A note from Jamie: While not technically a homeschooling day, this post provides a helpful look into an early childhood Waldorf classroom, largely based on a home atmosphere. Many popular homeschooling curricula spring out of this philosophy, so I greatly appreciate Sarah sharing her expertise with us!

It’s “Soup Day,” in my Waldorf kindergarten class. My assistant and I arrived early to don our aprons and prepare for the day. A basin full of water has been set on the table. Vegetable scrub brushes lay nearby.

A small wooden cutting board, wooden bowl and “crinkle cutter” have been set in front of each chair.

At 8:10, the teachers gather to read the morning verse. We end with Rudolf Steiner’s words, “Receive the children with reverence, educate them with love, let them go forth in freedom.” We are ready to start our day!

A Day in the Life of a Waldorf Kindergarten

At 8:15, the children begin to arrive, each one proudly carrying a vegetable to add to our “stone soup.” Lucy brings a potato, Aidan brings a carrot. Frances brings broccoli, and Max a beet. It takes a village to make stone soup!

Each child finds her symbol above her hook – it might be a bunny, an apple, the moon, or a squirrel. She hangs up her coat, takes off her outdoor shoes and puts on the soft pair of slippers that is kept at school.

Children then put on a small apron and come to the table where I am seated to help chop vegetables. The conversation is lively as we chop. I begin to sing, “Stone soup, stone soup, cook a pot of stone soup,” as we work.

Photo by Sarah Baldwin

As each child finishes, he brings his bowl of chopped vegetables to my assistant, who adds them to the big pot on the stove. Now it is time to play!

Play Time

Free play is the heart of the morning in a Waldorf kindergarten, and the children waste no time. A trio dons silk capes and crowns, the leader declares “I’m the king, you’re the knight, and you’re the bishop!” They’re off to slay dragons.

One boy pulls out a log stump, and soon others are lined up to take turns jumping off it.

Photo by Sarah Baldwin

Another pair pulls out two wooden playstands, and begin draping them with silks and play cloths, fastening them with chunky wooden clips to create a cozy little home.

The two teachers finish lunch preparations, while two children set the table.

At 9:30 I sing:

Tick Tock goes the clock, what does it have to say?
Time for us to pick up our toys, and put them all away.

The children gradually transition from their play, and begin to fold silks, put shells and stones back in baskets, and move the playstands back to their places. We gather on the rug in the center of the room for circle time.

Circle Time

During circle time, I lead the class through a series of seasonal songs, verses, gestures and movement. The children imitate me. We repeat the same circle every day for two weeks, until the children know every song and gesture by heart, taking pleasure in their mastery.

We end circle with the following verse:

Now the sun has gone to bed,
The stars are shining overhead.
In their nests the birds all sleep,
Into their homes the snails will creep.
Children now no more will roam,
It’s rest time now and we’re safe in our home.

Rest Time

The children lie down on the rug for rest time. I sit in a rocking chair with one child on my lap, who gently strums my kinder lyre. The soothing notes of its pentatonic scale help create a restful mood.

When all are settled, the “wake-up fairy,” a silk marionette, comes to the resting children, one-by-one, to kiss them on the cheek and tell them it’s time to get ready to go outside.

Outside Time

We go outdoors every day – rain or shine, snow or mud. Living in Maine I’ve learned that it’s possible to enjoy being outside even on the coldest of days if one is dressed properly.

In the winter that means wool long underwear covered by lots of layers, down jackets, a warm wool hat and insulated mittens. In the spring (or, as it is known in Maine, “mud season”) it means rain pants and rain boots every day.

Out on the playground, a group of children dig tunnels in the sandbox, others climb a tree, some build fairy houses, a pair sit and talk on top of the big boulder making plans. I rake leaves.

At 11:15, I sing, “Come and follow, follow, follow, me!” The children line up like little ducks behind me as we make our way back to our warm and cozy classroom.

The children hang up their coats, put their slippers on and find a seat in the circle of chairs my assistant has set up. It’s story time!

