Handbook Understanding Waldorf Early Childhood Education

Understanding Waldorf Early Chidhood Education

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“Receive the child in reverence, Educate the child in love, Let the child go forth in freedom.” - Rudolf Steiner-

Waldorf Education What is Waldorf Education Waldorf education is a unique and distinctive approach of education which is responsive to the developmental phases in childhood and the nurturing of independent thought and imagination that

encourage creativity

and free thinking. The specific methods used in Waldorf schools come from the view that the child develops through a number of basic stages from childhood to adulthood. The Waldorf curriculum is specifically designed to work with the child through these stages of development. Waldorf education was developed by Rudolf Steiner (1861-1925) at the beginning of the 20th century. It is based on Steiner's broader philosophy and teachings, called anthroposophy (literally, wisdom or knowledge of man).

Anthroposophy holds that the human being is fundamentally a spiritual being and that all human beings deserve respect as the embodiment of their spiritual nature. This view is carried into Waldorf education as striving to develop in each child their innate talents and abilities.

What is Unique about Waldorf Education The best overall statement on what is unique about Waldorf education is to be found in the stated goals of the schooling: "to produce individuals who are able, in and of themselves, to impart meaning to their lives". That means Waldorf education is intended to enable students as fully as possible to choose and, in freedom, to realize their individual path through life as adults. Educating the Head, Heart and Hands – the integration of thinking, feeling and willing – is the signature of Waldorf education. The aim of Waldorf

schooling is to educate the whole child, "head, heart and hands". The curriculum is as broad as time will allow, and balances academics subjects with artistic and practical activities. The curiosity of childhood has been rewarded and nurtured into a passion for discovery and learning that is genuine and internally driven.

Children are immersed in a range of subjects across the entire

human

experience.

They

do

not

focus

exclusively on intellectual pursuits, but tackle practical, hands-on

activities

and

artistic

endeavours

as

complements to their academic development.

Waldorf

schools

encourage

self-motivation,

independent thinking and creative problem solving in an environment that allows children to become confident expressing their own ideas.

As children mature and become comfortable with the essential learning structures provided by a teachercentred approach, they move toward a student (or individual)-centred approach to learning. In a Waldorf school children become increasingly free as they develop. They learn to create solutions to problems rather than merely to replicate them: to think rather than memorize. They learn that initiative, not compliance, is rewarded.

Why Waldorf Waldorf Education provide the right stimulus at the right time and allow each child’s abilities to fully unfold. Waldorf Education is dedicated to awaken the faculties that lie dormant within each child, thereby preparing young people to discover within themselves the strength, enthusiasm, and wisdom to bring out the best qualities within them.

Key features of Waldorf schooling Methods: 1) All lessons are designed to appeal to the ‘head, heart and hands’, ie, to reach children through all their senses. Waldorf schooling aims to educate the “whole” child. Rudolf Steiner believed that people actually have twelve senses — the accepted five plus thought, word/language, warmth, balance, movement, life, and the individuality of the other/ego.

2) That imagination is the heart of learning permeates all of Waldorf teaching and learning. Key elements of the Waldorf teaching method include storytelling, fantasy-make-believe, art, drama, craft, discussion, the creation of a personal workbook. Practically this translates into a school day where the “main lesson” mostly unfolds with fairy tales, myths and legends, stories or drama. For example, the study of history may go beyond reading and writing about an era and involve performing a play based on the era.

The face-less doll is a standard toy in Waldorf kindergartens since the teachers believe a simple toy allows children to use their imagination.

3) Life skills and practical experience such as woodcarving, sculpting, sewing and gardening are considered as essential to a complete life experience as academic subjects. The experience of undertaking a project whether it requires great dexterity (mastering a musical instrument) or is a relatively simpler one (sewing or knitting an item) gives the student a sense of achievement and helps develops a quiet confidence to master other more complex skills later in life. For example, through year-long woodwork projects that involve activities such carving out of stubborn pieces of hardwood, filing and sanding, students learn that the rewards only follow the commensurate amount of mental, physical, even emotional effort expended. Every student are encouraged to create and learn new

skills. On the other hand, since technology promises an experience by which little effort is expended, Waldorf teachers will veer younger students away from watching television and discourage exposure to computers until the eighth grade or later.

