Early Childhood

Open to all that surrounds them, young children live in a world of wonder and imagination. To begin academic study at this time is to rush them through of period of life when their proper work and most effective way of learning are through exploration and play. Thus, the aim of our work with young children is to provide a nurturing physical environment conducive to learning through doing, with caring adults who are worthy models for children to imitate. Days in our early childhood classes are filled with both structured and unstructured activities that feed the life of the imagination.

The Importance of Play

“Creative play is a central activity in the lives of healthy children. Play helps children weave together all the elements of life as they experience it. It allows them to digest life and make it their own. It is an outlet for the fullness of their creativity, and it is an absolutely critical part of their childhood. With creative play, children blossom and flourish; without it, they suffer a serious decline…The central importance of creative play in children’s healthy development is well supported by decades of research.”

                                                   Joan Almon, The Vital Role of Play in Early Childhood Education

    Imaginative play is a key element in Waldorf Early Childhood Education. Listed below are links to some of the current education research that corroborates what Waldorf Educators have known for almost a century.

• Want to get your kids into college? Let them play.
  By Erika Christakis and Nicholas Christakis,
  Special to CNN, December 29, 2010 7:57 a.m. EST
  

• Effort to Restore Children's Play Gains Momentum

  January 5, 2011 New York Times article by Hilary Stout

• Can the Right Kinds of Play Teach Self-Control?  New York Times Sunday Magazine (Sept

       2009) article by Paul Tough

• Kindergarten Cram.  New York Times Sunday Magazine (April 2009) essay by Peggy Orenstein

• Crisis in the Kindergarten: A New Report on the Disappearance of Play (March 2009) Alliance for Childhood, a non-profit research & advocacy organization

• The 3 R’s? A Fourth is Crucial Too: Recess, New York Times Health Section (Feb 2009) article by Tara Parker-Pope

• The Serious Need for Play, Scientific American (Feb 2009) article by Melinda Wenner

• U.S. School Children Need Less Work More Play, Michael Conlon reports on a study published in the Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics (Jan 2009)

• Pressure Cooker Kindergarten, Boston Globe Sunday Magazine (Aug 2008) Article by Patty Hartigan