In praise of space

Dear Families,

      Thank you for cleaning out the cubby area.  The sense of calm from the space created reminds me of one of my favorite articles from the Waldorf Early Childhood Association.  I have distributed "Chaos in Everyday Life:  On Cleaning and Caring Before," I know, but I find it inspiring to read it again.  I had the good fortune to hear the author, Linda Thomas, speak in 2004; 500 kindergarten and nursery teachers spent a weekend with intense focus, almost rapture, as she talked about vacuuming and scrubbing toilets.

     As I prepare to speak about Eckhart Tolle and Waldorf education on May 26, I think a lot about the word space, which is an important word or signpost for Tolle.  When we accept the present moment rather than worrying about stories of past or future, our presence helps recognize and create space and spaciousness.  I have already appreciated simplifying my environment and the environment in which young children play (there is such a thing as too many lovely, handmade, natural fiber Waldorf toys), but Tolle inspires me to explore further. 

     There was a spaciousness to the play of the children last week.  They are so comfortable in the woods and on our playground.  I feel a strong connection with them.  Because of this, I feel I can let them spread out a bit.  There was a lot of harmonious play last week with children in groups of 3 or 4; sometimes groups clashed or came into conflict, but the more usual gesture was one of groups of children imagining and exploring and building and role playing without worry or concern what other groups were doing.  They often seemed fully in the present moment rather, free from feat that a more fun game might be going on somewhere else in the woods or playground.



William Geoffrey Dolde

Ending Outside Tuesday and Wednesday

Because we will be watching the Mayfaire rehearsals, we will end class outside on Tuesday and Wednesday. 

Here are 2 clothing reminders:

The children are getting really competent in hanging up their own outdoor clothes.  Please, please do clear out your child's cubby this Wednesday.  When a child has many sets of clothes on her or his cubby, it can make it hard for her or him and even neighbors to find an empty hook to hang things.  I'll go out on a limb; I would rather have a clean cubby area in which children can feel really effective at caring for their things with the risk that we'll be caught without the right gear in the foul weather May and June can bring us than the alternative--having gear for all sorts of weather at school but having children feel unable to find their things and help themselves.

As we get warm and disrobe, please remember to save clothing with righting, cartoon characters, media images, and the like for non-school days.  Please also remember to save the temporary tattoos, nail polish, and the like for home as well.  The more we can simplify the clothing of our children in school, the more we can free their imaginations.

With warmth and light,

William Geoffrey Dolde

May and Rainpants

Dear Families,

     As some of you know, after May 1, children may wear outdoor clothes other than rain pants and boots if the weather allows it.  Because our 8:30 boat departs swiftly, I honor you for making the decision about how to dress your child.  We will have many visitors to our school for Mayfaire, and I encourage you to take home all or many of your child's extra clothes this weekend to

1)  free up cubby space for visitors
2)  make it more likely you'll know where boots or other gear are the Monday after Mayfaire
3)  give you a chance to restock your child's bag with clothes right for the season

That being said, we know that it can be cold and rainy in May; please don't pack away the winter gear quite yet.

On Tuesday at 11am and Wednesday at 11:45am, our children will watch the whole school Mayfaire rehearsal.  As I've written before, my idea is that our nursery children will feel inspired by observing their teacher in the role of music teacher.