Early Childhood & Kindergarten

Daily Rhythm & Routine

• Morning Walk

  The morning walk is the first and one of the most important transitions that the young child will make in their day. This routine activity allows time to process the transition from home to school. Often this particular transition has been quite demanding for all involved. The morning walk provides the necessary time and space for the young child to “get here” in more than just their physical being. The expansiveness of the outdoors heals. In addition the activity of rhythmic walking and breathing builds stamina and pleasure in the young child’s being. Further experiencing the outdoors in all kinds of weather promotes confidence, self-control and well being in both the children and the adults who have the pleasure of accompanying them.

• Story Time

  The ritual of oral storytelling is prominent in the EC program. Stories are chosen for their theme, their use of language or pedagogy and repeated often. With oral storytelling, nothing stands between the children and the story; strengthening their fantasy life. The ability to create inner pictures is an important step in the development of a lively imagination.

• Morning Snack Time

  There is an emphasis on reverence and ritual at snack time. The children sit quietly at the table while the teachers and their “helpers” carefully and attentively serve the food. After a verse, delicious home-cooked natural foods are enjoyed by everyone. The young child’s humor, conversation and social skills are often a delight to witness during snack time. Manners and respect of others are modeled and encouraged at this time.

• Creative Play Time

  Young children need a long time to follow their own impulses of fantasy and play. During this period, the teacher might be involved in preparing the food needed that day, or guiding an artistic or seasonal craft activity. The children become settled in their play or come and work with the teacher. Children of this age learn about the world through watching and “practicing” imitative play. The extended playtime offers them ample opportunity to do their work. The axiom in the Waldorf EC programs is that children’s work is their play.

• Circle Time

  The teacher leads the children in songs, poems and finger plays establishing the rhythm of the day, week and season. The repeating rhythm of circle balances large and small movements, loud and quiet voices, fast and slow, in and out, up and down. During this time, foundational skills essential to language arts development and of mathematics are practiced, speech articulation, vocabulary, dexterity, coordination, listening skills and sequencing. All the circle activities are led with an understanding of the interest of the child in imitating what they experience.

• Oral Language Development

  The EC program is supported by a strong oral language component. While participating in the activities, children expand their literacy skills through dramatization, poetry and finger plays, puppet plays, songs, and storytelling. The repetition of rhyming sound and alliteration found in poems and songs educate the ear, helping to develop language skills.

• Outdoor Play Time

  The children are taken outdoors daily to experience the natural work in all the seasons. The EC class can be found outside in all but the most formidable weather. Children who have experienced the seasons of the year outdoors develop an understanding and appreciation of the world they inhabit. Engaging in rhythmic walking supports the young child in development of the metabolic and rhythmic systems. Working with young children in the process of dressing and undressing in all seasons and weather is a skill of self-care that is repeated several times in a single day. This skill does much for the child’s ability to focus, sequence, prepare, and maintain personal wellbeing.