Kindergarten
Parents’ Handbook
Contents
Page
3.
Welcome and Introduction
3. Steiner Waldorf Early Childhood Education
5. The Importance of the Natural Environment for the Young Child
5.
Creative Play
7.
A Typical Morning
10. Festivals and Celebrations
12. How to Support Your Child in Kindergarten
14. Support We Can Offer
15. The Steiner Waldorf Perspective on Formal Learning in Early Childhood
17. Resources
“The more slowly trees grow at first, the sounder they
are at the core, and I think the same is true of human beings.”
Thoreau
Welcome and Introduction
We are delighted to welcome you and
your child to our Kindergarten where
we aim to offer a calm and progressive
approach to early childhood
education within a warm, nurturing
environment.
We hope this handbook will offer you
a picture of the journey you and your
child are taking.
Steiner-Waldorf Early
Childhood Education
Our education is child centred and
honours the uniqueness of each child
whilst at the same time working with
the needs of the group as a whole.
Since a child’s primary mode of
learning is that of doing, learning is
integrated rather than subject-based
with an emphasis on process and experience rather than outcome. Children
are given time to unfold at their own
pace, with plenty of opportunities for
uninterrupted play-based exploration.
Children can enter the Kindergarten
once they are three years old; they
then stay with their teacher until
rising seven, when they can start Class
1 in the main school. This later start
to formal education allows children to
experience the joy of learning without
unnecessary pressure. The most
important foundations for future
learning are the development of a
healthy body, a desire to learn, and
inner confidence.
In each group there are up to 20
children, led by a teacher trained in
early years education; this teacher
is supported by up to two assistants.
Emphasis is placed upon an interactive social experience through which
qualities such as co-operation, empathy, independence and initiative can
develop. The Kindergarten is a ‘family’
of mixed-aged children, a family which
stays together to provide a sense of
belonging and caring for one another.
Younger children learn from their older
peers, who in turn have an opportunity
to take responsibility and provide
support for the younger ones.
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Rhythm and Repetition
Our Kindergarten is based on the
principles of rhythm and repetition,
imitation and care of the young child’s
senses.
Working within a strong and regular
rhythm promotes a sense of security
and self-confidence.
Rhythm is reflected in our daily life,
giving form and structure so that the
children know what to expect. The
daily rhythm and its pattern of
activities are cradled within the
rhythm of the week. For example,
painting and baking are repeated on
the same day each week. A cyclical
rhythmic pattern is also reflected in
the way that themes relate to seasons
of the year. With each season comes a
regular activity – for example grinding
wheat in the autumn or planting seeds
in the spring. Stories and songs also
relate to the seasons and the nature
table reflects the changing natural
environment through the year.
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Imitation
Children learn best through their
innate capacity to copy.
Since learning gains meaning by its
relevance to life, the teacher
surrounds the children with purposeful
activities that care for the Kindergarten ‘home’. Cooking, baking,
gardening, cleaning and caring for
materials are all meaningful tasks,
tasks which are nourishing for children
to imitate.
Care and Development of the Young
Child’s Senses
Young children come into the world
with complete openness and trust,
absorbing everything around them
without filters or buffers.
We provide the child’s physical
environment indoors and outside with
varied and nourishing opportunities for
self-directed learning - experiences
in touch, balance, lively and joyful
movement, and inward listening.
meadows as they joyfully celebrate
the seasons of the year through all
that nature brings.
The natural environment provides
children with a sense of adventure,
expanding their horizons and exposing
them to the unplanned and unknown.
Through creating their own, often
ingenious, physical challenges and
risks, children practise discernment
and decision-making and, in so doing,
learn much about their strengths and
limitations.
The Kindergarten has clean, orderly,
beautiful and peaceful surroundings
with natural materials and interesting
textures.
The Importance of the
Natural Environment for
the Young Child
A young child’s need to move is fundamental at this age. Space to run, skip
and climb, stretch out and test
balance helps children to develop
co-ordination.
Creative Play
“There was a child that went forth every
day, and the first object he look’d upon,
that object he became…”
Walt Whitman
“The best classroom and richest
cupboard is roofed only by the sky.”
Margaret McMillan
Children come into life with a sense
that the world is good. They live in a
dreamy consciousness - quite different
from that of adults - within which they
feel inwardly connected with all that
surrounds them. Peace and time to be
in the natural world are essential to
experiencing the wonders of life.