4) Waldorf’s chief aim is to encourage a love of lifelong learning through the use of the arts. The curriculum is language-rich since storytelling, drama and poetry are the mainstay of every lesson. A typical Waldorf school offers several different music classes — music practice with recorders, a choir, an orchestra. Art projects are promoted with the purpose of building a foundation of developing form and technique. Waldorf educators seek to create a sense of wonder about each subject. Even the approach to subjects like math is unique – students may study geometric progression by doing graphic-art projects.

No textbooks are used from 1st to 4th grades, instead students make their own books filled with careful records of field trips, classroom experiments, drawings, impressions of the teachers’ regular oral presentations and syntheses of what they have read in primary sources (at more advanced levels).

5) A fundamental goal of Waldorf schools is to give youngsters a sense of ethics and to produce individuals who are able to impart meaning to their lives. Waldorf schools do not just pay lip service to this goal. Rudolf Steiner founded the first school a few months after the end of World War I and he perceived the need for a new social order and a new sense of ethics: “The need for imagination, a sense of truth and a feeling of responsibility — these are the three forces which are the very nerve of education”, Steiner had said. Each morning students recite a short Steiner poem that aims to inspire students about nature and good work.

Teachers avoid reading from books but daily present oral lessons as topics for open discussion, and to create a dramatic atmosphere in which the moral principles involved in a given subject can be not only pondered but felt. Students may act out, stomping their way through a poem’. Or they may role-play one of the characters in a fairy tale of good triumphing over evil. Waldorf teachers believe that the stories are essential to the students’ ability to develop a sense of empathy and their capacity to find meaning in life.

6) Steiner believed that younger children learn primarily through imitation, that watching and working

with

a

teacher

facilitates

developing

appropriate skills. The relationship between student and teacher is regarded as crucial throughout the course of childhood and early adolescence. In the early years, the teacher, regarded to be the main source of learning, stays with the class for the entire eight years

of elementary school. In high school, students are taught by specialists in each subject. By the time high school is finished, students are ready to explore and find their place in and give contribution to the world.

7) Academics (grades and competitive sports) are deemphasized in the early years of schooling. Waldorf is unusual in that it advocates sending children to first grade a year later than usual. Waldorf students aren’t graded on their work until around the seventh grade. And reading is not taught until 2nd or 3rd grade (though the letters are introduced in first and second). Before teaching sound and word recognition, Waldorf teachers concentrate on exercises such as storytelling and poetry recitation to build up a child’s love of language. As one Waldorf teacher put it “talk and play are the foundation of reading”. Waldorf educators abhor pushing a child into realism (through premature

reading or denial of fantasy play) which they believe will cripple the child’s development.

Waldorf Early Childhood Education A Waldorf early childhood environment is designed to allow

for

the

gentle

unfolding

of

a

child’s

development. A balanced, holistic approach to the educational experience sets the stage for children to gain the necessary knowledge and skills to go forth into the world with self confidence and responsibility for their own destiny. Kindergarten is an extension of the family experience, an intermediate step for the 3- to-6-year-old between the home and formal schooling. The goal is to nurture a sense of wonder and curiosity in the young child, while encouraging reverence for the goodness of life.

In the loving and creative atmosphere of the kindergarten, young children acquire the confidence and discipline they will need for the challenging academic work of the grade school.

Willing – feeling – thinking Hands – Heart - Head In Waldorf education’s view, from birth until age six, a time when so much physical growth occurs, the metabolic-limb system dominates as does the activity of willing or doing (following through). From seven through thirteen, we are chest-ruled creatures, with feeling at the forefront of how we engage with the world. And at puberty, our head and other hardened parts, such as the intellect, become mature enough to be put to work. So children progress from being beings of will (0-6 years) to feeling beings (7-13 years), and only afterward (from 14 onward) to being able to begin to really think.

Before seven years, what must be awakened is the will, via the limbs, beginning with the hands; from seven to thirteen, the feelings or heart should get a teacher’s attention; from puberty onward, thinking or the head comes to the fore. In keeping with this trajectory, the child’s first interest is in the world’s morality or

goodness, then its beauty, and later on, its truth. Modes of engagement begin with physical imitation of

what is good, then center mainly on aesthetically fueled

imagination,

and

later

on

will include

judgement.

