The Waldorf Kindergarten

One area of child development that resonates deeply with me is the concept that children ages birth to 7 years learn best through play, movement, imitation and sensory experience. They do not learn best through intellectual instruction. People may say, “but my four-year-old is interested in the alphabet”, or “but a five-year-old can learn how to read”, or “my six-year-old is learning how to write”. There is a significant difference in understanding what a child can do versus what a child should do. Certainly children can learn intellectual based academics at a young age, but is that the best thing for their development? In my opinion, and according to research (showing ‘fadeout’ by mid elementary school, citation below), it is not in line with best pedagogical practices to focus on academics for children under the age of seven or under the age of “age of awareness”. The goal of this first stage of development (birth to age 7) is to protect the child sense of wonder and to strengthen the life forces through rhythm, warmth, and creative play laying a healthy foundation for the rigor of academic learning that will follow in the years to come.

The child between birth and 7 years goes through several smaller yet no less significant developmental milestones. The first of tremendous significance occurs during a period of time often coined “the terrible twos.” We see greater independence from toddlers and an emerging sense of self. The inner developmental change is seen physically with the resounding “I” coming just before or around 3 years of age. These young souls have developed a sense of the “I” as a separate physical being and no longer refer to themselves in the third person. This exciting realization is usually followed by the repeated us of the word ‘no.’

At age 5, another milestone is reached which makes children especially well suited for informal group play/preschool. The move from ‘parallel’ play to ‘cooperative’ play may be overlooked if mistook 3-year-olds playing ‘together’ at the park when they both had their trucks in the sand. They certainly would communicate when one child took another child’s toy and parents or educators would often then encourage sharing, but this play was not the shared play that would develop at around 5 years of age. At this point, children create rich imaginative play together. This play is a shared experience that usually includes shared rules or developed storylines. “You’re the Mommy, and I’m the Daddy,” a child may say to another. “And we live here (indicating a covered area under the slide),” the other child may conclude. These shared cooperative play experiences develop around 5 making preschool an ideal time for play.

If your child attends a school that keeps these pedagogical practices in mind, such as a Waldorf school or a Montessori school, you’ll see that the classrooms are set up very much like a home. You’re likely to see child sized versions of refrigerators, stoves, sinks, etc. gardening tools, building materials, and other objects typically use by adults for their work or chores. These young children will enjoy hours of pretend play with the familiar household materials, as well as toys, such as trucks, blocks and dolls. Often time, the kindergarten classroom or home environment will have natural materials like wool, cotton or wood and soft warm colors like rose, coral or pink. Creating this feel within the home can be achieved by using natural light, draping silks or other fabric across the windows so that the light is filtered as it comes through and minimizing electronics and plastic toys. Using cloth to cover things that may not support the harmonious imaginative feel of the place space for children is an easy affordable option that was suggested to me years ago. I loved the simplicity of the solution.

Within a home, children will naturally imitate the adults as they do their work. Often times this means children will try to sweep the floor when they see a parent sweeping the floor. Small scale brooms, mops and vacuums and wooden kitchens with ceramic plates are provided so that the imitation may continue even if the parents work is done.

If you are creating this environment for your children for the first time, you may consider using soft colors for the kindergarten environment. Peach, rose, apricot, and coral tones may be used on the walls or furniture or in fabric as these colors reflect the warmth, comfort and closeness of this age group.

Natural materials are always preferred over non-natural materials and natural fibers like wool or wood from the plant and animal kingdom are preferred in the younger years over those from the mineral kingdom like metal or stone. This means that wood, silk, wool, beeswax, wool felt and natural fibers are preferred for toys, play structures, and garments.

When my children were young, I knew how important the sense of smell is in connection to memory. So I always wanted our home to be filled with the smell of good tasting food. Over 20 years later, that goal has been achieved. What’s important is that you choose the goals that you want to achieve with your children. Instead of the smell of food, you may choose to create a sweet smelling environment with the use of a diffuser or candles (be mindful of the fragrances). Or maybe your furniture and accessories are made of wood and your children’s clothing is made from wool or cotton. Or maybe it’s not in what you choose but in what you avoid. Rather than premade snacks with artificial colors, you opt for minimally processed food. Or maybe instead of plastic toys that require batteries you offer for more simple wooden toys and fewer options. It comes down to establishing your values and working towards what’s reasonable and affordable to achieve.

Creating a learning environment that reflects your family’s values may take some time but over the months and years you’ll find something that reflects your personality, your goals and your values 

Daily, weekly and seasonal rhythm is quintessential to the kindergarten experience. In a classroom setting, these rhythms are the environment in which habits are formed. These rhythms and habits don’t just help the individual student in their growth and maturity towards self regulation and self discipline but also ensures that the classroom functions as a whole, in unison and harmony. The force of habits prevents burnout and exhaustion by the teacher because the students find comfort in the anticipation and knowledge of what comes next. The movement from one task to another becomes second nature and the energy of the teacher may be used towards teaching and training rather than redirection and management.

The same tips may be used in the home life to create harmony within the home. This can be achieved through regularity of meal times and bedtime, and a routine that can be expected and relied upon.

