• The will, 0-7 years – he believed the spirit fuses with the body at this stage.
• The heart, 7-14 years – he believed that the rhythmic system of the beating heart, the chest and the respiratory system meant that feelings were especially important during this time.
• The head, 14 years onwards – this is the period of thinking.

(Bruce and Meggit, Childcare and Education page 495)

There are a few schools in the UK, which use Steiner’s methods. These Waldorf schools are all in the private sector. Like Montessori, Steiner has had less influence on the public sector than on the private sector.

All three of these early years educators have had a great influence of today’s practices in early years settings, especially Froebel’s ideas. All three opened their own schools, Froebel opened his first Kindergarten in 1840, Steiner introduced the Waldorf schools and Montessori opened the Montessori schools.  Education is often designed to be ‘child centred,’ with the needs of the child central to the activities provided. Both Froebel and Steiner favoured this type of education. Steiner and Frobel’s theories which emphasise the importance of relationships and also, that schools should be communities in which the parents are welcome have had a great impact on today’s practices. Children in Steiner schools for example often stay with the same teacher for the whole of their primary education.

Both Montessori and Froebel designed their own set of materials and resources to enable children to learn. Montessori’s diadactic materials were based on Frobel’s gifts. Montessori was the first person to use child-sized furniture in classrooms. Her first school, the Casa del Bambini or ‘House for Children’ was designed so that all the educational materials would be accessible to the children. Child sized furniture is an essential part of an early years setting in today’s practices to create a safe learning environment for the children to play.