Asociación Jardín Waldorf de Murcia

The aim of Asociación Jardín Waldorf de Murcia is to develop and promote the education of the human being using Waldorf pedagogy through formal education within the Spanish educational system. In order to fulfill the purposes listed in the previous article we carried out the following activities: · Educational and recreational initiatives that promote the encounter between families of our collaborators. · Organization of conferences, courses, exhibitions, workshops and other educational activities for children, young people, parents and teachers for the theoretical and practical development of the founding principles of the Association. · Organisation of markets, open days and informative talks. · Publication and distribution of brochures, newsletters, magazines and all kinds of publications. · And all those events and activities that contribute to the understanding and development of Waldorf education. Our association consists of employees and teachers trained in Waldorf education. The Asociación Jardín Waldorf de Murcia is made up of parents, currently members, who have the same intention: to educate their children through Waldorf pedagogy. Our association welcomes children between 18 months and 6 years old. What differentiates our educational approach from others is the importance given to movement, the use of art, imitation through observation, rather than intellectual activities. The teachers observe the children and take care of them in a personalized way, according to the internal evolution of each child, respecting the evolutionary process of each one of them. Music, art and free play are basic elements in our teaching methods. Songs are integrated into everyday activities, while the children draw, paint, play, mould beeswax, make bread, etc. The materials used in our activities are noble and natural materials such as wax for drawing, wood, beeswax for moulding, wool, organic fabrics, etc. The children spend half of their time in the garden, being in contact with nature, movement is essential at this early stage of life. Children climb trees, jump, run, play with the ground, jump in puddles, etc., because for them everything is discovery and movement. Through play they learn to relate and interact with each other. If there are conflicts between them, the teachers support them in handling them in a very respectful way. The children participate in all the activities, such as: picking up and cleaning the classroom, setting the table for lunch, making bread, cutting vegetables, etc. The association has three classrooms that are distributed according to the number of children and their ages in each school year. Our association is currently located in La Alberca, a district of Murcia, about 15 minutes drive from the centre of Murcia, in a natural environment.