A Toy Garden

09/04/2026

Back to school season...
"Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn" by Benjamin Franklin. Artist ~ Margaret Tarrant, c 1920

09/03/2026

Norway has just banned generative AI from primary schools. Screens are being replaced with printed textbooks.

Smartphones have been out of Norwegian schools since 2024.

The results? Studies have shown an improvement in student grades, a significant decline in playground and digital bullying, and a 60% drop in visits to psychological specialists for anxiety and mental health support.

In Steiner classrooms, this has been our practice for seventy years. Screens introduced late, thoughtfully, and only when developmentally appropriate. Not because we were against technology but because we were watching what unchecked technology was doing to childhood.

The world is catching up.

07/06/2026

Let them play! 🙌

07/06/2026

04/20/2026

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1BaEzScZAX/

04/06/2026

Another year of Easter nests, lovingly built to welcome a visit from our friend the Easter Bunny. No expense is spared—snug bark roofing, luxurious moss carpeting, all the latest comforts! Come Easter morning, each nest is filled with goodies, and bear the Bunny’s trademark thank you—a new spring bulb to forever mark the spot. Hyacinths are the most common, and each one marks the location of a previous year’s overnight rest!

03/27/2026

SQUEEEE! New arrivals in our cuteness department! And these (and more!) can still be there by Easter!

02/04/2026

Spain is moving to ban social media for children under 16.

Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez says kids are being exposed to a “digital Wild West” they were never meant to navigate alone. Under the plan, platforms would be required to verify users’ ages—and executives could be held legally accountable if harmful or illegal content isn’t removed.

Spain is following Australia, which enacted a similar under-16 ban last year. That law is now serving as a global test case, with countries like Malaysia planning similar rules and New Zealand considering them. European leaders are also weighing EU-wide age minimums.

Why the push? Leaders point to addiction, po*******hy, abuse, manipulation, and violence as unacceptable consequences of underage social-media use. As Sánchez put it: If we want to protect children, we have to take back control.

“If we want to protect them, there’s only one thing we can do—take back control,” Sanchez said. “I know that it won’t be easy, social-media companies are wealthier and more powerful than many nations—including mine.”

The message is getting louder worldwide: childhood is worth protecting, and some things are better waited on. 🕗

Source: Wall Street Journal

Wait Until 8th encourages families to delay smartphones until the end of 8th grade and to delay social media until 16. Join more than 140,000 families in delaying today with our pledge!