Story Time

As with circle, I will tell the same story every day for two weeks. Today the children hear the story of “Mother Holle,” a Grimm’s fairy tale.

Throughout the year, the children will hear a variety of fairy tales, folk tales and nature stories (sometimes with puppets), which they listen to with rapt attention, never tiring of the repetition.

Lunch Time

Now it’s time for lunch! We sit at the table, light a candle and say the following verse:

Earth who gives to us this food,
Sun who makes it ripe and good,
Dearest Earth and Dearest Sun.
We’ll not forget what you have done.

And finally we get to enjoy our stone soup, which has been simmering on the stove all day. One lucky child finds the stone in her bowl and gets to make a wish. She then passes it to her neighbor, and all of us around the table will get to make a wish with the magic stone.

Photo by Douglas Mott

After lunch, two children help do the dishes, while the others get dressed to go back outside.

Goodbye

At 1:00, parents have arrived. Children, teachers and parents gather in a big circle, hold hands and sing:

Dear friends, goodbye
Dear friends, goodbye
Now is the time of day
When we all go our way
Dear friends, goodbye
Dear friends, goodbye

We’ll see each other again tomorrow on “Bread Day!”

Find all of Sarah’s Waldorf-inspired posts on Simple Homeschool here.

Are there any elements of my Waldorf kindergarten morning that are similar to your homeschool mornings? Any ideas you’ve gleaned here that you’d like to incorporate into your days? I’d love to hear!

What’s Your Homeschool Mom Personality? Take Jamie’s quiz now and receive a free personality report to help you organize your homeschool based on what your personality type needs most!

Homeschooling Preschoolers: Life Is the Curriculum ~
Written by Sarah Baldwin of Bella Luna Toys

When I am asked by those who are homeschooling preschoolers to recommend a curriculum for their 3- to 6-year olds, I tell them, “Relax! Life is the curriculum for the young child.”

Young children will learn everything they need to know and be prepared for formal learning later by participating in family life, household tasks and receiving nurturing care.

Being conscious of what children need to grow in body, mind and spirit, allows you to provide them with everything they need during these early years through daily living.

Ideas for Homeschooling Preschoolers from Waldorf Education:

Domestic Arts

As homeschooling mamas, you know how challenging it can be to get dishes done, laundry washed, meals made, and the house cleaned. It’s easy to feel like these chores need to be done in addition to homeschooling, which can feel overwhelming.

Children love to imitate the work of the adults around them. By understanding the imitative need of young children, we can include them in our daily tasks.

• Allow time for your preschooler to help prepare meals, wash dishes, hang laundry, sweep the floor and so on. Many parents don’t realize how capable young children are of doing real work for a real purpose.
• Provide them with real child-sized cooking and cleaning tools, so they can really help, and not just pretend to.
• Cook with natural, healthy whole foods. In doing so, you have the opportunity to teach them about nutrition and where food comes from.

Not only are children learning practical life skills, but they also gain self-confidence through helping. Chores like chopping vegetables help develop fine motor skills, and big jobs, like sweeping, develop large motor skills.

Realize that children are learning math when they practice measuring and counting ingredients. They are introduced to scientific concepts like substance transformation and chemistry through baking.

Imaginative Play

You’ve probably heard it said that “play is a young child’s work.” In Waldorf education, it is believed that imaginative play in early childhood leads to creative thinking later in life.

In a Waldorf early childhood classroom, ample time is allowed each day for imaginative free play, which is considered the heart of the morning.

Studies have shown that children who attend preschools where imaginative play is emphasized (think playing house, dress-up, and role-playing) actually perform better when they reach grade school – both academically and socially – than children who attended more academic preschools which emphasize reading and math.

Natural toys that are open-ended will encourage children to play imaginatively. For instance, a basket of shells or wooden tree blocks can become money, dishes, play food, and so forth.

Music

Not only does singing bring joy and lightness to our days, but learning songs also helps develop vocabulary and language skills.

Singing through the day is a wonderful way to ease transitions, and to use while working.

