Grading Too Soon: Why Children Need Time, Not Labels

In the state school system,

children who have only just left kindergarten are already being graded. And yet the human brain does not fully mature until the early to mid-20s — the age at which the prefrontal cortex reaches full development.

What does this mean?

It means we are sorting, labeling, and evaluating children who are still in the midst of becoming. We are making early judgments about human beings whose capacities, character, and potential are far from fully formed. Instead of creating space for unfolding, we cement social divisions at an age when growth should still be wide open and full of possibility.

What we urgently need

is far more willingness to experiment, more courage to take risks, and a stronger impulse to try, to explore, to discover. Real development thrives on experimentation — not on constant evaluation.

But how

can children and adolescents develop courage if everything they do is immediately graded? How can they dare to think differently if mistakes are instantly recorded and judged? A culture of continuous assessment stifles curiosity, dampens creativity, and weakens intrinsic motivation.

If we truly want

a vibrant, innovative, and just society, we must stop placing children into categories so early — and begin giving them what they most need: time, trust, and space to grow.

How the Teacher's Slow Movement and the Absence of Many Words Support the Child's Healthy Development

In early childhood, from birth to around age seven,

children learn primarily through imitation rather than explanation. They absorb the world through their senses and through the gestures, movements, and tone of the adults around them. Every action and quality the teacher brings — the way a chair is pushed in, a cloth folded, or a toy set back on the shelf — becomes a living lesson for the child. When the adult moves slowly and with quiet intention, the child experiences a sense of order, safety, and calm that supports their developing inner life.

When too many words are used,

the child's attention is pulled away from the sensory and imitative world into intellectual activity that is not yet ready to awaken. Explanations, even when well-meant, can overwhelm the young child's nervous system and senses. Their developing executive functions — working memory, attention, and self-regulation — cannot yet organize or retain a stream of verbal information. Instead of helping them act, excessive words can lead to confusion, inattention, or oppositional behavior, which may show itself in frantic or unfocused movement.

When the teacher moves slowly,

with calm intention, the atmosphere softens. A sense of peace settles in, giving the child time to breathe and to follow along the rhythm of the day. When transitions are guided by gesture, song, or a simple cue instead of many words, the child feels oriented and secure. Even questions need not always be answered immediately; a smile, a nod, or a finger to the lips can speak more clearly than many words. This helps the child sense boundaries and rhythm without verbal correction.

In moments of curiosity,

a gentle "I wonder…" can be far more nourishing than an immediate answer. In that small pause, the imagination awakens. You will be surprised by the beauty that can flow from their uninhibited, creative minds when given the space to wonder freely!

Directions, too, are best kept brief and clear.

The young child does not need to be burdened with reasons or explanations. When we offer too many details about why something must be done, we invite mental analysis and negotiation instead of helping the child move naturally into action. The teacher's quiet authority and rhythmical presence provide a form of guidance that the child can feel rather than think about.

By keeping our words few and our movements slow,

we offer the children a sense of order, calm, and safety in a world that often moves too fast. Such a predictive and calm atmosphere strengthens their will, nurtures self-regulation, and lays the foundation for the healthy development of executive function.

In the gentle quiet of a Waldorf early childhood classroom, the child can rest in trust. And as their relationship to the world can unfold in peace, their whole being begins to blossom.

Protecting free and uninterrupted play

In the young child, play arises as naturally as breath. It is not planned or instructed — it is remembered by the child from within. Our task as adults is not to shape this play, but to protect the quiet space in which it can be born.

Free play does not need guidance.
It needs a loving, protective framework.

Honoring the first impulse

At the beginning of play lives a tender spark — a first inner gesture. Often, we feel drawn to comment, to admire, or to offer ideas. Yet when we pause and simply witness, we allow the child’s own creative force to strengthen. The joy of play should live in the child’s heart: I had this idea myself. In this way, confidence grows quietly and from within.

Allowing boredom to ripen

“I wonder what wonderful idea will come to you next.”
What we sometimes call boredom is often a doorway. When the child stands before emptiness, imagination begins to stir. By resisting the urge to fill this moment with suggestions, we offer the child our trust. We hold the space — and the child fills it.

Gentleness in moments of conflict

“I am here if you need help.”
In small conflicts, a light touch is often enough. This sentence offers warmth and safety, while leaving room for children to find their own way toward understanding. Within this protected space, social capacities awaken naturally. The play remains whole, and stays in the children’s hands.

