weekly agenda - livingwaldorflife.comlivingwaldorflife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/l... ·...

Weekly Agenda:

Notebook- You may it easier to print the PDF lessons and house them in a 3-ring binder or notebook for easy reference and highlighting.

Lesson Availability- You can download your weekly lessons by accessing the webpage above. The material will be available up to 90 days after the end of the course to make sure you have had time to get everything. I recommend downloading as we go and participating to get the most from this class.

Participate- Ask questions, share ideas and make friends with the others in the coursefor the best experience. You can ask questions under comments on each weekly lesson. I will try to answer as specific as I can, but since this a group class we may not be able to cover specifics to every situation.

© Copyright 2013 The Waldorf Connection: Living the Waldorf Life www.thewaldorfconnection.com 1

Table of Contents

Weekly Agenda 1Week 5 Play Sets Your Child Up For Success 3

Module 5: Play 3 What is Play? 3

Phases of Play 4

You Can Foster Play 5

Indoor Play

Nature Table

6

7 & 8

Outdoor Play 9 & 10

Toys, Tools, Materials, Equipment What your child is learning when they play Benefits of Play

11

12 & 13

Resources:BooksWebsites

14


Week 5 Overview

Your young child’s job is to play and this week we will talk about inside and outside play. What is meant by “play” and how all of this can actually help your child with future academics. Plus, You will get the bonus “Playful Learning” Tool that you can take back to your family to show how much your child is actually learning

Class 5: Play Sets Your Child Up For Success

What is Play?

play: /plā/activity engaged in for enjoyment and recreation, esp. by children."a child at play may use a stick as an airplane"

Play is your child using their bodies and imagination. It is not structured sports or classes. It is using open-ended non defined items. The child brings images of imitation, stories, struggles, challenges and behavior to “play out” during play.

In past generations, play was not something parents had to “create” for their children.My mom would tell my sister and I to go outside and “play” and we would be gone for hours.The neighborhood had many children to find endless things to do with. She would call us when it was time for dinner. (By call us I mean shout down the street as there were no cell phones, of course.)

Impromptu games of basketball or football, kickball were arranged in whatever fashion we decided. We built forts, had dance shows, made lemonade, rode bikes, played in sandboxes and just did what we liked. There were no parents keeping watch or hovering to make sure we didn’t fall. If we got hurt we went home.

This idle time of play after school and on weekends seems to have all but disappeared and been replaced by children in early sports, dance, and all forms of structured activities. Helicopter parenting won’t allow kids to go out and play on their own due to fears or concerns.

Children’s “play” has turned into something not like play at all. Children need free playtime where they can do whatever and connect to their surroundings in a deep way.


Phases of Play

Babies: Play with toes, fingers, touch

Toddlers: Run, jump and learn by using their bodies.

3-5: fantasy comes in during this time.A child will take any material around and create whatever they want. A stick can become an airplane. They want to be close to Mom or caregiver so use this by bringing them into your work/chores. They will “help” with small tasks.

5-7: This is where more intricate play scenarios are created. They will plan what theywill play and are more intentional.

You Can Foster Play

As a parent at home the most important thing you can do for your child is to become present in the moment with your child. Set aside your distractions, worries, expectations and concerns and save your other adult for a time when you child doesn’t need your immediate attention.

Once you have made space and become present with your child, try to tap into your own creative side. Relax, breathe and feel into what wants to happen, what wants to be born in this space of open connectedness.

Play is spontaneous and born out of inner experience. Because you are the parent and you have a household to tend you may have chores to do and little ones to care for.

These activities can become the play. You may want to fold laundry on Monday mornings so staying physically close to your child go about your work with this playful attitude your child will naturally embody your mood in whatever he decides to do and apply it toward his activity. The laundry pile might become a pile of hay and he the little sheep looking for a place to sleep (especially if the laundry is warm!). Or he might like to take the clean sheets and build a little shelter with the couch cushions. He may want to watch you quietly happily folding the laundry. Or want to help with the task. This is all play for the child. Your nurturing quiet close presence and your light joyful mood help create the safe protected space for play. Everyday tasks and simple household objects can become the stuff of imagination and


exploration. Young children honestly, need little more than a loving family, fresh air, clean water, movement and play. Modern Culture would like to sell us the notion that our children need stimulation, competitive skills , technology of all kinds, teaching toys, coaches, teams and endless other distractions that remove them from deep connection to themselves and those who love them the natural world .

Increasingly the research shows that even very young children are showing signs of stress, anxiety and depression leading to social and learning difficulties. It is now being said that Play is the antidote to modern life! It is likely, you will at some point feel some pressure to bring academic learning, enrichment classes etc. to your young childs’ Waldorf homeschooling experience. Grandparents, friends and neighbors will lovingly assert their ideas about what is best for your children. “What do you mean your children play all day?!” they will ask.

