Nurturing and Celebrating the Young Child

Proposed Caldwell Early Life Center

When greeting one another, the Masai people of east Africa ask a question they know is key to the well-being and the future of their culture-"How are the children?"

Mahatma Gandhi, a sage leader and observer of human nature, also understood that the health of a society is determined by the quality of the lives of its children.

Through the work of the Caldwell Early Life Center, Rudolf Steiner College is creating a model that allows us to respond to the Masai question with a powerful and life-affirming: "The children are well and happy-and growing stronger every day."

This has been an exciting year for Caldwell Early Life Center program development as we realized important aspects of our vision.

In January 2004, we opened a pilot daycare on campus-the LifeWays Children's Center-using an innovative mixed-age family style model. Our goal is to establish a demonstration center for healthy, nurturing daycare so needed today. We are learning much from this pilot as we plan for the complete daycare program that will occupy a significant portion of the Early Life Center complex when it is built.

Throughout the year, parent education initiatives flourished. An on-campus Family Ways program was in full swing from September on, while beginning last spring, a program in downtown Sacramento for homeless women took place through a partnership with Women's Empowerment, a community service agency. This collaboration, and another with the Sacramento County Department of Human Assistance, is allowing us to serve families-in-need in our local area.

In August, we completed the first session of a new LifeWays Childcare Provider Training. This one-year course for caregivers working in home- or center-based daycare focuses on healthy development of the senses, continuity of care, and development of mind and body, with strong emphasis on relationship-based care.

These activities supporting children from birth to age six and their families add another dimension to the already vigorous early childhood program that Rudolf Steiner College offers: Full- and part-time trainings for early childhood teachers, public lectures and workshops, and many summer courses.

By early September, we had gathered a diverse and prestigious Advisory Board for the Caldwell Early Life Center made up of educators, researchers, pediatricians, artists, well-known authors, movement specialists, education activists, and a filmmaker-all deeply committed to the protection and support of healthy childhood.

In the year ahead, we look forward to strengthening programs and activities, including reaching out to families-in-need, and completing the final phase of our Capital Campaign to build the Early Life Center.

The major focus for 2005 is raising the $1.3 million still needed to build the $2.3 million Early Life Center so that expanding early childhood work at the College will have a home on our campus. These funds will supplement the $1 million gift made several years ago by a generous benefactor, the late J. Emott Caldwell, for whom the Early Life Center is named. Plans for the proposed center-which is designed by Bert Chase, architect of other major building projects on our campus-have been completed and submitted to Sacramento County for approval.

Perhaps there has never been a more critical time for Steiner-based initiatives for young children to contribute to the national dialogue on what constitutes healthy childhood. Who could have imagined even a decade ago that the picture for healthy development of young children would be so daunting? We hear discouraging reports about the crisis in childcare and family life, the disappearance of creative play from the child's school and, yes, even home life, the overwhelming bombardment of the child's senses, lack of healthy movement so essential for brain development, and growing pressure on teachers and caregivers to bring formal, even scripted, academic instruction to younger and younger children.

Clearly, we join with leading child development experts and researchers who perceive that the answer to the Masai query would not be a happy one, but rather: "The children are ailing, therefore, our future may be in jeopardy."

Caldwell Early Life Center programs protect the wonder and joy of childhood, including the child"s right to learn through creative play. They demonstrate developmentally appropriate caregiving and education to support parents, childcare providers, and teachers, validating what brain research and traditional wisdom point to as optimal practices for the early years. We welcome your support and participation as we continue to take up the challenge of nurturing our youngest children, creating a beacon of hope for today and tomorrow.

 

The Early Years

Imagine a center created by a community where the early years of life are nurtured, celebrated, and protected; a center where the unfolding authenticity of every child is recognized, respected, and cared for; a center where childhood itself is valued. It is a place where babies are seen as having “spirits yet streaming from loftiness,” where toddlers can move freely to explore sand and grass and wind and water, where 3-6 year olds feed the animals or play imaginatively to their hearts’ content.

Imagine too, that this center warmly welcomes the adults who are entrusted with the care of young children. It professionally trains early childhood teachers and childcare providers who research and study the full spectrum of child development from pre-birth to six years old, along with age-appropriate storytelling and puppetry, singing, movement, and handwork—learning all the skills of the social, domestic, and nurturing arts.

Students in training at this center transform themselves and emerge as graduates with diplomas and certificates that enable them to work in various early childhood roles in the community.