For a wonderful collection of songs to sing while cooking, cleaning and so on, I highly recommend This is the Way We Wash a Day by Mary Thienes Schunemann.

Movement

Photo by Phil Romans

The importance of movement for young children cannot be over-emphasized. Brain research has proven the direct connection between movement – both small and large – and a child’s brain development.

Allow plenty of time outdoors every day for active play. Activities like jumping, climbing, swinging, sliding, climbing trees, and building snow forts may look like play, but it’s important to understand that these activities are actually strengthening your child’s brain and preparing him for lifelong learning.

Nature

Photo by nicoleta gramada

Spending time outdoors through all seasons observing nature provides your science “curriculum.” There is no need to give a child scientific explanations of the processes of nature, which are abstract and meaningless to a young child.

• Encourage your child’s sense of wonder, awe and reverence for nature. Let him marvel at the changes she notices throughout the season.

• Collect items found on your nature walks and display them on a “nature table” at home.

This sense of wonder will lead to curiosity about the natural world and a desire to learn more, as he gets older.

Games

Games are fun, but there is so much to be learned through game playing!

Classic physical games such as jump rope not only help develop a child’s body and brain, but through reciting rhythmic jump rope rhymes, a child is also developing memory and language skills.

Traditional circle games such as “Ring Around the Rosey,” or “Duck Duck Goose” help children develop social skills, like learning to take turns.

There are many great cooperative board games to help develop logic, language, sequencing and so on.

Competitive games with winners and losers are very difficult for children under five to handle, and often lead to crying or cheating because of a preschooler’s strong desire to win. On the other hand, cooperative games allow everyone to work together toward a common goal.

Artistic Activities

Painting, drawing, handwork, and crafts help develop a child’s fine motor skills.

Again, neurological science has shown us that the nerves in the fingertips are directly wired to the brain, and by developing a child’s small motor skills through these activities, neurological pathways are being formed and strengthened, which lead to an increased capacity for learning.

By living life consciously and with purpose, and by including our children in daily living, “Life” has more lessons to teach our children than even the most prestigious packaged curriculum could ever hope to provide.

Are you homeschooling preschoolers? What activities will you fill your days with this coming year?

Originally published on September 9, 2011.

While my two boys, Harper and Will, spent most of their schooling years in a Waldorf school, we spent two years homeschooling. I am a trained Waldorf teacher and prior to this I had been teaching at the Waldorf school that my boys attended.

I spent years in graduate school studying education and had many years of teaching experience, but I learned more about how children learn during those two years than I did from all my teacher training and the plethora of books I’d read on the subject.

The Challenge

Being devoted to Waldorf education, I was determined to give my children a true Waldorf experience at home, so when we started, I did what I knew. I created a mini-Waldorf school at home, complete with lazured walls, wooden desks, and a large blackboard. It was beautiful!

Since I had also agreed to homeschool my niece, I was committed to offering the curriculum to three different grades, as it would be taught in a Waldorf school.

During the first couple of months, I would routinely stay up until midnight, sometimes later, preparing three different lesson plans and drawings that I would expect my students to copy into their “main lesson books” the next day. I had a curriculum and a daily schedule and I was determined to stick to it.

Our first day was a success!

We got through the first month. But as the weather grew cooler, I was getting a little stressed and sleep-deprived. I noticed that my students seemed to be growing restless and resistant to my lessons.

By Christmas I was ready to have a nervous breakdown.

Letting Go

I knew that in order to preserve my sanity, something had to change. I was going to have to relax and let go of my preconceived notions of what the children needed to learn and when. We started planning more field trips, which were a welcome change of pace.

We attended a talk with a naturalist about eagles and owls. The presenter informed us about how many eagles have returned to our home state of Maine, and told us that if we made a point to look up in the sky, we would likely see them.

It was true! In the coming week we spotted three bald eagles, one of which dramatically swooped down to capture a snake from the ground. This sparked an interest in birds of prey. Now “Birds of Prey” was not one of my lesson plans, but we went to the library to get books about owls and eagles.

