LifeWays Curriculum - Child Care and Human Development Training

 O V E R V I E W 

Human Growth and Development

Human Growth and Development 1, Understanding Our Children 

What do young children really need - at home, in childcare, in life? To know what they need, we must first understand something of who they are and from whence they came? Through the insights of Rudolf Steiner, founder of Waldorf education, and other contemporary research, we will cultivate our understanding of how the child develops from pre-birth to seven, including a glimpse at the developmental cycles from birth to twenty-one. We will also work with three R’s of early childhood – rhythm/routine, repetition and reverence/respect.

Understanding the spiritual foundation of the imitative nature of young children and the importance of our continuous self-development on behalf of the children.  

Human Growth and Development 2, Speaking, Listening and Understanding 

From Karl Konig’s The First Three Years and other sources, we will study the development of movement, speech and thinking. We will further develop our understanding of early childhood development through an exploration of children’s drawings and the development of play from infancy through six years old. We will work with puppetry and storytelling that is appropriate in the various stages of early childhood development.  

Human Growth and Development 3, Nurturing, Nourishing and Understanding

We will focus on child development from the point of view of physical well-being – natural development and health issues, importance of warmth, sleep and nutrition, and safety issues. Further focus will be on the care of the adult – nurturing the nurturer. We will learn about neurological development and the relationships between walking, speaking and thinking in the first three years.

We will also be introduced to the L.O.V.E. approach to child guidance. We will conduct a comparison of several developmental theorists and study adult temperaments as a tool for working with colleagues, parents and ourselves.

Child, Family and Community

Child, Family and Community, Child As Apprentice 

Of particular importance, we will consider early childhood education as a relationship-based curriculum compared to a program-driven curriculum. Course content will include relationship-based caregiving; seasonal celebrations and festivals; breathing/flexibility in working with parents, colleagues and children; mindfulness as a tool for work and daily living; and nature study. We will also look at the fundamentals of establishing parent-child programs, child care programs, and working with licensing and the community at large. 

Child, Family and Community 2, It Takes A Village

Focusing on personal life balance as a support for working with children, families and communities. We will further work with the development of community social skills, seeking and understanding diversity, seasonal celebrations and festivals, and continued nature study. 

Child, Family and Community 3, Loving Our Work 

Further working with development of community social skills as well as understanding joyfulness as a healthy approach to working with children and families.  

Program Curriculum

Program Curriculum, We Are the Curriculum

In keeping with the understanding that the self-development of the adult is primary in early childhood education, the curriculum includes a variety of skill-based classes, such as crocheting, knitting, gardening and fabric dyeing, to facilitate the student’s ability to create useful and beautiful things. The daily movement and music classes will include games and songs to do with children as well as exercises to develop personal posture, singing skills and work with the children’s kinderlyre. We will also study how the environment affects young children and will look at how to set up environments that support their physical, emotional, cognitive and social development.   

Program Curriculum2 , We Are the Curriculum, Part Two

We will be introduced to the art of water color painting for ourselves and with young children and will continue our crafts classes with a simple woodworking project. With a master puppeteer and storyteller, we will learn how to work with simple storytelling, how to create enchanting felted puppets and how nursery rhymes support developmental growth in young children. We will also work with speech exercises to tune our own speech and will continue with our movement curriculum. We will consider the various elements of a healthy early childhood environment and how to establish such an environment.

Program Curriculum 3, We Are the Curriculum, Part Three  

In keeping with the understanding that the self-development of the adult is primary in early childhood education, the curriculum includes a variety of skill-based classes. We will create a simple doll and consider the role of doll play with young children regardless of gender. We will also introduce sewing and simple toy making to facilitate the student’s ability to create useful and beautiful things. The daily movement and music classes will continue. We will also consider various components of natural outdoor environments for young children and the benefits of nature play. We will look at various outdoor play settings for children, including the garden. We will introduce an approach to self-evaluation and will continue to work with methods to support personal pacing skills. 

Domestic Arts and Nurturing Arts

Living Arts, Practical Life Skills and Nurturing Care 

Discussion and hands-on experience regarding how to establish healthy routines and rhythms with children. Also working with setting and cleaning the table, manners, cooking, scheduling, washing dishes, cleaning the environment, tending garden, other outdoor care, general household management. Discussion and demonstration of working with clothing children, diapering, toileting, hand and foot washing, holding and touching, rocking and comforting.

