As if following a fairy tale about the meaning of an apron when you are with children, Austė Minkauskienė from the Outdoor-Waldorf Kindergarten "Margi arkliukai", located in the neighborhood of the VIKSVOS workshop, tells.
Why do teachers in Waldorf Kindergarten wear aprons?
There are several reasons. One of them is a charming, floating feeling. Children at this age are in such a state of flux, like rivers and clothes are little more than function. Imagine - you dress yourself strictly and tensely, are active, and do things... And if you are wearing a fluttering skirt or apron, they have those flows. R. Steiner, the creator of Waldorf pedagogy, said very nicely that a teacher’s apron is like an extension of our etheric body. I genuinely feel this way - as if you both go and flow. When you, as a teacher, have that inner feeling of swimming and flowing, you also create it in the environment.
What is essential in a teacher's apron?
There's also the fact that you come in, put on an apron, and put on all your games simultaneously. You can have a little gnome or a tiny little ball in your pocket, maybe some trifle, and you'll always have a handkerchief. It happens that a child comes running outside all dirty and muddy and says: "I got dirty. Where can I wipe myself?". You give that apron, and the kid will always know he can wipe himself with it. Well, it wouldn't occur to you to give him, for example, to wipe with your pants. Sometimes, that apron is where all the kid’s tears fall. Sometimes, we hike with children and want to eat some apples somewhere. You take that apron off, and it turns into a beautiful carpet. You sit on it and have a picnic in the forest. If you are cleaning and accidentally forget to hide something, put it in place; those pockets are very convenient.
I like it when the apron does not need to be tied or untied somehow - you put it on in one fell swoop as if covering yourself. That's how you leave your worries and personal life somewhere, and after the whole day as a teacher, you hang your apron in the corner with all that day as well. An apron is not even a work garment but a wrap. At the same time, it is a very personal thing - our teachers often embroider their aprons. If there is a tear or a rip, you sew a patch on it, and that place is so attractive for children that they come to look at it. You feel like you are at your grandmother's knees. Only with the teacher's aprons did I understand why they were needed, why grandmothers had them. It truly feels so good.
What should be the color of the kindergarten teacher’s clothes? Does that matter?
In most kindergartens, the walls are pink, and the teachers' aprons are pink. Especially in China, for example, if you're in a Waldorf kindergarten, you must wear a pink apron. Pink is the color of childhood, the color of purity. But the most important thing, I think, is that it should be natural colors that don't have bright, screaming shades and, at the same time, that you feel good about yourself wearing them.
I love it when we have aprons in several colors. When we take the equinox walk, we take mossy green aprons - you feel like you're dressed up; you have an outfit for the holiday. The most important thing is that the color suits you, that you feel good with that color, and that the color is not screaming too bright.
Fabric? Does it matter if it's linen, cotton, or a blend of fibers - a mixed fabric?
I would take linen for the apron because we wash our aprons almost every other day in the kindergarten. We wash them in a washing machine hygienic (extended cycle, high temperature) program, and there are stains from the hands wiped, something else… Linen can withstand such intensive use to the maximum. I think cotton is also suitable, although maybe a blend with linen is better. We have been using the linen aprons in the nursery for more than a year, and even if they start to wear out and the color fades, they will still be used for a long time. Linen can withstand a lot of intensive washing.
A light or a dark shade? Is it important not to see the stains?
Yes, I would take such a color that the stain is less visible because you are digging and picking, and there are apples that you suddenly pick up into the apron and carry. And then such a lightness happens that you are like a child - you don't think of any of it! They roll around in waterproof overalls, lie on the ground, and you're also wrapped up - don't care if you'll get dirty here or anything. An apron gives a lot of inner freedom and joy.
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Thanks for the talks, Auste!
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