First Day of School

Dear Families,

All children had long periods of joy throughout the morning. A few children did miss mom or dad for a while and found comfort on Celeen or William's lap; again, even these children had other times in the morning during which they were joyfully engaged in work or play.

A number of children particularly liked kneading bread (which we will eat tomorrow). Many children played in the rocking boat and in the loft. We did have a few loud conflicts--largely around toys; one child might want 3 hats while the other child wanted 1 (from a distance, it seems unfair, of course; the other child wanted them as mittens). These conflicts and the children's determination seemed equal with younger and older children, only children and 3rd children (which is to say that I did not see clear winners and losers or bullies and victims).

Thank you for the bounty of fruits and vegetables. On the first day, children did not eat a great deal. My experience is they will eat more and more as they get used to the routine (some children did have seconds of rice). Some children were a little sad because they chose not to eat nuts and fruit earlier and then learned that the later snack would be rice (it really is pretty tasty rice). Some children were also sad because they could not sit where they wanted at snack time; again, my experience is that once they are used to the routine, they come freely and happily to their seats; my experience with letting children sit wherever they want for snack is that it soon breeds unhappiness as children compete for prized seats.

Several children washed dishes with gusto. 3 children carried rice up to Maureen and Paul in the tower.

I will report more as the week goes on.

With warmth and light,

William Dolde

Looking toward Michaelmas, Dickerson Library

Dear Nursery Families,

While we had a rich first class meeting, we were unable to talk about Michaelmas, our school festival. I want to write now to help you decide whether to attend both our Friday, September 25, nursery and parent & child Autumn Festival and our all school Michaelmas Festival and pageant on Tuesday, September 29 (from 4:30 to 7:15pm; exact time may shift slightly).

Although I do not have a cogent article available in electronic format, I recommend two available in the Kathrine Dickerson Memorial Library (in the lobby upstairs). Waldorf Education: A Family Guide contains an brief but thorough introduction to Michaelmas. Rahima Baldwin Dancy, in You Are Your Child's First Teacher, describes many aspects of Waldorf education and parenting in that spirit with thorough and loving attention (her chapter "Rhythm and Discipline in Home Life" gives a helpful explanation of how Waldorf early childhood parents guide children in their classes--it can also be helpful for moms and dads at home). I will also post an article outside the Butterfly classroom in coming weeks.

Here is my take on Michaelmas. As summer changes to fall, days shorten, and the frost and cold of winter approaches, we as humans need strength and courage to help us stand upright through the darkness of winter. Different cultures have received inspiration from the meteor showers (heavenly iron, shooting stars) they observed around late September; the iron from the stars of heaven gave people strength. In various cultures and religions, this comes forth as a tale of a hero--a knight like St. George or Archangel Michael conquering or taming a dragon. For Rudolf Steiner, this battle between a knight and a dragon goes on inside each one of us--the dragon is not some other out there to be excluded, but, rather, that part of ourselves that we need to confront, acknowledge, and tame so we are ready to be free individuals capable of serving humanity and the world.

Obviously, explanations of a psychic battle inside each of us would be a bit much for our nursery children. I also find that many 2 to 4 year olds are not ready for images of dragons (or witches, monsters, big bad wolves, and the like). Whereas 5 and 6 year olds begin to seek more powerful archetypes of good and evil (which they meet in fairy tales told with loving objectivity by a trusted adult), many 2 to 4 year olds (while still presenting and finding challenges) receive their best nourishment not from battling pretend dragons, but rather from looking in wonderment toward the heavens and the stars. An early childhood teacher could simplify the celebration of Michaelmas toward an examination of stars--singing "Twinkle Twinkle" and cutting open an apple to reveal the star come to earth on the inside.

The feast and pageant on Tuesday, September 29, will contain some elements your child might love--food, community, music, a bonfire. The grades children will present a play in which, with the help of Michael, nobles conquer a dragon. The dragon--as portrayed by 6th graders--can be scary; my 5 year old was scared last year when he witnessed a rehearsal (I am directing the pageant this year and have scheduled all rehearsals to be after our nursery class time--both to avoid this potential fright and because I can't be in two places at once). Please ask other parents and decide for yourself if you wish to attend the evening festival. Some of children will have siblings in the play, so they will probably want to come to watch. For others, even though it is a great way to get a sense of the school community, there will be other chances. If you do plan to attend the Tuesday evening festival, please remember to bring your own plates and utensils (some new families missed this last year).

