As Waldorf early childhood educators, one of our primary goals is to teach by example. Through our work, the children learn important lessons to prepare them for the academics they will begin in grade one. This teaching method is quite different from the trend in mainstream education today, where out-of-context abstract concepts provide the basis for all learning, and opportunities for shared work activity with adults are not available.
There is much work to be done in a Waldorf kindergarten. As the calm and steady focal point, the teacher places herself in the center of all the activity, projecting an attitude of purpose and enthusiasm for her work. Preparing the food, dusting, polishing, repairing toys, folding the laundry, washing the dishes, sewing, and mending are all jobs the children can learn to accomplish.
In all aspects, an important requirement of a Waldorf teacher is that her actions be worthy of imitation and filled with purposeful joy. The care with which an item is placed on a shelf, a door closed, or a chair moved is noticed and replicated by our young students. We must be consciously aware of the quality of our movements, for whether we like it or not, we will see the children mirror for us what we have presented to them as it emerges in their actions and play.
‘The joy of the child in and with his environment must be reckoned among the forces that build and mold the physical organs. He needs people around him with happy looks and manner and, above all, with an honest unaffected love.
(The Role of Purposeful Work in a Waldorf Kindergarten by KAREN SMITH. Karen Smith’s article is available at the Online Waldorf Library. The OWL is a great resource for parents and teachers and has an extensive selection of articles, books and journals about Waldorf Education.)
There is much work to be done in a Waldorf kindergarten. As the calm and steady focal point, the teacher places herself in the center of all the activity, projecting an attitude of purpose and enthusiasm for her work. Preparing the food, dusting, polishing, repairing toys, folding the laundry, washing the dishes, sewing, and mending are all jobs the children can learn to accomplish.
In all aspects, an important requirement of a Waldorf teacher is that her actions be worthy of imitation and filled with purposeful joy. The care with which an item is placed on a shelf, a door closed, or a chair moved is noticed and replicated by our young students. We must be consciously aware of the quality of our movements, for whether we like it or not, we will see the children mirror for us what we have presented to them as it emerges in their actions and play.
‘The joy of the child in and with his environment must be reckoned among the forces that build and mold the physical organs. He needs people around him with happy looks and manner and, above all, with an honest unaffected love.
(The Role of Purposeful Work in a Waldorf Kindergarten by KAREN SMITH. Karen Smith’s article is available at the Online Waldorf Library. The OWL is a great resource for parents and teachers and has an extensive selection of articles, books and journals about Waldorf Education.)
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