Opening Lecture and Demonstration at Brno Waldorfska Škola Weekend Training Course 13-15 January 2023

The audience (55 attendees) sat in a large circle. The lecture was interpreted by M.J.

We started with an ear and voice exercise listening to and repeating the word BIRD in numerous European languages. This was followed by a short audience discussion between seat neighbours. Then we tried to speak simultaneously (as 6- or 7-year-olds still do) with the lecturer slowly counting one to twelve in English and reciting "Little Jack Horner". To get a taste of the German language this was also done with "Auf der Mauer auf der Lauer".

When the children are a little older they will be able to improvise shifting the stress from word to word as in the following sentence:

DO you want to come here tomorrow?
Do YOU want to come here tomorrow?
Do you WANT to come here tomorrow?
Do you want to COME here tomorrow?
Do you want to come HERE tomorrow?
Do you want to come here TOMORROW?

We have many Language Learning Games. To find out who takes part we use Counting-Out Rhymes. The audience practises one pointing to a different person each with each stressed syllable: Acker, Backer, Soda Cracker, Acker, Backer, Boo; Acker, Backer, Soda Cracker, out goes YOU. Another one would be Eeny, meeny, miny, mo; catch a tiger by is toe, eeny, meeny, niny, MO! Or a German equivalent: Ene, mene, miste; was rappelt in der Kiste? Ene, mene, meck Und du bis WEG!

Then we did a game called One, two. three: heads down! Three people were chosen to come to the front. They call out the command. Every body shuts their eyes (puts down their heads), the three in front creep up to someone and touch them on the head, shoulder or elbow. Then those touched stand up ("Stand up those three") and guess who touched them: "Did you touch my shoulder, Jenny?" to which Jenny answers "Yes, I did" (in which case they exchange places) or "No, I didn't."

In a so-called Conversational Exchange where everyone gets to say things in English the teacher asks "Who stole the cake from the baker's shop?" addressing one of the pupils, who says: "John stole the cake from the baker's shop!"
John replies: "Who me?"
"Yes, you!"
"Not me."
"Then who?"
Whereupon John accuses another pupil and so on till everybody has had a turn.

Next we talked about acquiring a larger vocabulary. Words are more than just a 'bunch of letters' with an equivalent in Czech. We stood in a large circle. With a large wooden cooking spoon words were mimed: a comb, a flute, a cello bow etc. The action, activity or use of the spoon showed what object it had 'turned into'!
This exercise was followed by a 3-minute audience discussion on what this exercise 'did'.

At some time, story telling begins. We hear a story built on a proverb ("Barking dogs don't bite").

In Class 4 we start writing. We first write songs, rhymes, dialogues, Simon Says commands etc.: all things the children have in their ear, know by heart and can 'hear inwardly' while they are copying the text off the blackboard.
Little Jack Horner
Sat in a corner
Eating his Christmas pie
He put in his thumb
An pulled out a plum
And said "What a good boy am I!"

The children get to write things down a quarter of an hour every lesson over a few months. Class 4 are very good at discovering 'rules' so they will notice similarities in spellings (Horner, corner; the U in thumb and plum as well as a second U (!) in put and pulled.

This was, in essence, the introdutory talk for the weekend seminar.