Kindergarten: Early Childhood Program

“I am struck by the fact that the more slowly trees grow at first, the sounder they are at the core, and I think that the same is true of human beings. We do not wish to see children precocious, making great strides in their early years like sprouts, producing a soft and perishable timber, but better if they expand slowly at first, as if contending with difficulties, and so are solidified and perfected. Such trees continue to expand with nearly equal rapidity to extreme old age.” -Henry David Thoreau

At Valley of the Flowers School, the essence of our work is to nurture and protect the innocence and innate wonder of early childhood.  Working from Rudolf Steiner’s insights on child development, we strive to allow the potential of each child to unfold. Our kindergarten environment develops the growing child’s senses, imagination, physical body and awareness of self and others in a nurturing, rhythmical, and homelike setting. The child is secure in the feeling that he or she is loved. This creates the basis for healthy development and brings forth the child’s reverence and joy for living.  

daily rhythm

Every day at Valley of the Flowers School begins outside. We greet the sun, the sky, and the earth, and after a farewell to our parents, we depart for a vigorous walk. Dressed abundantly well for the weather, we visit brooks and rivers, woods and open fields, and wind around the surrounding neighborhoods to “see what we can see.” This is a time to get grounded, to see the golden sunlight bursting through quivering branches, to become immersed in the sights and sounds of nature.

Upon returning to the school yard, we enjoy a refreshment from Mother Earth’s tea shop and spend some time climbing trees, building forts, or any number of open-ended play and work opportunities in our garden. It is then time to head inside for our activity of the day.

The young child feels secure in the predictability of the rhythm not only of our daily schedule, but of the weekly one too. Rather than saying today is Monday, Tuesday, and so on, the days are known by their primary group activity-i.e. wet-on-wet watercolor painting," baking bread, beeswax coloring, and preparing a soup.

Our activities are not limited to these alone, for there is always lots to be done around the school. Whatever task the teacher is engaged in, there is always something for the child to do to participate. Children love to be helpful, and find ample opportunities such as setting the table, grinding grain for bread, washing dishes, or observing a teacher doing a project for the school. There is time for the child to be absorbed in observation, counting, and following the natural inclinations of their phase of development, free from interruption and commentary.

Within the day, there are cycles of in-breath and out-breath; free play and structured group time, activity balanced with rest and repose. It’s important to give our children time to find stillness within themselves, and reverence for what is being given. That is why throughout the day, we intersperse rhythm and ritual into our flow. Songs, poetry, ringing the “doorbell” to enter the playroom, little ways to collect them and lovingly show them how to best approach any endeavor.

In the so-called out-breath lies ample opportunity for open-ended play, the very work of childhood. Children are free to imagine, collaborate, think critically and work towards a chosen goal. For adults, we process our lives through discussion, reflection, and more intellectual ways of going about it. The children process and mirror what they observe through their play; this gives them a chance to make sense of life.

Always, there is a teacher coming alongside them, modeling the proper ways to interact and work with peers, bringing them back to us and their relationship with the adult guide first.

Circle time

Following our activity of the day comes indoor play with silks, natural wooden toys, and handmade dolls. A teacher engages in a meaningful work project, often sewing or knitting, and welcomes the children to join her as they are interested. We then tidy up and move into a lively “circle time.”

With a natural impulse to imitate movement and language, circle gives children an opportunity to be carried into a rich land of poetry, movement and song. They are based on short stories about our interaction with nature and the elements, the seasons, or a fairy tale. Always, it is the force of imagination and imagery that carry us through the motions.

After enjoying a homemade meal, we gather for story time. A special candle is lit, and the teacher tells the story orally, without the use of an illustrated book. This allows for the children to form their own picture of what the story is about. In the weeks following, the same story is told through the living art of puppetry, and finally, the children get to act it out themselves. By this time, they know the story very well, and often say the key lines excitedly without any reminders.

We then move into a peaceful rest time with gentle lullabies sung by the teacher on the Kinder harp, and then transition outside for another hour of free play.