Early Childhood Program

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Early Childhood Program

• Receive the child with gratitudeEducate them
  with loveLet them go forth in freedom.Rudolf
  Steiner

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Contents

• What is Steiner Education? 2
• Who was Rudolf Steiner?
• Our Aim 4
• The Story of Little Sophia 5
• Kindergarten and Childrens Development 6
• Stages of Play 7
• What this means, day-to-day
• Daily routine at Little Sophia
• Our Programs 11
• Playgroup (Birth to 4 years of age)
• Kingfisher and Dragonfly all day kindergarten
• (3½6 years of age)
• Our Teachers 13

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What is Steiner Education?

• children of the factorys employees. Steiner
  agreed with four conditions the school would be
  open to all children, it would be co-educational,
  it would be a unified twelve year school and the
  teachers working directly with the children would
  take the lead in running the school. Molt agreed
  and the school was opened on September 7, 1919.
• Consistent with his philosophy, called
  anthroposophy, Steiner designed a curriculum
  responsive to the developmental phases of
  childhood which would nurture the childs
  imagination. He thought that schools should cater
  to the needs of children rather than the demands
  of government or economic forces, so he developed
  schools that encouraged creativity and free
  thinking.
• Steiner schools strive to honour and protect the
  wonder of childhood. Every effort is made to
  ensure that Steiner schools are safe, secure and
  nurturing environments for the children.

• The aim of Steiner schooling is to educate the
  whole child, head, heart and hands. The
  curriculum is as broad as time will allow and
  balances academic pursuits with artistic and
  practical activities.
• Steiner teachers are dedicated to creating a
  genuine love of learning within each child. By
  freely using arts and activities in the service
  of teaching academics, the internal motivation to
  learn is developed in the students, doing away
  with the need for competitive testing and
  grading.
• Who was Rudolf Steiner?
• Rudolf Steiner was an Austrian philosopher,
  scientist and artist who was a forerunner in the
  field of modern spiritual scientific
  investigation.
• In 1919, he was invited to give a series of
  lectures to the workers of the Waldorf-Astoria
  cigarette factory in Stuttgart, Germany. As a
  result, the factorys owner, Emil Molt, asked
  Steiner to establish a school for the

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• Steiner education also has a consistent
  philosophy of child development underlying the
  curriculum. All subjects are introduced in an age
  appropriate manner.
• As part of a holistic education, Steiner school
  graduates are academically well-prepared for, and
  consistently gain admission to, top universities.
• Currently there are more than 995 Steiner schools
  in 60 countries, serving approximately 120,000
  students worldwide.

• Religion in Steiner schools
• Classes in religious doctrine are not part of the
  Steiner curriculum and children of all religious
  backgrounds attend Steiner schools. The spiritual
  guidance provided is aimed at awakening the
  childs natural reverence for the wonder and
  beauty of life.
• Seasonal festivals are important times of the
  kindergarten year and foster a meaningful
  connection with natures cycles. They are
  important parts of the program and are central
  points of celebration for families as well.

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Our Aim

• Our aim is to foster enthusiasm, joy and wonder
  for life in an environment of goodness, beauty
  and imagination.
• Kindergarten is an extension of the home
  environment. Little Sophia provides a warm,
  protective space stimulated by creative play,
  story telling, singing, baking, painting and
  colour.
• Our kindergarten program encourages children to
  enter the world at a natural pace.
• At Little Sophia children are surrounded by
  caring people and treasures from nature which
  assist in the development of an appreciation,
  respect and care for our world.

• Little Sophia considers it important that, in the
  early years, a childs environment is familiar,
  calm and provides an enriching foundation for
  play, exploration and experimentation.
• Special care is given at Little Sophia to create
  a play environment that is beautiful, unhurried
  and secure.
• We make sure we give children high staff-to-child
  ratios and that each person brings a high level
  of experience and care to their time with the
  children. Our toys and rooms are beautiful,
  allowing each child to bring their own
  imagination to play. The food we eat and
  materials we handle are natural and wholesome.

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The Story of Little Sophia

• Little Sophia has been part of the community in
  different forms for over 21 years.
• We are proud to be an independent, not for profit
  inner-city Steiner kindergarten in Melbourne and
  the first qualified and Steiner Association
  approved sessional kindergarten incorporating all
  day kindergarten in Australia.
• The quality and depth of our experience speaks
  volumes for the care and love our community of
  teachers, organisers and parents bring to our
  kindergarten, and the warmth and joy they take
  home.

