Week 1 — In Person
June 28 - Friday, July 3, 2026
Wilton, NH
Teaching Third Grade:
Grounding the Child in Work, World, and Community
In-Person with Kris Ritz
Third grade is a deeply formative year, marked by an inner shift as children begin to experience themselves more consciously in relationship to the world around them. As their sense of self strengthens, students seek reassurance, purpose, and connection through meaningful work, clear structure, and lived experience. This year invites children to engage more fully with the earth, their community, and the rhythms of daily life.
Through practical activity, rich storytelling, and hands-on learning, third graders explore essential human experiences—building, cultivating, cooking, and caring for the land. These studies provide both emotional grounding and intellectual engagement, helping children develop confidence, responsibility, and a growing sense of stewardship. Academic work is strengthened through purposeful application, as language arts, mathematics, and artistic processes are woven into lived experience.
This Renewal Course offers inspiration, pedagogical insight, and practical tools for teachers preparing to meet the third-grade year with clarity, warmth, and developmental understanding.
Participants will engage deeply with the essential elements of third-grade teaching, including:
Story and Human Experience
Working with stories from the Hebrew Bible, Native American traditions, and other cultural narratives that speak to humanity’s relationship with the earth, work, and community.
Practical Work and Experiential Learning
Gardening, farming studies, cooking, building, and local crafts that ground learning in purposeful activity and foster responsibility, resilience, and connection to the natural world.
Movement, Rhythm, and Daily Lesson Life
Establishing supportive daily rhythms through movement, practice work, storytelling, and bookwork that bring structure, reassurance, and balance to the school day.
Artistic Practice
Form drawing, painting, color blending, and other artistic processes that support integration, expression, and cognitive and emotional development.
Curriculum Foundations
Language arts, mathematics, and social studies presented through developmentally appropriate frameworks that connect academic content to lived experience.
Music and Singing
Developmentally aligned songs, rhythms, and musical activities that strengthen class community, support emotional life, and enliven daily classroom practice.
Classroom Life and Social-Emotional Learning
Creating a classroom culture that fosters belonging, cooperation, and trust as children navigate growing independence and social awareness.
Teacher Practice and Planning
Guidance for year planning, block sequencing, classroom organization, parent communication, and sustaining oneself in the work of teaching.
Additional Course Offerings — In-Person (Grades 1–5)
This course also includes Eurythmy with Alexandra Spadea, offering developmentally appropriate movement experiences that support embodiment, balance, and learning readiness across the grades. Participants will also engage in Teaching Music and Singing with Meg O’Dell, providing practical and inspiring approaches to cultivating a rich musical life in the classroom, as well as Artistic Engagement with Narsingh Khalsa, offering immersive artistic experiences that strengthen teaching practice, creativity, and inner renewal.
By the end of the course, teachers leave with renewed confidence, practical resources, and inspired clarity to guide students through this grounding and transformative year—supporting connection, responsibility, and a deepened relationship to the world.
Kris Ritz joined the Emerson Waldorf School community in 2008. Currently, she is enjoying the hearty and robust students of the upper grades and all that is unfolding in the various blocks of study presented. Before returning to North Carolina, she was a class teacher at the Austin Waldorf School and spent a year at Plowshare Farm, an anthroposophical life-sharing community. Born in Upstate New York, Kris graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism. During a career in advertising, she discovered Waldorf education, returned to school, and earned a Waldorf certificate and Master’s degree from Antioch New England Graduate School. Whether supporting the efforts of the students in the classroom or working with third grade teachers as it relates to the curriculum and the developmental threshold of the 9-/10-year change, Kris is inspired by the questions, answers, and “Ahas!” that unfold while working and learning together in community.
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.
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.
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!