Yup, I met a very nice and unassuming woman who showed me the nursery. She had timed the visit to coincide with story time that took place in a room in the basement, so I did not get to neither see nor hear any children. But, they must have been there, as I could see their clothing on the pegs, and I could hear a hushed voice telling a story.
It was very bare, hardly any toys, outside there were no swings, no slides just a large rambling garden (covered in snow of course) and a play house at the bottom.
In fact, 50% of the indoor space was a large kitchen. Wooden long table and chairs to sit at.
There were some roots from trees adorning the windows, and a few wooden animals.
This is what I learnt from my conversation with the woman:
There is morning assembly in the morning where they talk about the soul, and the seeds of life and nature. They believe in doing exactly the same thing each week, they keep to the same rhythm. On mondays they go to the forest, the go to the same place every time so they can see the seasons change and how everything is different in spring, winter, when it rains, snows, etc. On Tuesdays they paint, they paint themese relevant to the different festivities and seasons, and special events on the Steiner calendar. On wednesdays they cut vegetables, as this is the kitchen day where they do domestic things relevant to food preparation, including tidying and washing up.
They dont really have toys. There is nothing plastic, only natural materials such as wood, cotton, wool, etc. They mostly play role plays, where they pretend and re-enact animal life and nature, and festivities.
They prepare for spring by planting seeds, and tending to seedlings, which are planted out in summer.
The nursery staff dont really facilitate play, and dont really interact with the children, but they do domestic chores next to them so they know they are around if they are needed. Like in summer, they will weed the garden when the kids are out having free play, so they get used to being around house and garden work. Children always want to do as the adults do, and take part in housework and the domestic sphere, so this is what they get. They get to be in an environment very similar to home, with adults performing chores and inviting the children to join in.
All this takes part in strengthening their body and the soul, and it prepared the body for the soul? (At this point, I wondered, whose soul? Their own soul? Is there no soul in the body of a child? I did not ask, as I was a little too mystified about the thougth of my three year old coming to nursery to cut carrots and prepare his soul).
I think there was more, but I think I have covered most. Oh, yes, there was a picture of Virgin Mary and Baby Jesus on the wall (actually the only adornment in the room) and she said they did recognise Mary as one of the goddesses, and they were bound by law to follow Christian Ethic in their teaching, but it was not really important to them. Their curriculum is different from the national, and would not confuse the child with letters and numbers, other than when counting out vegetables or for other practical reasons.
Do you think I am sending him?