NWST holds the Annual General Meeting to inform parents of the work and activities undertaken by the school over the past year and to account for the monies spent and received.

Elections for the board of trustees are also normally held at the AGM. To ensure that all relevant information is communicated at the AGM, the agendas for the meeting are prepared and circulated to parents along with the notice of the AGM. The Agendas set out the order of business of the meeting and the topics to be covered.

Every Wednesday, upper primary and high school students receive career talks from parents who volunteer to do so. They work closely with teachers to make these conversations as fruitful as possible.

Career Talks allow students to hear from real-life role models who can demonstrate the relevance and connection of what is taught in the classroom – because they are creating the jobs right now! They also allow students to gain an understanding of what different careers entail while bringing the curriculum to life.

The goal of Career Talks is to equip students with the inspiration and information to make better-informed decisions about their future career paths.

NWST class plays are a wonderful Waldorf School tradition that brings the entire school community together. All class teachers, students, parents, and extended families can be included. The play allows the teacher to build the social strength of the class and reinforces several aspects of the curriculum. Preparing for the play changes the routine in a stimulating and artistic way that is a welcome break from the usual rhythm of the school year.

The play helps the class teacher to develop the skills and capacity of the students and strengthens a sense of interdependence in the whole class while introducing a new form of creativity, the dramatic arts.

The philosophy and approach behind Waldorf class plays are deeply rooted in the educational principles of Rudolf Steiner, the founder of Waldorf education. These plays are seen as an integral part of the curriculum and serve multiple educational, social, and developmental purposes. Here are some key aspects:

1. Wholistic Development: Waldorf education emphasizes the development of the whole child—intellectual, emotional, physical, and spiritual. Class plays contribute to this by engaging students in a wide range of activities, including acting, memorizing lines, understanding characters, working collaboratively, and expressing emotions.
2. Artistic and Creative Expression: Creativity is a cornerstone of Waldorf education. Class plays provide a platform for students to express themselves artistically, whether through acting, singing, dancing, or even helping with set design and costumes. This nurtures their imaginative capacities and appreciation for the arts.
3. Social Skills and Community Building: Working on a class play requires students to collaborate, communicate, and support each other. This helps build a sense of community and teaches important social skills such as cooperation, empathy, and conflict resolution.
4. Integration with the Curriculum: Plays are often chosen or written to align with the broader curriculum. For example, a class studying ancient civilizations might perform a play based on a myth or historical event from that era. This reinforces their academic learning in a dynamic and memorable way.
5. Confidence and Public Speaking: Performing in front of an audience helps students build self-confidence and develop public speaking skills. This experience can be particularly beneficial for children who might be shy or less confident in other areas of their lives.
6. Emotional Intelligence: Acting requires students to understand and portray different emotions and perspectives. This can deepen their emotional intelligence and help them develop empathy by stepping into the shoes of different characters.
7. Rhythm and Repetition: In Waldorf education, rhythm and repetition are seen as vital for young children’s learning. Rehearsing for a play involves repeated practice, which helps solidify learning and build a strong sense of rhythm and routine.
8. Teacher-Student Relationships: Class plays offer opportunities for teachers to work closely with their students in a different context than regular classroom activities. This can strengthen teacher-student relationships and provide insights into each child’s strengths and areas for growth.

At Nairobi Waldorf School, our commitment to fostering holistic development is reflected in our dynamic Creative Arts, Woodwork, and Handwork programs. These programs embody the essence of the Waldorf philosophy, which emphasizes experiential learning, creativity, and the harmonious development of the head, heart, and hands.

The Waldorf Approach to Creative Arts

The Waldorf philosophy, founded by Rudolf Steiner, is rooted in the belief that education should nurture the whole child. Our Creative Arts program is designed to inspire wonder, cultivate imagination, and encourage self-expression. Through activities such as painting, drawing, and sculpture, students explore the formal qualities of art—line, shape, color, and texture. This approach not only supports the development of visual and observational skills but also aligns with our goal of fostering a deep connection with the world around us.

Woodwork and Handwork: Crafting with Purpose

In our Woodwork and Handwork classes, students engage in activities that are both practical and artistic. These programs emphasize the Waldorf ideals of patience, precision, and the joy of creating something with one’s own hands. Woodwork involves learning the skills of measuring, cutting, and assembling wood to create functional and beautiful objects. Handwork encompasses a variety of crafts, including knitting, crocheting, and sewing, which develop fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination.

