The hands play an important part in this awakening. The activity of the fingers stirs the senses that connect the child to the world, and his whole life of thought begins to move. Handwork and crafts have been taught in all the grades since the begin-ning of the first Waldorf School. Rudolf Steiner wanted the boys and girls to work together in these classes. Because, he said, these activities lead to the enhancement of judgment.
Judgment comes out of the imaginative forces, working through the heart.
It is not the head alone but the whole human being that forms a judgment. Think how many of the senses are used in handwork - sight, touch, movement, balance, and many others. The senses take in different impressions of the world and join them together to form a judgment. Our hands bring us into a deeper, closer relationship to the world and, therefore, to a greater understanding of humanity. So much of handwork has to do with waking up, seeing things, and no-ticing details.