Gateways

Gateways is the newsletter of the Waldorf Early Childhood Association of North America and is the professional journal for those working with young children in Waldorf early childhood settings - kindergartens, play groups, home care programs, parent/child classes and child care centers. Gateways is published twice each year, in the fall and spring.

To order subscriptions or back issues, please contact the Waldorf Early Childhood Association of North America, 285 Hungry Hollow Road, Spring Valley, NY 10977. Tel 845-352-1690. Fax 845-352-1695. Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

The Online Waldorf Library offers Gateways articles from 1995, Issue #29, to the present.

An index of the most recent issues can be found on the first page, an index and articles of older issues can be found by scrolling down.

Gateways

Index of the most recent issues

Fall 2022, Issue 83

From the Editor by Nancy Blanning

Focus - Healing Gestures
Simple Puppetry as a Pathway to Living Thinking by Philipp Reubke
Welcoming a Child Refugee from Ukraine by Karen Imhof
Living in Our Times by Louise deForest
An Introduction to Cultural Appropriation, Appreciation, and Celebration by Joaquin Muñoz
Movement Toward Tolerance by Nancy Blanning
Ecology of the Social: An Exploration of Collaborative Arts by Janene Ping
Letter to the Editor: A response to the Spring 2022 issue by Aimee de Ney

Transitions
In Memory of Betty Peck by Anna Rainville
In Memory of Dorothy Olsen by Ruth Ker and others

For the Classroom
Protection Stories with the story "Grandmother's Hat" by Suzanne Down
Binging Cultural Consciousness Through Stories and Circles with the story "Blackberry Bunnies" by Holly Koteen Soule
The Little Squirrel Story by Wendalyn von Meyenfeldt

Book Reviews and Announcements
Birth to Three in Education and Care: Rudolf Steiner, Emmi Pikler and the Very Young Child - Edited by Heather Church, reviewed by Nancy Blanning
Toward a Kinder, More Compassionate Society: Working Together Toward Change - Forthcming 2023 from WECAN
Educating Traumatized Children by Bernd Ruf

Spring 2022, Issue 82

From the Editor by Nancy Blanning

Focus - Consideration of Festivals
Reflections on Diversity by Anjum Mir
Developing Our Thinking About Festivals by Jill Tina Taplin
Cultivating Festival Life - an And, Also Approach by Meagan Rose Wilson
A Roadmap for Renewed Festival Life by Stephen Spitalny
An Invitation to Open Our Hearts Creating the Festivals for Our Time by Somer Serpe
Heart Seeds Take Root by Holly Koteen Soule
Thoughts on Michaelmas by Aimee de Ney
Story Telling and Puppetry Festival Arts by Janene Pink

For the Classroom
I Had a Dream: A Singing Game to Honor Rev. Martin Luther King by Holly Koteen Soule
The Village Pot: An Active Circle Imagination by Nancy Blanning
Bhambhutia - Retold by Holly Koteen Soule
The Weaving of Karu and Resa by Annie Sommerville-Hall

Book Reviews
The Five Golden Keys by Helle Heckman, reviewed by Laura Mason
Loving Care for the Child Under Three by Helle Heckman and colleagues, reviewed by Heather Church
Child of Nature by Rikke Rosengren, reviewed by Nancy Blanning

Fall 2021, Issue 81

From the Editor by Nancy Blanning

Focus _ Both/And: Recognizing Diversity and Affirming Roots
Towards a Kinder, More Compassionate Society: Notes on Presentations by Laleña Garcia
Our Journey by Otsistohkwi:yo (Melissa Elliott)
The Lakota Waldorf School by Fallen Sorbel, Joyce Little Whiteman and Laurie Clark
Bilingual, Bicultrural Children in a Waldorf School Early Childhood Classroom by Karen Imhof
The Healing Power of Shelter Play by Pauline Hanna
A Strip of Fruitful land Between Stream and Stone by Myrthe Jentgens
Aspects of Social Media Influence in Early Childhood by Karen Fjestad

