Jardim Waldorf da Amoreira - Associação Antroposófica de Óbidos

description of organisation

The "Jardim Waldorf da Amoreira - Anthroposophical Association of Óbidos" , headquartered in Amoreira, Óbidos, aims to disseminate, promote and investigate Anthroposophy and Waldorf Education in order to implement its principles in the areas of education, health, agriculture, ecology, economy, spirituality and contribute to the full development of human beings and society according to Rudolf Steiner's vision, promoting activities of a pedagogical, cultural, sports, recreational and environmental nature.

The Association, created in the year 2014, since then runs an educational initiative that is an alternative to public education institutions and it consists of a nursery, a kindergarten and a primary school. In these schools the Association develops educational activities according with the Waldorf Pedagogy recognized by UNESCO, with children aged 1 to 10 years old from 15 different nationalities, involving the children's families and Óbidos' Community.

These schools are framed in the countryside with an orchard, vegetable garden and various species of animals, in a family home. In this way, the Association has the privilege of offering an ovo-lacto-vegetarian diet to the children, with the majority of the foods coming from the vegetable garden or of biological origin. Children are able to enjoy the outdoor space, and the interior spaces which include a classroom with a slate board and also a carpentry, where children let their imagination run free.

The nursery (for children aged 1-3 years old) and kindergarten (for children aged 3-6 years old) have as their primary activity the Free Play, under the watchful and caring look of the kindergarten teachers. However, other activities related to household chores also prevail, such as making bread, cutting vegetables for soup, sweeping, among many others. Here children take their first steps towards the outside world, to the veneration of that world and instead of teaching scientific concepts early, this pedagogy allows to accompany and respect the formation of the organs and creativity of each being.

In the domestic school, at primary school level (for children aged 6-10 years old), the Association's work on the thinking process starts with the exercise of imagination, listening to tales, legends, fables and myths until children reach the development of more abstract, theoretical and formal thinking. The classes are a daily experience, where the theoretical teaching is always accompanied by the practical one. This is one of the biggest differences in relation to other teaching methods, with the predominance of exercise and skill development (with great emphasis on artistic and craft activities), according to the age of each individual child, and not just the accumulation of information, thus cultivating science, art and the moral and spiritual values ​​necessary for human beings.
The Escola Doméstica da Amoreira is based on the Portuguese Basic Education curriculum (1st cycle) and further enriches it with its own, more comprehensive, lively, dynamic and integrated curriculum, given our concern with the global development of students, their individual differences and the emphasis on help them discover their capabilities and realize their potential. This curriculum is developed on anthroposophical basis, in view of the physical, emotional, cognitive and spiritual evolution of the human being, specific to each age, thus respecting the evolutionary profile of each child.
In the schools we provide the daily rhythm, respecting the different needs and the annual rhythm guided by the change of seasons and the celebration of parties that are articulated together with the children of the kindergarden, so that there are moments of sharing between the children and families.

In March 2020 we were hosting around 60 children: we have 2 kindergarden rooms, each for 20 children; one nursery room for 8 children; several rooms for 1st cycle (primary), which have capacity for two groups of 10 children.

Apart from the regular educational activities mentioned, in order to develop the Antroposophy (a philosophy founded in the early 20th century by Rudolf Steiner that postulates the existence of an objective, intellectually comprehensible spiritual world, accessible to human experience), the Association also organizes study meetings among experts in different sectors, promotes conferences and workshops for educators and people interested in the activities of gardening, carpintery, bakery, handicraft.

Furthermore, the Association collaborates with the local community throughout the year by participating with initiatives in local events such as markets (Christmas markets, Spring markets, etc), promoting workshops and activities for all the children of the local community.

Finally, the Association follows rules and guidelines of the Anthroposophical Society and the Federations of Waldorf Schools in Europe with regard to Waldorf Education.