Story telling

Another piece of the Waldorf process that I am learning about and trying to incorporate is story telling.  I differentiate this from reading stories aloud by the element of pictures.  Story telling encourages the children to see the story using his/her imagination.  I am using this book Tell Me A Story which is a compilation of stories made up by Waldorf teachers.  The stories deal with nature and character development.  They are short and easy to read.  I read 1 each day during the transition from recess back into the classroom.  The read aloud encourages the kids to quiet down, drink water and take a brief rest.  I was able to purchase the book on Amazon but could not find a copy in the library.
I don't spend a lot of time talking about the morals but simply let the students absorb them as they are able.  The morals are not always obvious but subtly encourage kindness and helpfulness.

Discovering Waldorf

 I teach in a traditional public school.  This year I had a really hard time getting into the groove of the new school year, particularly in the area if discipline.  I know that the only thing I can control is what I think, say and do.  So I began some soul searching about how to change my approach and my attitude.  One of the my team members shared that she is currently taking training to become a Waldorf teacher.  She shared with our team some of the philosophies of Waldorf and how school is viewed and run.  I was intrigued and began to research discipline strategies.
I can recommend the following site: The Magic Onions particularly this article: Waldorf Discipline 

One of the strategies is to have kids work on small motor activities to help them stay focused or return to calm.  I began collecting baskets, with handles and filling them with sea shells, rocks, glass stones, pine cones and other small, natural objects but one thing I kept reading about but had never seen was moldable beeswax.  I can be found on Amazon with varying review but I ordered it and found it to be a fantastic tool!

It comes in a small box like this with 15 wax blocks in different colors.

I used a scissors to cut several of the blocks into thirds and stored the rest.  I wanted to see how this would go.

I keep them in a container and kids may choose 1 piece to use at a time.

I found the wax to be a great small motor tool.  Kids have to warm it up in their hands for a few minutes before it becomes pliable.  Once it does it can easily be molded.  I doesn't crumble or mold like play dough, it smalls nice and has a nice texture.  It helps teach patience because of the need for it to warm up and is great for small motor.  It leaves no residue and to clean up kids simply put their piece back into the container.  It is safe, non toxic and won't harm kids even if they are orally fixated and try to eat it.  

I use all my small tools for transitions between activities, particularly for early finishers, and for kids that need extra small motor support.  Also, if a child is starting to become upset or argumentative I can bring him/her over to a table as give him/her a small motor task to do.

Another use is to use the wax or even other small objects as fidgets during listening time.  My rule is that a student has to get a fidget before we sit on the carpet and the fidget cannot leave the hands. This has helped a lot with "keeping has to self" during more concentrated listening time.

Phone log

One of the greatest helps to me in the category of parent communication has been my phone log.   Calling parents has often been a daunting task for me but I know the parent teacher partnership creates a strong climate of cooperation in my class and my school.  To help make this task less daunting  I created a simple book with a page for each child.
I attached a class list to the front cover  and create an index by numbering each child, in alphabetic order and assigning him/her the corresponding page in the book.  I wrote each child's name on his/her page and the phone numbers for the parents.  I put a pen in the binding and Viola!  I can contact parents with a flip of the pages!
I like to have students call/ talk to their parents when they are dealing with a major behavior incident or if they've come back from a major behavior incident and can report a good day and for simply wanted to report a good day.  I want my positive phone calls to out number my negative ones.  We usually do phone calls during free play time.  I jot down a note in the book when a parent is called and the reason so that I have a report.