Model of Child Development Used in Waldorf Education 0-7

Imitation

Good

Lower senses

7 - 14

Imagination

Beauty

Middle senses

14 - 21

Judgement

Truth

Higher senses

Waldorf education does not see these modes, interests, and soul forces as mutually exclusive. Nevertheless, at certain times, some are thought to be in the forefront or ripe for educating. Waldorf teachers are attuned to this.

Twelve senses Children learn by experiencing the world through their senses. Rudolf Steiner, the founder of Waldorf education, spoke not only of the traditional senses, but 12 senses as being organized into 3 groups of 4. These senses correlate to those three folded nature of the human being : thinking, feeling, and willing- that we strive to maintain in equilibrium to be whole, grounded individuals. This refer to the education the head, heart and hands. Further, we can think about the first group especially as being vital for the human being to access the higher senses.

In the first seven years of childhood the focus is on developing the Foundational Senses or the Sense of Willing, the metabolic limb focus: Touch, Life, Self Movement and Balance.

In the middle years, years of Feeling, the rhythmical development focus: Smell, Taste, Sight, Warmth

In the next seven years, years of Thinking, the nerve sense development focus: Hearing, Word, Thought, Ego

The Lower Senses The lower senses give us a certain consciousness of our body. Focus of development of these senses is 0-7 years of age.

Sense of Touch – This sense tells you something about the object you are touching and your sense of boundary (tactile). We learn where we end, and where something else in the world begins.

Sense of Life – This sense allows us to experience our own constitution, whether we feel well or not.

Appropriate suffering is important. Without these experiences, we could not develop fully as humans. By letting our children experience the bruised knee, the fall off the bike, the toy we will not be buying, the dessert they have to be waiting for, and sadly, the pet who died, they learn to handle life’s disappointments

Sense of Movement –Gives us a sense of our joints and muscles when we move. It is development from sitting, crawling, walking (proprioception).

Sense of Balance –Gives us our relationship to the three dimensions of space; above/below, right/left and front/back (vestibular). Awareness of ones own space, ability to rest and find stillness. Posture, flexibility and finding a proper perspective flow from a healthy sense of balance.

The Middle Senses These senses give us an experience of the world around us. Focus of development for these senses is during 714 years of age

Sense of Sight – Through this sense we experience light, darkness, form, and color. Sense of sight is connected to the faculty of imagination..

Sense of Smell - Through this sense we experience the quality of things (odors, scents, aromas, etc) and our relationship to them. Smelling is related to memory.

Sense of Taste – Digestion begins in the mouth. Ideally, our sense of taste should teach us what is good for us. Tongue distinguishes different qualities of food.

Sense of Warmth– This a two-fold sense, a temperature sense of hot and cold. We experience physical temperatures as well as soul warmth and

coldness, sympathy, enthusiasm, love. Sense or warmth is a “gateway” to the upper senses. The Higher Senses These senses give us access to communicating our thoughts and feelings to others. Also called the social senses. Focus of development is during 14 – 21 years of age.

Sense of Hearing – Our ear has three main parts – the outer, middle and inner ear. Our sense of hearing allows us to differentiate sounds. Perception of sounds, tones, words of others, receiving input from the world. *Connected to the sense of balance.

Sense of Word (Speech) – Allows us to be aware of the language another human being uses to communicate with us. Allows us to grasp how language is used. Perception of thoughts and expression of thoughts, understanding and expressing through gesture as well

as through words. *Connected to the sense of movement.

Sense of Thought - The sense that gives one the capacity to understand, comprehend, and picture what another’s thoughts convey. Understanding of the inner character, ideas and truth. Ability to reflect, use clear judgement. *Connected to the sense of life.

Sense of Ego - The sense that gives one the ability to be sensitive to someone’s individuality. Perception of ones individuality and the individuality of others. *Connected to the sense of touch. The first list, the “will” senses are considered to be key foundational senses associated with the earliest phase of childhood, from birth to age 7. These four senses are said to lead to the proper blossoming of the last four “thinking” senses in the adolescent years between 14 and 21. So in the kindergarten we have to create

environment focused on the development of the lower senses. Free play (playing without interuption using natural materials), story telling, music, poem, acting or make-believe or fantasy play, water color painting, beeswax modelling, crafting, outdoor play are main activities we could give in any form for kindergarten. All of those activites given with the 3 R's in a Waldorf Kindergarten, reverence, repetition, and rhythm.

