behavior.

Dr. Goswami’s research is concerned with focusing on dyslexia as a language disorder rather than a visual disorder as she has found that the way that children with dyslexia hear language is slightly different than others. When sound waves approach the brain, they vary in pressure depending on the syllables within the words being spoken creating a rhythm. When these signals reach the brain they are lined up with speech rhythms and this process doesn’t work properly in those with dyslexia. 

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How To Teach to Add Fractions?

If you teach your child the math concepts with things they are familiar with it will be easier for them to understand it. We want to provide you with a story to tell your child and to make it live together. All you will need is two empty jars, a Sharpe, and beans. Ready?

Martin and Carolina went to the store and they both took an empty jar.

(Measure the jar, divide it into three, and place two marks with a Sharpe in the jar to make the three parts visual for your child) 

Adding fractions with stories

They each filled one-third of their jar with beans.

(Fill the jars up to the first mark)

fractions

Martin had a great idea to put his beans in Carolina´s jar so they could share what they had.

How many thirds do they have together?

fractions with beans

Be creative! And find moments in your child´s day-to-day activities where he/she makes use of fractions. The more children live what they are learning, the easier it becomes for them to learn it.

Let´s make their learning meaningful! 

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Reading Recommendations

This is a great list of stories to tell your children! 

You may think that some stories in this list can be scary for your children, but remember, as Miss Marcie says in her article about the importance of storytelling, «What is important to know is that a child will only imagine a picture in his mind that’s as scary as he can handle. For example: if we tell the story of The Three Billy Goats Gruff a three-year-old might imagine a troll that’s not much more than a blob, whereas a six-year-old might imagine a hairy, ugly troll with big teeth and ears. A Waldorf teacher will tell a fairy tale to young children with a gentle, pleasant voice, without over-dramatization. Again this leaves the child’s imagination free to picture the story to be as scary or as benign as he can handle.»

The following list has been compiled by Megan Young from Carnegie Rudolf Steiner Pre-School Centre Inc. and they appear in You Are Your Child`s First Teacher by Rahima Baldwin. Her section on Fairy tales and the Young Child is well worth reading (pp. 172-181) Most of the stories are from the Grimm Brothers.

Fairy Tales 

Key to age suitability

  • Kinder (4 to 7 years old)
  • Class (7-8 years old)

Simple or sequential stories

Kinder

  • Sweet Porridge  (Grimm)
  • Goldilocks and the Three Bears
  • Little Tuppen.
  • Little Louse and Little Flee
  • The Turnip 
  • The Mitten
  • Little Madam
  • Gingerbread Man
  • The Jonny Cake
  • The Hungry Cat

Slightly more complex stories

Kinder

  • Billy Goats Gruff
  • Three Little Pigs
  • The Wolf and the Seven Little Kids (Grimm)
  • Masenka and the Bear
  • The Shoemaker and the Elves (Grimm)

More Challenge and More Detail

Kinder

  • Star Money (Grimm)
  • The Frog Prince (Grimm)
  • Mother Holle (Grimm)
  • Little Red Cap (Grimm)
  • The Bremen Town Musicians (Grimm)
  • Little- Briar Rose (Sleeping Beauty) (Grimm)
  • The Donkey (Grimm)
  • The Queen Bee (Grimm)
  • The Snow Maiden 
  • The Seven Ravens (Grimm)
  • Rumpelstiltskin (Grimm)
  • Snow White and the Seven Dwarves (Grimm)

Class 1

  • The Golden Goose (Grimm)
  • Spindle, Shuttle, and Needle (Grimm)
  • The Hut in the Forest (Grimm)
  • Snow White and Rose Red (Grimm)

Classes 1 and 2 

  • Hansel and Gretel (Grimm)

Tales that have a personal experience of suffering or sorrow

Six years old in Kindergarten or Class 1- to match their sense of departure from the heart of early childhood

Kinder and Class 1

Rapunzel

Class 1

  • Jordina and Joringa (Grimm)    
  • Brother and Sister (Grimm)   

Class 1 and 2

  • Cinderella

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Waldorf School Project in Year Four

By Miss Charity Muli

One unique rite of passage in a student’s experience is working on a project at the end of at least one block. This usually starts in grade 4 depending on the culture of the school. The students can work on this kind of assignment during any of the breaks, especially during the summer or spring break. Independent projects are very special, in that each student has the chance to study more or deepen their knowledge on any topic. They have a chance to experience something of his/her own choosing. This stretches the students to plan ahead, follow individual due dates, and sharpen their executive functioning—all skills that are only just beginning to bloom in the middle grades. In fact, many aspects of the project are challenging and call upon the students’ developing faculties. The result of this work is growth and achievement in many areas.

