William Dolde

360 341-4124
wdolde@gmail.com
August 15, 2008

Dear Families,
Welcome and welcome back to the Whidbey Island Waldorf School
and the Butterfly nursery class. After giving and receiving joy teaching
nursery and parent & child classes at the Waldorf School of Baltimore for 5
years, I feel blessed to be able to bring my family--my wife Kelly, our sons
Liam (5) and Crispin (20 months), and our two old dogs--to Whidbey Island
and this beautiful school. We have settled into our new home, and the boys
and I have been visiting the Butterfly classroom frequently. I look forward
to welcoming your children to the classroom.
Please read the Children’s Garden Handbook included in this mailing.
Kim, Dyanne, and I have revised this over the summer, so there may be new
information even for returning families. It will answer many of your ques-
tions and provides a list of what to bring to school. While procuring rain
clothes would be a good idea (I like to provide lots of outside time rain or
shine), do not feel the need to provide a drinking mug right away. In my
work in Baltimore, I have observed that children in nursery and parent &
child classes have great success drinking from and washing tempered
duralex glasses, and I have ordered a set to use in my classes here.
I look forward to meeting you and your children. I hope to be able to
visit every child at home before the school year starts. These visits need not
be long (15 to 20 minutes) and are intended to help with the transition from
home to school. This is not a home inspection; in the past, some parents
(having just moved, for example) have felt most comfortable having me visit
their child outside in the yard or at a nearby beach or park. Some children
may wish to show me a favorite toy or book or place to play inside or out-
side. I will be bringing a picture book called The Tomten to share if it seems
appropriate. I have created a Tomten puppet who will live in our classroom:
he is a friendly helper who helps us tidy the room when we are not there; we
will have chances to leave snacks for him, and sometimes he will leave us
gifts. The idea to bring this helper into our classroom came from the book
Mitten Strings for God by Katrina Kenison: young children have active and
helpful imaginations, and working with living images can help foster qualit-
ies such as generosity without needing to resort to explanation or compul-
sion. I like to use the image of the Tomten because he is such a friendly fel-
low who travels at night; this provides a balance to the many popular images
of scary creatures at night. Call 341-4124 or email wdolde@gmail.com to
set up a home visit.
In addition to our all school work day on Saturday, August 30th
(9:00-3:00), I am offering two nursery work and play mornings in and
around the Butterfly classroom. These are chances for children and parents
to meet me, each other, and the room. Children will be free to play or to
help adults clean, mend, and otherwise prepare the room for the new school
year. These nursery work and play mornings will take place on Wednes-
day, August 20 and Wednesday, August 27 from 9:30 to 11:30am.
Younger and older siblings, other caregivers, and relatives are also welcome.
I plan to have Liam and/or Crispin with me.
Cubby Day will be on Tuesday, September 2nd (10:00-11:30). Please
refer to the Children’s Garden Handbook for more details. This is a chance
for children to come 1 or 2 at a time to visit the classroom for 15 minutes,
see where their slippers and rain gear go, and get to see the classroom.
On the night of Tuesday, September 2, you are invited to join the com-
munity for a talk I will be presenting in the Butterfly Classroom from 7 to
8pm. I will be glad to speak to you 1 on 1 or in a small group after that talk.
On Wednesday, September 3 (the first day of school for 5 day kinder-
garten children in Sunflower and Golden Forest), we will have an additional
work and play morning for children and parents from 9:30 to 11:30am.
Our first day of school for the nursery class will be on Monday,
September 8, from 8:30am to 12:30pm.
Our first parent meeting will take place on Thursday, September 4,
from 7 to 8:30pm. I will share my rhythm of the nursery day and my vis-
ion of the nursery year. We will also plan future meetings and make plans
for the tearful and/or joyful farewells on the first day of school. I know it
can be a challenge to bring all families together for a meeting. If you abso-
lutely cannot attend this meeting on September 4, please call or email me to
let me know times or days of the week that might work for you for future
meetings. While it is unlikely I can provide the perfect meeting time for
every family’s needs, I will do my best.
Some families have questions about how the first days of school will
go and how we can best support children as they say a perhaps tearful
farewell to mom or dad. “Saying Goodbye is Sad” from 1, 2, 3 . . . The Tod-
dler Years has helped me and a number of nursery parents in years past. As
a parent & child and nursery teacher, I like to provide many articles about
parenting and education. In an effort to conserve paper, I am starting a blog
for our nursery class. This will collect observations, announcements, art-
icles, discussion, and more without using paper. I am most willing to
provide printed copies of articles to any family that requests one. Please call
me at 360-341-4124 to request printed copies. Please email wdolde@g-
mail.com if electronic communication is acceptable. Please visit http://but-
terfly0809.blogspot.com/ to find a link to a copy of “Saying Goodbye is
Sad.” Feel free to post comments or questions on the blog or email them to
me. If you feel comfortable, please send me a digital photo of your child
and/or family for me to post on the blog.
I am new to blogging and new to Whidbey Island, and I welcome any
help or suggestions you have about making information accessible and us-
able and in meeting the needs of our children.

With warmth and light,

William Geoffrey Dolde
Butterfly Nursery Teacher