Visitors to the Boll Family YMCA throughout the month of March may have noticed some fairly unusual things about the most recent art exhibit in the lobby. They’re organized not by theme or visual similarity, but by school subject. And the works are very diverse — not only paint and pencil, but handwork such as hand-sewn dolls and knitted items.
These pieces are the work of students at the Detroit Waldorf School. Waldorf is a form of education that infuses arts into the curriculum in many ways. Math concepts, for example, are explained by singing, storytelling, and rhythmic activities which let children use their whole bodies to learn. Visual art helps with memorization and helps students to appreciate the beauty of numbers.
“We really connect it to our curriculum,” says Charis Calender-Suemnick, outreach director for the school.
Waldorf is a small school, with only 132 students this school year across grade 1-8. One of the goals of having the exhibit at the Y was to increase enrollment, Charis says, and also to showcase the abilities of their students. They came to the Y because several parents were members, and it has been a good experience all around, she says. They had an opening exhibit in early March which drew a lot of interest and was very exciting for the students, to see their work on display in a gallery setting. It shows how accomplished students are upon graduation, Charis says. “Kids that graduate from here are so versatile in their talents and their interests.”
The Detroit Waldorf school was founded in 1966 and is located in the Indian Village neighborhood of Detroit. It is part of an international community of Waldorf schools, with more than 1,000 schools in 60 countries.
Want to learn more? Check out this video made by one of the Waldorf parents about the Y exhibit:
