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
Nature Study - April Notes
Spring Tree Study
Plant Life Cycle
Wildflowers
Grasses
Nature Study - Current Month - May Notes
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
Little House in the Big Woods
by Laura Ingalls Wilder - Jul 2022
Farmer Boy
by Laura Ingalls Wilder - Aug & Sep 2022
Alice in Wonderland
by Lewis Carroll, illustrated by Lisbeth Zwerger - Oct & Nov 2022
available online for free at Carnegie Mellon University
All Creation Waits: The Advent Mystery of New Beginnings
by Gayle Boss - Dec 2022
complete list of the animals is here
In January we began a book that, now knowing it, I wouldn't recommend for this age. But Zac loved it so much he insisted that we read it all the way through.
That book was Lassie Come-Home by Eric Knight, which I would suggest for grade 4 as part of the Man & Animal block.
The Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle Treasury
by Betty MacDonald - Feb & Mar 2023
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
by L. Frank Baum - Apr 2023
Charlotte's Web
by E.B. White - May 2023
The Secret Garden
by Frances Hodgson Burnett - Jun 2023
TV Shows - age 7
Peg + Cat (PBS Kids)
Reading Rainbow (PBS Kids)
Mister Rogers' Neighborhood (PBS Kids)
10 free episodes of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood are available each month at misterrogers.org
Reading Rainbow episodes are now available on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@ReadingRainbowOfficial/videos
Movies - age 7 1/2
National Velvet (1944), Nov 2022
Good Night Oppy (2022), Nov 2022
The Bishop's Wife (1947), Dec 2022
White Christmas (1954), Dec 2022
The Many Adventures of Winnie-the-Pooh (1977), Mar 2023
Planet Fungi (2020), Apr 2023
Third Grade - age 8
The House Above the Trees
by Ethel Cook Eliot - Jul 2023
A Bear Called Paddington
by Michael Bond - Aug 2023
More About Paddington and Paddington Helps Out
by Michael Bond - Sep 2023
Homer Price
by Robert McCloskey - Oct 2023
The Trumpet of the Swan
by E.B. White - Nov & Dec 2023
Bedtime Math: A Fun Excuse to Stay Up Late
by Laura Overdeck - Jan 2024
Heidi
by Johanna Spyri - Feb & Mar 2024
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
by Roald Dahl - Apr 2024
James and the Giant Peach
by Roald Dahl - May 2024
Mother Comfrey by Sieglinde de Francesca - Jun 2024
TV Shows - age 8
Pingu
Mr. Bean
Salsa
Green Acres (some episodes; watch these in advance because they can have racist language)
The Adventures of Paddington Bear (1975-1980)
Salsa is total immersion; for each episode, you can click on "Vocabulary" and then "Transcript" to see the script with the Spanish and English side-by-side
Movies - age 8
Singin' in the Rain (1952), Aug 2023
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954), Oct 2023
The Story of the Weeping Camel (2004), Nov 2023
The Eagle Huntress (2016), Nov 2023
Miracle on 34th Street (1947), Dec 2023
Marcel the Shell with Shoes On (2021), Dec 2023
It's a Wonderful Life (1947), Mar 2024
Miss Potter (2007), Apr 2024
Charlotte's Web (1973), May 2024
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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