Support For Kindergarten Families

The Sense of Life

By Connie Helms

Last month, I began writing about the twelve senses recognized by Rudolf Steiner. The first four form a group known as the Foundational Senses. Upon the strength or weakness of these four senses, the human being will meet the world with certainty or hesitation. To review, these Foundational Senses build three capacities in a child: Body Geography (knowing where the parts of your body are), Spatial Orientation knowing where you are in space) and Dominance (having an established preference for one side of the body to do tasks). These three capacities are basic in order for children to perform many practical activities in school and at home, from brushing teeth to writing words on a page.

Following the sense of touch, the second is the sense of life. It informs us about our well being. We are not so concerned with the life sense when we are well; it is when we have an ache, an illness, are tired or hungry or foggy that we think about the life sense.  Some of us feel the life sense the day after consuming alcohol, sugar, or foods that we don’t digest well. When we feel unwell, we are reluctant to get up and face the day; we want to stay curled up in bed. What we may learn is that the trigger, be it lack of sleep, the wrong food, the overbooked schedule, the loud music, etc. does not promote health.  Feeling unwell is not pleasant! The pain or discomfort signals us that something is not right, so we might take steps to avoid a repetition. The life sense schools us – it teaches us to pay attention to discomfort and in the best scenario it helps us to get enough sleep, to eat well, exercise and to rest if we are sick. From this, we know how to help our child get back on track.

The life sense also teaches us about appropriate suffering, which is important.  Without these experiences, we could not develop fully as humans. We do not have to engineer adverse situations for our children-don’t we all know that life itself brings us opportunities to experience suffering? By letting our children experience the bruised knee, the fall off the bike, the toy we will not be buying, the dessert we will not serve, and sadly, the pet who died, they learn to handle life’s disappointments. We learn to ride our bike more safely, to be more patient when we want something, to deal with sadness. We become wiser. This is the hidden gem in classic fairy tales from every culture: we meet with adversity (holding our breath), we courageously overcome it and then we can let out a sigh of relief.

The life sense needs much attention in our world today. Before industrialization, we lived by the rhythms of nature. We rose with the sun and went to bed at dark. In many cultures families gathered together to eat wholesome foods, sing and tell stories at night and rest when they were tired. If you were a baby boomer, you can easily recognize that the 21st century is not so friendly to the life sense. Today, we try to stretch the day, to tamper with the rhythms of time, and overload ourselves with information.  It’s not unusual in our culture to find children at sports practice until 8 pm on a school night several times a week. What happened to family time and down time for children? Children suffer from always being on the treadmill, and the adults driving the children around are sacrificing their evening time to breathe out also. If a child has trouble falling asleep, consider if too much scheduled activity is the cause.

Rudolf Steiner stated, “Rhythm restores power.” We must attend to the rhythms children need: daily rituals and routines, physical warmth, and tending to when they are sick (which means temporarily giving up our work or our plans). Children need to play, do chores, move and rest, and… they need to experience quiet and boredom- for out of boredom rises creativity. They need to become so physically tired that they fall asleep easily and wake bright eyed, bushy tailed and hungry the next morning.  Once, I had a bright eyed and bushy tailed eight year old boy come to me in the morning. Later, I asked his mother what his bedtime was. She said 7:30–8 at the latest. Let me tell you how rare it is for school teachers to see bright eyed and bushy tailed children in today’s world! You cannot believe what a difference it makes when children go to bed at 8:30 or 9 pm. It seems harmless, but their life sense is off the next day, and cumulatively this is counterproductive to health and well being.

Nutrition plays a huge part to support the life sense. Almost all children are very intelligent; the more we can support nerve fiber myelination, the more their brains are able to expand the pathways. Many children today do not get enough protein, vegetables, fruits or proper fats -we live in such a carbohydrate laden society and a fat phobic society. But our children need the right fats for brain development. Every time a new task is learned, the nerve pathways get coated with myelin- a white, waxy, fatty coating. The best fats are fresh butter from raw milk, coconut oil, good quality olive oil, palm oil, cold pressed sesame oil, flax oil, and animal fats-lard, chicken fat, etc, plus whole milk. If a child has skim milk and boxed cereal for breakfast and went to bed at 9, she will likely be dragging in school.