Children enjoy experiencing sunlight
and darkness, sparkly frosts and fires,
muddy puddles and flower-filled
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In our Kindergarten we attach great
importance to the role of self-directed
play in healthy child development. We
support the children in their
imaginative endeavours through the
provision of simple, unformed, natural
materials that nurture their senses and
maximise imaginative potential. We
believe that the free flow of
imagination in childhood forms the
foundation for free-flowing thinking as
an adult.
Supporting Research
There is a growing body of scientific
evidence to show that imaginative play
is fundamental to the social, cognitive
and emotional development of
children. Studies have found that
‘good child players’ build up a strong
sense of will, learn to nurture, take
responsibility and empathise.
Furthermore, they develop focus and
concentration in preparation for later
academic learning and tend to be less
aggressive than ‘poor players.’ They
are also likely to take more initiative,
be more adaptable and show fewer
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signs of fear, sadness and fatigue.
Imaginative play provides children
with a chance to rehearse a whole host
of life situations. Research has even
suggested that rich imaginative play
can potentially prepare the neurology
of the brain to cope with psychological
trauma and guard against modern-day
childhood disorders such as ADHD.
“Play for young children is not
recreation activity...
It is not leisure-time activity nor
escape activity...
Play is thinking time for young
children. It is language time.
Problem-solving time. It is memory time,
planning time, investigating time. It is
organisation-of-ideas time, when the
young child uses his mind and body and
his social skills and all his powers in
response to the stimuli he has met.
James L. Hymes, Jr., Child Development
Specialist, Author
A Typical Morning
Starting time – 08:10: doors are open
from 08:00.
On your arrival, your teacher will greet
you and your child in the Kindergarten
building or garden; this is a natural
opportunity for you to share anything
you may need to say about your child.
During this part of the morning
children have the opportunity to play
with their friends and be involved in
one of the weekly activities such as
baking or painting. There is a regular
walk in the surrounding environment
during the morning In addition, one
morning a week is based outdoors in
the form of an expedition within the
school grounds.
Ring time
The children come together with the
teacher, who leads a rhythmical
sequence of songs, poems, finger
games and traditional ring games.
The content draws on what is happening outside in nature throughout the
changing seasons, such as gathering
apples at summer’s end and chopping
wood for the winter fire.
The children copy the teacher’s
gestures and movements. Ring time is
a daily activity except when replaced
by a weekly visit by the eurythmy
teacher.
Eurythmy
Eurythmy is a form of movement
developed by Rudolf Steiner. It
engages the whole human being,
enhancing children’s co-ordination and
helping them feel more at ease with
themselves. Eurythmy is fundamental
to the curriculum from Kindergarten
through to Class 12.
At this age the eurythmy teacher will
usually use a fairy tale as a base for
the movement.
Break time
At mid-morning the children enjoy a
healthy snack around the table together. A reverent mood is created through
the lighting of a candle and the group
saying grace. A sense of respect is felt
throughout the meal and reinforced at
the end by the group joining hands to
say “thank you”. The children set the
table with care and attention to detail
and some may have helped to prepare
the food. They are also involved in
serving and clearing away the snack.
We provide a range of wholesome food
on the same days each week.
All ingredients used are fresh and
organic. If your child has any special
dietary requirements please inform
your teacher.
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“Children want spaces at all ages….
ample space is almost as much wanted
as food and air. To move, run, to find
things out by new movement, to feel
one’s life in every limb, that is the life of
early childhood.”
Margaret McMillan
Time for creative play
This offers an opportunity for children
to initiate their own play, free from
adult involvement and direction. The
children recreate all that they have
observed in their day-to-day lives. A
whole host of elaborate structures and
associated play themes emerge from
the hustle and bustle:
‘houses’, ‘shops’, ‘hospitals’,
‘veterinary clinics’, ‘cars’, ‘trains’,
‘boats’ and ‘planes’ may be built out
of simple items such as logs, shells,
stones, conkers, pine cones, veils,
tables and chairs. Play is children’s
‘work’ and they take it very seriously!
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Craft, handwork and seasonal
activities
Alongside creative play there is an
opportunity for children to work out
of their own initiative at practical
and artistic tasks such as sewing,
drawing, baking, cooking, painting or
woodwork. The children are welcome
but not required to join in and, as
with all aspects of the morning, they
find their way into the experience at
their own pace. Handwork and crafts
are predominantly connected to the
seasons: autumn gives us nature’s
treasures - teasels, leaves, nuts and
berries, which give rise to leafy mobiles and woven tapestries while wools
and warm textures nourish the senses
through the cold months of winter.
Conversely, spring and summer are the
time for light airy fabrics for butterflies and bees.
