Homeschool Kindergarten Rhythm

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The essential elements of a Waldorf Kindergarten are not the specific activities (baking, painting, etc.) but should reflect the underlying philosophy of Waldorf-inspired kindergarten: It's play-based, non-academic, and nature-inspired. 

The kindergarten-aged child (and even the 3-4-year-old) learn through imitation, open-ended creative play, movement, music, stories, artistic activities and purposeful work. 

Your role as the parent is to form the daily and weekly rhythm, create lots of opportunity to learn and play, and build your relationship with your child.

Daily Rhythm

​Here are some daily activities which support the needs of young children:

• Morning and evening routines
• Meals and snacks
• Creative open-ended play: indoor & outdoor
• Rest Time
• Outside Time: playing or working
• Purposeful work (such as chores and helping with meals)
• Music and movement
• Stories
• Artistic work
• Handwork/crafts

What works best for your unique family is the most important thing to consider when creating your Kindergarten homeschool rhythm.

Here is an example of a daily rhythm:

7am: Morning Routine
Wake up, get dressed, make bed, eat breakfast, clean up, brush teeth and hair.

8am: Opening Song
​Sing your opening song. This song is perfect for a young child:

Opening Song: Good Morning Dear Earth

​Good morning dear earth,
Good morning dear sun,
Good morning dear trees,
And the flowers everyone.
Good morning to the bees
And the birds in the trees.
Good morning to you,
And good morning to me.

Opening Verse
After, light a candle and then recite an opening verse together. This is a great example:

Kindergarten Opening Verse:

The earth is firm beneath my feet, 
The sun shines bright above. 
And here I stand,
So straight and strong, 
All things to know and love.

8:15am: Free Play (inside)
On “bread days,” during this time, you can make the bread dough with your child for baking later on. On “soup days,” you can use this time to have your child help chop the vegetables for the soup.

9am: Clean-up
Use a verse to help with the transition from free-play to clean-up to circle time.

Clean-up Transition Verse:

Tick Tock goes the clock;
What does it have to say?
Time for us to pick up our toys
And put them all away.

9:10am: Circle Time
Circle time can include a series of seasonal songs, verses, gestures, and movements your child imitates. It's best to repeat the same circle activities every day for two weeks until your child knows every song and gesture by heart, creating pathways in the brain for mastery.

Lavender's Blue has wonderful circle time resources: 

• Circle time in the Kindergarten Homeschool 

9:30am: Snack Time
Have your child help you cut up fruit and vegetables. Then, when you sit down at the table, light a candle and recite:

Mealtime Blessing:

Earth, who gives to us this food,
Sun who makes it ripe and good,
Sun above and earth below, ​
Thanks for all that you bestow.

10am: Outside Time
Before you head outside, on “bread days” and “soup days,” put your bread in the oven or turn your soup on to simmer, so they’re ready to eat for lunch.

It's important to go outside every day, rain or shine, snow or mud. As the saying goes, "there is no bad weather, only bad clothing." So investing in proper outdoor gear for all seasons is vital to successful outside time.

You want to ensure that they have lots of opportunities for physical activity. Things like climbing, building and digging. Opportunities for heavy outdoor work like lifting boards, logs and stumps. Let them climb high up in trees and get themselves down again. If you live near a playground, playing on all the equipment is an important opportunity to develop specific capacities and body knowledge.

While they are playing outside, you can do other meaningful work, like raking leaves, sweeping or gardening. This way, you are near, giving them space to live fully into their imaginations. and providing activity worthy of imitation.

11:30am: Transition to Inside
Sing the following song to help with the transition:

Transition Song:

​Come follow, follow, follow, follow, follow, follow me!
​Wither shall I follow, follow, follow,
​Wither shall I follow, follow, follow, thee?
To the greenwood,
To the greenwood,
To the greenwood, follow me!

Have children hang up their coats and neatly put away their shoes. Have them wash their hands and come to the table for lunch.

11:45am: Lunch
Just like at snack time, have your child help with lunch preparations. As part of the broader weekly schedule, it helps children understand the days of the week and have a sense of time if their lunchtime food is the same each day. So, for example, Monday is bread day, Tuesday is rice day, Wednesday is soup day...

Once seated at the table, light your candle and recite:

Mealtime Blessing:

Earth, who gives to us this food,
Sun who makes it ripe and good,
Sun above and earth below, ​
Thanks for all that you bestow.

12:15pm: Story Time
Clean dishes, put away food, and then transition to storytime. Use a verse to indicate that it's now story time. Here's one example that the Preschool and Kindergarten teachers used to sing in our Waldorf school:

Story Time Song:
 
Anything can happen
In a fairy tale or rhyme, 
When you hear the words,
Once upon a time,
Once upon a time.

12:45am: Rest Time
Children need to rest during the day. Depending on your unique home environment, this could look like: napping, lying down while you play a gentle instrument, a child reading quietly to themselves etc...

1pm: Artistic Activity
To transition from rest time to art time, you could recite a verse or have a particular fairy gently "wake your child up" and guide them to the table to aid in the transition from rest to a table activity.

Your child needs to have artistic opportunities. This will be different for every family, but some examples are: watercolour painting, and modelling with beeswax or clay or even mud. Having things like fibres around them so that they can finger knit or card wool or whatever it is that works for your family. 