Warmth is an overlooked issue in modern culture, but it also is critical in developing a healthy life sense. I once attended a lecture by an Anthroposophical doctor from Germany. He stated that for a newborn, the most critical factor is warmth, not food (mother’s milk). The newborn needs warmth immediately and for several months must be kept appropriately layered. Warmth for children ages 0-7 is a protection for the organs that will support them throughout life. Here in Vermont, it is not uncommon to see children from all social strata on a cold, damp winter day wearing no jacket, no hat and sometimes even shorts. The parents give in to their children or the children sneak away shedding layers. If only they knew the ramifications of this behaviour – kidneys unprotected from the cold, more susceptibility to illness, and a child who is not well grounded in the physical body, and therefore not really ready for school.

Information overload is an issue confronting adults, with all the devices we have at our fingertips, and we must be steadfast in setting our limits around it. It is even more crucial to keep our children protected from all the media, screens, and news in the world today. The visual images and aural information settle into the soul of a child and cause disturbances for months and even years. I can still remember the black and white police sketch of a wanted criminal on the front page of the newspaper when I was about seven years old; it has never left me even after 50 years. These impressions are best left to confront children after they turn nine or ten years old, when they are ready to face the fact that the world is mostly good, but there are also bad deeds in the sphere of humanity. Until then, think of too much information as indigestion for the child, literally. Children should be wondering about crickets chirping in the grass, the sparkle of a raindrop on a leaf, and baking cookies for a person in need of cheer. Doing and observing, not cramming the intellect.

How parents can support a healthy life sense:

Warmth: Insist on layers appropriate for the season.  Say this: “If you wear a jacket, you will use your body’s energy to grow. If you don’t wear a jacket, you will be using your body’s energy to stay warm instead of using energy to grow.”

Rhythm: It’s one of nature’s best kept secrets. Start with one ritual- stick to it every day without fail. Add more as you and your child are ready. Soon, the rhythm moves you both along. Rhythm and routine are security.

Protection: Limit media exposure everywhere you go  (allow a movie at grandparents or with cousins the child rarely sees) and do not discuss sensitive topics about the world in front of children. Too much information fills the mind with clutter when children should be developing their bodies and their feelings.

Sleep: Always remember that sleep is like money in the bank. Try not to sacrifice sleep except on special occasions-holidays, visitors from out of town, a theatre performance, etc. and then try to fit in a rest the next afternoon.

Nutrition: Daily, serve good fats and other wholesome foods. Limit carbohydrates and sugar. Plenty of fresh fruits and raw veggies for enzymes-carrot sticks and edible pea pods at the very least. Small but regular protein portions.

Challenges: Age appropriate challenges are healthy for a child to experience. This can include roughhouse play, getting breathless and tired, physical work like household chores and outdoor chores. It also includes learning life’s lessons, big or small.

The sense of life is linked to the sympathetic and parasympathetic systems. If there is stress in the system, it affects our breathing, digestion, our heart, and our sleep life. Pain, discomfort or unwellness is the Life Sense speaking to us.

Connie Helms works in private practice as an Extra Lesson teacher in Vermont with children, adolescents and adults. She is a consultant to Waldorf schools in the U.S., mentors Waldorf remedial teachers and serves on the board of the Association for a Healing Education. Connie is the mother of three young adult children who attended Waldorf schools from nursery through grade eight.

Source: https://thewonderofchildhood.com/2011/09/the-sense-of-life/
© 2011 The Wonder of Childhood

The Meaning of Illness

Susan R. Johnson, MD, FAAP, Raphael House

In anthroposophical medicine our spirit (our higher self) is always considered to be healthy. It is our soul that first becomes ill. If we do not pay attention to our soul, then we start to lose our vitality (our etheric body becomes weak) and then our physical body becomes ill. Dr. Philip Incao, an anthroposophical physician who practices in Denver, Colorado, spoke this summer at the Artemisia Conference held at Rudolf Steiner College. He described a picture of health and illness that comes from a Dutch anthroposophical physician.