And they often return to this resource center for workshops, courses, and conferences to renew their inspiration, network with colleagues, and deepen their understanding of child and family life by dipping into the insights of leading early development researchers.

Families with young children also frequently visit this center. Here they can consider optimal home environments for young children. They can learn more about good nutrition, or home remedies for illness, or they can just simply meet and talk with other parents about the joys and challenges of raising young children today. There are parenting programs with or without children to participate in at this center, and there are cozy indoor and outdoor gathering places for spontaneous conversations. There is both a lending library and a friendly resource store where they can borrow or purchase books, videos, toys or materials. There are community festivals too, that mark the changing seasons.

Elders and teens also visit and volunteer, bringing their wisdom and energy especially to the childcare portion of the center. Wednesday, for example, is grandparents' day in the childcare suites and "Grandma Kay" and "Grandma Rosemary" are helping with the babies. Thirteen-year old Bob is working hard to wheelbarrow new sand into the sand box, and sixteen year old Susan is helping to fix snack.

Often too, the vital ideas, life, and practices of this center are so flourishing that they spill over into schools, childcare centers and neighborhoods-inspiring new programs and activities at community colleges, and in community service organizations serving families-in-need.

This vision of the Caldwell Early Life Center at Rudolf Steiner College is becoming a reality. We welcome your interest and enthusiasm for its growth and development, and invite you to participate.

- Rena Osmer, MA
   Director, Early Childhood Programs

On May 7, 2005, Rudolf Steiner College and California State University, Sacramento cosponsored a major educational conference, along with other collaborators, that focused on protecting the spirit of childhood. Following is an excerpt from the conference brochure.

Protecting The Spirit of Childhood

• Hear from two internationally recognized authorities on brain development and learning.
• Explore the risks of asking children to master skills before they are neurologically and developmentally ready-too much too soon. Explore why so many American children suffer from learning and behavioral challenges.
• Reconnect to research-based approaches that nurture a love of learning and children's emotional/cognitive health, leading to their school success.
• Receive powerful support if you are concerned that the child's legitimate play, movement, and learning needs are being set aside too frequently in favor of a "push-down" curriculum.

Jane Healy, Ph.D. An award-winning, internationally recognized authority on brain development, Jane Healy has been an educational psychologist and educator for more than 35 years. Her major research focus is finding practical application of current brain research for teachers and parents. Her books include: Your Child's Growing Mind, Endangered Minds-Why Children Don't Think and What We Can Do About It, and Failure to Connect-How Computers Affect Our Children's Minds.

Bruce D. Perry, M.D., Ph.D. An internationally known authority on children in crisis, Dr. Perry is the senior fellow at the ChildTrauma Academy in Houston. Dr. Perry's work has been instrumental in describing how traumatic events in childhood change the biology of the brain. He lectures extensively, is author of more than 200 journal articles, book chapters, and scientific proceedings, and is the recipient of a variety of professional awards.

Sponsored by: The Caldwell Early Life Center at Rudolf Steiner College; California State University Sacramento; Richards Institute/Education through Music; Alliance for Childhood; Child Action, Inc.; Sacramento County Department of Human Assistance; Susan Kendall Newman/Paul Newman-Newman's Own; Alice C. Tyler Perpetual Trust; Rudolf Steiner Foundation; Harcom Foundation

