In the first seven years of life (0-7 years old), cultivate children's firm willpower.

Lead: Children's 0-7 years old is the most plastic stage of willpower, so children always act without thinking. Only by cultivating enough willpower before the age of 7 can they balance some of the willpower cultivated in the early stage with the gradually developed consciousness in their later intellectual study.

1. What is willpower?

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In Waldorf education, there are many balanced relationships, among which willpower and consciousness development are a pair of balanced relationships. Willpower exists in people's limbs and is a person's ability to act. The future direction of willpower is people's moral sense. Farmers with their backs to loess are models of willpower. They can engage in boring, single and particularly hard farming activities for many years, so most farmers' consciousness is chaotic. When a person's consciousness is highly awakened, his willpower will be weakened, and it is difficult for them to continue to engage in hard farm work for as long as before.

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Physically, from top to bottom:

1, head-nerve-sensory system;

2. Chest (heart)-rhythm system;

3. Digestive system, endocrine system, reproductive system and limb-metabolism-limb system.

However, the actual development sequence is bottom-up:

1 and 0-7 years old are the development stages of limbs will;

2.7- 14 years old is the development stage of mind emotion;

3. 14-2 1 year is the development stage of head thinking.

Therefore, children aged 0-7 tend to be in a state of exercise all the time, and at this time their emotions and thoughts are in a state of hibernation. If we wake up children's emotions and thoughts in advance, for example, some children can quote the names of many plants and dinosaurs, then in fact, this child has been awakened. If you give your child too much information, his etheric power stays in his head and he can't get down.

Children's feelings are highly valued by parents. Parents will encourage their children to express their emotions and force them to say that they are sad or something else, but in fact, children have no ability to grasp their feelings since childhood. In this way, the etheric force will stay in the rhythm system and will not go down to the limb system.

Children's 0-7 years old is the most malleable stage of will, and children always act without thinking. Only by cultivating enough willpower before the age of 7 can we balance some of the willpower cultivated in the early stage with the gradually developed consciousness in future intellectual learning.

We only have seven years to cultivate our willpower in our life, but we have decades to study intellectually, so it is not difficult for us to decide whether to let our children study intellectually too early in these precious seven years.

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This process developed very well when we were young. But today, times are different and parents are different. Now the world is not so friendly and not suitable for children.

Nowadays, many children are given too much information and like to be with adults and talk nonstop.

Each stage is to lay the foundation for the next stage. There is great wisdom in this stage of development. If you skip a certain stage, it will bring fatal problems. At present, the state of too many children is that their heads are excessively awakened and their limbs are excessively asleep. This situation can be repaired. The awakened head can make it fall into a deep sleep again, the feeling can be less emphasized and the will can be strengthened.

Some people think that "my child has a strong will and he won't do anything I ask him to do", which is actually stubbornness, not will. The meaning of will is much deeper than this.

Imagine you are at home and someone is knocking at the door. You think: Who is it? I don't have any guests today. Maybe neighbors? Such a process will not be experienced by children. As soon as the children hear a knock at the door, they will walk over. He will react immediately without thinking. Therefore, the child's will is always waiting for a response.

Two. Seven stages of development

It is very important to realize that will has so many levels of meaning. Steiner called the perceptual thinking of will the ability of soul, and will is a newly developed ability.

There are seven stages in the development of willpower: instinct-impulse-desire-motivation-desire-determination-decision.

The first two kinds of will are innate unconscious, and the last five kinds are conscious, but they are often in a state of half dream and half waking.

(1) instinct

Completely unconscious, born out of our control, it exists to enable us to survive. This part of the will is owned by both humans and animals, and people have this instinct all their lives.

(2) Impulse

This is the second level of will, which prepares us for doing something. For example, hunger is an impulse, and playing is a very dynamic impulse.

Most children before the age of five live in these two levels of will, which are * * * and impersonal.

The younger the child, the more dependent he is on the first two low-willed behaviors. Their consciousness is in a state of confusion. They can't distinguish people and things around them, and feel that everything is an organic whole. At this time, the child is also a pure sensory body. He absorbs everything around him without refining it. At this time, children's imitation ability is the strongest.

Children before the age of three can easily see this kind of image imitation. After the age of three, the child's imitation is more and more profound. They not only imitate the behavior of adults, but also imitate their language, habits and even ways of thinking and attitudes towards people and things around them. In order to be an example worthy of children's imitation, this is our motivation to constantly improve and change ourselves.

(3) Desire

The third level of will and desire is usually not so conscious, but from this level, will has personalized characteristics, such as preference for things. Many times we like something, like a certain taste, and we don't know why. If people only do things based on desire, they usually make wrong decisions, while instinct usually doesn't make wrong behaviors. Desire will change with age, and it is also a door to all kinds of experiences, which will make us experience and make some mistakes. We learn from our mistakes and make continuous progress.

(4) Motivation

The fourth level of will, motivation is usually what is behind our choices. Sometimes it's conscious, sometimes it's not so clear.

