By Sharlyn Diéguez

Going back to school means getting back into a routine. Routines may not involve vacations spontaneous water fights or the freedom to grab a good book and lay on the lawn chair all day, but they offer different kinds of benefits.

A routine can:

• help keep your life simple and organized, and we all know how crazy the school year can get.
• provide your children with a structure to learn important skills like how to set priorities, meet deadlines, become more independent and develop habits of self-care.

Here are some ideas that can be applied at home to make the
return to school easier for the children.

According to Lianna Wilson and Sarah Straus¹, it is important to let your child know that his nervous or apprehensive feelings about the start of school are normal. All children (and adults!) have a hard time getting back into the routine of the school year. The knowledge that he is not alone in this experience will help your child feel he’s being heard and understood.

In Vivint´s article², she mentions how important is to use a calendar. It might include school events, assignments, doctor appointments, or different activities. You might also want to consider color-coding, using stickers, or highlighting to keep your calendar even more organized and easy to use. Include your child in the organization of the calendar.

• Do they have a hard time waking up so more time should be dedicated to this part of the morning?
• Does breakfast require certain limitations or preparations?
• Do you have a little girl who likes you to spend time styling her hair before school?

According to Lisa Chamoff ³, nothing makes for a productive day like a good night’s sleep. We all know how grumpy children (and parents) can get without a solid night of rest. Getting your children to bed on time is a vital part of your school routine. Here is a chart that could help you know how much sleep your child really needs.

Here are some tips on what you can do at night to make your back to school morning routine even more efficient.

• Layout clothes for the next day
• Prepare lunches
• Set out breakfast plates

References
¹ Lianna Wilson and Sarah Straus, Helping children back into the school routine, link
² Vivint Smart Home, How to create a simple back to home routine, link
³ Lisa Chamoff,9 tips for getting back to school routine, link

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Over the years, Christmas has become a materialistic season, and have lost the values ​​of generosity, enthusiasm and family celebration. Gift-giving has become the most important and often the only way to show affection. Therefore, it sends a confusing message to the little ones, that the meaning of this special holiday is measured in abundance and gifts.

As mentioned by Carmen Sanchez in her article, our children are the most exposed to this compulsive consumerism: they are a target audience really sensitive to marketing strategies, and as a result, kids are part of the culture of consumerism since childhood. Children often aren’t as excited to know what they are going to receive, but rather they are excited about the number of toys they will receive.

The most serious consequence of not measuring ourselves in the amount of toys we buy is that we are teaching the little ones that happiness is related to items: clothes,  toys, etc. As a consequence, children are growing up with the wrong values and we are seeing a new generation that is highly demanding, individualistic and materialistic.

Escaping marketing strategies and making children understand that gifts are not going to give them happiness is a challenge, but we can give them meaningful gifts and bring back the meaning of Christmas, the importance of being together and sharing with our loved ones.

We have put together a few tips that can help you to this purpose:

It is much more satisfying to the person giving it, and for the recipient, when time, effort and love were invested on making something unique. Handicrafts are a lovely detail and craft stores have a variety of resources and materials to help you create something beautiful no matter your skill level.

Playing with balls, games, bicycles, or tricycles that motivates your child to play with others, so the family can enjoy time together. At the same time, children acquire social relationships, and these activities promote a healthy lifestyle.

The new generation of consumers are convinced that they ought to enjoy things and not the experience. We have an option to stop this pattern and provide lifetime experiences as individuals and as families.  Family trips, starting new traditions, service projects are only a few ideas. In addition, betting on experiences decreases one of the most important consequences of consumerism at Christmas: the generation of waste.

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How should you organize your children´s toys? The world’s most famous businesswoman and organization consultant has many fantastic resources on the process of decluttering and organizing.

Some of Marie´s Kondo best tricks for organizing toys are:

This is similar to how she organizes everything, including clothing and other household objects. Use a different basket or other container for each category.

They’re especially helpful for kids (and you) to easily see what’s inside—no looking around for the right toys. Stack them vertically in baskets, rather than throwing them in, to save space.