Imagine health as a beautiful sunny day with a brillant blue sky and no clouds in sight. The earth is covered by a layer of green fields, plants, and trees springing up from a firm ground composed of minerals. The sun is our spirit, the sky is our soul, the green living layer is our vitality (etheric body), and the mineralized earth is our physical body. We come to this earth with the purpose of purifying our soul. There are always clouds that form in our soul: those issues in life (our needs, wants, and desires) that we are trying to work through and transform. At any given time, if our spirit is strong enough, then like the sun we can often dissolve the clouds that come our way. Sometimes too many clouds form at the same time or a cloud grows too quickly and becomes too large, obscuring the sun’s light. If we don’t pay attention to the messages from our soul, the clouds can grow and merge into a huge thunderstorm and eventually pour down to earth as rain. After the rain, the sky will become clear again, but all the rain may have flooded the earth. If our etheric body is not strong enough to withstand the rainstorm, then our physical body can become ill. Hereditary factors, destiny and karma can all affect the physical body we have in this life, but there are things we can do to strengthen our etheric body to help us resist becoming ill during these rainstorms of our soul life.

The etheric body is formed during the first seven years of our life. Routines and daily rhythms (especially around mealtimes, bedtimes, morning times, and holiday celebrations) all strengthen the etheric. Adequate sleep (usually around eleven hours for young children and teenagers), adequate clothing (so hands and feet stay warm), and proper nutrition (that follows the cycle of our liver, consuming fats and proteins before 3 p.m., eating a hearty breakfast and hearty lunch with nutritious snacks, and followed by a light dinner) all help our organs grow in a healthy way and strengthen our immune system. Minimizing the stressors in our culture (television, videos, computers, caffeine, sleep deprivation, prolonged car rides, and always hurrying from one place to another) can strengthen our etheric body. These stressors overstimulate our nervous systems and cause us all to release stress hormones that weaken our immune system and our vitality.

Nature is one of the greatest healers. Taking a long walk through a park lined with trees, in a quiet forest, or by water nourishes us. When my spirit and vitality needs strengthening, I hike in the mountains and sit under a redwood tree by a small flowing stream. When my soul feels in torment and too many thoughts and worries are flooding my consciousness, then I sit by a rushing waterfall or walk along the ocean and listen to the crashing waves. Finally, one of the greatest gifts we can give to ourselves and our children is to slow down and remember that “less is often the best.”

Dr. Johnson works as a behavioral and developmental pediatrician for Waldorf schools, writes parent newsletters about preventative health, and gives community lectures. She has a private practice in behavioral and developmental pediatrics at Raphael House in Fair Oaks, CA, where she sees children two through eighteen years of age with their parents for developmental, behavioral and learning concerns.

Excerpted from You’re Not the Boss of Me!, edited by Ruth Ker

The Sense of Touch

By Connie Helms

When a child is born, he or she has quite a job to do. Over time we have lost sight of this task, but we must work to develop respect for it again: the job of growing into the physical body. Though not often recognized by experts in education and medical fields not familiar with scientist and philosopher Rudolf Steiner’s view of human life, it takes roughly seven years for a child to attain a physical body that is well developed and ready for learning in school. Early academic learning can often be a detriment to success in school, because something else has been bypassed: the neuro-developmental stages of the first seven years.

Consider house building: to commence building a house, we do not start with the wiring, wallpaper, kitchen or chimney. We start with the foundation because that is what everything else must rest upon in order for the house to stand, and so it is with our children. We must ensure that the foundation is there for all later learning to stand upon. If the foundation is not strong, then in grade school, high school, or beyond, unforeseen learning issues, including executive function problems, may arise.

A paradigm many Waldorf educators work with, given by Rudolf Steiner, is the framework of twelve senses. The senses of touch, taste, smell sight and hearing are of course in this grouping, but there are more. The first four form a group known as the Foundational Senses for obvious reasons. Upon the strength or weakness of these four senses that are hands down critical in the early years, the human being will meet the world with certainty and trust, or hesitation and fear. These foundational senses are: TOUCH, LIFE, SELF-MOVEMENT and BALANCE.

The Foundational Senses build three capacities in a child: Body Geography (knowing where the parts of your body are), Spatial Orientation (knowing where you are in space) and Dominance (having an established preference for one side of the body to do some tasks). These three capacities are basic in order for children to perform many practical activities from brushing teeth to writing words on a page and using machines both simple and complex.

The sense of touch

The sense of touch is already at work in utero-the growing fetus is able to sense contact with the placenta wall, plus her hands brush against her face as another touch experience. The onset of labor brings a strong impression of squeezing, pushing and meeting a boundary. If a vaginal birth follows at least several hours of labor, chances are that the newborn will have had a substantial experience of touch in the hours and moments before birth, due to the contraction of muscles in the mother’s uterus. If a child has experienced a fast birth (under 3 hours labor) or a caesarian birth, then it is very possible that the sense of touch was not so strongly experienced. Also, a vaginal birth of a low birth weight baby will have less of a strong tactile experience due to being smaller.

