Spanish through the Grades

IN PROCESS

Spanish is the second language taught to students at WIWS from first grade onwards.

Rudolf Steiner recognized in 1919 that children have a natural ability for acquiring language even before age seven. He encouraged children to learn at least one if not two or more languages besides their mother tongue. The sounds and “feeling” of a language are most easily transmitted orally, appealing to the child’s imagination and sense of wonder through stories, song, dance, plays and games.  Cultural traditions and experiences are also expressed artistically by being introduced to typical crafts, handwork and foods; thus students absorb not just dry vocabulary but the soul of the language. Students are  introduced  grammar, reading and writing, geography and history as the biome for this rich language in the latter grades 

WIWS has two native Spanish Speakers as teachers, Claudia Kiyama ( Mexico) Teaches grades 1-4 and also leads an immersion program in the afternoons for students ages 6-8.

Susanne Schnippering ( Colombia) teaches grades 5-8.

See our Organization page for more information. https://wiws.org/organization

SPANISH IN OUR GRADES 1-4

Spanish Immersion afternoon program in 1st Grade:

1st Grade students have an afternoon of Spanish immersion with our Grades 1-4 Spanish teacher, Maestra Claudia, following the close of their classroom with their class teacher at 1pm each day. This afternoon program is held outdoors. It is not a classroom lesson, but rather a time for the children to unwind, have fun and move their bodies while speaking with their teacher in Spanish and sharing stories, songs and games in Spanish.

This program is largely optional in the first part of the school year, and highly recommended in the second half of the school year . Waldorf Schools practice a protocol of afternoons optional for 1st Graders, as some children find the day very long and challenging and must rest, physically and mentally, in the afternoons after a robust morning in school.