Pictures from children's play

Dear Families,

Every year nursery children create new ways to play with the open-ended materials in the classroom. Here are some of my observations from the last few days.

Aprons as costumes -- I moved the aprons we use for dishwashing into more prominent places. Immediately they became horse reigns. Tuesday they became life jackets for children planning to take boat trip.

Many children in the loft -- While there is occasional tension about getting into or out of the loft, our children have done quite well at safely negotiating their disagreements. Sometimes many children are in the loft at once. If a child is blocking the way up, that child almost always "opens the gate" with a gentle reminder from the teacher (several children have filled this role). Sometimes the loft is clear; sometimes many toys go up into the loft. I try to guide the children to remove items from the loft in a safe way (e.g., it is fine to float a silk down; throwing something heavy down would not be OK). Two older children were setting up a playroom in the loft, and while they were disappointed that I would not keep all the other children out of the loft for the entire morning, they did show resilience and flexibility as other children passed through. Children go up to and out of the loft from at least 3 different directions (which makes it much safer than if there were just one way up and down).
As I have written elsewhere, my sense is that it is helpful in the first 4 years to provide lots of opportunities for gross motor development (climbing, jumping, balancing, walking on uneven surfaces, and the like); from a strong foundation in larger movements, students will be prepared for success with fine motor and cognitive development in the later years. Your children are successfully using the loft to develop a sturdy foundation.

Biology Experiences in the Woods and the Classroom -- We observed a salamander with a severed tail on Monday at observed the creature's strength; teachers commented on the ability to grow a new tail and how remarkable that was. Tuesday we got to observe (safely) a large spider in a jar before William placed it in the garden--a bit of serendipity here because 7th & 8th grade will play and sing "Itsy Bitsy Spider" for our nursery children on Wednesday. We have heard many tree frogs near our berry patch playground but have not seen one yet.

Singing Games in the Woods -- We have been singing "Bear Went Over the Mountain," "Fiddle Me up to London Town," "Then We To to Market," and "Jim Along Josie" in the woods. The uneven terrain provides even more opportunity for children to challenge themselves and develop. Some children sing along merrily.

Conflicts Resolving Well, if not always exactly how a child might wish -- While they happen infrequently, we have occasional conflicts over a toy or location. I want the children to develop emotional intelligence and other skills, so I do not necessarily solve a problem right away--while trying to keep children safe from hitting and the like (which is extremely rare to almost nonexistent in our current class--it is normal for children to respond with action first). Sometimes children become quite upset at one another (a child walking around a gate the first child made; a child wanting to reserve a large part of the room with no other children); as long as the other children can play, I reflect back the child's frustration without solving the problem right away. This is to say, I am much more with a child vocalizing discontent with me or crying rather than yielding to a child's request--reasonable to the child but unhealthy for the class as a whole (for example, a child requesting that only older girls can play in a certain area)--just to avoid an upset. It can sometimes be intense, but I also find in the long term it helps children to work towards conversation and compromise.

That being said, I have observed a number of situations in which 2 or more children seemed ready to bear down, dig in, stand tall and not yield at all transform with the slightest suggestion from a teacher or another child to "try it again." 2 students who seemed ready to combat are now playing together or have become engaged in other parts of the room.

Sometimes to often, a conflict over a toy is less about the toy itself than about relationship with other children and with adults--young social scientists, children become--without malice--curious about the reaction of other children if, as an experiment, I also try to play with this toy or this exact location. They also want to see how adults will respond.

With warmth and light,

William Dolde

Jobs, Middle Schoolers

Dear Families,

Many children seemed right in the flow of the morning on our second day of school. Snack time seemed familiar and comfortable on the second day, 9 children danced and giggled merrily in the loft before I began circle time (the initiative of the oldest girl in the class), a young horse rider discovered that the classroom aprons make excellent horse tackle and reins, and every child wanted to help peel and chop vegetables for Wednesday's soup.

A number of children were extremely excited to see "Rub a dub dub" and the three men in a tub return for the puppet show.

Here is a list of jobs children might have on a given day; this can be a way to talk about school ("I wonder who played the lyre today. I wonder who carried snack upstairs today").

2 children help Celeen hang coats and rain clothes in the hall.
1 child plays bells (glockenspiel) to call us to snack time.
2 children carry snacks up to our administrators in the tower.
1 child opens the door for the others on this journey.
1 child plays the finger cymbals ("Sandman" symbols) while I play flute to put the room to rest.
1 child plays the lyre while we rest at the table right before pickup.


Our middle school teacher, Nancy Pfeiffer, and I are working together to help our 7th & 8th graders find a meaningful community service project in the school. They have been decorating the trail our nursery children take to the teepee (building fairy houses and the like). Tomorrow, Wednesday, they will visit our class at the end of the morning, help us tidy up, and sing while I play guitar for "Oats and Beans and Barley Grow" and "Jolly is the Miller Boy." They will watch while I present my puppet show again. If the visit goes well, they will visit weekly. As they learn to play guitar, middle schools will come to play and sing children's songs ("Itsy Bitsy Spider" and soforth). They are also making puppets in their handwork class and may prepare simple puppet shows to share with our nursery children.

With warmth and light,

William Geoffrey Dolde

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