An environment that sparks wonder and learning doesn’t come from a predesigned set of decor, textiles,  and toys or books, even though there are some typical images of calming and beautiful Waldorf classrooms that might initially come to your mind. However, the environment is essentially ALL that surrounds a child that he may observe, discover, experience, and sense. She takes it all in and connects the dots of how the world and people “work” whether subconsciously or fully aware. It is as if it is the very air the child breathes in and out is carrying information or as Charlotte Mason called it "ideas that rule life." “Did you know that your child is learning just from living in the same house and doing life alongside you? He is absorbing, probably unconsciously, some of the same ideas that rule your life—ideas about what you think about yourself, ideas about how you relate to others, ideas about handling money, ideas about responding to authority, ideas about what is most important in life. All of those ideas make up the atmosphere of your home, and it is that atmosphere that is educating your child as a person.”

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What are those ‘ideas that rule life’ and learning going to be? Rudolf Steiner set forth guiding principles of mutual respect, rhythms, curriculum, methods of teaching, and more to create an environment that will spark the child’s curiosity, love of learning, appreciation, and connection with the people and the world around them. 

 

Creating an environment that will positively shape a child starts with the teachers themselves. All humans first learn through imitation and giving the children a teacher that is worthy of imitation sets the beginnings of the educational environment. Waldorf teachers go through an in depth training on principles and philosophies that embrace each individual child and see them not as just another student being trained to enter the workforce and become consumers, but a unique individual being with a body, a soul, and a spirit. All of these different parts play an intricate role in who they are, how they learn and experience this world. When the different parts of the child are respected and engaged the child learns, connects with the material presented to them, and “then crosses the threshold of knowledge to action” (https://aura.antioch.edu/etds/339/). 

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The focus then goes to the information and topics of study. They are presented by the teachers using very intentional and experiential methods allowing lots of opportunities for observation, critical thinking, and reflecting in application. The information is reviewed and revisited through many forms to connect with in the three areas of the human being, or as some have modernly deemed it, heart, hand and mind. “We often get hung up on whether our children remember certain facts, don’t we? …education is focused on much more than just remembering. We don’t want our children to just parrot back memorized bits of information. We want them to have a personal experience with ideas, to take those ideas into the inner courts of their minds and hearts, to ponder them and allow those ideas to guide their thinking and their habits, to shape how they view the world. That’s true knowledge” (School Education, p. 224) Some methods used to create those personal connections are storytelling, movement, music, various forms of art and literature, creation of their own main lesson books, hands on experiments, drama plays, and more. This type of education is compared to presenting a feast before the children. 

Also, just as important as formal lessons, is having open ended play in two forms: inside with carefully curated materials and then plenty of time outside in nature. Many studies have shown the benefits of free play, especially outdoors with natural materials. It leads to better emotional wellbeing, a much wider variety of play, stimulation of the senses, movement of the body, increased cognitive skills and imagination along with cooperative play. 

 

All of these different aspects help create an environment where the children can feast on quality ideas to guide their life.