Michael Hall School

Kindergarten Parents’ Handbook

Contents

Page

3. Welcome and Introduction

4. Steiner Early Childhood Education

4. Early Childhood Provision at the Michael Hall School

5. The Guiding Principles of Steiner Early Childhood Education

7. The Importance of the Natural Environment for the Young Child

7. The Central Role of Play in the Steiner Kindergarten

8. A Kindergarten Morning at Michael Hall School

14. Kindergarten Festivals & Celebrations throughout the Year

18. How to Support Your Child in Kindergarten

20. The Steiner Perspective on Formal Learning in Early Childhood

21. Resources

“The more slowly trees grow at first, the sounder they are at the core, and I think the same is true of human beings.”

Thoreau

Welcome and Introduction

We are delighted to welcome you and your child to ourKindergartens at Michael Hall School where we aim to offer a calm and progressive approach to Early Childhood Education within a warm, nurturing environment. The purpose of this handbook is to provide you with an informative introductory picture of the journey upon

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which you and your child are now embarking.

Steiner Early Childhood EducationSteiner Early Childhood Education is child centred and thereby honours the uniqueness of each child whilst at the same time working with the needsof the group as a whole. Since a child’s primary mode of learning is that of being,doing and experiencing, learning is integrated rather than subject-based with an emphasis on process and experience rather than outcome. Children are given time to unfold at their own pace with plenty of opportunities for uninterrupted play-based

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exploration arising out of their understanding of life.

Early Childhood Provision at Michael Hall SchoolChildren enter the Kindergarten at approximately three years old and remain with their Kindergarten teacher until rising seven when they enter Class 1. This later start to formal education allows children to experience the joy of learning without unnecessary pressure. The development of a healthy physical body, a strong will to learn and true inner confidence are regarded as being the foundations for future learning. Each of the Kindergarten groups contains approximately 14 to 18 children and is led by a teacher trained in Steiner Early Childhood Education, who is supported by up to two trained assistants. Emphasis is placed upon the interactive social experience through which qualities such as cooperation, empathy, independence and initiative can develop. The Kindergarten is a ‘family’ of a mixed-aged group of children which stays together for three years, providing a sense of belonging and caring for one another. Younger children learn from their older peers, who in turn have an opportunity to take responsibility and provide support for the little ones. This smaller Kindergarten family community is held within the wider embrace of the main school community of parents and teachers.

The Guiding Principles of Steiner Early Childhood EducationOur Kindergarten is based on the important guiding principles of rhythm and repetition, imitation and care and development of the young child’s senses.

Rhythm and RepetitionWorking within a strong and regular rhythm promotes a sense of security and self-confidence.

The rhythmical element is reflected in the daily life of the Kindergarten - giving form and structure to the morning so the young children know what to expect, enabling them to fully enter into the morning. The daily rhythm and its pattern of activities are cradled within the rhythm of the week. In this way painting, baking, etc. are repeated on the same day each week. A cyclical rhythmic pattern is also reflected in the way that themes of ‘work’ relate to seasons of the year. With each season comes a regular work or activity – for example threshing and grinding wheat in the autumn or planting seeds in the spring. Stories and songs also relate

to the seasons and the Kindergarten’s nature table reflects the changing natural environment through the year.

ImitationChildren do not learn through instruction or admonition but through an innate desire to imitate.

Since learning gains meaning by its relevance to life, the Kindergarten teacher surrounds the children with purposeful activities that care for the Kindergarten ‘home.’

Cooking, baking, gardening, cleaning and caring for materials are all meaningful tasks, which are nourishing for children to imitate. The Kindergarten teachers therefore engage in all that they do with conscious loving care - endeavouring to be a role model worthy of imitation.

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Care and Development of the Young Child’s SensesYoung children come into the world with complete openness and trust, absorbing everything around them without filters or buffers.

The child’s physical environment (both indoors and outdoors) provides varied and nourishing opportunities for self-directed learning - experiences in touch, balance, lively and joyful movement, and also inward listening.