Throughout the project, the requirement provides a beautiful opportunity for students to begin reaching out to other adults in the world. This could be other students or family members or even other special people such as artists. One of my students approached his extra curriculum Teacher to help out in painting a red panda which was his choice of animal in zoology studies.

While much of the research work takes place during school hours and during school breaks, the culmination of the student’s accomplishments are shared with the wider community during a celebratory event, at which each student displays his or her work and does a short formal presentation for a large audience. Therefore, students learn about presentation skills and how to create a display to showcase the highlights of their project experience. Students are asked to present the project as a learning experience for the audience.

While these projects are sometimes challenging to most students in many ways, the experience allows students to draw upon and further develop many skills and talents, such as aesthetic sense, creativity, organizational skills, interpersonal skills, and public speaking, to name only a few. They are proud of their accomplishments, as are we—the adults and members of the school community surrounding them. These projects are proof of the creativity, skills, enthusiasm, and care that our students bring to their work. Through the process of completing their tasks, the students learned much about themselves, gained confidence, and are now ready to move on to new challenges that await them in the next grade.

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¿Cómo funciona una escuela Waldorf de Primaria?

Muchas personas, por lo general padres de familia que conocen la pedagogía Waldorf y tienen a sus hijos en un colegio inspirado en esta pedagogía, como el nuestro, se preguntan sobre el paso que dan los niños cuando llegan a la primaria. ¿Los niños siguen teniendo juego libre tanto como en preescolar? ¿Cómo aprenderán a leer y escribir? ¿Cómo es el currículo cuando los alumnos pasan a Grado Uno?

Nos hemos basado en un artículo de aguamarina, psicóloga y terapeuta del habla, ya que lo expresa de una forma idónea y bastante acertiva.

El currículum en las escuelas Waldorf

Si la pedagogía Waldorf parte de la premisa que la forma de entender, sentir y vivir el mundo de las personas va evolucionando a lo largo de la vida, y muy especialmente durante la infancia, el currículum de las escuelas Waldorf trata entonces de dar respuesta a las necesidades que presentan los niños en todos los niveles (su cuerpo físico, sus facultades psíquicas, su individualidad).

Para los maestros/as Waldorf lo más importante no es lo que se enseña, sino cómo se enseña. Por tanto el programa educativo Waldorf se basa en el niño, en ejercitar las capacidades del ser humano: pensar, sentir y actuar. Así el maestro a través de la observación de las necesidades de los niños les va introduciendo en los contenidos, pero en el momento oportuno y de la forma adecuada a su etapa evolutiva.

Por eso se dice que el método Waldorf es un método integral, porque implica el conocimiento de la naturaleza individual de cada niño, y utiliza una metodología y contenidos adecuados a cada momento, logrando de esa manera un equilibrio de las aptitudes intelectuales, artísticas y manuales. Se trata de seguir un proceso, un camino de experiencia que llene de sentido todo lo que encontrará el niño una vez que sea adulto.

Esto implica que después de haber experimentado con el movimiento y el juego libre en la época de infantil, en el primer curso de primaria conozcan las letras y las palabras, los números y las operaciones básicas, así como los dibujos de formas, que permiten estructurar el dominio del tiempo y del espacio de una manera progresiva y asequible para los pequeños, teniendo como hilo conductor las narraciones de los cuentos de hadas. (Lee más información sobre los cuentos de hadas aquí).

El paso de Infantil a Primaria

El hecho de poder iniciar una nueva etapa vital es tan importante como cerrar bien la anterior.

Es por eso que el primer día de escuela para los niños de primero de primaria se realiza una celebración en la cual, simbólicamente, dejan atrás el mundo de los pequeños para entrar en otro mundo de niños más mayores, mostrando que ya están preparados para realizar otro tipo de actividades en la escuela. Cada niño pasa por un bonito arco hecho de flores, entregando al maestro que le llama una flor que confeccionará el ramo de la nueva clase.

Tras este primer día, el niño entra en un ritmo de actividad que le permite desarrollar una respiración entre concentración y relajación, trabajo mental y práctico, movimiento y reposo, escucha y participación, observar y hacer.

La clase principal y los periodos

Durante las dos primeras horas del día aparece muy claramente esta respiración en la clase. Se desarrolla una parte rítmica, con una serie de actividades en las que aparece el movimiento ordenado, el arte de la palabra y la poesía, la música, el juego…muchas veces combinados. Este espacio permite sincronizar los ritmos individuales en uno colectivo, haciendo que niños y niñas estén dispuestos a un trabajo más vinculado a la concentración.

