Our Philosophy
At Heart To Hand, our belief is that the most important thing for a child to do is engage in imaginative play. Through play, children discover and experience their surroundings, explore and make use of their bodies, and come to understand their relationship to the world.
Our school does not offer an academic-based curriculum. Rather, the foundations of education are introduced through daily, weekly, and seasonal rhythms of intentional, purposeful activities. For example, literacy is introduced through storytelling, poetry, and song. Practical mathematics is introduced through baking, cooking, and counting games. Large muscle motor skills are developed through organized games and creative play acting. Fine motor development is encouraged through finger games and puppetry.
The Waldorf environment is one that is uncluttered and calming. Interior colors are soft and warm, and the light is diffused. Toys are made of natural materials and everyday objects that require children to utilize imagination during play. Our intention is to offer a nurturing space where children feel confident to explore their growing sense of self.
Rhythms
Rhythms of the day, week, and seasons are an integral part of the child's experience at Heart To Hand School. Following an intentional rhythm is different from adhering to a schedule. Movement and flexibility are incorporated into a flowing day that begins with outside play transitioning into the indoor spaces where the children welcome the day and one another in "circle time", a teacher-led series of group activities that includes singing, dancing, and stories. Circle time is followed by sharing a wholesome snack together.
Recharged and inspired, children move at their own pace into uninterrupted imaginative play or participate in the artistic activity of the day. These artistic activities are based upon a weekly rhythm, with different days of the week dedicated to such activities as bread-making, watercolor painting, beeswax modeling, or woodworking.
The morning session concludes with storytelling, lunch, outside play, and a closing group activity that prepares children to either say good-bye and go home or, for those who stay into the afternoon, to settle down for quiet time and naps. After nap comes snack time followed by singing, stories, games, art, and imaginative play.
Enrichment Program Offered for Older Preschoolers
Heart to Hand School offers a 2-year Enrichment Program for kindergarten-aged students ages 4-1/2 to 6. We are happy to support parents whose children are headed for first grade in the public school or other mainstream setting.
Our curriculum addresses the developmental needs of older preschoolers through a harmonious Waldorf educational approach that demonstrably lays the foundation for future academic success. While not emphasizing cognitively abstract academics as taught in mainstream kindergartens, the capacities cultivated in our Waldorf-based program (outlined below) are excellent tools for academic learning, and in many ways prepare the student for excellence in school better than rote memorization.
Building upon the preschool foundations, the Enrichment Program guides the students into activities of increasing complexity. The curriculum includes these cornerstones of Waldorf Early Childhood Education:
- Story ~ An often lengthy story told regularly for about 3-weeks, deepened and developed through impromptu role playing, playlets, puppetry, and ritual until the children know it "down to their bones." This deeply feeds into the child's imaginative play, develops listening skills, memory, and long attention spans. The stories are carefully selected from the rich lore of fairy and nature tales, and are chosen for their emphasis on "goodness, truth, and beauty."
- Circle ~ The children experience a more challenging circle time, replete with song, verse, rhythm, imaginations, finger play, games, and movement. This develops their memory, sense of rhythm, musicality, coordination, and imagination.
- Arts and Crafts ~ The development of fine motor control has been scientifically proven to lead to more agile thinking. Throughout the year we complete many handcraft projects that develop skill and coordination in this area. Children also have the joy of developing their artistic selves.
- Imaginative Play ~ Creative play is said to be the true work of the young child, through which they develop social skills, work through life experiences, and grow their imaginations. Waldorf Early Childhood Education considers a rich imagination to be one of the most essential capacities to cultivate up through age 7. Imagination in a child leads to resourcefulness, creativity, and enhanced possibilities in both childhood and adulthood. Sadly, this area is more and more neglected in our schools and media-heavy culture. Some of the imaginative play time will be integrated with the rest of the group. The multi-aged classroom creates a family-type atmosphere, with the older students helping the younger, who often draw the older more deeply into play.
Students will also have exposure to bread and soup making, gardening, care of their room, and the many other homey things that characterize the Waldorf Kindergarten. We celebrate seasonal festivals and enjoy snack and outside play with the rest of the preschoolers.
Organization
Heart To Hand School is a Waldorf-inspired, play-based, and child-centered school for children ages 2-1/2 to 6. The school is organized as a nonprofit educational organization governed by a board of committed parents, teachers, staff, and other community individuals using a consensus model. |
