|
Search this site |
|
Christopherus Tel: (608) 637-8031
e-Mail:
enquiries@
|
Early Years Orientation
|
Welcome to the nurturing world of early years Waldorf education! Whether you intend to send your child to a Waldorf nursery or kindergarten or to keep your child at home, we hope that you will find inspiration and useful information here on our website as well as via the resources that we provide.
As Waldorf education becomes better known and spreads beyond the borders of Waldorf schools, there is, inevitably, some confusion as to exactly what Waldorf is and what it is not. While we at Christopherus do not wish in any way to pass judgment on people who take from Waldorf in the way they best see fit, we do value clarity. Waldorf education stems from a particular spiritual scientific view of the development of each individual child and the continuing development of humanity as a whole. As such, there is a clearly defined philosophy and pedagogy. In other words, there's more to Waldorf than pink silks and play clips!
On our Waldorf 101 page you'll find a brief overview of Waldorf education for those new to Waldorf. There are also a number of blog entries and other articles on this website and in other places (see the list on the right) which will be of help as you start to explore Waldorf education. Here, though, I would like to clarify and expand upon certain principles of Waldorf education with specific regard to children under 7.
The following are a few terms which clearly define and distinguish Waldorf education from other educational philosophies. Again, every parent and every homeschooler must be free to adapt Waldorf as they see fit - however, there are now curriculum and other materials available which, while advertising themselves as Waldorf, are clearly not. The intention of this page is to help parents understand certain aspects of Waldorf education so they can make informed choices.
Imitation
Young children naturally learn via imitation. Everyone knows how young children's imitative powers enable them to bring the nuances of the mailman's gestures, the overheard conversation of older children and, unfortunately, the jerky and frantic movements of television characters to their play. Yet how is it that so few people actively engage this power when parenting or working with young children? By giving our young children active examples (see below) of behavior, including how we interact with other people, we can help the young child build up healthy ways of living. A rule of thumb for parents and teachers of under-7s is: don't say it if you can do it! Show it, don't tell it.
Activity
So once we understand that everything the young child sees goes, unfiltered, into her being, and once we grasp that harnessing her powers of imitation are the best way to proceed, we can help her mold and form her natural need to be active in a nurturing way. Young children learn via imitation and they learn best by whole body activity. We all know how compelled a young child is to explore things not just by looking - but by tasting, touching, copying and being the thing explored. Our job then is to give our young children worthwhile active tasks to imitate. Sweeping the floor, drying the knives and forks, watering the plants, digging in the garden - these are the kinds of whole-body activities that a young child needs, taught not by instruction but by the active presence of an adult doing those very same jobs and who enables the child to join in.
Nurturing the Senses
Related to the need for activity and the need for the child to fully explore his environment is the enormous task that modern parents face: to protect and nurture - not over-stimulate! - the child's senses. As Rudolf Steiner, the founder of Waldorf education said, the little child under 7 is like a sponge: everything goes in and everything comes right back. And for those children who can supposedly "handle" a lot of stimulation (TV, video, computer, day care, malls, being in cars, birthday parties, etc.) the situation is the same. It's just that the effects are not made immediately obvious. Our Joyful Movement book goes into some detail about this vital part of healthy parenting. Suffice to say here that many (though certainly not all) children with sensory difficulties manifest such challenges because of many parenting and educational practices which are considered the norm. For more on this point, please see a couple of reviews that I put up on the blog:
Daena Ross' DVD on The 12 Senses
Rhythm
A key part of working with the young child's need for activity is to understand that activity must be held with a sense of rhythm. You, as the parent, can form your child's days, weeks and seasons so that there is a healthy balance between activity and rest. Think of a beating heart - sometimes it is faster, other times slower. But, in health, it is always rhythmical. So, for health, a young child needs time to run and shout and be exuberant as well as times of listening, resting and being quiet. In Waldorf circles this is often expressed in terms of out-breath and in-breath.
No Intellectual Work
In Waldorf education a vitally important principle is that no academic work is undertaken before first grade - during which the child should be 7 for as much of the year as possible. In Waldorf kindergartens the child does work, plays with open-ended creative toys and dressing up, hears stories and participates in circle time. No math or reading and writing are introduced. The emphasis is on the varied and rich pre-academic experiences that every child should have in order to be able to excel academically once they are developmentally ready.
Dreamtime Consciousness
In our Christopherus Kindergarten book we refer to this stage of childhood as the "dreamtime". The young child is at one with the world - his senses are completely open, he imitates what he experiences and has a limited sense of self as completely separate person. His state is the natural religious state of the young child which Steiner often spoke of (see Working with the Spiritual Basis of Waldorf Education). This is as it should be and he should not be rushed through this stage. By making the child self-conscious - by teaching, instructing and otherwise working with him via his head, via his emergent intellect and sense of self, we sever his attachment to the world and his undifferentiated sense of oneness. By instructing instead of giving him examples to copy, by teaching him abstractions such as letters (no matter how creatively), by talking to him as a mature adult instead of someone with a completely different consciousness, we rob the child of a vital developmental step.
Obviously, as the child passes her 6th birthday this begins to fade as she enters the next stage of development - these notes are far more important the younger the child is. Nevertheless, there is no sound reason for rushing into academic or other activities more suitable for older children at such an early age. No convincing studies exist showing any evidence for long-term benefits from early academics. Please refer to www.moorefoundation.com for the distinct advantage of better late than early.
If these notes appeal to you and make sense, then you might like to consider the following additional sources of help and inspiration:
Kindergarten with your 3 to 6 Year Old and Joyful Movement are, in my humble opinion, two of the best resources available to help parents create a nurturing, peaceful and harmonious homelife for their little ones.
Rahima Baldwin Dancy's You Are Your Child's First Teacher and Shea Darian's Seven Times the Sun and Sanctuaries of Childhood are also invaluable resources to help you practically support your choices. Rahima's website (www.waldorfinthehome.org) is also a goldmine of articles mainly focused on the early years. There you will find articles about creative play, puppetry and storytelling, television, reverence and rhythm and much, much more to help support you and also help persuade doubting members of your family!
Donna Simmons
|
|
|---|
