Specialty Subjects support the teaching of main lesson in Waldorf Education. Some of the subjects include but are not limited to:
Handwork. Handwork is infused into the curriculum from early childhood through grade 8.
Music Education. Waldorf educators have a deep appreciation for music and encourage students to appreciate music, too.
Physical Education.
Gardening
Art or Artistic Expression
Form Drawing
Grades Waldorf Curriculum and Resources from Specialty Lessons for Educators. Please view files and use as needed. I hope these resources can help on your lesson planning. Happy Teaching!
Specialty Subjects support the teaching of main lesson in Waldorf Education. Some of the subjects include but are not limited to:
Foreign Languages. Foreign languages begin in first grade.
Handwork. Handwork is infused into the curriculum from early childhood through grade 8.
Music Education. Waldorf educators have a deep appreciation for music and encourage students to appreciate music, too.
Physical Education.
Gardening
Art or Artistic Expression
Form Drawing
Grades Waldorf Curriculum and Resources from Specialty Lessons for Educators. Please view files and use as needed. I hope these resources can help on your lesson planning. Happy Teaching!
Grades Waldorf Curriculum and Resources for Educators. Please view files and use as needed. I hope these resources can help on your lesson planning. Happy Teaching!
Grade 5 Waldorf Curriculum and Resources for Educators. Please view files and use as needed. I hope these resources can help on your lesson planning. Happy Teaching!
Grade 4 Waldorf Curriculum and Resources for Educators. Please view files and use as needed. I hope these resources can help on your lesson planning. Happy Teaching!
Mixed Grades 2-3 Waldorf Curriculum and Resources for Educators. Please view files and use as needed. I hope these resources can help on your lesson planning. Happy Teaching!
Grade 1 Waldorf Curriculum and Resources for Educators. Please view files and use as needed. I hope these resources can help on your lesson planning. Happy Teaching!
Fig.1 – Michael as a soldier conquering the dragon. Foto credit https://revelationjesuschrist.org
“There was a great battle in the heavens. Saint Michael and his angels fought against the Dragon. The Dragon and his angels also fought, but they did not prevail and there was no longer a place in Heaven for them. And the Dragon, the ancient Serpent, the so-called Devil and Satan, the seducer of the whole world, was thrown out; He was thrown to the earth and his angels with him.” ~Revelation 12:7-9
Saint Michael, a soldier
Fig. 2 – Holy Ghost Catholic Church in Basingstoke, England. Foto credit: loandbeholdbible.com
Again as in Fig.1, Saint Michael is depicted as an angel in armor fighting a dragon with a sword. In figures 2 and 3, Saint Michael is part of a scene of all seven archangels, on the sanctuary ceiling of Holy Ghost Catholic Church, in Basingstoke, England.
In a close up in Fig.2, from the overall sanctuary scene, Saint Michael is shown as a military man, with a sword and shield. He shows in the center, next to the Madonna and Child, given his special place within the archangels. He is a warrior, a savior, a soldier, who gives us an example of great courage and bravery.
Fig. 3 – Nathaniel Westlake / St Michael the Archangel / Marouflage mural / Date unknown Foto credit: loandbeholdbible.com
Historical celebration
Going back to ancient times, the archangel Saint Michael’s day was one of the main christian celebrations. Saint Michael and his angels were given their own feast day by Pope Gelasius in AD 487. This became an important day, almost marking the end of the harvest and the beginning of another farming cycle.
Equally important, it became a time in England when new servants were hired, debts were paid and land was exchanged. Furthermore, Michaelmas was such a crucial time that it became a date in which magistrates were elected. Likewise, it marked the beginning of legal and university periods.
Waldorf Schools celebration
Michael is fighting a dragon from an imaginative story in Waldorf Schools
In Waldorf schools, Saint Michael is brought up in an imaginative story where Michael comes to save with his powerful sword a town which is pestered by a dragon. In some stories, the dragon is feeding from the harvest that civilians gather; in other stories, the dragon is attacking and frightening the town. Regardless of the story development, Saint Michael comes to bring peace and conquers the dragon. In Saint Michael’s day, Waldorf schools have plays performed and verses recited celebrating such an occasion. Moreover, schools plan a special time during the Michaelmas celebration for the children to go through fun bravery challenges to find courage in times of difficulty.
Equinox
The time of Michaelmas happens to fall on a day close to the equinox. It is a date when the days start getting darker. Hence, we call upon our strength to sustain the darkness of the winter days in the northern hemisphere. There are three months apart from the solstice in which Saint John’s festival is celebrated and three months apart from the festival of Christmas or around the shortest day of the year.
Why is Michaelmas important?
Saint Michael’s day was not being celebrated in modern times. It passed to be an ancient christian day, until Rudolf Steiner suggested the celebration of Michaelmas. Why is this festival important more so in modern times than it was needed in ancient times? As Steiner suggested: “with the rise of the intellect and modern technologies, the coldness has entered our hearts too”. Our civilization is in need of spiritual connection, an awakening of spiritual values.
Michael’s message
The message of Saint Michael is to fight evil forces that take us away from true values and from spiritual growth. As Charles Kovacs states in his book ~ The Spiritual Background of Christian Festivals~: “The materialistic civilization in which we live has done everything possible to convince us that there is only the physical sense world, and that in it there is no divine wisdom and no meaning.”
Michael’s name meaning
The name Michael means “Who is like God?”. The message behind his name is interpreted to be closer to God. It is a call to humanity to awaken our own spiritual nature. It is a time to be reminded of our own likeness to the Creator and of our strength and power to create light and to fight darkness, to make the world a place with less destruction and a closer relation to our true nature, our God like nature. It is our time to be brave and strong to grow our creative nature and our God-like values.
