3 minute read
The Second Seven Years of Childhood
In my talk “The Second Seven Years,” I’ll be exploring the ages between 7 and 14 and the ways we can help navigate these years at home as well as how children in this stage are supported by the Waldorf curriculum.
As children grow, they naturally follow stages such as exploring their world more independently, or questioning ideas they had once held, or showing fears they’d never had before or becoming very passionate or single-minded on one topic or person! Understanding these childhood stages can help a family support their child between the ages of 7 and 14.
Some of my most distinct memories of parenting my children are the times when they perplexed me the most and I was completely taken aback by their words or actions. Once my six-year-old announced he was going to move to his best friend’s home, where they had a cute dog. I felt hurt that he wanted to leave us and assumed that he didn’t value our home. My adult thinking was not helpful and at the time I was unable to see that his actions were a very natural streak of independence that can happen at this age. At about age nine, while on the paper route, his brother took up a deep interest in real estate and began to collect the little brochures in the free newspaper boxes. For some reason I felt triggered by this and couldn’t get behind his new interest. Looking back, I now know that they were each expressing natural phases of childhood, such as independence and curiosity about how the world works.
In Waldorf Education, based on the science and philosophy of Rudolf Steiner, we can gain a lot of perspective by looking at the seven-year cycles of childhood. Each phase of childhood has characteristics that are part and parcel of the child’s developmental growth. The years between 7 and 14, or grades one to eight, present universal trends that can be nourished and met by having a deeper understanding of the classic “ups and downs” during this time. In these years children live in their feelings and imagination, and in Waldorf schools we strive to understand their development and support it through pedagogy.
Lisa Hitch is grateful to be teaching and learning on traditional Hul’q’umi’num territory in the Quw’utsun Valley. She holds a Bachelor of Education, a BFA in Theatre Performance, and attained her Waldorf Teacher Certification from the West Coast Institute for Studies in Anthroposophy. In 2018, she was awarded the Prime Minister’s Award for Teaching Excellence in STEM, and is currently the BC Regional Representative to the Association of Waldorf Schools of North America. She has been a teacher in many different environments since 1990, and has been a class teacher at Sunrise Waldorf School since 2010. She is on a sabbatical year from class teaching, but continues to tutor students and mentor teachers. Originally from Victoria, Lisa began her Waldorf journey when her own children – now grown – started their schooling at Washington Waldorf School in Washington DC. The Second Seven Years: A Deeper look into the child development with Waldorf Educator Lisa Hitch March 8 7-8:30pm For zoom link contact swpa@ sunrisewaldorfschool.org
the second 7 Years March 8th
Tuesday evening 7-8.30 pm
Join the Sunrise Waldorf School community for a deeper look into development in the second seven years of the child with Waldorf Educator Lisa Hitch.
Hosted by the Sunrise Waldorf School Parents Association. All are welcome. Zoom link available by request please contact: swpa@sunrisewaldorfschool.org
