Blog # 2: Say “Yes!” to Curriculum Evenings

Janet Langley & Patti Connolly

Blog #2 is for grades 3-8 class teachers.

Say "Yes!" to Curriculum Evenings

One of the main reasons a family chooses to enroll their child in a Waldorf school is that they love what they see happening in the classroom when they come for a visit. They are impressed with the creative presentations of the lessons, how music and speech are woven into the day, and the quality and beauty of the students' work. It is the continued renewal of this "Yes!" experience that Curriculum Evenings provide. Curriculum Evenings are quite a different experience than the usual Waldorf school parent meetings; they are opportunities for the students as a community to share their education with their parents in real time.

We recommend that you host a Curriculum Evening 1-2 times per year and that they occur right after the due date of a major project or at the end of a main lesson block so that the students' latest work can be displayed and/or shared and appreciated. These evenings may be an added event on an already full personal agenda, but the good will and support that they engender is worth every second!

To prepare for this evening you will need your classroom and one other space where your class will be able to perform. (A neighboring classroom will suffice if you don't have a nearby Eurythmy room or stage area.) Use your room for the display of the student's work (handwork, woodworking, paintings, main lesson books, etc.) and to house a pot luck dinner. Set up the second room so that your students have room to perform and the audience has a place to sit. (Your students may need to move desks out and set up this room at the end of the school day.)

Arrange for your classroom parent or other helper to organize the pot luck portion of the event. This includes set up, such as, arranging plates, napkins, utensils, coffee/tea, etc., assigning dishes to families, and clean up, especially returning the performance room to its normal set up.

In grades 3-4 Curriculum Evening programs can consist of the plethora of songs, skits and poems that your class has been working on during the last block or two. Think of all of those jewels you wanted to perform at an assembly but could not due to time limitations… this is one audience that will gladly receive everything the students have to offer! It is also wonderful if the students in the 4^th grade are able to share the artistic portion of their animal project and even briefly describe them.

Beginning in 5^th grade, we invited any students who were taking private lessons in singing, piano, guitar, ceramics, dance, tai chi, etc. to share a bit of what they were working on… usually there were 4-5 who did this. (It is amazing how views about that "rascally" boy were altered when they heard him sit down and play a sonata on the piano!)

A typical evening agenda looks something like this (Performance time can extend a bit longer depending on number of students.):

5:30 Dinner & viewing the students' work displayed about the classroom

6:20 Evening artistic program (music, speech work, and presentation of special projects or student poetry, etc.)

7:00 Clean up

Every time that we locked up our classroom after one of these special evenings, our hearts were filled with the appreciation expressed by our students' parents. Just like that first classroom visit, they were able to experience the richness of Waldorf education… but this time their child's work and gifts were part of their experience.