Dear Nursery Families,
Last February at the Waldorf Early Childhood Teacher's Conference, Johanna Steegmans (a wise woman and anthroposophical doctor from Seattle) was answering questions from Waldorf kindergarten teachers. One teacher described a situation in her classroom. She observed a group of girls playing with what seemed a delightful hum--cooperatively and quietly in the housekeeping corner with the dolls. The teacher went closer to try to hear what they were saying, and when she did, she heard one describe to the others, "And once we cook these babies, we'll eat them up." I am not Steegmans and cannot do justice to her response, but it related to how of course these 5 and 6 year old girls might need to play this out because of all the violent tumult of change in the rapid development of their inner organs. Steegmans was not telling the teacher not to do something (especially, I might say, if this game were about pretending to eat another child and really bothered that child, as well it might) but giving teachers a way to find an inspired response that came out of understanding and not kneejerk reaction (the rub of early childhood teaching and parenting, in which we find ourselves saying things such as, "Please stop licking the table!").
I know there have been some questions about what is an OK and not an OK image in child's play, and I remember writing a good deal about this 2 years ago. I am sharing the link below. The average age of the nursery class was a good deal older 2 years ago than in our currrent nursery class, so not everything would apply. I told The Wolf and the Seven Little Kids to that class, for example, and I wouldn't tell it yet to our current class. I thought it'd be helpful, nonetheless, in looking forward, to think about potentially upsetting images in fairy tales and imaginative play.
http://butterflynursery.blogspot.com/2009/05/may-newsletter-fairy-tales-gender.html
Last February at the Waldorf Early Childhood Teacher's Conference, Johanna Steegmans (a wise woman and anthroposophical doctor from Seattle) was answering questions from Waldorf kindergarten teachers. One teacher described a situation in her classroom. She observed a group of girls playing with what seemed a delightful hum--cooperatively and quietly in the housekeeping corner with the dolls. The teacher went closer to try to hear what they were saying, and when she did, she heard one describe to the others, "And once we cook these babies, we'll eat them up." I am not Steegmans and cannot do justice to her response, but it related to how of course these 5 and 6 year old girls might need to play this out because of all the violent tumult of change in the rapid development of their inner organs. Steegmans was not telling the teacher not to do something (especially, I might say, if this game were about pretending to eat another child and really bothered that child, as well it might) but giving teachers a way to find an inspired response that came out of understanding and not kneejerk reaction (the rub of early childhood teaching and parenting, in which we find ourselves saying things such as, "Please stop licking the table!").
I know there have been some questions about what is an OK and not an OK image in child's play, and I remember writing a good deal about this 2 years ago. I am sharing the link below. The average age of the nursery class was a good deal older 2 years ago than in our currrent nursery class, so not everything would apply. I told The Wolf and the Seven Little Kids to that class, for example, and I wouldn't tell it yet to our current class. I thought it'd be helpful, nonetheless, in looking forward, to think about potentially upsetting images in fairy tales and imaginative play.
http://butterflynursery.blogspot.com/2009/05/may-newsletter-fairy-tales-gender.html
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