Waldorf in the Home

Here are a few ideas about naptime for little ones in group settings:

For toddlers and pre-school and kindergarten-aged children, it helps to have very clear routines and rituals around sleep. Think about what you are doing for the two hours before sleep, what you will do to prepare them for sleep, and what you will do when they first wake up. I call this "framing" sleep. The routines and rituals provide the frame.

[Cynthia Aldinger answers an inquiry from an experienced preschool teacher concerning a five year old girl who bullies other children in the class of 10 three-to five-year-olds; the parents say she isn't that way at home, so it must be the teacher's problem.]

As a former Waldorf Kindergarten teacher for many years, I certainly could sympathize with your dilemma with the little girl in your class. It sounds like you have tried many of the right things with her and none of them have been working. When we are caring for early childhood age children, our work is so much more fruitful when we are working in partnership with the children's parents. >From what you described it does not sound like the parents are pursuing partnership with you. Do you have any idea why that might be?

A preschool teacher asked for help: "My class dynamics are just unbelievable. I have 12 boys and 3 girls. All age 3. I work everyday on teaching them how to relate socially but I still feel like I am drowning in temper tantrums, aggressive behavior, and yelling (them, not me).

I need some advice that I can do on a larger scale. I use the word "no" firmly when there is dangerous or aggressive behavior. I separate them for safety when a child is overly excited and needs some calm "down time" or when they have been overly aggressive. But everyday it is the same yelling, same fighting, same behavior.

Any suggestions on something to help me make it through the rest of the school year? I have a degree in Education and I feel as lost as if I didn't spend a day in school."

Things are in full swing right now at the LifeWays trainings in Wisconsin and at Rudolf Steiner College in California. The Wisconsin students are halfway through their training and are looking forward to an inspiring weekend in March titled Nurturing and Nourishing:Caring for Children and Ourselves. With two medical practitioners and a curative eurythmist they will be bathed in nurturing experiences including massages, wraps, soothing inhalations, foot rubs and more. Every caregiver of young children deserves a weekend like this! In fact, this is one of the weekends we open to public enrollment. Due to the size of this LifeWays class, however, outside enrollment is limited. If you are interested, let Cynthia know soon at ck.aldinger@sbcglobal.net.

The students at Rudolf Steiner College are also in for a treat in March. At the end of their week of training they will have a three-day workshop with Suzanne Down of Juniper Tree Puppets. She brings such joy to storytelling and puppetry. This is one of the students' favorite parts of the training, and it is the other piece that we open up to public enrollment. If you are interested in joining the California students for this delightful treat just contact Rudolf Steiner College at rsc@steinercollege.edu. Tell them you are interested in the LifeWays workshop with Suzanne Down.

Probably our most exciting news, however, is that our new East Coast training is ready to launch this July/August and enrollments are coming in already. The training will be located at the beautiful Merriconeag Waldorf School in Maine. The early childhood center there, a lovely, artistically-designed strawbale building, will house most of the classes, but the whole campus will be there for the students' enjoyment. They can even stay in the farmhouse right on campus. As is keeping with the LifeWays training, nutritious, delicious organic lunches will be served on site, and a LifeWays-trained caregiver is offering child care for students who need it. Susan Silverio, the East Coast LifeWays Director, has gathered an impressive teaching staff for this new training. For more information contact Susan at silverio@tidewater.net.