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ISKA News

An update for members and friends /

CONTENTSPage

Editorial 1

Membership 2

For the Seasons: Plant Dyeing 4

Brigit’s Hearth 4

Mentoring in China 5

Seasonal Celebrations 7

Mia Foley Art & Craft 8

ISKA Training Courses 9

Sally Goddard Blythe 10

Adverts 14

Autumn/Winter 2015/16

Greetings Members and Friends,When I read Sally Goddard Blythe’s books I find myself being gently assured of the wealth within Steiner Early Years Education, how on target we are, how in-tune the pedagogy is with children’s development. Granted, it is a different solace than what comes from studying Steiner’s lectures. Is it a weakness, that this proof, offered through modern neuro-scientific research fills me with sense of relief and gratitude that we have a true colleague, a high profile ally in this world that speaks our language, but not only that, she is bi-lingual as she also speaks the modern language of science!

Modern scientific evidence, so often necessary these days for the advent of change. Providing indicators for policy makers and childcare directors. Evidence for others who can have their gut instincts proven right, their gut instinct that knows that the start of formal learning (reading, writing, sitting at a desk) is best left till the age of 6- 7, not imposed on a child at the age of 4. How easy is it to explain, as Steiner practitioners, why you do all it is you do, to the many parents brought to your door by their little ones - parents who want to understand, or who are struggling to join the dots?

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The light rains down. My king, in this late-summer hour,You reign within my heart as well, with growing power.You shine with strength. You gleam and glance and glisten.

And there you form life's fruit, good to eat,In weaving soul-light warm, where they grow ripe and rich and sweet.

~ from “In the Light of a Child,” by Michael Hedley Burton

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This is the time for speaking, the moment is prime for change. Department of Education inspectors will be visiting pre-schools throughout Ireland this coming year to survey the level of education that pre-school children are receiving. What will they find? What will you tell them? And what, will be the result of their report?

I can only hope that I’m not a fool to trust that there is a change nationally, that there is an air of belief that traditional, ordinary, homely activities, play, movement, songs and stories are the pre-requisites to learning. I heard it spoken loud and clear at the National Child Care Network Conference. Better Start know it; Kilkenny City Primary Principals Network seem to have a good idea;

Aistear is moving in the right direction (but needs to dig deeper!).

So how do we move to a position where, what we know to be best will be supported by government and become policy? The way I see it is, all those professional women and men working with children every day are the ones in the know, and we must regard ourselves that way. We must find ways to speak the language so that we will be heard. We must be able to give examples, facts, observations. Our deeper knowledge must find a way to surface and be recognised. The speaking platform is right in front of us in the form of Better Start and Department of Education inspectors. We need to turn the positions around visually in our minds and remember that we are the ones

informing them: they are asking of our knowledge.

It’s taken the act of my sitting down and writing this piece to realize why it is I feel so passionate about our ISKA Conference. It’s less than one month away now. It’s been in my heart and mind since February. I ask you to be there, and to pass on the message, so that we can fill the Solas Bhride Centre with parents, grandparents, childcare practitioners, EY directors, coordinators, lecturers, students, ISKA members, infant primary school teachers, special needs assistants, child therapists, because here we will find a common language, gather gems of understanding, words, phrases that we can use to explain why, when they ask.

Sinead Duignan, ISKA Coordinator

As a member of The Irish Steiner Kindergarten Association you are part of a recognised professional body who, through its aims and actions, is wholly dedicated to furthering the formation of the Steiner Early Years pedagogy, and supporting diversity within the Irish early childhood care & education sector, both at a national level and on the ground.

Full MembershipIs open to Kindergartens/Early Years Services as an organisation. Which means that Steiner based early year’s centres can avail of FULL benefits, with 3 contact persons receiving correspondence.Cost of this membership is €75 per annum.New or smaller initiatives such as a parent & toddler group may take out individual FULL membership, which means they can avail of full benefits with one person receiving correspondence & discounts. Cost €35

Associate membershipIs available to organisations such as VCO’s, Universities or Colleges but also to individuals both professional and non-professional who wish to associate themselves with ISKA, receiving updates (via email), discounts to ISKA events plus other benefits as listed below. Cost; Group €55, Individual €25

BENEFITS AVAILABLE TO ALL MEMBERS As a member of ISKA, you will:

• Join with members nationwide, strengthening diversity in Ireland’s Early Years sector.

• Receive a discount on all ISKA training, conferences and publications

• Contribute your views to submissions informing Government policy

• Receive regular updates & job vacancy information• Avail of networking opportunities

• You are a member of a recognised professional body• You are represented at a national and international level• You receive a free initial consultation from the ISKA Advisory

Service• You receive ongoing support from ISKA Siolta mentor• Your service will be listed on the ISKA website.• Your service’s Siolta Award /engagement will be highlighted

on ISKA’s webpage.• Your service’s website can be linked to www.iskaireland.org• You can avail of ongoing professional development

opportunities

ABOUT MEMBERSHIP of ISKA

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Plant dyeing is an exciting and awe-inspiring exploration into how nature reacts with fibre. The earliest known records of the use of plants in dyeing date back to 2600BC. There are many exotic dyes that can be bought from overseas, but there are also many plants growing locally that can be used. Often many plants that can be used in the dyeing process have medicinal properties too, a double bounty! When I go out for a walk these days my eyes are tuned into what is growing around me, I appreciate its beauty, but I also ask myself is it edible and can I use it as a dye? The answer is often yes. I enjoy being brought into a closer relationship with nature and this way of understanding abundance.