The Kindergarten has clean, orderly, beautiful and peaceful surroundings with natural materials and warm textures.

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The Importance of the Natural Environment for the Young Child

“The best classroom and richest cupboard is roofed only by the sky.”

Margaret McMillan

Children come into life with a sense that the world is good, beautiful and true. They live in a dreamy, fairytale consciousness - quite different from adults - within which they feel completely connected with all that surrounds them. Stillness, peace and time to be in the natural world are essential to experiencing the wonders of life. Through the nourishment of their senses children deeply experience sunlight and darkness, sparkly frosts and fires, muddy puddles and flower-filled meadows as they joyfully celebrate the seasons of the year through all that nature brings.

The natural environment provides children with a sense of adventure, expanding their horizons and exposing them to the unplanned and unknown. Through creating their own, often ingenious, physical challenges and risks, children practise discernment and decision-making and in so doing, learn much about their strengths and limitations.A young child’s need to move is fundamental at this age. Space to run, skip and climb, to stretch out and test balance and co-ordination enables children to become master of their physical body.

The Central Role of Play in the Kindergarten

“There was a child that went forth every day, and the first object he look’d upon, that object he

became…”Walt Whitman

The Kindergarten teachers have long been emphasising the importance of the role of creative play in healthy child development and therefore self-directed play is fundamental to our education. One of our main tasks therefore is to support the children in their imaginative endeavours through the provision of simple, unformed natural play materials that nurture their senses and maximise imaginative potential. Our philosophy is that the free flow of imagination in childhood forms the foundation for free-flowing thinking as an adult.

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Supporting ResearchThere is a growing body of scientific evidence to show that imaginative play is fundamental to the social, cognitive and emotional development of children. Studies have found that ‘good child players’ build up a strong sense of will and learn to nurture, to take responsibility and to empathise. Furthermore, they develop focus and concentration in preparation for later academic learning and tend to be less aggressive than ‘poor players.’ They are also likely to take more initiative, be more adaptable and show fewer signs of fear, sadness and fatigue. Imaginative play provides children with a chance to rehearse a whole host of life situations. Research has even suggested that rich imaginative play can potentially prepare the neurology of the brain to cope with psychological trauma and guard against modern-day childhood disorders such as ADHD.

“Play for young children is not recreation activity...

It is not leisure-time activity nor escape activity...

Play is thinking time for young children. It is language time.

Problem-solving time. It is memory time, planning time, investigating

time. It is organisation-of-ideas time, when the young child uses his mind and body and his social skills and all his powers in response to the stimuli

he has met.James L. Hymes, Jr., Child Development

Specialist, Author

A Kindergarten Morning at Michael Hall SchoolArrival time – 8.10 amOn your arrival, your teacher will greet you and your child in the Kindergarten building or garden; this is a natural opportunity for you to ‘check-in’ with your child’s teacher and briefly share anything you may need to say about your child. During this part of the morning children have an opportunity to play inside or explore the garden and play with their friends. On some days an early walk in the surrounding environment follows this initial period of play. Each group has a morning a week spent preparing and baking bread around one of our outdoor clay bread ovens. An additional morning is based outdoors on “Expedition” within the school grounds.

Ring timeThe children come together with the teacher who leads a rhythmical sequence of songs, poems, finger games and traditional ring games. The content draws on what is happening outside in nature and our human relationship to it throughout the changing seasons, such as gathering apples at summer’s end and chopping wood for the winter fire. The children learn to follow theteacher’s gestures and movements, experiencing their own physicality through an innate urge to join in with the group as a whole. Little direct instruction is given; instead the teacher aims to work with the child’s own sense of will and natural impulse to imitate. Ring time is a daily activity except when replaced by a weekly visit by the

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Eurythmy teacher.EurythmyThe movement of Eurythmy engages the whole human being. Practising eurythmical gesture and movement enhances children’s coordination and helps them feel more at ease with themselves. Eurythmy is a fundamental element of the Steiner School curriculum from Kindergarten through to Class Twelve.