Educational Alignment & Benefits

Our Creative Arts, Woodwork, and Handwork programs align seamlessly with the overall educational goals of Nairobi Waldorf School. By integrating these hands-on activities into our curriculum, we aim to:

1. Encourage Holistic Development: Balancing academic learning with artistic and practical activities ensures that students grow intellectually, emotionally, and physically.

2. Foster Creativity and Imagination: Students are encouraged to think creatively and express their unique perspectives, which is fundamental to their overall development.

3. Develop Fine Motor Skills: Activities like painting, woodworking, and knitting require precise movements, enhancing students’ dexterity and coordination.

4. Enhance Problem-Solving Abilities: Crafting projects often present challenges that require innovative solutions, fostering critical thinking and problem-solving skills.

Showcasing Student Talent

At Nairobi Waldorf School, we believe in celebrating our students’ achievements and providing them with opportunities to share their work with the community. Throughout the year, we host various events, exhibitions, and showcases where students can present their creations. These events not only highlight the artistic and technical skills of our students but also build their confidence and pride in their work.

Join Our Vibrant Community

As an enthusiastic teacher at Nairobi Waldorf School, I am thrilled to be part of a community that values creativity, craftsmanship, and the holistic development of every student. Our programs in Creative Arts, Woodwork, and Handwork are designed to nurture the unique talents and potential of each child, preparing them for a future where they can think critically, act compassionately, and create beautifully.

We invite you to explore the vibrant world of Waldorf education and witness firsthand how our students thrive in an environment that honors their individuality and fosters a lifelong love of learning. Come visit us, attend our exhibitions, and experience the magic of creative exploration at Nairobi Waldorf School.

Waldorf education fosters in nurturing creativity through handwork and crafts by encouraging children to work with the natural materials and create their own designs. Children are encouraged to work with a variety of materials and techniques which helps to develop their fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination, additionally in craft making, we often use natural materials and recyclables in which they create beautiful and useful objects with their hands, this fosters a sense of accomplishment and self-confidence. Children are taught to appreciate the beauty of natural materials and work with them in a way that brings out their unique qualities.

Creative crafts vary from the age of the child, it starts from a simple craft and builds up to more complex according to the developmental milestones of the children. At the completion of every craft, children get an opportunity to display and showcase their work, and also take the crafts home.

Benefits of Craft Making.

• Enhance and strengthen the fine motor skills and muscles
• Empowers cognitive development
• Builds confidence and self esteem
• Foster creativity and imagination
• Strengthens concentration
• Boosts the eye-hand coordination
• Cultural Awareness
• Beauty, and appreciate owns work

Eurythmy is an art of movement essential to Waldorf Education. In eurythmy lessons, each child at NWST learns to become attentive to the variety of sounds, rhythms, and images in a poem or piece of music. They are led in differentiated arm movements that express the inner feeling and creative force of the vowels and consonants or the tones and intervals. Moving through the room with others in choreographed geometric or asymmetric forms, the participants also focus on conveying the rhythm, phrasing, and dynamics of the piece.

Eurythmy both requires and develops focus and goodwill. There is power in listening, imagining,and moving together, with the shy ones overcoming their reticence, the loud ones their desire for attention, the slow ones their inertia, and the assertive ones their desire to be first. Everyone can generously become part of something bigger, and in so doing, find balance.

Mobility in space can arouse mobility in thinking and vice versa. Arm and leg movements such as those that cross the medial, horizontal, and frontal planes can help the children to establish a sense of space in themselves (and of themselves in space) and a clear foundation for mathematics.

In the early grades, eurythmy forms are generally done moving forwards (walking, running,skipping, galloping, tiptoeing together in a circle or another basic geometric form), as the story or music suggests. Around fourth grade, the students become independent enough to face the front of the room with an awareness of the unseen space behind, as they move in a variety of directions on individual parts in a group form. And later, as adolescence approaches and the students gain the capacity to flow more freely on curvy, angular, or complex designs, the space around and between the performers becomes more “alive” and important.