3R – Rhythm, Repetition, Reverence Rhythm Children are carried along by the rhythms of the world they live in – from rhythms of breathing in their bodies to the daily rhythms of sleeping and waking. The Waldorf view is that children flourish when their daily activities reflect the natural order of life with a

rhythmic arrangement of the day. Rhythm gives a series of fixed anchors for children to work around in their day and week --- mealtimes, as well as bedtime, playtime, work time. Rhythm, once established, is deeply soothing, since they know what is coming next without needing verbal instructions. Also creating a safe boundaries for children, since they know what things will happen when, where and how that creates the feeling that the world is predictable, and safehence, good.

Rhythm is developed around daily, weekly, and seasonal rhythms.

Children can anticipate daily

activities and are given a chance to “breathe” in and out

(there

is

a

balance

in

individual/group,

restful/active activity). The activities in Waldorf Early Childhood flow with a sense of “breathing in” and “breathing out,” from the quiet moments of stories and circle to the active movements of rigorous work

and play (child directive activities through which he or she can relax and release energy). Great attention is paid by the teachers to balancing breathing in and out activities, so that the children do not become overwhelmed by any one activity or energy in the room. This rhythm is not an imposed schedule, but arises from the physical needs of the children and teachers.

Because this rhythm is natural to the

children it assists their physical development, provides them with a sense of security, and prevents over stimulation.

Transitions (such as coming in from

outdoors), which can often be stressful for children, are undertaken with songs and short games. Sample Schedule for Kindergarten 8:20 Welcoming: Children arrive. 8:30 – 9:45 Free play The Weekly Rhythm of Daily Activities: Monday - Painting Tuesday - Gardening

Wednesday - Baking or soup making Thursday - Crafting Friday - Beeswax and nature walk 9:45 – 10:00 Tidy-up, bathroom, hand washing, and rest time. 10:00 – 10:30 Morning Circle – We gather for our morning verse and greet the day and each other in song, movement, and poems. 10:30 – 11:00 Snack Time – The snack is cooked at school. The Weekly Rhythm of Snack: Monday - Rice day Tuesday – Fruit and vegetable day Wednesday – Soup day Thursday – Bread or muffin day Friday – Oat day 11:00 – 12:10 Outside Time – We also use this time to do gardening and nature walks.

12:15 – 12:45 Fairy/Folk Tale (told by teacher), play, or puppet play. 12:45 – 13:00 Tidy-up 13.00 Dismissal



Free play, both indoors and outdoors.

Free play is a selfdirected activity. A child’s self-directed play develops imagination, creativity, large and fine motor development, problem solving, social skills and verbal skills.

According to David Elkind, author of The Power of Play [Da Capo Press, 2006], imaginative play is the catalyst for social, physical, emotional, and moral

development in young children. Play based on the children’s own spontaneous ideas is one of the Waldorf kindergarten’s primary activities.

The simple, open-ended toys in the classroom lend themselves to that kind of play. Pieces of fabric - silk, cotton, wool, anything that is natural. Young children will find a multitude of uses for these. A piece of fabric went from being butterfly wings, a princesses cloak to a ghost costume in the space of about half an hour. A piece of driftwood can become a car one minute, and a house the next. Often children will act out the fairy tales they hear during story time.

Research provides considerable support for not rushing to introduce academics. A study of 100 kindergartens in Germany found that children in “academic” kindergartens

where

they

learned

reading

and

arithmetic actually performed worse in later grades

than children in play-based programs. Finland, where school doesn’t begin at all until age seven, routinely leads the world in literacy, math, and science scores During indoor play, the children use these objects to sort, count, compare, contrast, categorize and create. They recognize shapes and patterns as they build geometric designs. Using modeling beeswax, the children construct geometric and freeform shapes. Arts and crafts materials, and costumes and puppets allow the children to draw, tell and act out stories and engage in other creative play.

Gross motor skill development is the hallmark of early childhood. During outdoor play, the children will be encouraged to be physically active in a safe, supervised play yard—which is for their exclusive use. Students will be able to jump-rope or tackle an obstacle course. The children gain experiential understanding of fundamental scientific principles through observing and manipulating their environment during outdoor playtime, such as learning about the weather, the seasons, and plants and animals of the area. Playing on the seesaw, lever systems, and swings and balance beams, the children will experience the fundamental laws of physics kinesthetically. The importance of hard work is learned as they participate in seasonal outdoor projects and beautify gardening, painting, etc.

their play area

through



Circle.