Transitions
Freya Jaffke - In Memoriam
Companioning Our Children- A Tribute and Thanks to Henning Köhler as Guide by Nancy Blanning
Inspiration from the Work of Henning Köhler by Laurie Clark

For the Classroom
Gluskabi and the Wind Eagle retold by Holly Koteen Soulé
Gatopato and Princess Molinda by Maria Elena Walsh, translated and adapted by Manuela di Mattei
The Thank You House Song by Denise Crenshaw, adapted by Jennifer Voggesser
Creating a World Family at Advent Time by Holly Koteen Soulé

Book Reviews
Stories to Light the Night by Susan Perrow, reviewed by Nancy Blanning
Truer Than True: A World of Fairy Tales for the Waldorf Kindergarten, Edited by Holly Koteen Soulé, reviewed by Nancy Blanning

Spring 2021, Issue #80

From the Editor by Nancy Blanning

Focus - A Call to Conversation
2020: A Year in Review by Holly Koteen-Soule
Tending the Fire: The Forging of WECAN by the Early Childhood Research Group
School Contemplation: A Potent Tool for Waldorf Schools in Challenging Times by Laurie Clark
Reconsidering the Good, the Beautiful, and the True by Stephanie Hoelscher
Opening the Conversation on White Privilege and Racial Justice by Marieke Duijneveld
Reimagining Story by Steve Spitalny
Honoring Diversity: Inclusion through Puppets and Dolls by Chris Shaw

Looking to Waldorf Early Childhood Essentials
Building a Bridge of Trust by Jane Philipson
The Art of the Transition by Roxanne Gregory-Anthony
A Comparison of Waldorf, Montessori and Reggio Emilia in the Eary Childhood Years by Renee Schwartz

For the Classroom
Diversity Stories for Spring and Summer by Leslie Woolverton
Birthday Stories for Martin Luther King by Jessica Oswald
Honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Through Our Daily Kindergarten Life by Laura Esposito
Two Movement Imaginations by Betty Jones

In Memoriam - Ann Pratt

Book Reviews
Reclaiming Early Childhood by Sebastian and Tamara Suggate, reviewed by Bernhard Schmalenbach
Don't Look Away by Iheoma U. Iruka, et al., reviewed by Laura Mason

Fall 2020, Issue # 79

From the Editor by Nancy Blanning

Focus - Building Relationship
Dismantling Racism is the Call of Our Time by Lynn Turner
Thoughts on Diversity by Leslie Woolverton
Internalized Racism and the Imitative Nature of the Young Child by Magdalena Toran
Respect for the Individual and Cultivating Community by Dawn Warfield
Respecting Diversity and Finding Unity in a Waldorf School by Jeffrey Kane
Hope, a Tonic for the Future by Laurie Clark
Developing Inner Eyes to See by Carol St. Johns
"Collecting our Children" in Waldorf Schools by Gail Nielsen
Like a Butterfly: Acknowledging a Child's Death by Allison Resnik

Transitions - In Memory of Margret Meyerkort
Margret Meyerkort: A Tribute by Janet Kellman
Margret Alice Meyerkort: A Life Devoted to Waldorf Early Childhood Education
Margret Meyerkort's Birthday Story

For the Classroom
Soleil and the Mermaid by Mindy Wecker
A Seasonal Treasury of Diversity Stories by Leslie Woolverton
Mother Goose Movement Rhymes: Adapted for COVID Restrictions by Nancy Blanning

International News
Waldorf Around the World in the Time of COVID: Hong Kong by Louise de Forest

Book Reviews
Anti-Bias Education for Young Children and Ourselves by Louise de Forest, et al, reviewed by Nancy Blanning
The Dignity of the Young Child Edited by Michaela Glöckler & Claudia Grah-Wittch, revieved by Nancy Blanning

