(4 – 6 years old)
Welcome to the Waldorf Kindergarten!
Aspen and Cottonwood Classes
Our Aspen and Cottonwood classrooms are filled with opportunities for children to do what they do best – learn by doing! Free play is the cornerstone for building imagination, creativity, problem solving, and social skills. These are the foundation for academic learning in the elementary year and beyond.
Our kindergarten classes are filled with enriching activities that engage children each day. Artwork encourages a sense of beauty and wonder. Practical tasks strengthen children’s will and resolve while providing valuable life experiences on which to build as they grow. Circle time and story time build children’s attention span, and speech and language skills. Tidy-up and setting the table for snack engage the child’s brain in pre-math activities such as sorting and ordering.
In our kindergarten, the children are active participants in all aspects of the day. An emphasis is placed on establishing a harmonious, cooperative classroom culture where children learn respect for themselves, others and their physical environment.
The Kindergarten Daily Rhythm
From the time the children arrive at school at 8:30 am, the day moves along based on a natural flow and predictable rhythm.
- Welcome
- Work of the day – painting, drawing, breadmaking
- Free play (inside), followed by tidying up
- Circle time – seasonal games, songs, verses, and movement
- Snack
- Free play (outdoors)
- Story time and puppet shows
- Lunch
HAPPY ~ HEALTHY ~ GROUNDED
Key Highlights of our Early Childhood Program
A hallmark of Waldorf early childhood education is that all of the academic foundations the children learn are embedded in our experiential curriculum.
Self-regulation emerges as children experience nurturing daily and weekly routines that provide predictability and comfort. Additionally, our classrooms offer a homelike, calm, and emotionally safe experience for children.
Speech and language skills are developed through participating in story time, puppet shows, and circle time which are part of daily activities. Through exposure to fairy tales, nature stories, poems, and songs, children build a capacity for literacy in the areas of vocabulary, visualization, memory, and listening skills, as well as the ability to focus.
Fine motor skills, which help support manual dexterity and hand-eye coordination, are engaged daily through arts and seasonal crafts. These tactile activities include watercolor painting, drawing, beeswax modeling, and finger knitting.
Social skills grow through imaginative and collaborative play. During free play children deepen their relationships through communicating with each other, and learning to share and resolve conflicts.
Kinesthetic learning occurs each day as the children are welcomed into a sensory rich environment in which whole body movement is encouraged during unstructured inside and outside free play, and structured activities led by the teacher such as circle time and clean-up time.
Gross motor skills develop, particularly during outdoor play, that lead to coordination, body control, and spatial awareness. Children are encouraged to run, jump, skip, climb, swing, balance, dig, build – and move!
Program Information
Kindergarten is five days a week.
| Half Day | 8:30 to 12:45 |
| Full Day | 12:45 to 3:30 |
| Extended Care | 3:30 to 5:30 |
An organic snack is provided by the school daily during the morning program.
Our small class sizes enable our teachers to provide each child with individual attention and nurturing.
- 1 Lead Teacher & 1 Assistant
- 1:12 Teacher to Student Ratio
Kindergarten students are between the ages of 4 to 6 years old by June 1st.
After kindergarten, children continue their Waldorf journey with a solid foundation that has prepared them for formal academic learning in our Grade School program.
Benefits of Kinesthetic Learning
Kinesthetic learning encourages physical activity, bolsters cognitive, social, and emotional development, enhances the brain’s capacity to retain information, and develops capacities, strengths, and self-confidence.
How Movement Benefits Learning?
The part of the brain that processes movement is the same part of the brain that processes learning. Hands-on learning provides incredible developmental opportunities for young children.
- Creates new neural pathways which enhance memory and learning.
- Fosters brain hemisphere integration.
- Provides oxygen-rich blood that feeds the brain for optimal functioning
- Enhances social skills and emotional intelligence.
- Improves the ability to handle stress.
- Exercises the muscles, heart, lungs, and bones.
WE BELIEVE THAT LEARNING IS NOT JUST IN THE HEAD.
Learn more about Waldorf Early Childhood Education.
Continue to NSWS Grades Program Information.