Protecting the inner picture-world

We adults are quick to name and define: “What a beautiful house.”
Yet today, the cloth may be a sail, tomorrow a river, the next day a cloak of invisibility. When we refrain from fixing meaning, we safeguard the child’s rich inner images — a wellspring for later thinking, creativity, and emotional depth.

Gently guiding transitions

“In a few moments, your little ones will lay their toys to rest, and then we will eat.”
When transitions are announced softly and woven into the language of play, the child can complete the experience inwardly. The magic is not broken — it is carried along.

Free play does not need instructions.
It needs time, trust, rhythm, and protection.

Why Movement Matters: How the Body Prepares the Mind

Movement is not something children do after learning — it is how learning begins.

Every jump, roll, push, and stretch sends rich information to the growing brain. Through movement, neural pathways are formed and strengthened, laying the groundwork for thinking, feeling, and relating to others. A child who moves freely is not only building muscles and coordination, but also shaping the architecture of the brain itself.

Movement also lives at the heart of social and emotional development. When children move together — chasing, climbing, carrying, clapping, negotiating space — they learn cooperation, communication, and empathy. Physical play offers a natural outlet for stress and emotional tension, helping children regulate themselves long before they can name their feelings with words.

In this way, movement nourishes the whole child: body, brain, heart, and will.

Movement as the Foundation for Reading and Writing

An often-overlooked truth is that children can only learn to read, write, and spell with ease once the necessary neurological pathways have fully matured — typically between the ages of seven and eight.

Before this time, the brain is still busy building bridges.

For the left and right hemispheres of the brain to communicate smoothly, a child must first develop a strong proprioceptive system — the inner sense of the body in three-dimensional space: forward and backward, left and right, up and down.

Movement on the left side of the body is primarily processed in the right hemisphere of the brain, and movement on the right side is processed in the left hemisphere. Through rich, varied movement experiences, these pathways gradually connect. This process is known as bilateral integration.

Only when these connections are well established can the child’s mind truly be free for abstract tasks such as reading, writing, and spelling.

Signs of Bilateral Integration

We can often see when this integration has matured.

Children who have developed strong bilateral pathways are able to:

• skip smoothly using a cross-lateral pattern (opposite arm and leg moving together) without conscious effort

• By jumping rope by themselves in a flowing double jump pattern for every single swing of the rope — both forwards and backwards

These movements show that the brain and body are working together as a unified whole.

From Body Awareness to Form Drawing

Once a child has developed a full sense of their body in space, their thinking becomes grounded and available. Attention deepens. Focus strengthens. The child can notice subtle social cues and respond more flexibly to others.

Before this integration occurs, children often struggle with tasks such as copying forms — especially those that include diagonal lines.

Interestingly, children naturally reveal the state of their proprioceptive development when asked to draw a person. Without adult coaching, their drawings reflect the inner map their brain has formed of the body. Early drawings may show stick-like figures with little differentiation. Over time, as body awareness matures, the drawings become more complete: a defined trunk, arms and legs with joints, hands, feet, fingers, clothing — typically emerging around the age of seven.

The body, quite literally, teaches the hand how to draw.

How the Proprioceptive System Is Strengthened

It is developed and strengthened in children by having them do large and small physical movements, where they experience pressure using their fingers, hands, arms, trunks, legs and feet. When children play freely, they instinctively seek out the movements their bodies need.

Activities that nourish this system include:

• digging with a shovel

• pushing a wheelbarrow

• carrying heavy objects or moving rocks

• hanging, swinging, and climbing

• circle games with clapping and stomping

• jumping, hopping, galloping, and skipping

Many of these movements naturally require children to cross the midline of the body, which is also strongly supporting bilateral integration.

These are not “extra” activities — they are essential nourishment for the developing nervous system.

Giving Children What They Truly Need

When we give children time and space for free movement and uninterrupted play, we are supporting far more than physical growth. We are strengthening the deep connections between brain and body that allow learning to unfold naturally and with joy.

By supporting the development of the proprioceptive system, we help children prepare not only for reading and writing, but also for meaningful social relationships. Through movement and play, children learn to read social cues, navigate conflict, and find their place within a community.

Let us give children the gift of movement —
so their bodies may grow strong,
their minds may grow clear,
and their hearts may grow wise.