Frau Olson is in her first year as German Teacher at Three Rivers Waldorf School. However, her impact on the children has been immediate and profound. Frau Olson’s energy and spirited approach to teaching foreign language can be heard throughout the halls at TRWS. “I want to create good feelings and positivity [between the children and foreign languages],” said Frau Olson. During a conversation about her class, Frau Olson expounded on her use of pictures, gestures and, most notably, songs to create familiarity with the German language. “The Waldorf approach to learning any language demands engagement of multiple senses; this makes the language come alive,” stated Frau Olson.

Anyone who attended the grades assembly in December surely noticed the engagement of the children and the special place German is beginning to hold for them. On many levels Frau Olson hopes to inspire the children to think about the diversity of their world through the study of foreign languages. It appears to many of us here at TRWS that she is well on her way to meeting this goal.