building relationships and coordination …
“Some day, when I have grown sufficiently, I shall attain that which I am destined to attain.”
— Rudolf Steiner
Chrysalis was founded on the philosophy and pedagogic principles of Rudolf Steiner and based upon current understanding of Steiner’s child development principles, the physical and outdoor education programs are viewed as key components of the curriculum enhancing the learning opportunities for the students.
Outdoor and physical education are based on the experiential learning cycle. This cycle is made up of three stages; plan, do and review. Students physically participate in these experiences during the integrated programs throughout the schooling years.
At Chrysalis, outdoor and physical education are important parts of the curriculum with a range of camps, indoor and outdoor activities, games, Bothmer gymnastics and team sports carefully chosen to match each developmental stage. For example, in Class 1 we utilize bean bag games to develop important skills like eye tracking, crucial for reading, and eye hand coordination which is vital for learning to write. Games also form an integral part of the Bothmer gymnastics curriculum. The focus of these games, especially in the lower school, is cooperation rather that competition. The students develop their understanding of the relationship between space, their body and movement. On our camps the children learn resilience, sharing, cooperation, reverence for nature, the excitement of exploration, interest in the world around them, independence and interdependence and, of course, outdoor camping skills.
Key components on offer are: