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And now for something a bit different: I know that many of you out there are either homeschooling or considering homeschooling your children, and while you can adopt any preschool approach and make it work for you at home (Reggio, Montessori, Waldorf, etc.), I thought I would highlight one approach that was developed specifically with homeschoolers in mind. So today, we will look at the Charlotte Mason approach to home education for preschoolers. Ready to begin?

A Day in the Life:

Nature Journal Photograph by Deborah Brackenbury

The Charlotte Mason day begins in your home. The schedule is flexible but good habits are strongly encouraged, so you start with a healthy breakfast, brushing teeth, and getting neatly dressed. After breakfast, perhaps you read a few verses from the Bible aloud, and then you and your child venture outside. You pack up a few field guides, snacks, water, extra jackets, and a small flower press, and set out for the morning.

In the meadow, you sit down to read while your child explores – running, rolling down hills, inspecting leaves and stones, and hunting for bugs. You are there to observe, and discuss whatever interests your child, but mostly this time is for free play and fresh air. After an hour or two, your child has collected a few flowers and leaves that she wants you to look at. You sit down together on a blanket and look up the leaves in your nature guide to figure out what kind of trees they came from. After pressing a few flowers, you have a snack together and then walk home.

At lunch your child helps you set the table, and you encourage good manners during the meal. Afterward, you sit down in a comfy chair to read a few stories – “living books”, as Charlotte Mason called them, not featuring cartoon characters, but written by authors who are passionate about their subject. After reading, you ask your child to tell you about what she just read – then you simply listen, and let her tell you anything she wants about the story you were just reading. You do not prod or judge her, just listen with interest and gently encourage her to continue if she likes.

Next, you put on a Bach CD – you and your daughter have been listening to a different composer each month or so, to become familiar with their work. You leave the music on softly as your daughter takes a little nap. While she is sleeping, you set up a watercolor painting activity on the dining table: you arrange a few flowers in a vase, and set some other items from nature around the table. After her nap, your daughter sits down at the table and works on a few watercolor paintings.

In the late afternoon, you head into the garden, where you do some weeding and your daughter helps water plants. You have an afternoon snack outside, and read a few more stories before calling it a day. One of the books your daughter loves  is about Monet, so you decide to plan a field trip to an art museum next week…

Curriculum:

Illustration from the Charlotte Mason & Home Education Blog

For young children, the most essential part of education in the Charlotte Mason approach is simply plenty of time spent in nature. Whether it’s taking walks in the woods, hanging out in a local park, or simply going outside into your yard, time spent in the fresh air is vital, and should form a good chunk of the daily routine.

Other subject areas typically covered in the Charlotte Mason approach include art study, composers, poetry, folk songs, and the Bible – although during the preschool years, these topics will only be touched on during very brief lessons. Early childhood is seen as a time for free play and exploration of nature.

Good behaviors are calmly repeated and reinforced until they become habits – in preschool age children, the emphasis is on learning hygiene and neatness, as well as sticking to routines for meal times and bed times.

Charlotte Mason was a strong advocate of what she called “Living Books” – i.e., books written by a single author passionate about the subject, rather than dry textbooks or books that have been dumbed-down for children. Although for young children, the Charlotte Mason approach argues that much more time should be spent in nature than in the reading of books, even good ones!

Background & Philosophy:

Illustration from Homeschool Idaho

Charlotte Mason was born in Bangor, Wales, in 1842, and was educated at home by her parents. After her parents passed away, Charlotte went to school and earned her First Class Teaching Certificate. She spent over 10 years teaching and developing her ideas on education. In 1891, Mason moved to Ambleside, England, and established her own teacher training school. She was passionate about the need for parents to take a more active role in education, and created the Parents’ National Education Union to this purpose.

A gentle, natural approach characterizes the Charlotte Mason method. Unlike the Montessori method, Charlotte Mason did not see the need for specialized materials. Instead of creating a child-sized classroom, the Charlotte Mason approach uses the natural environment of the home and the outdoors.

Learning at home is seen as more beneficial to children than being sent to school – Mason believed that children could benefit more from the positive example of adult role models and the calm, natural home environment than they could being in a large class of same-age peers.

The presentation of “Living Ideas” is key. Charlotte Mason recognized that children have an innate thirst for knowledge, and supported this by exposing them to great works of literature, poetry, art, and music. Textbooks are not used, nor are dumbed-down books for children, which she called “twaddle”. As children grow, parents are encouraged to read aloud from Shakespeare, and from the Bible – her purpose was to get children used to hearing the sounds of these older forms of English, so that in their older years they would not be so intimidated by it in their studies.

Narration is the main tool for learning and assessment of knowledge in the Charlotte Mason approach. Instead of giving tests, children are asked to narrate what they have learned or observed about a topic – in the early years, this is done verbally, and later on students are asked to do both verbal and written narrations. Charlotte Mason was very much opposed to testing, worksheets, and most typical homework.

What Charlotte Mason Does Well:

• The Charlotte Mason approach translates very easily to a homeschool curriculum – many parents are overwhelmed when starting out homeschooling, and the Charlotte Mason approach is quite relaxed and easy to adopt, particularly in the early years.
• Encourages observation skills and curiosity, which are the foundations of learning, and will serve children well throughout their education.
• Nature study! Time spent in nature is a core part of the Charlotte Mason approach, and forms the basis of more extensive nature and science studies later on.

Critiques:

• The Charlotte Mason approach for preschoolers does not typically include teaching the alphabet, and some parents do not feel comfortable with this. The focus is very much on free play and exploration.
• Fitting in the daily nature study can be difficult if you live in a very cold climate, or in a big city. You really need to make an effort to fit this in as much as possible, as it is a key part of the curriculum, and some families do not feel they can do this.

Is Charlotte Mason right for your family?

If you are thinking about homeschooling your preschooler, the Charlotte Mason approach is definitely worth looking into – the beauty of homeschooling is that you are the teacher and director of your school, so if there are things you wish to change or other methods you would like to incorporate, you can do it! You can go all-the-way Charlotte Mason, or simply take what you like. There is a large Charlotte Mason homeschooling community out there, so if you want to look into it, there is a lot of support to be found online (see some of the resources below). As this is mainly a homeschooling approach, there are very few schools out there applying Charlotte Mason methods – in fact, I only found one elementary school and no preschools. As I have mentioned, nature study is a key part of the Charlotte Mason approach, so if this does not interest you or you are really unable to spend time in nature, it may not be the right approach for your family.

Resources:

Ambleside Online – A free homeschool curriculum resource: book recommendations & weekly schedules, as well as full-text of Charlotte Mason’s original writings.

Simply Charlotte Mason – Online Charlotte Mason curriculum resource for homeschoolers, including schedules, books, tips, and helpful articles.

Charlotte Mason & Home Education – A wonderful blog & resource on applying Charlotte Mason principles to your homeschool practices.

“Nature Study – Charlotte Mason Style” – A fantastic article covering activity ideas, book recommendations, useful links, and loads of inspiration to get out into nature.

Handbook of Nature Study – A beautiful blog chronicling one family’s explorations of nature.

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Photo by Blackangel

So, my question to you is this: What has your experience been with kids and pets? Have you ever gotten in over your head? Have you ever felt like the bad guy for saying “No” to that cute puppy/kitten/bunny rabbit? Did you grow up around animals? Let’s share some stories.

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{Sketching Outdoors}

Global Mama: Can you share a little bit of your background with us? What got you interested in the Reggio approach?

Lori: I was owner and director of a small private school from 2000-2007. We had a Reggio-inspired, project-based curriculum with multiage classes for children age 3 through third grade. When we had to close our primary program, I started homeschooling my two sons (they were 5 and 8 at the time) using the same approach.

In 1999, when we were building the school and before we had opened, I started reading about the Reggio Emilia approach and immediately began to incorporate its principles and ideas into my plans. By 2005 I was working as an educational consultant training teachers across the country in this approach, including over 100 teachers in my own state.

Global Mama: What excites you the most about seeing the Reggio approach in action?

Lori: Reggio incorporates long-term projects but adds whole other layers of aesthetics and communication. Their ideas about children are inspirational and empowering – for children as well as adults. I love the collaboration among children, adults, and community. Watching children work together in groups, sharing ideas, learning from each other, and extending each other’s ideas is thrilling.

Global Mama: As a teacher in a Reggio-inspired school, I often found it difficult to begin a project when there were so many diverse interests in the class - how do you see the project approach working in a group environment?

Lori: In a group, you need to choose one project topic to feed, and that is difficult for teachers because they feel they are shortchanging some of the children by not supporting all of their different interests. But if all of the children are allowed to work freely each day on whatever interests them, they can still pursue their individual interests. You simply provide focus by creating the opportunity for all of the children to work on one large, shared project.

The key in choosing a project topic is to make sure that two or three students are incredibly interested; they will do the work of drawing in the other children.

{The Studio}

Global Mama: What would you say tend to be parents’ biggest reservations/fears about the Reggio approach, and how do you respond to those concerns?

Lori: Parents’ concerns were always that their children wouldn’t learn the alphabet if we weren’t doing ‘letter of the week’ or that they wouldn’t learn other skills if they weren’t expressly taught. It helped that we had mixed-aged classes (preschool included children age 3 to 5), because the returning parents could assure new parents that their children had learned everything naturally, through project work. We also comforted them by explaining how we did regular assessments, built up student portfolios, collected regular samples of student work, etc.

Parents (as well as visiting teachers!) were also confused as to whether children would produce any work if they weren’t required to do so. The children had complete freedom each day to choose their own activities. We scheduled parent information meetings to explain how the culture of the classroom drew children to work without coercion.

Global Mama: What is your advice for home school parents who want to adopt this approach to education? I know you have spent a lot of time discussing this topic on the Camp Creek Blog, and it seems that home school parents often don’t know where to begin. What are a few simple first steps they can take?

Lori: I think parents need to read about the approach and think about some of the main principles – e.g., that children are strong and capable of constructing their own knowledge, that the environment is the third teacher, etc. – and how they might make changes to their routine to support those values. I recommend that parents try to relax and explore these ideas slowly and thoughtfully, journaling as they go.

Some online Reggio resources are listed on my blog: http://www.whiteoakschool.com/reggio-resources/

{Observational Drawing with Ink}

Global Mama: Could you describe what sets Reggio apart from other approaches?

Lori: Freedom. There isn’t a set curriculum. The children’s ideas and interests are the starting point for long-term investigations. Teachers observe and document what happens in the classroom. They treat the children’s ideas and thought processes seriously and respond to them thoughtfully in order to support and extend their work. Children make many choices – which activities to pursue, how to express their ideas, how to use materials.

Playfulness. Reggio educators say ‘niente senza gioia’ – ‘nothing without joy’. The classroom and materials are beautiful; the art studio is arrayed with gorgeous art supplies. Everything celebrates play and work. Because children are the architects of their own learning, the classroom is suffused with excitement, conversation, ideas, sharing, building.

Collaboration. Children work together in small and large groups. They make plans; they discuss how to solve problems. They show each other what they are doing; they build on each other’s ideas. Teachers work together in teams to share impressions and discuss how best to support the children’s work. They document the work to share with families and work to involve them whenever possible. Each child and adult has something valuable to contribute to the community of the classroom and the school.

{Working with Wire}

Global Mama: I would love to hear about one of your favorite projects.

Lori: It is very difficult to choose a favorite project! I have special memories of the ‘ocean’ project our preschool class did when my younger son was four. Their project lasted a year and some of the highlights included building a child-size boat in their classroom complete with child-made fishing equipment and building a huge aquarium on our stage big enough for the children to ’swim’ in (wearing the scuba equipment they’d made themselves) and populated with dozens of models of different types of sea life they had made from every type of material.

They painted murals, worked with clay, made costumes and props, build large models, wrote books … and it was all work of their own choosing. Every day they came into the classroom free to play and work however they wished, and every day they chose to explore these ideas and make these fantastic representations. It was truly inspiring.

Lori, thank you so much for taking the time to answer my questions, and for all of the inspiring work you do! Niente senza gioia!

You can find Lori writing with passion about the Reggio approach, project-based homeschooling, and other hot topics in education at The Camp Creek Blog

All photos in this article © Lori Pickert, White Oak School, Inc.

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“Imagination” by naokosstoop

Full disclosure: I taught in a Reggio-Inspired school for three years, and overall I really enjoyed the experience. There are so many terms used to describe this approach to education, it can become horribly confusing – Reggio Emilia, Reggio-Inspired, emergent curriculum, the project approach, inquiry-based learning – enough already! For the sake of simplicity, throughout this article I am going to use the term Reggio-Inspired. So what is a Reggio-Inspired school? Simply put, it is a school whose practices are inspired by the now rather famous preschools in the town of Reggio Emilia, Italy.

In this article, I will walk you through a day in the life of a Reggio-Inspired class, take a look at the unique way curriculum is developed, the background, philosophy, strengths, critiques and resources. I am excited to tell you that I have also corralled Lori Pickert to answer a few questions for us – Lori is the former director of a Reggio-Inspired school, and currently is a project-based homeschooling Mama, blogger, and educational consultant – look for the interview later this week. Ready to get started?

A Day in the Life:

Child working on a mural, Reggio Emilia, Italy; photo courtesy Reggio Children

The sunlight is streaming in through large windows, and natural objects are carefully arranged alongside art supplies and other materials around the classroom. Throughout the room is evidence of the children’s work: photographs of children working on projects, transcripts of conversations, stories, paintings, drawings, and sculptures. Each day is a new chance for exploration – you never know what will happen, or where the children will lead. The current project began with the children’s interest in flowers. A group of children really wanted to pick flowers to give to one another in bouquets. After several conversations with the children and with each other, the teachers decided that this was worth exploring.

Over the weeks, the flower project had taken them to a local Lavender Farm on a field trip, to a florist shop, and to the library, where the class checked out many books on flowers. In the classroom, the project has splintered into several groups – one group of children is very interested in planting and growing flowers, another is building a florist shop out of cardboard boxes, and a third group has veered off and become interested in creatures that live underground, especially worms.

The classroom is ever-changing, to meet the needs and interests of the class. A work table is set up in the room where a small group of children are examining seeds, digging in soil, and watering plants. A vermicomposting center (worm composting) has been established, and two girls are working with a teacher there, examining worms and gently turning the earth. In the center of the room, a group of five children are painting a massive cardboard box structure – soon to be the flower shop.

A boy begins to get hungry midmorning, and heads over to the snack table to fix himself something to eat. He carefully pours himself a glass of water, puts a few slices of cheese and a piece of apple onto a plate and sits down. Soon, several of his friends have joined him for a quick snack. When they are done, they clean up their dishes and get back to work on the flower shop.

As the children work and play, the teachers are making careful observations. The teacher sitting at the vermicomposting center is writing down the questions the children have about worms – she does not give them the answers to their questions, but approaches them with an attitude that says, “we’ll find out together.” The other teacher is photographing the work on the flower shop, and recording snippets of conversation going on around the building of the shop. The room is a happy buzz of activity.

At lunch time, the children wash hands and sit down together to eat. The table is set nicely, with small vases of flowers and real plates. After cleaning up the dishes, the afternoon light beckons many of the children out into the garden. One of the teachers accompanies the group going outside, while the other teacher stays in with the kids who want to paint.

After a while, one of the children painting suggests that they paint outside, in the garden. The teacher says “Okay, why not?” and so the children help their teacher carry paper, brushes, paints, and cups of water outside into the garden. This little group paints in the garden, laying on their stomachs, leaning against trees, for much of the afternoon. The two girls who were working with the worms inside have been bug-hunting under rocks in the garden. In the late afternoon, an impromptu story time starts up, and pretty soon most of the children have gathered around, tired from a very busy day.

Curriculum:

Reggio-Inspired Preschool of the Arts, Madison, WI

There is no set curriculum in a Reggio-Inspired school. Rather, the curriculum is open to all possibilities, with topics for exploration based on the interests of the class. This is sometimes referred to as Emergent Curriculum, the Project Approach, or Inquiry Based Learning. Projects can last anywhere from a day to a year, and may end up somewhere completely different from where they began (for instance a project beginning with flowers may eventually turn into a study of stores and commerce by way of a flower shop).

Teachers carefully observe the children and ask questions to determine the direction the class will take. Communication is vital – teachers need to share their observations with one another and with parents, to keep everyone abreast of the constantly shifting curriculum.

No matter what the project, many modes of expression will be used: painting, drawing, storytelling, 3D sculpture, dramatic play, music, poetry, writing, map making, and more can all be used to express what the children are learning. These are what founder Loris Malaguzzi described as The Hundred Languages of Children.

The arts are vital to the schools in Reggio Emilia, and art plays a large role in most Reggio-Inspired schools as well. In Reggio Emilia, each municipal preschool has an atelier as well as an atelierista – a teacher trained in the visual arts – to help the children and teachers realize their ideas. Art techniques are taught, and children are encouraged to talk about their own and other’s work objectively. More collaborative artwork is done than in a typical preschool: groups of children often work together on a single mural and are encouraged to revise not only their own work, but their friends work as well.

Exploring the community is a regular feature. Field trips can be quite frequent, and spontaneously arise from the needs of the class. In a Reggio-Inspired school, a field trip is used as another method of gathering information and exploring a topic. For example, if a class wants to know more about trains, they may take a trip to watch trains come and go at the station or take a ride on the subway.

The classroom is seen as the third teacher. The schools in Reggio Emilia, Italy, are beautiful – floor to ceiling windows let the light stream in, the classrooms open to a center piazza, and each classroom also opens to the outside. Of course, unless a school is built from scratch, we are usually not lucky enough to have such ideal conditions! Still, a Reggio-Inspired classroom should feel light, and great care should be taken to arrange objects, organize supplies, and display artwork and documentation. Also, the classroom is seen as flexible in a Reggio-Inspired school – throughout the year, furniture will be moved and materials will be rotated to suit the needs of the class.

Background & Philosophy:

Reggio-Inspired Learning Brooke Preschool, Cranston, RI

In 1963, Loris Malaguzzi founded the municipal preschools in Reggio Emilia, Italy, that we now think of as Reggio schools. Malaguzzi championed the right of children to express themselves in a multitude of ways, and stressed the need for parents and teachers to communicate and work together. These schools are a true collaboration between children, teachers, and parents.

Reggio-Inspired schools view learning as an exciting, creative inquiry process. This is very different from the traditional view that school is a place to be passively filled with knowledge. The teachers in a Reggio-Inspired school are not there to give answers; they are there to observe, to facilitate learning, and to learn right alongside the children.

Anything and everything is considered worthy of study, as long as the children are curious about it. The seeds for projects undertaken in Reggio-Inspired classrooms come from inspiration of all sorts: A new baby in a child’s family can prompt a baby or care-taking project, a new pet chicken at the school might ignite an interest in flight (why can’t the chicken fly very well, but other birds can?), while play in the block area could lead to a study of skyscrapers; the potential is limitless. Ideas are sometimes introduced by teachers, but it is the children who will determine the direction the project takes.

Documentation is a key part of any Reggio-Inspired classroom: Paintings, sculptures, photographs of work, written transcripts of conversations and stories should be readily apparent when you walk into the class. This documentation gives children something to refer back to when they are working on a project, and gives parents a window into the learning process.

Parents are often highly involved in Reggio-Inspired schools. Some are parent cooperatives, where parents regularly work alongside teachers, while other schools include parent volunteers. Parent outreach and education is also vital, and many Reggio-Inspired schools hold evening workshops and meetings to accommodate working parents.

What Reggio-Inspired Schools Do Well

• Integrated Art education. Myriad forms of artistic expression are a fundamental part of Reggio-Inspired schools, and some schools have an art specialist and dedicated art space, similar to the atelierista and atelier in the Italian schools. Art is incorporated into every project.
• Building critical thinking skills; learning how to learn. Children gain experience asking questions and hunting for answers. They learn to trust themselves, as their curiosity is met with enthusiasm.
• Parental and community involvement. Reggio-Inspired schools are typically very good at communicating with families and offering workshops, classes, and volunteer opportunities.