Doing eurythmy together is a powerful nonverbal exercise in social and spiritual awareness. In the live presence of classmates with an accompanist playing music and a teacher reciting poetry, there is a deep reality to be explored which is not “virtual.” For each student, opportunities abound to go through that door with energy and concentration, heart and soul, and receive what eurythmy has to offer. It is a free decision. And a beautiful thing to see them strive for it together!
Susan Elmore – Waldorf, Moraine Farm

Waldorf Festivals and celebrations play an essential role in the Waldorf experience. Seasonal festivals connect humanity with the rhythms of nature and the cosmos. The festivals originated in ancient cultures, yet have been adapted over time and across cultures to join the seasonal moods of the year, festively, which benefits the inner life of the soul. Celebrating is an art. There is joy in the anticipation, the preparation, the celebration itself, and the memories.

Rose Ceremony – The school year begins with an exchange of roses from the upper classes to the incoming Class 1 students as they begin their journey in primary.

Festival of Courage – Similar to Michael mass, this festival challenges the children to develop strong, brave, free wills, and to overcome the love of ease, anxiety, and fear.

Flower Festival – This festival celebrates nature and the short-rains. We embrace the emerging blooms (especially the jacaranda trees), by making flower rings and planting flowers in our Kindergarten.

Festival of Light – Held near the holiday season, this festival combines the shared reverence of light across many cultures. The children prepare a performance.

Rainbow Festival – This festival is celebrated at the start of the long rains where a mixture of sun and rain often creates rainbows. This brings about the concept of color experienced in nature.

Agape Festival – This festival allows the children to celebrate love and friendship. Students prepare and share meals and notes of kindness and friendship with their fellow classes.

Swahili Festival – This celebration of Swahili culture is a vibrant collection of songs, dances, clothing, and food enjoyed by the staff and students.

Lantern Festival – Often called Martinmas, this festival invites parents to create a lantern before the evening lantern walk, commemorating the light that shines forth from each of us.

Transition Ceremony – This ceremony celebrates Kindergarten children as they transition to Class. They walk through the spiral path and the lighting of the candle signifies their continuing educational journey.

Shambani Festival – To honor the bounty of the shamba and the hard work of planting, sowing, weeding, and harvesting, the Kindergartens celebrate with a performance. Following the harvest, soup is prepared for a shared parent meal.

In NWST learners are engaged in various sports activities. In class 1-3 learners are taught Wadorf games. This is a combination of fun games and creative games. This is to enhance physical learning in a fun way.

In class 4 learners are introduced to main sports: football, hockey, netball, rugby, basketball and cricket. It is from class 5-8 where learners participate in each termly sport competitively.

Term one we do football, cricket and basketball.

Term two we do hockey.

Term three we do rugby and netball.

In the main sports learners are given opportunities to participate in friendlies and tournaments.

In high school that is class 9-12 learners have to choose a game that they will be participating in. These games are: football, basketball, rugby, tennis, and table tennis.

Swimming is taught in the whole academic year (3 terms) In class one we do an introduction to the water environment. Here we mostly do water games and basic movement in front crawl and backstroke.

In class 2 and 3 learners are taught coordination in front crawl and backstroke.

In class 4 and 5 learners are taught coordination in all strokes; front crawl, backstroke, breaststroke and butterfly.

In upper school and high school learners are taught endurance in all strokes (bronze and silver medallion) They are also taught basic lifesaving and survival skills.

Children come into this world trailing clouds of spiritual glory, but they must be disconnected from the Godhead and feel the separation from their pre-earthly home. Out of free will each person in their life has the opportunity to choose what is good and find their divine nature again. The third grade is often called the turning point of childhood.

The eight-year-old is going through a change that is particularly profound. Before the age of nine, the major part of the child’s being is not yet incarnated, and instead, it lives within everything and everyone they perceive. They feel inwardly related to everything, and can identify fully with almost anything.

Now ( around 8-9 years), an experience arises of self as something independent of everything else. Now the child may suddenly feel very insecure; their relationship with nature, with eternity, with others, and with themselves, has to be reestablished. Life certainly takes on quite a different quality. This separation and search for one’s true home is reflected in the journey of the Hebrew people as they leave the Garden of Eden and are presented with trials where they have the choice to do what is right or not. It is the beginning of individuation. Through our individual decisions to turn away from evil and choose the good, we attain virtue and progress in evolution as human beings.