When this happens take a good look at your child and make a note to yourself about all the things your child is doing and learning from his non pressured, non academic life. You will find that a tremendous amount happening within your child as a result of being free from early academics. His energy is freed up for multifaceted, integrated learning. Remind yourself that a healthy strong inner foundation must first be built before formal learning and instruction take place. (One does not build a sturdy, solid, safe home with no foundation!).

You way want to use these moments as opportunities to honor yourself and your intuition . These will be times to thank yourself for holding back from following the typical mainstream type of educating. To find gratitude for having clear insight and self trust and for following your impulse toward the art of education.


Indoor Play

First make sure you have a safe space for your child depending on age.If you have worked on your environment, you may have a simplifiedspace ready for your child that isn’t cluttered with too many items. Havinga clean inviting area to play is key.

Have “play things” visible and organized in baskets or bins where your child caneasily get to them (and put them away).

Create play scenes to get your child started. I did this when my girls wereabout 4-5. Each night after they went to bed, I would choose a colored silkand a few animals, toys, etc. and set them up in a “scene”. Example: wooden horses drinking from the stream (blue silk) with sometree blocks and acorns around/ Maybe a wooden cave with crystals inside.

In the morning, they would wake up and go out into our livingroom and immediatelybegin playing with what was set up. Once they had that idea, they ran with it.

Bring outdoors in for many hours of creative fun. Acorns, shells, sticks, even sand ina sand table or large plastic bin, if you have room. I think the more time they spend playing with natural materials the better.

Create a drawer or spot in the kitchen where your child can play while you preparemeals. They may have small utensils that imitate yours. Helping you with chores can also be play for children. Folding laundry, sweeping,dusting (my girls loved dusting!) folding napkins and setting the table.

Dress up- We had a “dress up basket” until very recently that my girls loved.We put whatever in there. Large silk robes of my grandmothers, material, hats,parts of dance costumes or Halloween costumes. This will get used again and again.I used a large laundry wicker basket to hold everything.

Bathtime was also (and still is!) a fun playtime for my girls. They take their favorite toys and can play for hours. I have to keep warming up the water ;)

Cooperative games are a great after dinner activity and you can find somefor all ages.


Nature Table

Whether a low, interactive display that children are free to explore and add to at whim, or a hands-off “altar” of sorts, a nature table can provide much more than a reflection of nature’s seasons without the home.

It can be set up on a small table, a wall-mounted shelf, or even a small tree stump brought indoors. We used a small table and now we use the corner of a countertop in our school room.

A nature table should be a thing of beauty and interest for the entire family. It can be inspiration for an impromptu story, perhaps told to distract a child while preparing to go out of doors (“see that little pinecone there on the nature table, Luna? It looks like a squirrel nibbled on one of its scales! Once there was a squirrel who lived a big oak tree. Its branches reached out over a little blue house, yes, like ours….”).

What follows are some ideas for what to put on your nature table throughout the


Northern Hemisphere-oriented seasons. One rule of thumb is to only have items/images from nature and made of natural materials on your nature table.

It can also be sweet to have a simple drawn or painted image of nature as a decoration in and among the natural objects and or characters.

• Winter (Advent, St. Nick, Hanukkah, Christmas, Three Kings/Epiphany…)o Colors- white, blues, browns, o Themes & objects- Elementals, King Winter, Jack Frost, woodland creatures, gnomes,

stars, crystals, rocks, holly leaves, chestnuts, paper snowflakes, pine boughs• Spring (Candlemas, Valentine’s Day, Easter, May Day, Mother’s Day…)

o Colors- brown, lighter greens, pale yellows, pale pinkso Themes & objects- Mrs. Thaw (a cleaning woman with a broom who sweeps away the

snow), or Lady Spring (where this gentle lady steps the snow melts and crocuses pop up!), birds (eggs and nests too), hearts, rabbits, chicks, raindrops, lambs, little pot of growing bulbs, branches of pussy willow or forsythia in a water-filled vase.

• Summer (Whitsun, St. John’s, Father’s Day…)o Colors- pink, purple, yellow, light blue, greeno Themes & objects- bees, butterflies, vase or pot of flowers, sunshine, turtles, frogs

• Fall (Halloween, Michaelmas, Thanksgiving, Martinmas, Lanterns…)o Colors- orange, yellow, red, browno Themes & objects- harvest, farmers, wheat stalks, pumpkins and gourds, pinecones, col-

orful leaves


Outdoor Play

After breakfast, head outside for a few hours of exploration and free play.

We would start in the morning with a nature walk. Let your child observewhat is happening and get familiar with the changing seasons and how this looksin their own yard or street.Let your child just play in your yard with sticks, pinecones or wooden toys frominside. You being nearby will give them security to roam and explore.

Gardening is a wonderful way for your younger child to play in the earth.My girls wanted their own “buddies” as they called them. They would each choosea plant or flower at the nursery. Then they would plant and water and care for that plant.I suggest planting veggies or fruit so the child sees the fruits and can taste!Even a patio garden in pots can work if you have a small space.

There is not much need to foster outdoor play. Make sure your child has the correct clothing if you live in a cold or rainy climate. My girls love to play in the rain and I would let them. (With boots and umbrellas) Then I would pop them into a warm bath.

