Report from the international working group on the little child from our February 2002 meeting in Driebergen, Holland

Susan Weber, USA
The work with the very young child everywhere has strong elements of isolation, pioneering, and pedagogical questioning. One sees so clearly the very strong ways in which this work mirrors the social situation in the world. The possibility to share with others working at this level was very important for each group member.
The group’s representation at this meeting included Germany, Austria, Denmark, Great Britain, Switzerland, the Netherlands, and the United States.
Our time together included both review and preview of the international conferences, intensive work with financial questions, development of a preliminary organizational structure for the group, and substantive work with the situation of the work in Holland - adult education, child care, ‘play groups’ (the formal name for early childhood groups with children under four), social and political issues in Holland.
The review of the conference brought forward several points: the major issues with translation - everything from the initial program to the lectures to the working groups. We will take these issues up strongly in planning for the next conference. The Red Axis was a tremendously powerful element, and its creators have met with warm support in a December 2001 conversation at the Goetheanum with the Vorstand to explore the future possibilities for this impulse.
The decision was made that the next conference will be in Jarna in July, 2004 - July chosen so as to make the conference as accessible as possible to those actually working directly with the little child.

Many generous offerings - organizational and financial - have come toward the group from the Jarna and Swedish anthroposophical communities. It is also our hope to incorporate the impulse for the very young child at other international conferences both before and following - Prague in 2003, presumably Dornach in 2005 (the 7 year conference).
Our substantive work included visits to two programs in the local area, conversations with those leading various forms of adult education impulses for kindergarten, small child, and social pedagogical therapy trainings. It is good to have a feeling for the questions, challenges, and new impulses coming forward in Holland amidst the social political and economic challenges of that particular place. The spiritual impulse for the young child is strong, despite the many forces which seek to impede the work.
Our organizational work took the group process begun a year ago in Great Britain to a new level as we continued to integrate many new members, including myself. We have a significantly stronger and focused sense of mission and direction now, and have begun to picture the organizational structures needed to manifest our tasks as we understand them. As proposed, there would be a finance group, a meeting preparation group from year to year that will serve somewhat as an executive group,and the continuing conference preparation group. At this time, these are only working proposals. In addition, some members are directly interested in research possibilities, and we will use our annual meeting time to develop questions, study, and share from our particular work situations so that these insights may begin to radiate back out to others. Perhaps you can picture a weaving - impulses coming toward the center; insights, deepened understanding, new initiatives radiating outward with a pulse that is annually rhythmical, woven into the rhythm of conference work and individual initiatives and working relationships of the participants in other settings.
Another focus of our work this time and carrying forward is the development of adult education work - practicing, sharing, and developing experiential exercises for groups, looking at the conditions we encounter in work with adults.
We will meet next year at der Hof in Frankfurt where a wide range of programs are in place and new ones are being developed through the possibilities created through the purchase of a new building.
It was an excellent working week. We arrived at greatly appreciated clarity about our next steps, and we are weaving a rich collegial community with many strong and articulate members each of whom is doing pioneer work with very young children.

 

The Conference has been terminated. The information below has not been deleted yet to give You an impression of the themes that have been worked with.
2nd International Professional Conference
"The Dignity of the Small Child"
1st - 4th October 2001
Dornach / Switzerland

 

