KINDERGARTEN: FAIRY TALES

Fairy tales have existed in all cultures. For centuries stories lived in oral tradition at the same level as myths or sacred texts. They tell in powerful images the development of the human being as an individual and the evolutionary path of humanity. When we listen to an original story, we become part of it and it leads us to our interior. It is spiritual food for our soul. Stories influence and stimulate the forces of fantasy and imagination, cultivate astonishment and enhance language and listening. Every day at the end of the morning, we tell fairy tales in the Kindergarten. These stories always have a happy ending, which allows us to develop trust in the world.

2024-02-19T10:33:03+00:00February 19th, 2024|

FIRST CYCLE: KNITTING

From a pedagogical point of view, manual work and finger agility facilitate flexible thinking as well as understanding and tolerance towards complex life situations. The rhythmic and repetitive activity of knitting is calming and makes us enter a meditative state. Children keep the needles in both hands, assigning each hand its respective activity, establishing laterality and achieving a degree of control over their will from the beginning. The power of concentration is transformed into awakening; in fact, there is no other activity carried out by six and seven-year-old boys and girls that can generate this level of attention. All of this helps concentration, strengthening “the will to learn to think”. This skill is what will allow you to achieve problem-solving ability in later years. Recent neurological research confirms that mobility and fine motor skills, especially in the hand, stimulate cellular development in the brain and reinforce the foundation physics of thinking. Children in the first cycle of primary school enjoy every week knitting with their fingers and with the knitting needles that they themselves have made. Thanks to their skill with needles and sheep wool, they are making knitted animals and the case of his flute.

2024-02-19T10:19:23+00:00February 19th, 2024|

SECOND CYCLE: CARVING

Just as we file, carve and sand a piece of wood to give it a defined shape and a smooth finish, in wood carving we strengthen our will every time we accept the challenge of starting and finishing a project. After the initial enthusiasm, the difficulties of woodworking arise and this is how it is when educated for life, developing perseverance and achievement of objectives, cultivating in turn the artistic, spatial and aesthetic sense. Attention and concentration are put into practice in a natural and artistic way, since without them the handling of the tools and the carving process would not be possible. Thanks to the atmosphere created in the workshop, the creative process is lived with the joy and confidence of learning that if you persist you will achieve it: everything is possible. Every week the second cycle primary school group carries out the wood carving activity in the school's outdoor workshop cultivating their life skills.

2024-02-19T10:10:43+00:00February 19th, 2024|

THIRD CYCLE: ECOSYSTEMS AND FOREST PROJECT

In English Block, fifth and sixth grade are researching ecosystems and biomes. We have been looking at the plants, animals, land structures and weather conditions that make up different ecosystems. This week we have been making our own terrariums in glass bottles that represent the different systems and the children have been asked to make their own individual terrarium. Additionally we are working in groups to research and present these ecosystem. This project will have several components: - Research and display written information about our chosen ecosystem in a creative and inspiring way. - Recreate a miniature ecosystem in 3 dimensions. - Present our findings to the classmates. We are using our Forest Project time to learn about the necessary balance within an ecosystem.

2024-02-19T10:03:55+00:00February 19th, 2024|

SECONDARY EDUCATION: GAMELAN

Gamelan, traditional Indonesian music, considered Cultural Heritage of Humanity, allows human beings to be in contact with the Universe. A musical treasure that high school groups can access to practice weekly. Visually impressive, its sound contrasts with Western music, providing new musical horizons. Among its virtues is the cultivation of a sense of community and technical precision, since without them, the musical pieces, made up of intertwined rhythms and melodies, would not sound properly correct. Attentive listening to the whole and concentration on detail develops and trains a fine and delicate ear for music.

2024-02-19T11:37:55+00:00February 19th, 2024|

INTEGRATED MUSIC CONCERTS

"Deixo el pentagrama; fujo de la solfa! sóc la nota blanca viva i tafanera que ja m’he cansat de ser presonera. Aquest carnaval em disfressaré pintant-me de roig; i a la primavera ja veurem quin goig! tothom em prendrà per una cirera!" Joana Raspall Playing an instrument requires great effort and involvement, but the musical philosophy at school is that children enjoy this work from the first moment, and sharing it is part of that path. For this reason, this week they offered us an audition where they were able to show the work done during the previous months, playing individually or in small groups. Thanks to these children who practice daily with so much enthusiasm, music is breathed throughout the school, reaching every corner, making their classmates enjoy it. We have been able to listen, divided into two auditions, trumpet, euphonium, piano, guitar, saxophone, cello, flute and double bass; playing pieces by different authors from all eras, even composed by the students themselves.

2024-02-19T11:40:07+00:00February 19th, 2024|

THE BODY, TECHNOLOGY AND SPIRITUALITY. HERNÁN MELANA.

