In the early years, great emphasis is placed on the development of a strong and deeply rooted creative capacity. The overall environment, the unique play materials, and the chosen activities all contribute to fostering the children’s natural powers of wonder and fantasy. For instance, the play materials are chosen to allow the greatest amount of the children’s own imagination to come into play. The more possible uses for a toy, the better. When the children are encouraged to use their play materials with their own powers of imagination, the truly living forces within them become active.
Another important aspect in the development of a strong imaginative life is the use of fairy tales. The art of storytelling is really alive in the Kindergarten as the fairy tales are told, rather than read, by the teacher. The children’s imaginations are active because the pictures are allowed to be created inwardly as the story unfolds. Fairy tales provide an inner nourishment because they contain archetypal truths about the world in picture form.
Small children are beings of will and imitation, identifying themselves with each gesture, intonation, mood, and thought in their environment, and making these their own in their play. It is the Kindergarten teacher’s task to create an environment worthy of a small child’s imitation and to educate the child’s unconscious through the warmth, clarity, rhythm, and harmony of the world he or she creates….
There is one early childhood class this year, the Gnomes comprised of 16 to 18 children. It is a mixed aged class of three and half to six year olds. There is a two, three or four day program. We ask that your child be potty trained. The environment in each classroom is home-like, calm, cared-for, and filled with nature’s beauty and variety. It is a space where the rhythm of the year and the gifts of each season are woven into children’s and adults’ lives. It nourishes the senses and is a true kingdom of childhood where children experience artistic and practical work, crafting, storytelling, puppetry, foreign languages, music, rhythm and movement, circle games, finger plays, baking, cooking, gardening, woodworking, weaving, and the great outdoors. Creative play with toys made of wood, stone, wool, beeswax, shell, and silk is encouraged. These daily activities lay a solid foundation for beginning academic learning in first grade as children build social skills, foster language development and physical coordination, preserve the life forces, and keep the wellsprings of wonder and reverence open.