Waldorf preschool is a place for children to be children. A chance to be with other children and away from outside distractions and technology. A place where caring adults are not on phones, computers or talking above their heads. We want the children to feel their classroom is like their own kingdom. Where they can make up elaborate or simple play ideas with their friends or play by themselves.
A kindergarten is set up so the children learn by example. The educator must strive to always be worthy of imitation. As educators we do not chat all morning with each other but instead are open to the children’s needs with our watchful eyes. We practice handwork of some sort while children play and are careful not to focus only on that, but keep an eye and ear out for the classroom as we work on projects.
We engage children in meaningful activities like cooking, cleaning, fixing, sewing and other daily activities. We build our classrooms a daily, weekly, monthly and yearly rhythms. The children soon learn what day and time it is according to the activities and songs they see and hear.
The day is carefully balanced with breathing in mind. As we say, expansion and contraction. Breath in, breath out… The day must be balanced. Too much outward activity causes hyper children and can be exhausting; like dancing, throwing games, yelling. And on the contrary, too much inward (like reading, sewing, coloring) can cause a different kind of anxiety. It won’t allow for the natural rhythm of the child to express themselves. So we observe and then set up our day according to the needs of our children the first week of class. We adjust as needed and our children’s needs change.
The kindergarten is a place where children learn to use beautiful open ended toys, craft supplies and learn how to sit as a community during meals. A place to practice good manners and learn empathy from our teachers and other children. A place for their imagination to ripen as they make new friends.
The Waldorf method is based on balancing teaching through their head, heart and hands.
This is the best job in the world, and we love our work.
