Reprise of Songs, Welcomes, Observations

Dear Families,

I have been asked to publish a link to the lyrics of the songs I sing in class again. Here are the lyrics to the seasonal-specific snow songs I sing (at least we can see the snowy mountains and imagine the snowballs and sledding there even if Whidbey receives no snow this year). Here are lyrics to many of the songs I sing throughout the morning to weave together the day.

Each session I like to write a little about Wilma Ellersiek and why I say silly things like "Boomsti Woomsti" at the snack table. My short answer is that over the years children seem to love these rhymes and songs best--and they were something I figured parents and children were unlikely to encounter in other classes or venues. A traditional nursery rhyme has incredible value, children love it, and you are much more likely to encounter that at the library, other music classes, and the like. Ellersiek (who passed away recently) led a life of engagement, joy, and observation. She was a music and drama teacher for adults in Germany. When in the 1950s German government tried to follow America's model of academic kindergartens, she worried about the stress this would cause young children and its long term consequences. Ellersiek began to create a series of poetic and musical games that she considered to be an antidote to too much academics too early.

She was a musician and observer. She spent a great deal of time observing plants, animals, and children. Many of the freer movements in her games are what she observed happy children doing in times of flow or relaxation (the swirling hands above the head, for example). She was meticulous in designing her games (indeed, her lovely books can be overwhelming at first because the directions for how to move the gestures are so exact and lengthy). I think children can sense--even in a nonverbal way--the love, devotion, and care that Ellersiek invested in her games; they are a bit like Beethoven string quartets or Raphael Madonnas for the very young child--masterpieces, as it were (even as I may mar from time to time them as a quartet might bumble through the difficult notes of Beethoven).

The story goes that Ellersiek liked to vacation in the Black Forest. One vacation season she happened to meet master Waldorf kindergarten teacher Klara Hatterman (who also passed away a few years ago). Hatterman and Ellersiek hit it off at once--they shared an interest in the loving and joyful development of young children. The two worked together on games and songs, and Hatterman brought them to children in her kindergarten and to Waldorf teachers around the world at international workshops. While one could consider the games of Ellersiek the flavor of the month (or decade) in Waldorf classrooms, others, like me, find them so delightful and nourishing to children that I find it hard not to offer more of them. My sons have grown up with these games and songs, and they seem as cozy and familiar as Mother Goose rhymes (which my boys also love). If you wish to read more about Wilma Ellersiek, here are words written by Kundry Willwerth, the teacher we can thank for translating her games into English.

It is delightful to have two growing and lively classes (a child joined our Dewdrop class last week and 2 more will join us next week). I want to share 2 observations without the intention of singling out one child or stating that one event was more important than others. Last Thursday I watched a boy roll around and around to get from here to there in the Butterfly Room. Young children seem so free when they roll, and there is such grace to the way a young child can roll. Some children roll and pretty quickly move to pulling up and creeping and crawling. Others helps us observe that they are many graceful and effective ways to approach life at different times, and that rolling can be a delightful way to get around (my nursery children over the years still demonstrate this when they laugh with joy when rolling down a hill).

After giving a talk on conflict last Wednesday, I wondered what we might observe in the Friday Rosebud class (yes, the anxious part of me worried, that it would finally be the class full of conflict that got stuck and I would have to eat all my words from Wednesday night). It seemed to be a peaceful class, AND I noted how often children got into close proximity to one another, AND how relaxed the parents seemed to be about this. It seemed to me that because you the parents acted as if the children were able to handle their social interactions, the children breathed in this spirit and were able to enjoy the company of one another with contentment. Again, as my talk said, times of tension and conflict have a lot to teach us as well, so I don't want us to become disappointed should storms erupt in coming weeks (I remember working with Andrea Gambardella, a teacher of teachers, when she taught the nursery class in Baltimore; she would actually hope for an active or naughty or disruptive child to give some food for the other children to receive nourishment from; she was such a competent teacher that her classes could seem calm because the children were so content).

With warmth and light,

William Dolde

Parent Talk Wednesday at 5pm, Library

Dear Dewdrop and Rosebud Families,

My hope is that many of you have received invitations for my talk this Wednesday from 5 to 6pm at the Whidbey Island Waldorf School on supporting young children when conflict arises. If you have not, I am providing a description below. (It has not been uncommon for parents to bring a child slightly older than babe in arms to a parent & child talk in the past. While we welcome babes in arm at our talks, because some many parents may find interest in this topic from our nursery and kindergarten and beyond, it is possible that the room could be crowded, and you may find it hard to have an alert and active child present.)

Stepping in Where Archangels Fearlessly Tread:

Supporting young children when conflicts arise.

Butterfly Classroom, Whidbey Island Waldorf School
Wednesday, January 20, 2009, 5-6pm

Speaker William Dolde will bring together observations from Emmi
Pikler, Magda Gerber, and experienced Waldorf early childhood teachers
to help us find a helpful way to respond when very young children tug,
pull, wrestle, argue, and the like. In addition, he will present a
summary of Rudolf Steiner's description of angels, archangels, and
ostensibly challenging and esoteric concepts such as planetary
evolution. For Steiner, the reason to seek spiritual insight was to
be of service to the people we interact with every day. William will
show a way to use Steiner's images and insights to help ground us as
we support our children in what can be trying circumstances. As such,
the talk will be not only a nuts and bolts description for how respond
to conflict; it will also be an introduction to what might seem
obscure or confusing elements of Rudolf Steiner's work and will
suggest a way to make such thoughts both more accessible and useful.