On Thursday, February 15 we had the honor of opening the doors of our community to Hernán Melana, who shared a time and space full of wisdom , of authenticity, of humility and of love for education. Hernán, philosopher, pedagogue and writer, started from the following diagnosis: in the current social context where social networks have been replacing the spaces in which human encounters traditionally took place, the most pressing problem of this world, turned into a screen, is the enormous amount of relationship conflicts that occur on a small and large scale. This issue is the great pending task that the school should address. Even more so if the so-called social networks are not providing optimal conditions for the development of healthy socialization. For example, within these a community is not built where individual privacy is respected, since there is a constant showing of oneself to others so that others value that image that is shown. In some way, what should be private is in continuous exposure waiting for external approval and, furthermore, the formation of identity is depending like never before on the judgment of the other, instead of coming from our interiority, from the internal truth. that constitutes us. Faced with this new panorama that adopts the reality of the 21st century, the school has to rethink how it is going to carry out its educational work, especially throughout the third septenium (between the ages of 14 and 21). ), which is the most important phase for the formation of personality, where the deployment of social relationships is fundamental for said formation and, therefore, the incidence of social networks affects the most. So, how can school help these young people build their intimacy in a time when it seems that what is essential is no longer invisible to the eyes? To answer this question, Hernán Melana proposes constituting alternative socialization spaces for young people. A place where the meeting of humanity takes place and where authentic social relationships can be manifested, created between equals, from person to person, with attentive listening and empathy. A self-managed place where each young person can explore their own truth, develop autonomy, confidence in their own possibilities, responsible freedom and the ability to make decisions. A place without screens, without smoke and without alcohol, where young people can bring to light the infinite forces that inhabit their being. This is the message that Hernán Melana came to deliver to us and that our learning community has received with deep gratitude, sharing his same inexhaustible search, within this world in incessant transformation, to find more ways to continue nourishing comprehensively all aspects of the human being in each girl, boy and teenager that we accompany on their path daily.

2024-02-19T11:45:16+00:00February 19th, 2024|

EDUCATION FOR LIFE. INTERNAL TRAINING FOR THE SA LLAVOR PEDAGOGICAL TEAM

From a historical point of view, there has rarely been a society more interested than ours in the accumulation of information, putting education and wisdom on the same plane. And yet it is known that the most valued employees and leaders are not those who are most trained, but those who show qualities such as empathy, cooperation, being a good communicator, resilience... that is, human qualities. That is why today companies invest more and more in mindfulness programs and the development of soft skills for their employees. If this is so, why don't schools teach, in addition to knowledge, skills more focused on human needs and interests? Escuela Sa Llavor has started a 6-month weekly training for its teachers called Education for Life, to further expand our awareness of how to prepare children for a rapidly changing world. Where, tailored to each age, values ​​and self-knowledge are worked on, because before we can relate to realities other than ours, we must have a firm sense of who we are. We want to form self-possessed, mature, positive, reflective, energetic and creative human beings, capable of developing their maximum potential. When a child asserts himself at the soul level, academic excellence and personal success emerge naturally. This project is for those people who feel that education should mean more than an acquisition of knowledge, more than an intellectual exposure to a host of concepts, and more than a pragmatic preparation for employment. It is a call to change, based on a deep vision of the potentials of each human being, which tells us how to nurture the creativity, wisdom and intuition of each child and how to take advantage of their unexplored capacities. More information: Education for life Taught: María Domínguez   MARÍA DOMÍNGUEZ I became a teacher after having completed different studies and jobs, I discovered my vocation late. I studied Teaching at La Salle and later did the 3-year training in Waldorf Pedagogy, as well as Waldorf Support Pedagogy. I have worked as a Primary Education teacher at the Aravaca Waldorf School, Madrid, since 2004, of which I was the founding primary teacher and member of the Board of Directors for 13 years. However, as time went by, I felt that something was missing and with the birth of my son and then the pandemic, I began to wonder what the true meaning of education was. That's when I met Education for Life: in 2021 I trained online and in 2022 I moved with my family to live in Perugia, Italy, to finish my training. I currently work as an Advisor at the Fundació Sa Llavor, where I have begun to provide Education for Life training to the teaching staff.

2024-02-15T12:45:10+00:00February 6th, 2024|

NURSERY. THE FREE GAME

It is through free play that the child begins to understand the world. Before the age of three, the child develops the foundations for his later life, walking, speaking and with it the possibility of thinking, and it is from the age of three onwards that the child assimilates what he imitates through play. By playing, practice and by practicing, you learn. Through imitation, the child is free to learn for himself and the experiences he has penetrate into the depths of his being, he is formed and receives the lesson that his experiences contain. We must preserve the strength of initiative for the rest of our lives. The best preparation for thinking is activity that allows the child to enter the world through free play. We must ensure that the child feels the happiness of making discoveries, letting him experience the wonder. In this way their talents and will develop.

2024-02-05T10:33:24+00:00February 2nd, 2024|

FIRST CYCLE. FORM DRAWING

The first and second graders have just concluded a form Drawing lesson block. Form Drawing is about artistic non-representational mark making and is used to strengthen multi-sensory learning, crossing the mid-line, visual motor integration, spatial intelligence, and social emotional skills. It's fun, creative and a provides a great basis for the subsequent letters lesson block. It was an enjoyable start to the New Year and we produced some beautiful books.

2024-02-02T10:04:24+00:00February 2nd, 2024|
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