Spring 2020, Issue # 78

From the Editor by Nancy Blanning

Focus-Looking into the Future
Inclusion, Diversity, Eq uity, and Access in Waldorf Education - Letter from the WECAN Board
Searching for the Golden Ball by Nancy Mellon
Report from the CARE I Colloquium: Pregnancy, Birth, and Early Childhood by Heather Church
Soothing the Effects of Homelessness: A Waldorf Inspired Approach by Ilana Jakubowski
A Hybrid without Batteries:The Evolution of a Hybrid Outdoor Kindergarten by Baruch J. Simon
The Wisdom of the Bees in the Early Childhood Classroom by Julie Anne Voss

Transitions- In Memory of Rena Osmer
Remembering Rena by Cynthia Aldinger
Rena Osmer as Teacher and Colleague by Charissa Johnson-Routhier

For the Classroom
Rethinking Birthday Celebrations by Jessi Lisell
Group Celebration in the Nursery by Lori Daniels
Auntie Lila's Garden by Annie Sommerville-Hall

International News
Building the Kingdom of Childhood Together: Two Vignettes by Stephanie Hoelscher

Book Reviews and News
With Stars in Their Eyes by Sharifa Oppenheimer by Reviewed by Nancy Blanning
WECAN Brings Two Vital Resources Back to Print
New Books from WECAN

Fall 2019, Issue #77

From the Editor by Nancy Blanning

Focus: "Will Act"
Joan Almon: Recollections of Her Life and Legacy compiled by Nancy Blanning
Joan Almon: The Origin of My Inspiration by Laurie Clark
Report Writing: Challenges and Opportunities by Ruth Ker
Sensory-motor Enhancement on a Budget by Kathy Rinden
Building the Jungle Gym by Bronwen David
Children Learning to Work: Privilege or Punishment? by Barbara Klocek
Dancing with the Snowmaiden by Christy Field

For the Classroom
Age-appropriate Inclusivity in Early Childhood Stories by Jess Moore and Carolyn Harrison
Twiggy Adapted by Jess Moore and Carolyn Harrison
Two Fingerplays by Rachel Lee Cruz

Reading the Signs of the Times
Literacy Learning in the Waldorf Early Childhood Classroom by Astrid Lackner
Teacher Self Care by Kathy Rinden

International News
Waldorf 100 International Early Childhood Conference by Nancy Blanning
Reflections on the Conference by Adrienne Doucette, Wendy Weinrich and Anke Schienfeld

Book Reviews
Beginning Well by Pia Dogel, Elke Maria Rische and Ute Strub, reviewed by Magdalena Toran
Supporting the Sense of Life, Edited by Nancy Blanning, reviewed by Laura Mason
The Picture Language of Folktales by Friedel Lenz, translated by Clopper Almon, reviewed by Nancy Blanning

Spring 2019, Issue #76

From the Editor by Nancy Blanning
Focus: Speech & Language
Developing Speech: What needs to come into the space between us? By Dr. Lakshmi Prasanna and Micahel Kokinos
Attention to Attention, Part II: Attention to Rhythm by Holly Koteen Soulé
The Role of Oral Language in Early Childhood by Ursula Ramos
Literacy Learning in Waldorf Education by Trice Atchinson

For the Classroom
Purposeful Work for the Young Child: Suzhou's Shining Example by Laure Donkel
Minka and Twilight by Mindy Upton

Reading the Signs of the Times
Religion and Universality by Stephen Spitalny

International News
Waldorf Early Childhood Education in Spain by Louise de Forest

Book Reviews
Please, Can We Play Games by Ruth Ker
Reviewed by Jill Taplin
Same Light, Many Candles by Carol Cole
Reviewed by Susan Howard
Child Development Year-by-Year edited by Holly Koteen Soulé
Reviewed by Nancy Blanning

Fall 2018, Issue #75

From the Editor by Nancy Blanning
FOCUS: Speech and Language
Speech Development: Giving Birth to Speech by Lakshmi Prasanna
The Human Encounter and Integration of the Lower Senses by Michael Kokinos
Speaking Pictorially by Rie Seo
Attention to Attention by Holly Koteen Soulé

