Five day Wood Carving Course for teachers
with a focus on Carving Puppet Heads
Monday 4th to Friday 8th August 2025
I am offering this five day wood carving course for craft and woodwork teachers in Steiner / Waldorf Schools and home education hub tutors, from Monday 11th to Friday 19th August 2025. The course will be held in my carving studio in South Devon in England.
Wood carving is a very important part of the craft curriculum in classes 5, 6, 7 & 8 combining practical skills with artistic, sculpture development. To teach wood carving, teachers have to become wood carvers and sculptors themselves. Woodcarving skills are very different to other woodwork skills like joinery or DIY. This 5 day course offers a rare opportunity to learn woodcarving and gain an understanding of the woodwork / hard crafts curriculum in classes 5, 6 7 & 8. The understanding of how the craft curriculum fits into the curriculum is essential for teachers to develop craft projects relevant to their classes and schools.
In this year’s course I want to carve puppet heads as the main practical carving exercise. The possibility for puppet designs are endless and offer unlimited opportunity for different levels of carving skill and personal designs.
For questions and to find out if the course will meet your needs, we can set up an online meeting.
Clay-modelling
We will make a collection of clay models for our carving to explore different expressions and puppet styles. There is endless possibility for our puppet designs and just this makes it a good project for the classes.
Development of the senses
All craft activities support the development of the senses and to help develop an understanding for this therapeutic aspect of the artistic craft lessons, Gordon Woolard will support the course with several sessions on the development of the senses and its importance for child development.
Tutors
Almut Woolard
After the Foundation Year I studied sculpture for three years, at Emerson College. For over 20 years I taught woodwork, clay-modelling and upper school crafts in Steiner / Waldorf Education in the south west of England. Since finishing school teaching in 2020 I have advised woodwork teachers, visited schools and taught clay-modelling, in several countries. Repeatedly I have seen how challenging wood carving is for teachers. Woodcarving is a very specific skill with specific techniques and tools. In the five day course I want to give the opportunity for the teacher to learn the basics necessary to teach woodcarving in school.
Gordon Woolard
For over 25 years Gordon has worked therapeutically with children by supporting their development of the senses, to lay a foundation for the ability to learn in school. His contribution to teacher training and development is in face to face and online sessions.
Course content :
Learn woodcarving by carving puppet heads and other examples from the curriculum for classes 5 to 8.
Clay-modelling to develop the experience of form and explore puppet head expression.
The development of the senses in relation to woodwork and artistic craft with Gordon Woolard
The woodwork curriculum
Tool sharpening
Which tools and wood to use in the classroom.
How to organise the lesson ( classroom management )
Health & safety in the school workshop
All materials and hot drinks provided
Location
Buckfastleigh TQ11 0DB, South Devon UK
The south west of England is very beautiful and the course can easily be combined with exploring Dartmoor or walking on the south west coast path.
I can advise on walks, accommodation possibilities and how to travel.
For more information please email : art.almutwoolard@gmail.com ,
The course fee is £300
Five day Clay-Modelling & Whittling week for Teachers
focusing on classes 1 to 8
Monday 11th to Friday 15th August 2025
This five day Clay-Modelling & Whittling course is for class and subject teachers in Steiner / Waldorf Schools and tutors / parents supporting home education. The course will be held in Buckfastleigh, South Devon in the South West of England.
Clay-Modelling is a very important part of the curriculum in classes 1 to 8 and teachers need to become a bit of a sculptor to teach it. This five day course is a rare opportunity to learn the practical skills for teaching clay-modelling and come to an understanding of how it is integrated into the curriculum.
To learn the practical skills of Clay-Modelling and come to experience the age appropriate task for each class, we will spend most of the time with clay in our hands working our way through exercises appropriate for each class. Whittling is a very good and popular introduction to woodwork for lower school children.
For questions and to find out if the course will meet your needs, we can set up an online meeting.
Development of the Senses
All art & craft activities support the development of the senses. To help develop an understanding for this therapeutic aspect of the artistic craft lessons, Gordon Woolard will contribute to the course with a several sessions on the development of the senses and its importance for child development and how well developed senses are important for children’s learning.
Tutors
Almut Woolard
After the Foundation Year I studied sculpture for three years, at Emerson College. For over 20 years I taught woodwork, clay-modelling and upper school crafts in Steiner / Waldorf Education in the south west of England. Since leaving the school in 2020 I have advised woodwork teachers, visited schools and taught clay-modelling, in several countries.
Gordon Woolard
For over 25 years Gordon has worked therapeutically with children by supporting their development of the senses, thus laying a foundation for learning in school. His contribution to teacher training and development is in face to face and online sessions.
Course content :
Working through examples of the clay-modelling curriculum from class 1 to 8.
