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Why Waldorf Works: The Waldorf Curriculum (AWSNA)

Waldorf Early Childhood Association of North America (WECAN)


Infant & Toddler Overview

Preschool & K Overview

Kindy & Bridge Overview

The Online Curriculum Project: Early Childhood

The Simplicity Parenting Podcast:
#115 To Ignore or Not to Ignore Difficult Behaviour

Resources for the Preschool Years

New Recommended Preschool Booklist

How We Transitioned to Waldorf:
My Original Curriculum for the Preschool Years

Kindy & Bridge
updated December 5, 2024


I would define Preschool as roughly age 2-5, whereas Kindergarten I see as more age 5-6.

Bridge is for 6 year olds preparing to enter First Grade. Signs of First Grade Readiness (PDF)


As there are so many years in Early Childhood, and there is so much important information to share about this time period (not to mention that this is my fourth child), the webpages are getting very full.

I decided to move Kindy over to the Bridge page, and will begin to make notes about what I did with my son when he was older but still in Early Childhood. There's lots of useful information for this time period on the age 3-4 page and on the Online Curriculum Project: Early Childhood page so check them out.


Kindergarten
Notes from beginning Kindergarten with Zac when he turned 5, in May 2020

Bridge curriculum (PDF):
A homeschool program for 6 year olds preparing to enter First Grade.

Link is to the document which I wrote in 2005. This short curriculum fills the gap between kindergarten and first grade and introduces your child to new challenges, while still delaying academic content. Lists of many specific signs of first grade readiness are also included to help you assess your child.

First Grade Readiness - Resources, Insights and Tools for Waldorf Educators ed. by Nancy Blanning
available as a free download from the Online Waldorf Library website!

Here is a fantastic MUST-READ article about all of the brain strengthening that needs to happen for a child to learn to read successfully and in a healthy way:

Two Ways to Do Finger Knitting old blog post
(includes one more sign of first grade readiness)


It is said that there is nothing that ISN'T Waldorf, it's just a question of WHEN. The Reggio Emiliaphilosophy is too academic for Waldorf early childhood, but this is a great time to explore it!


Beautiful Stuff!: Learning with Found Materials
by Cathy Weisman Topal and Lella Gandini

~ ~ see the rest of my Reggio booklist here ~ ~


Another educational philosophy which works really well for a Bridge year is Charlotte Mason. I highly recommend using Exploring Nature with Children ($18) either standing alone as a Bridge year curriculum or as your 1st/2nd grade Nature Study. It goes along with Anna Botsford Comstock's Handbook of Nature Study. It can be used for multiple years and with multiple ages.


Handbook of Nature Study
by Anna Botsford Comstock


Bridge
Notes from beginning Bridge with Zac nine months later, in February 2021

I decided (Feb 2021) to start using Exploring Nature with Children for Bridge and my notes as we went through this curriculum are all organized here in great detail.


Nature Study - February Notes

    Candlemas
    Earthworms
    Evergreens
    A Field Trip


Nature Study - March Notes

    Nesting Birds
    Spring Pond Study
    Vernal Equinox
    Garden Snails

    extra week idea: Natural Dyes


Nature Study - April Notes

    Spring Tree Study
    Plant Life Cycle
    Wildflowers
    Grasses


Nature Study - Current Month - May Notes

    Caterpillars
    Caterpillars
    Black Garden Ants
    Butterflies

    extra week idea: Biographies


For this age and stage I would also suggest the following resources, if you don't already own them:


Movement for the Young Child:
A Handbook for Eurythmists and Kindergarten Teachers
by Estelle Bryer
now available as a FREE eBook at the Online Waldorf Library -- download it here



Games Children Play:
How Games and Sport Help Children Develop
by Kim John Payne



The Waldorf Book of Animal Poetry
edited by David Kennedy



Festivals Together:
A Guide to Multi-Cultural Celebration
by Sue Fitzjohn, Minda Weston, and Judy Large


Nature Activities for Children Series by Irmgard Kutsch and Brigitte Walden



Bedtime Chapter Books

At age 3 I started doing the Tiptoes Lightly series by Reg Down as Zac's first bedtime chapter book read aloud stories. At age 4 we switched to the Old Mother West Wind series by Thornton Burgess. When Zac was 5 1/2 we read Winnie-the-Pooh and The House at Pooh Corner by A.A. Milne.


October 13 - December 6
2020

Winne-the-Pooh is available online for free at Project Gutenberg


There are soooo many wonderful chapter books for children, and everyone has their favorites! Just for fun, and because I want to remember them when he grows up, I will keep track of our read aloud list here as Zac continues through Kindergarten and beyond. In December 2020 we read Christmas books, then...

Kindergarten - age 5


Bridge - age 5


Summer Before First Grade - age 6

During the Summer of 2021, we are reading the Tales of Limindoor Woods series:


First Grade - age 6


Second Grade - age 7


Third Grade - age 8


Third Grade - age 9


    The Magician's Nephew
    by C.S. Lewis - Jul 2024
    Zac then read the rest of the series to himself and absolutely loved it!

      Zac Is a Reader!
      all my reading notes from his first year of Grade 3

      Zac is now officially a reader (once he could read the Narnia books, he met that mark) and routinely inhales a chapter book a day, so it's harder and harder to read aloud to him. He whips through any book I recommend to him, so we have fewer things on the shelf that he hasn't already read. It's also hard to justify sitting down to read aloud at night, knowing that he doesn't "need" me to anymore. Even though I know it's extremely important for kids to continue to be read to!!! I'll try to keep going as long as I can!



    National Velvet
    by Enid Bagnold - Aug & Sep 2024
    available online for free at Internet Archive (PDF)
    I would also recommend waiting until grade 4 for this book due to the suicide and the language.


    Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH
    by Robert C. O'Brien - Oct & Nov 2024


    Adam of the Road
    by Elizabeth Janet Gray - Dec 2024


    TV Shows - age 9
    Secrets of the Castle (medieval France under King Louis IX, 1230s & 40s)
    Tudor Monastery Farm (England under King Henry VII, 1500)


    Movies - age 9
    The Boys in the Boat (2023), Jun 2024
    Roald Dahl's Esio Trot (2015), Jun 2024
    Mary Poppins (1964), Aug 2024
    Pippi Longstocking (1973), Aug 2024
    The Black Stallion (1979), Sep 2024 - beginning at 18:20
    Robin Hood (1973), Nov 2024


    NOTE: The best website for detailed movie reviews and recommended ages for children is the Australian parenting website, Raising Children.

    It is extremely specific in its notes about Violence; Sexual references; Alcohol, drugs and other substances; Nudity and sexual activity; Product placement; and Coarse language. The detailed lists of "Content that may disturb children" are invaluable, and broken down into four age groups (Under 5, From 5-8, From 8-13, Over 13).



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