Between Wobbly Teeth, the Balance Beam, and Gut Feelings

«According to the anthroposophical view, the process of losing baby teeth marks, among other things, the transition from the first to the second seven-year cycle and thus the beginning of a new phase of development.»

Entering school marks an important step in a child’s life. While carefree play is still the focus in preschool, school requires children to follow along with lessons for extended periods of time. This requires a variety of skills: sitting quietly and listening, paying attention to a story, understanding and following the teacher’s instructions, expressing oneself clearly, waiting for one’s turn, tolerating a certain amount of frustration, concentrating for a limited time, and interacting with other children. The extent to which a child subject to compulsory education meets these requirements is assessed as part of the admission process.

For many families, starting school is the first conscious step toward becoming part of a new community. It becomes clear that school readiness cannot be determined by a single characteristic, but rather emerges from many observations, conversations, and experiences.

First impressions

At the Waldorf School in Kassel, Katia Hornemann and a colleague oversee the admissions process for future first-graders. Even before the children come to the school with their parents for the admissions interview, Hornemann observes classes at the respective Waldorf preschool to get a first impression. The families are then invited to individual meetings over the course of several weeks. While one teacher speaks with the parents, the other works with the child; afterward, they switch roles. «Currently, there are two of us class teachers handling the admissions process», explains Hornemann. «Depending on the need, however, we also bring in subject specialists—such as those in physical education or eurythmy—to take a closer look at movement elements. Sometimes our school nurse is there as well.»

The parent-teacher conference is based on a development-oriented questionnaire. It covers topics such as early childhood, motor, language, and social-emotional development, specific health considerations, and play and learning behaviors. In addition, the teachers are interested in the child’s creative interests, daily routines and structure, experiences in nature, and the parents’ reasons for choosing a Waldorf school.

Teachers use playful activities in direct interaction with the child to assess the development of gross and fine motor skills, coordination, the ability to concentrate, and so-called laterality—that is, the preferred use of one side of the body. For example, the child might balance forward and backward on a narrow beam or hop on one leg. While the children are drawing, looking through a kaleidoscope, or listening to the sound of a seashell, the teachers observe, among other things, the child’s lateralization. This is considered an indicator of age-appropriate development in perception and body coordination. Since the classes in Kassel are quite large, with up to 32 students, Hornemann and her colleague pay close attention. The key question is: Will the child fit in well with the class and be able to use the opportunities that arise there to further their own development?

Monitoring movement

This question is also at the heart of the admissions process at the Karl Schubert School in Leipzig. Through a multifaceted process involving children’s assessments, parent interviews, preparatory parent evenings, and deferrals, the new first-grade class gradually takes shape from among the applying families. From the perspective of school physician Johannes Kux, this process is guided by the «point and circle» concept: «Can the circle accommodate the child and their specific needs in a given situation using the available resources?» This question carries particular weight at this inclusive school: Each grade level has 25 students, five of whom have been diagnosed with special needs. «We want children with and without disabilities to be able to learn together», says Kux, explaining the school’s mission.

For the admission assessment, families are invited to the school on two separate days. While the parents are talking with a teacher, four children at a time go through a movement course that is woven into a short story. This not only reveals how attentively the children listen and whether they can remember what they’ve heard. The various stations also provide insight into motor skills, perception, and action planning. Each child is accompanied by a specialist from the school’s interdisciplinary team: teachers, a speech-language pathologist, a curative eurythmist, a music therapist, an art therapist, a physical therapist, and the school physician. They observe the children throughout the entire course and record their impressions using a structured observation form.

Some of the children with special needs who have already been preselected are invited back to participate in the obstacle course as a group of four. This allows the observers to see how the children interact with one another, respond to each other, and find their bearings within a group.

