To: epicure who wrote (90033 ) 11/29/2004 4:54:00 PM From: Grainne Read Replies (1) | Respond to Yes, the Waldorf School founder. When Grainnette was a wee tyke, I read about almost every educational theory, and decided I liked Steiner's approach best. The basic theory is that small children need to involved mostly in imaginative and large muscle play activities, and that abstract symbol work should be done only starting at age seven, when he felt brain development was at the right stage to learn abstract concepts very quickly. This is all involved with his idea of "muscle mindedness", meaning I think that when a child is ready developmentally, learning takes place very quickly and naturally. In other words, the five-year-old cannot read, but spends her time doing things which develop her body, soul, mind and creative spirit in a much better way, and then when her mind is ready at seven, reading and math learning are very natural and take place quickly.
