School of Rudolf

On the 9th this month Daniel and I went with our friend, Carolyn to visit Samford Valley Steiner School.  Carolyn is considering sending her youngest son there.  It was a neat place and experience for us. 

Here's their website:
http://samfordsteiner.qld.edu.au/

It's always nice to explore a new place around where we're calling home these days.  And it is a school Daniel and I both wish we could have gone to when we were younger.  Or maybe I still want to go there because their prep years and primary school kids grow gardens, then pick the food that they've grown and cook with it, learn to knit, play instruments, and learn a new language (usually German).  All the classes are kept very small and you have the same teacher all the way through your education. 
Anyway, here are a few photos from that day.

 Above are the gardens that the children plant and harvest from. Below is them sitting outside to eat lunch. There is a playground, and behind us is a huge field that we explored before our tour. There are horses in that field, because horse riding is also part of the curriculum. An interesting note is that in Queensland no schools serve lunches; kids always bring their own food from home. Carolyn was shocked when I told her that in the States you have an option for "hot lunch". 

 They have "chooks" who, of course, ran right up to us when we called. These two in particular really rather acted like dogs and I stared and laughed at them for a while. The wild turkey jumped atop the roof, I think to show who is boss of the coop.

 Here is the Pre-Prep room. (like preschool)

 This is one of their many craft corners. Most of the rooms are more like cabins and are uniquely designed. I wish we had a photo of some of the windows, which were not square in shape.

Here is a teacher showing us the yarn work of a small person. This little one also made the bag sitting on the table, which the art lives in while it's not being created.

 Lastly, the above is a painting done by a young high school aged girl. It reminded me of a painting Daniel did for me on my 20th birthday. Below is a high school classroom.

We're thankful we got an in-depth look at this way of educating humans.  Daniel has long been interested in the system itself and seeing something new was great.  Learning is fun.