The Rhythm of a Day
While specifics vary somewhat depending on grade level, all school days at Arcadia Sky Community School follow the same basic rhythm: Head, Heart, and Hands. This rhythm comes from the Waldorf methodology developed by Dr. Rudolf Steiner. By emphasizing children’s shifting needs throughout the day, we support our students’ healthy growth and progress in all areas: academic, artistic, social, emotional, and physical.
Head
Each day begins with the Head lesson, also called the Main Lesson. Main lesson’s academic subjects are taught in month-long thematic units called “blocks.”
Heart
After morning Recess, we move into Heart. Heart subjects include drawing, watercolor painting, beeswax modeling, pentatonic or diatonic recorder, and vocal music.
Hands
The afternoon is reserved for Hands. This includes movement, circus and drama, handwork, gardening, and other types of large body movement activities.
What happens during Main Lesson?
During Main Lesson, teachers incorporate music and art to gently guide the natural imagination and creativity of children toward the abstract processes of reading, writing, arithmetic, critical thinking, and problem-solving.
What do we mean by ‘handwork’ and why do we teach it?
Soft handwork begins in Kindergarten at Arcadia Sky. One of the first activities that is introduced is finger-knitting in Kindergarten. Students move onto knitting in First Grade, followed later by crocheting, felt work, and more challenging handwork such as spindle spinning, land crafting, embroidery, weaving, hand sewing, and much more. Handwork not only provides a pleasant pastime; it also helps children develop healthy imaginations and harmonize the head, heart, and hands.