I was recently using apple tree bark for dyeing with a friend. She had been pruning her apple trees, so we spent a lovely afternoon with her children stripping the bark from branches and cutting up thin twigs for two separate dye baths, a lovely activity to do with children. We left these soaking in water for a week (my kitchen smelt of cider! We’ll save that for the autumn), and on the day of dyeing boiled everything up ready for the wool. We strained the water, removing the bark and twigs before adding the wool.

She has her own sheep and spinning wheel and so had washed the raw fleece and spun some skeins of wool plus some alpaca fleece that I had given her. The wool needed to be prepared with a mordant before dyeing. A mordant is used to help the colour bind to the material being used.

Plant dyeing - for the seasonsby Grace Burton

Most mordants are metal salts, the most widely used being, alum, copper, iron and tin. The alum needs to be dissolved along with cream of tartar in warm water in a large saucepan, then add cold water along with the fibre and slowly bring to the boil for about an hour. Rinse the wool well.

Our two dye baths were ready for the wool, which we immersed into the saucepans leaving to simmer for an hour.

Again my friend’s children were eager to be part of this process too. Whole processes are something

that we don’t always get to witness and participate in. These lucky children have sheep, see them getting sheared, help mummy wash and then card the fleece, watch her spin it, get involved in the dyeing process and then get to wear the clothes their mum knits from the wool!

We then lifted the wool out and rinsed it. The alpaca turned out a soft shade of green and the sheep’s wool a light coral. You never really know the exact colours you will get and this adds to the excitement of plant dyeing.

Clockwise from big picture: Dyed wool; ivy leaves; oak galls; cloths drying; gorse and heather; meadowsweet

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Ivy leaves can be picked and dried and will give a grey-green colour and no mordant is necessary. The tops of nettle plants can be cut. Use twice the amount of nettle to wool and with an alum mordant you will get a pale yellow or with copper a greyish yellow. The bark, acorns and galls from oak trees can be collected and with a ratio of 2:1 using alum will give a yellowish tan, with copper a greenish brown, and with iron a dark grey. Willow twigs can be harvested late spring or early summer using alum the colour obtained will be yellow and with an additional pinch of tin an even brighter yellow will be given. Both copper and iron will green the yellow.Roots are generally collected in the late autumn when the plant is dying

back. The yellow iris root once washed, chopped and boiled used in conjunction with alum will produce a steel blue or grey. If copper is added to the dye bath and simmered for two to three hours before the wool added, a good black should result. Similarly, the roots of meadowsweet can be carefully dug up in spring before the flowers open. No mordant is necessary, but black can be obtained, traditionally urine was used at the end of the dyeing process for a better black!Elderberries can be harvested in the late summer or early autumn. You need a ratio of 2:1 and when using fresh berries the colour is usually light purple, when dry berries are used the colour tends to be beige. Blueberries can be collected in late summer using a 1:1 ratio deep purple

Here are some leaves, barks, roots, berries and flowers that you can harvest yourself for plant dyeing:

is the resulting colour. Flowering heather can be collected in late summer or early autumn for fresh use, a lovely olive yellow is obtained when used with alum.

Tansy can be collected in the late summer giving a bright greenish yellow with alum or a darker moss green with iron. Gorse flowers can be collected during the summer and will give a clear yellow when used with alum.

This is only a few of the wonderful plants that are freely available to us in Ireland which enable us to create a whole range of different colours. It is a great way to give a new lease of life to old clothes and fabrics or to colour yarn and wool for other projects.

Brigit’s Hearthby Veronica Crombie

At Brigit's Hearth the children spend an average of 2.5 and 3 hours outdoors in all kinds of weather. Our goal is to provide the children with an early experience of the beauty of a natural landscape throughout the seasons as well as building a healthy immune system and strengthening gross motor skills. The time spent in this ever-changing environment leads the children into a lifelong relationship with nature and also develops their physical, cognitive and emotional skills.

Brigit's Hearth is a Community Developed Early Years Centre, located near an oak woodland, on the edge of Tuamgraney village, East Clare.

Brigit's HearthRaheen Woods Estate, Tuamgraney, Co. Clarephone: 085 154 2322email: brigitshearth@gmail.com; website: www.brigitshearth.org

“Meeting the needs of young children”

If you go down to the woods today ! ! ! ! ! ......... be ready for anything!A glimpse of some adventures the children attending Brigit's Hearth have when out and about each day. 

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Mentoring in China by Linda Grant

Resolve on the good;This leads us truly

To purpose in living,To right in our doing,

To peace in our feeling,To light in our thinking.

And teaches us trustIn the workings of God

In all that there isIn the widths of the world,In the depths of the soul.

~ Rudolf Steiner

This was the closing verse, spoken in both English and Chinese (with the help of a translator) with which I brought to a close a full-day workshop for parents and teachers at ‘Star Happy Kindergarten’ in Dezhou, China. It was also the final day of my mentoring work in the cities of Tianjin and Dezhou.

