Early Childhood (2 - 6 year olds)
Waldorf early childhood education provides a protective and nurturing environment where imagination and creativity flourish. The early childhood program starts with parent and child mornings and progresses to nursery, pre-kindergarten and kindergarten. The rhythm of our day and year provide a rich foundation for the later formal study of reading and writing.
Supervised outdoor play and explorations lay the foundation for the biology and physical education curriculum that will come in later years. Singing games and circle time combine language, music and movement. The life forces needed in grade school for concentration, interest and discernment are preserved.
Nursery/Kindergarten
• For 2 -
6 year-olds: children must be potty-trained
• Hours: 8:30 - 12:30
• Days: Monday - Friday
• 5-day program with a 3-day and a 2-day option
• Limited spaces for After-Care are available until 3:30 p.m.
A daily rhythm serves these children in a very gentle way. Through play and imitation the children are nurtured. A warm and healthy snack is provided. Stories and circle bring joy to the class.
• Hours: 8:30 - 12:30
• Days: Monday - Friday
• 5-day program with a 3-day and a 2-day option
• Limited spaces for After-Care are available until 3:30 p.m.
A daily rhythm serves these children in a very gentle way. Through play and imitation the children are nurtured. A warm and healthy snack is provided. Stories and circle bring joy to the class.
Kindergarten
• For 5 to
6 year-olds
• Hours: 8:30 - 12:30
• Days: Monday – Friday
• Limited spaces for After-Care are available until 3:30 p.m.
The Waldorf kindergarten environment fosters the development of social skills, readiness to participate in group learning, celebration of festivals, and an awareness of nature’s seasonal changes. The Waldorf kindergarten is a beautiful, nourishing place for the young child to explore the world. In a cozy atmosphere, the Waldorf kindergarten embodies activities in imitation of life such as baking, cleaning, sewing, woodworking and gardening.
Games, songs, foreign language, rhythm and music, movement, storytelling, puppetry, painting, coloring, beeswax modeling, and seasonal crafts are all part of a typical day. Materials for creative play are varied and beautiful- soft handmade toys of natural fibers, stones, shells, capes, and large cloths. Because these materials are simple and natural, the materials serve the flow of the child’s imagination, creating a strong foundation for creative thinking in later life.
The kindergarten child learns through doing. A homelike classroom invites play, and participation in practical and artistic activities, circle, story and outside time. The flow of the day is designed to encourage the young child to experience life’s patterns in a healthy and secure manner.
• Hours: 8:30 - 12:30
• Days: Monday – Friday
• Limited spaces for After-Care are available until 3:30 p.m.
The Waldorf kindergarten environment fosters the development of social skills, readiness to participate in group learning, celebration of festivals, and an awareness of nature’s seasonal changes. The Waldorf kindergarten is a beautiful, nourishing place for the young child to explore the world. In a cozy atmosphere, the Waldorf kindergarten embodies activities in imitation of life such as baking, cleaning, sewing, woodworking and gardening.
Games, songs, foreign language, rhythm and music, movement, storytelling, puppetry, painting, coloring, beeswax modeling, and seasonal crafts are all part of a typical day. Materials for creative play are varied and beautiful- soft handmade toys of natural fibers, stones, shells, capes, and large cloths. Because these materials are simple and natural, the materials serve the flow of the child’s imagination, creating a strong foundation for creative thinking in later life.
The kindergarten child learns through doing. A homelike classroom invites play, and participation in practical and artistic activities, circle, story and outside time. The flow of the day is designed to encourage the young child to experience life’s patterns in a healthy and secure manner.
Learning Readiness
In our
kindergartens, academic learning is not stressed;
rather it is felt that such learning would be at the
expense of the healthful unfolding of the best
qualities and capacities of the child. However,
learning readiness activities are, in fact, intrinsic
to the curriculum.
Social skills are developed through all the activities in the kindergarten – for example, interactive play, baking bread and circle time. Fine motor skills are developed through beeswax modeling, crayoning, painting, fingerplays, lacing shoes and buttoning oneself, and cooking activities. Larger motor skills are developed through the type of indoor play that is encouraged, through various cleaning activities, and through outdoor play.
Circle time, songs, nursery rhymes, puppet shows and the oral traditional of the teacher’s storytelling develop listening skills and memory, cultivating in the child a feel for language and the world of words. Along with creative play these aspects of the kindergarten life also strengthen the power of imagination.
Similarly, counting games, building, and rhythmic activities build a solid foundation for numbers and spatial relationships. The animal stories and nature table, along with a general cultivation of a sense of wonder, engender in the child an unconscious appreciation for the sciences which the child will discover later. Everything presented must be true in its essence.
Social skills are developed through all the activities in the kindergarten – for example, interactive play, baking bread and circle time. Fine motor skills are developed through beeswax modeling, crayoning, painting, fingerplays, lacing shoes and buttoning oneself, and cooking activities. Larger motor skills are developed through the type of indoor play that is encouraged, through various cleaning activities, and through outdoor play.
Circle time, songs, nursery rhymes, puppet shows and the oral traditional of the teacher’s storytelling develop listening skills and memory, cultivating in the child a feel for language and the world of words. Along with creative play these aspects of the kindergarten life also strengthen the power of imagination.
Similarly, counting games, building, and rhythmic activities build a solid foundation for numbers and spatial relationships. The animal stories and nature table, along with a general cultivation of a sense of wonder, engender in the child an unconscious appreciation for the sciences which the child will discover later. Everything presented must be true in its essence.