Critiques

• Because the Reggio schools are so different from other schools, it takes a lot of work to educate teachers and families about the philosophy behind the school, and some schools do this more successfully than others. This is not to say that there aren’t excellent Reggio-Inspired schools out there; there are. Don’t be afraid to ask for a tour, ask lots of questions, and go with your instincts.

• Some parents are simply not comfortable with such an open-ended learning environment. A Reggio-Inspired school looks and operates much differently from other preschools, with the curriculum driven by the children instead of being teacher-directed, and some families are not comfortable with this.

Is Reggio right for your family?

If you are looking for an open-ended, creative environment for your child, a Reggio-Inspired school could be just what you are looking for. Reggio-Inspired schools thrive on curiosity, critical thinking, and free expression. If you are looking for a school with a predictable curriculum and teacher-directed topics, this may not be right for your family. There are not a whole lot of Reggio-Inspired schools out there – although the numbers are growing – if you are interested in a Reggio-Inspired school but cannot find one in your area, you might want to consider getting together with other parents in your community to form a cooperative preschool – if there is any interest in this, I would be happy to pull together another post with information on starting a parent cooperative preschool.

Resources

North American Reggio Emilia Alliance (NAREA) – Background on the schools in Reggio Emilia, links to international organizations involved in the Reggio-Inspired schools.

Reggio-Inspired – An social network devoted to collaboration and communication among Reggio-Inspired educators.

Reggio Children – Information on the Hundred Languages of Children Exhibition, professional development, and background information.

“A School Must Rest On The Idea That All Children Are Different” - Article in Newsweek, 1991, describing the schools in Reggio Emilia, Italy.

Public Preschool Program in Englewood Uses Italian Approach – Article in the NYTimes, 2009, descibing a public New Jersey school that has adopted the Reggio approach.

Learning Materials Workshop – This online shop carries many books about and by the children of Reggio Emilia.

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No way. The hundred is there.

The child
is made of one hundred.
The child has
a hundred languages
a hundred hands
a hundred thoughts
a hundred ways of thinking
of playing, of speaking.
A hundred always a hundred
ways of listening
of marveling of loving
a hundred joys
for singing and understanding
a hundred worlds
to discover
a hundred worlds to invent
a hundred worlds
to dream.
The child has
a hundred languages
(and a hundred hundred hundred more)
but they steal ninety-nine.
The school and the culture
separate the head from the body.
They tell the child:
to think without hands
to do without head
to listen and not to speak
to understand without joy
to love and to marvel
only at Easter and at Christmas.
They tell the child:
to discover the world already there
and of the hundred
they steal ninety-nine.
They tell the child:
that work and play
reality and fantasy
science and imagination
sky and earth
reason and dream
are things
that do not belong together.

And they tell the child
that the hundred is not there.
The child says:
No way. The hundred is there.

~Loris Malaguzzi
(translated by Lella Gandini)

In the photo: Little fox mask from Abigail Brown

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“Beehive Bears” by Oh My Cavalier!

1. Take a little extra time choosing books - If you are having trouble finding good books, try your local children’s librarian or children’s literature sites like The Well-Read Child for reviews and recommendations.

2. Always preview a book before reading it to your child – you don’t want to be stopped in your tracks midway through a story by a too-violent illustration or a theme you do not approve of!

3. Start by reading the title and looking at the cover with your child, then ask her to predict what the story will be about. This can be a very simple, “Hm, The Runaway Bunny. What do you think this is about?”

4. Review what you’ve read so far: If you are in the midst of reading a longer story or a chapter book (any book read in more than one sitting), take a few minutes to ask your child to remember what happened last time before diving in. I have gotten through some very long chapter books with preschoolers by using this technique.

5. Express emotion: If something scary is about to happen, let’s say the character is about to enter a bear cave, you can gasp and say “Oh, no!” Get into it. Show some enthusiasm!

“Honey” by Oh My Cavalier!

6. Do voices for characters. This is something I think many grown-ups are wary of, but there’s no need to be shy! Just do your best; children are easily amused. If you are not sure how a character should sound, you can ask your child – this can lead to some amusing conversations

7. Take time-outs to answer questions. There’s no need to plow straight through a story.

8. Make predictions: During a natural pause in the story, take a moment to ask your child “What do you think will happen now?” This keeps children engaged and flexes those reading-comprehension muscles.

9. If you are reading a long story, stop right at the exciting part. This is a no-fail way to keep up your child’s enthusiasm for the story!

10. Have your child do a tell-back: When you are finished (or at any natural breaking point), ask your child to tell you what happened in the story (or what’s happened so far). This is an excellent way to boost reading comprehension – it works for adults, too!

And just because the story is over doesn’t mean it has to end! If your child loves a particular book, why not try acting it out? This can be as simple as “You be the caterpillar, and I’ll be all the stuff the caterpillar eats” – or as elaborate as you want, drawing in siblings and friends, making props, costumes, and the whole nine yards. You can also extend the story by drawing or painting, or by imagining what would happen after the book ends.