Tree stumps are a great play structure. I found a man cutting down trees and he was more than glad to load them in my van! These last a long time (years) and becometables, chairs, jumping spots, caves and more. You can also get 5-7 bamboo polesand make a teepee. (Inexpensive at garden centers). Any type of shelter is fun for kids.

We made a special spot in the yard just for them. I put a few stumps, bushes for hidingand a few flowers. We had an old piece of concrete from an ac unit- we put it in their

garden and they used it as a chalkboard. Look around and see if there is a spot you can transform into a children’s garden.


Toys, Tools, Materials, Equipment for creating play opportunitiesThe following list will orient you toward creating play opportunities for your child.

• Toys( objects that are gentle on the senses and that awaken the power of fantasy play) • Tools ( practical supplies for involving children playfully in real adult work)• Materials ( simple, unformed, open ended items that can be creatively transformed by the imagination)• Equipment ( bigger outdoor)• Simple doll with gentle facial features• Soft knitted animals , little wooden animals/people• Wooden blocks , organically formed or unit• Baskets, boxes, containers of all types• Seashells, stones, sticks, moss• Various sizes of material cut and hemmed into rectangles and squares• Bean bags ,sand bags, pillows• Simple hats, crowns, capes, tunics, dresses, for dress up• Clothes pins for attaching cloth together/ fort making• Child sized mixing bowl, wooden spoon, apron• small Pairing knife, small cutting board• step stool• Little dishes, pots and pans• Small shovel, rake ,hoe• Garden clippers• Wheelbarrow• Hose, watering can• Scrap wood• Small hammer and nails• Sandpaper• Beeswax wood polish• string• swing, ( inside swings are great for winter)• slide• ladder• thick long rope


What your child is learning when they play

There is actually greater gains in learning through playful learning than there is through direct instruction. “Guided play advances cognitive skills like language, reading, math, as well as social skills like emotion regulation” says Dr. Katherine Hirsh-Pasek, psychologist and playful learning ad-vocate.

Everyday Play activities What your child is learning

Singing Listening, confidence in the power of her voice

Building Balance, structure ,spatial relationships

Pretending Storytelling, flexible thinking , social dy-namics, creativity

Dressing up Tapping into different aspects of the self, self discovery

Drawing Movement ,flow ,color ,shape bringing ones inner self out

Baking To smell touch, taste .texture, observation of a process

Painting Movement, language of color ,sensory con-nections

Gardening Growth and life cycles, care , love and in-terest in the earth

Sweeping Caring for home , collaboration, cooperation

Washing, drying Qualities of water and air through the senses

Constructing, deconstructing Building up and breaking down, essential aspects of life


Pet care, plant care Sharing , nurturing ,kindness

Climbing „, running , jumping, swinging Physical strength, special awareness, rela-tionship to world and others

Creating a play-based environment that allows your child to be a child, and not force them into early academics and hour of unnatural state of being still has so many benefits. The research and studies are popping up all over on this.. I am going to skim through this and give an overview, but feel free to Google “benefits of play” and you will get a lot of details..

Children who are allowed free play increase their imaginations. They are curious and creative and don't need to be entertained with an outside force. Deep play with a few wonderful open ended toys allows a connection with the playthings, the child becomes grounded and focused. They can concentrate on something deeply and for extended peri-ods.

Having a healthy body is another benefit of play. I am sure I don’t need to tell you the level of child obesity and type 2 diabetes that is occurring. Much of this is blamed on media, TV’s, video games and children's lack of exercise from playing.

Lack of outdoor play also disconnects our children from nature, flowers, and animals.Play creates strong bodies with coordination and a vigor for life.Fine and gross motor skills must be mastered to prepare the brain for intellectual learn-ing. There is a direct link between a variety of physical movements and specific cognit-ive skills.

Kids make important connections and self-identify with the particular roles and situ-ations that guide their interests. Indeed, children grow psychologically – by leaps and bounds – through play.

Free play also encourages and instills the skills of decision-making, self-control and cre-ative problem solving. They learn how to negotiate with their peers, children experience a sense of self accomplishment and control over their lives; they learn to follow rules and to regulate their emotions. Through play, children develop the inner strength of resi-lience.


Why does young children's play lead to academic success ?

New studies offer a very good clue: Play promotes self-regulation. Self-regulation is the ability to control your own behavior, emotions and thinking. It is essential for learning in all areas.

- By JEFFREY TRAWICK-SMITH, The Hartford Courant

Resources

Children at Play, Heidi Britz-Crecelius

You are Your Child’s First Teacher- Rahima Baldwin Dancy

Magical Child-

Cooperative games: Family Pastimes

Our Favorites:Max (the cat)Harvest TimeRound-Up (horses)Secret Door (older) Wildcraft Herbal game (older)


http://www.familypastimes.ca/

weekly agenda - livingwaldorflife.comlivingwaldorflife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/l... ·...

Documents