Information: Medical Section Goetheanum 
Tel. 0041 61 706 42 90
Fax. 0041 61 706 42 91
Application: Return Application form by September 10th 2001.
Organization: Medical Section in co-operation with International Federation of Waldorf Kindergarten e.V., World-wide Initiative for Early Childhood Care and Alliance for Childhood - Partner - Network.
Subjects are for: Educators of infants and crèches, co-workers in parent-toddler groups an play groups, doctors, midwives, paediatric nurses, physiotherapists, curative eurythmists, educators active in early development, educational advisers as well as co-workers in nurseries, integrated kindergartens and play circles.
Contents: Understanding and experiencing together what it needs to accompany children professionally in the very first years.
The International Conference concentrates on the medical-pedagogical bases for development in the first three years as well as on a wide spectrum of practice-orientated stimulation an experiences.
Besides work-goups and speeches, the cabaret artists Birkenmeier shall emphasize the Conference, and the "Red Axis" shall be laid through the Goetheanum as a sensory experience park.
Workgroups:
  • 1. The third year. The steps in development of the small childs as challenge to the educator (Renate Long-Breipohl, Australia)
  • 2. Education for dependence or independence - helping or hindering? (Angelika Knabe, Kristin von Bleichert-Krüger, Germany)
  • 3. Parent and toddler groups from infants to kindergarten age. Mothers/fathers learn to percieve and understand their children (Brigitte Huisinga, Germany)
  • 4. In the dichotomy of speech worthy of imitation and non-verbal education. Indication signs, communication messages, setting  boudaries in dealing with the small child (incl.singing) (Ina von Mackensen, Christiane Riedesser, Germany)
  • 5. Inner life of the teacher - finding joy (Helle Heckmann, Denmark,  Stephen Spitalny, USA)
  • 6. The large problems of small children. Media and drug prevention from birth on (Felicitas Vogt, Germany)
  • 7. Disturbances in perception - A path in itself - a path to oneself  (Claudia Grah-Wittich, Hansjörg Palm, Stefan Krauch, Germany)
  • 8. Introduction to the anthroposophical path of schooling (Michaela Glöckler, Switzerland)
  • 9. The care for and dealing with small children (Toke Wormer, Holland)
  • 10. "Show your feet..." Do our movements invite imitations? Do they nourish or harm the life-forces (Marike van Giessen, Holland)
  • 11. Looking at art - carrying and being carried (Hanne Looij, Holland)
  • 12. Birth as transition (Toke Nieuwsteeg, Holland)
  • 13. Possibilities and tasks of making music at pre-school age (Gil Soyer, Edith Soyer, Germany)
  • 20. Characteristics of the first three years of life (concept of the small childe according to Emmi Pikter) (Anna Tardos, Germany)
  • 21. Family Centers: Works in progress for the twenty-first century (Susan Weber, USA)
  • 22. The rhythmical-musical hand gesture games of Wilma Ellersiek. Praktical exercises and human physiological background (Jules Brinkmann, Holland)
  • 23. Day care of the small child (Ingrid Ruhrmann, Germany)
  • 24. How can we create daycare? (Zilla Mörch Pedersen, Dänemark)
  • 25. The two Year old child in the kindergarten group. Risks and opportunities (Irmgard Molina, Christiane Riedesser, Germany)
  • 26. Living into the world of the small child as field of experience for the development of the senses (Wolfram Schlote-Weissengruber, Germany)
  • 27. Alliance for Childhood world-wide (Bettina Mehrtens, Switzerland, Christopher Clouder, England)
  • 28. Walking - talking - thinking (Aart van der Stel, Holland)
  • 29. Playing with the bodily senses (Regine Bautz, Loeke Bouwdijk, Holland)
  • 30. Development of speech in the small child - dangers asn stimulation (Rainer Patzlaff, Germany)
  • 31. Undrstanding the religious nature of the small child - How do we form and live religious education with small children? (Petra Thal, Germany)
  • 32. Sexual abuse (Heika Gröning, Germany)
  • 33. Child minder - social mother (Clara van Tol-Selder, Dorien Versluis, Holland)
  • 34. What can we learn from mid-wives for the care of small children? (Anna Wilde, Switzerland)
  • 35. "Early practice..." Schooling the senses in early development (Ruth Ernste, Margrit Leinweber, Germany)
  • 36. Care of the newborn child and the small child as early education (Inge Heine, Brigita Reiner, Germany)
  • 37. Contributions from psychoanalysis and infant research to the pedagogy of the first years (Angelika Dahmen (Germany)