What I like about Waldorf

I like the idea that preschool children need to work out their thoughts using toys.
A Look at Waldorf and Montessori states:

In Waldorf, we feel that it is essential to realize the value of toys to help children to re-enact experiences from life as they actually happen. The less finished and the more suggestive a toy may be the greater its educational value for it really enlivens the imaginative life of the child. So toys in the Waldorf kindergarten may be rounds of wood cut from birch logs, seashells, lengths of colored silk or cotton for costuming or house building, soft cloth dolls with a minimum of detail in faces or clothing, etc. allowing for open-ended imaginative play.

My children loved playing going to the market, or reenacting a party. Even something sad, like getting at shot at the doctor’s , was played out by my children, which would lessen the stress for them.
Free play is a part of a Montessori classroom and Waldorf toys could be a valuable part of creative free play.

Cardboard Shapes

Take an empty oatmeal or salt cylinder box and make a wonderful Montessori geometric shape, a cylinder. Make it pretty by covering it with paper or paint. Draw and color the cylinder on a card and show your preschooler how to match the cylinder to the card..

Use square and rectangular boxes to make more solid shapes.
Introduce the cylinder, rectangle and square boxes using the 3 period lesson. Match the 3 different boxes with the shape cards.

For a more advanced game, write the name of the shape on each card (nomenclature card).. Make labels to match these nomenclature cards. Your child can label the cards and shapes.

Computers in a Montessori Classroom



Here are some my old blogs about this-

Computers and Kids
Computer Programing Olympiad