Waldorf with Academics

                                                                                                                                      3/27/2012
  Seneca worked on her phonics lessons.  Phonics lessons, for us, consist of  reading and sounding out words in the Starfall series.  The focus was on the short e vowel.  Phonics time is short and sweet and was done curled up together on my bed.
        Seneca played with her doll afterwards.   I love watching her care for and nurture her doll. She feeds her doll in a "highchair" then lays her down in a doll-cradle.  Seneca loves to cover her doll in the blanket that I had knitted.  The act of playing with the doll and her toys is just as important as her phonics lessons.
    Her imaginative play time is her sacred time to be in the world (or Kingdom) of childhood.  Rudolf Steiner lectured and wrote extensively on the Kingdom of Childhood.  Although we break with strict Waldorf education by doing phonics time at age five, I do try to keep much of the magic that Waldorf offers. Sometimes, it is as much for me as for her.  I can watch her play with her toys and have this deep sense of both reverence and joy.  Much of my joy comes from knowing the value of learning through play and being able to know to appreciate these times.