It's Admissions Season!
Come visit our campuses or learn more about WSP’s transformative preschool-12th education.
Come to our 38th Annual Winter Faire … a magical experience for all ages to enjoy.
Among the many activities to enjoy:
Games
Beeswax Candle Dipping
Craft Workshops
Entertainment
Wreath Making
Children’s Gnome Adventure
Puppet Show
Vocal Performances
Prizes
Jump rope making
Walbots High School Robotics Demonstration
Henna Art by Shilpakala Artworld
Hair Braiding by Brenda the Braider
…and More!
Free admission. Activities require the purchase of tickets.
Our Faire happens RAIN or SHINE. Activities take place indoors or under tents.
Food trucks Curry Up Now and El Sur Empanadas with delicious lunch and snack offerings.
Bissful Bite Bakery with delicious homeamade baklava.
Faire Boutique stocked with unique toys, handcrafted items, and books, and special additional shopping hours:
Friday, December 6th from 4:00 – 8:00 pm (adult shoppers only please)
Saturday, December 7th from 10:00 am – 4:00 pm
Free Winter Faire Parking and Shuttle Available at Antiochian Orthodox Church of the Redeemer, 380 Magdalena Ave, Los Altos, CA 94024.
Be sure to join our events email list to get information on next year’s Winter Faire, and other events!
Movement and games are integral to Waldorf education, harmonizing body, soul, and spirit by fostering physical coordination, spatial awareness, and self-expression. The curriculum supports physical health, sensory development, and a sense of wonder while developing fine and gross motor skills, teamwork, and fair play. Through age-appropriate activities, students enhance their creativity, coordination, communication, cooperation, confidence, and competitive spirit, supporting their physical and emotional development at each stage:
In first grade, we are focusing on the class as a whole. The games are circle-based with a focus on where we are in space. We incorporate hand clapping games, and running games such as tag, ball games, and bean bag games. The children learn how to jump rope and navigate simple obstacle courses. We work with fairy tales, imagination, rhythm, and repetition. With their imaginative abilities, the grade 1 children thrive on these games.
In second grade, the games of call and response like Walk the Plank and Join the Crew, Fire in the Forest, and The Sea Is Stormy are introduced. The students learn to concentrate on a given task for longer periods. They are more independent and better oriented. We work on their motor skills and spatial awareness. Free imaginative play also continues.
In third grade, the children are curious and ready to play all the games we can bring to them. This is the year they are more coordinated in their bodies. We continue to run, hop, skip, jump; and work on static and dynamic balance. Catching, throwing, kicking a ball, working in teams, and presenting their fair teams are the themes in grade 3. Games like kickball, dodgeball, capture the flag, and relays are introduced this year as well.
In fourth grade, the children are learning about their boundaries and seeing how they can challenge themselves. This is the year we introduce the circus arts: unicycle, stilts, juggling, gymnastics, and hula hoops. The students continue to play team games such as dodgeball, kickball, capture the flag, and Chicken in the Coop.They present their fair teams to the class. They are introduced to sports lead-up games and games of “vigorous deeds,” and continue to develop team-building.
In fifth grade, we are working on grace and beauty. We focus more on the form and techniques. The Pentathlon is a big part of grade five. The fifth grade child is in perfect harmony and balance, poised between early childhood and oncoming adolescence. The students learn and display their abilities in the javelin, discus, chariot running, wrestling, and long jump. Apart from this, we continue on sports lead-up games like basketball, pillow polo, dodgeball, kickball, and capture the flag. They also continue to hone their skills in circus arts.
The middle school curriculum is pretty consistent throughout all three of the grades, with the biggest difference being the competitions each grade has at the end of the year. The year begins with Pillow Polo, which is an easy game both to learn and to play and doesn’t require much strategy. The blocks become more complex as the year progresses, with the next two blocks being Volleyball and Football. Both of these sports require strategy and teamwork along with good communication. These help the students learn how to work together to achieve a common goal and how to strategize their approach. Team captains are introduced with the objective of giving each student a leadership role which helps to aid their development in Middle School. After the New Year, the sixth grade will have a wrestling block which helps them get a feel for their individual strength as they enter puberty. Different from this, the seventh and eighth grade students will have a running block, with the goal of them learning how to push and motivate themselves to achieve the objectives they set.