What works for you? Add your thoughts in the comments section

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I believe that finding a preschool that will make you and your child happy is all about finding the right fit. There are a lot of options out there, and to be honest I don’t think any of them are perfect… but I know that when the school, the teachers, the personality of the child, and the values and expectations of the family line up, a good experience is bound to come out of that. My goal in writing this series (see the first post on the Montessori method) is to give an unbiased look at each type of school so that you can figure out what appeals to you and direct your search from there. Today, in our look at Waldorf education I will be describing a day in the life of a Waldorf class, curriculum, background and philosophy, strengths, critiques and resources. Let’s get started!

A Day in the Life:

A Waldorf Lunch Table, Sanderling Waldorf School

The Waldorf day begins as the children enter the room and are greeted warmly by their teacher. The classroom is painted a soothing shade of pink, and all of the furniture and toys are made from natural materials: wood tables and chairs, hand-made dolls, play silks, wooden blocks and logs for building, and beeswax crayons are all attractively arranged. There is an inviting home corner with a wooden play kitchen, small brooms, baby dolls and a cradle. A quiet area is filled with plump cushions and just a few carefully selected picture books. Everything about the space has been carefully chosen to soothe the senses – there are no jarring noises, no electronics, hard edges, or jarring colors. The teacher is sitting at a table quietly working on a sewing project, as the children freely explore the room.

A group of children are in the home corner, cradling baby dolls and stirring a pot of “soup” made of acorns on the play stove. Two boys are building a castle using wooden screens with play silks draped on top. Once it is built, they scurry under the silk canopy and whisper to each other about the dragon that’s coming. A girl is examining the nature table, which is arranged with a changing display of items collected on the children’s nature walks as well as a felt bowl and several small creatures made of wool. A pair of children who had been drawing with beeswax crayons now become interested in what their teacher is doing, and they approach her. She is mending a tear in one of their baby dolls. The children express concern, and ask if they can help. The teacher gets the children their own sewing supplies, and lets them take turns making stitches to mend the baby doll. When they are finished, they proudly return the doll to the home corner.

To signal clean-up time, the teacher begins singing a little song that the children are all familiar with; she sets a good example by participating in the tidying up, and the children follow suit. The toys and materials are put away, and then the children sit down on the floor for circle time. At circle, they sing songs and recite a seasonal poem. Then the Eurythmy teacher joins the group, leading the class in a series of movement activities that incorporate sounds and musical notes.

When circle time is finished, the children wash hands and then help set the table for snack with cloth place mats, a vase of fresh flowers, plates, cups and cutlery. Several of the children help the teacher cut fresh fruit. Before eating, the group always says a blessing for the food, and sometimes sings a seasonal song. After cleaning up the snack, the children have outdoor play time. In the yard there are child-sized paths and nooks, a sand/mud area, and a small organic vegetable garden. Just as in the classroom, there are no plastic toys outside. Three girls decide to build a den to hide in out of wood pieces, and they set to work. One group of children immediately gravitates toward the sand box, while two friends make their way into the garden to help sweep the pathways.

The children come inside for story time, which is considered very special. The teacher never reads a story from a book, but rather tells a story aloud that she has memorized, sometimes supplementing the story with a little puppet show. The stories are often fairy tales, emphasizing problem solving skills and nature. When story time is done, many of the children are picked up; others who are staying for an extended day get their lunch baskets and sit down with teacher for lunch. Over the weekend, the teacher will be doing a home visit with one of the new students in her class. The home visits are a regular part of Waldorf education: they give the teacher and parents a chance to connect, and reinforce to the child that the relationship with the teacher is an important one.

Curriculum:

Waldorf dolls, Sanderling Waldorf School

Waldorf schools place a strong emphasis on art and craft education, and this infuses every aspect of the day. Much time is spent painting, drawing, sculpting with wax and clay, felting, baking, sewing and building. Boys and girls are taught all of the same skills, from cooking to carpentry.

The oral traditions of poetry, fairy tales, song and verse are used to instill a love of language, preparing the child for reading and writing work in the upper grades. This is a major difference between Waldorf and most other schools: Waldorf preschoolers do not study the alphabet or written numbers. Instead, they develop oral numerical skills through counting games and rhythmic activities, and develop memory and recall skills through the repetition of fairy tales, verse, and poetry.

A respect for the natural environment is an undercurrent to all of the Waldorf methods. Children help care for, clean, and mend the things in their classroom. Local craftspeople are often invited to visit Waldorf schools to share a craft with the children, such as spinning wool or woodworking. Whenever possible, Waldorf schools integrate composting, recycling, and organic gardening into the curriculum. The teachers model a sense of awe and wonder at the natural world, and daily outdoor time is fundamental.

Eurythmy, a form of creative movement, is a feature unique to Waldorf schools. Eurythmy exercises, usually done several times each week, are meant to develop coordination, concentration, and integration of the senses. In a typical Eurythmy class, the students follow the teacher as he performs a series of movements and gestures while making corresponding sounds or notes.

