Handwork in the Kindergarten
Blog written by Edith van der Meer
After more than 30 years as a handwork teacher, early childhood teacher, and adult educator in Steiner Waldorf settings, handwork in the kindergarten remains close to my heart. I hold deep respect for the rich, developmentally-sequenced handwork curriculum taught in Steiner schools worldwide. Children love it and it belongs in the primary years, when they are ready.
Today, however, we often want everything too soon. In many kindergartens and early childhood settings we see pom-pom making, finger knitting, stitching, doll-making, weaving and woodworking offered to very young children. We must ask ourselves why. Are these activities filling time, keeping older children still, or working toward an adult-set outcome? When instruction is required, we can easily call upon forces not yet fully developed in the child under seven years of age.
In early childhood, handwork is simply the work of the hands; rolling bread dough, digging in sand, cutting, folding, washing dishes, buttering bread, building with blocks, picking daisies. These tasks strengthen the will, develop dexterity and fine motor skills, and arise naturally throughout the day. The human hand is extraordinary, and using it meaningfully is essential to healthy development.
Young children learn through imitation, not instruction. When adults engage in real, purposeful work such as sweeping, gardening, sewing, and mending, the child absorbs not just the activity but the quality of our focused will. This is ‘body-building’ for the child.
Parents and teachers can make beautiful, useful things in the presence of children without needing the child to join in. Crafting, sewing, felting, or preparing food all help to hold the space for children’s deep imaginative play. A small basket of real materials can be available, and children may join when they are ready, taking their work in their own direction.
A healthy Steiner/Waldorf kindergarten is full of rhythm, movement, and rich opportunities for the hands. It is not built on outcomes or products. As Michael Howard reminds us, we do not teach arts and crafts in the early childhood years; we create opportunities for children to experience art as a natural part of life.
What holds the space for play is the rhythmic activity of the adults like knitting, carding wool, sweeping, baking, gardening, repairing, drawing, and singing. These activities carry a gentle hum that supports children to settle deeply into their imaginative life. Conversely, activities that remove us mentally such as phones, computers, reading do not hold the space, and children feel that difference immediately.
You know things are working well when your own activity and the children’s relaxed, engaged play are in harmony.
And that is why we do handwork… and the children play.
Children watering the garden