Dear friends and colleagues,
On the weekend of September 6 -7, the first Waldorf school in Stuttgart, Germany celebrated its 100th birthday in Stuttgart's largest concert hall, the "Liederhalle". Although at the time of the founding of this school, there was, as Rudolf Steiner said, "not enough money and not enough space" to create a kindergarten, it is nonetheless a very special moment for all Steiner/Waldorf early childhood educators - a moment to look for treasures, like the children in a kindergarten in New Zealand are doing in the photo above. If the children might find a crystal, a flower or a bird fallen from the nest, we may find imaginations to deepen our understanding of the little child, inspirations to formulate our essentials in a new way and intuitions to renew our practice.
In this issue you will find a reminder of suggestions from the IASWECE Council for celebrating Waldorf 100 in kindergartens, a link to the live stream of the major Waldorf 100 celebration in Berlin on September 19th, and a selection of events and conferences in the coming months. We also include a biography and special thoughts about Joan Almon, a colleague who crossed the threshold in July, and who was active for Early Childhood and the worldwide Waldorf movement in an incredibly strong way. And finally, you will also find some impressions about early childhood in China, Egypt and South Africa.
All the best to those who have now begun a new school year and also for those who, like our colleagues in New Zealand, still have four more months until their summer holidays!
On behalf of the IASWECE coordinating group
Philipp Reubke