There were tears on both sides when, as a farewell, the teachers presented me with the dolls they had made at the workshop – a beautiful gesture on their part. My new Chinese colleagues in Waldorf education gifted me with more than the labour of their hands, but with an experience of gratitude deeply felt. I was very grateful for the whole experience of working in China, even the many challenges I encountered - except the high temperature and high humidity - the long hours of work, the struggles with language and understanding, the strange food that soon became

part of my normal diet. Above all I was grateful for the wonderful opportunity to work in Steiner Waldorf education in a totally different culture, one that was unknown to me.

Being part of the Waldorf Early Childhood Training and Mentoring Programme in China (WECC) was a great privilege and very inspiring. I witnessed a dedication and commitment to Waldorf education among teachers and parents I hadn’t expected, and everywhere I met strong women who worked tirelessly to bring this holistic education to young children. Through my work there I was pushed to reframe my own understanding of Waldorf early childhood education, to become clearer in my thinking, to find new ways of communicating and above all, to trust. There were many personal highlights, such as leading a kindergarten community of over fifty families in the circle dance ‘The King of the Fairies’, with the sound of a traditional Irish air floating over a public park in Tianjin, at the close of their Duan Wu Festival. Or during a workshop, experiencing a sense of something greater at work, greater than all my efforts, bringing a synergy to the work. Another personal highlight was walking along the Great Wall of China on my only free weekend, thanks to the generous hospitality of a teacher in Beijing. A long-held dream came true!

Mentoring in China

Many of the issues and difficulties facing the teachers I mentored were similar to those any Steiner Waldorf kindergarten teacher faces daily. How to create a breathing rhythm in the kindergarten day, how to be fully present for the children, how to work with transitions, how to work with challenging behaviour, or how to work within the dream consciousness especially during free creative play, were the questions that arose constantly. Sometimes these themes were not recognized as needing attention – it can be difficult to step aside and see why something is not working. For some staff the task was huge because of very little training, but their commitment to learn and their willingness to change their practice gave me great encouragement.

The kindergarten day is long for both children and teachers: children arrived as early as 7.30am in one kindergarten and their day continued till 5.00pm, for these children, all their meals were eaten in kindergarten, including breakfast. A cook is employed to cook all the meals, so the children’s involvement in preparation of food is very limited. However the children engage in other domestic activities such as washing of hand towels and washing up after meals. The groups can be large with as many as 21 children with just one teacher and one assistant. Yet in

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another group there were just 18 children with 5 ‘mother teachers’.

In China, teacher training is part of mentoring because full training is often only possible for one or two of a teaching staff of 5 or more. There are great geographical distances; a teacher-training course in Chengdu for example, might involve a 2-hour flight for some students! Time, distance, finances and family circumstances are the constraints for those wishing to train in Waldorf pedagogy. Most teachers working in kindergarten are ‘mother teachers’, with their own child also attending the kindergarten. This places particular demands on relationships especially in terms of boundaries. Apart from the hours I spent in observation and one-to-one mentoring, I was asked to give 3 teacher-training workshops and one workshop for parents.

Naturally a mentor is a resource to be fully used and no time was wasted. My timetable was very full. The day began at 8 or 8.30am and continued on some days till 7pm,

with a 1hour or occasionally 2 hour break at midday. With average temperatures of 35° and humidity over 80%, a midday rest was essential particularly on those days when I would be delivering a workshop in the afternoon. Craft workshops and workshops on the inner development of the teacher were most requested. Play and outdoor activities were areas that many teachers found challenging and they welcomed workshops on these topics.

Before I left for China I had no real sense of what might need strengthening in the kindergartens I would mentor. I was delighted to find a beautifully performed puppet play and circle times as engaging as any I’ve known in kindergartens here in Ireland. Dance and song lie deep within their ancient culture and so gesture and voice easily find a true Waldorf expression in the kindergarten day. Anyone who has seen embroidered silk will know the needlework skills of the Chinese and here I learnt to make a festival craft for their Duan Wu (Dragon Boat) Festival: a

hexahedron of folded card and patterned with coloured cotton thread wrapped around it.

For the most part, crafts were not a challenge for these teachers, but they were eager to learn new skills. Not surprisingly in these kindergartens, established only in the last 2 years, a deeper understanding of aspects of Steiner pedagogy, such as child development and the role of the teacher, needed continued work and guidance. But there is much that has already been achieved and with the seeking for change, the eagerness to learn, the strength of will for doing, I have no doubt that what is happening is nothing less than a quiet and gentle revolution. One I am glad to have made a contribution to, however small.

Special thanks to my daughter Alannah Ingoldsby who accompanied me and took all the photos.

Linda Grant, August 2015

Background to Steiner Waldorf Education in China*The Chinese Steiner Waldorf early childhood education movement began in 2004 with the first Steiner Kindergarten in Chengdu. Very soon afterwards, with the addition of a Class One, the Chengdu Waldorf School was founded. This initiative steadily grew until it became a full primary school and kindergarten. Today the Chengdu Waldorf School has 6 kindergarten groups, 3 parent and child groups and classes one to eight. In 2006 the first 3 year part-time kindergarten training course opened in Chengdu. This led to the opening of many more kindergartens in many provinces. As more and more children began to experience Waldorf education, parents realised the benefits of a spiritually healthy way of educating their children and were determined that they receive a full Waldorf education. About 30 Waldorf primary schools have come into being so far and the number of kindergartens is now over 300!

