On April 16 this year, third- and fifth-year students of the unified master’s degree program and first-year students of the complementary master’s degree program had the opportunity to learn more about the idea and principles of Waldorf pedagogy. The students were welcomed by the staff of the kindergarten, the smell of wood and flowers, and a table with wonderful brews and cookies. After sharing refreshments, everyone felt taken care of, surrounded by kindness and smiles. Courtesy of Director Lidia Michalovich, the students participated in numerous activities for several hours. Through personal involvement, they experienced the specifics of how a Waldorf kindergarten operates. They became familiar with the preschool’s work principles, the rhythm of the day and week, as well as the unique atmosphere of the preschool resulting from the excellently trained staff and the appropriately landscaped environment. The students took part in movement games, painting and the aforementioned shared meal. At the end, there was time to ask questions and view photos, which captured the preschoolers playing, drawing, baking gingerbread cookies, sewing, tinkering, cleaning, and doing all sorts of activities in the preschool garden. The culmination of the visit was the theater.
It was difficult for us to part, as new questions kept coming up. The ladies teachers answered all the questions with great willingness and comprehensively. We would like to thank very much all the staff of the non-public Waldorf kindergarten in Warsaw, 79 Żytnia Street, for the time given and hospitality. It was an excellent dose of practical knowledge.
The meeting was organized by the Department of Pre-school and Early Childhood Pedagogy.