Week 1 — In Person
June 28 - Friday, July 3, 2026
Wilton, NH
Teaching Sixth Grade:
Inquiry, Order, and Transformation
In-Person with Julia Pellegrino
Sixth grade is a year of transformation and discovery. Students enter adolescence with a growing desire to understand the world in practical and logical terms. They are ready to question ideas, seek truth, and explore how order, lawfulness, and cause-and-effect shape the world around them. As teachers, we guide this new consciousness with a curriculum that challenges, inspires, and engages students’ expanding minds.
This Renewal Course offers inspiration, practical guidance, and artistic renewal for educators preparing to meet the sixth-grade year with clarity, creativity, and confidence.
Participants will engage deeply with the essential elements of sixth-grade teaching, including:
History and Cultural Studies
Exploring the rise and fall of empires—from Rome to the Islamic Golden Age and Medieval Europe—while investigating themes of law, morality, power, and justice. Students are guided to think critically about historical events and multiple perspectives.
Science and Inquiry
Hands-on exploration of geology, astronomy, and physics, fostering observation, experimentation, and understanding of natural order and balance in the world.
Mathematics and Practical Life Skills
Geometry with compass work, business math, and applied problem-solving, supporting both analytical thinking and real-world skills.
Geography and Global Awareness
Studying the relationships between people and the earth, cultivating intercultural understanding, and expanding students’ awareness of the wider world.
Arts, Music, and Projects
Integrating artistic work, classroom plays, projects, and field trips to enrich learning, deepen engagement, and foster social-emotional growth.
Curriculum Innovation and Inclusivity
Exploring ways to adapt curriculum content with attention to diversity, equity, and justice, ensuring lessons are meaningful, inclusive, and relevant for today’s learners.
Classroom Life and Social-Emotional Learning
Supporting organizational skills, study habits, classroom collaboration, and rites of passage while nurturing independence, confidence, and a sense of community.
Teacher Practice and Planning
Guidance on year planning, block rotations, classroom management, parent communication, and balancing the demands of teaching with self-care and personal growth.
Additional Course Offerings
This course also includes Eurythmy with Alexandra Spadea, supporting movement, coordination, and embodied learning appropriate to the middle school years. Participants will engage in Teaching Music and Singing with Meg O’Dell and Artistic Engagement with Narsingh Khalsa, offering meaningful artistic renewal and practical classroom applications.
In addition, Teaching Science in Grades 6–8 with Will Minehart provides hands-on, developmentally aligned approaches to physics, chemistry, and earth sciences, supporting adolescent curiosity, critical thinking, and experiential learning.
By the end of the course, teachers leave with practical tools, curriculum resources, and renewed inspiration to guide sixth graders through this dynamic and transformative year – fostering critical thinking, responsible action, and meaningful engagement with the world.
Julia Pellegrino has been a class teacher at the Upper Valley Waldorf School in Vermont since 2001, completing multiple grade 1–8 cycles. She holds a special interest in curriculum development, with a focus on deepening and enlivening the foundational skills of literacy and numeracy within the Waldorf curriculum. Beyond the classroom, Julia has served as faculty chair, mentor to new teachers, member of pedagogical leadership and advisory groups, and on the board of trustees.
Julia received her M.Ed. from Antioch University New England in 1994, with both Waldorf and public school certifications. She continues to learn from experts across diverse educational models, integrating meaningful insights to deepen learning in the Waldorf classroom.
Each Renewal Course, Grades 1–8, Includes:
Eurythmy
with Alexandra Spadea —
Offering developmentally appropriate movement experiences that support embodiment, balance, and learning readiness across the grades.
Teaching Music and Singing
with Meg O’Dell –
Practical approaches to cultivate musical life, rhythm, and singing in the classroom.
Artistic Engagement
with Narsingh Khalsa –
Guided artistic practice in drawing, painting, form work, and creative exercises to inspire teaching and inner life development.
Teaching Science in Grades 6–8
with Will Minehart –
Hands-on, inquiry-based scientific exploration tailored to middle school students’ developmental needs.
These offerings provide teachers with practical tools, inspiration, and experiential learning to integrate the arts, rhythm, creativity, and science into classroom practice while supporting their own professional and personal growth.
Alexandra Spadea grew up in a Waldorf school in Germany, where her lifelong love of eurythmy began. She trained at the Elena Zuccoli School in Dornach, Switzerland, and graduated from Eurythmy Spring Valley, NY, in 1994 under the directorship of Dorothea Mier.
Alexandra taught high school eurythmy at Green Meadow Waldorf School (1994–2000) and has been a member of the Rudolf Steiner School, NYC community since 2009, teaching grades 7–12 and serving as a class advisor. She earned her postgraduate B.A. in Eurythmy Pedagogy in 2015–16.