In 2010 IASWECE, along with the Pedagogical Section of the Goetheanum, initiated the training and mentoring programme WECC. China now has a fully active organization (similar to ISKA) providing services to all Steiner kindergartens, teachers and students: China Waldorf Early Childhood Education Forum (CECEF). In 2013 the CECEF was officially welcomed into IASWECE as a member country association. The China Waldorf early childhood movement is now on the world map, working alongside other countries in bringing Waldorf education to children and so to the adults of the future.

*Based on an extract from the ‘Handbook for International Mentors 2014-2015’

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Festivals are a celebration of the seasons of the year and connect us to the world around us. They fall in an annual rhythm that can be strengthening to the physical body of the young child. For me, a festival celebrates the coming together of earthly and cosmic forces. Festivals create communities of human beings by celebrating the harmony of earth and cosmos, of matter and spirit. These seasonal celebrations mark the changing of light, the relation of the earth to the sun, and the connection to what is universal in the cycle of the year. Festivals can be the bearers of the spirit within the earthly seasons. They are points where earth–spirit and world/cosmic–spirit meet.

I find certain ideas from Rudolf Steiner helpful in considering how to create a festival in the classroom. These ideas guide my thinking about the greater cosmic forces at work in the four seasons.  They form the groundwork for the manifestation of a given festival.  Steiner, in Lecture 5 of The Cycle of the Year as a Breathing Process of the Earth, described cosmic tendencies that pull the human being in certain directions at different times of the year. He spoke of the activities that then can help bring the human being into balance.  Through this struggle for balance and self–develpment, the human being can receive guidance from the cosmos.

In the summer, the human soul tends to give itself up passively to world–happenings. The tendency is to dream out beyond the human being. To balance that tendency, the human is called upon to “Receive the Light,” to consciously receive the light that is streaming toward us from the cosmos. The divine spiritual world reveals itself as moral impulses, which the human receives as enlightenment. The light is

Seasonal CelebrationsArticle from IASWECE website by Steven Spitalny USA

streaming spiritual wisdom down into the “I.” The intellect evaporates and this wisdom-filled, moral element from outside streams in.

In the autumn, as the earth is going to sleep, the urge of the soul is to return to its inner life, to go inward. The call to the human soul is to “Look Around Thee,” to be awake and attentive to what is happening in the world. At this time we must strive for the knowledge to perceive the world of nature and the spiritual activity that lies behind it. We need soul courage for this striving.In the winter, the Earth has completed her in–breathing, and the human soul is thrown back to itself and threatened with inner contraction and paralysis. The tendency is for the human being to sink into itself, to dream within one’s own being. “Beware of Evil,” calls the cosmos. Be aware and behold the evil; contemplate evil and

the temptation of evil. Perhaps we could say that we draw back from the earth’s darkness, or “beware of darkness.” This mood is a polarity to “Receive the Light” of summertime. One experiences a consolidation of the intellect that had evaporated in summer At this time, one needs temperance to guard oneself against evil, to guard against a deviation from cosmic moral impulses. Can we find a balance, the middle way? Steiner described this as “Besonnenheit,” as ruling one’s impulses through reflective thinking, feeling and perceiving, through consciousness. This is the human being’s winter task.In the spring, the human soul’s tendency is to sink into the flood of uprising nature forces. The call to the human being is to “Know Thyself,” to stay connected with yourself in this spring fevering. We can strive for

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knowledge of true human nature and a reconnection to our own higher nature—a connection with true morality. The call is to truly look at oneself, to hold up the mirror, and see one’s weaknesses and limitations and where one has fallen away from one’s highest intentions.

With these thoughts in mind, I take into consideration the needs of the young child. One aspect to consider in creating a festival for kindergarten is to keep it simple. So much can be done with gesture and mood that speaks more powerfully than elaborate choreographed events. It seems important to avoid festival indigestion, especially for young child. Not only do we support the child, but one finds it creates less stress in the adults’ lives as well.For all festivals, a mood of anticipation can be created through the planning and preparations. Including the children in the preparation allows them to experience and participate in the process of life, of the yearly cycle. Though it can also be special for the

children to arrive to the magic of an already created festival day, I mostly include the children in the room set up and other aspects of preparation. Preparing the food and making decorations is a warming and enlivening activity for all involved. And food usually plays a part of any celebration, especially for the children. Traditions can be created that live and thrive over years especially if we have children who are in our groups for more than one year. This also creates a sense of true anticipation in the children.

I focus on celebrating the divine spark that lives in each of us. A powerful guiding image for me is the light that streams toward us from the sun and stars, and the warmth and love into which we can transform that light. Perhaps that is the central theme around which the variations of individual festivals revolve. To me it is so important that our celebrations are so universal that no one feels excluded. I want all the families to inwardly experience that “ this festival

speaks to us.”  I want to celebrate what is universally human and universally cosmic/ spiritual. The spiritual is celebrated, but not the specifically religious.

For me, kindergarten festivals celebrate divinities. Festivals for the older children often celebrate developed human beings such as saints. I leave saints for the grade school years. I celebrate only a few major festivals in my kindergarten. They include Michaelmas, Lantern Walk (not St. Martinmas), Advent Garden and an end-of- year Bridge Festival. I also celebrate each child’s birthday. These are the festivals to which I invite the parents, but of course, in a sense, every day is a festival in kindergarten.