Then I turned our newfound interest into Waldorf-inspired activities. We drew pictures of owls and eagles with colored pencils in our main lesson books; we memorized a poem about owls; we learned a Native American song about the eagle and played it on our recorders; and we wrote essays about owls and eagles and copied them in our main lesson books.

Our learning became more inspired by the children’s interests, and our days became much lighter and joy-filled.

My A-ha Moment

Then it dawned on me that the prescribed Waldorf curriculum was designed as an institutional model. The curriculum, which Rudolf Steiner brilliantly devised to meet children’s needs at each stage of their development, was intended for a class of 25 or more students of the same age.

It would not be practical for a teacher to create individual lesson plans to meet the interests of 25 different students, but at home we had that freedom. I began to discover that we learn best when learning comes out of our own curiosity; when we feel the desire to know more about something.

After our “Birds of Prey” block, our further studies were inspired by other field trips and from books we read. In choosing books, I looked to the Waldorf curriculum: fairy tales for my first grade niece; Native American stories and fables for my second grader; and stories of the Middle Ages for my sixth grader.

Photo by Geoffrey Hammond

Naturally, a child may never have a burning desire to learn all about long division or solving equations, so we spent a little time every day working on math skills. We worked with Singapore Math and Harold Jacobs’s excellent textbook Elementary Algebra, which really made algebra (never my favorite subject) fun. Harper and I problem-solved together and checked our answers against one another.

Back to School

After two years of learning together, there was an unexpected need for an early childhood teacher back at the Waldorf school. While I loved the time we spent homeschooling and was reluctant to give up the freedoms we enjoyed, I felt called back to the work that I often feel I was born to do, and the boys looked forward to rejoining their friends and the social life of the school.

Upon their return, I worried that their teachers might find them to be “behind,” not having followed precisely the curriculum their classmates had. To the contrary, their skills were at or above those of their classmates, but most importantly, their teachers noticed how enthusiastic they were about learning.

When Harper’s teacher shared that his newfound enthusiasm for math and science was having a positive affect on the rest of the class, he gave all the credit to homeschooling.

“Before we homeschooled,” he said, “I never knew that math and science could be fun!”

Do you follow a set curriculum? Do you unschool, or do a combination of both? I’d love to hear what works for you!

As a Waldorf early childhood teacher, and the mother of two young musicians, I have been asked many times over the years what the ideal age is for a child to begin music lessons.

I’ve been asking myself the same question for as many years. In my quest for an answer, I have asked many music teachers and experts.

Waldorf Education and Suzuki Music Instruction

As a young mother I became familiar with the Suzuki method of music instruction, in which children as young as three or four begin to learn an instrument. When my children started music lessons—older son Harper played piano, young son Will played cello—I chose Suzuki teachers for both of them, and as a result have become a strong supporter of Suzuki methods.

Because I am also a Waldorf teacher, I was struck by the many similarities between Suzuki and Waldorf education.

What is Similar?

Suzuki students are taught to play beautiful music by ear before they are able to read music. They start with real music and simple classical pieces. In a similar way, Waldorf students are taught to recite beautiful poetry by heart before they learn to read or write.

Just as speech precedes reading in language development, Suzuki students learn to play music before learning to read notes. Learning to read music should not be attempted before the child is able to read language, since the same skills are needed and may not yet be developed in a young child.

In his book Nurtured by Love, Dr. Shinichi Suzuki describes a philosophy of education very similar to that of Rudolf Steiner, founder of Waldorf education.

Dr. Suzuki stresses that it is more important for a child to strive to become a beautiful human being, than the most perfect musician. When a child is experiencing beautiful thoughts and feelings, he will produce beautiful music.

Steiner also felt that developing a child’s inner life to become a full human being, was more important than filling a child’s head full of knowledge.

In both methods, process is more important that product.