For the Classroom
Slow Puppetry by Trice Achison
Story Circle - The Turnip with Russian Names by Rose Maynard
Snailyman by Wilma Ellersiek
The Birds Wedding Day by Nancy Blanning

Reading the Signs of the Times
The American Academy of Pediatrics Recognizes the Importance of Play by Nancy Blanning

Book Reviews
The World of Fairy Tales by Daniel Udo de Haes
Autism: Meet Me Who I Am by Michael Kokinos
Joyful Toddlers and Preschoolers by Faith Collins
Raising Happy, Healthy Children by Sally Goddard Blythe

International News
Preparing for Waldorf 100th Anniversary Conference

Spring 2018, Issue 74

Letter from the Editor by Nancy Blanning

FOCUS: Storytelling
The Art of the Protection Story: An Introduction by Suzanne Down
Fairy Tales in Our Waldorf Classroom by Cindy Faught Sudan
The Rainbow: Exploring Images of Moral Imagination for our Time by Janene Ping
Parent-Child Classes for Infants and Toddlers: We Need Them! by Liz Hagerman

Transitions
Patricia Cairns Remembered by Christine Summerfield
"Farmer Dave" Snow Remembered by Nancy Blanning

Reading the Signs of the Times
Signs of the Times by Nancy Blanning
A Handful of Feathers and a Stag at the Play Yard Gate by Marcia Marquis

For the Classroom
A Healing Story for the Classroom by Jessica Oswald
Excerpts from Singing and Speaking the Child into Life by Susan Weber, Nancy Macalaster and Jane Swain
Protection Imagination - Build a House by Steven Moore
On the Move: The Development of Movement by Vanessa Kohlhass

Book Reviews
The Gardener and the Carpenter by Alison Gopnik, Reviewed by Nancy Blanning
Walking with Our Children by Nancy Blanning, Reviewed by Lory Widmer Hess
Singing and Speaking the Child into Life by Susan Weber, Nancy Macalaster and Jane Swain

For the Classroom:
Mister Grieder and the Wild Duck by Carol Grieder-Brandenberger
Cobbler Circle by Christina Assirati
Seasonal Verses and Movement Games by Betty Jones

Around the World:
News from Vietnam by Louise de Forest

Book Reviews:
A Child's Seasonal Treasury reviewed by Nancy Blanning
Benjamin Breaking Barriers reviewed by Ruth Ker

Spring 2014, Issue 66

Letter from the Editor
FOCUS: Continuity of Development
Transitions as Developmental Dynamics between Dissolution and Rebirth by Claus Peter Röh
The Middle Place: Moving into Three-year-old-ness by Susan Weber
The Two Worlds of the Child by Daniel Udo de Haes
Scenes from the Child's Garden by Stephanie Hoelscher
The Heart of Early Childhood: Working with Four and Five year-olds by Lisa Gromicko
What To Do with the Six year-old by Louise de Forest

For the Classroom
Nourishing the Sense of Taste by Laurie Clark
A Spring Circle: The Honeybees' Waggle Dance by Laurie Clark
Jump Rope Song by Ilian Willwerth

Transitions
Tribute to Monica Grudin by Wendy Weinrich

Book Review
The Mood of the Fifth by Nancy Foster

Fall 2013, Issue 65

Letter from the Editor
FOCUS: Storytelling and Puppetry
The Mystery and Magic of Metaphor by Susan Perrow
Imagine-Inspire-Intuit by Janene Ping and Lynn St. Pierre
The Worker Puppet: A Healing Archetype by Suzanne Down
The Puppet Pocket Story Apron by Jennifer Aguirre
A Puppeteers Journey by Estele Bryer
Rock-a-bye-Baby by Pamela C. Perkins