Steven Spitalny is a kindergarten teacher at the Santa Cruz Waldorf School in California, USA. Reprinted from Gateways, the newsletter of the Waldorf Early Childhood Association of North America.

To read further link to: http://www.iaswece.org/waldorf_education/articles_and_resources/Festivals.aspx

As a teaching artist based in East Clare, my background is in Fine Art, as a painter. I came to experience the magic of Handwork when, as a new parent at Raheen Wood Steiner School in County Clare, I joined the Parents Craft Group. I moved into that new world of creating Waldorf  toys and figures from natural materials, with great curiousity and delight!

The process of Feltmaking particularly, captured my imagination. It is, for me, the closest to painting. Arranging coloured wool fibres to create a figure for the seasonal table or a wallhanging, and watching it transform in my hands, captivates me.I've been teaching Handwork at Raheen Wood School for four years now. I completed the UK Waldorf Handwork Training Course in Wynstones Steiner School in Glouchestersire this year. We began our training with Winny Mossman, studying the vital importance of Handwork in

Mia Foley - Art, Craft

Kindergartens, and the transition to Class one. In the windows of time I can snatch between teaching and mothering, I strive to move forward in my own artistic journey, exploring the endless creative potential of wool as an awe-inspiring material, and my deep connection to it.One of the greatest joys is to share these skills, and guide others in the learning of making things of beauty

and purpose, and seeing adults and children discover their individual artistic nature.I am available for leading workshops in Handwork with adults/teachers and children. Felted figures, pictures, bags and slippers are amongst the projects that I teach.You can contact me at:email: miafoleyart@gmail.comor on facebook at Mia foley Art.

Clockwise from above, Some of Mia’s creations: Mary & her baby; Winter king; 3 kings; woodland elders, and right: Mia knitting.

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ISKA TRAININGby Heike Stenzel, Course Director

ISKA Training, was founded as a branch of ISKA in 2011. Recognising the need for anthroposophical courses and training in Ireland, its mission has been to advance Steiner early years training in Ireland. ISKA Training is earnest in its commitment to offer Ireland's early years' sector the valuable contents of Rudolf Steiner’s teaching.

With the Orientation Course in Anthroposophy, ISKA Training’s aim has been to connect with people on an inner quest, and at the same time to build a foundation for  continued learning on an Early Years Teacher training course.

As current Chairperson of ISKA, I am delighted to announce that ISKA Training is now offering this progressional training, as a two-year part-time modular programme in Steiner Waldorf Early Years Education, formulated according to IASWECE guidelines (the International Association for Steiner/Waldorf Early Childhood Education).

I first came into contact with Steiner Waldorf education through the birth of my two daughters. I was looking for an approach that was in tunewith my own thinking- a wholesome education with the use of natural, homemade toys that inspired my children’s creativity and mine and supported them in becoming skilled adults.

When I embarked on the kindergarten teacher training course 14 years ago, I wasn’t necessarily thinking of becoming a kindergarten teacher - let alone Chairperson of ISKA. I simply wanted to know more about this wonderful approach to children in order to enhance my own parenting skills. And fourteen years later, I haven't been disappointed- all because of my desire for a deeper understanding of childhood and what children really need.

The training course has enriched mine and my children’s’ lives, I can only say, endlessly because it opened up a world to me that continues to inspire me and, I dare say, my children.

Not least, because I got to know and work with Ulrike Farnleitner, ISKA Development Officer, who has been the course director of the Orientation in Anthroposophy course for the last four years and indeed was one of the course directors of the earlier training programme in Co. Clare.

Email: training.iska@gmail.comWebsite: www.iskaireland.org

Steiner Waldorf Early Years Education Two year part-time Training

starting in 2015

Web page: www.iskaireland.orgEmail address: training.iska@gmail.com

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Orientation in Anthroposophy - A foundation for life -

A part-time Foundation Program accredited by The Irish Steiner Kindergarten Association

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Developed as an introduction to Anthroposophy, it is the foundation year for further training in Steiner Waldorf Early Years Education Training takes place monthly over eight weekends in Co. Kilkenny

Queries & Expressions of Interest for 2015-2016 Programme to: training.iska@gmail.com

This course is a creative gateway for people interested in exploring the living spirit and the works of Rudolf Steiner and Anthroposophy-the wisdom of becoming human. A modular Program – it opens the heart, the mind and the body to the inner laws of nature and spirit,

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Sally Goddard Blythe is guest speaker at the 2015 ISKA conference at Solas Bridhe, Kildare on Fri 18th September. This extract extract from Sally’s book gives a taste of what is to come.Almost every day the newspapers carry a new story about changes in children’s development and lifestyle: Studies which have indicated that children’s muscular strength has declined in the last 12 years when hand grip and the ability to support their own body weight was assessed; surveys in which up to 40% of parents admitted they have never read to their child; a study involving more than 18 000 children which revealed that three in ten children grow up in homes with no books and that children with no books are two and a half times more likely to fall below their expected reading level for their age, but 85% of these same children aged 8 – 15 years own a game console.  This growing body of evidence combined with findings from our own research, which has indicated that a significant percentage of children enter school with immature motor skills and that there is a link between immature motor skills and lower educational performance, led me to revisit the lullabies, nursery rhymes, stories, games and activities from my childhood and ask the questions, “what did these activities provide for the developing child?” What is the genius of natural childhood?Growing up in the physical worldThe rapid pace of urbanisation and advances taking place in technology means that social and cultural change is beginning to overtake the biological needs of the child.   As human beings we are also mammals and mammals have evolved in the context of the physical world, in which physical experience and social interaction have been crucial to development.   One example can be seen in the importance of rough and tumble play in the animal kingdom.  Mammals that do not engage in rough and tumble play

