Camphill Special School : Volunteers and Coworkers

A Typical Coworker's Day
The Children's Village at Beaver Run

Daily, predictable scheduling is the backbone of life at the Children’s Village at Beaver Run. Every house attempts to adhere to the regularity of the following typical, weekday agenda, although on weekends and special festival days, the calendar may change.

Morning

6:45 a.m. Coworkers gather for a house meeting to plan the day

7:00 a.m. Students awake

7:45 a.m. Breakfast, followed by household chores

8:30 a.m. High School begins

8:45 a.m. Preparing the students for school; all coworkers help students get ready for school and wait for the school bell

9:00 a.m. Lower School begins; many students need to be escorted to the school house

9:00-10:15 a.m. Cleaning in houses, coworker courses, free time

10:30 a.m. Coworkers who are “class helpers” (teacher assistants) go to the school house; others may do cooking or cleaning in their houses

Afternoon

12:30 p.m. School ends; many students need to be escorted home

12:45 p.m. Lunch, followed by household chores

1:45 p.m. Rest hour; coworkers take turns watching and caring for students during rest hour; this often is referred to as “rest hour watch”

2:45 p.m. Preparation of students for school (younger children) or prevocational programs (adolescents)

3:00-5:00 p.m. Prevocational program

3:15-4:15 p.m. Afternoon school; coworkers help in school

4:15 p.m. School finishes for the afternoon; many students need to be escorted home

6:00 p.m. Supper, followed by household chores

Residential volunteer coworkers who work with younger students spend about an hour and a half with their dormitory every weekday afternoon (longer on Thursdays). Coworkers receive guidance about appropriate games, art, craftwork, indoor or outdoor games, gardening, work projects, shopping, and so on, but generally, younger students need to be encouraged to play. Outdoor activities, of course, always depend on the weather. Indoor activities often can be centered on festival preparations, such as making decorations or gifts.

Older students in our high school participate in prevocational training in workshops until 5:00 p.m. Their recreational time is mainly during weekends and evenings. In high school houses, weekend and evening programs are important and must be age appropriate.

Evening

7:00 p.m. Younger students prepare for bed; older students enjoy evening activities

8:00 p.m. Approximate bed time for younger students

8:30 p.m. Housekeeping; coworkers take turns keeping house in the evening

8:30-9:30 p.m. Bedtime for older students

Note: Time needed to settle for the night varies according to each student and may even vary from day to day. In some cases it may be necessary for a coworker to sit outside a bedroom until the student definitely is asleep.

For obvious reasons, a coworker must be on watch in the house every evening. Individual coworkers do this between one and three times per week. On weekday evenings, usually beginning at 8:45 p.m., there are many working meetings that houseparents need to attend. On these evenings, coworkers cover the house. If there are special events in the evening, such as a lecture, play, or other artistic performance, these are usually planned for during a weekly house meeting. In addition, awareness of the students extends throughout the night, just as any parent is responsible for their children. Consequently, coworkers must coordinate with their houseparents if they wish to be out in the evening and anticipate coming home late, or plan to be absent from the house for the night.

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