Another similarity in approaches is that both Suzuki and Steiner felt that being able to play music was the right of every human being–not just for those with “talent.” In Waldorf education, all students learn to play music, starting with a pentatonic wooden flute in first grade, graduating to a stringed instrument (usually violin or cello) by fourth grade, and, in some schools, brass or woodwind in the upper grades.

What is Different?

The primary disagreement between the two philosophies is about the age at which a child should begin music lessons.

Suzuki students sometimes begin violin lessons as early as age two or three. By contrast, students in a Waldorf school do not begin string instrument lessons until the age of nine or ten.

My personal feeling is that Suzuki, for many children, starts too early, and that Waldorf schools start too late. Based on my own observation and research, I have come to the opinion that the age of seven is a good time for most children to begin private music lessons.

Photo by Nathan Russell

Why Seven?

Seven is the ideal age for a child to begin formal, academic learning. The first seven years of a child’s life are a period of intense physical growth. After this period, all the energy that has been previously used to help the child body and organs to develop are now freed up for more cognitive learning.

A child of seven is better able to sit, focus and do desk work than a younger child. So it makes sense to be that a child over the age of seven would also be better able to focus on formal music lessons, and to practice.

It is unnatural for a child under seven to be asked to sit and practice an instrument daily, even if the practice sessions are short and playful. Children under seven need to be moving, playing and engaging their imaginations without the pressure of practicing, or even worse, performing and feeling the need to please others.

Deciding for Yourself

I recommend waiting until a child starts showing an interest in learning to play an instrument before offering private music lessons. Children are more likely to be motivated when there is a genuine interest. For most children, this rarely occurs before the age of 5-7.

Of course, there are some children who are musically gifted, and may prove to be prodigious musical students. If your younger child is insistent on learning a particular instrument, listen to them and take advantage of her interest!

If you do decide to pursue musical instruction for a child under age seven, I strongly suggest you find a Suzuki teacher who, like Waldorf teachers, will teach out of imitation, use repetition, and present lessons in a playful, imaginative way.

How Can I Encourage My Child’s Love of Music?

The most important thing a parent can do for a young child at home is to expose them to lots of music, especially the human voice. Sing with them and to them all the time–even if you think you can’t. Your child will not be critical, and will appreciate your effort more than you can imagine.

Photo by Abby Batchelder

It is also important for children to hear live music being played. In this way they will learn that music is something that human beings make, and are not just sounds that come out of an electronic box.

Research indicates that listening to music early in life is what develops a child’s musical ear. So no matter if or when a child starts lessons, having been exposed to many types of music and tonalities early in life will develop his ear and make it easier to learn to play an instrument later.

Sera Jane Smolen, Ph.D., a cellist who has taught music in a Waldorf school and wrote a thesis comparing Waldorf and Suzuki, told me that no world-class musician (think, Yo Yo Ma or Emanuel Ax) ever started lessons later than the age of five. This statement may give you pause. But then she asked me, “Is our goal to raise world-class musicians, or Martin Luther Kings?”

Do you want to produce a prodigy, or do you want to nurture a love of music in a child who may fulfill Dr. Suzuki’s vision of bringing world peace through music?

You decide.

Are your children taking music lessons? What instrument, and at what age did they start?

When one discovers Waldorf education, there can be a wide variety of first impressions. My own introduction was hearing that “the arts are incorporated into every subject.” That resonated with me, and I was eager to learn more.

Others may be introduced to a Waldorf craft activity, learn about Waldorf dolls, or attend a seasonal festival. These are all important elements of Waldorf education, but there is so much more to it beyond the art on the walls, silk curtains, or beeswax crayons.

What stands behind Waldorf education is a worldview called anthroposophy (an-thro-POS-o-fee) developed by Rudolf Steiner, an Austrian philosopher and founder of the first Waldorf School during the early 20th century.

Anthroposophy means “knowledge of the human being.” Central to Waldorf education is Steiner’s view of child development and recognition of the human being as an individual consisting of body, soul and spirit.

Waldorf schools aim to teach not only the intellect, but rather to educate the whole child: “head, heart and hands.”

