Watch this 5-minute video to step inside a Waldorf school and learn about the philosophies and day-to-day activities that guide the approach.
In the video above, the interviewer dicusses misconceptions of Waldorf, where the teacher shares that people sometimes believe that reading isn't taught "until the second grade...when the children's teeth fall out" (3:30). In Waldorf early childhood education, children up through age seven are not required to learn to read and write, but instead focus on developing foundational skills of concentration, patience, independence, and memory. This serves ‘to develop their hands,’ and is all through the imitation and example of teachers, as well as through play (Attfield, 2021). Play is seen as central to children's learning in Waldorf ECE. As the teacher in the video explains, language development is emphasized all throughout the early childhood years through songs, poetry, puppetry, storytelling, and movement. "There's no alphabet on the wall, and there's no letter of the week," the teacher explains (4:55), but that doesn't mean that language and literacy aren't being developed. The emphasis on storytelling in particular is reminiscent of Vivian Paley's methods, helping children bring their ideas and stories to life through story-acting in the classroom (Paley, 2007), developing their language and literacy skills in the process. Plus, the emphasis on play is also demonstrated to help with the development of language and literacy in early childhood. Sociodramatic play in particular can be leveraged for language development, particularly for English-language learners. Banerjee et al. (2016) explain that "Studies have shown that preschool children involved in sociodramatic play demonstrate greater proficiency and interest in language development and reading” (Banerjee et al., 2016, p. 299), and describe characteristics that make up sociodramatic play, which includes "using language to communicate the context of play," and "interacting socially while playing" (Banerjee et al., 2016, p. 301), both of which serve to support the development of language and literacy. The use of eurythmy could also be seen as a tool for language development and expression (read more here).
Steiner believed that the early childhood years encompass the four lower senses of being, called the will senses, which include life, balance, touch, and movement (Suggate and Suggate, 2019). Thus, the emphasis is placed on these factors of being rather than learning to develop the mind, which comes later on in Waldorf education. This is also influenced by Steiner's overarching philosophy of letting the children be children.
Waldorf early childhood education also places a strong emphasis on arts, social emotional learning, and practical activities, like cooking and cleaning. These things are considered to be just as important as academic knowledge, and are developmentally viewed as foundational to academic learning. As described in the brief video above, one criticism of Waldorf education is that it may not adequately prepare students for mainstream academics, with its lack of emphasis on testing and traditional academic benchmarks (Helpful Professor Explains!, 2024). However, as referenced in Koetzsch and Riegel (2018), the 1990 research of Dr. Jane Healy, presented in her book called Endangered Minds: Why Children Don’t Think—and What We Can Do About It, suggests that too early exposure to academics can actually be developmentally harmful for children. Healy found that while young children are capable of learning to read, write, and do math, their brains aren't yet well-suited for it, so when, "a few years later, the brain has developed and the child is ready to learn these skills in an optimal way, problems may occur for the child who has been pushed ahead academically. Healy suggests that learning disabilities, including ADHD, and student burnout may be linked to premature emphasis on academics" (Koetzch and Riegel, 2018, p. 10). This perspective is in line with other play-based approaches to ECE, and there is ample research to back up the benefits of play in young children's development.
In my opinion, the lack of emphasis on academics is a strength of Waldorf, especially since, when it comes specifically to language and literacy development, there are other methods used for this domain of development that don't involve worksheets or rote memorization. However, research also shows the benefits of a literacy-rich environment in early childhood settings, especially in promoting language and literacy skill development for English-language learners (Banerjee et al., 2016), and this is generally absent in Waldorf early childhood classrooms. Plus, the literacy materials displayed in early childhood classrooms are also a critical element of culturally-responsive teaching through "multicultural literature" and "culturally responsive print rich environments” (Bennett et al., 2018, p. 242). Thus, the lack of literacy materials in Waldorf early childhood classrooms could pose a challenge when it comes to cultural and linguistic inclusivity. These aspects could still be incorporated through storytelling and puppetry, using these mediums to share culturally and linguistically diverse stories, but it may not have the same impact.