For the Classroom
Nimble Nim's Ring: A Play for Puppets by Janene Ping
Time for Laughter by Jill McCormick
Nursery Rhyme Gesture Games by Nancy Blanning
Scenes from a Nursery Rhyme Puppet Play by Estele Bryer and Janni Nichol
Mother Earth's Children: A Puppet Play by Andree Ward

Around the World
Ak Lu'um International School by Louise de Forest

Spring 2013, Issue 64

Letter from the Editor by Nancy Blanning
FOCUS: Creating Relationships with Parents
Working with Parents: A Different Perspective by Louise deForest
Bringing Balance and Harmony to Everyday Life by Christine Summerfield
Creating Space for Parents to Share Their Sacred Stories by Susan Weber
Having the Hard Conversation with Parents by Nancy Blanning

Conferences and International Meetings
The Education of Feeling by Renate Long-Breipohl
International Colloquium on the Older Child by Louise deForest
International Birth-to-Three Colloquium by Claudia Freytag

For the Classroom
A Circle for Spring by Laura Donkel
The Mud Muffins by Betsi McGuigan
Little Birds and Big Birds by Betty Jane Enno
And the Little One Said. . .by Meg Fisher

Book Reviews
Cosmic Child, Selected and Arranged by Eve Olive
Reviewed by Lory Widmer
Tell Me a Story edited by Louise deForest
Reviewed by Nancy Blanning

Fall 2012, Issue #63

Letter from the Editor by Nancy Blanning
Focus: Coming into Incarnation:
The Coming into Relationship with the Physical Body by Philipp Reubke
Our Children: Our Guide Towards Becoming Truly Human by Louise de Forest
From Unborness to "I" Consciousness by Dr, Michaela Glöckler
The I, the Self, and the Body by Dr. Edmund Schoorel
Accelerated and Delayed Development by Dr. Renate Long-Breipohl
The I and the Body in Sensory Existence by Claus-Peter Röh
2012 Conference Reports:
A Journey to Dornach: Desire and Determination by Kyle Dunlap
A Glow of Inspiration by Janene Ping
For the Classroom:
Halloween Circle by Maxine Garcia
Helping Hands by Connie Manson
Sea Turtle Puppet Play by Nancy Forer
Book Reviews:
Under the Stars by Renate Long-Breipohl
Reviewed by Jill Tina Taplin
Therapeutic Storytelling by Susan Perrow
Reviewed by Nancy Blanning

Spring 2012, Issue #62

Letter from the Editor by Nancy Blanning
Focus: Practical Work in the Kindergarten:
A Kitchen, Not a Parlor by Annie Gross
Practical Activities with the Young Child by Stephen Spitalny
Kindergarten on the Farm and in the Garden by Lyn Barton
From Our Gentlemen Colleagues by Lincoln Kinnicutt, Tim Bennett and Joe Robertson
Working with Wood by Su Rubinoff
A Rolling Pin's Journey Home by Anke Scheinfeld
For the Classroom:
Potato Pogatcha Recipe by Joli Kiss
The Little Seed by Ananda Eluf
The Merry Month of May by Laurie Clark
Around the World:
Three Russian Kindergartens by Mary Lee Plumb-Mentjes
Book Review
Festivals with Children by Freya Jaffke, reviewed by Jill Tina Taplin

Fall/Winter 2011, Issue #61

Letter from the Editor by Nancy Blanning
Moving with Soul, Part 2 by Renate Long-Breipohl
Eurythmy with Young Children by Nora von Baditz
Movement - A Path Toward Freedom by Nancy Blanning
The Cottage Garden Home Nursery Program by Barbara Audley and Celia Riahi
A Toddler Group within a Kindergarten by Eldbjorg Gjessing Paulsen
Honoring Diversity: Images from Islam by Lincoln Kinnicutt
Hustle Hoosh! by Wilma Ellersiek
A Visit to Costa Rica by Joyce Gallardo and Teresa de Jesus Savel
Book Reviews: Connecting with Young Children; The Tear; Unbornness