Imagination is highly valued in Waldorf schools. The materials in a Waldorf classroom are chosen because they can be used in many ways – for instance, the play silks can become tents, capes, dresses, ropes, or anything else the child can imagine. The baby dolls used in Waldorf schools typically have no facial features or minimally defined ones, so that the child must use her imagination to fill in the details. The use of oral stories instead of the usual picture books also encourages imagination. This is a major difference between Waldorf and Montessori schools: where Montessori schools use highly specialized, single-purpose materials, Waldorf schools use multipurpose, open-ended materials.

Background & Philosophy:

Gardening at a Waldorf School, photo courtesy The Guardian

Founded in Stuttgart, Germany, by Rudolf Steiner in 1919, Waldorf education is based on his spiritual philosophy of Anthroposophy. At its most basic level, Anthroposophy recognizes a spiritual element in all life, and stresses the importance of rational thought and free will. Where it gets admittedly a bit strange is in the blending of elements from Christian, Eastern, and European folk traditions: Steiner believed in reincarnation, karma, and Christ, and saw great value in traditional Norse legends and fairy tales. To be clear, Anthroposophy is not a religion, nor is it ever taught to the children in Waldorf schools. The way it is applied to Waldorf schools is in the teaching of respect for all life, the sharing of traditional stories, and reverence for nature. Children from families of all backgrounds attend Waldorf schools.

The Waldorf philosophy sees the early childhood years as a time when children learn primarily by example. Teachers in Waldorf schools make an effort to set a good example in everything they do; from how they dress and speak to how they handle the materials and use their time. This is a natural approach – just as children throughout history have learned by hanging around the grownups and watching what they do, Waldorf children play on their own but also observe and learn from the teacher’s actions.

Learning is seen as inseparable from daily life. In other words, the more relevant to the child’s life an activity is, the more the child will get out of it. This is why you see so many practical activities, like bread making and woodworking, going on in Waldorf classrooms. This is also why Waldorf schools do not teach the written alphabet or numbers to young children. Waldorf schools see young childhood as a time for exploration of the real world and development of the imagination. Later (often at age 6 or 7) children are seen as ready to tackle the abstract concepts of reading and writing.

Teaching children the role of mood is an important part of the Waldorf routine. By deliberately creating different moods for each type of activity (joy at festivals, awe and wonder on nature walks, etc.), Waldorf teachers show the children how to behave in different situations.

Relationships between teachers, parents, and students are usually closer than in other types of schools. Instead of having a Director or Principal, most Waldorf schools have a College of Teachers who hold joint decision making power. Once in first grade, students in Waldorf schools ideally stay with the same teacher through the rest of the grades, which creates much deeper bonds between students and teachers, as well as between teachers and families. Additionally, teachers regularly do home visits, and host study groups and workshops with parents. The goal of this contact with families is twofold: to create better relationships and to coach parents in Waldorf methods. Don’t be surprised if your Waldorf teacher suggests you get rid of your TV!

What Waldorf Schools Do Well:

• The teaching of handicrafts and art. Children learn many skills that were once commonplace, but are now rarely learned. In a Waldorf school, your child will learn to do carpentry, spin wool, paint, draw, sculpt, sew, and mend.
• Development of the imagination. Through rich storytelling, dramas, and open-ended toys, there are many opportunities for make-believe play.
• Respect for life. Kindness and compassion for animals, plants and people is instilled at every level.
• Relationships with families. Waldorf schools take a more proactive approach to parent-teacher relationships than many schools, and in general this serves families very well.

Critiques:

• The written alphabet and numbers are not taught in Waldorf preschools, and Waldorf students do typically learn to read and write later than their peers in traditional schools. Even though these differences disappear by adolescence, some families do not feel comfortable with the Waldorf philosophy on reading and writing development.
• There is an emphasis on Norse mythology, fairy tales, and festivals. Some families may feel that the Northern European traditions are too heavily emphasized, to the exclusion of the stories and celebrations of other cultures.
• Even though it is not taught to the children, some parents may simply feel uncomfortable with the philosophy of Anthroposophy.

Is Waldorf Right For Your Family?

If imaginative play, art, nature and crafts are important to you, then Waldorf education could be a very good fit with your family – these things lie at the heart of the Waldorf curriculum. On the other hand, if you cannot fathom a preschool class not learning the alphabet, you may not feel comfortable with the Waldorf philosophy. If certain aspects appeal to you but you still have concerns, I would suggest taking a tour of a Waldorf school in your area and asking a lot of questions. Even if you have your heart set on Waldorf, be sure to visit the schools in your area before making a decision – each Waldorf school is unique, and their approaches will vary. As always, trust your instincts. When you feel confident in your choice of preschool, your child will feel confident as well.

Resources:

Why Waldorf Works: Everything You Need To Know About Waldorf Education – This website has a good introduction to Waldorf education, links to studies, as well as a North American school search to help you locate a Waldorf school in your area.

The Online Waldorf Library - Search for full-text articles as well as books covering all aspects of Waldorf education.

Steiner Waldorf Schools Fellowship – Organization serving Waldorf communities in the UK and Ireland; includes a directory of schools and many helpful articles.