Fortunately, very firm swaddling is a time honored tradition known by midwives and hospital nurses the world over to give the child the touch boundary she needs, whether she is being held or not. Many cultures promote this practice for the first three months or more and for good reason-the firm pressure gives the infant a sense of safety because there is something firm pressing back against her, just as she felt in utero.

NICU babies are often wearing only a little plastic diaper, and there’s no firm swaddling. If they receive kangaroo care (skin to skin), the parents must hold the fragile baby extremely carefully as the skin is so delicate. But once these NICU babies are home, having some fat tissue and firmer skin, they especially need months of very firm swaddling and baby massage as their skin layers grows stronger.

Pediatrician Dr. Harvey Karp from California calls the first three months of life “the 4th trimester” for very good reasons and advocates firm swaddling as seen in his video and book, The Happiest Baby on the Block, www.happiestbaby.com. He adeptly demonstrates an infant being wrapped extremely tightly in a blanket, with the head free, and the baby calms. Otherwise a baby may feel at a loss and crying ensues. A deep touch experience via swaddling helps babies feel more physically at home in their bodies whether or not they missed a firm pressure experience from the birth process.

A baby is essentially merged with adult caretakers for several months. In a certain sense this extends for years; over time a child individuates and develops a stronger sense of self. It is not until around age 8 or 9 that the child feels truly separate from the world; this is a common age when loneliness is expressed. Firm loving touch that begins in infancy and extends for years is an important component in raising healthy children. Using the deep and also superficial layers of our skin, we learn where we end, and where something else in the world begins-a person, a blanket, a toy. We learn that we are separate from the world but through touch we also can connect to others. With firm loving touch, a child is comforted, sheltered and contained. Yet touch also enables us to experience boundaries that help us to feel separate from the things we encounter. Through having a strongly established sense of touch, a child is better poised to learn about boundaries both physical, verbal and social.

Tactile Defensiveness

Various issues may arise when the sense of touch has not received enough stimulation in infancy and in the early years. Also, some children with a standard vaginal birth and plenty of loving touch may still have sense of touch vulnerability for various reasons. Known as tactile defensiveness, this is a challenge for many children and has nothing to do with children being aggressive or irritable on purpose. These issues may not even show up until age ten or more. Some considerations are:

1. Although there are many reasons why a child may be anxious, including significant traumatic events, one possible symptom of tactile defensiveness is anxiety. Children who have a delicate touch sense may appear anxious; this feeling may physically reside more in the upper torso across the chest and shoulder blades. Adults can protect these vulnerable areas with hugs, firm shoulder squeezes, and clothing that covers shoulders and the upper chest.
2. A child may experience a light brush against the arm as a strong push, causing an overreaction. The adults are puzzled because they saw a light touch, yet to the child a great offence has occurred. Such a child may punch others in retaliation. Hitting is one way to protect oneself from a perceived threat, yet how often is it interpreted as an aggressive or inappropriate behavior?
3. A child may unconsciously refuse to stand in a line of children where the risk of getting bumped by others is likely, yet a teacher may see this as defiance instead. Likewise, a child may resist sitting with his back against the back of a chair, especially if it’s hard plastic. Conversely, a child may be too much “in someone’s face”, lacking a healthy sense of boundaries. When adults begin to observe a child’s situation with respect to the birth story and an understanding of tactile issues, a revelation may take place about why the child exhibits resistance to certain activities or may push too far.
4. A child may resist wearing layers of natural fibers, which are heavier than synthetic fibers, or resist wearing snug clothing, preferring a loose style without anything touching at the neck, waist, ankles and wrists, etc. Or a child may prefer to have a hooded sweatshirt on at all times, to give a boundary layer of protection from the world. A very sensitive child will hide under a hood as well, but it is worth knowing the birth history.

Mothers of twelve year old boys have told me their son will not wear underpants, socks, long sleeved shirts or anything close fitting. They wear the large baggy synthetic basketball shorts and a T-shirt, even in Vermont’s cold winters. Sometimes in these situations the sense of touch is so compromised that the child does not fully feel the effects of the cold. They are, literally and figuratively, “out of touch.”