After the age of five, children gradually add motivation to their play, and they will construct pictures in their minds before playing.

At first, they form a picture of playing according to the materials they see, and then they will have an idea and look for materials as needed. When they are older, their games will be planned after they are six years old. They have already planned what to play today and who to play with before they even come to kindergarten, and sometimes they will continue to play the games of the previous day.

(5) Desire

The fifth level of will and desire is the core of our existence. We often have a beautiful wish in our hearts, which will change constantly.

We always want to do things better, but in the end we find that things are always not so perfect, which is a kind of torture for people with perfectionist tendencies. Many children tend to be perfectionist at a young age and can't accept things and their imperfections. However, they are growing and developing, and their ability is limited. There are many things that they really can't do. Imperfect things can be seen everywhere in life, which is also a reason for children's emotions.

Therefore, we should convey an idea to our children. We don't have to do everything perfectly, but we can always do things better. Our desire is the driving force for us to do things better. At the same time, wishes may not all come true.

Step 6 be determined

The sixth level of will, which brings together our unfulfilled wishes, is a strengthened wish.

(7) Decide

The seventh level of will, usually at this level, we will turn our intentions into reality, but not everyone can achieve this level. He needs us to constantly strengthen our will and eventually become an action-oriented person.

Preschool children's will usually develop to the fifth level, and the latter two levels usually can't begin to develop until the children are older or even adults.

3. Presentation of children's will development

How creative the will is can be seen from the growth of children. Everything that is active is related to will. Will is committed to the future. You can see that they are all taking us to the future. Maybe it is based on past experience, but it always takes us forward.

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0 ~ 2.5, imitation imitation

Children's behavior is mainly based on the first two kinds of low will. Then he will absorb everything he meets.

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2.5 ~ 5, echo echo

From two and a half to five, it's a little different. It's not just imitation, but also a little reaction. He won't do what his parents and teachers do. He absorbs things around him and feeds back in his own way. If the child has seen the film, he can play it the next day. Therefore, kindergarten children will be found by teachers immediately after watching TV movies. He thinks about what he has absorbed and his experience in his own way.

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5 ~ 7, transformation

Less based on imitation. There's a motive. He often extracts what he has experienced and puts it in his own background. For example, a group of construction workers are building a house. He can't build a house either. He may be playing the game of opening a restaurant, but his voice, tone and posture may be like a construction worker. This is a signal that he has a sense of independence, although he hasn't realized it yet, and he doesn't know why, and he can't use it well. But he told us that he was independent.

So when a two-and-a-half-year-old says no to you, he doesn't even know what it means. If you are serious, you are wrong. You may find it interesting to hear a child say no for the first time. The second time you listen to it, you may be serious with him. Then you are teaching him to argue. For example, I told my child to set the table, and the child said no, so I put the knife and fork in his hand and he set it. Children do it directly.

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5 ~ 7 years old, the level of motivation emerges.

Children will learn a trade or skill because they want to learn it. They want to have more experience and do one thing well. The first time he can understand the goal and purpose, he will move towards a certain goal. Children are educated by adults' willpower. This part is very important for parents and teachers to understand him.

Every child has a strong will, but he doesn't know how to guide his will It will take him a long time to know how to guide. He learns by imitating how adults guide their will. If adults have been doing meaningful things around children and have a healthier will, children can learn. If adults keep holding mobile phones or computers, children's will will become weaker and weaker, and the impulse to participate in this world will become less and less.

Steiner said that future education will no longer rely on intelligence, but on the development of will. In the future, there will be many machines to replace human work, and many things have already been done, so there is no need to do it yourself. Most of the time, why do you use your mobile phone computer is because you have nothing else to do. We rely on technology to do things for us, so our will is getting weaker and weaker.

The teacher drew a beautiful constellation on the blackboard. When she showed the pictures to the students in the morning, all the students took out their mobile phones to take pictures. Then she said you can't shoot, please take out your pen and draw it yourself. When you draw with strokes, something inside you is activated and your soul is brought out. But as soon as the teacher walked out of the classroom, they took out their mobile phones to take pictures.

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Many times we don't realize that we are weakening our will.

Once I asked a father to make a fire. He didn't live for a long time because he couldn't find a way to make a fire on the Internet. If we don't use our will all the time, we will become paralyzed. Every time we replace your work with a machine, we should think more and do more things to make up for it. Children learn not to use their own will by relying on machines. As long as we use technology consciously, it is a wonderful thing.

4. How to strengthen children's will

If our fingers are knitting eagerly, your fingers are moving very rhythmically when you move. This will strengthen your will and give you a rest. Children can understand when they see adults doing such things. Today's world is often beyond children's understanding. Children actually like watching adults do knitting, and he can understand (adults watch mobile phones, and children can't understand what you are doing).

