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. i <br />I? <br />essons in Wonder <br />Waldorf schools emphasize what others don't <br />the fairy-tale magic of being a chile. <br />When you walk into one of the kindergarten class ­ <br />rooms. its like entering a fairy-tale wonderland. <br />The walls radiate with peach-toned pastels applied <br />artistically in swirls. The fireplace, skylights, and <br />kitchen nook ail have a storybook look about <br />them. The teacher assembles the children by <br />sweetly singing their names (“.Vj-than!"). then <br />leads them m simple movement acnvndes %vhere <br />they become, for the moment, giants. pLXies. and <br />gnomes. During playtime, the children create fan- <br />i'l •• } <br />! i•> <br />■') X <br />>i|^ W' ^p <br />i ^ <br />.K <br />The Wdioff philosopkY m JOum: Learning if jrjwirri no( only thwugh sounJd:uI <br />Sight but abo thnyugh imagination, totuh, moirmmt, jnJ feeiing <br />usy worlds from trer stumps, bnghtlv colored <br />fcarvcs. and homemade dolls shaped to look like <br />hetie elves, fierce dragons, and brave knights <br />This IS a Waldort*classroom, the setnng for one <br />of the most unusual approaches to childhood edu­ <br />cation in practice todav Created more chan fM) <br />\Tars ago by Rudolf Sieiner. an Austnan philoso­ <br />pher. the method was riamed ^ironicallv) alter the <br />Waldorf-Astona ogarette factor/ in Stuttgart. Ger­ <br />many. where, in Dr Steiner developed a <br />school for the emplovces’ children. Currently tnere <br />are a* least -iOO Waidort*schools m 27 counenes <br />throughout the world (including RJO in the United <br />States ’and Canada). Programs range from simple <br />kindergartens to full-scale K-12 faaiicies. <br />Tlte Uaid movement is still small, yet its <br />^.»hilosoph% t • v”i r’.i;Tr.onv some ot the latest <br />ideas in educaaon For examp e ^aldort teachers <br />share prominent educators ’ mcreasing alarm at uhe <br />^cndcnc>'m manv schools to push voung children <br />to ieam reading and ot.ner <br />aostract skills betore <br />thev’re ready A recent re­ <br />port issued joint! V by the <br />Nanonal .\ssociacion for <br />the Education of Young <br />Children and the Nancnal <br />Association of Elementarv <br />School Pnncipals urges <br />preschools to reduce the <br />heavy emphasis on aca ­ <br />demic learning 'X'hiie re- <br />ginning reading is taught at <br />manv preschools. \Xa*uort <br />kindergartners — even the <br />eariv readers among tr.em <br />— leave their books at <br />home. Readmu isn’t intro­ <br />duced until the end of first <br />grade. “Bv not teaching <br />reading, but instead civuig <br />them puppetry, stones, <br />poems, verses, singir.ii <br />games, movement, and <br />gesture, we’re building a <br />strong inner reservoir that <br />children can later draw <br />upon when thev do Icam to read, savs Ann Pratt, <br />founder ot Piric Hili ^ald<irt Schtx)l in ^Xllton. <br />New' Hampshire, and coordinator ot the .\ntioch- <br />Waldort'teachcr-iraimng center there <br />Hands-On Culture <br />I* eariv reading isn t stressed, .uiturj/ iitcracv is a <br />kev concern thr<'uehout a Waldort program — and <br />here Waldort educators are also in acCi>ru with <br />otiicr experts in their ticid Bcstseilers >ucn as I nr <br />*• T l%i.