5. Some children with tactile sensitivity seek out firm touch by crashing into people or objects, stomping around, or jumping off furniture or steps. All of these behaviors help a child to get the proprioceptive feedback he needs-feeling where his body, muscles and joints are in relation to the world around him. They seek what they need; they are not trying to destroy furniture.
6. Often these children crawl into bed with mom or dad in the night. They may wake up in their own beds and become anxious when they do not feel a boundary: “Where am I? Where do I end and where does the world begin?” So snuggling next to an adult provides that missing boundary. Sometimes the child truly does have emotional anxiety issues, but in this case there is a real physical anxiety. Putting the child to sleep with a firm bodied dog on the bed, firm body pillows or even in a sleeping bag for a cocoon experience are some strategies to help a child sleep better.
7. Other indicators of tactile defensiveness include not liking hugs from certain people (if the pressure is not right), a strong dislike of crowds and a dislike of haircuts (because it touches the head and face lightly, which is irritating). A colleague of mine told a story about a baby who cried all day when awake at home with the mother; as soon as the father came home and held the baby, he stopped crying. This naturally deflated the new mother’s self-esteem around parenting her child. Happily, this resolved when they realized the father was a football player who firmly squeezed his baby in contrast to the mother’s too gentle approach.
8. Last but not least, an insensitivity to other’s feelings. Equate a healthy tactile (touch) sense with a good sense of tact (respect and sensitivity for the other). Solid physical boundaries align with the development of healthier social boundaries, helping us be “in touch” with situations.

A Helpful Protocol:

A daily diet of firm pressure via strong hugs, cushion or futon squeezes and firm pressure massages can ameliorate the situation. Especially helpful is a morning, afternoon and bedtime routine that enables the child to feel more present in his skin, as illustrated below:

Here is a story of 4 year old boy, an only child, who was pushing others. The parents called and described their son’s hitting behavior at home and nursery school. Right away I thought that this may be a referral to a counselor but I said I was willing to observe. I arranged a time to come to their house for an hour, explaining that I would be a person coming for a cup of tea. After meeting the family and having a brief house tour, I asked the boy if he would show me his room and his toys.  Eager to oblige, off we went to his room. His wooden and plastic toys were in baskets and the books on a shelf. His room was calm, without clutter, and the bed was made. As we went back downstairs, I had a clear sense that this was a nice family but that perhaps I was not the person who could help them.

Then I sat at the kitchen counter while the mother prepared my tea. When she went to the refrigerator to retrieve the milk, her back was turned to me. Her son went right up behind her, placed both hands on her bottom, and gave her a shove forward. This was what I needed to see! We had our tea and then I left, looking forward to seeing the parents a few days later in my office.

When I asked them if their son was born by caesarian, they said he was. I explained to them what the repercussions of this were and they went home with my advice to play squeezing games in cushions, etc. A week later the mother returned a book I had loaned with a note saying, “In six days of doing the firm hugging and the squeezing games, the hitting behavior has significantly decreased.”

What can a parent do when the sense of touch is compromised?

Children with a compromised sense of touch need firm pressure activities that can become part of a daily diet for several months. Children do outgrow this issue for the most part, and the best way to help them is to play games and do massage at home. Henning Kohler states in his book Working with Anxious, Nervous and Depressed Children: “Anxious children need gentle firmness and protection.” I add here that they also need to experience joy and fun in healthy touch experiences, as in the photo above of my twin boys. Ideas include:

• Massage as tolerated, firm is best, especially to the whole back and shoulders
• Shoulder rubs, strong and long bear hugs. Hold gently but firmly
• Rough house play with siblings and parents (not too close to bedtime).
• Flying angels (parent on floor w/ legs raised up, child’s tummy on parent’s feet)
• Snow angels on floor or outside.
• Wrapping in blankets/quilts-cocoon or burrito, firm pressure applied (head out).
• Sandwich the child between pillows/cushions and lean your weight on them – just not on the head. Roll the child in a futon (head safely out)
• Sandbox play –Being buried up to the neck in sand at beach if child can tolerate it, or just the legs.
• Millet box “magic millet” – it’s wonderful to scoop hands in to find hidden gems. Millet also has a high silica content.
• Being allowed to run and crash into a stack of cushions or a padded wall.
• Hand clap games
• Rolling on the floor or grass
• Playing guessing games writing number or letters on the back.
• For sleeping, put long pillows on either side of the child, or put the dog on the bed – Labs are great. A child might like to be in a sleeping bag on the bed.
• Connect the activity with firm boundary, safety and security, and have fun.