A study of the senses to understand the therapeutic benefits of art & craft work, with Gordon Woolard
Looking into how the clay-modelling curriculum supports main-lessons.
Information on different clays and how to care for the clay.
Basic whittling, materials, tools and knife sharpening
How to organise the lesson ( classroom management )
Health & safety
All materials and hot drinks provided
Location
Buckfastleigh TQ11 0DB, South Devon UK
The south west of England is very beautiful and the course can easily be combined with exploring Dartmoor or walking on the south west coast path.
I can advise on walks, accommodation possibilities and how to travel.
For more information please email : art.almutwoolard@gmail.com
The course fee is £300
Clay-modeling, whittling, woodcarving and green woodwork
Our lives in the twenty-first century have become very much orientated toward the intellectual and the two dimensional world. Learning whittling, woodcarving and other three dimensional craft skills support the child’s development in many ways.
Any use of hand tools is practicing coordination, awareness spatial, patience and many other life skills. Steiner education is based on child development and this is mirrored in the woodwork curriculum.
Based on my 20 years experience of teaching woodwork in Steiner education I can contribute to teacher education in training courses at conferences and in schools.
Mentoring,
I have advised woodwork and clay-modeling teachers on school visits and online. Lesson observations followed by feedback and a close look at the craft curriculum are very helpful for individual teachers and schools wanting to develop woodwork in the school. Having build up and developed a woodwork department over a 20 year period I am used to look at the local situation and understand financial restraints. Many schools have to improvise using local available materials and build the craft curriculum on local traditional techniques and skills. to do so a good understanding of the Waldorf / Steiner curriculum and in particular the craft curriculum are necessary.
I taught whittling, woodcarving and clay-modeling in lower and middle school in the southwest of England for 20 years. My upper school teaching experience is in Clay-modeling, wood carving, copper work, green woodwork, basic bench joinery and basket waving.
School visits
On visits to schools I can work with woodwork, class, upper, school, early years teachers and assistants. On many school visits craft courses for parents are included.
I can visit all at any time of year and are happy to travel internationally.
Teacher training / education courses & Conferences for Class teachers, Early Years teacher, Woodwork / Craft teachers
With clay-modeling , whittling and woodcarving I can contribute to teacher training / education courses and conferences.
All my courses are designed individually based on local needs and interests.
The easiest way of contacting me is by email — art.almutwoolard@gmail.com — or through the contact page.
Examples of previous courses
FACE TO FACE
Woodcarving : for class teachers, woodwork teachers, kindergarten teachers and parents.
( small animals, houses, toys puppet heads )
The courses included curriculum studies and practical work. The images show woodcarvings by course participants.
Clay-modelling: for class teachers, kindergarten teachers and parents
Mentoring and curriculum studies of woodwork teachers
Whittling: Easy artistic projects for teachers or parents ( for more information see “ Whittling a one day course for Adults working with Children “ on my courses page.
ON LINE
Clay-modelling curriculum studies and practical exercises for developing skills and confidence.
Mentoring and curriculum studies.
Regular mentoring sessions, including demonstrating whittling, woodcarving, tool sharpening and advising on possible projects.
Whittling for class teachers wanting to introduce woodwork lower school classes
The course is aimed at teachers and trainee teachers, who want to teach children whittling and basic woodwork skills in a creative and safe way. I will explain and show, by practical examples, the benefits to children’s development and how woodwork is integrated into the Steiner School curriculum. My background is in sculpture and creative education and I enjoy showing and encouraging educators how working with wood can become a tool to discover the world of sculpture.
Participants will make a collection artistic whittling projects (see photos) all suitable for children to make. I will show and explain how to use and sharpen the tools. In a further stage I show to teach and demonstrate your skills to the children. By the end of the workshop you will have made a number of projects that you will take home, together with the skills and knowledge for you to make these with children.
My teaching experience is based on over 22 years of teaching whittling, woodcarving and other three dimensional arts and crafts to adults and children. I love sharing my experience and enthusing others in working with wood.
Let me know about your particular setting and I can take this into account in the course.
Clay - modelling
Clay-modelling is the continuation of beeswax-modelling in kindergarten, helping the children to develop good coordination, imagination, three dimensional thinking and orientation in space. Children enjoy working with the flexible and playful material, quickly developing confidence and skills.
I can contribute to practical skill development and curriculum studies with the aim of gaining an understanding and the necessary skills to bring clay-modelling to the children.
For early years teachers
Beeswax, clay-modelling, whittling, carving wooden toys
My interest in early years development and children’s play was kindled during my kindergarten teacher training. Later, when teaching woodwork, many class 6 children carved toys for our kindergarten groups.
I can contribute to kindergarten teacher training with artistic clay-modelling, beeswax modelling and woodcarving, focusing on toys and play.
