A Day at School
| Our day starts at 8:30 am with free play for one hour and certain activities on certain days such as drawing with beeswax crayons, working with modeling-beeswax, playing musical instruments, painting with plant colors, books being red to the children and helping to prepare the food for snack which sometimes will include baking buns, cookies or a loaf of bread. |
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| This is followed by a 20-minute circle time with songs, movement, verses, games and story with puppets. |
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| After circle time all children go to the bathroom and wash their hands with the help of a teacher and then we all get our pillows and lie down on the carpet for a short rest (10 to 15 min.), accompanied by the soft music of a pentatonic children's harp. Snack will follow right after that. |
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| 1 hour of outdoor play (weather permitting) in our garden (gardening will be part of it too) or at the park, or play in the big hall where running is allowed when the weather is bad concludes the day at 11:30 pm. We say good-bye to each other in a circle with a song.- If we celebrate a child's birthday, we invite the parents to stay for the morning and we change the day's routine a little. We also celebrate seasonal festivals together with the parents on special afternoons. |
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| In parent evenings without the children (about every 4 to 6 weeks) we work on pedagogical questions, some times on crafts to prepare the festivals and we talk about Waldorf Education, the children and upcoming school events. |
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About the Parent-Child Classes
Our Parent-Child classes are a unique social and learning experience for
parents and children alike and very enjoyable for all participants. Parents
and children will be introduced to some of the features of Waldorf early
childhood programs like circle time, singing with the children, short
stories with puppets and snack around our big table. While the children
have free playtime, the adults can take time to discuss pedagogical issues
with each other and (or) with the teacher and engage in arts and crafts to
prepare for the seasonal festivals that we will then celebrate together
with our other early childhood classes. Pedagogical articles will be handed
out weekly to bring fresh ideas and information to the classroom as well as
to your home.
The fall, winter and spring terms will each have about 10 sessions, once a week.
Parents who have their children enrolled in the Early Childhood program can, but do not have to enroll in the Parent-Child program.
The fall, winter and spring terms will each have about 10 sessions, once a week.
Parents who have their children enrolled in the Early Childhood program can, but do not have to enroll in the Parent-Child program.
About the teacher: Elisabeth Swisher
| Elisabeth Swisher was born in Austria, and was fortunate to join the Waldorf school in Stuttgart, Germany. |
| She graduated from the Academy of Music in Vienna in 1979, with flute and ensemble directing. She did her Waldorf teacher training in Stuttgart, and since then, has taught in Waldorf schools and training institutions in Austria and USA. |
| In 2002, Elisabeth went to China to teach English at a public high school in Shanxi and after that she traveled in China on her own for a little while. |
| After coming back from China she opened the doors of the Sunflower Children's Garden School with a group of parents in September 2003. She is a mother of three and a grandmother of five.
Elisabeth’s assistant is Hannah Avellone, a cellist and students at the Arcturus Rudolf Steiner Education Program (Waldorf teacher training) in Chicago where Elisabeth teaches on weekends. |
Philosophy of Rudolf Steiner
(1861-1925)
Our programs are based on Rudolf Steiner's Waldorf Education, the largest and fastest growing nonsectarian educational movement in the world.
Rudolf Steiner, an educator, artist and philosopher,
active in many fields of study, who presented a philosophy and understanding of human development as well as the method of instruction common to Waldorf schools:(1861-1925)
The Waldorf child learns about the world through an experience of the hands and the heart as well as the mind, and in so doing acquires a living wisdom that enriches the intellect and deepens the natural joy and wonder of learning. It is this genuine inner enthusiasm for learning that is the hallmark of Waldorf education.
"Accept the children with reverence, educate them with love and send them forth in freedom." R. Steiner.
Resource Links:
Waldorf Early Childhood Association, NY Why Waldorf Works, USA
The LifeWays North America, USA
"We shouldn't ask: what does a person need to know or be able to do in order to fit into
the existing social order? Instead we should ask: what lives in each human being and what can
be developed in him or her? Only then will it be possible to direct the new qualities of each
emerging generation into society. The society will then become, what young people as whole human
beings, make out of the existing social conditions. The new generation should not just be made to
be what the present society wants it to become. R. Steiner"
Educating the whole child with head (thinking),
heart (feeling) and hands (willing) through goodness, beauty and truth.