Connie Helms works in private practice as an Extra Lesson teacher in Vermont with children, adolescents and adults. She is a consultant to Waldorf schools in the U.S., mentors Waldorf remedial teachers and serves on the board of the Association for a Healing Education. Connie is the mother of three young adult children who attended Waldorf schools from nursery through grade eight.

Source: http://www.conniehelms.com/sense-of-touch-issues-especially-for-caesarian-fast-birth-or-low-weight-babies/

The Sense of Balance

By Connie Helms

Balance is extremely important not only on a physical level but also on an emotional level. Recall that the foundational senses give us a foundation for life; therefore, it behooves us to make sure children have as many opportunities as possible in gaining mastery over their physical bodies. With secure bodily integration, the right environment is created for emotional and cognitive learning.  Forget the Baby Einstein videos and academic preschools. Body mastery must come first in order for the brain to be most receptive for all other learning.

Children innately work on the sense of balance all the time.  If near a curb, beam or a log, most children cannot resist the urge to walk across the narrow surface.  This serves to strengthen a sense we will have to use our whole lives. Notice that when people age and physical activity declines, the sense of balance weakens. This need not be the case; walking, yoga, dance, and other activities can keep balance strong into one’s senior years.

If balance is not strong, children may walk awkwardly and have trouble running and skipping. It is not uncommon for children to fall out of their chairs at school or at the dining table, because they do not fully know where their body is in space and their balance is weak.

The sense of balance is also called the vestibular sense. The central mechanism of balance is located in our inner ear, where the vestibular apparatus consists of two small sacs plus three semicircular canals, at right angles to each other and each in a different plane of space. Fluid in each canal sends feedback to the brain about orientation in space: left/right, front/back and up/down. When these sensory receptors are not functioning well, misleading information goes to the brain. However, when the receptors are working properly, the body makes adjustments easily because the information going to the brain is matched on each side of the head. Imagine if you are sitting in a chair and someone comes behind you and tips it back or to the side. Your sense of balance, if strong, helps you to make a quick adjustment to stay in the chair.

Vision and proprioception also help us to maintain balance. We know how hard it is to stand on one foot if our eyes are closed. That’s because sensory receptors in our eyes send messages to our brain that help us to maintain balance. Proprioception, discussed in the sense of movement articles, is knowing where our body is in space. We learn this through feedback from our muscles and joints. Looking at a sideways view of an upright human, you will notice the joints that line up with the vestibular system in the ear: jaws, shoulders, elbows, wrists, pelvis, knees, ankles. All of these joints and the nearby muscles, especially the neck muscles and the ankles, give feedback to the brain, to help us balance whether we are on a flat surface, a hill, or a log.

Here’s a wonderful example of the drive to work on balance. While visiting a Kindergarten at a Waldorf school, I observed a five year old girl set up an elaborate elevated walkway. Molly, as I’ll call her, and some children took a few low chairs and set them near each other, then set a six foot plank (5 “wide) across two chairs spaced apart, and a few shorter planks on other chairs and large wooden blocks. The whole walkway consisted of low chairs and planks: it was a three sided square that was two feet off the ground, but at the end of the long section, there was a slide where the children could slide down on their knees and meet the floor. Molly carried a large doll in one arm and began to walk across the structure. Other girls and boys followed, some being cautious and some just breezing along. Molly took perhaps a dozen trips around. A couple times she fell (once a board collapsed) but she got up with doll intact, fixed the boards as though nothing had happened and resumed her walk. On the other hand, a new girl in the classroom was very busy in the house corner, setting the table and making soup. When she finally noticed that the all the other children were now at the walkway, she was prompted by her inner voice to try it.  She was extremely hesitant; across the long plank she walked sideways, the safest way, even with friendly encouragement from another child. One trip was enough, and back she went to the security of the house corner.  A week later, the teacher told me that the newcomer was getting bolder in her forays into challenging movement tasks. Thank goodness this type of classroom so beautifully provided these children the opportunities to improve their foundation skills.

