Choosing a kindergarten is no less than choosing a university - Waldorf Garden in my eyes

Written before:

In fact, if I can meet a good teacher, I will not be too opposed to traditional kindergartens. But in traditional kindergartens, the probability of meeting a good teacher is low. Most traditional gardens have a bad atmosphere.

Maybe it’s because of the full-time job. Most of the attention is on the children, so I pay special attention to parenting.

When my baby was still young, I took her walking around the community every day, and I would see various kindergartens. Sometimes I take her to "training" to watch the Big Brothers Big Sisters recess activities in kindergarten. Later, I wanted her to go to a public park affiliated with a university near her home. That kindergarten is still the kindergarten my husband went to when he was a child. It has a long history. The playground is big enough and has several large slides. regular.

However, deep down in my heart, I have a lot of worries about kindergarten. Mainly because I don’t trust the teacher. It is a big thing for a child to leave his mother and go to kindergarten.

This is the baby’s first step into society. I think this step is very important.

Choosing a kindergarten is no less important than choosing a university. Moreover, if there is no good teacher, even if it has the best hardware facilities, then this kindergarten will be "failed" in my eyes.

The following is my "prejudice" about most kindergartens today.

I don't like the behavior of "giving red envelopes to teachers". To be more serious, I think it is "greed" among the evils of human nature. This "corruption" is promoted without limit by parents. When children grow up in such a kindergarten, will they show the kind of corrupt behavior in the TV series "In the Name of the People"?

My uncle’s sister is a kindergarten teacher. She is in a large formal kindergarten. She was embarrassed to receive red envelopes at first, but later, when the holidays were approaching, she was eager to receive red envelopes. . She has been "corrupted" by that garden. And I asked her, "After giving the red envelope, will you be kind to other people's children?", and she replied, "I'll do whatever I want."

For another example, I don’t like “learning” in kindergarten. It seems that learning English, mathematics and Chinese has become standard in kindergartens at this stage. But, is this really good? The term "preschool" means "before the age of learning", and most traditional kindergartens are ahead of their time.

The following is an excerpt:

Generally speaking, after the age of 7, children’s sensory integration functions gradually mature, and basic sensory integration operations can naturally and smoothly occur under the cerebral cortex. Do it without spending any more brainpower. Therefore, children can concentrate on abstract learning in sight and hearing.

——"Sensory Integration Part 1 Discovering the Brain"

I feel that I can understand my current parents. They want their children to "win at the starting line", but they worry too much, worrying that "if they don't let them learn to sit properly in kindergarten now, how will they be able to sit still in elementary school in the future?". As everyone knows, such ignorance harms children. Being active is a characteristic of children, and it is the "activity" now that enables children in the future to "focus."

And does the “starting line” that parents think really exists? Life is a marathon, and early childhood is the time to lay the foundation, not the time to compete with others.

I still have many "prejudices" against traditional kindergartens. For example, in ordinary traditional kindergartens, there are more than 20 or even 30 people in a class, and some classrooms are still very small. Children spend much more time indoors than outdoors, and there is no free time for activities. Teachers set many rules in order to "manage" children and maintain "order." These are contrary to children's physiological characteristics of free exploration and activeness.

Why is it that the subtitle is Waldorf in My Eyes, but I use a lot of space to say a lot of "bad things" about traditional gardens?

Because in Waldorf, none of those things exist. There is no constant asking of parents to help their children with homework, there is no need to send cakes and gifts to classmates on birthdays, there is no video surveillance (the act of monitoring itself reflects parents’ distrust of the school), there are no red envelopes, there are no cold words such as criticism and scolding... …

When a teacher in our kindergarten gave birth to a child, several of us parents went to the hospital to visit and stuffed the red envelope under the pillow. We all really want to send our blessings, not utilitarian red envelopes. As a result, at the parent-teacher conference later, another teacher said that the money would be included in the next tuition fee.

What does Waldorf have? Why did I rush to Waldorf without looking back?

The above is just a drop in the bucket.

I personally think that there are two types of parents who choose Waldorf education. One is that they have studied Waldorf education and really like this education method. Second, if you are disappointed or even afraid of the current traditional kindergarten, Waldorf is the choice to avoid disappointment.

Many parents, including me, probably come from the second category and gradually become the first category.

The routine of Waldorf Kindergarten is as follows:

Morning circle, free activities, morning snacks, themed activities

Noon puppet show, thanksgiving song, lunch

Afternoon nap, free activities, afternoon snacks

Our garden roughly follows this time rhythm, and the "theme activities" are different every day:

Beeswax pinching on Monday;

Cookie making Tuesday;

Wet watercolor Wednesday;

Cleaning Thursday;

Hiking Friday,

(Waldorf puppet shows, four-season tables, toys, etc. are all made by teachers themselves)

(Natural beeswax)

(Friday’s excursion)

In fact, Waldorf also has elementary schools, middle schools and high schools. In Shenyang, there are currently 9 Waldorf kindergartens and 2 primary schools, but no middle school.

In addition, Waldorf also has many very good books. If you are interested, you can start with "A Simple Parent's Guide", as well as children's picture books, anthroposophy and other professional books.

The above is what I said. As a child who grew up in kindergarten, what does my baby think? My child has been a little insecure since he was a child and is considered an "introverted" child in the eyes of ordinary people. If you ask about the reason, it’s because I really didn’t take good care of myself during my pregnancy. Because I raised the child by myself, she ate, drank, and never left my side, so she was very attached to her mother. In other words, she has become completely accustomed to having me in her world. Going to kindergarten is a challenge for me and my children. My child and I suffer from severe separation anxiety.

But in Waldorf Garden, teachers take good care of children's emotions. The situation when we entered the kindergarten was that the baby successfully passed the separation anxiety period, and then he was reluctant to leave after school every day. My current baby, when I am at home, will tell me about kindergarten from time to time, and will tell me that I like Teacher Cui and Teacher Zhao. When I eat something good, I even say that I want the teacher to eat it too. Whether it’s love or fear, whether they like kindergarten or don’t want to go, children can never pretend. So the little guy is the most convincing.

I feel more and more that the most important thing in raising children is the learning and growth of parents. What truly nourishes children and empowers them is the spiritual nourishment of parents. Here is a small pat on the back for myself. It took me 5 days to read the book I had been procrastinating for a long time, one chapter a day, and I didn’t miss reading when I was traveling. If I keep putting the book there, I will think "there are too many books and I can't read it", and then I start to act, but in fact it "reads quickly".

Children will feel my small progress. This kind of influence that adults bring to children is the spiritual support for children when they are confused in the future. Instead, learn how many Tang poems to recite.

This is probably the biggest reason why I chose Waldorf - my own changes. Now I can really thank myself two years ago. Thank you to me two years ago for choosing Waldorf.

My efforts have transformed me from a mother who was anxious and anxious when things happened to a calm, calm and more confident mother.

I remember a sentence from Wu Zhihong’s public account that I like very much:

The person I admire most

is myself

Only I can help myself

Get through mountain after mountain

Overcome difficulties again and again

This kind of "resurrection from death" ability , Waldorf has.

Finally, I would like to express my humility and send you a little poem.

Baby, baby,

I love you,

I loved you before I even saw you.

I loved you.

Baby, baby,

I love you,

I want to give you the best in the world,

But I don’t Do you know how to raise children so that you can live a better life?

Baby, baby,

I love you,

I really can’t give you the best,

because I No matter what, I don’t know what is best for you.

I just hope that

you will grow into an independent and complete you.

Baby, baby,

I love you.