Snack timeAt mid-morning the children enjoy a healthy snack around the table together. An important point of reverence comes at the beginning of snack time with the lighting of a candle and the group saying a “blessing on the meal.” A sense of respect is held throughout the meal and re-enforced at the end by the group joining hands to say, “thank you”. The children set the table with care and attention to detail and have usually also helped to prepare the food. The older children take on more responsibility such as serving and clearing away the snack. We provide a range of wholesome snacks on the same day each week.As far as possible all ingredients used are fresh and organic. If your child has any special dietary requirements please inform your Kindergarten teacher.

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of the creative play period within our morning: ‘houses’, ‘shops’, ‘hospitals’, ‘veterinary clinics’, ‘cars’, ‘trains’, ‘boats’ and ‘planes’, - all built out of simple items (such as logs, shells, stones, conkers, pine cones, veils, tables and chairs) are just a few creations that can be seen. Play is children’s ‘work’ and they take it very seriously!

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“Children want spaces at all ages….ample space is almost as much wanted as food and air. To move, run, to find things out by new movement, to feel

one’s life in every limb, that is the life of early childhood.” Margaret Macmillan

Creative Play This part of the morning offers an opportunity for children to initiate their own self-directed play free from adult involvement and direction. They recreate all that they have observed in their day-to-day lives, using the natural unformed play materials available to them. A whole host of elaborate structures and associated play themes emerge from the busy hustle bustle

Craft/handwork and seasonal activitiesAlongside creative play there is an opportunity for children to work from their own initiative at practical and artistic tasks such as sewing, drawing, painting or woodwork. The children are welcome but not required to join and, as with all aspects of the Kindergarten morning find their way into the experience at their own pace. Handwork and crafts are predominantly connected to the seasons: autumn gives us nature’s treasures - teasels, leaves, nuts and berries which give rise to leafy mobiles and woven tapestries while warm wools and textures nourish the senses through the cold months of winter. Conversely, spring and summer are the time for light airy fabrics for butterflies and bees. We aim to bring wholesomeness into all our activities. For example, wheat is harvested, threshed and ground in the stone mill to make flour for our harvest loaf and apples are collected, made into jam and pressed into juice.

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Tidy-up timeTidy-up time unfolds seamlessly out of the creative play period and is an integral part of the morning. With greatenthusiasm simple apple boxes are converted into all manner of delivery vehicles and carts - ferrying their goods to and fro! Whilst ‘shopkeepers’ sort conkers, shells and pines cones, the ‘puppies’ and ‘kittens’ are busy carrying cloths and blankets back to the basket. This is a time when all the children are happily absorbed in sorting, cleaning, folding, stacking and making sure everything is in its rightful place before play can begin anew the next day.

Story timeThe Kindergarten morning concludes with the teacher bringing a fairy tale, folk story or puppet play - each one chosen with the season and its significance in mind. Children are able to engage their imagination more fully with the content if they are left to conjure their own mental pictures rather than follow those laid out on a page and it is for this reason that stories are always told by heart rather than read. Through being exposed to the rich and diverse language of fairy tales children’s vocabulary is enriched and extended.

Home time 12:30After a full and busy morning children are handed back into the care of their parent or carer, often with a brief word passing between teacher and parent about the child’s morning.

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Autumn Term

SeptemberMichaelmas

Harvest

November/DecemberMartinmas

AdventSt NicholasChristmas

Summer Term

MayMay Day

May/JuneWhitsun

JulySt John’s

End of Term PicnicSummer (end of year)

Spring TermFebruary

Candlemas

March/AprilEaster (end of term)

Kindergarten Festivals & Celebrations throughout the Year

FestivalsFestivals play a significant role in the life of the Kindergarten and they illuminate the way through the seasonal year. These celebrations are deeply nourishing to the young child; they enrich the innate feelings of reverence and openness to the wonders of the world. Each festival nurtures specific qualities such as gratitude at harvest time, courage and perseverance at Michaelmas in autumn, hope and anticipation during Advent, the love and inner light of Christmas, the transformation and rebirth of springtime and Easter, the joy and celebration of nature at May Day and the radiant fire of Midsummer. The children love preparing for the festivals by decorating the room, baking celebratory treats and learning special songs and verses. They enjoy the anticipation of the event itself as well as the magical memories that they are left with. Our festivals foster a special relationship between the parents and Kindergarten setting, creating a sense of belonging for the young child who is held within a wider embrace of caring adults.

