Amanda’s Story
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Amanda’s Story

Amanda lives in the charming village of Olinda in the Dandenong Ranges in Victoria. With the Sydney Rudolf Steiner College since 2018, she has already completed the Foundation Course in Rudolf Steiner Early Childhood Education by Distance and is now enrolled in the Certificate Course in Rudolf Steiner Early Childhood Education. Amanda’s dream is to open a Steiner-inspired family day care in Olinda in 2020. Here she talks with the College about her journey so far.

All I want for Christmas is some time with you!
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All I want for Christmas is some time with you!

There’s already an increasing intensity in the shopping centres of most towns and cities. Christmas decorations were up in October and the festive hype is certainly noticed by kids and parents too. Is it even possible to duck into the supermarket for a few groceries without kids starting to chime, “What I really want for Christmas this year is… (etc, etc)”?

Studies have shown that more effective teachers do more than their less effective colleagues in establishing rules and procedures at the beginning of the year.

Studies have shown that more effective teachers do more than their less effective colleagues in establishing rules and procedures at the beginning of the year.

All teachers require positive strategies to manage classroom disruptions and inappropriate classroom behaviours for the optimum learning of all students, and for their own professional development and career satisfaction. Building strong teacher-student relationships is the first step to creating a harmonious classroom atmosphere, increasing engagement and achievement. Positive teacher – student relationships enable students to feel safe and secure in their learning environments and provide scaffolding for important social and academic skills (Baker et al., 2008; O’Connor, Dearing and Collins, 2011; Silver, Measelle, Armstron, & Essex, 2005).

Bringing Knitting to the Primary Classroom: Supporting Learning

Bringing Knitting to the Primary Classroom: Supporting Learning

Researchers and educators are slowly awakening to the educational benefits of teaching handcrafts to children, and in particular, knitting.
In the Rudolf Steiner system of education, handcrafts are an essential part of the curriculum and finger knitting is taught to students at age 5-6, with class one (age 7) learning traditional knitting with needles. A knitting project is completed every year in primary school with increasing difficulty –learning to cast on and off, to increase and decrease stitches, and following patterns developed over subsequent years.