Kindergarten

If a young child has been able in his play...to give up his whole being to the world around him...he will be able, in the serious tasks of later life, to devote himself with confidence and power to the service of the world.


- Rudolf Steiner

Kindergarten

The kindergarten program is dedicated to creating a warm and nurturing atmosphere where children can thrive. The children are invited into relationship with the teacher, the other children and the world around them. The sense of deep connection brings a sense of safety to the child, from which they can venture forth into expressing themselves. We are conscious of creating a class community of respect and love, as the children learn how to become social beings. A consistent and well-flowing daily rhythm with its predictability also underlies a feeling of security for the young child. Care is taken to provide healthy sensory impressions in a world of sensory overload, including a simple physical space filled with natural materials and toys. 
 
Childhood is honoured and celebrated in the kindergarten, allowing the children the time to grow well during this tender period of their lives. The activities of the program are intended to support healthy development. Creative free play is the cornerstone of the day's activities, with the children exploring and engaging in socio-dramatic play. Pretend playing is rich, imaginative and different every day as the children interact with each other and the materials. The free play is the gift of Waldorf early childhood education. Storytelling, circle-time, and games bring lively images, mostly from Nature, for the children's imaginations and joy-filled language experiences. There are many opportunities to enjoy movement and to build healthy bodies, both indoors and during outdoor play. Meaningful work and artistic activities such as drawing and watercolour painting further support the children's holistic development. 
 

​Two “magic” words indicate how children enter into relationship with their environment. These words are imitation and example. The Greek philosopher Aristotle called human beings the most imitative of creatures. For no age in life is this truer than for the first age of childhood, before the change of teeth. Children imitate what happens in their physical environment. […] “Physical environment” must, however be understood in the widest sense imaginable. It includes not just what happens around children in the material sense, but everything that occurs in their environment – everything that can be perceived by their senses, that can work on the inner forces of children from the surrounding physical space. This includes all moral or immoral actions, all wise or foolish actions that children see. 

- Rudolf Steiner
in The Education of the Child