Circle Time provides a social experience in which children develop an awareness of being an individual within a community. The songs and poems are carefully selected so the children experience the beauty, magic, power, and the humor of language. Our seasonal circles help children become more aware of Nature and their surroundings and strengthen their skills in observation and capacity to describe the world around them.

All circle activities empower students by teaching them appropriate sensory motor skills necessary to social interactions. In addition, learning the circle helps build in the children the power to memorize, a skill that will

come in handy when a play is performed or the periodic



table

must

be

learned!

Stories. Listening to stories is foundational to developing the capacities for reading and writing.

The teacher repeats the telling of the same story for a week; by week’s end, most of the children are able to retell it from memory. This process develops crucial pre-writing skills such as active listening, visualization,

reflective thought, organization, sequencing and concentration. Puppetry and dramatic play also are used to spark intrigue and a passion for learning. By hearing stories from many cultures, children are introduced to the cultural diversity that surrounds them.



Snack time. Kindergarteners help prepare a healthy, homemade snack each day, such as soups, grains, or bread.

In helping to prepare the snack the children learn about nutrition, foods, measurement, estimation, and following directions. When setting the table and collecting the trash, cups, and compostable goods, children are also learning one-to-one correspondence: one placemat per child, one cup per placemat, etc.

Often the children will spontaneously begin to count out loud as water is poured into each cup. These math and science skills, learned in a practical experiential fashion, are the building blocks for conceptual learning.

While eating together, the children develop social skills such as manners, taking turns and cleaning up. Snack time, though its purpose may seem obvious, also teaches important skills. At snack, children remain at the table for an attention-span lengthening time of around thirty minutes. We recite verses as snack is prepared and distributed, and each day we follow the same predictable routine before, during, and after snack. As adults, we often forget what a tremendous amount of concentration is involved in simply remembering to stay in our chairs! The concentration and ability to sit at the table for longer periods of time prepares the children for reading and writing. We

further support this goal by emphasizing a left-toright movement when serving.



Tidy-up time

It involves teamwork, responsibility, and logic. How can we work as a team to put our room or our playground back together again? If we stop to consider just what it takes to put the blocks, shells, cloths, etc. all in the appropriate baskets on the correct shelf, and to put the dark-colored chairs at the play table and the light-colored chairs at the snack table, and to put all the blue play tubs back in the playhouse, we realize we are talking about set theory! This concept of which things go together is an underlying element of many intelligence tests. But the most obvious benefit of tidy-up time for the children is the joy and sense of accomplishment that comes from completing a task that, at first glance, appears to be overwhelming.

During tidy-up time and snack, children are also developing habits that will carry our children through their academic careers. The care we take in folding cloths, putting chairs away, arranging placemats is intended to develop in the children an attention to detail that may later emerge in elementary school years as neat handwriting, good study habits, and a sense of pride in their work

Daily and weekly rhythms, interwoven with seasonal celebrations, support children as they move whole heartedly into play and learning. Handwork, healthy meals, and regular outdoor play encourage the proper growth of the child’s body. Meanwhile, social interaction and creative play lay the foundation for emotional and social growth.

Repetition Repetition is incorporated into all aspects of our rhythms and routines. We hang up our coats and put away our shoes the same way every day. We clear our places after snack and tuck in our chairs after snack the same way every day. Some of our songs and verses we say and sing every day of the school year. We tell the same story for one week or two weeks at a time. We sing or say the same songs and verses for two weeks at a time during our circles, and usually we say or sing each one twice in a row. We use consistent phrases to guide and re-direct children's behaviour. Repetition provides consistency, which helps with discipline.

Young children learn primarily through imitation, and repetition gives children the opportunity to improve their singing, saying or doing a little bit at a time without direct instruction - they don't feel they are being "taught" something or being put in the

spotlight, rather they are learning it themselves by watching carefully and practicing. Repetition is a key to academic success. Repetition allows learning to enter a child deeply - quality over quantity. Learning something by rote - practising something until it becomes routine, whether it be the routine of tucking mittens in a sleeve, hanging a coat on a hook, placing shoes with the toes to the wall and putting on inside shoes (all without a teacher's help) frees up the working memory part of our brains for further, deeper learning. At the beginning of the year the children need lots of help with these tasks and many gentle reminders. But by the end of the year, they hardly need to think about it at all. The first two weeks of school no one remembered to tuck in their chairs (including the teachers) but now they all do it without prompting.

