Pedagogia Waldorf - O dia-a-dia no jardim de infância

The Hartsbrook School: Early Childhood

Pedagogia Waldorf - A Natureza como fonte fundamental de aprendizagem

For Forest Kindergartners, Class Is Back to Nature, Rain or Shine

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. — Fat, cold droplets splashed from the sky as the students struggled into their uniforms: rain pants, boots, mittens and hats. Once buttoned and bundled, they scattered toward favorite spaces: a crab apple tree made for climbing, a cluster of bushes forming a secret nook under a willow tree, a sandbox growing muddier by the minute.

They planted garlic bulbs, discovered a worm. The rain continued to fall. It was 8:30 a.m. on a recent Wednesday, and the Waldorf School’s “forest kindergarten” was officially in session.

Schools around the country have been planting gardens and planning ever more elaborate field trips in hopes of reconnecting children with nature.

The forest kindergarten at the Waldorf School of Saratoga Springs is one of a handful in the United States that are taking that concept to another level: its 23 pupils, ages 3 ½ to 6, spend three hours each day outside regardless of the weather. This in a place where winter is marked by snowdrifts and temperatures that regularly dip below freezing.

The new forest kindergarten, which opened here in September, is an extreme version of the outdoor learning taught at more than 100 Waldorf schools, all but a handful of them private, scattered throughout the United States. They are based on the teachings of the Austrian philosopher Rudolf Steiner and emphasize the arts and the natural world, with no formal academic curriculum until first grade.

vide texto integral em http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/30/nyregion/30forest.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=forest%20kindergarten&st=cse

Pedagogia Waldorf - Princípios fundamentais na educação de infância

Early Childhood

The Waldorf Early Childhood program truly and uniquely speaks the language of the young child. It does so by being keenly aware of the child's inner and outer growth and development.

One of the fundamental elements of a Waldorf Early Childhood education is rhythm. Attention to rhythm relating, for example, to the repetitive words and actions of a particular game, the pattern of activities within the day, or the cyclical elements of the natural world helps to develop a feeling of security in the child, allowing him to move through the world with ease and confidence. When he knows what to expect, he feels comforted and supported. The daily and seasonal rhythms, which are so reassuring to young children, are emphasized through such activities as songs, storytelling, painting, baking, nature walks, and creative play.

Imitation is the primary mode of learning at this age: in the first seven years of a child's life, he learns through doing. He wants to move, explore, and create. Hence the Waldorf teacher strives to build an environment worthy of the child's imitation, and to value and nurture the child's innate capacity for wonder, reverence, and awe. The classroom is a pleasing and inviting space filled with warm colors, natural materials, simple toys, and objects from nature, and the children are encouraged to use this space and these objects to imitate the world around them through imaginative play. The seeds planted in the Early Childhood Program will spring forth in the child's later life, manifested as a love of learning, ability for creative thinking, an appreciation for beauty and the arts, and a connection to the world in which he lives.

vide texto integral em http://www.waldorfsaratoga.org/edu_childhood.cfm