Spring/Summer 2011 #60

Letter From the Editor by Nancy Blanning
Moving with Soul by Renate Long-Breipohl
Pikler, Point and Periphery by Jane Swain
Carving a Manger in the Heart by Laurie Clark
Children Under Three: Some Thoughts About the Song Circle and Storytelling by Christine Christiansen
Working with Parents to Reduce Children's Media Exposure by Lauren Hickman
The I and the Body: World Conference 2012 by Brigitte Goldmann
Waldorf Education in Hungary by Louise de Forest
Helping our Brothers and Sisters Around the World
The Blacksmith: A Michaelmas Circle by Sol Velazquez
Jack and Jill by Franca Bombieri
At Home I Have a Little Bed by Sarina Cirianni-Jones
The Peter Stories by Estelle Bryer

Fall/Winter 2010, Issue #59

Letters From the Editors by Nancy Blanning and Stephen Spitalny
The Senses as Doorway of Relating by Stephen Spitalny
Math and Science in the Kindergarten by Lisa Gromicko
The Dignity of the Small Child by Kimberly Lewis
Educating the Movement Body and A Drum: Movement Journey by Nancy Blanning
Childhood as an Impulse for Integrated Human Development by Louise de Forest
The Lakota Waldorf School by Patrice Maynard and Laurie Clark
Transitions: Ronna McEldowney by Janis Williams
Book Review: Supporting Self-Directed Play in Steiner/Waldorf Early Childhood Education
Reviewed by Susan Weber

Index of back issues: (individual articles in each issue are on pages following this index)

Fall/Winter 2010, Issue # 59
Spring/Summer 2010, Issue #58
Fall/Winter 2009, Issue #57
Spring/Summer 2009, Issue #56
Fall/Winter 2008, Issue #55
Spring/Summer 2008, Issue #54
Fall/Winter 2007, Issue #53
Spring/Summer 2007, Issue #52
Fall/Winter 2006, Issue #51
Spring/Summer 2006, Issue #50
Fall/Winter 2005, Issue #49
Spring/Summer 2005, Issue #48
Fall/Winter 2004, Issue #47
Spring/Summer 2004, Issue #46
Fall/Winter 2003, Issue #45
Spring/Summer 2003, Issue #44
Fall/Winter 2002, Issue #43
Spring/Summer 2002, Issue #42
Fall/Winter 2001, Issue #41
Spring/Summer 2001, Issue#40
Fall/Winter 2000, Issue #39
Spring/Summer 2000, Issue #38
Fall/Winter 1999, Issue #37
Spring /Summer 1999, Issue #36
Fall/Winter 1998 Issue #35
Spring 1998 Issue #34
Fall 1998 Issue # 33
Spring 1997 Issue #32
Fall 1996 Issue # 31
Spring 1996 Issue #30
Fall 1995 Issue # 29
Fall 1994

Fall 2012, Issue #63: From the Editor

Download the article: From the Editor
By Nancy Blanning

At birthday time in our Waldorf early childhood groups, the child is offered a story of the birth journey to the earth, the details differ, but the imagination usually follows a similar thread. A child is playing contentedly in another land when suddenly an awareness, a longing, awakens within the child. Memory stirs of a long-ago-made promise to travel through the stars to the earth to be with old and new friends and family with whom he will complete unfinished adventures and begin new ones, the child readies for the journey, perhaps also being given gifts that will be useful for earthly tasks to come—a crown, cape, cloak, cup, sword, lantern, or seeds to plant as possibilities, then walking over the rainbow bridge, sailing in a boat of starlight, or even riding on the back of a great white bird, the child finds his way into the parents’ waiting arms, the child is born and the earthly biography begins.

Fall 2012, Issue #63: The Coming into Relationship with the Physical Body

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Imagine how we each came to our kindergarten trainings and our individual kindergarten settings. How much did we initiate ourselves, and how much was the result of events we could not plan or anticipate? After four years of teaching, I had planned to resign my post and go to teach in Italy. But that did not work out. We approach something out of our own intentions, but what actually happens can be something quite different. When we reflect back we can often see that where we have ended up is more of what we truly wanted than what we asked for. We have an intention in mind and then the world answers with its will forces.

