this edition of our newsletter looks at free play in two ways: first from an academic perspective and second, from the perspective of kindergartens. How do we create an environment which benefits
learning? An international mentor examines the tricky question of classroom management. In terms of film, we approach the topic of "the school as a whole". The International Forum for Waldorf Education has discussed the aspects of the whole and of fragmentation in their last meeting.
These discussions have resulted in a short video clip which we are happy to present here. Further, we are exploring the topic of trauma pedagogy: even in a seemingly
safe classroom it can be an important tool, for example when there is a crisis in the familiy. Finally, we include an article by an American Waldorf teacher about mindfulness, a topic which is currently under a lot of scrutiny. Please also look at our Events Page: the Waldorf Centenary 2019 is approaching!
Happy reading and kind regards from your editors! Florian Osswald, Karin Smith, Katharina Stemann
Rough and Tumble, Piggy-in-the-Middle, Minecraft and More "The evidence for the developmental benefits of play is actually now overwhelming", says Dr. David Whitebread, senior lecturer in psychology and education at the University of Cambridge UK. He is an expert in the cognitive development of young children and in early childhood education. In the attached paper, Dr. Whitebread and his team draw on studies from a wide variety of cultures, cultures in the developing world as well as in modern, urbanised societies, to explore the value of children’s play... more
Free Play – Now and Then For a long time, free play has been neglected for the sake of early literacy and numeracy. The appreciation of free play has only been revived in the last few years. But is it really seen and understood for what it means to the child? How do we, as parents and educators, approach free play? What does it mean to us?... more
The Art and the Science of Classroom Management Classroom
Management- is there really any more to it than knowing where the scissors are kept? Or, how a teacher might get a class of children to line up, with chairs, and file into a hall in an orderly fashion? Apparently so, if the library shelves of teacher training programmes are anything to go by... more
Learning to Take Your Life Into Your Own Hands In the film ‹Tea(cher) Talk› by
waldorf-resources.org, Waldorf teachers from six different countries explain why it is important for a school to oppose fragmentation, specialisation and modularization and thus prevent exclusion.... more
Destroyed Soul Landscapes In this article Bernd Ruf describes the central elements of Emergency Pedagogy: the
self-healing powers of the traumatically afflicted child are to be stimulated by means of Waldorf education-oriented interventions and the body and soul qualities are to be harmonized again. Far away from war-torn countries, trauma pedagogy can also be an important companion, even in apparently safe places such as a Swiss classroom, for example in cases of death in the family, domestic violence or frequent relocations..... more
Attention to Attention! A Growing Need for Educators and Parents in the Digital Age We know that electronic technology can be both useful and challenging. We also know that research strongly
suggests that excessive media use is deleterious, especially to the health and development of children and teens. Here, Holly Koteen-Soule explains how the smartphone tethers the attention of its users and suggests ways of re-schooling and improving the ability to focus..... more
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you by the International Forum for Steiner/Waldorf Education in cooperation with the Pedagogical Section at the Goetheanum.