Physical maturity as an indicator

When assessing whether a child is ready for school, Kux pays particular attention to signs of physical maturity. The best-known of these in Waldorf education is the change of teeth. According to the anthroposophical understanding, this process accompanies, among other things, the transition from the first to the second seven-year cycle and thus the beginning of a new phase of development. Forces that previously served primarily to build the body are now, with the emergence of the hardest substance—the permanent teeth—freed up for learning, abstract thinking, and conscious work. «It’s less about whether many teeth have already come in. One wiggly tooth is enough for me», says Kux. Furthermore, he adds, one must not forget that there is usually still half a year between the time of assessment and the start of school, during which a great deal can still develop. «The change of teeth must therefore never be the sole criterion for school readiness», he cautions.

Further signs of physical maturation, in his view, include the disappearance of the baby fat on the hands, the straightening of the spine and neck, and the development of a waistline. Overall, the body loses its rather compact, childlike shape and appears more elongated. The child’s gaze also changes: it turns more outward, seeks out others, and shows a growing interest in other people.

During the assessment, the specialists also observe the degree to which basic senses—such as the sense of touch, balance, movement, and the sense of life—have developed. In anthroposophy, these are classified as the so-called «bodily senses», which develop primarily during the first seven years of life. Once they are fully developed, this is also a sign that the etheric body has become free, providing the forces necessary for learning and the capacity for abstraction. This becomes evident, for example, in tasks where children draw crisscross patterns or complete incomplete shapes. These exercises are also part of the admissions process.

Between Experience and Research

According to Kux, however, a sense of what constitutes a child ready for school also develops through experience. What does such a child look like in first grade? How tall is the child? What are the child’s characteristics? «You simply have to have seen a lot of children to get a feel for what first grade is like,» he says. However, the methods described are not based solely on medical and pedagogical experience. Kux refers to the ikidS-Waldorf study conducted by the University of Mainz, which provides an empirical basis for the relationship between physical developmental characteristics and psychosocial factors at the time of school entry, as well as the children’s later health, learning, and academic success.

For children diagnosed with special needs, the criteria mentioned do not automatically apply, since developmental disorders or delays are already known and must be taken into account, or may be present as part of a physical, emotional, or cognitive disability. The focus is therefore on how parents and the school can work together to create conditions that best support the child’s individual development.

The Role of parents

Subject teacher Anne Peters has been overseeing the admissions process at the Karl Schubert Schule for many years. For her, the most important thing is to get as comprehensive a sense of the child as possible. Can the child follow a story attentively? To what extent is the child willing to imitate the teacher—for example, by walking on tiptoes or on the heels? Does the child copy the movements, or does the child get confused when the rhythm changes? Do they dare to balance on a small bench, or do they reach for an adult’s hand? Do they initially just observe the unfamiliar situation? «Behavior like this can express social insecurity, but it can also reveal something about a person’s character. That’s why we have to look very closely and always consider the big picture», explains Peters. The home environment is also part of this big picture. «As a free school, we need parents who support our educational philosophy», she emphasizes. Particular attention is paid to the topic of media use. In her experience, actual media habits are not always openly discussed during the admission interview. «That’s difficult. Because when children are already heavily influenced by animated images from TV shows and videos, they often find it harder to develop their own inner images. This can make our educational approach less effective.» The expectation of rapid learning success also hinders the Waldorf school’s approach: «Of course, the children learn arithmetic, writing, and much more. But it’s just as much about learning within and through the community.»

The class as a community

The path to becoming part of this community begins with the admissions process. The goal is not to admit as many children as possible, but to find the place where they can thrive best. «If we realize that a child’s needs wouldn’t be well met in our class and we can’t do them justice, we don’t admit them», says Katia Hornemann, a teacher in Kassel. Sometimes, however, a child is admitted who may not even have a loose tooth yet but is nonetheless seen by the teachers as part of the emerging class. «Beyond all observable criteria, we ultimately view a class as a community bound by shared circumstances», says Johannes Kux. For Anne Peters, this is precisely where the school’s true educational mission lies: «Here we learn to test the waters with one another, work through conflicts, and recognize that other people are different but just as valuable as I am.»