We aim to bring wholesomeness into
all our activities, seeing the whole
process through from beginning to
end. For example, we may make a
harvest loaf with our own ground flour,
and apples are collected, made into
jam and pressed into juice.
Tidy-up time
Tidy-up time unfolds seamlessly out
of the creative play period and is an
integral part of the morning. With
great enthusiasm simple apple boxes
are converted into all manner of delivery vehicles and carts - ferrying their
goods to and fro. ‘Shopkeepers’ may
sort conkers, shells and pine cones,
the ‘puppies’ and ‘kittens’ may be
busy carrying cloths and blankets back
to the basket. This is a time when
the children are absorbed in sorting,
9
cleaning, folding, stacking and making
sure everything is in its rightful place
before play can begin anew the next
day.
Story time
The morning ends with a fairy tale,
folk story or puppet play - each one
chosen with the season and its
significance in mind.
Festivals and Celebrations
Children engage their imagination
more fully if they are left to build
their own pictures rather than following illustrations in a book. So stories
are always told by heart rather than
read. In hearing the rich and diverse
language of fairy tales, children’s
vocabulary is enriched.
Festivals play a significant role in the
life of the Kindergarten and they illuminate the way through the seasonal
year. These celebrations are deeply
nourishing to the young child: they
enrich the innate feelings of reverence
and openness to the wonders of the
world.
Autumn
Term
Spring
Term
Summer
Term
September
Michaelmas
Harvest
February
Candlemas
May
May Day
March/April
Easter (end of term)
May/June
Whitsun
November/December
Martinmas
Advent
St Nicholas
Christmas
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Home time 12:30
After a full and busy morning the
children are handed back into the care
of their parent or carer, often with a
brief word passing between teacher
and parent about the child’s morning.
July
St John’s
End of Term Picnic
Summer (end of year)
Each festival nurtures specific qualities such as gratitude at harvest time,
courage and perseverance at Michaelmas in autumn, hope and anticipation
during Advent, the love and inner light
of Christmas, the transformation and
rebirth of springtime and Easter, the
joy and celebration of nature at May
Day and the radiance of the St John’s
Midsummer fire. The children love
preparing for the festivals by decorating the room, baking celebratory
treats and learning special songs and
verses. They enjoy the anticipation of
the event itself as well as the magical
memories that they are left with. Our
festivals foster a special relationship
between the parents and Kindergarten
setting, creating a sense of belonging
for the young child who is held within
a wider embrace of caring adults.
We will provide you with details of
each individual festival as it approaches during the year. The list below details the festivals celebrated annually.
As well as our festivals, we celebrate
the birthday of each child with a
special story.
11
How to Support Your
Child in Kindergarten
Daily rhythms
Please be punctual when dropping off
and collecting your child. Children who
arrive late can find it difficult to settle. The children eagerly await your
greeting at the end of the morning.
Should you be delayed, please notify
Reception (01342 822275), who will
pass the message on to your teacher.
Please remember that once you have
collected your children at the end of
the morning they become your responsibility. If another adult is collecting,
please fill in a permission slip from
your teacher at drop-off that morning.
Regular attendance is important for
your child’s experience and development. Please also refrain from taking
holidays during term times. It is important that children are present at
all our festivals, which often fall at
the end of term: these festivals are a
fundamental part of Kindergarten life
and create an experience of belonging
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and completion both for the parents
and the children. Taking children out
of Kindergarten is sometimes unavoidable, but if they will not be attending
for any reason, you must inform
Reception on 01342 822275 by 8.30am.
Should your school-age child (over 5)
need to be absent due to special
circumstances, a request must be
made in writing in advance to First Aid
at: [email protected].
Children should be kept at home if
they are unwell. Please let
Reception know first thing on the first
day of absence. Children should be
fully recovered before returning, at
which time an absence slip needs to be
completed. If your child needs to be
given medication during Kindergarten
hours, please speak to your teacher
who will explain the procedure for giving your written consent.
Kindergarten clothing
Our morning is a time of work and
play, some of which is spent outside.
Your child needs a full set of waterproofs and boots.
Hats are worn all year round for
warmth or sun protection. In summer,
shoulders should be covered and sandals should not have open toes.
Please make sure the indoor slippers
have backs.
In accordance with the school’s
clothing policy, clothing and footwear
should be without pictures or logos.
Please label your child’s belongings.
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Support we can offer
Home visits
From time to time, we like to be invited to have a home visit. Children
love to have their teacher come. It
can be very beneficial for the teacher
to see the child at home and helps to
strengthen the bond between teacher
and family.
