Rudolf Steiner School

A Time for Butterflies
by Michelle Kuzia, Early Childhood, April/May 2006 Mosaic

Have you driven by the sheep farm on Round Hill Road at this time of the year? What a feast for the eyes! What a springing and a dancing! The sun is shining, the birds are singing and the spring lambs are appearing. Each one, bleating and leaping, distinguishes its own mother and follows her everywhere. Simultaneously, the whole flock grazes and moves as one, providing security wherein the lambs freely grow and thrive.

It is springtime and many of the children in our kindergartens are preparing to join Mrs. Svilokos and become students in the first grade class. What a joyful time in the child's life. What a springing and a dancing! slumbering forces are giving birth and the children are about to join their classmates and embark on an extraordinary journey for the next eight years.

How shall we celebrate this milestone? With mini caps and gowns and a kindergarten graduation ceremony complete with little rolled up diplomas? Probably not, for this is after all a Waldorf school. Thus, true to our principles, we allow ourselves to be guided by our observations of the consciousness of the children themselves. This provides insight needed to create a meaningful rite of passage, the first of many transitions to come.

If we observe the children in the first seven years of life, we see that, at birth, their heads are largely developed. Over the course of the first seven years, physical development proceeds at its own pace from the head downward, until the will penetrates the body and brings movement under control . Towards the end of this process, the wisdom of the body begins to push out the baby teeth to make room for the fully formed second teeth. What is the significance of this universal event?

According to Rudolph Steiner, some of the same forces that have been building the children's physical form and organs, are now freed up to perform other tasks; namely to, to begin the process of thinking in more abstract ways, as in reading, writing and arithmetic. Causal thinking also develops and the children begin to make the connection between :"If...then..." Bodily proportions and physical characteristics also change. The potbelly disappears and the neck and waist articulate. In movement, the children hop, jump, skip and throw and catch a ball with ease. Fingers become dexterous and can manipulate objects with greater precision, as in finger knitting and sewing. The social realm also grows in importance. Friendships are more meaningful and significant. The children work out their own difficulties in play. They become able to share the teacher's attention, wait for turns and carry through with a task or activity. In the cognitive area, they are now able to create vivid inner pictures from a story. Memory becomes conscious. They can recall stories and songs at will.

These are just a few of the considerations that inspired the kindergarten teachers to create the "Dolly Naming Ceremony," specifically for the children making the transition from kindergarten to the grade school.

After April vacation, the children, who are ready for first grade, will gather in one classroom twice a week for an hour or so. The younger children join in another room. There they experience themselves as cohesive groups for eurythmy and circle time. The younger group will then play together, while the older children have a sewing bee. This is a nice social opportunity for them during which they will "birth" a doll baby that involves crafts they have experienced over their time in early childhood, such as felting, simple sewing, stuffing and finger knitting.

When the dolls are completed, they are tenderly cared for in the class "nursery" until doll naming day. There is great anticipation as the children whisper the names to each other. When the day arrives, we decorate the room, the children dress up for the event, and each, in turn, whispers a name to their teacher, who repeats it aloud. Names are given, such as, "Bluebell," and "Rose" and sometimes, a child will five the dolly its own name-what unconscious wisdom is at work here? We close with lullabies and a doll size snack. The ceremony lasts about fifteen minutes' yet, the children sometimes carry a special reverence for their dolls for years to come. Recently, my daughter Abigail, on Spring break from college, found her doll, Star Child, tucked carefully away among her most treasured mementos!

The doll project offers us an opportunity to evaluate capabilities that the children have mastered. But we can also think of the "birth" of the doll as a symbol for the freed up forces that metamorphose in the children and become available for other purposes. Like the caterpillar, who is encapsulated in its cocoon, the children's forces have been protected and preserved during early childhood. Not it is time for them to emerge, transformed, with new capacities for learning. Like the beautiful, colorful wings of the butterfly, the children's imaginations will carry them forth where they will explore the world from a fresh perspective. A new chapter has opened in the children's biographies. What a tender, proud, momentous experience for all -- children parents and teachers.

Caterpillar, crawling round,
Where green, juicy leaves are found,
Soon a bright cocoon you'll spin,>
Winding threads till you're within,
When the spring comes, by and by,
Flutter out a butterfly!

For registration information about current or upcoming school years, please call the Great Barrington Rudolf Steiner School Admissions Office at (413) 528-4015, ext. 106 or fill out the Admissions Inquiry Form in the Admissions section of this web site. Ask for a current calendar, fee schedule, and application. You may also request a visit to meet with the teacher and tour the classroom.