So we picture being in our kindergarten. We want to continue to learn. How can we do this together with the children and our colleagues? How can our colleagues help us continue our evolution? Colleagues can point out that we talk too much, we sing wrong. We are somehow also attached to our difficulties. My difficulty was in keeping the kindergarten tidy and ordered. My class families came to clean the classroom and a mother pointed out that the radiator was dusty. But the child said," Philipp likes dust.”

How can we talk about such things with colleagues with confidence, trust, and love? We do not want to be stuck in seeing only the difficulties. But we want to see how we can help each other to go further. We need to feel the invisible side of our colleagues, what it is one wants to become. Within ourselves we have a cold and antipathetic side and another side of strong sympathy and warmth. We want to feel the possibilities of the colleague and where he truly wants to go. We need to have a good mixture of these two sides—that is real love.

Fall 2012, Issue #63: Our Children: Our Guide Towards Becoming Truly Human

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I started my teaching career in a daycare center, working with young three-year-old children. That is where I met Natasha. She was the only child of a poor, uneducated family. Her skin was pasty white—a sure sign of lack of nutritious food—she was obese and had a little upturned nose. She had tiny blue eyes and long, straggly hair. Every day she would stand in the door with her large body and announce, ‘I'm here," in a whiny, nasal voice. Outwardly I treated Natasha fairly, just as every other child; whenever she wanted, she sat on my lap and she joined in all our activities. She was a member of the group, but inwardly it was clear to me that I did not like her. When she would announce her presence, I would experience a sinking feeling in myself and would inwardly groan. I was glad to see Natasha move on to the four-year-old class.

But I have never forgotten Natasha; all these years later she is still with me, I failed Natasha. Natasha invited me to go on a journey with her, which I refused to take. She was providing me with an opportunity to develop and learn something that I had not yet learned. I think Natasha sacrificed herself for my growth as a teacher and now I always feel her right behind me.

Fall 2012, Issue #63: From Unborness to "I" Consciousness

Download the article: From Unborness to "I" Consciousness

There are three steps for 'I"-consciousness awareness to find its place in the physical body. How does this happen? We constantly experience I -awareness as a point [a large dot as 'point” was drawn on the blackboard]; and if we don’t succeed in focusing, concentrating, so that we become totally present with ourselves, we are not really there. We have to “be there” to look at the complexity of this world and make it clear to ourselves, the world of thoughts, feelings, of our striving, of what we want to do and are not able to do because of something in our way. There is all this richness, this wealth. On the other hand there are the complex conditions of our life—one billion people are starving; they live with the minimum. Someone else has too much to eat, and those in between ask what planet we are on here where this can be tolerated. Rudolf Steiner said calmly that the social question is a pedagogical question. And the pedagogical question is a medical question. If you don't know what is healthy and what is sick, how can you recognize the healthful aims of education?

Fall 2012, Issue #63: The I, the Self, and the Body

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As you think upon your own experiences, do you recognize this? You have prepared a wonderful program for your group, your class, or your child ’s birthday party. Everything is well thought out and well prepared. And then suddenly something happens that messes everything up. It storms and rains while you prepared the party for outside. There are extra children in your class because your colleague got sick. Or the helper for the birthday party has called to say she cannot come. The whole plan is changed, but then you have to improvise.

Improvising is the normal situation for a child who comes to earth. Children carefully prepare. They choose the country, the culture, the language, parents and other people they want to meet. But the reality then turns out to be that the parents they have chosen are getting divorced, the school is shutting down, the best karmic friend is moving away. The child needs to improvise all the time in the incarnating process. Most children can cope with this; they have the possibility in their physiology to do this, though the circumstances may be difficult. We will speak today of the physiology of the predictable and the unpredictable in development, steps going up and down.

