Introductory workshop 

Rudolf Steiner School 

Langnau, BE – Switzerland

Introductory Workshop: Music of the Plants with Christian MICHAEL and Elisabeth Traunbauer

We drive through rolling countryside dotted with uniquely designed houses and lots of Swiss flags, and pull up in front of a building that, with its colourful pennants fluttering around the veranda, strongly reminds us of Pippi Longstocking’s Villa Kunterbunt:

The headteacher, Ms Marianne Wey, welcomes us warmly, along with her dog ‘Shany’, and shows us round the enchantingly designed school building. We are allowed to look around the creative classrooms and find artistically designed blackboard displays created by the teachers to prepare the pupils for our workshop:

She then shows us the room for the workshop, under the roof of the annexe.
In the attic, which otherwise serves as an eurythmy hall, we find around 30 children aged 10–12 (Years 4–6) sitting in a circle of armchairs:

8.30–9.00 Christian MICHAEL, equipped with two larch wood discs and visual aids, presents the latest research findings in Swiss German on the carnivorous Venus flytrap, chameleon plants and the interdependent lives of trees in the forest. We learn that communication between plants even extends into the world of fungi. Then it’s time for the children to do some research:

9.05–9.25 ‘ei’s’ research group