In many Waldorf schools, and even in Waldorf homeschools, a color or grain of the day often provides a natural rhythm for students to anticipate. There are deep reasonings behind the colors and grain choosen. While we did not follow this tradition, the following may be practiced if this aligns with your values and goals.

Typically Sunday is associated with the color, white, the grain: wheat, and the planet sun. While, the sun is not a planet, it holds clear astronomical significance, and is associated with the “first day of the week”. Monday is the color, purple, the grain: rice and the planet moon. Please note that the moon is not considered a planet in the astronomical sense, but in the ancient sense, it was “one that wondered in the sky” hence the moon is associated with Monday. Tuesday is the color, red and the grain: barley and the planet Mars. Wednesday is associated with yellow, the grain: millet, and the planet Mercury. Thursday is orange, the grain: rye and the planet Jupiter. Friday is green, the grain: oats, and the planet Venus. Saturday is blue, the grain: corn and the planet Saturn.

Daily rhythm can be achieved in the home setting or in the homeschool setting. While we did not participate in morning circle, often times morning circle is what starts a school day. It’s a time for singing, verses, movement games, storytelling and fingerplays. While it is a great way to bring cohesion to a classroom, you may find that doing circle time with only one or two children does not have the same unifying effect as circle time with more children. What’s nice about circle time even with one or two children is the opportunity to look at your children during storytelling or movement games. Often times my children would play when I would tell stories or read books, or they would sit on my lap. We often missed that eye contact but made up for it with physical contact. After morning circle, children love ample time for free play. Free play is incredibly important for the child up until age 9 or 10. Indoor imaginative play or outdoor open-ended play is essential for brain development, gross and fine motor development and overall well-being for the child.

While artistic work like watercolor painting or beeswax modeling is highly encouraged in kindergarten, I found that my children preferred these activities when they were a little bit older. Other activities like gardening, finger knitting, and baking are highly enjoyable for young children. You may need to appropriate extra time for preparation and clean up when children are involved in gardening, baking or watercoloring or any activity really. Story time is a favorite of young children. While we reserved storytelling and read alouds for bedtime when the children were very young, we often read aloud throughout the day when the children were a bit older and very often as the children grew. Read alouds are not a typical Waldorf practice, but it is one that we did often. Children may enjoy outdoor play at any time of the day, but I find out a lot of children especially enjoy it in the afternoon between lunch and dinner. I do remember one friend whose child needed outdoor free play first thing in the morning if he was going to do any school. She would offer a long play period before school to ensure they had a smooth day.

A sample weekly rhythm for kindergarten may be Monday: painting, Tuesday: baking, Wednesday: coloring or handcraft, Thursday: movement activities or eurythmy, and Friday: soup day and outdoor play. 

Yearly and seasonal rhythm is just as important as daily and weekly rhythm. It’s also important to know that your environment and location play an important part and how you interact with the seasons. In Southern California, our winters are mild and lend themselves well to outdoor activities. In some places, the summers can be scorching hot and unpleasant, and some families have chosen to homeschool in the summer and take the entire winter season off. While homeschoolers are afforded more flexibility in this respect, finding something that works for your family, even if it is not conventional means that you would be able to do things that are representative of your family values and goals and align with your environment and weather.

Festivals are very important in the Waldorf pedagogy. We only practiced our religious holidays, which meant that we often did not participate in the festivals that are commonly associated with Waldorf schools. If you choose not to participate in seasonal activities and festivals, you may choose to create family traditions that can be enjoyed seasonally or yearly.

The Waldorf kindergarten does not have a formal curriculum nor formal academics. But you will see much practical work in the way of baking, cleaning, gardening, mending, sweeping and more. Artistic work will include watercoloring, modeling, and seasonal crafts. Imagination is the cornerstone of the Waldorf kindergarten. Children enjoy plenty of indoor and outdoor play that is open-ended and filled with imagination. Remember that imagination equals thinking, often deep thinking. The cognitive skills developed through imaginative play are those which will develop into critical thinking skills post puberty.

Nature walks, tending gardens and observing animals in their natural habitat either farm animals or wild animals like bunnies, birds or squirrels is how children first form their relationship with the natural world that will later be developed in the sciences of middle school. You’re not likely to find a stack of books that are going to be read aloud by the teacher in the kindergarten. But you will find stories being told from memory. Fairy Tales, nature stories, folk songs, circle games, seasonal verses and poems are often included throughout the day and especially during circle time.

The Waldorf kindergarten aims to strengthen the will forces, develop sensory integration and cultivate reverence and imagination. The Waldorf teacher is a model not an instructor, and the focus of the teacher should be on her personal development so that she may embody a calm presence that can help guide the children in purposeful activity and genuine reverence for the world around. The teacher is an example for the students to imitate. Children often love and trust their teacher deeply. In the home environment there is no distinction between mother and teacher. She is one.

According to a 2021 MDRC brief, two major studies found that while preschool boosts early academic skills, many of those gains fade by third grade (MDRC, 2021).