First we will look at two incarnating routes before working them out. The threefold human being is the starting point with the upper pole, rhythmic area, and lower pole. Rudolf Steiner gives these three areas double names: the nerve-sense area/upper pole, metabolic-limb area/lower pole, and in between the area of rhythmic processes—breathing and circulation.

Fall 2012, Issue #63: Accelerated and Delayed Development

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The theme suggested to me for this lecture was that of hindrances to the incarnation of the I. Out of the many possible hindrances I chose to focus mainly on two: on delay with respect to the development of movement and on acceleration with respect to the development of speech and thinking. These are the two most common challenges for the incarnation of the I in children today. I am well aware that 1 am speaking out of my experiences with children in an affluent country where children are endangered not by hunger, but by obesity and related conditions, and by over stimulation of the senses. However I am confident that what is presented here will be relevant with modification for children in a wide range of circumstances.

Fall 2012, Issue #63: The I and the Body in Sensory Existence

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Two polarities come into play now when we consider sense experience. Where are the twelve senses with regard to the young person? We have two streams, One is the stream which we bring from the past, from Isis to Sophia, the stream of wisdom. These are the inner images we bring from life before birth. Then through the twelve senses we turn toward the world, toward the future, from which the sense-experiences approach us.

An example from the “past” stream can be seen in questions a four-year-old asks. “Mummy, how does God make hair grow?" The parent answers, “It grows like grass.” The next question is, "How does God make legs and arms grow?” These are questions coming from the inner stream of wisdom.

Then from the other stream come other questions. A little child is sleeping in the car and is wakened by a loud bang. He wakes with a start, jerks eyes open, and stretches his arms like a marionette moved from outside. But then the child continues to sleep. The I of the child is outside in the surroundings. It perceives what has happened, and reacts in the limbs, but the child goes on sleeping. What happens in the middle realm of the soul? The senses go on this stream, to the future. Little children intensively take in the environment in their experience and then do something with it.

Fall 2012, Issue #63: A Journey to Dornach: Desire and Determination

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I had wanted to go to the World Early Childhood Conference in Dornach since I first heard about it when I was still in training at Sunbridge in 2009. Dr. Michaela Glöckler, Renate Long-Breipohl, Helle Heckmann, and Edmond Schoorel, not to mention amazing teachers from North America, were all going to be there and I wanted to hear what they had to say. It seemed incredible to think it could ever happen, that I could actually get on a plane during the school year and go to the Goetheanum. There were many obstacles to my going—finances, the fact that I was a first year faculty member at a new school, my six-year-old son and our two dogs that would need care during my absence. Yet at last everything came together and I was able to go.

Fall 2012, Issue #63: A Glow of Inspiration

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I have been back from the International Conference at the Goetheanum for a few weeks now, and I am still feeling a glow of inspiration from the mysterious veils of encounter that I experienced there. Images of light, color and form in the richness of beauty in nature, the arts, thought—and most of all, humanity—filled my soul and continue to bring sustenance for my work. I am so grateful for the communion of soul nourishment that was shared with so many others. It is a gift to have had the chance to raise voices in song, follow threads of thought woven round the mystery of the child’s incarnation, and to have delved into practical activity that deepened those thoughts.

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Gateways

An index of the most recent issues can be found on the first page, an index and articles of older issues can be found by scrolling down.

Gateways

Index of the most recent issues

Spring 2014, Issue 68

Fall 2012, Issue #63: From the Editor

Fall 2012, Issue #63: The Coming into Relationship with the Physical Body

Fall 2012, Issue #63: Our Children: Our Guide Towards Becoming Truly Human

Fall 2012, Issue #63: From Unborness to "I" Consciousness

Fall 2012, Issue #63: The I, the Self, and the Body

Fall 2012, Issue #63: Accelerated and Delayed Development

Fall 2012, Issue #63: The I and the Body in Sensory Existence

Fall 2012, Issue #63: A Journey to Dornach: Desire and Determination

Fall 2012, Issue #63: A Glow of Inspiration