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| Willow Wind Kindergarten Handbook 2005 Lead Teacher: Anne Marie Cole Assistant Teacher: Torii Rom The Philosophy Waldorf Schools throughout the world are based on the pedagogy developed by the Austrian philosopher and scientist, Rudolf Steiner. Steiner understood long ago the developmental stages and needs of the young child. He knew that, for kindergarten aged children (ages 3-6 year olds), rich and imaginative play is of central importance. The “toys” we offer children for their play—branches, colored cloths, smooth stones—leave room for their imaginations to be active. Steiner also saw how children are adept imitators by nature, and how they cannot help but imitate, in an imaginative way, the actions of those around them. Therefore, we teach through modeling (as opposed to instruction), and we strive to make all of our actions worthy of emulation. Also, Steiner understood that love, warmth, and joy form the necessary environment for healthy growing and unfolding. He understood, further, that through movement and nourishment the young children actively develop their senses, organs, and brain: the foundations for a healthy, loving, and intellectually-spiritually free life.
The Willow Wind Kindergarten Program: The Corvallis Waldorf School offers two, mixed age, play-oriented kindergartens. Both Kindergartens serve children aged 4-6. We hold a very structured daily rhythm, with creative circle movements, fairy tales and nature stories, and handwork activities that will meet the needs developmentally of the kindergartener. The age range in both classes offers opportunities for social development during this important formative period in the children’s lives. Willow Wind Kindergarten offers a five-day program from 8:30 AM- 12:30PM. Overview of the Program In the kindergarten, we breathe with the rhythm of the day, of the week, and of the year. We begin our days with morning songs and verses, and seasonal circle activities. Our weekly rhythm of activities includes painting, coloring, baking, beeswax modeling, handwork, woodworking, cleaning, and nature walks. We celebrate the rhythm of the year with special crafts for each season. Even our snacks flow with the cycles of the week and year. Each day of the week we serve an assigned wholesome grain, some of which we prepare according to the season. We serve almost entirely organic or no-spray foods. We tell fairy tales, multi-cultural folk tales, and nature stories in a similar rhythm. It is significant that the morals are never stated, but rather left to grow and live in the children so that they are allowed to draw conclusions on their own. The same story is told orally for a series of days so that the pictures can develop in the child’s imagination. They are then enacted as plays and/or puppet shows.
Morning Arrival Teachers are busy in the classroom preparing for the day before 8:00 AM and are not available until 8:30 AM. If you happen to arrive early, please wait with your little ones until we are ready to receive them. If you have an early work schedule, please make necessary arrangements in advance so that your child arrives at 8:30 AM and not sooner. Being on time to kindergarten every morning is a healthy habit to instill in our children and will enable your child to get the most out of the program. Once you see your child safely into our care, we ask that you save non-urgent questions for us until after 12:30PM. We hope you will understand that we ask this in order to devote our attention to the children during the kindergarten time. If you need to inform us of something urgent concerning your child before you leave, please write us a note or tell us discreetly. Please limit adult conversations among parents to outside on the playground when you drop your child off. Inside the room we will strive to uphold a quiet, peaceful mood without adult chatter.
Rhythm of the Day 8:30 Arrive at school, enter kindergarten from inside door. Place belongings in cubby in classroom. Join class outside on the playground for free play and outside activities. (In winter, we may start our day inside.) 9:00 Come inside for circle time. 9:30 Free play time in classroom/daily activity 10:15 Clean up/bathroom time 10:30 Rest time 10:45 Snack time 11:15 Outdoor time 12:00 Come inside for story time/Goodbye verse 12:30 Parents arrive to pick up children
Weekly Rhythm Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday brown rice millet bread/honey butter popcorn soup herbal tea water water herbal tea water painting baking handwork beeswax walk
Lunch We will end at 12:30PM this year, and will not be facilitating lunch in the kindergarten. If your child will be attending aftercare, you may pack them a wholesome lunch in a basket with a napkin covering it, and they will eat in aftercare.
Departure Please pick up your child promptly at 12:30PM each day. I will allow a grace period of about 15 minutes and then I will bring them into aftercare. In such a scenario, you will be charged $10.00 (drop-in fee) + $4.00 (first hour) even if you get there shortly afterward.
Pizza Day Each Thursday, the school holds a pizza fundraiser in the gym. It starts at 12:30 PM. It is a fun community event!
