Nurturing Children's Twelve Senses and Four Temperaments

This week I attended a Dede Callichy Seminar about nurturing children's twelve senses and four temperaments. Dede is a lecturer and Musician and holds qualifications in Kindergarten, State Primary, ESL and Steiner Education as well as accreditation in various modalities of Natural Healing. Her seminar was interactive and very enlightening. Here is a very brief overview of the topics.

The Twelve Senses
Rudolf Steiner believed that the twelve senses made up the Thinking, Feeling and Willing or 'soul' of humans. They are listed as follows;
WILLING (to act)
1. Life Sense - Sense of overall wellbeing
2. Sense of Self Movement
3. Sense of Balance
4. Sense of Touch - Connection to the world
FEELING
5. Sense of Smell
6. Sense of Taste - Everything you eat becomes you
7. Sense of Vision
8. Sense of Temperature - Includes emotional warmth/coolness
THINKING
9. Sense of Hearing - Sound tells us the inner nature of things
10. Sense of Language
11. Sense of Concept
12. Sense of Ego - I am

Rudolf Steiner believed that nurturing each of a child's 12 senses would result in a child who;

...Acts in goodness,
appreciates beauty and
lives in truth...

In Steiner Education the school day is structured to nurture 'Thinking' in the morning when the brain is nice and fresh, 'Feeling' (the Arts) in the middle session and 'Willing' (woodwork, clay) in the afternoon. This allows for the development of the 'whole' child.

Dede also very briefly described the Four Temperaments;

• Melancholic (Earth/Yang) Solid, stable, grounded, deep eg. philosopher
• Phlegmatic (Water/Yin) Less will power, likes comfort. eg. Accountants
• Sanguine (Air/Yin) No shape, always moving, free, light & feathery eg. Artists & ballet dancers
• Choleric (Fire/Yang) Leaders, forceful, strong willed, not supple eg. CEO, entrepreneur, politician

This is just a brief and very stereotypical description of each to give you an idea. Some people display typically one temperament while others can display characteristics of a few. It is important to remember that temperaments can change. Dede explained that children or people who strongly display one temperament can often be considered a pain, and it is important to try and help that person achieve more of a balance. Acknowledging  the temperaments will allow me to be a more understanding parent and educator as well as strengthen everyday relationships by realising the innate differences of peoples ways of being.

If you would like to find out more about what you can do to nurture children's twelve senses the following books are recommended and can be purchased at Immortal Books.

• Our Twelve senses: Wellsprings of the Soul - Albert Soesman
• Care and Development of the Human Senses: Rudolf Steiner's work on the Significance of the Senses in Education - Willi Aeppli