Teaching Methods
Teachers at Aarambh use an interdisciplinary approach and a variety of teaching methods that are designed to engage the child's imagination, creativity, and curiosity.
Story Telling
Storytelling is a key element of Aarambh education, as it is believed to help children develop their imagination, creativity, and language skills.
Stories are often used to introduce new concepts, stimulate the imagination, and provide a foundation for academic learning.
Teaching by means of stories helps students to develop the capacity to think in living pictures, synthetically, rather than just in abstract analytic concepts.
Hands-On Work
Practical work such as cooking, cleaning, baking, gardening, handwork and domestic activity is seen as an essential component of the curriculum, as it helps students to develop practical skills, apply their knowledge to real-world situations, and foster creativity and artistic expression.
Meaningful practical work provide opportunities for the unfolding of various human capacities. Here the emphasis is on the processes of life rather than on learning outcomes.
Wet on Wet Watercolours
The goal of this art technique is to allow children to explore color, texture and form, in a fluid and expressive way.
The focus is on the experience of creating, and the development of skills such as hand-eye coordination, fine motor skills, and color awareness.
Throughout the painting process, the teacher may offer guidance and encouragement, but the focus is on allowing the children to explore and experiment with the materials.
Movements
Movement exercises are an integral part of Waldorf education, as they help to promote physical coordination, balance, rhythm, and concentration, while also fostering social and team-building skills.
These exercises are designed to engage the whole body that support healthy physical development of the growing child through body coordination movemens, and cooperative and non-competitive games.
Through this work the child builds a strong sensory-motor foundation such as - touch, balance, spatial awareness, motor planning, coordination and rhythm.
Form Drawing
Form drawing is an activity unique to Waldorf schools and one that provides an artistic basis for geometric work, mathematical patterning, and preparatory forms for letters and handwriting.
Form drawing also includes precise instruction in the grip of writing tools, posture, left to right flow and sequencing.
Form drawing exercises typically begin with simple forms, such as circles and spirals, and gradually progress to more complex patterns and shapes, such as stars and interlocking designs.
Music
Great emphasis is put on on the arts, including music, from an early age. Students may be exposed to a variety of musical genres and styles, including folk songs, classical music, and world music. They may learn about different instruments and their families, and even have the opportunity to experiment with making music using percussion instruments or recorders.
Music education may be integrated with other subjects, such as history, literature, or science and students may learn songs related to a historical period they are studying, or explore the science of sound and acoustics.