Después de este momento, hay un tiempo para los aprendizajes más académicos, siempre presentados de una manera asequible para los niños, es lo que se denomina la clase principal. Estos aprendizajes también están asociados a un ritmo, así, durante un tiempo de unas cuatro semanas, se desarrolla una misma área, es lo que se conoce como un período.

Al  final de la clase principal se destina a escuchar la narración, un momento en el que aparece un gesto de relajación, pero al mismo tiempo de una cierta concentración al seguir el hilo de la historia.

Los periodos en la clase de primero

Durante los tres trimestres del primer curso se mantiene una estructura similar, en la cual se empieza con un periodo (unas cuatro semanas) de dibujo de formas, después uno de letras, y se acaba con el de números.

EL DIBUJO DE FORMAS

El dibujo de formas trabaja con el movimiento del cuerpo, organizando el espacio en líneas rectas y curvas.

Poco a poco los niños van llevando este movimiento desde el cuerpo a las manos, llegando a convertir un dibujo sobre el cual se ha caminado en el suelo en una línea sobre el papel. De esta manera se hace que la experiencia del dibujo sea no sólo mental sino también vivida en el hacer con el cuerpo. Es gracias al dibujo de formas que los niños y niñas se preparan para el trazado de letras y números.

LAS LETRAS

El periodo llamado de las “letras” acerca a los niños al proceso de lectoescritura realizando un recorrido por todo el alfabeto mediante una historia narrada por el maestro/a. Así, cada letra tiene un sentido de ser en la palabra, y la palabra se torna viva en la conciencia del niño.

Las letras y las palabras se escuchan, se dibujan y se escriben y finalmente, se leen.

LOS NÚMEROS

Las matemáticas tienen, en la pedagogía Waldorf, un tratamiento muy especial. Los primeros aprendizajes, los números, son mostrados como elementos no sólo cuantitativos sino también cualitativos. Cada número representa una cualidad: el uno representa la unidad, lo que forma un todo; el dos, la dualidad, los opuestos; el tres, la trinidad, el elemento neutralizante, etc. siempre mostrando estos conceptos en forma de imagen, en un lenguaje poético.

El movimiento en el espacio es indispensable para desarrollar un buen pensamiento matemático, de esta manera se realizan una gran cantidad de ejercicios que impliquen el movimiento de todo el cuerpo. Las matemáticas dejan de ser de dominio exclusivo de la cabeza, llegando a formar parte de todo el cuerpo, hasta la punta de los dedos de los pies.

El resto de materias: las especialidades

Las actividades artísticas así como la lengua extranjera o los trabajos manuales son los otros elementos que completan el día a día en la primera clase.

La música facilita al niño el ordenar su mundo interior. En primero todavía se usan melodías pentatónicas que ayudan al niño a mantener un estado de calma y armonía. Los instrumentos utilizados en este curso son la lira pentatónica y, desde el segundo trimestre, la flauta pentatónica. (Si te interesa saber más sobre la música pentatónica lee este artículo de Tamara Chubarovsky: Música que calma a los niños, música pentatónica).

La pintura con acuarela aporta unos elementos que favorecen la salud anímica de los niños. El trabajo con el color, usando el papel mojado, sigue un largo camino durante toda la primaria.  (Puedes descubrir un cuento vivenciado para utilizar las acuarelas con niños aquí)

Al principio se trata más de jugar con las cualidades del color que buscar hacer representaciones pictóricas y, poco a poco, este jugar se convierte en un dominio del agua y la pintura en las clases superiores.

La Euritmia es otra de las artes trabajadas en la escuela Waldorf. A través del movimiento, se despierta y se fortalece la capacidad expresiva de los niños, y no solamente en el aspecto puramente físico.

Mediante los sonidos de las palabras y la música se busca agilidad, movilidad, plasticidad y actividad en su mundo interior.

Las lenguas extranjeras empiezan a formar parte de la vida de los niños mediante juegos, canciones y poesías.

Se busca acercar al niño a la musicalidad del lenguaje, a adentrarse de forma natural en ella, de la misma manera que se hace con la lengua materna.

Los trabajos manuales son muy importantes para el desarrollo intelectual del niño. Una cita de Rudolf Steiner dice “Dedos ágiles nos llevarán más adelante a un pensamiento ágil”. Y cada vez más neurólogos están descubriendo y mostrando de qué manera el movimiento físico se convierte en un desarrollo de las conexiones neuronales.

Así, se realizan actividades como seguir todo el proceso de la lana: desde que está sucia, recién esquilada, hasta poder tejer con ella, pasando por el lavado, cardado, hilado y ovillado, lo que acerca al niño a una manera viva de entender el mundo.

