Holistic Home-Based Preschool

About Us
Walking the Path of Wonder
Foundations and Rhythms
We experience life in various rhythms and cycles. We sometimes have to feel a rhythm before joining into the dance, and rhythms come central to us at Widdlekins. We have the daily rhythm of our classroom starting with the morning drop off, the rhythm of our bodies fed by good food, the daily rhythm of our hours, and the seasonal rhythm of our year.
We allow a transitional time for all children to open themselves and truly inhabit their bodies through outside play each morning. Sometimes that play involves big actions, a leap from a stepping stone to the grass for example, full of spring and complete with whirling arms. And sometimes it involves waking slowly, maybe crouching down to watch a dew drop slide down a leaf. Are we thinking in that moment, that we are learning? Are we thinking that we are getting into our daily rhythm? Not usually! Often we are too busy being in the moment to notice that we go from experiencing a dew drop sliding down a leaf, to watching another sliding down a leaf, to coming to expect that a dew drop will slide down the leaf if we watch it long enough.
Wonder what happens if we wiggle the leaf just a little bit? Will the dew drop perching on the top, slip from it’s sleepy bed and slide down the leaf just as we have come to expect? Is this order? Is this math? Is it science? Is it spiritual? We certainly have learned something about our influence on the world, the behavior of water, how to observe without disturbing, and when some things may need to be nudged to the behavior we wish to observe.
Would that drop of dew have slid down the leaf without our coaxing? Would it have evaporated if we ignored it? Would our intervention be important to the leaf? The dew? We certainly have found a spark of interest, an art in the world, a source of wonder… “I wonder…” the child might think to themselves.
“The heart of the Waldorf method is that education is an art-it must speak to the child's experience. To educate the whole child, his heart and his will must be reached, as well as the mind.”
-- Rudolf Steiner
Our mornings at Widdlekins Preschool begin with drop-off. This is not a moment to take a child out of the car, hurry them through the gate, and wave to them as you pull away from the curb. It is a transition, a way to set the tone, a gateway to our day. We hope that the passing through this gateway will be peaceful, connected, nurturing, unhurried, and free of fear and uncertainty.
Parents can assist with this process of transition by trusting that the journey will take as long as it takes and that you will arrive at exactly the right time. Parents may help by talking to your children and committing to always saying goodbye at the preschool, once and with confidence and joy. Don’t sneak away, and don’t go back for the 2nd or 3rd hug as that sends a message of uncertainty. When you talk to your children, talk of how much fun they will have meeting teacher, seeing new friends become good friends, and especially talk about how the day will flow and what expectations there will be. Talk about time in reference to the activities and rhythms of the day.
For Example, when talking about going to preschool, you could frame expectations in this way weeks and days in advance:
“I will take you to the door and will give you a goodbye hug while I talk to teacher for a few moments. There will be lots of fun things for you to play with and new friends for you to enjoy. When I am done talking to teacher, I will call to you and let you know I am going to work, I will blow you some kisses (you can wave to me if you’d like), and I will walk back to the car and drive to work. You will get to spend your day with teacher and you can talk to her about whatever you need. You will also spend the day with the other kids who also have parents at work, and you may play blocks, or climb, or have a dance party, or play music, there will be so many fun things to do and learn! Teacher will make sure you are fed, have potty/diaper time, and get some cozy time where you lay down on your nap mat. After your nap (cozy time), you will get to play some more and that is when I will come back to take you home. I will wave to you, call your name, give you a great big hug, and then you can tell me all about your day! I'll bet there will even be days when you're having so much fun the time to go will just sneak up on you, and surprise! There I'll be.”
The garden pathway to and from our front door is filled with uneven stepping stones. Real stones. It is an invitation and an insistent reminder to slow down and to transition from the outside “hustle and bustle” to the pace of a child’s wonder, let your worries melt away for a moment on arrival or departure, be in the moment and match that pace and energy of childhood wonder. Explore the dew steaming from the rocks, notice the flower blooming among the miniature crags, or the earthworm making it's way to the greener pasture. Slow down, breathe, notice, and wonder.