We will provide you with details of each individual festival as it approaches during the year. The list below details the festivals celebrated annually within Kindergarten.

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As well as our festivals, we celebrate the birthday of each child in the Kindergarten with a special story. It is a point at which the teacher works to awaken a mood of reverence, awe and wonder in the children.

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How to Support Your Child in Kindergarten

Daily rhythmsPlease be punctual when dropping off and collecting your child from Kinder-garten. In our experience it can prove difficult for children who arrive late to settle and integrate socially and, the children eagerly await to receive your greeting at the end of the morning. Should you be unexpectedly delayed, please notify Reception who will pass the message on to your teacher. Once you have collected your child at the end of the morning they become your re-sponsibility. If another adult is collect-ing them, please fill in a permission slip (available from your teacher) at drop- off that morning. Regular Kindergarten attendance is importance for your child’s experience and development. Participation in the daily and weekly rhythm affects the well-being of children and their sense of belonging to the ‘Kindergarten fam-ily’. We therefore ask parents to main-tain these rhythms by sending their children in on the days that they usu-ally attend, as well as refraining from taking holidays during term times. It is important that children are present at all our festivals, which often fall at the end of term, as they are a fundamental part of Kindergarten life – creating an experience of belonging and completion both for the parents and the children. Taking children out of Kindergarten is sometimes unavoidable but if they will not be attending for any reason, you must inform Reception by 8.30am. Should your school-age child need to be absent (due to special circumstances) a

request must be made in writing in ad-vance to First Aid. Please supply a writ-ten note on your return.

Kindergarten clothingOur Kindergarten morning is a time of active work and play, a large portion of which is spent outside. In order for your child to enter comfortably into all the Kindergarten activities, it is important that they are dressed appropriately.Your child will need daily, a full set of waterproofs and wellies or waterproof boots in Kindergarten. Please label your child’s belongings. To further support your child, we find that wearing natural fibres i.e. wool and cotton, is best as these materials al-low the skin to breathe; this helps the children to feel more comfortable and therefore free to integrate fully into the morning’s activities. Hats are worn all year round for warmth and sun protec-tion, so please find one that your child likes and will be happy to wear. Summer tops and dresses should have sleeves or be worn with a tee-shirt underneath. Sandals should have the toes covered for protection.Inside the Kindergarten, the children will wear slippers which should be warm and comfortable with supportive backs to enable ease of movement.In accordance with the school’s clothing policy, clothing should be without pictures or logos.

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Supporting the well-being of your childThroughout your child’s time in Kindergarten, the teachers make every effort to ensure their needs are being met with regard to their welfare and well-being. We will be sharing with you, over parents’ evenings and one-to-one conversations, the ways in which we work to achieve our objectives. Your support at home greatly enhances our provision of the curriculum in Kindergar-ten and therefore supports your child. Such subjects as routine and rhythm, the importance of time for your child, creative play, movement and the ad-verse effects of too much screen time on the young child may be addressed.Your child may well be tired after a full morning in Kindergarten. Giving them a quiet afternoon will be a great help in the long term.Please keep your child at home when they are ill and ring the school first thing to send a message to the Kinder-garten teacher. They should be fully recovered before returning, at which time an absence slip needs to be com-pleted for our files. If your child needs to be given medication during Kinder-garten hours, please speak to your Kin-dergarten teacher who will explain the procedure to give your written consent.

Other help we can offerThe School works with an Anthroposoph-ical doctor who is also a trained GP. The doctor works closely with the Kindergarten teachers and parents.The Eurythmy Therapist, can be invited in by the doctor or Kindergarten teacher to work towards strengthening the child. This takes the form of three short sessions a week for half a term and you will be invited to observe a session and

have the opportunity to ask any ques-tions then.

