Leaves are falling, the light is fading, and the days are getting shorter in our neck of the woods this time of year. When we look at the calendar, there are many festivals and celebrations all grouped together. This may seem overwhelming as a parent, caregiver, faculty, or staff member at a Waldorf school, but there is a reason for the madness. All over the world, in many different cultures, you can find Festivals of Light during the darkest parts of the year. We need steady reminders of how to keep the spark lit inside us as the days get shorter. This is a time for inner work, slowing down, finding rhythm, and tending the flame. Gathering together for shared food, ritual, and reverence, help keep us on track this time of year.
In Waldorf Early Childhood the three R’s are pillars of the classroom: Rhythm, Ritual, and Reverence. We have a cadence to our daily, monthly, and yearly rhythms. This supports the children in the development of their physical body. We are quite literally bringing them into rhythm as their breathing and heart rate adjusts to the slower tempo of an adult body. The children find peace and assurance in the predictability of their days. They know soup day is after painting day and bread day is after soup day. Although they wouldn’t be able to tell you Tuesday comes after Monday, they begin to know the rhythm of their school week as an experiential learning. Ritual can be as simple as lighting a candle at dinnertime or singing a song before bed- bringing meaning to our every day activities. This carries them through the transitions of the day which can often get sticky. I think all parents of young children know the struggle of getting out the door. Living into the world of the young child’s imagination enlivens these moments and brings ease to the day. The young child has a predisposed reverence for the natural world. They look in awe at a rainbow, a budding flower, or the chickadee who sings by their window. We cultivate this innate reverence with the calm and nourishing moments of the preschool and kindergarten day. Story time, rest, circle time, and festival life feed the young child’s capacity for reverence and serve them long into adulthood.
The habits we create with the young child will show up again in adolescence and we will see in front of us creative, capable, human beings who learn with their head, heart, and hands. As Autumn falls behind us and we turn towards Winter, I hope each one of us will find joy and meaning in our community and the festivals we celebrate together.