When I decided to become a Waldorf teacher, I requested information on teacher training. Among the material I was sent were two brochures: one on the Foundation Year in Anthroposophy, the other on Teacher Training.

I put the first brochure aside, thinking, “I’m not interested in that philosophy,” (whose name I couldn’t even pronounce). “I want to work with children!”

At the time, I didn’t understand that the foundation year was not only a pre-requisite to teacher training but also essential to it. This amuses me now since over the course of my journey, I have learned how inseparable Waldorf education and anthroposophy are.

My experience in foundation studies was a turning point in my life. Through study and artistic activities, my eyes opened to a new, enlivened view of the world and an appreciation of the life purpose and potential of every human being.

Steiner stressed that self-development and the inner work of a teacher are essential to Waldorf education. Anthroposophy is not a religion (there are Waldorf teachers of all faiths), but rather a path of spiritual development.

Now after all my years of teacher training, studying Rudolf Steiner, and teaching in a Waldorf school, I can tell you that there are so many deep layers to Waldorf education that cannot be grasped in a nutshell. Or in a year, or a decade, or even a lifetime!

What does this mean to a homeschooling parent?

Should you give up the notion of Waldorf homeschooling because you lack teacher training and can’t pronounce anthroposphy?

Absolutely not!

Photo by Bella Luna Toys

Even though elements such as handwork and seasonal festivals may be the outer manifestations of the Waldorf tradition, they are activities that children will benefit from and that families can enjoy together.

I encourage you to incorporate any elements of Waldorf education that have meaning for you. If something doesn’t make sense or resonate, don’t offer it simply because you’ve heard that it’s “Waldorf.”

Must one enroll in teacher training and spend years studying Steiner before attempting to educate one’s own children?

Emphatically, no!

The most essential rule of Waldorf education is also the simplest to grasp: Teach with love and joy. No one loves your child more than you. Who could do a better job at that? It’s also important to bring joy to our days with children, so that means taking time for self-care and renewal.

How do I choose Waldorf homeschool curricula?

In this electronic age, there has been an explosion of information available to Waldorf homeschoolers through websites, blogs, and discussion groups, not to mention the vast number of books and articles that have been published during the past decade.

There are many quality books, guides and websites created by teachers that demonstrate a deep understanding of Waldorf education and knowledge of child development. There are also materials that have been created by others with varying levels of knowledge and limited experience. Some are true to the ideals; others may be more eclectic or mainstream with a “Waldorf flavor.”

How can one determine which resources are true to the heart of Waldorf education?

In education there is no one-size-fits-all, so it’s fortunate that there are so many choices. At the same time making a selection can be confusing. There are books, guides, e-books, and whole curriculum packages.

For those interested in Waldorf homeschooling, I recommend asking the following questions when deciding what to use:

• Who is the author?
• Does the author have a degree in education?
• What is his or her background in Waldorf education?
• Has the author completed Waldorf teacher training?
• Does the author have classroom teaching experience? How many years?
• Does the author have homeschooling experience? If not, does he or she understand what it’s like to juggle daily household activities with teaching one’s children?
• How familiar is the author with the work of Rudolf Steiner? Does he or she have a living relationship with anthroposophy and work out of its insights?
• How long has the curriculum provider been in operation?
• If it is a curriculum package, what kinds of support are available beyond the printed resources?

These questions should help you choose quality materials that will give your child a true and meaningful experience of Waldorf education, and bring light and joy to your own journey!

Are you familiar with Waldorf education? What are the elements that resonate with you?

Wet-on-wet watercolor painting is a technique taught in Waldorf schools and enjoyed by many homeschoolers. It’s a satisfying artistic experience, and the beautiful results can be turned into lovely gift cards, book covers, paper lanterns, or any number of beautiful objets d’art.

Why Wet-on-Wet?

The intent is to give young children an experience of color, not form. Because the wet paint is laid on wet paper, the colors flow, blending into one another in beautiful, unexpected ways.