For the third grader, the remedy for being “cast out of Eden,”/ separation is experiencing that the world is a good place to be. Through the activities of gardening and many others, the children learn that they can use what is around them to thrive. They meet the earth around them and discover they have the power to transform it. Through the gardening experience, the children learn many skills such as land preparation, making of organic manure, use of farming tools, planting, weeding, harvesting and food preparation skills. With each skill learned, they gain comfort, confidence, and experience joy. They get to know that Earth is their home and it is good and beautiful.

Handwork is an integral part of the curriculum from the early years. It provides a balancing element to the intellectual activities. practical arts provide us with unique experience. In making something from natural raw materials. This can bring deeper relationship with the world around us . This mediates between seen and unseen realms something from individual imagination or inspiration is brought from immaterial realms to physical reality.Through striving for beauty in form and colour students develop a heart felt relationship with what they are making.

It supports the foundations for academic skills – two hand working together teams together the two sides of the body and the two sides of the hemisphere of the brain.This establishes and strengthens all – important news perceptive and cognitive connections; smooth eye tracking and visual pattern recognition are fostered, eye hand co- ordination, fine finger movements are required as are perseverance, planning and attention to detail.

Examples of handwork taken are pom pom, god’s eye, sewing with embroidery rings frame weaving four peg, two peg, finger knitting, knitting with two knitting needles, crotcheting sewing flowers using different stitches knitting with four knitting needles sewing with hand sewing machine and many more.

Through handwork, an individual craftsperson’s thinking and active work becomes the meeting place between the inspiration of unseen spirit and tangible matter.It takes place alongside every other subject uniting head heart and hands( Thinking, Feeling and willing.

The Waldorf school day is divided into three main parts: head, heart and hands. The Head Lesson is also referred to as the Main Lesson and comes first every day in the morning. The Heart Lessons follow after the break, they include Music, French, Kiswahili, English Practice and Math Practice. The afternoon is reserved for Hand Lessons, which include Games, Handwork, Painting, Form Drawing, Woodwork and Gardening.

The Main Lesson runs for two hours every day between 8.15 am and 10.15 am, during which time the subject or the block is taught for about three to four weeks. This helps the teacher cover the content intensively and gives the children the fullest possible immersion in the subject. The student’s experience of the subject is further enhanced by allowing the subject to ‘go to sleep’ before being reawakened later in the year or sometimes the following year. Through the process of forgetting and remembering children return to the subject with new insights, The time between the Main Lesson Blocks in a subject allows children’s concepts to develop gradually and mature. Knowledge needs time to blossom. The Main Lesson ensures that students have sufficient time to experience a living process of learning.

Structure Of A Main Lesson

1. Rhymic Part:The essence of these activities is to get the blood flowing and oxygenate the brain to help the children get fully engaged in the lesson. These activities also bring the whole class together as a group and wake them up for a day of learning.This is a session where engage in activities such as:Singing, poetry, movement, language or arithmetic games, mental math, playing the recorder, reciting multiplication tables.The skills change with each new block.
2. Review & New Content:After the Rhythmic Part of Activities, the children will settle down ready to focus on the deeper academic part of the lesson. The teacher together with the children reviews the previous day’s work and thereafter the teacher introduces the new content of the day.
3. The Doing Part:The children will be engaged in different activities that help reinforce what they have learnt, i.e, compose a short piece for the Main Lesson, draw, paint, engage in a discussion

The Three-Day Rhythm

Waldorf is unique in the sense that children are not quizzed immediately on information received either by the written or oral question, instead, they are given to process and digest this information.

To help the children internalize the content, the delivery of the new content takes the structure of a three-day rhythm.

Day 1-The teacher tells a story on the new content.

Day 2-The children recall the previous day’s work and have further exploration: painting, drawing or drama.

Day 3-The children recall both factual information of the new content and write a short piece of information on the content learnt.

The primary philosophy behind the Waldorf movement is based on Rudolf Steiner’s belief in the holistic development of the child, encompassing physical, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual growth. Movement activities in Waldorf education are deeply integrated into the curriculum and aim to nurture the whole child. At Nairobi Waldorf School, we recognize that our student’s physical, social and emotional well-being are a key part of their ability to learn and thrive. Our holistic approach to education prioritizes critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and creativity to prepare students for the challenges of the 21st century.

