Early Childhood

Our Early Childhood programs promote academic excellence through a playful and engaging approach. Essential skills such as sequencing, sensory integration, eye-hand coordination, and an appreciation for the beauty of language are integrated as foundational elements of learning. Children explore math and science through hands-on activities both indoors and in nature. In this nurturing and creative environment, our young students are provided with a variety of practical experiences and the structure needed to prepare for their next steps in academics and school life.

Our curriculum is enriched by spirited celebrations and festivals throughout the year, introducing children to a vital tapestry of cultures and traditions. We believe this exposure nurtures a deeper connection to the world, fostering empathy, respect for diversity, and a broad and compassionate worldview.  It also prepares children to engage positively with people from diverse backgrounds as they grow.

A few of the festivals and holidays we acknowledge throughout the school year include Harvest Festival, Hispanic Heritage Month, Diwali, Lantern Walk, Native American Heritage Month, Winter Fair, Spiral of Lights, Jewish holidays including Hanukkah and Purim, Christmas, Kwanzaa, Lunar New Year Festival, Black History Month, Eid Al-Fitr, Mayfair, and Grandparent and Special Persons Day.  Our birthday celebrations are also a trademark of our program designed to honor the true gift of each child and their family.

The teacher nurtures the children’s imagination in ways that are developmentally appropriate, guiding them through carefully chosen stories and encouraging free play. In this type of imaginative play, where children invent and act out scenarios, they gain a deeper understanding of various aspects of life. Creative play is highly valued in a Waldorf preschool, as it provides a space for imagination to bloom and for social interactions that are child-led. Our skilled teachers support children in navigating their social-emotional development using research-based, proven methods.

The materials for creative play are varied and beautiful— plant-dyed silks, stones, blocks, logs dolls, pulleys, and climbing structures. These open-ended, non-specific items offer children a boundless canvas for both imaginative play and practical work. One day, they may fashion harnesses to climb the tallest mountain, and the next, the same objects might transform into an ice cream shop. In their simplicity, these materials support the free flow of a child’s imagination, fostering free and creative thinking that will serve as a strong foundation for problem-solving and innovation in later life.

Students engage in special Circle Activities designed to foster both large and small motor skill development through coordinated movement, paired with poems, plays, songs, and games inspired by seasonal festivals and themes. These activities incorporate counting, number sense, puzzles, foreign language, and language rhymes, fortifying students’ understanding through joyful and interactive play.

Each day of the week brings a new hands-on activity and opportunity for the children to strengthen fine motor skills and confidence in the arts, including plant-dying yarn, simple finger knitting, beeswax modeling, weaving, watercolor painting, wool felting, sewing, and engaging in gardening and woodworking. Through these activities, they develop a love and care for the things in their "classroom" home. 

Music is an integral part of school-life, woven into nearly every moment. Teachers guide children and introduce new activities through song and movement, using soothing tones and open-ended melodies to invite them into a world of imagination and creative play. As children sing along with their teachers, they explore pitch, rhythm, melody, and creativity, often making up their own songs. Instruments such as guitars, harps, glockenspiels, rattles, and chimes are incorporated throughout the day, enriching the learning experience and adding to the sense of delight and rhythm of their activities.

As valued members of their community, children take part in daily chores and practical life skills, which they thoroughly enjoy. These activities help children develop a sense of responsibility, joy in service, and connection to the world around them. Teachers work to create an environment that is both stimulating and worthy of a child’s imitation, encouraging meaningful physical activity. After morning work and play, the classroom is tidied up, ensuring it’s ready for the next day. Snack time is especially important, as children actively participate in preparing the food—chopping vegetables for Vegetable Soup Day, grinding wheat for bread baking, churning butter and homemade ice cream, or grating and grinding cinnamon and nutmeg. Children are provided a nourishing, vegetarian, organic whole-grain snack daily.