Because I do not think the Michaelmas play is necessarily appropriate for every nursery child, I offer another celebration of Autumn the Friday before at 9am for children and parents together. Nursery children and I will have baked extra bread and made extra soup in class that week (I'll ask for extra vegetables). On that Friday, we'll gather to share a snack outside and play and have a harvest dance to the fiddle. Then we'll go inside for a puppet show. After that, we will walk to the woods to meet (as a surprise for the children) a knight from the stars and Mother Earth--they will both present us with gifts. After the walk, children and parents will depart with their gifts.

I'll send more reminders as the date approaches.

With warmth and light,

William Geoffrey Dolde

Reminders and nuts and bolts

Dear Nursery Families,

Please remember that the party for all adults on Saturday, September 5, has been postponed, with another date to be determined. It is my understanding that our administrator will still host a new parent orientation at 4:30pm on that afternoon.

Here are some responses to nuts and bolts type questions that emerged around the time of our parent meeting.

About bringing fruits and vegetables

My experience is that if every nursery child brought a fruit every day, we would have a lot extra at the end of the week. That being said, it sometimes is great if one family brings quite a lot (if blessed with an abundant apple tree, for example) in case others forget.

My other experience is that nursery children love to help peel and cut (with safe peelers and butter knives) as we prepare the soup on Tuesday. I also let them snack on raw vegetables; my goal is to create positive associations with the vegetables. As such, it seemed we rarely had enough vegetables for soup last year (again, some parents brought in a bounty), and I would encourage you to err on the side of sending in too many vegetables (especially if you have bumper crops from a garden and the like).

So, to help ensure enough soup vegetables, please try to bring about 2 apples and 1 generous soup vegetable (maybe a bunch of small carrots, one big turnip, a bounty of kale) on Monday. Then, if you forget, please bring the soup vegetable on Tuesday. Nursery children love to peel and eat carrots; it is hard to imagine people bringing too many carrots (but please do bring other vegetables too).

If you have a nursery and a kindergarten child, you may find it easiest to bring a vegetable or fruit for each class each day to be consistent (the more official policy). If you choose this approach, please remember to bring soup vegetables no later than Tuesday.

Drop-off

Because the kindergartens will be asking parents to join them for their opening circle at 8:30am, it seems unlikely that any kindergarten parents would drop off kindergarten children before 8:30 (and unlikely that families with a nursery and kindergarten child would drop off the nursery child before 8:30). We will have to see what works best; whether it is best for families with children in nursery and kindergarten to visit the kindergarten circle with their nursery child, or if it is best to leave your nursery child with me, and we will watch the circle from afar as a group.

I do not intend such a formal opening for the nursery class because I want to leave open the possibility for some of our nursery children to arrive later--not only to help children get enough rest and have a great experience at school, but also to avoid crowding in the hallway and bathrooms at 8:30 (every kindergarten parent has been asked to take their child to the bathroom around 8:25 or 8:30).

My offer of early drop-off (8:15) remains for other families (say, if you have grades children and are at school and want to clear out of the hallway before kindergarten children start using the bathroom), and if you are bringing your child after 8:30 and closer to 9, do not consider yourself late (that is, if you have only a nursery child). Consider, rather, that you are helping to relieve hallway congestion around 8:30.

We will need to do more fine tuning with the nursery and kindergarten schedule, I am sure. Thank you for your patience, insights, and flexibility.

Dismissal

Again, I will begin dismissing at 12:20. Last year, this was a slow and gentle process that took five minutes or so. If you have a kindergarten child, it will likely be fine if you arrive a little after 12:20 (maybe even 12:25 or so), letting the other parents pick up their children first.

Beach Days

Remember that nursery children, siblings, and parents are invited to two beach days next Thursday and Friday (September 10 and 11) from 9 to 11 at Maxwelton Beach.

Some parents may find the opening ceremony for the elementary school on Tuesday at 8:30am (I'll be playing music beforehand) interesting. Nursery children are not required to attend the ceremony (though they are welcome to come along with you if you think they will enjoy it).

With warmth and light,

William Geoffrey Dolde

Meeting Wednesday, September 2

Dear Nursery Families,

Because some parents cannot attend our meeting for adults on Wednesday, September 2, from 5 to 6pm in the Butterfly classroom, I am distributing the documents beforehand in an electronic format. I do not plan to bring paper copies to our meeting on Wednesday. As always, I will produce paper copies if you request.