as pups tend to be rejected by the group.  Rough and tumble play is important because it develops sensory skills, control, restraint and develops neural circuits involved in creativity and practise of life skills. The young child of today is no exception in this respect as every child must learn to become competent and confident in the use of his or her body to be fully equipped with the tools for learning and for life.Learning with the BodyYoung children learn with their bodies before they learn with their brain. An infant’s first language is one of movement and music.  Babies express their wants and needs through a combination of gestures, alteration in posture, facial expression, speed and quality of movements and the tones and rhythms of the sounds they make.  Movement is important not only as a form of expression but also the primary medium through which an infant explores its world, learns to integrate information derived from the senses (the basis for perception) and to develop good control of the body through development of muscle tone,  balance and posture, which are fundamental to good coordination.  While the driving force for the development of these skills is maturation, they are entrained through experience.The first of the senses to develop is the sense of balance.  In place at just 8 – 9 weeks after conception and functioning at 16 weeks, the balance system is fully formed and ready for use at birth.  But rather like being given a grand piano as a gift at birth, before it will deliver its potential, the child must learn to play and this can only be done through practice.  The balance mechanism is the primary sensor for gravity and it responds to different types of movement, variation in speed of movement and when movement starts and stops. Before birth, the unborn child’s sensation of movement was cushioned and the effect of gravity reduced by the

surrounding amniotic fluid and the support of the mother’s body, meaning that movement was experienced as slow and gentle, just like being under water.  After birth, movements that mimic this pre-natal experience tend to be soothing and comforting for children.  These include slow rocking, swaying from side to side and being carried on the mother’s body – movements which parents use instinctively to soothe a fractious baby.The first lesson in becoming a master of movement is control of the head and proper alignment of the head in relation to body position.  This will provide a basis not only for posture and balance but also the later control of eye movements needed for reading, writing, catching a ball and even driving a car, and it involves the development of extensor muscle tone against gravity. One way of helping this to develop is giving babies plenty of “tummy time” on a clean floor surface when awake.  Wakeful tummy time is important because it encourages the development of head, neck and upper trunk control which are necessary to support posture for the remainder of life.  Examples of this progression can be seen below. Development of extensor tone on the tummy:

Babies placed in a seat for several hours of the day may develop good control of the lower portion of the body through kicking and stretching movements, but the challenge to upper body control is considerably less and they do not to have learn how to lift the head, to support upper body weight or to learn to sit by themselves.   Later

by Sally Goddard Blythe

The Genius of Natural Childhood

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on, this can affect the development of posture and upper body control needed to sit up straight and carry out coordinated movements such as writing.Sensory motor experience also entrains pathways involved in perception (the brain’s interpretation of sensory information).  Early reflexes provide one example of how this takes place. In the first days of life, a newborn baby will search or “root” for the breast using the sense of touch.  Contact with the area around the mouth will result in the infant turning its head, nuzzling or searching for the breast and when an object is introduced in the mouth, the suck reflex will come into play.While the visual system is relatively immature at this age, only being able to focus at a distance of some 17centimetres from the face, objects remaining blurred and the eyes being drawn to the periphery of shapes making outlines more significant than the detail contained within, the sense of touch on the other hand, is highly sensitive. Initially, the neonate uses touch and smell to locate the source of nourishment and comfort but within a few weeks, sight of the breast will be sufficient to initiate sucking movements.  In other words, the combination of touch, smell and movement lead into visual association, and vision will eventually supersede the more primitive reflex response.  While maturation acts as the dynamo for development, it needs the context of physical experience to unfold its potential.Given the opportunity, babies carry out thousands of seemingly random movements every day.  Esther Thelan studied these movements and found that far from being random, movements were rhythmic and stereotyped. What they lack in the early months is cortical direction and control.  When analyzed in slow motion, many of the movements and attitudes constitute primitive versions of highly skilled movements used by ballet dancers, acrobats, divers and gymnasts.  In this sense, the human infant really does dance before he can walk, and sing before he can talk.

The Language of Music and MimeBabies communicate using the language of music and mime.  Cooing and babbling are essentially musical in nature and the hand movements and gestures made by infants engaged in both listening and vocalising have been compared to the highly trained hand movements of an orchestral conductor.   Nearly 150 years ago, Charles Darwin wrote, ‘I have been led to infer that the progenitors of man probably uttered musical tones before they had acquired the powers of articulate speech.  Babies can ‘hear’ a restricted range of lower to medium-frequency sounds from the 24th week of pregnancy, sounds which roughly correspond to the range of the human voice and the majority of musical instruments used in classical music.  All sounds heard inside the womb are reduced in volume by about 30%, the loudest sound being that of the mother’s heartbeat.  Sounds from the outside world are about 35 decibels quieter than sounds generated from the internal environment, the only exception being the sound of the mother’s voice, which is particularly powerful because it resonates internally and externally, her body acting as the sounding board. Vocal speech and singing have a powerful on all physiological processes including cardio-respiratory function, digestion, hormonal secretion, motion, emotion and intelligence.  Before and after birth, a mother’s voice provides a connection between respiration, sound and movement – an acoustic link from life and communication before birth – to the brave new world outside the womb.Russian paediatrician and musician Michael Lazarev described the mother’s voice as being,   “the main instrument in his pre-natal education.  This is a tuning fork to attune the strings of the soul to vibrations of the outside world, to get into a universe of human culture.  These vibrations are the first to form the deepest structures of his personality. Mother is the sculptor who shapes her baby with her voice”.Music is the natural medium for this creative and connective process, because music is composed of