Connie Helms works in private practice as an Extra Lesson teacher in Vermont with children, adolescents and adults. She is a consultant to Waldorf schools in the U.S., mentors Waldorf remedial teachers and serves on the board of the Association for a Healing Education. Connie is the mother of three young adult children who attended Waldorf schools from nursery through grade eight.

Source: https://thewonderofchildhood.com/2012/01/the-sense-of-balance/

Touch Becoming Trust

How the young child finds relationship to the world, to others and the sense of self

By Holly Koteen-Soule

Social distancing and other protocols that have been put into place to protect our families and particularly vulnerable populations has created a truly challenging quandary for Waldorf early childhood teachers. The young child lives in the joy of movement and discovers the world through wide-open senses, especially the sense of touch.

Touch is the primary means by which a child comes into relationship with another human being and discovers the world, as well as a dawning sense of self. Loving touch from a caring human being invites the child to come into his or her body. Through touching (and with babies and toddlers, tasting) the child establishes what is “not-I” and with each new experience, the beginning sense of who is doing the touching. Sometimes, even for adults, touch can be the surest way to find the truth of a situation.

There is, in addition to physical touch, a secondary aspect that is described by Henning Kohler. When we touch something physically, we resonate inwardly in response to its inherent characteristic quality. A colleague called this the soul sense of touch. This process of resonating happens for the child unconsciously, but it is nonetheless a foundational experience for the child’s future capacity for fine-tuned discrimination. If we add this secondary aspect to the primary one of “not-I” and “I, which forms the basis for awareness of self, in later life this becomes our sense for the “I of another human being”, according to Rudolf Steiner. This could be called our spiritual sense of touch.

It would seem impossible to replace the role of touch in the development of the young child and in the EC teacher’s relationship with the young child. Fortunately, children are sheltering in place with their families and touch experiences are not restricted in the home. While we are hopeful that the current situation is temporary, teachers are having to make accommodations for a range of restrictions when school resumes in the fall.

What kinds of physical touch activities can we offer? Certainly, we will offer lots of free time in nature. Perhaps we can rework typical games to involve giving oneself a variety of movement and touch experiences. It has also occurred to me that rhythm can be very supportive of touch, because in its essence, it is a kind of “taking hold and letting go.“ Ideally, we take hold and let go in a regular or predictable sequence. Many EC teachers have supported families during this time in understanding the importance of rhythm for their children at home.

A predictable rhythm helps a child feel more secure, but these are uncertain times for all of us. We may also have to lend to our children our own willingness to live courageously with the uncertainty of the current situation. The children can easily “touch” into our inner soul state and will sense and feel what we feel. So, a deepened understanding and consciousness of rhythm and the recognition of the importance of our own inner mood are two ways that we can support the child’s sense of touch and sense of trust.

A third way to work with touch is related to the secondary aspect of touch- resonance. How can we heighten our attunement to the children, individually and as a group? We have all experienced anxiety in the past months and perhaps, even trauma. A heightened attunement might mean that we are on the watch for behaviors that indicate that the children are still feeling uncertain. Are specific therapeutic activities being called for? Do we need to adjust our expectations, simplify our schedule, or smooth out our transitions? It might mean that we need to work closely with our colleagues to review our day together and share what each of us has noticed about individual children. It might also mean intensifying our imaginative, meditative work in the evening before sleep.

A fourth possibility that has occurred to me is to support the children’s sense of touch is through story. At one point in his research on the twelve senses, Rudolf Steiner indicated that there is an aspect of touch in all of the senses. We are especially aware of this with the sense of sight. We can easily feel as though we are reaching out and touching something or someone with our eyes. We can also see, feel, smell and taste things that are described verbally.

The pictures that we bring through the telling of a story, whether it is a simple nature story, a fairy tale, or a puppet play, are actually evocative of all the senses, touch included! If we are able to really live into the pictures and sounds ourselves, they will live even more strongly for the children. The child can feel “touched” and comforted by our own relationship with the mood, the pictures, the beauty of the language and the wonder of the story as a whole.

Understanding touch more deeply will, I think, help us prepare for how to meet the children as they return to our Waldorf classrooms in the fall. It may also make us better teachers, even when we are able , once again, to hug our loved ones and give free rein to the children’s natural inclination to touch and be touched by the wondrous world in which we all live.

Source: https://files.constantcontact.com/a44aea7c001/92ce58a6-c9f0-415b-a406-b2d29bde936e.pdf