Weekly Update from the MN Waldorf School

Educating the Emotional Brain: How Media Shapes our Culture and our Children-- Lecture by Dr. David Walsh

Wed., Jan. 13th

6:30 - 8:30 pm at the City of Lakes Waldorf School

2344 Nicollet Avenue South, Minneapolis, MN 55404 612-767-1550

Welcome to parenting in the age of Baby Einstein and Facebook! What's a parent to do under pressure from an increasingly wired social landscape for children? American children now spend more than 44 hours a week in front of a screen - texting, socializing, doing homework, gaming, watching movies, on the net -- more than any other activity except sleeping. In his presentation, Dr. Walsh will combine the latest discoveries in brain science with up-to-date research on the power of screens to shape culture and, potentially, what and how children learn.This presentation will:

-- Address the impact of media on children's health and wellness

-- Explain why it is crucial to pay attention to the role of media in children's lives

-- Discuss how media create and nourish a culture of disrespect

-- Share strategies to help parents navigate the world of screens and social media

David Walsh, Ph.D, one of the world's leading authorities on parenting and the impact of media and technologyon children's health and development, founded the National Institute on Media and the Family in 1996. Dr. Walsh is on the faculty of the University of Minnesota, and has published many articles in the professional and general press. He is active in many professional associations and is a licensed psychologist in the State of Minnesota. He is the author of nine books, including the national best sellers Why Do They Act That Way? A Survival Guide to the Adolescent Brain for You and Your Teen and No: Why Kids - of All Ages - Need to Hear It and Ways Parents Can Say It.

Anthroposophical Society

Our monthly branch meetings are scheduled on the third Wednesday evening of each month and are open to all who share an interest in the work of Rudolf Steiner and anthroposophy. Upcoming meetings will take place on January 20, February 17, March 17, April 21 and May 19. Call or email Becky Streeter with questions: 952-546-3351 becky_minnesota@yahoo.com

The Secret Life of Color: Painting Workshop with Donna Webb

Come learn about the world of color that your Waldorf children are painting and experiencing in school. This is a beginning class using the Hauschka Therapeutic Watercolor Painting method to discover the nature of each color and color mixing. This method of painting, a gentle introduction to the creative process, invites us to open to our unconscious, and through the process, allows an image to emerge. The time spent with these pure colors and liquids is rejuvenating to the body and soul. Thursdays, 12:30 - 2:30, 7 weeks from Jan. 21. (No class Feb. 18)

Class will be held at the Center for Wholeness in Edina, MN. Call 952-929-1559 for registration and information. Pre-registration is required. Cost is $105. All materials are provided.

Note: Donna Webb will teach a painting class for adults at MWS in March. Watch for details.

Donna Webb is an artist whose works are in the permanent collection of The Walker Art Center, The Plains Art Museum, and numerous private collections. She taught art at Normandale Community College for ten years and now teaches at Spring Hill Waldorf School, Novalis Institute, and privately at the Center for Wholeness. Donna's studies of the Hauschka Therapeutic Painting Technique became the cornerstone of her Master's Thesis on Wholistic Arts, blending art therapy with studio arts. She is currently studying the artistic and therapeutic work of Liane Collot d'Herbois.

Novalis News

Happy New Year from Novalis Institute! Our first three Winter classes begin this Saturday, January 9th. We invite you to consider these opportunities for growth in our warm and supportive community. For details and to register please visit http://novalisinstitute.org/ or call 651.489.2060.

Sculptural Arts

Faculty: Kevin Kane

Four Saturdays, 11:15 a.m. - 1:15 a.m. beginning January 9th

City of Lakes Waldorf School

Deepen your understanding of educating the will in children by experiencing it yourself through molding and carving. Beginners welcome.

Knowledge of Higher Worlds

Faculty: John Fuller

Eight Saturdays, 9-11 a.m., beginning January 9th

First four weeks: CLWS, following weeks: MWS

Using Steiner's book Knowledge of the Higher Worlds and its Attainment students will explore the practices that lead to one's direct perception of soul and spiritual realities. Open to all.

Child & Classroom Observation

Faculty: Kelly Larson

Four monthly Saturdays, 2-4 p.m., beginning January 9th

Meetings held at City of Lakes Waldorf School, observations to take place at area Waldorf schools

This class will include observing in the classrooms and meeting together to hone the capacity to see and understand both the individual child and the classroom learning environment. Open to all.

Register Now: Psychophonetics Workshop

January 4 -10, 2010
Yehuda Tagar, Director of the Persephone Institute in Cape Town, South Africa, will be making a rare visit to the United States this January, when he comes to the Twin Cities. He will be giving several evening lectures, and conducting a weekend experiential workshop. He will also be available for a limited number of individual sessions.

Mr. Tagar is an Israeli, who has spent the past twenty years in England, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa, developing a process known as Psychophonetics, a modality of personal and spiritual development, based on indications of Rudolf Steiner. This process combines verbal as well as expressive, non-verbal modes of knowing and communication, namely: Sensing, Physical Gesture, Visualization, and the skillful application of the universal Sounds of human speech in order to enhance an individual's ability for transformation and self-development.

David Horstmann, a local psychologist and marriage and family therapist for the past 25 years, and a student of both Anthroposophy and Mr. Tagar, finds Tagar's work unique, intellectually stimulating, and dramatically effective in breaking through unconscious patterns of thought, communication, and behavior. He feels that its deep connection with the work of Rudolf Steiner imbues it with a spiritual dimension that has long been lacking in Western models of self-development and psychotherapy. Flyers and registration forms are available on the bulletin board and from David Horstmann at davidwhorstmann@gmail.com.