Creo que con todo esto has podido hacerte una idea de cómo funciona una escuela Waldorf de primaria, faltaría añadir que no hay exámenes, ni tampoco libros de texto convencionales, sino que cada alumno va trabajando y elaborando sus propios cuadernos.

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Preparing for Life

The New York Times sparked national media coverage with its front page story on why Silicon Valley parents are turning to Waldorf education. This film, created by the Waldorf School of the Peninsula, picks up where that story left off. «Preparing for Life» takes viewers inside the School where the focus is on developing the capacities for creativity, resilience, innovative thinking, and social and emotional intelligence over rote learning. Entrepreneurs, Stanford researchers, investment bankers, and parents who run some of the largest hi-tech companies in the world, weigh-in on what children need to navigate the challenges of the 21st Century in order to find success, purpose, and joy in their lives.

This film provides an overview of the focus of Waldorf education in the different stages from preschool to high school and the abilities the children develop in each stage.

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Tips para fortalecer la inteligencia emocional en los niños

Escrito por Gabriela de Erichsen

El pasado jueves tuvimos nuestro segundo “Growing Up Together” del año. Este programa está diseñado para nuestros papás Trinus y su objetivo principal es proveer herramientas y conocimiento que apoyen el crecimiento y formación en la tarea de primeros educadores. Para contribuir al desarrollo de personas creativas y libres que actúen con integridad y por consiguiente continuar transformando “pequeños en gigantes.” 

El tema para este mes fue impartido por nuestra psicopedagoga Lic. Sharlyn Dieguez.

A continuación puedes ver la plática completa y un resumen del tema impartido.

El tema de inteligencia emocional se ha convertido en una necesidad para todo ser humano, especialmente para los niños. Estamos acostumbrados a enfocar nuestra energía y recursos en desarrollar la parte intelectual de nuestros hijos, dejando en segundo plano incluso a un lado la parte emocional. Daniel Goleman, dice que al menos 80% del éxito en la edad adulta proviene de la inteligencia emocional. En Trinus le damos importancia al desarrollo integral de nuestros alumnos y nuestro enfoque es que todas las áreas del alumno sean nutridas y fortalecidas. Esto abarca la parte intelectual, la emocional y la educación de la voluntad. Encontrar el equilibrio en estas tres áreas es lo que nuestros educadores trabajan a lo largo del año. 

Empecemos por definir ¿qué es inteligencia emocional?, se define como la habilidad para gestionar bien las emociones, ya sean las nuestras como las de los demás. 

Como cualquier otra habilidad, la inteligencia emocional se puede enseñar o potenciar. Y esto nos debe motivar como padres y educadores a apoyar a los más pequeños a fortalecer esta área en sus vidas. 

¿Cómo podemos fortalecerla? 

Sharlyn nos compartió 10 tips prácticos que podemos implementar: 

  1. Reconocer mis emociones – ¿Qué estoy sintiendo? 
  2. Nombrar las emociones – al identificar por nombre la emociones podemos trabajarlas y regularlas.
  3. Dar el ejemplo – los niños aprenden por imitación, por lo tanto reaccionarán, hablarán de la misma manera que nosotros los adultos lo hacemos.
  4. Mantener la calma, recordar quién es el adulto de la situación.
  5. Desarrollar empatía – “Entiendo que cuando pasa esto… te molestas mucho, yo también me enojaría…” 
  6. Brindar opciones de cómo reaccionar – “Entiendo que estabas muy molesto, la próxima vez podríamos respirar y esperar 10 minutos antes de actuar”. 
  7. Fomentar el diálogo democrático – aprender a escuchar y que ellos nos escuchen, así como tener esos espacios donde podemos expresar lo que sentimos y dejarlos expresarse también. 
  8. Establecer límites claros – Los niños necesitan saber qué es lo que esperamos de ellos, no podemos asumir que ellos saben sin haberles modelado las reglas y normas. 
  9. Aceptar cuando hemos cometido un error 
  10. No forzar las disculpas 

“El cerebro emocional responde a un evento más rápidamente que el cerebro pensante.” Dr. Goleman 

Un aspecto importante es que la comunicación efectiva, mantiene la puerta de la comunicación abierta para que los chicos no sientan miedo de expresarse. 

Como padres y educadores tenemos esa labor hermosa de formar y brindar las herramientas a nuestros niños para que puedan desarrollarse de la mejor forma posible. Esta labor requiere de constancia, paciencia y mucho amor. 

Los resultados tal vez no los veremos tan rápido como quisiéramos, pero como un día me dijo mi hermano mayor: “algún día verás el resultado de todo esfuerzo y constancia en educar un buen hábito ó corregir determinada actitud, y dirás valió la pena”. 

No te des por vencido, sigue intentando y repitiendo cuantas veces sea necesario lo que quieres formar y educar en tus hijos o alumnos. ¡Te aseguro que verás los resultados! 

Por lo que nosotros como adultos somos los primeros que debemos fortalecer nuestra inteligencia emocional porque al final del día nuestros hijos son nuestro espejo. 

“Los niños emocionalmente inteligentes, son adultos exitosos”.

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Transitioning to the Waldorf System

Written by Miss Petersen

A question we get asked a lot at Trinus is: “How will my child cope with the move from a traditional system to Trinus?”

In answer to this question, I would like to share:

  1. A picture of what your child will be transitioning to
  2. Some of my experiences with my class who all came to Trinus from other traditional systems
  3. Some thoughts around ‘transition’

1. A picture of what your child will be transitioning to

The Waldorf environment is a warm, welcoming, and safe space where children are taught using a responsive curriculum that is based on child development. This means that children are taught content that is age-appropriate and brought forth in a way that is healthy and stimulating for the child. We believe that children must be taught in a way that touches the head, heart, and hand. In this way we help children unfold more than only academically; we educate them to help them reveal and unfold their potential and be healthy human beings. Our kindergarten classes are bursting with children busy at play whilst being guided by someone who knows that play is where they learn and grow! Without the confines of desks, chairs, and formal learning children are free to also strengthen and develop their physical bodies. A strong body is needed when they move on to the grades to be able to sit up straight and listen to the educator and work for a full day without getting tired as well as for writing. Language is acquired through songs, stories, puppet shows, and rhymes which stimulate rather than tire children. Our Grades classrooms are full of smiling, happy children who love being at Trinus! Children who are curious to learn and feel free to ask questions. Where children are taught math through movement and learn history through stories, making paintings, acting out a story, and even reading fiction! It is a space where each child is accepted for who they are and respected at whichever level they are. We also understand that overloading a child with homework is unhealthy and places extra stress not only on the child but on the family too. Formal homework is only introduced in the upper grades once children are ready for greater responsibility. It is also a space where educators, administrators, and parents seek to grow healthy relationships through open communication, respect, trust, and professionalism. 

Math Waldorf

2. Experiences with my class

My class and I started together when Trinus opened its doors in August 2017. They were aged between 7-8 years old and had all come from other traditional systems around Guatemala. In the beginning, they found it strange that their day now included singing sitting, and listening to stories. I asked them questions and wanted to hear their opinions. That all of a sudden games and drama classes became part of the day. And once they started to relax into our rhythms magic happened in the classroom. They began to smile more and grow more confident. They began to ask questions and feel less embarrassed when they made a mistake. They started singing louder and begging to be given parts in whatever drama we did. I think they started to see that class can be fun and that learning is a joy. Of course, I have very different children so some took longer than others, some needed time to adapt but each definitely started claiming their space! Academically there were children at various levels with multiple learning styles and the Waldorf curriculum finds ways to reach and appeal to all of them. From week 2 I had parents sharing changes they had already seen in their children. And some were big changes. And they all told me they were so relieved to have found Trinus. I would like to share some testimonials: 

«We have seen a radical change in our daughters. Not just emotionally, but also academically. In addition, they now handle English perfectly, which was previously an obstacle. It is impressive how they have grown in their security. They have managed to face their obstacles, and they achieve their goals. We are happy because Trinus really feels like family. We are confident that we have made the best decision in the education of our daughters.»

– Familia Sagastume Morataya

«I am happy that we had the courage to be part of this new family. 😉 Many believe that, in non-traditional methods, such as Waldorf, children do not learn as much or are not well prepared for University, life, etc. but the more I learn about this method, the more I understand its structure and its solid foundations. Trinus educators are the most passionate and connected I have ever met. They really believe in what they do and they do it with passion, with love, and with a lot of preparation.»

– Carla Egurrola

3. Some thoughts around ‘transition’

Transition means change. And for us humans change is always scary- especially as we get older. We must remember that children are way more resilient than us adults. They are more flexible, they adapt quicker, and they accept things without question. So instead of asking the question: “How will my child cope?” rather ask: “How will I cope?” Trinus classrooms look totally different from the traditional structures we know and were educated in. And it can be difficult to let go of those rigid structures in our minds. At Trinus we welcome the child in reverence, get to know that child, and then work to help the child grow and unfold in a healthy, safe, and loving space. With transition, there is always an adjustment phase and that’s when we hold the child most to help and guide them through.

Come and experience for yourself what could be possible for your child. We can share more of our stories with you.

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