Soccer is the next block and requires students to use the teamwork and strategizing skills they learned earlier in the year. This is a sport in which individual brilliance and excellent teamwork shine all in one place, allowing for each student to decide what role they want to play. Badminton follows Soccer and requires both teamwork and precision, yet on a much smaller scale. In Badminton the students are paired up into groups of two or four and have to learn how to communicate effectively and be precise with their hits. This allows for students who don’t normally work together to learn how to work in close proximity with each other. Ultimate Frisbee follows Soccer which helps the students to learn how to respect the personal space of others. When a player has the frisbee, their opponent must stand back an arm’s length. Ultimate Frisbee also requires clear and concise communication amongst teammates which helps the students learn how to speak up and work together. The year finishes off with Street Hockey, and in this block students learn the importance of safe play. Since wooden sticks are being used, the risk for injury is higher than it is for other blocks, and the students learn how to mitigate this risk to play safely. Teamwork is crucial in Street Hockey and the students learn how to work together and support one another along with playing safely and responsibly.
_______________________________________
Second in our series on movement at WSP. Read our first post, Shaping Success: Exploring High School Physical Education, here.
Come to our 37th Annual Winter Faire … a magical experience for all ages to enjoy.
Among the many activities to enjoy:
Games
Beeswax Candle Dipping
Craft Workshops
Entertainment
Wreath Making
Hair Braiding by Verso Braiding
Henna Body Art by Shilpakala Artworld
Children’s Gnome Adventure
Puppet Show — “Gluscabi and the Wind Eagle”
Vocal Performances
Prizes
Senior’s Scavenger Hunt
Jump rope making
Walbots High School Robotics Demonstration
…and More!
Our Faire happens RAIN or SHINE. Activities take place indoors or under tents.
Purchase activity and puppet show tickets in advance until 12 pm on Wednesday 11/29. Full priced tickets will be available for purchase at the Faire. We accept these forms of payment only: cash, credit card or Apple pay.
Food trucks and vendors with delicious lunch and snack offerings from Curry Up Now, El Sur Empanada, and Red Bay Coffee.
Holiday Boutique stocked with unique toys, handcrafted items, and books, and special additional shopping hours:
Friday, December 1st from 4:00 – 8:00 pm (adult shoppers only please)
Saturday, December 2nd from 10:00 am – 4:00 pm
Free admission. Activities require the purchase of tickets.
Free Winter Faire Parking and Shuttle Available at Antiochian Orthodox Church of the Redeemer, 380 Magdalena Ave, Los Altos, CA 94024.
Be sure to join our events email list to get information on next year’s Winter Faire, and other events!
Please come to our 33rd annual Holiday Faire … a magical experience for all ages to enjoy.
You will find:
Beeswax Candle Dipping
Wreath Making
Handcraft Workshops for All Ages
Children’s Gnome Adventure
Games and Prizes
Entertainment
Puppet Show…and More!
Food Trucks on site from 11 am – 2 pm.
Our Holiday Boutique is stocked with unique toys & handcrafts.
Special additional shopping hours: Friday 6 – 9 pm (Adults Only Please) and Saturday 10 am – 5 pm
Free admission. Our Faire happens RAIN or SHINE. Most of our activities take place indoors. See you there!!
Holiday Faire Parking and Shuttle Available at Antiochian Orthodox Church of the Redeemer, 380 Magdalena Ave, Los Altos, CA 94024.
Be sure to join our events email list to be the first to get details on pre-ordering tickets for the Holiday Faire, and other events!
Please come to our 34th annual Holiday Faire … a magical experience for all ages to enjoy.
Among the many activities to enjoy:
Games and Prizes
Puppet Show
Beeswax Candle Dipping
Handcraft Workshops
Entertainment
Family Activities
Wreath Making
Children’s Gnome Adventure
…and More!
Puppet Shows this year:
The Snow Maiden for young children at 10:45 & 11:45 am*
and
The Elves and the Shoemaker for kindergarten & up at 11:15 am, 12 & 3 pm*
*Seating for our puppet shows is limited, and they may sell out. We recommend arriving early to purchase your tickets.
Food from Ce Patli Artisan Foods will be onsite for lunch, from 11 am – 3 pm with many delicious options available.
Holiday Boutique stocked with over 10,000 unique toys, handcrafted items, and books, and special additional shopping hours:
Friday, December 6th from 6:00 – 9:00 pm (adult shoppers only please)
Saturday, December 7th from 10:00 am – 5:00 pm
Free admission. Our Faire happens RAIN or SHINE. Most of our activities take place indoors. See you there!!
Free Holiday Faire Parking and Shuttle Available at Antiochian Orthodox Church of the Redeemer, 380 Magdalena Ave, Los Altos, CA 94024.
Be sure to join our events email list to be the first to get details on pre-ordering tickets for the Holiday Faire, and other events!