elements which are common to all languages, all forms of communication and can be understood at a physical and emotional level by the very young child.  Singing contains all the tonal and rhythmic elements of speech and “motherese” – the sing-song style of speech used by mothers instinctively when talking to their babies – is particularly musical.  Singing slows down the sounds of speech, prolonging the time value of “open” vowel sounds, making it easier to hear and reproduce the sounds and contours of words.Lullabies – traditional songs of the nursery – have characteristic rhythms which mimic the slow swaying movement of the mother’s body, providing gentle stimulation to the balance system while also providing the comfort and reassurance of the mother’s voice.  Research has shown that the sound of the mother’s voice has the same effect on emotions as receiving a cuddle, while lullabies and nursery rhymes carry the “signature” melodies and inflections of the mother tongue, preparing the ear, voice and brain for receptive and expressive language.Live music is particularly important because it involves communication, teaching the ability to “read”, replicate and reproduce all the nuances and subtleties gleaned from another’s body language and spontaneous responses.   Stimulation derived from a remote or virtual source does not pay attention to the child’s reactions or listen to what the child has to say. It is essentially an egotistical form of communication which follows its own course without consideration for the listener or the viewer. This medium of stimulation occurs in a pre-programmed, virtual world created by a particular type of mind and constitutes a monologue rather than a dialogue. Children’s response to live music is different from recorded music and babies are particularly responsive when the music comes directly from the parent. It is the human interaction (touch, voice, and eye contact) using a form of language which is attuned to an infant’s level of development which are important, not the individual lullaby itself although all lullabies share a similar range of

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rhythms and tones – a form of universal language.The peculiar structure of lullabies where the music is written like a story with a beginning, middle and end appeals to children and this same organisation helps them to learn structure and order and exercise imagination. “The melody and harmony are just intricate enough to stimulate the imagination slightly, yet also send an unspoken message of support and security, in a way no words can describe.” Whether humming, chanting, or singing, anyone can make music and as a parent your child will not judge you on your musical abilities.  As far as he or she is concerned, you are the expert.Nursery rhymes provide a natural sequel to lullabies although they were not originally designed for this purpose.  Many reflect events in history and the political and social problems that were prevalent in the time and place where they developed, when outright criticism of authority would have resulted in punishment, but parody was still possible.  Many nursery rhymes were originally rather like the political and social commentators, satirists and cartoonists of today. As such, they are an important part of a child’s cultural history and heritage.  They are also

rich in rhyming words, repetition and alliteration, helping the young child to identify minute differences between words and their meaning.Sound of the parent’s voice extends from lullabies and nursery rhymes into reading to children.  In a survey, carried out in 2010, found that more than half of primary school teachers said that they have seen at least one child with no experience of being told stories at home.  In some homes the television or electronic games have become a substitute for books but these do little to nurture a child’s imagination, verbal communication or non-verbal communication. The content of stories is also important.  Here again, our modern society seems increasingly at odds with the wisdom of previous generations.  For centuries, children used to be reared on wonderful rich fairy tales, like Cinderella, the Frog Prince, and The Tinder Box, or on uplifting parables from the Bible like the Prodigal Son or the Good Samaritan. More treasures came from the ancient fables of the Greek storyteller Aesop or the folk rhymes, like Ring-a-Rosie. Yet all this literary wealth is falling out of fashion, for a variety of reasons.  Some think that these age old fairy tales are too scary and therefore would disturb their children. In a recent poll of 3000 parents for the website

babywebsite.com almost 20 per cent of adults said they refused to read Hansel and Gretel because the children were abandoned in a forest – and it may give their children nightmares.  A fifth did not like to read The Gingerbread Man as he gets eaten by a fox. Similarly, in our increasingly secular, atheistic world, anything from the Bible is seen as being tainted with the out dated dogma of the Christian faith, no matter how pertinent the message.Stories for Life Fairy stories and parables are important precisely because they use “make-believe” to teach fundamental principles of moral behaviour.  Stereotypes of good and evil are used to illustrate that goodness endures and bad behaviour will eventually receive its just deserts.  Far from demonising the dwarfs, the story of Snow White shows that underlying physical diversity there can be greater kindness and generosity than is found in the stereotypes of beauty and wealth so lauded by celebrity worshipping cultures.  In many fairy stories, (Goldilocks for example) it is the smallest and weakest in the group with whom the heroine identifies and in the Emperor’s New Clothes, vanity and pride are revealed as vacuous posturing without substance, which

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BOOKS...

