Curriculum by subject

The early years: a Waldorf-inspired Seedling term at home

The early years are for doing, not for lessons. A Seedling term gives each week a theme from the season (the first rain, seeds, weaver birds, bees, the baker, the potter) and lets the children live into it through play, work, painting and story.

Level Early years (ages 3 to 6)
Blocks 1
Weeks of lessons 10
Outcomes 18

The spring term follows the southern spring and early summer, from the first rain to the longest days, and the activities change with the weather outside the window.

The block

Seedling, 10 weeks, 5 days a week, about 165 minutes a day

Seedling Spring Term: From the First Rain to the Long Light

Ten weeks of the Seedling rhythm from early October into December: the first rains on the Highveld, seeds and weaver birds, bees in the fynbos, the baker and the potter, frogs in the summer pools, the long evening light, the shepherd, and gathering in before the summer holiday.

Why this block

A day that repeats gives a young child the security to play deeply and to join in real work.
Each weekday has its own activity, so the week has a shape the child can feel: painting, baking, handwork, modelling and cleaning.
One story told all week (and some for two) lets it settle, until the child can play it out themselves.
The themes follow what is really happening outside: rain, seeds, nesting birds, flowers, wheat, frogs and the long evenings.

From October into December the land wakes after the dry months: the first rains, seeds sprouting, birds nesting, bees busy and the evenings growing long. Children from three to six live in what is around them, so the term follows the season as it unfolds.

The weeks

Week 1: The first rain
Week 2: Seeds and sprouting
Week 3: The weaver birds
Week 4: The bees and the flowers
Week 5: The baker
Week 6: The potter and the clay
Week 7: The river and the frogs
Week 8: The long light
Week 9: The shepherd
Week 10: Gathering in

What a morning looks like

A real day from Seedling Spring Term: From the First Rain to the Long Light: Wednesday: sewing a seed bag.

15 minin-breath
Circle: Morning circle
Light the candle and say the morning verse. Say Down in the Earth twice: once softly, once with bigger movements. Watch who joins in, and say nothing about it. Sing Pula, Pula with the rain fingers.
40 minout-breath
Free play: Free play
While the children play, sit nearby with the handwork basket and begin your own work, slowly and calmly. Leave the week's play things out. Do not direct the play. After about 30 minutes, begin singing Every Toy Goes Home and start tidying yourself; the children will follow.
30 minin-breath
Art: Handwork
Sit side by side with the seed bags you pinned last night. Sew your own bag slowly first, saying in, and out, as the needle goes. Then let your child sew theirs in big stitches. For a younger child, use the punched holes and guide the needle. When it is finished, put three saved beans inside.
20 minin-breath
Snack together: Meal
Your child folds the napkins and lays one at each place. Hold hands and sing Thank You, Earth. Serve cucumber and cheese. Eat slowly; if anyone wants to talk about the morning, listen.
35 minout-breath
Outside: Outdoor time
Sing Hat on My Head while everyone puts on hats and shoes. Water the beans and look, without digging. Free outdoor play: digging in a corner where digging is allowed, climbing, running. Sit nearby with your own handwork.
15 minin-breath
Story: Story
Tell the story again. Today have a real dried bean in your hand and open your hand at the moment the bean wakes. Leave the bean on the story table afterwards.
10 minin-breath
Rest: Rest
Make the room dim and quiet. Sing Hush, the Wind Is Low once, then hum it. If your child cannot settle, let them lie and look at a picture book quietly, close to you.

The evening before

Read The Bean That Woke Up once again before the day begins. 5 minutes
Cut and pin the felt squares, and thread the blunt needles with wool. 20 minutes

Wednesday of seeds and sprouting week: sewing a seed bag. The Bean That Woke Up is told again. The whole morning runs about 165 minutes.

Materials to have at hand

A candle for circle and story
Watercolour paper
Liquid watercolour paints
Painting boards, wide flat brushes, jars and sponges
Modelling beeswax
Block crayons
Thick soft wool
Felt, large blunt needles and pins
Forked sticks and strong thread
Play cloths in blue, brown, green, gold, pink and dark blue

What you will notice

The signs Selemo asks you to look for as the block goes on. Each one belongs to an outcome; when you see it, a sentence in the journal is enough.

Practical life

Kneads with both hands until the dough is smooth
Remembers the steps of a recipe made before
Finishes a task they started
Puts things back where they belong
Pours water without spilling

Arts and handwork

Uses the broad side of the crayon as well as the tip
Finishes a craft and uses it in play
Lets colours meet without scrubbing
Names a colour mood
Warms the wax patiently before shaping
Finishes a short length of finger knitting

Science and nature

Sits still to watch a creature for a few minutes
Copies an animal's sound or movement in play
Brings a seed pod or leaf and says where it was found
Remembers to water without being reminded

Language and story

Sets up the story table without help
Says a repeated line from the story in the right place
Says the repeated line before you do
Retells a part of the story in play
Starts a verse on their own at the right moment in the day
Tells you about the morning in order

Number

Keeps the beat while counting
Counts real things at the table
Lays one cup for each person without help

Movement and music

Walks a log or a line without help
Skips with alternate feet
Sings along softly
Takes a turn in the middle of the circle

Where the timing differs from CAPS

Selemo meets most CAPS topics in its own order. These notes say where it comes earlier or later. They are written in Selemo's own words and are being checked against the Department of Basic Education's documents.

Listens to a story told the same way over several days and joins in with repeated lines.

Selemo retells the same story over several days and lets the child join in and play it out, rather than asking for a retelling on request.

Listens to a story told the same way over several days and joins in with repeated lines.

Selemo tells stories aloud without a book in the Seedling years; looking at print and concepts of print come later than in Grade R.

Says verses and finger plays from memory with the gestures that go with them.

Rhyme and rhythm are lived in verses and finger plays; Selemo does not single out syllables or sounds as a separate exercise at this stage.

Counts in rhythm while moving, clapping or stepping, up to ten and back.

Selemo counts in rhythm with the body and with real things; written number symbols wait for Grade 1, where CAPS begins recognising them in Grade R.

Sorts, matches and sets the table for the people present, one for each.

Sorting happens in daily life (laying the table, tidying the basket) rather than as a recorded display.

Cares for a living thing (a seedling, a pot of herbs, the garden) with an adult.

Selemo keeps a living thing in the child's care all year rather than in one themed term.

Safety notes

Summer thunderstorms bring lightning, especially on the Highveld. Come indoors at the first thunder and stay in until at least 30 minutes after the last.
From October the sun is strong. Use hats and sunscreen outside, and keep to the shade between 10 and 3.
Near any water (a dam, stream, pool or even a bucket), an adult stays close. Do not visit streams after heavy rain or when a storm is building.
The oven, the stove, hot oil and any flame are for the adult only. Children shape, stir and sprinkle at the table.

Teach it at home

Selemo plans these blocks into your year, prepares each evening with you, and keeps the record as you go.

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