European Council for Steiner Waldorf Education – Click on “useful links” to find links to individual country Waldorf organizations, school lists, teacher training programs, homeschooling, and background information.

BBC News article: “Steiner schools ‘could help all’” – Summary of government-funded study of Waldorf schools in England.

Guardian article: “Not a Guardian-reading weirdo in sight” – Humorous article chronicling one mother’s experiences with Waldorf schools.

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“More Water Please” by Vera Levi

Touch, taste, sound, sight, and smell are our earliest learning tools. We learn to recognize our Mama by her scent and the sound of her voice. As a baby grows, he becomes extremely interested in faces, focusing on the rich visual cues that the adult faces around him provide. Our sense of hearing lets us tap into the language of our culture, and also keeps us safe – babies know to cry loudly when they need help, and likewise will react to startling sounds and the voices of trusted adults. We learn through all of our senses, and young children are especially interested in exploring their senses – this is why toddlers put everything in their mouths, and also why preschools have sand boxes and water tables!

Sensory Tubs

Not everyone can have a sandbox in the yard, or a water table – but I bet you can scrounge up a dishpan or two, right? Okay, this one is really simple:

1. Get something that is fun to touch (birdseed, dried beans, sand, mud, shaving cream, water, etc.) and fill tub no more than halfway.
2. Cover child with art smock if needed, and let loose.

That’s it! And if you want to get really crazy: take off your child’s shoes, and let her smoosh her feet in the bucket.

Make A Texture Board

Whenever you and your child are out and about, make a point of collecting little bits of things with interesting textures (sand, leaves, tree bark, moss, aluminum foil, sandpaper, cotton balls, seed pods, etc.). As you find new objects, add them to a board (a piece of cardboard or cork board works well), and label each one with the name of the item, and a word describing how it feels. Keep the texture board where your child can touch it (that’s the whole point!), and ask your child how each texture feels. Alternatively, you can leave the textures loose on a tray or in a box.

Mystery Box

Take an old shoebox and cut a hole in one end just large enough for your child’s hand to fit through. Cover the box with wrapping paper or paint it if you like. Now, sneakily put a little object in the box and close the lid. Ask your child to reach inside and guess what it is just by feeling it – and don’t be surprised when she puts something in the box and wants to make you guess what it is!

Take A Listening Walk

Take a walk through your neighborhood, in a local nature area, or just through your own home while focusing on noticing all of the sounds you hear. You might want to bring a notebook to write down what your child says. If you want a little further inspiration, read The Listening Walk by Paul Showers before going out.

Listening Games

1. Guessing: One person closes his eyes or puts on a blindfold while the other person does something in the room that makes a noise (opening & shutting a door, jumping up & down, pulling out a chair, etc.); the blindfolded person has to guess what the other person was doing based on the sound it made.

2. Matching: Collect various small items – coins, rice, pebbles, sand, etc. – and put them in film canisters or other small, opaque containers (yogurt containers would do nicely). You’ll want to end up with a pair of canisters for each item. Your child can shake each one and match up the pairs by sound.

Record Sound Effects

Using a small tape recorder, walk around your home with your child looking for things that make noise. When you find one, record it! Some ideas to get you started: creaky doors, a telephone ring, doorbell, knock at the door, footsteps, pots & pans clanging. You can use the tape later as a listening game, and your child will probably enjoy playing it for other relatives and making them guess the sounds. If you like, you can also make up a story to record, incorporating the sound effects.

Blindfolded Walking

One person wears a blindfold while the other gives verbal directions and/or holds the person’s elbow to direct them where to go.

Taste Tests

1. Ask your child to close her eyes, or cover her eyes with a scarf. Give her small samples of foods and ask her to guess what they are
2. With eyes open, ask your child to taste samples of similar-looking foods, such as salt and sugar, cinnamon and cocoa powder, or apples and pears.

Make A Scent Game

Rubber band scrap fabric to cover the tops of several small opaque containers or poke holes in the lids. Fill each one with a different item that has a distinct scent: orange peel, cinnamon sticks, cloves, garlic, ginger, etc. Let your child try to guess what’s in the jars. based on the scent.

Read A Book!

It Looked Like Spilt Milk by Charles G. Shaw, Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?, Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear?, and Panda Bear, Panda Bear, What Do You See? by Bill Martin and Eric Carle, and the classic Pat the Bunny (Touch and Feel Book) are a great start.

Have more sensory activities? Please share them in the comments!

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Heart Revolver by Bittersugar

After a Reggio teacher I know observed gun play in her class, she and her co-teachers decided to delve into the subject rather than avoid or ignore it. They actually made a study of guns – they looked at diagrams and photos of different types of guns and bullets, made their own pretend guns and drew and painted pictures of them. When it was done, she reported that the children were no longer interested in guns. The mystique was gone.

What are your thoughts on gun play? Has this been an issue with your children? Weapons have been a part of children’s imaginative play for ages – do you think it is worse for children to play “guns” rather than “swords”? Where do you draw the line? I know I don’t have all the answers on this topic, and I would love to hear your thoughts!

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