form drawing

Form Drawing is a subject unique to Waldorf Education. It is done in grades 1-5 and then morphs into freehand geometry. In a previous post I wrote about one way we chose to approach mirrored forms, but today I hope to write a more generic “how we approach from drawing in our homeschool” post and some tips I have found useful.

I teach form drawing as an individual subject and generally follow Barbara Dewey’s suggestions in Form Drawing for the Homeschooling Parent and Donna Simmons’ suggestions in Form Drawing for Beginners.

I draw the form first on the chalkboard or on our giant pad of newsprint purchased at Michaels.
Sometimes I have a story that goes with the form, but often I do not. Donna Simmons recommends giving a pictoral image for the child to work with imaginatively, but that doesn’t necessarily mean a full-fledged story. It can be something as simple as, “The leaf falls slowly back and forth, back and forth,” to accompany a descending line that swings from right to left.
I ask the child to practice the form in various ways; tracing it in the air, tracing it on the ground with toes, walking the form on the floor, drawing it into salt sprinkled on a cookie sheet, drawing it gigantic on the driveway, or any way I can think of that will engage them in the form.
Next, I have the child draw the form on the chalkboard or on our newsprint while standing.
Then we move to a piece of paper laid flat on the table. We practice it until I feel like we’ve had enough for the day.
Now, here’s something I feel is key: LET IT REST! Leave the form for the day. Letting material rest is a hallmark of Waldorf, but for some reason I didn’t think it applied to form drawing. It does! Barbara Dewey says, “Form drawing works on the etheric body so that in sleep the forms are ‘corrected.’ ‘Correction’ brings harmony to the etheric body, which, in turn, brings harmony to the physical body.”
On the next day I redraw the form and then I have the child practice again on a regular piece of paper. Then, if they feel ready, let them put it in their Main Lesson Book. Voila!

In first and second grade, I prefer to do form drawing in blocks of two weeks which I combine with other subjects like fables or nature stories. In forth and fifth grade, I have tried to slip form drawing in when it seems to go well, i.e. knot drawing with the Norse Myths, but I know a lot of people recommend having one day each week for form drawing. I think that would be helpful for me to try.

Homeschool Glimpse: August and September 2012

I recently purchased the book Painting and Drawing in Waldorf Schools by Wildgruber on the recommendation of Sara. It has the most beautifully colored forms. You can see an example of what I mean by reading Sara’s post. I hope to incorporate this into our form drawing.

What are some of your favorite ways to approach form drawing?

Mrs. Mallard

p.s. This post was requested by Sheila. I hope it was useful! Shared as a part of Waldorf Wednesday.

Form Drawing: Mirrored Forms

Form drawing is unique to Waldorf Education. It is the practice of having a young child learn to draw a “form” – or some type of line – by walking it, drawing it in the air, drawing it with chalk, or in the sand, until finally the child is able to “own” the form and put it on paper. At the very least, form drawing improves handwriting, and more abstractly, form drawing is said to improve the “will” (the ability to “do” things,) and balance a child’s temperament or even his or her spirit/body connection. Our first year of Waldorf homeschooling I was skeptical about form drawing, but as we kept at it I noticed that my children really enjoyed the challenges presented by mastering new forms.

This year my second grader is working on mirrored forms. As the name implies, mirrored forms are ones which have a mid-line on the paper and form mirror images of one another on each side of the mid-line. This week, my second grader was having a hard time with one of the forms and I came up with this activity to help him.

Take a sheet of paper and fold it in half.

Paint the form on one half of the paper.