• Little Sophia has lived in Abbotsford Street
  since 2005, in a little cottage with gardens
  front and back. We enjoy being walking distance
  to the Sophia Mundi prep12 campus in the
  beautiful surroundings of the Abbotsford Convent,
  the Collingwood Childrens Farm and the river.

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Kindergarten and Childrens Development

• The first phase of a childs life, from birth to
  around the seventh year, is a time of remarkable
  physical growth, culminating in the change of
  teeth. This is a time of action and imitation.
• This period is the time for creative play,
  evidenced by the childs inclination to immerse
  themselves in the imaginative world. At Little
  Sophia we foster this will and direction,
  bringing focus and joy to play and the lessons it
  teaches.

• When the time comes for intellectual activity,
  this focus and joy will be an innate part of
  their learning.
• Little Sophias programs encourage the childs
  imagination to unfold through play. We consider
  that self-directed, active play, is preferable to
  externally planned and led activities.
• Play allows the child to develop the ability to
  concentrate, think creatively and be thoroughly
  absorbed in an endeavor.

If a child has been able to play, to give up his
whole living being to the world around him, he
will be able to, in the serious tasks of latter
life, devote himself with confidence and power to
the service of the world. Rudolf Steiner
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Stages of Play

• Rudolf Steiner spoke of three phases or epochs of
  play. At kindergarten, we are concerned with the
  second and third stages of play.
• The second stage of play
• The second phase of play occurs from about the
  third to the fifth year the age of imitation.
  This stage is marked by the rapid development of
  new faculties and expressions. All the energy
  which previously went into learning to stand,
  walk, speak and think in the first stage of
  development now finds a new field of endeavor.
• Notable at this stage is the childs ability to
  create real things out of simple objects, such
  as using a log as an iron, or a seed as a potato.
  The child learns by imitating daily events,
  constantly growing with each new discovery. This
  is the wonder of creative imagination.

• The third stage of play
• In the third stage, from five to seven years, the
  primary stimulus is not always from the outside
  world but increasingly comes from within. Play is
  still based on the imitation of adults in the
  environment, but play is increasingly inspired by
  images they have of what they want to do.
• The play environment
• Everything within the kindergarten environment
  should contribute to an appreciation of genuine
  and real beauty.
• The kindergarten has a preference for toys and
  materials that are simple and natural so
  individual imagination determines the use of each
  object. For example, coloured cloths in a basket
  can become capes, babies blankets, princess
  veils, an ocean, a cubby whatever the child
  wants it to be.

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• Electronic media and its effects on the child
• Little Sophia considers that a childs exposure
  to electronic media produces outcomes that are in
  direct opposition to the education offered in our
  kindergarten. If you have not encountered the
  idea of a media-free childhood before, it can
  come as a surprise, especially when, in our
  modern society, most children spend quite a lot
  of time in front of the television or computer
  screen.
• The kindergarten believes that the negative
  outcomes of watching television and DVDs,
  listening to the news and advertising on radio
  and playing computer games far outweigh any
  positive ones.
• The strong influence of television and other
  media in a childs life is visible in many ways,
  and can be clearly seen in their play. The
  children may seem stuck in creative play,
  unable to play anything but a superhero or
  monster while other children seem to

• lose their imagination and cant think of
  anything to play at all.
• More subtle changes may be noted in a child who
  cannot sit still during a story, making it a
  distressing time instead of a time of wonder and
  delight. There are many well documented negative
  effects of television on children including
  hyperactivity, lack of attention span, inability
  to complete tasks and perhaps the least
  desirable the dimming effect it has on the
  childs wonderful imagination.
• For more information, read
• Whos Bringing Them Up? TV and Child Development
  by Martin Large (Hawthorn Press, 1990)

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What this Means, Day-to-Day

• At Little Sophia, the teacher leads by example,
  working with the children. A daily rhythm
  balances periods of relaxed free play and
  receptive, quiet activities such as drawing,
  painting and listening to stories, with those of
  more directed effort and active pursuits, such as
  circle games, outside play and more.
• Children feel both the pleasure of solitary play
  and the rewards of being part of the group.
• The kindergarten room is organised into areas
  such as the home corner, the kitchen and the
  block corner, which invite the children into a
  story. Every toy has a place in a basket or on a
  shelf and when the teachers song or action moves
  the group to the next activity, the children know
  where each toy belongs.

