Hard-soft gold: Beeswax

Both the properties of wax and the building skills of bees are ingenious, which might make all human architects and builders envious: bees work up a good sweat to produce wax. They have glands that secrete small wax platelets. This is the building material for their honeycombs. Among other things, the wax consists of long-chain esters, which also occur in other natural waxes, various acids, saturated hydrocarbons and special aroma substances. The exuded wax platelets are white at first, then they get their characteristic golden-yellow colour through mixing with pollen.

Natural materials are regarded in Waldorf education as particularly suitable for play and the development of the imagination. These include wood, stones, hay or moss. A root, unchanged in its shape, can become a snake, a ship or a vacuum cleaner in a child's imagination.

Beeswax is what it is, just like the root or a piece of wood; this is in complete contrast to plastic toys, which often create the illusion of being something they are not – think, for example, of a piece of plastic in the shape of a tree. What is special about beeswax is that the children engage with the property of a naturally formed material that is bone-hard at 20 degrees and becomes pliable through heat and effort. This is a real-life experience.

Beeswax has a wonderful fragrance. Not only are the senses of touch and sight active, but the sense of smell also picks up positive perceptions during kneading.

Beeswax is healthy, so the skin of the hands is also cared for by the kneading. It is non-toxic and therefore harmless if children put the wax in their mouths.

 «Additionally, beeswax also offers wonderful stories: you can tell children exciting things about the origins of the wax and at the same time they learn essential basics of a holistic view of the world,» says Alexander Hassenstein, on the staff of the Educational Research Centre of the German Association of Waldorf Schools, a former Waldorf teacher and beekeeper.

A whole lot of wonderful properties that support the use of beeswax in Waldorf kindergartens and schools even today!

If it is nevertheless a bit too laborious to get the lumps of wax soft in the hands, Hassenstein has another tip: «Warming them up in good time, for example on the heating, helps here. Another tip for preparation is to work some oil into the wax. The oil also softens the wax at lower temperatures. But take care: too much oil turns the kneading wax into a cream.» Lo and behold, another lovely use of beeswax!