William recommends attendees read the following two articles as
preparation for the talk.

1.Toddler Conflict: A Closer Look
http://sophiashearth.org/?p=toddlerconflict&all
2.Assisting Toddlers and Caregivers During Conflict Resolutions

http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Assisting+toddlers+and+caregivers+during+conflict+resolutions:...-a021230415


For new families, please know that I try to distribute most of my information in a paperless format. We do have the Kathrine Dickerson Memorial Library, an excellent parent library in our lobby upstairs from the Butterfly Room. As members of our Dewdrop and Rosebud classes, you are welcome to check out books. Please talk to me if you have any questions.

Over the session, I will recommend books from the library. Here are some to start (books in the library are arranged alphabetically by title):

Your Child's Self-Esteem by Dorothy Corkille Briggs has excellent chapters on jealousy, genuine encounter, nonjudgment. This was one of the few books Magda Gerber recommends.

Your Self-Confident Baby by Magda Gerber describes her work with Emmi Pikler at Loczy and describes Gerber's philosophy of caring for infants and toddlers with respect.

Emmi Pikler from the Sensory Awareness Bulleting. This thin pamphlet is one of the few translations of Pikler's work into English. Pikler started the Loczy orphanage in Budapest, Hungary. Years later, researchers discovered that children who had lived in that orphanage were thriving when compared to an average citizen. Many European researchers went to study with Pikler, and she wrote a number of books that were widely read in languages other than English. Dr. Benjamin Spock was so popular in America that no publisher thought it worthwhile to put out a translation of Pikler's work into English.

We have 3 copies of this pamphlet. Let me know if you can't find a copy; we have had some discussions about where best to place them (in E for Emmi, P for Pikler, or S for Sensory).

If you do find and read this work, know that Pikler can seem stern and judgmental at time (indeed, the story is that mothers in Budapest used Magda Gerber as a messenger because Gerber was so much more approachable). If you stick with it and read to the end, you will read--perhaps with the relief that I did--where Pikler tells us not to worry about mistakes but to do our best to raise our children.

With warmth and light,

William Geoffrey Dolde

Information for the Winter Session

Dear Enrolled and Enrolling Families,

Welcome to our winter session of our parent & child classes at the Whidbey Island Waldorf School.

For families new to our program, this synopsis of the parent & child morning may help provide a sense of what your child and you will experience each week. We try to make the class meet the needs of the children and parents, so I will adjust the rhythm if, for example, one of the classes has more younger or older children. Over the years, I have witnessed children of many ages thrive in a rhythm like the one described.

Here is additional information about our program:

Our classes take place in the Butterfly Room, the first room you come to when you go down the stairs in the main building.

Vegetables and Extra Clothes -- We will make vegetable soup and bread every week; children love to explore, play, and help when their parents and teacher join together in community work such as cooking. Please bring a vegetable if possible. Our classes try to make activities such as washing dishes inviting for children (and their parents). While I try to keep splashing to a reasonable level, your child may get very wet. Please bring a change of clothes.

Children will do well to have slippers or thick socks--we try to leave our wet and muddy boots out of the play area.

Our 7 class session runs from January 7 to March 5. There will be no Rosebud class on Friday, January 15, no Dewdrop class on Thursday, January 28 and no classes on on February 18 & 19 (both classes still meet 7 times this session--you are not being charged for off weeks).

If it is snowy or icy, call our school 341-5686. If school opens at 10am, we will have class as usual beginning at 10am. If school is closed , we have space for make-up classes on March 11 & 12. I will do my best to contact you if the weather is iffy--please make sure your contact information is up to date with the school.

All current, past, and future families are invited to our spring festival on Friday, March 19.

At 5pm on Wednesday, January 20, adults are invited to an hour long parenting talk in the Butterfly Room on supporting young children in times of conflict. More information will come separately about this talk.

Here are songs and rhymes I will sing and speak during circle time during our winter session. Again, I will adjust if the needs of children call for more gentle partner games or for more vigorous movement. I note that last year so many children requested "Then We Go to Market" in the closing circle that I made it a permanent part of our movement repertoire.

Here are songs and verses I say throughout the morning.


With warmth and light,

William Geoffrey Dolde

New Session Starting this week

Dear Families,

Please remember that a new session is starting this week--Dewdrop on Thursday and Rosebud on Friday. We have received inquiries from families with children less than a year old. In the past, we have successfully grouped our families to make joyful Thursday and Friday classes (sometimes mixed age, sometimes very similar ages), so please contact me by email or phone (341-4124) if you have interest in enrolling but worry your child might be too old (I've had a reticent 4 year old blend well with much younger children in years past, so we will look at the needs of the child and the group) or too young (I've seen 5 month olds enjoy the mood of a class with many older children, and the parent enjoy the company). We may well be able to create a form that works for you and your child.

With warmth and light,

William Geoffrey Dolde