• Little Sophias teachers work to create an
  atmosphere of reverence for one another and the
  world. Calm and discipline is maintained through
  familiarity and routine, by balancing the flow of
  activity through the day, and through the teacher
  embodying respect and nurturing worthy of
  imitation.
• High teacher/student ratios support this
  approach, as does the use of high quality
  materials which impart a sense of beauty and
  respect.
• Parent involvement, such as through helping to
  prepare morning tea, helps to bring Little Sophia
  further into the childs familiar world, as well
  as allowing parents to see their childs day.

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Daily Routine at Little Sophia

• Morning and afternoon tea is another focal point
  for which the children help prepare food and the
  table.
• Much like at home, cooking is an essential part
  of our program and of a child's environment.
  Quality is vital. Whenever possible, we use
  biodynamic or organic produce, prepared each day
  with love and care. Each morning the smells of
  cooking fill our kindergarten room.
• The children gather again for a closing story and
  song to end the session.

• Each session at Little Sophia usually begins with
  a free play period, either outside in the garden,
  or inside the kindergarten room.
• This may be followed by a more organised activity
  such as bread baking or painting.
• A free play period may follow before the children
  help to tidy away the wooden animals, stones,
  stools, cloths and tables that they have used to
  build towers, farms, shops or houses, and other
  play activities.

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Family Playgroup

• Each session is rich with homely activities,
  songs, rhymes and stories which celebrate the
  seasons. Parents are offered craft activities
  such as knitting and hand sewing to create toys
  which can be taken up if so desired. All
  playgroups are facilitated by a Steiner trained
  group leader. Term fees apply.
• Playgroup is a wonderful opportunity for your
  child to explore a social environment beyond the
  family home. It is also an ideal stepping stone
  from informal mothers groups into a more formal
  setting with parents present, ultimately leading
  into kindergarten when their parents no longer
  accompany them.

• Offered on Mondays throughout the school term for
  children aged 1 month 3.5 years
• Group 1 9.30am 11.30am
• Group 2 1.00pm 3.00pm
• The Playgroup setting is one of warmth, nurturing
  beauty, and parental support. The program seeks
  to protect and nurture early childhood and it is
  play based. It is imbued with a gentle rhythm of
  play (inside and outside) coming together for
  circle songs, washing of hands and sharing a
  morning or afternoon tea of simple, healthy food.

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Kingfisher and Dragonfly Programs

• (3½ to 6 years of age)
• All day Kindergarten
• Kingfisher Monday Friday
• Dragonfly Tuesday Friday
• 8.30am to 4.30pm
• Families can choose their childs days of
  attendance. The kindergarten has a preference for
  a minimum of 2 days and maximum of 4 days to
  foster continuity for the child.
• The Kingfisher and Dragonfly programs are
  provided for children who are 3.5 to 6 years of
  age. Our programs are unique having children of a
  mixed age together. These programs are offered 48
  weeks per year and the Child Care Benefit and
  Child Care Rebate are available for eligible
  families.
• Children are guided by their kindergarten teacher
  in activities that are outward focused, such as
  outdoor play, shared songs and ring games and an
  equally important inward focused time, with
  indoor play, water color painting or gathering
  together for story time and circle time.

• The program provides an opportunity for children
  to be in a family group with children of mixed
  ages. It operates throughout the year except for
  public holidays and four weeks over the Christmas
  holidays.
• The Kingfisher and Dragonfly teachers design the
  programs and work with the children and
  kindergarten assistants to create an environment
  that is calm and nurturing for all.

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Our Teachers

• The greatest influence on a child must be the
  people around them, and with this in mind, the
  teachers at Little Sophia strive to be worthy of
  a child's imitation. This applies to all aspects
  of behaviour, conduct and being. Children, and
  their learning processes, are deeply impacted by
  the environment and the people around them. As
  adult role models, how we move about the
  children, and how we speak to them, matters.
• Rather than be involved with the children in
  their play, we have tasks of our own to undertake
  and complete such as sewing, winding balls of
  wool, polishing our wooden play materials or
  gardening. Our kindergarten is like a home, so
  tasks of maintenance and repair are part of our
  daily routine.
• The children invariably want to become involved
  and thats one of the ways they learn the skills
  of life.

• All of our teachers at Little Sophia are state
  trained and have over 30 years combined Steiner
  training.
• All of our teachers have a range of skills and
  accomplishments from organic biodynamic cooking,
  painting, lyre, doll making, craft, puppeteering
  and masterful storytelling.

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• Kindergartens contact details
• Address 35-37 Abbotsford St, Abbotsford VIC
  3067
• Phone [phone]
• Email admin_at_littlesophiakindergarten.org.au
• www.littlesophiakindergarten.org.au

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