The movement we incorporate into Waldorf education is suited to each child’s developmental stage, as well as being linked to what children are learning as part of the rest of their education. Scientific understanding of how the brain influences the body, and the body influences the brain, is shedding light on the role movement plays in learning and memory. Incorporating movement has a significant impact on what students remember as compared to taking in concepts just auditorily or visually. In Waldorf education, we use movement as a teaching tool throughout our curriculum. Incorporating movement helps children with everything from learning their multiplication tables to understanding complex physics concepts. At Nairobi Waldorf School, movement is integrated into the academic subjects as we know that children learn best when they are engaging their full body. From math, language arts, science, and history, we incorporate group and individual movement, play performances, and more.

When it comes to deep learning, the brain is only part of the story.” says Annie Murphy Paul, author of the book “The Extended Mind: The Power of Thinking Outside the Brain.”

Annie continues by saying that the brain has limitations when it comes to memory, focus, motivation, and grasping abstract concepts. And these limitations can be disheartening to students, which is where movement and play come in to save the day.

In order to push past these limitations in the brain, it is important for humans to move their bodies. Humans do not do their best work sitting down. Movement is fundamental for learning and development.

These are ways that Nairobi Waldorf students move throughout their days:

• Engaging in lessons outside to further solidify concepts
• Taking recesses to play between lesson
• Playing sports and doing other physical activities
• Incorporating farm work into the class’ curriculum
• Circle Games: These games involve children holding hands and walking in a circle while singing a rhyme. Clapping Games involve rhythmic clapping patterns that children perform alone or with a partner.
• Eurythmy: A unique form of movement in Waldorf education, eurythmy is often referred to as “visible speech and music.” Children perform gestures that correspond to sounds, words, and music, promoting coordination, spatial awareness, and a deeper connection to language and music.
• Seasonal Songs and Movements: Waldorf schools celebrate the changing seasons with songs and movements that reflect the natural world. For example, children might mimic the fluttering of autumn leaves or the gentle falling of snowflakes.
• Morning Circle: Each day often begins with a morning circle that includes songs, poems, and movements related to the day’s theme or season.

Benefits of movement activities.

• Physical Development: These activities enhance gross and fine motor skills, coordination, balance, and spatial awareness.
• Emotional and Social Growth: Working together in a circle fosters cooperation, empathy, and social interaction. Children learn to take turns, share space, and work as a team.
• Cognitive Skills: Memorizing songs, rhymes, and movement sequences boosts memory, language skills, and cognitive development.
• Creativity and Imagination: Waldorf movement activities often incorporate artistic and imaginative elements. Whether through eurythmy, dance, or circle games, children engage in creative expression, which is believed to be essential for emotional and psychological health. Circle games and rhythmic activities often involve imaginative play and storytelling, encouraging creativity and self-expression.
• Connection to Nature: Many activities are seasonally themed, helping children develop a deep appreciation and understanding of the natural world.
• Educational Rhythm and Routine: Movement activities provide a rhythm and routine to the school day, which is seen as stabilizing and comforting for children. The predictable structure helps children feel secure and supports their natural developmental processes.
• Development of Will and Purpose: Movement activities in Waldorf education are seen as a way to strengthen the child’s will and sense of purpose. Through purposeful, intentional movement, children learn to direct their energies and develop self-discipline, focus, and perseverance
• Integration of Body, Mind, and Spirit: Waldorf movement activities aim to integrate the physical body with the mind and spirit. Rudolf Steiner believed that physical movement is essential for cognitive and emotional development. Activities like eurythmy, which Steiner developed, are intended to make speech and music visible and tangible through movement, fostering a deep inner connection between thought, feeling, and action.

In Waldorf education we find that movement is a necessary component of every school day.

The KQED Mindshift article, How Movement and Gestures Can Improve Student Learning, by Deborah Farmer Kris states:

“It takes a fair amount of mental bandwidth to keep our bodies still because we’re meant to be in a kind of state of constant motion. And to control your impulse to move – especially for children – uses up some of the mental resources that they could otherwise apply to their learning.” 

As Henry David Thoreau wrote, “the moment my legs begin to move, my thoughts begin to flow.”

Movement is a key element of Waldorf education. So from Early Childhood through High School, Nairobi Waldorf students are encouraged to play, spend time in nature, practice eurythmy, get their hands dirty on the farm, and more.