Home visitsDuring the first year of Kindergarten, we will arrange to make a home visit in order to see your child within their own home environment. It can be beneficial for your child to see their teacher in their own home and can also be strengthening for the bond between them and the family.

Parents’ eveningsEach Kindergarten will have its own parents’ evening once every term where the parents as a group come together with the teacher and an aspect of the education is shared. The principle aims of these meetings are to allow parents’ awareness and understanding of our education to deepen. Parents can also often participate in one of the Kindergarten craft activities during these meetings and are thus able to gain further insight into their child’s everyday experience in school.

Keeping in touchSometimes it is not always possible to speak with the teacher at the beginning of the morning, so each kindergarten has a postbox outside their door where messages can be left. This enables parents to pass on information about their child and alert the teacher to any thing they may need to know. It could simply be that they didn’t have a good night’s sleep. Regular timetabled Parent /Teacher meeting times are available to discuss the children’s development and to discuss any specific questions or concerns you may have regarding your child.

(For all Policies and Procedures relating to Kindergarten please see our website)

The Steiner Perspective on Formal Learning in Early Childhood

It is an established principle in the Steiner Early Years curriculum that young children are not taught to read and write before rising seven. Instead it seeks to nurture and protect the child’s imaginative world because this is seen as fundamental to healthy child development. We wait for them to ‘discover’ and ‘wake up’, ‘become aware of’, and ‘begin to question’ according to their individual development and readiness.

(For more information please refer to the “Guide to the Early Years Foundation Stage in Steiner Waldorf Early Childhood Settings”)

“Although it is highly necessary that each person should be fully awake in later life, the child must be allowed to remain as long as possible in the peaceful, dreamlike condition of pictorial imagination in which his early

years of life are passed. For if we allow his organism to grow strong in this nonintellectual way, he will rightly develop in later life the intellectuality

needed in the world today”. Rudolf Steiner

ResourcesList of useful websites:Michael Hall School - www.michaelhall.co.ukThe Steiner Waldorf Schools Fellowship - www.steinerwaldorf.orgThe Alliance for Childhood - www.allianceforchildhood.org.ukRudolf Steiner Press - www.rudolfsteinerpress.comFloris Books - www.florisbooks.co.uk

Suggested reading list:Waldorf Education - Christopher Clouder and Martin Rawson (Floris Books)You are Your Child’s First Teacher - Rahima Baldwin (Hawthorn Press - early years series)Free To Learn - Introducing Steiner Waldorf Early Childhood Education - Lynne Oldfield, (Hawthorn Press)The Genius of Play - Sally Jenkinson (Hawthorn Press)The Incarnating Child - Joan Salter (Hawthorn Press)Well, I Wonder – Childhood in the Modern World - Sally Schweizer (Rudolf Steiner Press)Under the Sky - Sally Schweizer (Sophia Books, Rudolf Steiner Press)Ready to Learn – from birth to school readiness -Martin Rawson and Michael Rose (Hawthorn Press)Toxic Childhood - Sue Palmer (Orion Books)Remotely Controlled - Aric Sigman (Vermillion)Festivals, Family and Food - Diana Carey and Judy Large (Hawthorn Press)All Year Round - Ann Druitt, Christine Fynes-Clinton, Marije Rowling (Hawthorn Press)Education towards Freedom (3rd revised edition) - Christopher Clouder and Franz Carlgren (Floris Books)Meeting the child - Approaches to Observation and Assessment in Steiner Kindergartens - Mary Jane Drummond and Sally Jenkinson(University of Plymouth)Guide to the Early Years Foundation Stage in Steiner Waldorf Early Childhood Settings (Steiner Waldorf Schools Fellowship Ltd)

Michael Hall Steiner School, Kidbrooke Park, Priory Road, Forest Row, East Sussex, RH18 5JATel: 01342 822275 info@michaelhall.co.uk Registered Charity Number 307006

www.michaelhall.co.uk