Workshops

1. Pressured Preschoolers: Prescription for Trouble with Jane Healy
   Although formal instruction is increasingly replacing imaginative play and experiential hands-on learning in the early years of our children's lives, there is no evidence that this push for early academics has any lasting advantage for children. In fact, early pressures can result in problems with motivation, achievement, and even create learning disabilities that might not otherwise have emerged.
2. Literacy for Life: Developing Skills of Children Ages Three and Four-An Alternative to Academic Intervention in Early Childhood with Robert Anderson
   A positive alternative to the imposition of formal literacy instruction in preschool programs for children ages three and four. Emphasizing qualities of an excellent preschool program that nurtures language capacities in developmentally appropriate ways. Robert Anderson, MA, educational consultant, was formally an administrator of the Standards and Assessment Division, California Department of Education.
3. Play: Truly Developmentally Appropriate Practice for the Young Child with Renatta Cooper
   Parents and teachers can join forces on behalf of the young child. We know that play is the best curriculum for the young child: The wisdom of ages and leading research support this, and current trends toward eliminating play and movement are headed in the wrong direction. Renatta Cooper, MA, Educational Coordinator of the L.A. County Office of Child Care and a Commissioner with First 5 L.A., was on the faculty of Pacific Oaks College for 21 years.
4. Healing Children with Attentional and Learning Challenges through Healthy Movements with Susan Johnson, MD
   through Healthy Movements with Susan Johnson, MD Non-competitive, harmonious, and rhythmic movement form the neural pathways later used for reading, writing, spelling, mathematics, and creative thinking. Dr. Johnson, formerly Assistant Clinical Professor at University of California, San Francisco and a physician consultant for San Francisco Unified School District, draws from her eighteen-year experience as a behavioral and developmental pediatrician.
5. Singing Games with Anna Rainville
   Traditional and new songs and dances to build community for families, classrooms, and community. Anna Rainville, MA, teaches in both public and Waldorf schools and was recipient of the 2002 Audrey Sanchez Teacher Enhancement Award from the California Kindergarten Association.
6. Supporting the Foundations of Literacy: Developmentally Appropriate Approaches in Infant-Toddler Programs with Janet Gonzalez-Mena
   The importance of security, trusting relationships and the freedom to explore in safe, low-stress environments provide what babies need to underpin skills for later reading success. Janet Gonzalez Mena, MA, author and educator, is on the faculty of The WestEd Program for Infant-Toddler Caregivers and serves on the board of the Pikler/Loczy Fund USA.
7. Puppetry and Early Literacy with Trish Lambert
   Through puppetry the young child experiences language and culture. Experience and discuss puppet plays and learn techniques to enhance children's literacy development. Trish Lambert, a Waldorf educator for ten years, directs a LifeWays home childcare program.
8. Holistic Approaches to Help Traumatized Preschool Children Prepare for School with Nancy Compton
   This workshop will focus on the effects on young children of experiencing trauma and ways to help them recover so they can perform to their fullest potential. Nancy C. Compton, PhD, is an associate professor at the Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Francisco, and assistant professor in the graduate Department of Psychology at UC Berkeley. On staff at the UCSF Child Trauma Research Project, she is the Research Director of the Whole Child Initiative.
9. Ambientes Bellos y Enriquecedores para el Cuidado de Niños con Rosario Villasana-Ruiz
   Aprenda como transformer ambientes de cuidado de niños parar apoyar y nutrir los sentidos, despertar el sentido de maravilla, curiosidad y el cuidado respetuoso del medio ambiente. Deshagase de salones de clase institucionales sin vida y desordenados. Rosario Villasana-Ruiz, MA, maestra con City College of San Francisco, Especialista del Desarrollo Infantil con el Children's Council of San Franicsco, y Coordinadora de Programas Comunitarios del Caldwell Early Life Center.
10. Giving Love, Bringing Joy: Interactive Touching Games and Nursery Rhymes for Infants and Toddlers with Rena Osmer
    Explore touch and early childhood development, learn interactive games, foster healthy foundations for literacy. Rena Osmer, MA, directs Early Childhood Education at Rudolf Steiner College. She serves on the Board of the Waldorf Early Childhood Association of North America and is the North American representative to the International Waldorf Early Childhood Association.
11. Movimiento y Juego con Elsa Chahín
    Exploramos el papel critico del juego para el desarrollo del cerebro según los principios de cuidado infantil creados por Doctora Emmi Pikler en Hungaria hace 75 años. Estos principios incluyen el juego sin interrupciones, uso de jugetes simples, y permiso para moverse libremente el el medio ambiente en su propia manera. Elsa Chahín es Asociada Certificada RIE trabajando con padres y cuidadores de niños de nacimiento a tres años. Certificada en Educación de Lactación por UCLA, ella trabaja con madres postnatal en L.A.
12. El Crecimiento Auténtico con Erica Orosco
    Aprenda como crear una relación saludable y respetuosa con su hijo e con niños bajo su cuidado. Este taller provee una oportunidad para trabajar en y reflejar sobre nuestra propia autenticidad y el papel que esto juega en el desarrollo de confianza en el niño. Erica Orosco, Asociada con RIE (Resources for Infant Educarers, facilita clases RIE para padres/niños y trabaja con una coperativa de escuela-hogar.
13. Working with the Whole Child with Bernadette Raichle
    A glimpse into an innovative, mixed-age, home-based daycare- the Awhina Day Nursery in New Zealand. A model emphasizing relationship-based care that nurtures the whole child-body, soul, and spirit. Bernadette Raichle co-directs the Awhina Day Nursery and Kindergarten, and leads workshops on family life and care of the young child.

Copyright 2005, Rudolf Steiner College