Clothing Warmth is very important for young children, as is experiencing the natural world and the seasons. We intend to go outside everyday; therefore, it is very important that your child come prepared for quick weather changes. It is best if your child dresses in layers, in natural fibers, if possible. Wool is wonderful. Your child will also need to keep at school in your child’s cubby: 1) a pair of indoor shoes—light and supportive, in a plain style that the child can put on by him/herself and will stay on his/her feet. Please, no sloppy slippers that don’t stay on! I recommend Soft Star Shoes (541) 753-5845 (15% discount for Waldorf families). 2) a raincoat and rain pants (or poncho) which should fit over a winter coat, so your child can stay warm and dry on winter days. 3) a hat, if your child’s jacket does not have a hood. 4) a pair of waterproof boots that the child can put on by her/himself. 5) a complete change of clothing with your child’s name on each article. * Please clearly label all of your child’s shoes, boots, and clothes and please keep a tab on your child’s clothing supply at school, especially during wet wintry months. Note: Please, no media inspired images (i.e. TV characters) on clothing or other belongings. We have experienced the deleterious effect this has on children’s imaginative play; please feel free to discuss with us questions or concerns. Personal belongings—toys, etc. We ask that you encourage your children to leave personal toys, dolls, purses, wallets, money, jewelry, watches, games, etc., at home. The Willow Wind kindergarten will not have a show and tell this year. When we sit at the snack table, we will share stories instead. Our class has so many wonderful (some new!) toys and objects to enjoy this year. Children can wait to play with their own toys until they get home. A Note About Sleep Adequate rest is extremely important to a child’s happy experience in any social setting. Also important is how a child enters sleep. The mood that surrounds that child when falling asleep is carried into the dream life. Teachers can offer suggestions for a healthy sleep life. Please begin settling your child into an early bedtime routine well before school starts. When to Stay at Home A child who is not feeling well cannot participate in our day in a meaningful way. She/he feels out-of-sync and needs the loving care of home. Although not true in every instance, we have discovered (sometimes to our dismay), that in most cases a child who complains of a tummy ache in the morning isn’t well. Often this marks the beginning of an illness. So, keep your young ones at home if he or she: *complains of a tummy ache or headache *has vomited within the last 24 hours *has a fever or has had a fever within the last 24 hours *has pink eye or discharge from the eye *has lice *is asking for a day at home with you, and it is possible to arrange this
Birthday Celebrations On your child’s birthday, a celebration will be held in the kindergarten, to which you are expressly invited. I will hold a birthday ritual and tell a special story at story time (12:00) and will speak to each birthday family prior to the birthday, in order to discuss details. We will ask that, when you drop your child off in the morning, you bring a plate of fresh fruit, sliced and prepared. The other children will be asked to bring a beautiful object from nature as a gift for the birthday child, such as a stone or a feather.
Home Visits A teacher’s sense of your child is greatly enhanced by a visit to your home. Therefore, I will schedule a time for your child to host a short visit. This is intended for the teacher to visit with the child rather than the parents.
Parent-Teacher Conferences Conferences are scheduled in late fall or early spring, but may be scheduled at the request of the teacher or parent at any time of the year. We are available for any concerns that parents might have and are always grateful to hear immediately of significant changes in the child’s life.
Parent Evenings Parent Evenings are held on a regular basis (3 times a year) for the parents of kindergarten children. These are essential for understanding and supporting the work of the teacher with your child, for creating community among families, as well as for supporting the parents and the home life. We ask that one parent for each child attends these meetings. Please arrange childcare in advance. The meetings will be held at 5:30PM in the Willow Wind classroom. Advanced notice will be given as to the dates of each parent evening.
Parent Involvement The quality of education we seek to provide for the children could not exist without the partnership of parents. Your help, according to your individual interests and talents, is necessary and highly valued. There will be many opportunities to get involved, especially on festival days. Please check the calendar and arrange your schedules so that we can celebrate special holidays together in class, if at all possible.
Children and Television In the kindergarten, perhaps more than anywhere else we have the opportunity to observe the effects of television watching on the young child. Frequently, it is quite clear who has been watching T.V., as the child will reenact television scenes during playtime, instead of being in touch with his or her own innate powers of imaginative fantasy. Unfortunately, television programs intrude on the child’s emerging sense of self and their place in the world. For this and many other health reasons, we strongly recommend that young children watch very little if any television. For suggestions about withdrawing from television, ask us. It isn’t easy, but the rewards are many and profound and they last a lifetime.
Learning More About the Waldorf Kindergarten Parents and educators alike regard children with wonder and interest. What IS the true nature of the child? Much wisdom from experience and insight speaks to us through the body of literature on child development on literature and Waldorf Education. There is a wealth of pertinent books available by special order through the Corvallis Waldorf Bookstore or at the public library. We will be happy to make some recommendations. The Willow Wind classroom has a lending library, which has been set up to serve you. Please return books within 2 weeks of borrowing them so that we can keep them available for all.
Teacher Availability Please feel free to call me when you have questions or concerns, or if you need to schedule an appointment to meet with me to discuss any issues. I want you to know that I am here for you, and am genuinely open to anything you want to talk about regarding your child and this education. You can also call me in the evenings, before 9:00 PM or drop a note in my box. | |||
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