As it gets cold we are often invited into greater consciousness about what supports our sense of wellness? What do we need to feel well?
The sense of wellness is something we often take for granted because we usually feel it, we feel well. We learn to recognize the signs when our wellness sense is reminding us to slow down and soften, and we can see them in our children as well. Are they energized? or floppy? Is the color of their skin pale or different than usual? Is their gaze shining and ready to meet the day? Or are they looking for a place to curl up and hide away?
This sense of wellness is one of twelve senses described by Rudolf Steiner that we consciously endeavor to cultivate in our learning environment.
The first four foundational senses we seek to develop in early childhood from birth to 7 years.
Sense of Touch
The skin is the organ of the sense of touch and what is happening is that the children are learning to recognize the boundary of their body and to care for it. We nourish this with providing support for self initiated care and attention to dressing and undressing including attention to the fabrics and effectiveness of the clothes we recommend. In addition, we create a safe and welcoming space where exploration of touch is welcome and consciously cultivated with a wide array of sensory experiences in and outdoors with attention to the source of the things we provide in the environment preferring natural items grown from life itself, wood, wool, sand, grass, stone.
Sense of Life or Wellness
The autonomic nervous system is the organ of our sense of wellness and we support this sense by providing a routine that breathes, meaning that can adapt to the mood and energy of the group and the weather and the world. We also support the sense of life with effective clothing that supports a child in staying adequately warm for their safety and nourishment of their interest in engagement with teachers and students.
Sense of Balance
The inner ear is the organ of our sense of balance. The sense of balance is overall providing the child the freedom and time to explore up and down, sensing one's body in relation to gravity or the cosmos you could say. We can observe in the Morning Garden children as they become confident with walking the work they are taking up with the forces of gravity, work that only they can do. We provide them the time to really allow them to freely come to stand on their own, to run, gallop, wander and relish all the discoveries along the way.
Sense of Movement
The sense of proprioception or the sense of one's body and its parts in relationship to one another in space is becoming more and more well understood as foundational to neurological development. Even speech, which we don't think of as a form of movement, is really dependent upon the harmonious movement of many small muscles, bones, neurons and body chemistry that is influenced by the social and emotional environment. We live in times that more and more often confine children to limited physical positions and exploration. To support movement we provide a wide array of surfaces, we engage in play that explores movement. When we engage the children to move heartily, we strengthen their bodies, welcome flexibility, joy and imagination which will later be reflected in their thinking. Movement in gross and fine motor abilities, becomes confidence in landing on the earth.