Early Childhood Programs
Early childhood programs at Ashwood serve families with children from age one to six-and-a-half or seven. The Parent/Child program nurtures the whole family (moms, dads, babies, toddlers, and grandparents are all welcome) and provides a bridge from home to school. When ready, the young child then transitions to the mixed-age kindergarten.
The Waldorf early childhood programs support young children at this crucial
developmental stage by emphasizing imaginative play, household activity,
movement, and social, artistic and language development. Consistent with
the overall Waldorf philosophy, they allow children to grow up sensibly
and slowly. Our classrooms provide a warm, secure, lovely place in which
a child's imagination and sense of self will flourish.
Play
Play is not only a child's real work in life, it is the foundation of
creativity yet to come. For the young child, play is a way of understanding
the world and is vital for healthy emotional and intellectual development.
The inner forces of imagination, cognition, and flexibililty which are
developed during play become the capacities for life-long learning.
The
Space
In a Waldorf school the physical environment plays a central role. Our
rooms are beautifully decorated and the atmosphere is calm and purposeful.
All toys are made of natural materials: wooden blocks and wooden toys;
shells and stones; beeswax; broad paintbrushes, clear, bright, translucent
watercolors, and big sheets of wet paper; large vivid wax crayons - these
are some of the materials the young child comes to know and to use with
delight. These help awaken the children's sense of touch to the physical
sensations of a world that is still new to them. Toys and dolls are simply-made
with a minimum of detail so that the children's imaginations will bring
them to life.
Activities
The teacher
takes special care to have a daily and weekly rhythm of activities that
gives time for both structure and spontaneity. The day begins with a long
period for free play alongside artistic and household activity (cooking,
painting, cleaning etc). Playtime is followed by circle time, consisting
of verses, nursery rhymes, songs, and circle games that enliven and strengthen
the children's natural creativity and provide the content for higher quality
of play. Then the children gather together for a wholesome snack–usually
which they have helped to prepare–after which they play outside where
they explore, dig, run, jump, and exercise their limbs as well as their
imaginations. Lastly, a story is told (brought to life with simple hand
puppets). The exposure to fairy tales and puppet shows allow the children
to feel secure in a world where the good triumphs over bad.
Results
The Waldorf early childhood program prepares and strengthens children
for their elementary school years. Songs and nursery rhymes cultivate
intimacy with language. Listening to stories, seeing puppet shows, and
participating in dramatic play strengthen the power of memory and the
imagination. Counting games and rhythmic activities build a solid foundation
for arithmetic and number skills. Painting and crafts help the children
develop fine motor skills, coordination, and the ability to concentrate;
vigorous play develops their gross motor skills.
Seasonal activities and outdoor play deepen the children's awareness
of the natural world, while colorful seasonal festivals that celebrate
the bounty of autumn or the advent of spring foster a connection to the
cycle of the year.
Thus, the preschool program, which recognizes that imaginative play and
sound physical activity are the true work of early childhood, lays a strong
foundation upon which intellectual growth can develop in the elementary
school.
Click here for a wonderful article about Ashwood’s Early Childhood.