WALDORF OLYMPICS 2019
Grade 5 Olympics - A pitara of hope and despair
From listening to fairy tales and being one with nature (grade1) to seeing children dressed as Greek Olympians shifting between the polarities of their strengths and weakness (grade 2) to marching out in the field as they judge themselves and others (grade 3), to bagging their lessons on failure and victory as they go through the process of making conscious choices and taking responsibility for their actions (grade 4), to building new capacities of thought and reflection (grade 5), to being confident and eager to work cooperatively as observed in discus and javelin throw, long jump, relay races... I could see a seamless blend of the developing child through the kaleidoscope of Waldorf age conscious curriculum - the metamorphosis of a leaf into a bud, a bud into a flower, a flower into a fruit. All in a glimpse.
Waldorf Olympics was held on 1st, 2nd February 2019 @ Sloka Hyderabad, India. The burning torch flame, the Glorious Apollo song. The peculiar marches of Thebes, Athens, Sparta, Megara, Crete, Ithaca. The glimmer and anxiety in the eyes of parents and teachers witnessing their children competing for the very first time. Being homeschoolers in Waldorf philosophy, we could only dream of this opportunity. And when the organizers at Sloka school agreed for us to participate, we unlocked our crossed fingers. A desperate search by Purvi finally resulted in Soumya, (a Waldorf Sports teacher) saying yes to teach the boys. Every practice session was taken so seriously by the boys and they looked forward to meeting their friends and competing.
A big thanks to Bangalore Steiner School parents'and teachers,Apurva,Ian,Soumya, Dhanya. We traveled by train to Hydeabad and back together. With such warmth and oneness we were greeted, that I wish we stayed together for a few more days. As a homeschooler child and parent, I must confess, we craved for this bonding so very much. Teachers at Sloka, Hyderabad took great care in making us feel comfortable and we treasure the little tour Sanjay gave us of the school garden and introduced us to the wonders of the plant world through his eyes.
Children were assessed in two categories for each sport, one for Excellence and the other for Grace. Vibhu from Megara, Krutarth from Sparta and Kaushal from Thebes participated in Long jump, Javelin and Discus Throw, 100 meters and Relay race. Vibhu qualified for semi finals in 100 meters race, Krutarth covered a huge gap during relay for his team,Kaushal qualified for Javelin throw and won a Reed for Grace in Discus. However, where we as homeschoolers scored a point (yes, we like to pat ourselves sometimes) was when Vibhu and Krutarth were not disappointed when they did not win even though they did exceedingly well in all the sports. They were in awe of Yodha, who when threw javelin, the audience moved from its place as his first throw went into the shamiana!
The BSS children and our children reveled in others' accomplishments. As we reached home, I hit the bed while Kaushal left home with the javelin and discus saying, "I'm going to practice!" "What? but Olympics is over!" I thought to myself. Immediately, I was all smiles. Glad to know, he experiences Life as a journey, and not goals. I, on the other hand, have got to go beyond my bucket lists.