6-year-olds and 14-year-olds all want to know how we live. But 6-year-olds want to know what life is, and 14-year-olds want to know what ideas are inspiring your life. When we use our will around our children, you actively participate in the life of this world. On the premise that children can understand what you are doing, they will learn by imitating.

Waldorf kindergarten teachers are always busy, but everything they have to do is purposeful and practical, so that children will be inspired. We have to do this to connect the child with the will. Nowadays, children are weak-willed. It is very important to establish an environment for children to work.

How can we help children develop willpower in their daily lives? You can refer to the following eight guiding principles:

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A healthy and regular pace of life.

The clear-paced life in kindergarten day after day and year after year itself is to strengthen children's willpower, and a healthy pace of life is the most healing.

There are different activities every day, and they are constantly circulating week after week. You can do the same thing at home. One day you go for a walk, one day you wash the dolls, and the other day you bake things. Of course, you won't always do this to your children. But children will adapt to this rhythm and can expect it. They will be connected with time and enter a healthy process. We are all doing things with children's will, and children have good habits when they grow up.

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Things always have a definite beginning and a definite end.

If you want to sew in class, you must take a piece of cloth, a needle and a colored thread. Where are my scissors? This way will make children nervous and make themselves nervous. Before you do anything, you should get everything ready and tidy up your sewing basket. Baking tools are put together. Satisfy the child's desire to do things. This also gives them a clear picture of how to start and how to end.

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Do things with an eye on the present.

When we are talking on the phone or using the computer, children will become demanding and challenging because they will think you have disappeared. You didn't consciously hold the child and accompany it.

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Really meaningful and valuable work.

Nowadays, parents always want their children to keep playing. But it is very important to bring children into work, tasks and housework. We should regard these activities as a privilege for our children. It is common for teachers to say to children with bad behavior, come with me and do something now. In fact, children really need to move when doing things. But if children think that we don't have a good relationship with the work we want to do, then children won't want to work. In my class, I always choose the best children to do things. In fact, it is a great honor for us to work on the earth. We can transform matter.

Children are stronger than their parents, which is a bit dangerous. They know that they have a mission on earth and can't wait to do it. Have you ever heard a child tell you that he is an adult? Are you a child? He can't wait to throw himself into his life. We should make them feel that they have their own place in the world, and the world welcomes them to do things. They will have an impact on the community and improve it, and they will be able to provide services for their classmates. So if we cultivate children's will to serve others and the community when they are young, they can do something for the world when they grow up.

For example, in kindergarten, children not only play, but also take part in some daily work, such as cleaning, cleaning and sorting things out.

We found that some children who have difficulty in playing, when they don't know how to play, are often in a state of excitement disorder, let them follow the teacher for a period of time, such as kitchen work, preparatory work before each link and so on. When they return to the game again, their game quality will be obviously improved.

Children always present what they absorb in their lives in games, so it is easy for the teacher to see what kind of life the child is living at home through his games.

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Manual activities.

Such as woodworking, sawing, hand weaving and so on.

We should always do something right for children, although it is difficult for us. When we do such things, children can feel it. Sometimes they say they hate you, but they know it. They will do what they need. They will pay attention to whether all the baking materials are put away after we use them. They have first-hand experience in using tools, and they will cherish them very much. Even become an expert in using tools.

Nowadays, it is difficult for parents to trust their children. If we teach children to use tools, they can use them well. We often worry about our children's future and forget to cherish the present. But by building our will, we give our children a great tool, which will be with them all their lives, which is much better than paving the way for them directly. Therefore, we must overcome our fears and have the will to overcome our shortcomings. Bring strength and trust to children. I'm not a real carpenter. I study with the children. If I hadn't studied with the children, I wouldn't have learned it, and the children wouldn't have had the experience of becoming adult collaborators like this.

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Outdoor sports.

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Delayed gratification.

In today's materialistic era, it is very difficult to delay satisfaction. We always get a lot of material comforts easily, and children always get an immediate response to any request. Without hard work and waiting for material satisfaction, they will have new desires and will continue to upgrade.

Therefore, we encourage parents to make toys for their children at home and make any food and articles that we can finish with them. Mothers can sew dolls and puppets for their children, and fathers can make some wooden toys. These handmade things are warm, loving and waiting. Maybe it takes months for moms to make a doll, and weeks for dads to cut a wood blade with a knife at night. All this waiting process itself is the best exercise for willpower.

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Strengthen the child's liver.

The liver is the organ in charge of will in our body. The specific method is as follows:

(1) Go to bed early. Children should not go to bed at least at nine o'clock in the evening. I might as well go to bed early before.

(2) Chew slowly to reduce the burden on the digestive system of the whole middle part.

(3) Don't eat sugar in the morning.

There is a saying that "Rome wasn't built in a day", and so is the cultivation of children's willpower. The cultivation and strengthening of willpower cannot be achieved overnight. In addition to persistent persistence, mastering the development law of willpower as a guide to action and principle can avoid being at a loss in the training process, and we can choose projects to strengthen training according to local conditions in our daily life.