By Tracy Donnachie

There are many reasons given for the importance of handwork as part of the Waldorf curriculum. Among them is that handwork gives the human being practical skills in many different directions; its purpose is to give a person an all-round understanding of life.

Steiner said, “My opinion is that nobody can be a real philosopher who is not also able to darn his stockings or mend his clothes.“

Bernard Graves says, “Movement develops certain centres in the brain which in turn do not just help people to have nimble fingers, to do useful things, but works into their ability to think “flexibly” and further still into “imaginative thinking” to be able to take up a challenge, because they have been challenged through an activity as children”. He talks about the ‘craft gesture’, which has the capacity to aid the healthy development of the will to action, for the feeling and emotional life and for cognitive thinking. The realignment and integration of these three fundamental soul-forces of thinking, feeling, and will-activity can also be assisted by a handwork curriculum.

Steiner really did not give many guidelines about what should be done in each class in handwork. It was Frau Hack who actually put together the curriculum according to what was being taught in the other subjects and what was suitable for the ages of the children.

Rudolf Steiner, when speaking of handwork in the curriculum, said the purpose was not to train weavers and potters but rather for the student, by practising such work, to be able to stand more secure on leaving school, with a basic confidence for managing the practical affairs of life.
This grounding is what helps keep the body, soul, and spirit together.

Handwork’s specific task in the curriculum is to awaken creative powers which would find a fruitful and useful application in as many ways as possible in later life and work. When we engage the child in physical, practical activity we are working on the nature of that child.

The practice of handwork works inwards, weaving an inner multi-coloured garment whose colours will not fade or threads snap and unravel at the first hurdle presented by life.

In my classes, when students show me work that is not of a decent quality, I give them a choice as to whether they think it is of a good standard or whether they feel they could have done it better. Most of the time they will opt to redo the work and then admit to being pleased that they had. This, I think, teaches them that practice, perseverance, patience, and effort can lead to something better and more pleasing, but also that one does not have to accept less and that one is often capable of doing better. At the time of having to pull out shoddy work, they are often unhappy, but are always happier once it has been completed and is better than before. They learn to want more from themselves and appreciate the beauty of a properly completed item. In this way, it can be said that handwork is self-correcting.

From kindergarten to Class 11 each child is taught new skills that enable them to create beautiful and useful items. In Class 1 the children develop fine motor skills while learning to knit. Class 2 develops this skill further as they learn to work according to patterns while knitting small animals. Crochet is the focus of Class 3. Crocheting cushion covers and potholders consolidates hand dominance and develops dexterity, which helps the fluidity of handwriting. The skill of cross stitch in Class 4, together with the use of symmetry, enhances the learning of the abstract concept of fractions. Socks that are knitted in the round on 4 needles, helps the Class 5 child develop spatial awareness and gives them the ability to knit almost anything using the different skills of increasing, decreasing, picking up stitches and shaping that they learn in the process. In Class 6, the children make small stuffed animals for which they design and create their own patterns. The beauty of this activity becomes evident when the two-dimensional sewn fabric is turned into a tree dimensional animal with characteristics captured in the children’s designs.

Class 7 brings about a change of pace from concentrated fine motor work to the more gross motor focused activity of creating their own piece of felt. This felt is then used to make comfortable, warm, leather-soled slippers. By mastering these skills, the children gain confidence to organise and manage the world around them. It is wonderful to witness the realisation that they are able to start with a piece of raw wool, and from that complete a pair of wearable and comfortable slippers of their own colour choice. It is quite a thrill to the Class 7 student, and they are inordinately proud of themselves when they walk out of the classroom holding their handiwork.

As for the curriculum speculations, students should make something that is suitable for a special place and which is actually needed or functional. In Class 8 we sew tracksuits or a piece of clothing which requires them to measure individually and then cut out the pieces to fit their own bodies.

They also work for the first time on electric sewing machines. To counteract the broodiness at the time of puberty, students need to be drawn out of themselves. We need to help them re-establish their interest and confidence in the practical affairs of life. The fact that boys sew together with the girls and that it never occurs to them that such work is unworthy of their manhood is a wonderful result of the Waldorf schooling method.

The Class 9s are given the idea of a basket, its function and form, and then the challenge of how to bring it to reality. They are fascinated with power and strength. They have to learn to respect the medium and work with it to give themselves up to the process. They are easily distracted, easily frustrated and chaotic. Stronger forces of will are needed. The limbs and the whole body are engaged in this activity. Basketry is about creating a space and there is also the aspect of planning. Different thicknesses and strengths of cane are used and some bend nicely whilst others are more difficult, but they must still achieve and weave with them. Once the big basket is complete, they can make a smaller one with a different cane that is thinner and easier but has the drawback of drying out a lot faster.

In Class 10 the students start to feel more comfortable in themselves and they become interested in process and development, how things work, and in metamorphosis. They respond to that which is in motion. Therefore, the technical craft of weaving is perfect for them to engage at this age. Through spinning, students learn about practical life. They enter the realm of technology through weaving. Critical thinking and judgement now play a part in what they do and make. They begin to understand the meaning of work and can start to respond to work and are more motivated from within.

Class 11 is about the inward journey. Rudolf Steiner made clear comments regarding bookbinding – he was in fact very adamant that bookbinding should be learnt and said that “the particular human activity involved in bookbinding provides something quite special for the most intimate aspects of spirit and soul“.

He also said, “It would be a sin against the being of man if handwork lessons were not to include bookbinding.“

And “these things must play their part if one is to become a complete human being … it is not the fact of having made the book… but that one should have carried out the processes which are involved, should have experienced the particular feelings and thoughts.”

Each student designs the cover of their book and thereby personalises it. They are so extremely proud of their books and the day they finish them signals the end of their handwork lessons. All of our handwork projects are in accordance with the curriculum of Waldorf schools around the world.

References

• Between Form and Freedom
• The Educational Tasks and Content of the Steiner Waldorf Curriculum
• The Recovery of Man in Childhood
• The Relevance of Handwork and Craft for the Child, the Adolescent and the Adult, edited transcript of a lecture given by Bernard Graves
• http://www.waldorflibrary.org/pg/home/home.asp
• http://www.whywaldorfworks.org/07 _Community/articles.asp