Reverence Reverence, as well as gratitude, is important to foster in early childhood. However, they cannot be taught to young children through doctrine or words. Rather, those attitudes must live within the adults who are caring for them

Reverence develops from the care, love, and devotion we have for each other, the things around us, and the environment in which we live. The teacher fosters reverence through giving thanks for what we eat, greeting the day, and how we part from one another at the end of the day. Ways in which we work to develop reverence in Waldorf Early Childhood classes: 1. Beautiful and lovingly cared for environment: Children witness us engaged in real and meaningful work carried out with love and attention.

2. Spirit of gratitude: · Morning verse · Blessings of thanks at mealtime · Care for materials · Care for one another 3. Consider the value of play: · Create time and space for play · Allow freedom to play and take risks in safe environment · Provide uninterrupted opportunities for play · Unformed toys nurture the imagination 4. Experiences in and with nature: · Working in the garden, climbing trees, gathering leaves, experiencing weather · Observe magic in nature with wonder and awe without the burden of scientific language and concepts (best saved for later) 5. Nature of the programming and activities in the class:

· Lighting of a candle before story and mealtime · Folding a silk · Storytelling · Artistic activities (painting, drawing, beeswax modelling) · Preparing and sharing meals together · Celebrating festivals 6. Reverence and respect for each child and for each other shown daily.

Role of Teachers “Our highest endeavor must be to develop free human beings who are able of themselves to impart purpose and direction to their lives. The need for imagination, a sense of truth, and a feeling of responsibility—these three forces are the very nerve of education.” -Rudolf Steiner-

The Waldorf educational approach works from a child’s perspective. A Waldorf educator looks at what an individual child needs and responds to the child with a suitable approach. The teacher asks: “What do you need and how can I help you?”, “What can I do to make you flourish, to be happy, and to fulfil your potential and your dreams?”, “How can I help you become a well-rounded, healthy human being so that you respect yourself and your fellow human beings?” A Waldorf teacher is always striving to fulfil what a child truly needs – looking deeply into the child, wanting to really see and understand the child. And at the same time the teacher looks at the child’s developmental needs – where the child is at, what the child’s strengths and weaknesses are and how to help the child progress according to his or her own natural rhythm.

Teachers in Waldorf schools are dedicated to generate an inner enthusiasm for learning within every child. They achieve this in a variety of ways. Even seemingly dry and academic subjects are presented in a pictorial and dynamic manner. This eliminates the need for competitive

testing,

academic

placement,

and

behavioristic rewards to motivate learning. It allows motivation to arise from within and helps engender the capacity for joyful lifelong learning.

The Waldorf early childhood educator works with the young child by creating a warm, beautiful and loving home-like environment, which is protective and secure, and where things happen in a predictable, rhythmic manner. The young child learns primarily through imitation and activity. In all aspects, an important requirement of a Waldorf teacher is that her actions be worthy of imitation and filled with purposeful joy. We must be consciously aware of the quality of our movements, for whether we like it or not, we will see the children mirror for us what we have presented to them as it emerges in their actions and play

The kindergarten teacher takes care to create an environment in which the child is warmly nurtured and guided toward realizing his or her emotional, intellectual and social potential. Kindergarten teacher

creates a setting in which the child fully experiences the gift of a childhood filled with imaginative play and concrete exploration

The teacher guides the students each day through various activities such as cooking/baking (motor skills, sociability), remember),

story circle

time

(ability

time

to

listen

(movement

and and

recitation/phonemic awareness), and outdoor and indoor free play (development of social skills, physical and brain development). Such active learning has many benefits, perhaps the most significant of which is building the brain’s own capacity. Inside and outside, the teachers do meaningful work during free play. Often the teachers are preparing various whole grains, fruits, and vegetables for snack. From bread to barley soup, the children help with measuring, cutting, stirring, shaping, and preparing.

They also help wash dishes and set the table for snack. Through cooking and other seasonal tasks such as gardening, grinding grains into flour, and mending toys—the children experience the natural cycles of the year and learn practical skills that prepare them for the grades program. This atmosphere of working and caring, of calmness and usefulness translates into children who feel respected, and revered, and safe.

“Our highest endeavor must be to develop free human beings, who are able of themselves to impart purpose and direction to their lives.”– Rudolf Steiner, Founder of the Waldorf School Movement