Kondo is known for her «spark joy» method, and it applies to kids’ toys too. Keep only the best toys, or the ones your kids are still playing with. Ask them to donate the ones they don’t love anymore to a child who will. This can help to free up precious space—and make room for new toys to enter.

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By Julie Moon

Very young children learn in an immediate,
participative way and come to know and make
the world their own through physical activity
(Steiner, 1996 [1907]).

In her book, Early Childhood Wisdom Ebba Bodame calls it the gift of boundaries that we must set for our children.

Sometimes we feel mean if we tell the children “its bedtime”; “put a warm jacket on” and their response is “no”. Then we go into explaining why they should go to bed or put their jacket, instead of simply expressing the physical need and add a storyline. For example, “it’s time to go to bed now. Your very own star is ready to sparkle for you”; or “let´s put on our jackets and button them up so the cheeky wind cannot blow them off”. So we create a story around bedtime which defuses the “no”. We are not entering into an argument about it.

On the other hand, we need to work on OUR boundaries and give their imagination free expression. We should not interfere in our child’s imaginative play by saying “why don’t you build the tower a little taller” or “add some blue here”. Everything they do is from their own creativity and must be nurtured.

We do have to set boundaries with their daily rhythm. We need to create a time for rest and a time for activities. We need to establish this rhythm with bathing, eating, playing, sleeping, etc. Therefore, by asking the child, “Do you want dinner?” or “Would you like to go to sleep?” is based on a mistaken belief that the child is able to make these decisions, which they are not able to do so. It is our responsibility in these early years to provide guidance where we should. The child will feel secure when he feels his caregiver knows about life.

We need to keep in mind that the child at this age can not discern, they are learning through imitation that the world is a good place, and they have a sense of trust that their caregivers know what is best for them. Therefore, it’s our responsibility to help them grow wholesome in all areas and guide them through a balanced life.

Bodame says that meeting boundaries is uncomfortable, and it often brings conflict. But for the young child meeting boundaries brings strength. The child will grow in strength and resilience if he is allowed to feel and push against a firm boundary. If the boundary collapses when the child pushes against it, he is unsupported and falls. She says, “though he may get what he wants, an opportunity for building resilience and trust is lost”.

Rhythm is our great supporter in setting boundaries. At school, we have a good rhythm and the children move from one activity to the next, smoothly, from packing away our toys when they hear “there was a little busy gnome who said it’s time to tidy our home” or when we light the candle before food. When the rhythm is set for going to bed there is no need to explain.

In the chapter ‘clear messages and limited choices’ from the book Beyond the Rainbow Bridge by Barbara J Patterson and Pamela Bradley, says that some parents grew up with such strong discipline that they do not wish to employ it on their own children, resulting in too little structure, too much confusion and are suffering from too little discipline. Therefore, instead of asking them to do something, we can make it a statement by adding “may” so it is not as direct. For example, “you may hang up your coat” or “you may place your boots on the mat”.

Lisa Gromicko a teacher from Shining Mountain Waldorf School in Boulder beautifully says “the creativity of this stage is truly monumental, as the ‘wheel is re-invented’ and other foundational concepts are literally re-discovered over and over».

I hope that this helps with your understanding of the importance of creating boundaries which then enables the child to feel safe and engage fully in their creativity.

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By April Misfud

When choosing toys for our children we must think only what will support and encourage creative play.

Having toys made with natural materials is important in supporting our child’s senses. However, toys made of plastic are not going to ruin our children. The most important question to consider when choosing your child’s toy is… Does it allow the child to freely imitate the world around them? During play, they are learning to do all the things they see and experience, props for costumes are fantastic. Toys are not necessarily toys, they can be real tools or open-ended toys. Open-ended toys can become all they can dream them to be. Usually, the fewer details the more potential; for example, a beautiful stone could become a train or a cow.