Here is an excerpt from the Children's Garden Handbook about what to bring to school for your child. I made some additions, noting differences between expectations for the nursery and kindergarten. I'll restate some of the differences here: no mug needed for nursery; I have mittens your child can use in the nursery so you need not provide those unless you have gloves or mittens that work really well for you; because we are out in the morning, sun hats tend not to be as essential. While I ask that you do bring slippers or inside shoes for your child, please know that I will keep these inside the classroom, reserving your child's hallway cubby for spare clothes and outside clothes.

Click here to see a description of our rhythm or schedule of the day. Each group of children is different, and I will be prepared to adapt the schedule to best meet the needs of the group. Unlike last year, the two kindergarten classes will start outside the same time as the nursery. This will bring joy and potential complications. I think some of our children will love having a sibling nearby. Some of our nursery children, however, need a sheltered space away from six year olds playing like six year olds (and many of the five and six year olds in kindergarten need space to act their age without worry about two and three year olds). At the beginning of the year, we will allow nursery and kindergarten children to play together underneath the big shelter near the tool shed. Two at a time, I will permit kindergarten children to enter our nursery playground to push our nursery children on the swings (because it will be important for me to remain aware of our entire nursery group while my assistant helps children with clothes or the bathroom, I will refrain from pushing nursery children on the swings at the beginning of the year. I do this not to be mean but to provide logical and effective group management and oversight). As the year progresses, we may allow more or less interaction among the classes depending upon our observations of how things are working.

Here are some specific notes about nursery arrival and dismissal. While I exhort you to bring your child on time to kindergarten and grades classes, I realize that 4 hours is a long time for a nursery child, and I would much prefer your child come a little later (coming by 9am would still be on time; by 9:10am or so, we need to leave for our walk) if this means she or he will be well rested and will be more likely to have a wonderful nursery morning. Last year, I allowed parents to drop off nursery children as early as 8:15 am; to me this seemed healthier than having nursery children sit inside a noisy hallway. I will allow this at the beginning of the year this year to start, but if I find--with all the siblings--I am monitoring large groups of kindergarten children at 8:15am as well, I will have to stop or alter the practice. I do not expect or demand my kindergarten colleagues to also come out at 8:15am; they have intricate work to prepare inside the classroom. Our day officially begins at 8:30am.

Do plan to take your child to the bathroom before gearing up at 8:15, 8:30, 8:45, 9, or whenever you drop her or him off at the nursery playground.

Because kindergarten classes will be dismissing inside at 12:30pm, it will help all early childhood children and families if nursery parents begin picking up their children by 12:20pm. If you have no kindergarten child to pick up as well, please depart gracefully and quickly to make space for others. At 12:20pm, I'll start playing the fiddle, and my assistant will peek out to look for parents. We will dismiss nursery children 1 at a time. Please check your child's cubby each day to see if there are wet clothes to take home.

This document describes the manner in which we celebrate birthdays in the nursery class. In brief, parents need bring nothing from home for our celebrations (we make the cake in the classroom), nor worry about altering their schedule (the day proceeds as normal for the children with a lovely and simple celebration for children and teachers fitting in).

Here is a copy of the letter from me our school sent you last week. It will always be here in case you lose your original, wish to share information with relatives and friends, or the like.

I look forward to seeing many of you at our meeting Wednesday from 5 to 6pm. Babes in arms are always welcome at our class meetings. Do know that we will be engaging in a number of movement activities. I try to be as efficient and effective as possible: I will use movement to both help us get to know each other and to demonstrate aspects of Waldorf early childhood education. In addition, I will talk about birthdays, Michaelmas, our nursery Autumn festival, preview some of my puppet shows and describe how I choose literary material to share with nursery children, touch upon how discipline is handled, field all of your questions and respond to what I can, and end with an Irish farewell round that we can sing in parts at the end of our meetings and festivals throughout the year. It will be a busy and hopefully energetic hour. Please try to come on time. We have many parents attending the kindergarten meetings at 6pm, and I want to allow them to be on time for those meetings.

With warmth and light,

William Geoffrey Dolde

Articles About Separation for 2009-2010

Dear Families,

As my welcome letter suggests, separation (the tears or laughter that accompany saying goodbye to Mom or Dad on the first days or weeks or months of school), rather than being a distraction from the nursery curriculum, is at the core of the nursery curriculum.

