Imagine you’re a kindergartner, walking in the garden outside your Detroit school. Curiosity bubbling over, you squat down and overturn a stone. Your eyes widen.
“Lo and behold, there’s a creature under there you wouldn’t have known about,” says Helena Renz-Mitchell, Early Childhood Center Pedagogical Chair at Detroit Waldorf School. “And you can take great joy in that little discovery.”
At this independent, non-profit, now in its 60th year, such discoveries are all part of “protecting childhood” — the core of its early childhood program for infants through age 6.
Think play-based, nature-rich, screen-free exploration.
“Childhood is a very short increment of our lives,” Renz-Mitchell explains. “We have many years to be a grownup, and you can’t get that back.”
What does it mean to ‘protect childhood’?
“It means creating time and space for children to be children,” Renz-Mitchell says. “To have free, unfettered, unscheduled time to explore and to dream and imagine and experiment.”
Specifically, this can look like:
- Slower rhythms and routines that support growth and development
- Fewer fast-paced, structured programs
- More flexibility and exploration
It also means making concepts “child-sized.” Instead of saying, “Pollution is terrible,” she shares, “We say, ‘Let’s clean up in our yard and create a beautiful space.’”
Unstructured play: the foundation of learning
Play at Detroit Waldorf isn’t just fun — it’s how children learn and grow. They engage in long stretches of free play with simple materials like wooden blocks, fabric and natural objects.
- Open-ended possibilities. A cloth can become a cape, a doll’s blanket, a fishtail or a roof. “They keep finding new ways — even in the course of one day — to reimagine how something can be used,” Renz-Mitchell says.
- Problem-solving in action. Whether stacking blocks or working out a disagreement, kids build resilience through play. “They build tremendous inner strength to find new ways of doing things, which they’ll encounter in later academics a lot.”
- Flow, not force. Free play is woven into the rhythm of the day, often in 45-minute pockets. “They have open-ended time where it can just flow, integrating play and life skills as classroom helpers.”
Nature as an extended classroom
No matter the season, Detroit Waldorf students explore the campus’ four acres, observing the changing world around them.
- Eating and listening. “Often, we’ll have a snack or lunch outside,” Renz-Mitchell says. “As they’re quietly eating, they notice the different bird songs or little bugs buzzing around. It increases their awareness.”
- Tactile experiences. Kids get hands-on with Michigan’s seasons, too, from slushy snow to new blooms to crunching leaves. Along the way, they learn to be prepared and embrace challenges — even colder temps. “They love it, and they actually get warm as they’re running around in their snow clothes.”
- Creating calm. “If they have space to dream and be focused, that’s self-regulation and self-awareness,” Renz-Mitchell adds. “Those become life skills and study skills that they can draw on.”
Circle time: a space to get grounded
Children build connections during circle time, a 5-20-minute activity blending songs, movement and storytelling — which develops language, rhythm and social-emotional skills.
“Through repetition, we’re building neural pathways in the brain,” Renz-Mitchell says. “This helps them cement those foundational skills that they’re going to need in life”
- Predictable rhythms, deep learning. “Our circles have anchors, an opening and closing verses or a song, with seasonally related material in the center” she explains. A familiar tune signals the start of the day or change in activity, gently cuing and grounding children in routines.
- Building essential skills. Movement games strengthen spatial awareness, impulse control and coordination. These skills support everything from writing beginning in first grade to playing the violin, which begins in grade 3 for all DWS students. “One hand on the bow, the other on the strings.”
A screen-free space for imagination
In an era of digital overload, Detroit Waldorf keeps screens and branding out of the classroom — even on lunchboxes.
- No prepackaging. “Media images try to tell a child how things are,” Renz-Mitchell says. “But the child is then not given the opportunity to think for themselves how they might imagine something.”
- Less sensory overload. Simple classrooms are also designed for focus. “It helps to calm the nervous system.”
This content is sponsored by the Detroit Waldorf School, a private pre-K-8 educational community in the city of Detroit. Learn more at the Detroit Waldorf School website.