I recommend painting with one color at a time to get comfortable with the technique. Single colors can be painted as “clouds” of color with varying intensity on the page, allowing some white to shine through here and there. You’d be surprised how beautiful a painting with just one color can be!

Discovering the Magic

Photos by Madrona Wienges

After painting with each of the primary colors singly, try the various two color combinations: red/yellow, red/blue, and yellow/blue. Children will be excited as they experience how secondary colors are formed when combining two colors.

“Look, Mama! There’s ORANGE in my jar!” Let them discover the magic for themselves. There’s no need for any further explanation at this age.

After experiencing the single colors, then two colors, 5- to 6-year-olds can be introduced to painting with all three primary colors.

What You Will Need

• • A sink, basin or tray in which to soak your paper. I’ve found that an inexpensive kitty litter tray (new, not used!) works well.
• • Heavyweight watercolor paper (I recommend 140 lb. weight, and the size I like is 11”x15”.)
• • 1-3 shades of watercolor paint: Carmine Red, Ultramarine Blue and/or Lemon Yellow (I recommend Stockmar paint, but artist’s watercolor paint in a tube works well, too.)
• • A watercolor paintbrush with flat bristles (1 to 1.5 inches wide)
• • Pint-size jar (or larger) for water
• • One pint-size for mixing paint
• • One baby food jar for each color of paint
• • A flat, waterproof board or counter on which to work
• • Two sponges (one clean and paint-free, and the other to wipe the painting board clean later)
• • A rag

Preparation

1. Submerge paper (one sheet at a time, so that they don’t stick together) in water and let it soak while you prepare everything else. Paper should soak about 10-15 minutes.

2. Mix your paint(s). When starting out, I recommend painting with one color at a time. Put a dollop of paint in the bottom of a pint jar (a tablespoon or so), and add water until the jar is about 3/4 full. Mix well. (I like to use a chopstick for this purpose.) You can test the intensity of the shade on a scrap of paper. Add more paint to make stronger, or more water to soften.

3. Pour a small amount of mixed paint (just enough to cover the bottom) into baby jars (one for each painter). Remaining paint can be refrigerated to use again later.

4. Lay a piece of soaked paper on a painting board or other flat, smooth, waterproof surface. A kitchen counter works well, but keep in mind that the painting should not be moved from the surface until dry. Most watercolor paper has a rougher side and a smoother side. Lay paper down with rough side up.

5. Wipe excess water off paper with clean, damp sponge. Make sure there are no puddles of water on the paper, and wipe away any air bubbles. Paper should have a sheen to it, but not be soaking wet.

Now you are ready to paint!

Painting!

Photo by Jennifer Jo Lickiss Tan

You want to model this technique for young children, so make sure you have set up all supplies for yourself and your child/ren.

Have each painter’s place set up with:

• • a painting board and paper
• • jar of water
• • jar(s) of paint
• • a rag

I wait to hand the child his or her brush until after I’ve told a “color story” like this one:

“One morning, Tippy Brush woke up and looked outside his bedroom window. It was a crisp autumn morning. As he looked outside his window, he saw bright red leaves falling from the maple tree and blowing in the wind, filling the sky with their color. ‘Oh, I want to play with red today!’ he thought.

So Tippy jumped out of bed, but before he went outside, he had a nice foot bath…

[Here I would demonstrate rinsing the bristles clean in the jar of water]

…and dried his feet clean with his towel [the rag]. Then Tippy ran outside and cried, “Good morning, Red! I’ve come to play with you!”

[At this point Tippy (my brush) dips his “toes” (the bristles) in the red paint.]

The red leaves were happy to have a playmate, and Tippy joyfully danced among the falling red leaves, until there were piles of bright red leaves all around.”

[Here I would apply the red paint to my paper, placing red here and there, letting the colors dance on the page.]

After telling the story, I would hand out the paintbrushes and let the children paint freely.

When finished, allow the paintings to dry thoroughly before removing them from your board or counter.

(All the above-mentioned supplies can be purchased from Bella Luna Toys, but similar products can be found at your local art supply store.)