Toys can be found everywhere, in nature, in the cupboard of old things, etc. The main thing to consider are the possibilities rather than set costumes or themed toys. When purchasing toys try to avoid characters from movies or where only one scenario is possible. We want to encourage the child’s imagination to be unlimited in every way possible.

• Here is a list of things to consider:
• Does it hold natural beauty?
• Does it feel good, will the toy develop the child’s sense and appreciation of  aesthetics?
• Does it leave room for imagination? Think open-ended toys…
• Will it inspire imitative play? Think practical toys, for example, kitchen utensils so they can imitate that which they see and experience.

If the answer to these questions is yes, then it´s the perfect toy.

Toys such as lego are great and can hold the child’s focus for many hours. However, nowadays to buy leggo means you’re buying a set theme which is designed for the child to assemble in one way. If you can find older sets of lego or try to remove some of the themed pieces then it would become a more supportive toy for the child. Buy the lego you want, then find a beautiful bag or box to keep it in, removing all the packaging and pieces that are not supportive to their imagination. Gift the child a set of lego that is ready for play and is beautiful. Perhaps add some stones, shells or pieces of fleece (which could become sheep or other animals), sticks, leaves, driftwood or other things to extend their play. Colored silks are great to add as they can become rivers or grass areas.

I don’t intend to encourage stress around the toys surrounding your children but I do want to encourage a healthy way of thinking. If the child’s environment is supportive then some plastic toys are not going to harm your children. Quality toys should always be the first option, and here is an area where quality over quantity is very important. Play toys can either nourish or dull our children’s imagination. I would like to offer a list of considerations towards creating a supportive environment for our children.

• A peaceful home environment.
• Not overstimulated by toys or by electronic media.
• Plenty of open-ended and creative toys or playthings.
• Are able to partake in meaningful work around the house.

Here´s a list of supportive toys for children from 3-6 years and may continue to satisfy and support their imagination until the end of class 2.

• Dressing Up cloaks, crowns, swords, hats, belts, simple tunics and scarves.
• Wooden bricks as many as possible and not just the little ones either.
• Animal Figures are wooden or plastic.
• Cardboard Boxes of all sizes: can be caves, stoves, barns, houses…
• Pots, Pans, Cooking Utensils.
• Real Tools for helping around the house and garden.
• A Selection of balls.}
• Play cloths for making tents, wings, headwraps, rivers, grass, veils…
• Natural Objects pine cones, driftwood, smooth stones, seashells.
• Puppets, glove puppets, table puppets, stick puppets, finger puppets.
• A wooden frame can be a stage, store counter, car window, stable door…
• Cars, planes, trucks, etc. metal or plastic.
• Simple wooden puzzles.
• Dolls and stuffed animals a few beloved companions is probably better than an endless collection of cheap and garish fairground dolls and animals.
• Train ser wood or plastic; something to pull or push, nor something to watch.
• Sandbox.
• Stumps to jump on and off and to have tea parties on.
• Various Swings rope, tire, metal.
• Logs for climbing, balancing, sitting or being horses or dragons.
• Playhouse or Den the simple the better.
• Places to… hide, dig, dream, plan, explore, get wet.

I hope you enjoyed this article and I would like to encourage you to apply this way of thinking towards the quality and quantity of your child’s screen time. Including movies and apps. My opinion is that these concepts on screens are fixed, set themes that don’t encourage the child to pull their imagination from within themselves out into the world. I understand how supportive a screen can be to a parent who just needs a bit of child-free time, in these cases the consideration of the quality of what is being absorbed by your child is extremely important. Could a warm pot of fresh playdough with essential oil hold their attention? If you choose screen time there are supportive shows like Playschool. Consider the quality of that which they consume.

If you enjoyed these ideas please research Waldorf parenting for more inspiration and considerations. It is also beneficial for you to research the effects that screen time can have on your child’s developing imagination and their brains so that you can make your choices from an informed position. This is a good article to start with https://denverwaldorf.org/media-mindfulness/.

(With inspiration from the First Grade Syllabus created and written by Donna Simmons)

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