Curriculum by grade

Seedling: a Waldorf-inspired early years rhythm at home, ages 3 to 6

Before Grade 1, children learn by imitation and play. There are no formal lessons in the Seedling years; there is a day with a steady shape, real work beside a grown-up, a story told for a week or more, and long stretches outside.

Level Early years (ages 3 to 6, including the Grade R year)
Blocks 1
Weeks of lessons 10
Outcomes 18

The Seedling programme runs by terms, each with a theme for every week. Each weekday has its own recurring work (painting, baking, the garden, handwork, caring for the home), and the same story is told for one to two weeks so that the children can grow into it.

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.

Week by week

Week 1
The first rain
The veld is dry and everyone waits for the first rain. The smell before the storm, the first drops on the dust, and the green that follows.
Week 2
Seeds and sprouting
The rain has softened the earth and it is time to plant. Beans go into the ground, and the children wait and watch for the first green hook.
Week 3
The weaver birds
At every dam and river the yellow weavers are building. The children watch them build, and weave on forked sticks themselves.
Week 4
The bees and the flowers
The fynbos is flowering in the Western Cape and gardens everywhere are full of bees. The children watch the bees work and make spring flower crowns.
Week 5
The baker
The wheat in the Free State is turning gold. A week of bread: kneading, shaping, waiting for the dough to rise, and the smell of baking in the house.
Week 6
The potter and the clay
After the rains the riverbanks are soft with clay. A week of mud, clay and beeswax: rolling, coiling, smoothing and waiting for things to dry.
Week 7
The river and the frogs
The summer storms have filled the rivers and pools, and the frogs are calling. Tadpoles, river stones and the first summer storm verse.
Week 8
The long light
The days are long and the evenings longer. The frog story is told for a second week, now lingering in the evening light, and the family makes lanterns for an evening walk.
Week 9
The shepherd
High in the summer mountains the sheep are on the green slopes. A week of counting, caring for the smallest one, and bringing the flock home before the storm.
Week 10
Gathering in
The last week before the summer holiday. The shepherd story is told for a second week, the first beans are picked, the nature table is full, and everyone gathers in.

What a morning looks like

A real day from Seedling Spring Term: From the First Rain to the Long Light: Monday: painting the rain.

15 minin-breath
Circle: Morning circle
Light the candle and say The Candle Is Lit together. Then say this week's new verse, The Rain Is Coming Home, slowly and with the movements. Do not ask the children to join in; they will in their own time. On the rain lines, let your fingers flutter all the way down to the floor, slowly. Sing Pula, Pula with the rain fingers. This evening, read the note on the daily rhythm linked here.
40 minout-breath
Free play: Free play
While the children play, set up the painting table where they can see you: boards, paper soaking in a basin, small jars of paint. This week, add a blue cloth for rain, a brown cloth for the dry veld, and a basket of smooth stones to the play corner. Do not direct the play. After about 30 minutes, begin singing Every Toy Goes Home and start tidying yourself; the children will follow. The note on imitation and free play, linked here, says why.
30 minin-breath
Art: Painting
Sit beside your child at the painting table. Speak the little story frame from the painting guide, then paint without talking. Use only the blue. Paint your own picture alongside, and let your child paint theirs in their own way. When the paper is full, lay the brushes down and look together. Carry the boards to dry somewhere flat.
20 minin-breath
Snack together: Meal
Set the table together. Your child lays one cup and one plate for each person; count them together as they go down. Hold hands and sing Thank You, Earth, then serve oranges cut into wheels.
35 minout-breath
Outside: Outdoor time
Sing Hat on My Head while everyone puts on hats and shoes. If it has rained, go out and splash in the puddles as in After the Rain. If the sky is still dry, lie on a blanket in the shade and watch the clouds. Is any cloud growing tall? Smell the air together. Come in at the first sound of thunder.
15 minin-breath
Story: Story
Light the story candle and sit close, with your child beside you or on your lap. Tell Lerato and the First Rain for the first time, slowly, from memory. Keep Gogo's words the same each time: Not today, my child. Not today. But it is on its way. When the story ends, let the quiet stay. Do not ask questions about it. Blow out the candle and move gently into rest.
10 minin-breath
Rest: Rest
Draw the curtains a little. Each child lies down on a mat or bed with a blanket. Sing Hush, the Wind Is Low two or three times, more softly each time. Then sit quietly nearby. Rest does not have to be sleep; lying still is enough.

The evening before

Read Lerato and the First Rain twice and tell it aloud once to yourself. 20 minutes
Soak the painting paper and mix the paints in small jars. 10 minutes

Monday of the first rain week: painting the rain. Lerato and the First Rain is told for the first time. 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 a parent can expect to see

Selemo's outcomes describe what you can notice, never a test. Coverage counts only the outcomes you confirm from your own record.

Practical life

Bakes beside an adult, measuring, stirring, kneading and shaping dough, and waits for it to cook.Look for: Kneads with both hands until the dough is smooth
Helps with real household work (sweeping, folding, washing up, kneading) beside an adult.Look for: Finishes a task they started
Dresses, washes hands and helps prepare snack with growing independence.Look for: Pours water without spilling

Arts and handwork

Draws freely with block crayons, filling the page with areas of colour, and makes simple seasonal crafts.Look for: Uses the broad side of the crayon as well as the tip
Paints wet on wet with one to three colours and enjoys how they meet.Look for: Lets colours meet without scrubbing
Shapes beeswax, dough or clay into simple forms with warm hands.Look for: Warms the wax patiently before shaping
Finger knits, winds wool or sews with large stitches, finishing a small piece.Look for: Finishes a short length of finger knitting

Science and nature

Watches birds, insects and frogs quietly and tells what they were doing.Look for: Sits still to watch a creature for a few minutes
Notices changes in plants, weather and the sky through the seasons and brings finds to the nature table.Look for: Brings a seed pod or leaf and says where it was found
Cares for a living thing (a seedling, a pot of herbs, the garden) with an adult.Look for: Remembers to water without being reminded

Language and story

Plays out a well-known story with puppets or a tabletop scene, using words and lines from the telling.Look for: Sets up the story table without help
Listens to a story told the same way over several days and joins in with repeated lines.Look for: Says the repeated line before you do
Says verses and finger plays from memory with the gestures that go with them.Look for: Starts a verse on their own at the right moment in the day
Speaks in full sentences about what they did and what they want, in their home language.Look for: Tells you about the morning in order

Number

Counts in rhythm while moving, clapping or stepping, up to ten and back.Look for: Keeps the beat while counting
Sorts, matches and sets the table for the people present, one for each.Look for: Lays one cup for each person without help

Movement and music

Climbs, balances, hops and skips with growing confidence.Look for: Walks a log or a line without help
Sings simple songs in the mood of the fifth and joins in circle games.Look for: Sings along softly

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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