Meg O’Dell loves helping people access their innate capacity for wellness, vitality, and connection. She does this as a somatic coach, supporting individuals and couples in growth, transformation, and healing, and also as a music teacher and vocal mentor. She teaches music at The Bay School, a Waldorf school on the coast of Maine, and leads a large intergenerational all-comers chorus called Misty Mountain Singers. Meg serves as faculty for Antioch University’s Waldorf Teacher Training and CfA’s Waldorf High School Teacher Education Programs. She is a regular instructor for CfA’s the Renewal Courses and introductory Explorations program, and she has taught with LifeWays North America. She received her M.Ed. from Antioch University New England in 2008. Her great joys include spending time with her growing children and visiting the small, misty mountain that rises out of the sea near their home.
Narsingh Khalsa is a Waldorf educator and artist with a degree in Education from Prescott College and teacher training from Sunbridge Institute. Currently teaching a combined 2nd and 3rd grade class at the Waldorf School of Princeton, Narsingh brings 18 years of experience teaching fine arts to students from 1st through 12th grade. Passionate about creativity, she enjoys making children’s books, developing Waldorf curriculum for homeschoolers and teachers, and engaging in handwork. Outside the classroom, Narsingh loves hiking, yoga, and exploring the beauty of nature.
Will Minehart’s interest in the natural sciences began during his early youth in rural Pennsylvania, where he spent much of his time hunting, fishing, and birdwatching. He earned a B.S. in Environmental Studies from Bucknell University, then pursued Ornithological Research and Environmental Education before meeting his wife, starting a family, and becoming a full-time teacher. Before becoming a Waldorf teacher in 2014, he taught science in public high school and was an adjunct professor at William Paterson University. Will currently teaches sciences to grades 6-12 at High Mowing School in New Hampshire.
Community Gatherings In-Person, June 28 – July 3, 2026
Community Gatherings bring together participants attending Renewal Courses and the Mentor Training Program, twice daily, at 8:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m.
Daily Keynote
with Carol Ann Bärtges
Spiritual Cognition: How Wonder, Imagination, Inspiration and Intuition Inform our Work
Eurythmy
with Alexandra Spadea
Midday Community Singing
with Meg O’Dell
Evening Events — In Person
Monday, June 29, 2026
Evening Lecture : The Five Circles of Love and Friendship
with Kim John Payne
“Helping students navigate their class social dynamics and adults to calibrate the complexities of collegial relationships”
Join us for an illuminating evening lecture with Kim John Payne exploring the Five Circles of Love and Friendship. This thoughtful presentation offers practical insights for helping students navigate the social dynamics of their classes, while also supporting adults in skillfully calibrating the complexities of collegial relationships. Grounded in warmth, clarity, and real-world experience, this evening invites reflection, understanding, and renewed capacity for fostering healthy relationships in both educational and professional communities.
Tuesday, June 30, 2026
Affinity Group Connections
with Renewal Faculty
Join us for an engaging session of mutual support and shared wisdom. Affinity group connections are dynamic roundtable forums designed to foster collaboration, exchange, and community among Waldorf educators. These interactive sessions offer teachers preparing to enter their next grade an opportunity to gain insights, ideas, and best practices directly from colleagues who have recently completed teaching that grade.
Teachers who have just completed a grade can share their experiences, challenges, and successes, providing invaluable guidance to those stepping into new roles. These conversations are also inclusive and supportive for special subject teachers, pedagogical leaders, and anyone wishing to deepen their engagement with movement practices, arts integration, curriculum development, or broader Waldorf pedagogy. Participants leave inspired, connected, and equipped with practical strategies to enhance their classroom work and professional growth.
Thursday, July 2, 2026
Live Music and Contra Dancing
with Carey Bluhm, Gordon Peery, and Diane Goodman
Join us for a joyful evening of live music and contra dancing with Carey Bluhm, Gordon Peery, and Diane Goodman. Come move, laugh, and connect through spirited music and shared rhythm in a welcoming, celebratory atmosphere. This lively gathering offers a perfect opportunity to unwind, enjoy community, and end the day energized and uplifted for a memorable summer start.
Care for the Body, Soul, and Spirit
Attending a summer course in person offers more than just professional inspiration and community connections—it’s an opportunity for deep personal rejuvenation. Take time to relax and nurture your well-being by indulging in some much-needed self-care.
Choose from a variety of wellness offerings designed to nourish your soul and body. Whether you seek quiet reflection, hands-on healing, or artistic renewal, these options are crafted to support your journey of self-care and rejuvenation.
Wellness sign-up options will be available in the spring—stay tuned to secure your moments of personal renewal!