What Is a Waldorf Kindergarten?
A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A WALDORF KINDERGARTEN: Baking, washing, sweeping, mending, singing, painting! Imagine the scent of bread baking, the warm sudsy water for washing the dishes, the muscle power of sweeping, the fine eye-hand coordination of mending and sewing. Imagine the visual education in the dancing watercolors. And if you have had the great pleasure of sitting in the midst of children’s creative, imaginative play, you will know the happy sound at the heart of this beehive of activity.
All this beauty given to the children is “nutritional.” Their senses are stimulated, and through free movement and imitation of the adult the experience is digested. It then becomes their own, nourishing their growth toward freedom.
C O N T E N T S:
Foreword by Joan Almon
I: AN OVERVIEW OF THE WALDORF KINDERGARTEN
Introductions by Sharifa Oppenheimer
1. A Day in the Life of the Kindergarten (Ingeborg Schöttner)
2. Handwork in the Kindergarten (Dora Dolder)
3. Human Development through Art (Freya Jaffke)
4. Circle Time in the Kindergarten (Nancy Foster)
5. Fairy Tales and Image of the Human Being (Helmut von Kügelgen)
6. Choosing Fairy Tales for Different Ages (Joan Almon)
7. The Seasons and Their Festivals (Joan Almon)
II: A DEEPER UNDERSTANDING OF THE WALDORF KIINDERGARTEN
Introductions by Sharifa Oppenheimer
1. Stages of Development in Early Childhood (Freya Jaffke)
2. Kindergarten Education with Mixed-age Groups (Freya Jaffke)
3. The significance of Imitation in the Development of the Will (Freya Jaffke)
4. Considerations about Kindergarten Readiness (Joan Almon)
Afterword: Meeting the Needs of the Times (Cynthia K. Aldinger)
Resources
About the Author
Sharifa Oppenheimer was the founding teacher of the Charlottesville Waldorf School, Virginia, where she taught kindergarten for twenty-one years and served as day care director of the early-childhood program. She has helped develop new teachers through teacher-training programs at Sunbridge College in New York State, and at Rudolf Steiner College near Sacramento as a master teacher offering practicum and internship opportunities. She has written many articles on Waldorf education, helping the parents of her students create supportive home environments. Recently she initiated a home-based kindergarten program, The Rose Garden. Sharifa is the mother of three grown sons, who received Waldorf educations. She lives in an enchanted forest in Virginia.
Susan Gaebler (verified owner) –
Thank you very much. It was a great book. I was impressed with your service.