VOLUNTEERING in WALDORF SCHOOL
in MURCIA, SPAIN
A long-term volunteering project to be held from the 9th of September 2019 until the 9th of August 2020 (11 months).
1. THE ORGANIZATION AND THE PROJECT
The "Garden Waldorf from Murcia" Association aims to develop and promote the education of the human being using the Waldorf pedagogy through formal education within the Spanish educational system.
To fulfill the purposes listed in the previous article the following activities:
- Educational Activities for children.
- Educational and recreational initiatives that promote the encounter between families of our collaborators.
- Organisation of conferences, courses, exhibitions, workshops and other educational activities for children, youth, parents and teachers to the theoretical and practical development of the founding principles of the Association.
- Organization of markets, open days and informative talks.
- Publication and distribution of brochures, newsletters, magazines and all kinds of publications.
- And all those events and activities that contribute to the understanding and development of Waldorf education.
Our association consists of 33 collaborators and two teachers trained in Waldorf pedagogy.
2. PROJECT'S ENVIRONMENT
The Association "Garden Waldorf from Murcia" is composed of parents, currently 33 members, who have the same intention: to educate their children through the Waldorf pedagogy. Our association welcomes 24 children aged between18 months to 6 years old. What makes different our educational approach from others is the importance given to the movement, the use of art, imitation through observation, rather that intellectual activities. Teachers observe children and care for them in a personalized way, according to the internal evolution of each, respecting the evolutionary process of each of them.
Music, art and free play are basic elements in our teaching methods. The songs are embedded in everyday activities, while children draw, paint, play, molded beeswax, make bread etc. The materials used in our activities are noble, natural materials such as wax to draw, wood, beeswax to mold, wool, organic fabrics, etc. Children spend half the time in the garden, being in touch with the nature, the movement is essential at this early stage of life. Children climb trees, jump, run, play with the ground, jump in puddles etc., because for them everything is discovery and motion. Through the play they learn to relate and interact with each other. If there are conflicts among them teachers support them to handle it in a very respectful way. Children are involved in all activities, such as: collecting and cleaning the class, setting the table for lunch, making bread, cutting vegetables etc.
The association currently has two classrooms, one for children aged between 3 and 6 years, and one for small children, aged between 18 months and three years. The space of each group is different and activities also.
Currently our association is in La Alberca, a district of Murcia, about 15 minutes drive from the center of Murcia, in a natural environment.
Murcia ia a city in S-E of Spain, the capital and most populous city of the Autonomous Community of the Region of Murcia, and the seventh largest city in the country, with a population of 439.712 habitants. It´s an important university center.
3. ACTIVITIES
The volunteers' work is basically accompany and support the teacher in their daily lives:
- Receive children on arrival, help in changing shoes if necessary.
- Monitor and collaborate during free play. Preparing breakfast with the children and the teacher.
- Helping children to wash their hands, collection and handling of materials and space.
- Assistance in the development of the craft: painting with watercolor, modeling wax, kneading bread, preparation of the loom with the most elderly.
- During the exit to the garden, the volunteer attends and helps children in their needs.
- Back to the classroom assistance in the toilet, story and farewell.
- Entry into the dining room, helping the toilet and needs of the small ones and helps to keep some order during the meal.
- Participation in quarterly school parties.
Through the project´s activities the volunteer will have the opportunity to learn:
- Basic knowledge of the Waldorf pedagogy through daily activities with children, on the one hand, and on the other hand, participating in the workshops of studies, conferences and trainings organized by our association on issues related to this pedagogy;
- Managing skills such as: the will, patience, respect etc;
- Teamwork and participate in meetings with our collaborators and members, decision making etc .;
- A new language;
- How to interact with children and understand their needs and support them during the day
- How to use imagination in play as the ideology of Waldorf is to use nature during play such as wood, stones and material instead of common plastic toys.
- Habits and custums of Spanish culture.
The Waldorf pedagogy offers a very broad view of the human being that points toward self-education, and finding it can be a source of growth for our volunteer. Also the volnteers will learn to work in a group with teachers and parents, in a dynamic and responsible manner. For lovers of crafts is surely a source of creativity and a good opportunity to learn to work with noble materials.
4. VOLUNTEER'S PROFILE
Our association will give priority in selecting young people with fewer opportunities , young people facing geographical, economical obstacles and/or educational dificulties.
The activities proposed by our organization are accessible to all young people, without prejudice on grounds of ethnicity, religion , sexual orientation, political inclination etc.
We would like a cheerful young person, with willingness to work with children, to approach them and their needs with love and dedication. We also believe it is important for us that the volunteer should have basic teamwork skills and should have certain dynamism in planning tasks and activities.
We are searching a modest person who loves nature, peaceful and healthy environments.
Commitment and responsibility towards the project is necessary.
For the selection process we plan to develop a questionnaire to get to know young people interested in our project, their qualities and character. The questionnaire will be distributed, along with a document containing basic information about our association, the project and the profile of the volunteer we are looking for, on key sites, such as: europa.eu/youth/evs_database, www.youthnetworks.eu, www.europeanvoluntaryservice .org, Facebook etc.
There will be a deadline for receiving the questionnaires. Forward we will make a preselection (maximum 5 young people), based on above mentioned profile, followed by interviews via Skype or by phone. If any of the young people preselected is not speaking English or Spanish, he/she may be accompanied by a person to help with the translation during the interview. Once everyone has been interviewed we will make the final selection. We will inform all the young people preselected of the results of the selection and the criterias we´ve used.
5. ACCOMMODATION AND PRACTICAL ARRANGEMENTS
The volunteers participating in our project will live together with other European volunteers in an apartment situated in city centre and rented by the coordinating organization Euroaccion. Each volunteer will have his/her own room to guarantee privacy and good living conditions. Each month the coordinating organization Euroaccion will transfer to the volunteer’s Spanish bank account (opened at the arrival in Spain with the support of the coordinating organization) the amount of money correspondent to the pocket money and the food money. This money will be managed by the volunteer freely and independently.
The coordinating organization will pay monthly the rent of the apartment and the bills, in order to make volunteers free from these tasks. The apartment will be located around 15 minutes from our Organization. There is a bus line that takes the volunteer from his house to near the place of work, the volunteer can also use a bike provides by us if he/she has this preference. The coordinating organization will cover the costs of the monthly tickets for the public transport.
CES - European Solidarity Corps
As a volunteer the European Solidarity Corps allows you to learn through non-formal experiences, improve existing or acquire new skills for your personal, educational or professional development.
The ESC covers:
• Your travel expenses from where you live to Murcia and back (return ticket);
• All fees for visa and residence permission;
• Comprehensive insurance (health, accident and liability insurance);
• Free accommodation: a room in an apartment;
• Pocket money in the amount of 150 euros per month;
• Food allowance 150 euros per month;
• Participation in on-arrival and mid-term meeting.
If you are interested in this project, please, send us your CV and Motivation Letter to evsprojects.hyp@gmail.com with the subject VOLUNTEERING IN ESCUELA WALDORF MURCIA.