We finish our southern hemisphere summer program

 In the past we have had up to 100 children for our 'summer camp' but this year, due to Covid restrictions we were only able to accept 25 children and youth.  I taught English to two teenagers who thnkfully were keen to learn.  We also advanced in table-tennis skills.

Lourdes and one helper had the younger children learning english songs, doing arts and crafts as well as academic subjects.  We finished our 8-week program with a celebration in which each child received gifts and good things to eat and drink.

Our regular program will resume in March.

Classroom furniture

 

One way of looking at Waldorf education is to consider the right and left hemispheres of the brain in the developing child.  Arts and crafts are right brain activities which tend to to balance the tendency to over-emphasize academic left brain learning in modern education.  Since the beginnings of Waldorf education over a century ago, grade school age children have been doing water color painting with high quality plant-based paints.  To let the paintings dry on their individual wooden boards a special cabinet with a drawer above for paper, brushes and paint has been designed and a variation of this classroom furniture is to be found in most of the 1000 plus Waldorf schools throughout the world.

I just completed this one for the Khuyay ('love' in the Quechua language) Waldorf School in the city of Tarapoto, Peru which is just now finishing a new kindergarten structure set in lush tropical grounds.

I dyed the wood with diluted Stockmar paint and finished up with 3 coats of water-base varnish.

Jungle Ping-Pong

PHOTO:  ZAIR SILVA
 

I just put together this ping-pong table made from 3 sheets of 3/4 inch (18mm) plywood at the back of our Sauce headquarters of Estrella de Sauce, a Waldorf education community outreach program.  Here are Gabriel and Bruno, 2 grandsons visiting from Lima, trying out the table for the first time.  The top will get 2 more coats of green paint ready for when we begin our southern hemisphere 'summer camp', known as 'vacaciones utiles' (useful vacations) here, on January 17th.  The old geezer is me, Martin Stevens, your humble blog author and wood butcher. Game, set and match!

Photo below added

January 19

Photo below added Feb 20

Merry Christmas from the jungle of Peru!

 Despite a year with various challenges we have been able to keep our Estrella de Sauce Waldorf community outreach program going with two groups of children and our grandmother's weekly gathering.

Today we had our end of year celebration for the children who received good things to eat and drink and various gifts along with live Christmas music, games and a revision of all the songs and poems in English they have been learning throughout the year.

Thanks to all who have helped us keep this program in Sauce and the new Tarapoto Waldorf school Khuyay (love in the Quechua language) going and flourishing during this difficult time on planet Earth.

We send out heartfelt good wishes for the Solstice, Christmas,Yuletide, Hanukkah, New Year and all other seasonal festivities to all our family and friends.  Do please come see us!

Field trip for local children on 'La Laguna'

There is a great divide between well-heeled tourists who come for vacations to Laguna Sauce and children in the lakeside community who rarely get to go out in boats.  Today we took a group from our 'Estrella de Sauce' community outreach Waldorf educational project on a boat trip over to 'Recreo Paraiso' on the other side of the lake for swimming, games and other fun.

Three of my guitar students are in the front row.

Noble cider

 Asheville North Carolina's favorite beverage kicks off a unique promotional campaign here in South America with this tanker train stopping in the small jungle community of Sauce, Peru as its first destination.  Soon to be appearing in a cantina near you we hope.

Repair and re-vamp

 We had rain damage to a wood-framed wall at Estrella de Sauce and had to demolish it and re-build with bricks.

Following this we re-vamped our garden by changing the soil in our enormous planter made from a wooden canoe, planting flower and vegetable seeds and making a painted rock feature. Here's grandson Zair and friend Shilo painting and arranging rocks.

Then granddaughter Xiara and Lourdes repainted our tree-stump gnome.

Classes continue with both older and young children's groups in Sauce.