Parents’ evenings
Each Kindergarten has an evening
every term where the parents come
together with the teacher and enjoy
sharing an aspect of the education.
Often there will be a craft or artistic
activity, and sometimes a guest
speaker.
Further support
The school has an anthroposophical GP
who visits the school to work closely
with the teachers and parents.
The eurythmy therapist may be invited
to work towards helping the child. This
takes the form of three short sessions
a week for half a term and you will be
invited to observe a session and have
the opportunity to ask any questions
then.
Keeping in touch
Sometimes it is not possible to speak
with the teacher at the beginning of
the morning, so each Kindergarten has
a postbox outside the door where
messages can be left. This enables
parents to alert the teacher to
anything they may need to know.
(It could even be something simple:
perhaps the child didn’t have a good
night’s sleep.) Meeting times are
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available to discuss your child’s
development and any specific
questions or concerns you may have.
Class Contacts
Each class throughout the school will
have one or two Class Contacts.
In the Kindergarten their role is to
support the teachers and the parents.
They also offer help and encourage
parents to get involved in Festival
preparation, gardening mornings,
Advent Fair fund raising and social
gatherings.
Canteen
The canteen is open every weekday
morning from drop-off to 09:30. An
opportunity for parents to meet, have
a drink and sometimes get involved in
an activity. Younger siblings are
welcome.
Preparing for Class 1
In their last year of Kindergarten the
teachers provide the children with
the handwork skills which will support
them when they move into the lower
school.
During the course of this final year the
parents of the six-year olds are invited
to an evening talk to hear about this
stage of the children’s development.
The Steiner-Waldorf
Perspective on Formal
Learning in Early Childhood
‘It is an established principle in
Steiner-Waldorf Early Years education
that young children are not taught to
read and write before rising
seven. Instead, the curriculum seeks
to nurture and protect the child’s
imaginative world because this is seen
as fundamental to healthy child
development. We wait for them to
‘discover’ and ‘wake up’, ‘become
aware of’, and ‘begin to question’
according to their individual
development and readiness.'
(For more information please refer to
the “Guide to the Early Years
Foundation Stage in Steiner-Waldorf
Early Childhood Settings”).
‘It is wonderful that the Kindergarten teachers strive towards their ideal, yet they also
recognise that this is simply not always practical within our home lives, or not
necessarily how every parent chooses to be. It is important for each family to find
their own way of supporting their child’s Kindergarten years, a way that works for
them in their own household.
It is far more important for a child to have a secure and happy home environment
than one which is struggling to uphold ideals.’
An observation from a parent
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“Although it is highly necessary that each person should be fully awake in
later life, the child must be allowed to remain as long as possible in the
peaceful, dreamlike condition of pictorial imagination in which his early
years of life are passed. For if we allow his organism to grow strong in this
non-intellectual way, he will rightly develop in later life the intellectuality
needed in the world today”.
Rudolf Steiner
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Resources
(For all Policies and Procedures relating to Kindergarten please see our website.)
List of useful websites:
Michael Hall School - www.michaelhall.co.uk
The Steiner Waldorf Schools Fellowship - www.steinerwaldorf.org
The Alliance for Childhood - www.allianceforchildhood.org.uk
Rudolf Steiner Press - www.rudolfsteinerpress.com
Floris Books - www.florisbooks.co.uk
Suggested reading list:
Waldorf Education - Christopher Clouder and Martin Rawson (Floris Books)
You are Your Child’s First Teacher - Rahima Baldwin (Hawthorn Press - early years
series)
Free To Learn - Introducing Steiner Waldorf Early Childhood Education - Lynne
Oldfield, (Hawthorn Press)
The Genius of Play - Sally Jenkinson (Hawthorn Press)
The Incarnating Child - Joan Salter (Hawthorn Press)
Well, I Wonder – Childhood in the Modern World - Sally Schweizer (Rudolf Steiner
Press)
Toxic Childhood - Sue Palmer (Orion Books
Festivals, Family and Food - Diana Carey and Judy Large (Hawthorn Press)
All Year Round - Ann Druitt, Christine Fynes-Clinton, Marije Rowling (Hawthorn
Press)
Waldorf Kindergarten Today - Marie-Louise Compani and Peter Lang (Floris books)
Kindling - The Journal for Steiner-Waldorf early Childhood Care and Education
([email protected])
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Autumn 2016
www.michaelhall.co.uk
Michael Hall Steiner School, Kidbrooke Park, Priory Road, Forest Row, East Sussex, RH18 5JA
Tel: 01342 822275 [email protected] - Registered Charity Number 307006