Integration of Learning / Independent Study Requirements

With the help and encouragement of an assigned mentor, each student will fulfill the following requirements outside of the scheduled training sessions:

Mentoring 

Students will be assigned a mentor who will provide the following services:

·  Monthly telephone consultation

·  Possibility of observing mentor in her or his own working environment if applicable

·  Help in finding a location for observation and for the practicum if needed

·  Offering advice in selecting a theme for final paper

·  Reviewing and offering comments on student’s observation reports and final paper

·  Two-day observation of the student during the practicum with a follow-up conversation

·  Written report on mentor’s two-day observation and general comments on student’s progress

·  Student reviews mentor’s report and has an opportunity to discuss it with mentor

·  The mentor and the program director, with input from the student, will determine if the student has completed all of the Integration of Learning Requirements and is prepared to receive LifeWays certification.

Practicum

Two-week practicum, preferably in student’s own program or home to better assess student’s work with relationship-based care. This is a time period when student does her/his regular routine, and during that time period mentor observes for two days.

Observation in a LifeWays-Approved Early Childhood Program and in a Conventional Program

Student observes a Life-Ways approved early childhood program as well as a conventional early childhood program and document observations based upon the criteria in the Observation Report Form.

Send both program observation reports to mentor and program director. 

Child Observation Project

Student selects a child to observe over a three-month period and journals the following observations:

1) how the child moves 2) how the child speaks 3) how the child interacts socially 4) how the child plays 5) how the child listens and 6) how the child sleeps and wakes. 7) how the child eats. Upon completion student observes another child for the next three months. Send both journal entries to mentor.

Improving Your Observation Skills

Student will choose a particular object in nature to observe every day for 5-10 minutes to support schooling of observation skills and ability to note subtle changes that take place over time. Student will also go on a nature walk each month for an hour in the same location and will journal the changes observed in that location over time. This journal will be brought to the training in the final session.

Celebrating Festivals

Student will plan and celebrate a seasonal festival with local community.

Music, Movement and Handwork Skills

Weekly voice and kinderlyre practice as assigned by music teacher.

Any assignments by movement and handwork teachers.

Bring samples of completed handwork to display at final session.

Cooking with Grains and Whole Foods

Student will practice cooking with grains and other whole foods on a weekly basis and will submit three recipes to be shared with all of the students.

Research Paper

Student will write a 6-10 page double-spaced paper on a child development topic approved by students’ mentor and program director. Paper will be evaluated by mentor and program director. Student will present paper during final week of training.

Required Reading - Students are required to read chapters in the following books:

The Education of the Child, Rudolf Steiner, Anthroposophic Press

Work and Play in Early Childhood, Freya Jaffke, Anthroposophic Press

Toymaking With Children, Freya Jaffke, Floris Books

The Spiritual Tasks of the Homemaker , Manfred Schmidt-Brabant, Temple Lodge Press

The First Three Years, Karl Konig, Anthroposophic Press

Beyond the Rainbow Bridge, Barbara J. Patterson and Pamela Bradley, Michaelmas Press

You Are Your Child’s First Teacher, Rahima Baldwin Dancy, Celestial Arts

The Genius of Play, Sally Jenkinson, Hawthorn Press

The Developing Child: The First Seven Years – WECAN Gateways Series

Recommended references 

Nokken, (Chapter Two) Helle Heckman, Waldorf Early Childhood of North America publications

A Holistic Wellness Guide from Lilipoh Magazine, (recommended for Nurturing and Nourishing session) 610-917-0792 - http://www.lilipoh.com:80/articles/special_issues/a_holistic_wellness_guide/index.aspx

Nurturing Children and Families: One Model of a Parent/Child Program in a Waldorf School, Baldwin, WECAN

Brotherhood and the Struggle for Existence by Rudolf Steiner, Steiner College Bookstore

Sing a Song with Baby, Mary Schunemann, naturally you can sing productions

This is the Way We Work-A-Day, Mary Schunemann, naturally you can sing productions

Bringing Love, Giving Joy by Wilma Ellsersiek, WECAN

Let Us Form a Ring by Nancy Foster, WECAN publication

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