2pm: Closing
Just as important as the opening verse, after you have cleaned up from your artistic activity, mark the end of the Kindergarten day with a closing verse. Here's our favourite:

Closing Verse 

All my doing is now ended,
What I have done will rest.
If I have done my best,
Wisdom and power and love will grow.
And I will bless all people I know.

3pm: Afternoon Snack
Follow the closing verse with an afternoon snack. Stick to the ritual of lighting a candle and reciting a verse.

3:30pm: Afternoon activities

• House chores
• Gardening
• Woodwork
• Handwork
• Baking
• Outdoor walk/adventure
• Music
• Free drawing
• Crafting

Continue the ritual of lighting a candle and singing a verse at every meal. Include your child in preparing for meals. Have a consistent bedtime and routine.

Weekly Rhythm

Value	Mon	Tues	Wed	Thur	Fri
7am	Morning Routine	Morning Routine	Morning Routine	Morning Routine	Morning Routine
8am	Opening	Opening	Opening	Opening	Opening
8:15am	Make Bread	Free Play	Cut up veggies for soup	Free Play	Free Play
9am	Clean Up	Clean Up	Clean Up	Clean Up	Clean Up
9:10am	Circle Time	Circle Time	Circle Time	Circle Time	Circle Time
9:30am	Snack	Snack	Snack	Snack	Snack
10am	Outside Time	Outside Time	Outside Time	Outside Time	Outside Time
11:30am	Transition Inside	Transition Inside	Transition Inside	Transition Inside	Transition Inside
11:45am	Lunch: Bread	Lunch: Rice	Lunch: Soup	Lunch ​Oatmeal	Lunch: ​Pancakes
12:15pm	Storytime	Storytime	Storytime	Storytime	Storytime
12:45pm	Rest Time	Rest Time	Rest Time	Rest Time	Rest Time
1pm	Art: ​Painting	Art: ​Beeswax	Art: Finger Knit	Art: ​Clay	Art: ​Paper
2pm	Closing	Closing	Closing	Closing	Closing

Seasonal Rhythm

In addition to your daily rhythm and weekly rhythm, you will also want to create a seasonal rhythm. ​​Here are some examples with the Canadian west coast in mind:

Autumn

The Fall is a time of bounty, harvest and community. In the Autumn, our daily rhythm, and celebrations can reflect the seasonal human experience of coming together and reaping the rewards of hard work.

Festivals & Celebrations:

• The Festival of Courage (Michaelmas)
• Thanksgiving
• Halloween
• The Festival of Compassion (Martinmas Lantern Festival)

Activities:

• Create an autumn themed nature table
• Create an Autumn-themed book basket 
• Make dragon bread for your Festivals of Courage
• Go apple picking
• Bake apple pie
• Visit a pumpkin patch
• Carve pumpkins
• ​Make lanterns for the Festival of courage
• Go for a forest hike and collect colourful leaves
• Go on a nature scavenger hunt
• Rake up leaves and jump in them

Winter

Winter is a time of introversion, stillness and reflection. During Winter our activities, celebrations and daily rhythm can reflect the seasonal human experience of curling up or moving toward the inner most part of ourselves.

Festivals and Celebrations:

• Yuletide, Christmas, Hanukah, Kwanzaa
• St. Nicholas Day, St. Lucia Day, Three Kings Day
• Winter Solstice
• Advent
• Imbolc/Candlemas
• Valentine’s Day

Activities:

• Create a winter nature table
• Create a Winter-themed reading basket
• Make Lanterns
• Make Window Stars
• Make advent wreaths
• Make ice mandalas
• Make cinnamon salt dough
• Make bird feeders for the birds
• Dip and make beeswax candles for Candlemas
• Read books by candlelight together
• Work together at a local soup kitchen or donate clothes to a local charity
• Make a snowman or snow fort
• Animal track in the snow
• Go to a maple sugaring festival
• Go ice skating

Spring

Spring is a time of emergence, rebirth, renewed hope and growing warmth. Spring activities, celebrations and daily rhythm can reflect the seasonal human experience of opening up like a bud blossoming into a flower.

Festivals and Celebrations:

• May Festival
• Easter
• Passover
• St.Patrick’s Day
• Mother’s Day
• Earth Day

Activities:

• Create a Spring Nature Table
• Create a Spring-themed book basket
• Make natural easter egg dyes together
• Plant springtime seeds
• Organize a community maypole celebration
• Plan together and plant a children’s garden
• Spring clean the basement or attic
• Re-organise the cupboards
• Go for a neighbourhood walk and help to pick up garbage
• Bring tulips or daffodils to a family members, friend or neighbour
• Go on a nature scavenger hunt
• Make a mud kitchen in the yard
• Make flower crowns for the Maypole Festival
• Read a story about passover
• See our blog post for more Spring time activities

Summer

Summer is a time of outer expansion, playfulness and bursting energy. Summer activities, celebrations and daily rhythm can reflect the seasonal human experience of bursting forth with renewed purpose, excitement and vigour.

Festivals and Celebrations

• Summer Solstice
• (Christmas, the new year and valentine’s in the southern hemisphere)

Activities

• Create a summer nature table
• Create a summer-themed book basket
• Paint the driveway with sidewalk chalk
• Grow a garden of vegetables
• Make sandcastles in your sandbox or at the beach
• Make juice popsicles
• Have family picnics at local parks or the beach
• Pick-up litter in your local neighbourhood park
• Throw a garage sale and/or have a lemonade stand and donate some/all proceed to charity
• Go camping
• Collect seashells
• Make flower crowns
• Go berry-picking
• Go swimming