Have questions? Leave them here and I’ll do my best to answer them. Have you tried it? Share your experiences with us!

Written by Simple Homeschool contributor Sarah Baldwin of Bella Luna Toys and Moon Child

As a Waldorf kindergarten teacher, one of my favorite “parent evenings” to offer was on the subject of toys and play. Over the years, I don’t think there was a single parent who walked away from such a meeting without a new consciousness about choosing healthy playthings for his or her children.

At the outset of our meeting, I explained how a young child learns about the world through all her senses. Unlike adults, a baby or toddler does not rely solely on her sense of sight, and make quick judgments about things based on a visual perception.

When it comes to toys, a baby will grasp a toy, feel it, smell it and put it in her mouth. Did you know that along with the fingertips, ours lips are full of nerve-endings and one of the most sensitive parts of our body?

Experiencing Toys Blindfolded

Well, I didn’t really blindfold them, but I asked parents to close their eyes and not to peek. Then I would hand each parent a different toy.

I would randomly hand out an assortment of toys from a typical child’s toy box–a Barbie doll, a metal toy car, an action figure, a baby doll with plastic head and limbs, Legos, plush animals, a My Little Pony, toys that make noise, and so forth.

Other parents would be handed toys typically found in a Waldorf early childhood classroom–things like a smooth river stone, a Waldorf doll made of cotton and wool, carved wooden animals, play silks, a wooden toy car, a handmade puppet or a shell.

I asked the parents to feel each toy, smell it, touch it to their cheek, and taste it (as a young child would) if they dared! After the adult had an experience of one toy, he would hold it up and I would place the opposite type of toy in his hands.

Sharing the Experience

At the end of this exercise, parents would share their experiences. Typically, parents would describe feeling tense, repelled or confused when handed one of the plastic or synthetic toys, and to describe the feeling of comfort or relaxation they would feel after being handed a natural toy.

After having the experience, parents made important discoveries and had plenty to share with one another.

I invite you to try it. The element of surprise will be missing, but try experiencing different types of playthings with your eyes closed, and see what you discover.

Make a Story

In the second part of the evening, I asked parents to get down on the floor and play.

In one part of the room, I had laid out a pile of the toys typically found in a child’s toy box on the floor—an assortment that might include a Barbie, action figures, plastic dinosaurs, Happy Meal toys, metal cars and so on.

In the other room would be a pile of wool puppets, stones, wooden tree blocks, play silks, wooden animals, pinecones and so forth.

I would give each group of parents 15 minutes to play and come up with a story using their toys.  After 15 minutes, I would ask each group to switch places.

The results were almost always the same. Parents described having a hard time coming up with a cohesive story with the plastic toys. Observing them play, I noticed how loud the adults in this group would get. Invariably, the plastic dinosaurs and action figures would become aggressive and start attacking the other toys. (What else can one do with a brawny action figure?)

The stories that evolved from parents playing with the natural toys, on the other hand, were usually more like fairy tales—stories of daily life, family and animals; sometimes adventure and magic. It was always interesting to observe how quiet and absorbed in play this group of adults would become.

© Sarah Baldwin

Observe Your Own Children

I wish I could give you the same hands-on experience through cyberspace. Words can never be as powerful as direct, experiential learning. But if you have the opportunity, observe your children and how they play with different kinds of toys. Play with them and try to create stories of your own. Observe for yourself the different qualities of play that various toys inspire.

Suspending Judgment

I’ve tried to stress to parents over the years that choosing toys is not about “good toys” vs. “bad toys.” Rather, it’s about bringing new consciousness to selecting children’s playthings.

• Is it beautiful?
• Does it feel good?
• Does it leave room for the imagination?
• Will it inspire creative play?
• Is it open-ended? (That is, is there more than one way to play with it?)

If you can answer yes to these questions, you will be providing your child with all the tools needed for years of healthy play!

What are the qualities you look for in choosing toys for your children? What are the favorite toys in your house? I’d love to hear your thoughts!