In the Waldorf Kindergarten the annual rhythm is the fabric which underlies all of the work. This rhythm is lived in harmony with nature and in agreement with the seasons of the year. The children develop according to their own rhythm, just like nature. In this way, the experience that everything is cyclical and repeats itself not only gives the children a sense of security and well-being, it also offers them an integral factor to their own growth.
The annual rhythm experienced by the children is aligned with the transformations which happen in nature during the four seasons and through the preparations and celebrations of feasts which unite the cosmic and spiritual between nature’s rhythms and human beings.
The year starts in autumn with Saint Michael and the harvests; Winter and Christmas; Spring and Easter; Summer and Saint John are the four main events each year. These are complemented with other celebrations of great relevance.
Autumn
This season calls upon courage and introspection to face the darkness of the long nights and the apparent death that appears in nature. The season inspires retreat so that the cultivation of internal light allows a meeting with ourselves. This is the process of conscious internalizing of life’s processes.
Celebration of St. Michael
As a search for courage to face internal fears, this celebration is for the children and the classroom team.
Harvest Celebration – (date to be scheduled annually)
This is gratitude to Mother Earth for everything we harvest for our food and subsistence.
St. Martin and The Lantern Celebration – November 11
This celebration symbolizes solidarity and the spirit of sharing in a season in which nature undresses. It indicates a way to our internal light.
Advent – 4 Sundays before December 25th
The annunciation of a birth, and a possibility of rebirth and renewal. This is the season of hope and reverence for infancy’s mystery. The advent garden symbolizes a progressive revelation of the being who is born, this celebration is for the children and the classroom team.
Winter
The season of faith and hope for the gestation of seeds, their future germination and the rebirth of life.
Christmas Celebration
The Christmas party celebrates the birth of Christ, carrier of life and universal love.
Celebration of Epiphany – January 6th
This symbolizes the reverence of the son of God born, the arrival of the spiritual kingdom to the earth kingdom
Celebration of Carnival
This celebration allows the exorcism of fears and human imperfections through masks as one experiences the perfection and purification of oneself. It is a moment shared between children, families and the Kindergarten. Thematic experiences aligned with the observations are created by the school team. The transformation of the classrooms and the creation of a unique environment for this celebration make it a unique experience for the children.
Spring
This is the gorgeous season of gifts, the celebration of fertility found in the various manifestations of life and the welcoming of light which is growing. Nature takes shape, colour and structure and this provides security, stability and joy. This feeds the meeting and creating of ties between each other.
Celebration of Easter
This is the season of cleaning, internal and external purification, and the celebration of the rebirth of life. In nature it’s the moment to work the land to plant again. The symbols are an egg (fertility) and a hare (gift of life to the group). This celebration happens in the classrooms and in the outside area of the Kindergarten and it is organized by the classroom team and the children.
Celebration of the Ascension
The day of cob where the fertility of earth and plants germinating and flowering is celebrated.
Celebration of Pentecost – 50 days after Easter
This is a celebration of friendship and of the joy of being in brotherhood with others. It gives value to the individual in the middle of the group. Peace, truth and purity are symbolized by the colour white. This celebration happens in the classrooms and the outside area of the Kindergarten being organized by the school team and the children.
Summer
This is the season of ecstasy and the arrival of heat, light and abundance. The celebration is by fire which elevates us. Also the cosmos comes closer as planet earth is closer to the sun. The abundance and the fruits that the earth has ripened are celebrated.
Celebrations of the Children of the Sun
This is the celebration at the end of the year for the children and families who have finished this cycle in the Kindergarten and who will move on to a new phase in the first grade.
Celebration of St. John – June 24th
This is the celebration of heat and the purifying fire of St. John. Geniality and sharing in the camaraderie of the group are also celebrated. This is the graceful moment of closing the year where the families and school team organize traditional games and activities in the outside area for the children.