Understanding the Steiner Waldorf Approach: Early Years Education in Practiceby Janni Nicol, Jill Taplin. Pub: Routledge, 2012. ISBN-10: 0415597161 ISBN-13: 978-0415597166. £21.99

Janni Nicol has worked as a Steiner kindergarten teacher in South Africa and Cambridge, UK. She is now the UK early childhood representative for Steiner Waldorf schools and kindergartens, and writes, consults and lectures on Steiner early childhood in the UK and internationally.Jill Tina Taplin works in teacher education in the UK and internationally, advising, teaching and writing, after many years as a Steiner kindergarten teacher in Scotland and England.

Happy hearts and happy faces,Happy play in grassy places,That was how, in ancient ages,Children grew to kings and sages.

~ Robert Louis Stevenson

mask stupidity, and obstruct the use of common sense.  These stories are not cruel and discriminatory; rather they help children to understand through fantasy firstly, the quirks and weaknesses of human behaviour in general and secondly, to accept many of their own fears and emotions in particular.  The modern tendency to protect children from anything unpleasant, that they cannot cope with, does not help them develop the resilience needed to face death, separation, rejection, injury, hardship or conflict in their own lives when they encounter it for the first time.   Fantasy and fairy stories can actually strengthen their fibre. They know, when the tale begins, that they are stepping into a fantasy world, for the opening words “Once upon time” are a signal to engage their imaginations.    What follows, whether it be witches, or princes, castles or forests, can be shocking or enchanting but it all serves to deepen a child’s thinking processes in a way that TV and computer games never can.  Amidst all the heartache before the happy ending, the prime lesson of the story is the courageous virtue of being true to the self.Earlier this year, my daughter gave birth to my first grandchild.   In the course of making preparations for the

new arrival, I was reminded how different the expectations and pressures on parents of today are compared to only 25 years ago.

Marketing for the baby industry is so slick and successful that many new parents are seduced into believing that babies are born needing an array of equipment, from electronic devices which play lullabies and classical music to bouncing cradles which mimic the motion of a car.  While these can be helpful to exhausted parents in soothing a fretful baby to sleep, they cannot replace the experience derived from direct physical interaction with the environment and one-to-one communication with another human being.Some of the best playgrounds and tools for learning are free: Parental time, involvement, communication; space and freedom to move and explore; song, dance and a love of

stories.  Two of the greatest gifts that parents and society can give to a child in addition to love, is competence and confidence in use of their body in the physical world and the ability to understand and use language.   While we should not reject the many advances and advantages of the modern world, neither should we discard the wisdom of the past.  Some of the most successful societies are those that seamlessly weave new developments into the existing fabric of the old, enriching the tapestry for generations in the future.

Sally Goddard Blythe directs the Institute of Neuro-Physiological Psychology. She researches children’s learning difficulties and is an authority on remedial programmes. Her widely translated books include The Well Balanced Child, What Babies and Children Really Need and Reflexes, Learning and Behaviour. The Genius of Natural Childhood: Secrets of Thriving Children was published this year in the UK by Hawthorn Press as part of their “early years series.”

Sally Goddard Blythe will be speaking at the ISKA conference 2015. See page 12 for full details in advert.

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Views and opinions expressed in this newsletter are the views and opinions of the authors of the articles themselves and are included for your interest and information. They are not necessarily the views or opinions of ISKA, its staff or members.

ISKA Calendar of Eventsto January 2016

ISKA AGM 17th September, 3.30pm to 5pm. Solas Bhride, Kildare town

ISKA Conference 18th September, 9am to 4.30pm. Solas Bhride, Kildare town

Workshop, Saturday 17th October. Needle-felt a table puppet, story puppet, and figures for birthdays and gifts. A workshop for parents, grand parents, EY practitioners, teachers anyone who would like to learn this versatile craft, facilitated by Grace Burton in Co. Clare. 10am to 3pm cost €35. Booking and payment through ISKA is necessary before 6th October.

In-service days, there will be two In-service days between September and December, both on Saturday 10am to 2pm. €10 per person. If you would like to host an In-service day at your kindergarten please contact Ulrike. Dates and venues will be confirmed by email.

1 Síolta workshop Dates and venue will be confirmed by email.

If your group wish to receive an Advisory Visit this Autumn or Winter, please book with Ulrike or office, as soon as possible.

An Siopa BeagEnvironmentally friendly and ethically sourced products for the discerning shopper

For your baby, for you and your children: Sheepskins, Sheepskin Car Seat Inserts, Eco nappies, Solmate Socks, Giesswein Wool Slippers

We also stock a wide range of children's and educational books, art & craft-materials, musical instruments, toys and gifts.

For Information contactMaria Castles, An Siopa Beag,5 Abbey St, Killaloe, Co. ClareTel/Fax: 00 353 61 375770Website: www.ansiopabeag.comEmail: ansiopabeag@gmail.comOpening hours: Mon-Sat: 9.30 am - 6.00 pm

KindlingKINDLING comes out twice a year, Spring and Autumn, and includes articles, crafts, ring times and general information of interest to anyone interested in the young child between Birth and Seven.  The themed articles are of interest to parents or educators, and the subjects are deep and topical.

 Contact: Simon NicolPhone: +44 (0)1223 890988

email: earlyearsnews@aol.com

The cost of each issue is €10, and the subscription is for 2 issues, therefore €20 a year, which includes post and packaging.  Send your Name, address and telephone number by email, and we will send you an invoice with details on how to pay.