WALDORF PHILOSOPHY
Learning is the key to
human development, but it is not a simple, information-passing process. The Waldorf early childhood teacher strives for a comprehensive understanding of the human being through all stages of development as well as an understanding of each child, arrived at through conscious and careful study. Only then can he come to know what to teach and when and how to teach it. The teacher strives to help the child to become eventually a clear-thinking, sensitive, and well-centered adult. To achieve this, Waldorf teachers relate to their pupils by responding to the most appropriate elements in each childhood phase.
PRESCHOOL / KINDERGARTEN - A HOMELIKE ENVIRONMENT
The kindergarten teacher in a Waldorf school works with the young child first by creating 
a warm, beautiful and loving home-like environment, which is protective and secure and where things happen in a predictable, regular manner. Here she responds to the developing child in two basic ways.
Firstly, the teacher engages in domestic, practical, and artistic activities which the children can readily imitate (for example, baking, painting, gardening, and handicrafts), adapting the work to the changing seasons and festivals of the year.
Secondly, the teacher nurtures the children’s power of imagination particular to the age. He does so by telling carefully selected stories and by encouraging free play. This free or fantasy play, in which children act out scenarios of their own creation, helps them to experience many aspects of life more deeply. When toys are used, they are made of natural materials. Pine cones, wood, cotton, silk, shells, stones and other objects from nature that the children themselves have collected are used in play and to beautify the room.
Sequencing sensory integration, eye-hand coordination tracking, appreciating the beauty of language and other basic skills necessary for the foundation of academic excellence are fostered in the kindergarten. In this truly natural, loving and caring environment, the children are given a range of activities and the structure that helps prepare them for the next phase of school life.
From: Windows into Waldorf, An Introduction to Waldorf Education
Written by: David Mitchell
Published by and available from: AWSNA Publications
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