Waldorf preschool and kindergarten teachers strive to inspire a lifelong love of learning in young children. They do this by helping little ones meet goodness, beauty and truth in the world around them. We want our young students to be filled with wonder about life and cultivate their thriving imagination, so that they can take that intrinsic curiosity to the academic tasks required in the grades and in life beyond school.
Our Early Childhood students are also learning skills, both physical and social, as they thrive in a familiar, dependable environment focused on the rhythm of the day. This environment is also developmentally-appropriate by design and one in which child-directed creative play, story time, artistic activities and outdoor exploration teach children essential skills they need for future academic learning.
Piget’s work indicates that creative play in early childhood leads to creative thinking in adulthood. The ability of children to form an idea and “play” is the basis thinking outside the box later on in life. Creative play is foundational work for kindergartners’ later learning.
Daily group and individually initiated activities include circle time, creative free-play indoors and out, eating meals together, clean-up time, and story time. Weekly activities include a visit to our Biodynamic farm, painting, drawing, eurythmy (an art of movement) and practical skills. Kneading dough, chopping vegetables, sewing, finger knitting or working in the wood shop with industrious and capable hands to saw, rasp or sand are some of the weekly tasks the children enjoy. For the older children in the kindergarten, this ‘real work’ meets the transformational changes happening within.
Small and gross motor skill development is incorporated into all aspects of the Waldorf kindergarten: running; digging in the garden; finger knitting; sewing; pounding nails; sawing and sanding wood; polishing boots; chopping vegetables; folding napkins; and so on. Children who are forced to sit at desks and focus on academics, or worse who are asked to use screens, are losing these important developmental skills.
But what about academics? Are our young students “falling behind?”
Study after study has proven that the principle of “sooner is better” with academic instruction is deeply flawed; while the benefits of delayed academics are being shown to improve outcomes such as reading comprehension.
The Harvard Education Letter harps on these issues as well. The results from this study, answer these questions: “Have kids gotten smarter? Can they learn things sooner? What effect has modern culture had on child development? The surprising answers—no, no, and none.”
But what if your little one is particularly bright and you’re worried they will be bored with play-based learning? According to Dr. Richard House, a senior lecturer at Roehampton University’s Research Centre for Therapeutic Education, delaying formal schooling for bright kids is particularly important. This article summarizes his recommendations, saying, “…gifted pupils from relatively affluent backgrounds suffered the most from being pushed ‘too far, too fast.’ He quotes a major US study – carried out over eight decades – that showed children’s ‘run-away intellect’ actually benefited from being slowed down in the early years, allowing them to develop naturally.”
The fact of the matter is that young children learn best through play and other developmentally appropriate activities. Sitting still at their desks, doing worksheets, listening to lectures and explanations is not the rich, relevant and experiential learning environment that young children need and deserve.
Interested in learning more about Summerfield Waldorf School and Farm Early Childhood Education? Join us for our Valentine Tea on February 8th at 9:30 AM — a special event for families with children 5 and under. This free event is a great way to peek into our early childhood programs where you can experience the magic, meet our wonderful teachers, and make new friends.
Click Here to Register for Our Valentine Tea.
Piget’s work indicates that creative play in early childhood leads to creative thinking in adulthood. The ability of children to form an idea and “play” is the basis thinking outside the box later on in life. Creative play is foundational work for kindergartners’ later learning.
Small and gross motor skill development is incorporated into all aspects of the Waldorf kindergarten: running; digging in the garden; finger knitting; sewing; pounding nails; sawing and sanding wood; polishing boots; chopping vegetables; folding napkins; and so on. Children who are forced to sit at desks and focus on academics, or worse who are asked to use screens, are loosing these important developmental skills.