This topic is where my passion for music education and love for Waldorf combine. Verse and song form an important part of the daily rhythm and routine in Steiner kindergartens. A simple song can let the children know that it is time to pack up and another can have them rushing to the sink to wash their hands. Music in the mood of the fifth is a type of music based on indications from Rudolf Steiner. This post focuses on more commonly known nursery rhymes, but if you’re inter

If you have ever visited a Steiner playgroup or kindergarten you may have experienced music in the mood of the fifth. This style of Steiner music has an ethereal, expansive quality. It is thought to best reach children in their dream consciousness. This musical style is based on indications from Rudolf Steiner as to what is most appropriate for young children in the early years. Although I have been teaching and playing music for many years I had never come across this type o

The Morning Circle is the first formal activity of the day in a Steiner kindergarten program. It is a sequence of verse and/or song accompanied by actions. The activity is led by the teacher and gestures are copied by the children. The same morning circle is repeated every day for 3 weeks and by the end of the 3 weeks most children will be able to recite the verse and complete all actions. The Morning Circle can be used daily in the home environment to bring attention to the

Step-by-step instructions | Toddler friendly I have such fond childhood memories of Easter. The smell of hot cross buns baking in the oven, painting and dying eggs, creating Easter baskets and, of course, the Easter Egg Hunt. First thing on Easter Sunday morning we would rush outside to see where the eggs had been hidden; filling our baskets to the brim and pushing each other out of the way. Creating Easter baskets became a yearly tradition and it is something which I plan to

Rhythm and routine form a big part of the Waldorf early years education. Rhythms can happen on a daily basis; taking your shoes off when you come inside, saying morning verse at the start of each day and sitting down together to eat morning tea. Rhythms can also occur on a weekly rotation; baking bread on Monday, painting on Tuesday, handwork on Wednesday and so on. Seasonal rituals add another layer again and can help to give the child a sense of the changing seasons, encour