Here is an article from 1, 2, 3 The Toddler Years about separation entitled "Saying Goodbye is Sad."

Here is an article from a well written early childhood educator textbook that relates separation and separation anxiety to child development.

I realize that pdfs can be more than a little difficult to read on-line. Here are two documents I produced in a workshop for teachers about supporting separation. They bring together ideas from the above two pdfs and may be much easier to read on the screen.

This selection relates the developmental phase of trust to separation. Although it is about infants and young toddlers, the ideas apply to the nursery as well.

This selection, written for teachers in a workshop, provides ideas for ways to support a child with the separation process. Some of the ideas may be helpful for parents as well.

Blessings on our year ahead and farewells and hellos.

With warmth and light,

William Geoffrey Dolde

Birthday Songs for Apple, Moon, and Raindrop

Dear Families,

       I have added recordings of birthday tune for our 3 celebrations at the end of the school year.  You should be able to access them by going to this facebook page.

At the first parent meeting, I described my personal and professional journey in which I was attempting to move away from the tangible and physical gifts either for or by the children.  In Baltimore, children and I became so efficient at candle dipping, for example, that children began taking home a candle everyday, and for some children, nursery became a big disappointment if they did not take something home like that every day.  This challenge provided an impulse for me to have courage to send home a lot less and focus more on cooking, care of the classroom, time in nature, and to treat music--the playing of the violin and Irish whistle in particular--as lawful, meaningful work to envelop the children with much as another Waldorf early childhood teacher might spin or sew or knit in the presence of the children.  It is an ongoing investigation for me, and I welcome feedback. 

I have also unabashedly made my birthday gifts for the children something that aims to be of interest in the future, whether in 6th grade when they are acquiring proficiency on violin or--in light of new roles in the school--in 8th grade when they can play chords on the guitar or when they are adults, possibly with children of their own.  Please do not worry if your child shows no interest in the gift; find a safe place (if possible) to store it away until your child is in 5th or 6th grade or so.  My intent is to in 10 years or so to be able to prepare your children to perform these songs on fiddle (or other melody instrument) and guitar toward the end of our 8th grade year (because I really try to hear a melody for each child, some of the tunes that come to me may still be a bit challenging in 8th grade).

With warmth and light,

William Dolde

p.s.  Please take everything out of your child's spare clothes bag today.  If needed, you might bring appropriate spare clothes in a back-pack, grocery sack, or paper bag.

birthdays, circle, and gear

Dear Families,

Tomorrow, Tuesday, will be the last time I tell "Wild Goose Lake" to the class. Children seem engaged, quiet, and thoughtful as I tell this story. Many sing along on the songs I put into the story; several also imitate some of my gestures (for the calm, still, lake). On Wednesday of this week and Monday and Tuesday of next week, we will be celebrating 3 summer birthdays. Children tend to become very excited about birthdays. Children also tend to get very excited at the end of the school year. Although many teachers might try to avoid placing birthday celebrations at year's end, I find the social exuberance (with moments of reverence) of the birthdays meets the exalted mood of children at the end of the year. One might say that I make up for a lack of wisdom with an excess of courage, but this method has worked well in past years.
Our nursery children showed delight and an ability to move as a group when we danced with the Maypole for the month after Spring break. Recently I have been sharing a spring circle of Wilma Ellersiek games (of a fish springing, a daisy warmed by the sun, roses growing by the gate, and animals visiting a flower to be rocked). Even as children can be boisterous, enthusiastic, and exuberant for much of the morning as summer approaches, most children in the class demonstrate great interest, reverence, and tenderness during this quieter part of the morning.

Please remember that next Wednesday is our last day before summer break, and dismissal is at 11am (but we invite you to come at 10:15 to share strawberry shortcake with us).
I will take the supply bags home to wash next Tuesday. Please bring home as much gear as you think is wise as soon as possible. Parents have reported that mystery boots linger around their child's cubby, and I suspect if we can clear the area, other parents may discover and solve mysteries. You might, for example, be so bold as to take rain gear home with the plan to only bring it if your child needs it (the long term forecast does predict rain next week). Do leave just enough spare clothes. Please do bring a bag from home to store them in on Tuesday.
There is a basket in the hallway for lost and found items. There will also be a basket for donations--clothes your child has outgrown. Other parents may take these home for their children, and teachers will use them to build up our supply of spare clothes. We will take the rest to Good Cheer.

With warmth and light,

William Geoffrey Dolde