The innate sense for language is still very much alive in young children. Their senses are wide open and they instinctively imitate both language and movement, which are inextricably linked. As teachers, we must both fire their imaginations and provide an abundance of cues to help them to derive meaning.

In this course, we will learn how to create lively classroom experiences through circle activities, stories, verses, games, drawings, and puppet plays for the early elementary years.

In the first three grades, a foundation in the spoken language is established upon which the structure of the language will slowly be built. Details of vocabulary and grammar are gradually raised to cognition only in the higher grades. We will examine how to intentionally target the details that will contribute to the mastery of the language even while the children remain immersed in a living experience. The key to teaching language in the younger grades lies in blending these two concurrent streams in every lesson: the immersion experience that engages the feelings on one hand, and moving towards the cognitive aspect, on the other. 

This year, we will be working with a narrower range of grades so that there will be ample time every day for our own “Doing”. We will share treasures from our own classrooms and encourage participants to unlock their own creative genius. Bring your own gems to share with other participants!

Since it is inspiring to transfer the activity from one language to another, teachers of all languages are invited to attend this course.

Materials fee: $15

LOREY JOHNSON has studied French at Middlebury College and in Strasbourg, France. A French teacher in grades 1 through 8 at Pine Hill Waldorf School for 23 years, Lorey regularly offers workshops in teaching foreign languages. Lorey lived in France for two years and still returns there regularly to travel and to eat crème brulee.

KATI MANNING, a German and Spanish teacher in both public and private schools, has taught at the Cape Ann Waldorf School since 1987. For the last 15 years, she has been active in teacher training and consulting at many Waldorf schools across the country. Kati, whose family worked in the first Waldorf school in Stuttgart, has also written a series of widely used German texts.